Comment by batch12
1 year ago
When I got my last car, it had a sticker instructing me to press the SOS button to opt out of data collection. The gentleman that answered acted confused when I made the request, taking the stance that he wasn't aware of data collection from the car and maybe I should contact the manufacturer. It was only after I read him the sticker text verbatim that he went into a scripted response and confirmed the opt out. Shady.
The confusion was likely a scripted response too.
I had a friend who worked with call centers, taking orders over the phone. they had a script for everything, and after they quickly took your order, they started with a scripted upsell. If the person balked, they had responses for everything so they could continue. The only way out of the script was if the customer said "I will cancel my order". The call center person would be fired if they did not follow the script.
Xfinity similarly does this if they overcharge you on a contract. They try to upsell on a new (less value) contract for an hour before finally just changing tone and saying "you're right we messed up" and refunding you.
After all, you called them, which shows you're a ripe target. Every sales person knows that. Oh, you thought they were a support person? Maybe sales support.
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I never saw one of those when buying my most recent car (Toyota). But, after creating an account on their website I was able to find this section:
FWIW, their smartphone app contains a "consent" section with various toggles for the usual reasons (e.g. "sharing data to improve products") and these are all turned off.
I love the attention to detail here, like any customer ever has navigated to this page trying to find out how to give consent to having their data collected.
I was looking at the Prius Prime for a next car--thanks for the heads-up!
Prius Prime has a single fuse [labeled `DCS`] which, once removed, actually disables the computer module which connects to the two cell antenna.
This is excellent news. Thanks!
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If I get a new car I'm just taking the modem out.
If an insurance company can’t find data on you when they expect it, won’t they just charge you the high risk premium?
If you won’t tell them whether you have a car alarm or a secure garage they just assume you don’t.
One of the automakers in the article claims that voids your warranty. It may or may not but enjoy the legal battle should you ever need to make a claim.
It does not. There are laws against voiding a warranty based on aftermarket modifications made by the end user. This is the case in the USA at least.
Brand?
Toyota.
I still had the sticker- I peeled it off and put it in the manual. The exact text is:
VEHICLE DATA TRANSMISSION IS ON! Your vehicle wirelessly transmits location, driving and vehicle health data to deliver your services and for internal research and data analysis. See www.toyota[.]com/privacyvts. To disable, press vehicle's SOS button.
Prepare to be creeped out:
https://www.toyota.com/privacyvts/
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Similar experience but to be fair at least toyota has a big sticker. Other cars are doing it too and just not telling you. Either way, my next car is going to be a 90s land rover.
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Was it a Toyota?
This kinda confirms, unfortunately and sadly, that ChatGPT answers are probably just as good as human answers. And the data collection for your phone call went to training, not into a database where you officially opted out.
> This kinda confirms, unfortunately and sadly, that ChatGPT answers are probably just as good as human answers.
These people are paid to follow scripts and strict protocols. At best, this may suggest that ChatGPT answers are as good as a call center representative's answers.