The short answer: in almost every car sold in India, the OBD port is under the dashboard on the driver's side, within about 60 cm of the steering wheel. Your car has one of them. In several Tata models it is tucked inside the fuse box, behind a cover to the right of the steering column, which makes it easy to miss if you are looking for a bare socket.
This guide is about where the port is. If you want to know what it is and what it does, start with our explainer on what an OBD2 device is and how it works in Indian cars.
What does the OBD port look like?
You are looking for a 16-pin socket shaped like a trapezoid: wider on one side than the other, with two rows of eight pins. It often faces downwards towards the footwell, so you see it better from below than from the driver's seat.
The OBD-II rules that created this port require it to sit within about two feet (61 cm) of the steering wheel, unless the carmaker gets an exemption. That is why the search almost always ends somewhere around the driver's knees.
One thing that trips people up in India: our cars are right-hand drive, and most online guides are written for left-hand-drive cars in the US or Europe. When a guide says “left of the steering column”, it may be describing a car with the steering wheel on the other side. Treat those descriptions as a hint, not an answer.
OBD port location in popular Indian cars
We only list a specific location where we could confirm it from the carmaker's own owner's manual. Tata publishes the location in its manuals. Maruti Suzuki's and Hyundai's India manuals that we checked do not show it, and the other locations we found online came from user submissions we couldn't verify for Indian right-hand-drive versions. Rather than guess, we have marked those rows. We are collecting location data from our own installations and will update this table as it firms up.
| Car | Port location | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Tata Nexon | Inside the fuse box on the right side, below the steering wheel | Open the fuse box cover first. Source: Tata Nexon owner's manual. |
| Tata Punch | In the fuse box; open the fuse box cover below the steering wheel | Tata's 2021 manual says "engine compartment fuse box" but shows a fuse panel. The Punch EV manual says the cabin fuse box, right side below the steering wheel. See below. |
| Tata Tiago | Inside the fuse box on the right side, below the steering wheel | Open the fuse box cover first. Source: Tata Tiago owner's manual. |
| Tata Altroz | In the fuse box below the steering column | Same wording issue as the Punch: the manual text says "engine compartment fuse box", the photo shows the cabin fuse panel below the steering column. |
| Maruti Suzuki Swift | Usually under the driver-side dashboard; check your owner's manual | Not yet verified by us. |
| Maruti Suzuki Baleno | Usually under the driver-side dashboard; check your owner's manual | Not yet verified by us. |
| Maruti Suzuki Brezza | Usually under the driver-side dashboard; check your owner's manual | Not yet verified by us. |
| Maruti Suzuki Dzire | Usually under the driver-side dashboard; check your owner's manual | Not yet verified by us. |
| Maruti Suzuki Wagon R | Usually under the driver-side dashboard; check your owner's manual | Not yet verified by us. |
| Maruti Suzuki Ertiga | Usually under the driver-side dashboard; check your owner's manual | Not yet verified by us. |
| Hyundai Creta | Usually under the driver-side dashboard; check your owner's manual | Not yet verified by us. The India manual does not show it. |
| Hyundai Venue | Usually under the driver-side dashboard; check your owner's manual | Not yet verified by us. The India manual does not show it. |
| Hyundai i20 | Usually under the driver-side dashboard; check your owner's manual | Not yet verified by us. |
| Hyundai Exter | Usually under the driver-side dashboard; check your owner's manual | Not yet verified by us. The India manual does not show it. |
| Mahindra XUV700 | Usually under the driver-side dashboard; check your owner's manual | Not yet verified by us. |
| Mahindra XUV 3XO | Usually under the driver-side dashboard; check your owner's manual | Not yet verified by us. |
| Mahindra Scorpio-N | Usually under the driver-side dashboard; check your owner's manual | Not yet verified by us. |
| Mahindra Thar | Usually under the driver-side dashboard; check your owner's manual | Not yet verified by us. |
| Kia Seltos | Usually under the driver-side dashboard; check your owner's manual | Not yet verified by us. |
| Kia Sonet | Usually under the driver-side dashboard; check your owner's manual | Not yet verified by us. |
| Toyota Innova Crysta / Hycross | Usually under the driver-side dashboard; check your owner's manual | Not yet verified by us. |
| Honda City | Usually under the driver-side dashboard; check your owner's manual | Not yet verified by us. |
Model years and facelifts can move things around, so if your car is newer than the manual edition we checked, confirm against your own manual. In Tata manuals, the page is titled “On Board Diagnostic (OBD II) System” in the maintenance section.
Where is the OBD port in the Tata Nexon?
Tata's Nexon owner's manual is clear about this. To reach the diagnostic connector, you open the fuse box cover, which is on the right-hand side below the steering wheel. The connector is inside the fuse box, not hanging loose under the dash.
In practice:
- Sit in the driver's seat with the ignition off.
- Look at the lower dashboard panel to the right of the steering column, near your right knee. That panel is the fuse box cover.
- Remove the cover. The manual's “Emergency and Breakdown Assistance” section explains how to remove it.
- Find the 16-pin trapezoid connector among the fuses.
This is also why a plug-in device in a Nexon sits a little differently from other cars. Once it is plugged in, check that the fuse box cover still closes, or that the device and cable are clear of your knee and the pedals.
A correction on our side: our earlier OBD2 explainer described Tata ports as being to the left of the steering column. Tata's manuals say right, and we have fixed that article.
Where is the OBD port in the Tata Punch?
The Punch is the one car on our list where Tata's own documents don't agree with each other, so here is exactly what they say.
- The Punch owner's manual (revision 00, September 2021) says the on-board diagnostic connector is “located in Engine compartment fuse box”. The picture next to that sentence, though, shows a fuse panel with small blade fuses and an arrow pointing to a “diagnostic connector” at its lower edge.
- The Punch EV owner's manual says the connector is in the cabin compartment fuse box, and that you reach it by opening the cockpit fuse box cover on the right-hand side below the steering wheel.
- The Altroz manual we checked has the same “engine compartment” wording and a photo that shows a fuse panel with wiring below it.
Our reading is that the fuse panel below the steering wheel is the place to start, and that the “engine compartment” wording is a carry-over in the manual text. We haven't confirmed this on enough Punch installs to state it as fact, so if the fuse box below the steering wheel doesn't have it, look at the illustration in your own manual before opening anything under the bonnet. A diagnostic port in the engine bay would be unusual for any car.
How many OBD ports does a car have?
One. Every car with OBD-II has a single standard 16-pin port, and that is the only one a scan tool or plug-in tracker is designed for.
A few things cause confusion:
- Other connectors nearby. Under the dashboard you will also see wiring harness plugs, and sometimes spare accessory connectors. If it isn't a 16-pin trapezoid, it isn't the OBD port.
- Bikes and scooters. Two-wheelers sold in India now have on-board diagnostics, but they generally don't have the car-style 16-pin port. That is why our bike tracker connects to the battery instead of plugging into a port.
- Splitters. If you need the port for two things at once, a Y-splitter cable turns one port into two sockets. It is still one port on the car.
Can't find the OBD port? What to try
If you have looked under the steering wheel and come up empty, work through these in order:
- Use a torch and look up, not across. Sit or kneel outside the open driver's door and shine the light upwards under the dashboard. Ports that face down are invisible from the seat.
- Open the fuse box cover. On many cars, including the Tata models above, the port is inside it.
- Check both sides of the steering column, and the panel near the bonnet release lever.
- Check the owner's manual index for “On Board Diagnostic”, “OBD” or “diagnostic connector”. Some manuals have it; many don't.
- Look for something already plugged in. A dealer-fitted accessory, an insurance device or an old tracker can sit in the port and hide it.
- Ask your service centre. Their scan tools use the same port, so they can show you where it is in a minute.
Two things not to do. Don't pry trim panels off with a screwdriver; if a cover doesn't come away by hand, it probably isn't meant to. And don't go looking in the engine bay unless your manual shows the port there.
Before you plug anything in
Once you have found the port, a few small habits save trouble later:
- Plug in with the ignition off. The trapezoid shape only fits one way; if it doesn't slide in, turn it over rather than pushing harder.
- Check that the device doesn't touch your knee or the pedals when you drive. Anything that can fall into the footwell is a safety problem.
- If the port is inside a fuse box, make sure the cover can still close, or leave it off and store it safely.
Our own ViaLoop device is a Teltonika OBD unit that plugs straight into this port, with no wiring. The install is a plug-in and an app pairing. If you are still comparing options, our checklist for choosing a car tracker in India covers what matters beyond the port. And if theft is your main worry, read what happens when a car is stolen in India first, because a device in an easy-to-reach port is something a thief can find too.
Frequently asked questions
Where is the OBD port in a car?
In almost every car it is under the dashboard on the driver's side, within about 60 cm of the steering wheel. In an Indian right-hand-drive car, look below the steering column and around the driver's knees. In several Tata models it sits inside the fuse box, behind a cover on the right side below the steering wheel.
Where is the OBD port in the Tata Nexon?
Tata's Nexon owner's manual says to open the fuse box cover on the right-hand side below the steering wheel. The diagnostic connector is inside that fuse box.
Where is the OBD port in the Tata Punch?
Start with the fuse box cover below the steering wheel. Tata's 2021 Punch manual labels the location as the engine compartment fuse box, but its illustration shows the connector in a fuse panel, and the Punch EV manual places it in the cabin fuse box on the right side below the steering wheel. If you can't find it there, check the picture on the OBD page of your own manual.
How many OBD ports does a car have?
One. A car has a single standard 16-pin OBD port. Anything else that looks like a connector near it is usually a wiring or accessory plug. Motorcycles and scooters generally don't have the 16-pin port at all.
What is the use of the OBD port in a car?
It is the socket a mechanic's scan tool plugs into to read fault codes and live engine data. The same port powers plug-in devices such as OBD trackers, which read that data continuously and add GPS.