Comment by steelframe
1 year ago
I recently bought a Toyota because I was able to push the "SOS" button in the car and request that they disable telematics right after I bought it. I don't know whether they've actually stopped collecting my location information or if they can arbitrarily re-enable telematics at some time in the future for whatever reason, so I've additionally pulled a fuse that powers the transmitter. I'm mulling wrapping some components in a Faraday cage just for good measure.
The ability to prevent the car from spying on me was near the top of my list of desired features when I was shopping for a new car. This is one of the main things keeping me from buying another EV. So far as I'm aware there is nothing on the market where I live that won't constantly spy on you with no option to disable.
This article from Mozilla is worth a read: https://foundation.mozilla.org/en/privacynotincluded/article...
It's ultra annoying that "EV" seems to mean a tablet on wheels now. I just want a "dumb" car with a battery instead of petrol.
A friend of mine has a Mitsubishi EV Minivan (Japanese model) and it's about as close to a perfect "dumb EV" I've seen yet. It drives incredibly well. They just don't produce a 4x4 model yet, which is important if you live in cold snowy climates.
> So far as I'm aware there is nothing on the market where I live that won't constantly spy on you with no option to disable.
Kia EV6 has a telematics toggle in the hidden engineering menu. Vehicles sold in Massachusetts have it disabled by default to protest the state's "right to repair" law, but in other regions you can disable it yourself.
I bought a Toyota last year and the app clearly showed me a bunch of opt in/out options and I felt relatively confident they were either outright lying or I had opted out.
I'll have to request my info to see for sure
I never installed the app or registered an account or anything. The rep who I spoke to after pressing the SOS button mentioned that they had to create an account for me and then disable. They went ahead and at least said they did that while I waited on the line.
I'm more confident in effectiveness of pulling the DCM fuse.
I'm in the market to buy a car and have narrowed it down to 2024 prius. I've read Mozilla's papers and a few auto forums on privacy issues with some abilities to turn on/off telematics. As you say, none of what I've read is conclusive in whether this actually stops collection.
Do you have any links you followed for the physical fuse?
> Do you have any links you followed for the physical fuse
It's different for different cars. Search for "DCM fuse" (Data Communications Module) for your model year.
Supposedly, there should be a fuse that's just for the modem. You can yank that and get rid of telematics.
I'll stick with my 24 year old Lexus, though.