The Review
Having one tool that is compatible with multiple vehicle manufacturers is always a benefit in the shop, especially for the shop that services a variety of vehicle types. Hank Levesque, fleet manager for APG Electric in Clearwater, Florida, said the Hunter CodeLink offers that versatility in coverage. “The CodeLink simplifies the whole [alignment] process because it recognizes the car we are working on and then goes through the steps per that manufacturer’s standards.”
APG Electric purchased the Hunter Hawkeye Elite, and the CodeLink came along with it; the entire unit was delivered in one big package, Levesque said. Getting familiar with the tool was simple, he claimed, as a Hunter service technician and sales representative went through the application when the Hawkeye Elite was installed in Levesque’s shop. “The way I look at it is, if I were to bring my nine-year-old in, I could probably walk her through the process, and she could do it herself. That’s how easy it is,” Levesque said.
“It simplifies everything for us when it really comes down to it,” said Levesque. APG Electric uses the CodeLink for alignment services and initial vehicle inspections. “You plug the CodeLink in [to the vehicle’s OBD-II] and it scans the vehicle for you and tells you if there are any codes. If you are doing an alignment, anything to do with an ABS reset, steering angle, recalibrations, cruise control – all of the sensors – it will walk you through each piece of that and tell you exactly how to do it.”
“You can do a whole check of the vehicle if a vehicle just pulled into the shop for an oil change,” said Levesque. “You can plug the CodeLink in and run it through the diagnostic.”
The CodeLink relays the information to the alignment system, displaying the codes present on the vehicle. However, certain steps of the diagnostic process can be completed from the CodeLink itself. “I can do a vehicle’s mileage or tire pressure sensors on the keypad [of the CodeLink],” Levesque said.
APG Electric has been using the CodeLink for quite some time, and Levesque attested to the tool’s ability to stay up-to-date and relevant throughout the years. “[Hunter] updates on the regular for us… When you get to that time period [for an update], they call you ahead of time and let you know [what update is] coming up. The process is stupid smooth – they usually come in and update it for us,” Levesque said. “We’ve had this thing for at least four years now and its been the same for us since the day we bought and installed it. I can’t say anything better than that about it.”
Levesque gave the Hunter CodeLink a highly rated review, appreciative of Hunter’s customer service, the versatility of coverage that the tool offers, and the long-lasting capability it possesses in its servicing applications.
