PLX Kiwi MPG Trip Calculator and OBDII Scanner Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)SUMMARY: Great concept and much-needed product. Unfortunately, my unit failed after 10 days. Replacement/refund process a three-month ordeal.
THE GOOD: This product represents a much-needed tool for drivers to educate themselves in fuel-efficient driving techniques. It works. After ordering, I received the unit in a timely manner and found it easy to install. The user interface was somewhat clumsy, but I was able to get my Kiwi MPG up and running in a few minutes by reading the instructions. Once installed, I found the Kiwi MPG very useful for determining instantaneous and average fuel efficiency of my 2004 Toyota Tacoma.
THE BAD: Unfortunately, the unit failed within the first 10 days of use. Symptoms were that it would not shut down after the vehicle was shut off. Rather it continued to operate and got very hot. Shortly after this symptom commenced, it failed altogether and just gave an error display. It was still functional if I shut it off manually and rebooted every time I started the truck, but clearly it was not working out. Unfortunately, since this was purchased through a second party seller, I had to deal with the seller rather than Amazon directly.
THE UGLY: After contacting the seller by email, I was instructed to send the unit back for a replacement, which I did. One week passed, then two...and ultimately five weeks and still no replacement. I contacted the seller via email again and was assured my replacement was on the way. More time passed and still no replacement. After this, I was able to locate a phone number on the web and after several tries over a number of days eventually contacted the company. I verified that they had received my return and again, I was assured a replacement was on the way. Again, weeks passed and no replacement. Subsequently, I left a message with a different person on the phone and eventually my call was returned by someone high up in the company who was at a trade show at the time. He instructed me to call the original person I had spoken to weeks earlier and tell this person that he should "take care of me". I did and the person agreed to process a refund. More weeks passed, no refund. I called this person again and he told me he'd have to check with their accounting department and get back to me. He promised an email within a few hours explaining the status of my refund... no email appeared.
At this point, it was crystal clear that PLX had no intention of refunding my money. I contacted Amazon directly and inquired about my options. My first inquiry was met with (direct quote)
"Unfortunately as they are not responding to your calls and emails there is nothing we can do."
I was not satisfied with this answer from Amazon and sent a more impassioned follow-up which included more details about my quest for a replacement or refund. My second claim was just approved and today Amazon sent an email confirming that I will be getting a refund for the purchase price from them directly. The squeaky wheel gets the oil I guess. Thus, assuming Amazon follows through, my long and painful saga appears to be over. My original purchase was on July 19th, 2009. The date of confirmation of a refund by Amazon is November 22nd. This was my second experience recently with uncooperative second party sellers through Amazon. I'd like to acknowledge here that Amazon did make it right in both cases. They deserve kudos for this.
Judging from the other reviews on this page, a lot of people have had good experiences with the Kiwi MPG. I suspect most people will have a similarly good experience. However, one should go into this purchase with their eyes open. If you do need to send the unit back for whatever reason, you are in for a painful ride.


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PLX Devices Kiwi MPG is designed to help the driver improve the driving behavior by driving green. It displays data such as fuel used, fuel remaining, distance traveled, distance to empty, RPM, speed, throttle percent, coolant temperature in both standard and international units of measurements. This Kiwi MPG can identify the cause of the engine trouble and clear the light all in the comfort of the vehicle. It facilitates to get the code and reset the light potentially saving money and a trip to the mechanics. This Kiwi MPG is the primary contributor to the global warming gas, carbon dioxide. It plugs into OBDII port and mounts virtually anywhere in the vehicle.

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