Overview
Dash is a mobile application for Android and iOS devices. The purpose of the app is mainly vehicle tracking and your driving habit improvement. The app works with most Bluetooth OBD adapters available from $10 of non-brand to $100 such as OBDlink MX, Kiwi 3. The app is free to download. Other than vehicle tracking, the app offers a variety of features including find gas prices nearby, fuel consumption, diagnostic, etc.
How much does it cost?
You can download Dash app for free, available on Android and iOS. There is no paid version. All you need is a compatible Bluetooth OBD adapter.
Compatible OBD Adapter
It has to be a Bluetooth adapter. If you use Android devices, you won’t have a problem finding one. From $10 to $100, there are many compatible adapters. BAFX Products 34t5 Bluetooth OBDII Scan Tool is Amazon’s best seller. It’s inexpensive (around $20) but reliable. Unlike other budget OBD adapters, a seller offers long term manufacturer warranty against defects (2yrs.) A size of the adapter is kind of large. It may bother your driving depending on a location of OBD port. As a better option, OBDlink LX is recommended (around $50). It has sleep function to save vehicles battery power and offers faster-transmitting speed. Please note that the both adapters are not compatible with iOS devices. Not many Bluetooth adapters are compatible with iOS devices. If you are an owner of iPhone, iPad, please consider X-tool (around $50) or GoPoint (around $100). These adapters work with both Android and iOS devices.
Features
Trip Information – Every time you end a trip, the information is automatically recorded on your Dash account. It includes miles you have driven, duration, route, an estimate of gas mileage and cost.
Last Parked – You can see where you parked your car by hitting “Last Parked” in main menu or looking into the detail of the last trip.
Export Data – You can download driving data on spreadsheet via email. It can also be automatically done with IFTTT app.
Real Time Data – While you are driving, you can watch some engine data such as engine temperature, battery voltage, etc. Although OBD adapter can access to various engine data, the app shows limitedly basic data.
Dash Alerts – The app lets you know when you are speeding or hard braking. It will alert you when speed exceeds more than 80 mph for more than 10 seconds or reduce more than seven mph in 1 second. You can’t adjust this setting. All you can do is to turn off an audio alert.
Set Alerts – This feature is different from Dash Alerts. First, you have to set Alert Delivery by entering an email address to which you want to receive the alerts. You can set the following alerts, and turn on and off individually.
- Speeding – exceed 80 to 120 mph for more than 10 seconds (adjustable between 80 to 120 mph)
- Hard Brake – speed reduction in 1 second more than 7 to 30 mph (adjustable between 7 to 30 mph)
- Curfew – you can set star and end time, expiration date, daily, weekday or weekend only
- Location – vehicle location in radius of 0.5 to 9 miles (adjustable between 0.5 to 9 miles)
Gas Nearby – You can find gas stations around your current location. It shows brand name, address, distance, and price. It goes to navigation with a single click/tap.
Engine Alerts – When check-engine-light comes on, the app will tell you there may be a problem. It shows trouble codes, definitions, an estimate for repair, and nearby mechanics in your area.
Roadside Assistance – the feature is powered by Urgent.ly.
Dash Leaderboard – Compete for your driving score with other Dash users
IFTTT Compatible
You can make Recipes through Dash channel to a lot of channels. For example, New trip completed then log in Google spreadsheet, Receive IF notification when check engine light comes on, and more. For IFTTT, Dash channel is always Triggers. Here are all Triggers;
- New trip completed
- Driving through an area
- Ignition turned on
- Ignition turned on in area
- Ignition turned off
- Ignition turned off in area
- Check engine light turned on
- New bumper sticker earned
- Hard brake alert
- Hard acceleration alert
- Low fuel level
- Mileage driven
Pros
- Free to download
- Compatible with many OBD adapters
- Works automatically
Cons
- Sometimes missing trips
- Real-time data doesn’t show many engine data
- Estimate of repair could be misleading
Conclusion
Dash is free to download. All you need is a Bluetooth OBD adapter. Unlike Automatic or Zubie, you don’t have to buy a specific one. Many adapters are compatible. If you already own one, you may start using the app right away. The app starts tracking your trips automatically and works in the background. And you can keep the records in various ways. Connecting to IFTTT will make the app more useful.
The problem is that it sometimes won’t work properly: A trip complete from start to end with a straight line, or missing an entire trip. My IFTTT recipe “ignition turn off in area then turn on entrance light” fails very often. I tested with OBDlink MX and budget adapter. The problems equally occurred when I used with both adapters. So, a smartphone is probably the cause. Streaming music, navigation in Google map, answering the phone, receiving notification of texts and emails: a phone is too busy to work all of them. Please keep in mind that closing as many apps as possible to have Dash worked properly.
And estimate of repair should be considered as just one of example or simply ignored. There are several or much more possible causes for each trouble code. You can’t just assume a cause and get an estimate without a diagnosis. For a diagnosis or real-time data, there are better apps such as Torque and DashCommand. You can use them with your adapter.
Dash app is free, anyway. For tracking trip, IFTTT, or fun, you should try it. It’s highly recommended.
Download Dash Smart Drive app for Android, iOS