The Best Toyota Techstream Software of 2020 [Updated]

Toyota Techstream is a diagnostic and customization software for use with Toyota, Lexus, and Scion car models. Toyota developed Techstream for internal use and for customers who want to be a little more hands-on when dealing with their car.
The Techstream Software can save you hundreds or even thousands of dollars over your vehicle’s lifetime. Not just that, but even more over your own life if you keep your vehicle purchases within the Toyota family.
It cast cost upward of a couple of hundred bucks just to get your car hooked up to this kind of software at an auto dealer garage. Most of the time, it’s just a sensor going haywire or something else insignificant that ends up costing many times more than it should.

What Can Techstream Do for You?

Toyota Techstream is designed to connect and interact with your car’s internal computers. The first significant and obvious use is to diagnose issues with your vehicle’s function. It will read the sensors and notify you of any errors it picks up by providing you with an error code. When you look up the code, you’ll have a better understanding of what is wrong with your car.

It may end up being something you can fix yourself, from adding some type of fluid to simply changing a fuse. No need to break the bank for something like that. Even if it’s something you can’t do yourself, at least you’ll know exactly what you need when you take it to the shop.

Diagnostics isn’t all that Techstream software can do. You have a vast array of settings with which to tinker and change. Don’t want your doors to lock automatically lock when you start driving? Turn that feature off. You can also set whether you want your car to illuminate when you open the doors, or if you want the windows to roll down when you unlock the doors.

You can program new keys and reprogram your old ones. Choose how your key buttons function for a completely personalized experience. You can even shut off the seatbelt alarm, but we recommend not doing that for obvious reasons.

How to Use Toyota Techstream

Techstream is designed to be simple to use, and anyone can do it. Most versions only require a pc (preferably a laptop), the Techstream software itself, and a special mini VCI cable that will often come with the software when you buy it.

Pop the disc into your computer, plug one end of your cable into that same computer, and plug the other end into the matching port underneath your car’s dash. The port is usually located below the steering wheel.

You might need to disable your antivirus for the software to install correctly because it’s been reported that many of those programs get triggered by Toyota Techstream as a false positive. After waiting for the cable drivers and software to install, you’re ready to go.

Best Toyota Techstream Software

Toyota Techstream is available from a variety of manufacturers in different formats and functions. It virtually the same underlying software, but there are some differences. If you want something full-featured, it might be a bit more challenging to use, while simple iterations could be lacking certain features.

DIAGKING Mini Vci J2534 TIS Techstream Firmware V1.4.1
DIAGKING Mini Vci J2534 TIS Techstream Diagnostic Cable for Toyota Firmware V1.4.1
DIAGKING Mini Vci J2534 TIS Techstream Diagnostic Cable for Toyota Firmware V1.4.1
If you know less of the car & computer knowledge and don’t like remote assist, we don’t recommend you buy this. Teamviewer is…
Firmware Version: 1.4.1.Support models: Toyota/Lexus. Important note: the installation need uninstall the virus protector.
Supports Windows 7/8/10.Please do not update the software by yourself. If you want to update it, please email us. We will…
Support diagnostic communication protocols needed for Toyota (since 1996).

Where the DIAGKING Techstream software really shines is the area of customer service. They know that many people out there aren’t that comfortable with unfamiliar technology and probably don’t have the knowledge to troubleshoot and issues that pop up.

They go so far as to provide remote assistance to you and will even access your computer to change any required settings to get the program working correctly. Some people might be nervous about letting someone else access their computer, but the customer service is very professional, and you should have nothing to worry about. If it does bother you, try using an old beater laptop or password protecting any sensitive files or information.

The DIAGKING Toyota Techstream works with any Toyota or Lexus model from 1996 onward. They explicitly state that your antivirus will get in the way of operations, so make sure it’s disabled before installing this software.

Toyota TIS Techstream: Software Version & Required OBDII Reader

Using Techstream 12.30.017 (newest: v14.20.019) with the cheap Mini VCI Cable J25345 over here (Firmware 1.4.1) on a HP-Zbook with Windows 10-64bits prof.

You can actually check all stages of the installation without connecting to the car:
First make sure to follow the unpacking/copying instructions in the 64-bit installation instructions before plugging in the cable in the USB port. When installed correctly you should be able to run the firmware update tool to check the firmware. Just do NOT update, only use it to see if the cable is recognized and reports back its firmware version + “connected” status.
If this is OK then at least your interface should be installed correctly, showing a red LED in the process.

Then install Techstream and apply the registry fixes (either manually or by the downloadable registry mod file), also previously mentioned. You can also manually point the original Techstream interface entries in the registry (same location) to the same Xhorse files just to be sure. These settings point Techstream to the correct location of the XHorse driver used for the MVCI Cable.
Also do not forget the TISFUNCTION=0 modification in the IT3System.ini file. If you get “unable to connect to MCI” when connecting to a vehicle most likely these registry settings are not fully correct.

When you now start Techstream with the TSloader make sure the correct interface is selectable (not grayed out) and selected, otherwise re-check the previous setting. Then just connect to vehicle (without actually being connected, just have the MVCI cable connected to the USB port) and you should get no errors but Techstream should eventually (after time out…) come up with a window where you can manually select your vehicle code etc etc.
When I then connected to my RAV4 it connected nicely and I could readout my TPMS sensor ID’s which was my main objective. The interface is flashing green during communication with the vehicle.

So be assured: Techstream can work on a Windows-10 64bit Prof. laptop without the need of a virtual machine.

How To Use Toyota Techstream:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oc8mr6nhaOM