Ride Status is an app focused on giving everyone a way to keep track of their vehicle's health and history of ownership. It works like a simple journal users can create entries in, with the added ingest of data from the car's computer.
To get started, add a car by entering basic information like its make and model, profile picture, and nickname.
“My Garage” is the hub of the app. All of your cars are listed here, and the side bar lets you add more cars and edit account info.
The car’s “Profile" is where you start to track and add information about it, creating a continuous log of its "Status".
The app can communicate with your car's ECU (the car's computer brain) by connecting your iPhone using the Bluetooth OBII port scanner.
Once connected, you can use the scanner to run basic diagnostics on your car. For example, see why your check engine light came on or figure out why an electric window won't roll down.
As you scan your car, the app returns codes (and details about them) stored in the cars ECU. Once the scanning is complete, you can give the session a title to quickly reference it later.
Next, you can add more detailed notes about the session — why you scanned the car or things you observed.
Use your iPhone’s microphone to record noises your car is making. This can be helpful in explaing a problem when you bring your car to a mechanic or to post on a forum to help give a more detailed description.
Basic journal entries can also be added and shared through long-press menu in the entry view.
Ultimately, each car develops its own unique narrative about the owner’s time with the vehicle. This creates a much more detailed and introspective view of a vehicle's life than you’d get from a dealership or Carfax report. You're making a story. Not just a data point or a sales pitch (though it can help with that too).
If you ever sell your vehicle or hand it down to a relative, the next driver can pick up from where you left off by clicking “Hand Over the Keys”… Removing the car from your garage and adding it to the new owner's.
