81–90 of 108 posts
I usually do rentals for $35-$65 a day and have them for 24 hours + unlimited miles. Zipcar starts at $11/hr (more for bigger cars), with $90/year subscription, and up to $104/day, limited to 180 miles.
This is specifically a Zipcar (multiple vehicle vendors, less car infotainment integration) problem, even happens in urban garages. Similar article written about this a year or two ago. Reachnow (BMW based) when it was around solved the issue by having a pin code you enter, Car2Go (Mercedes based) probably also did I think. Here's the other hn post from 3 years ago: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20873234 , and…
Also, GIG Car Share will mail users an RFID card free of charge to solve this problem: https://gigcarshare.com/gig-card/
I'd like to learn how to take my cellular-enabled car off the grid permanently.
Once you know where it is, you can pry the interior panels and find the module (it should have an IMEI on it). Then find the cellular connector (it's often a standalone coaxial antenna/cable).
For example, my Hyundai has cellular connectivity integrated into the head unit. I removed 2 screws to pry off the dashboard trim, removed 2 screws and 2 bolts, and pulled out the head unit (10 minutes). There were multiple coax connectors (such as for the FM antenna and satellite radio), but the cellular module was clearly visible through the ventilation slats so I yanked its connector (5 minutes). I taped the connector to the wiring harness so it doesn't rattle and reassembled everything (10 minutes). Less than 30 minutes overall, not bad for a hardware mod!
I'm not against these systems because they offer a lot of convenience for people who need them. Some people need to pre-cool/pre-heat their car when it's parked several blocks away from their home or office, or they need warnings if they absentmindedly leave a window open or a door unlocked. Not to mention you could get to your car quickly and deter a thief if it sends glass break notifications. That's not worth the software vulnerabilities nor $10/month to me, so I disconnect the antenna for peace of mind. But some of my family members are glad to use these features because it improves their QoL. So I'm in favor of legislation that mandates a few years of security updates, and requires that a disable switch will actually disconnect the modem.
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Fair, sort of. I shouldn't blame the victim too much. That said, engineers have to make assumptions somewhere. I suspect remote camping trips are just too far out of the envelope that ZipCar was designing for, that envelope being cities. But really I'm just irritated by the bait and switch title, that to me promised a much more interesting topic than "here's a thing that can go wrong with one car rental company in si…
If the car was designed to stay in the city, they need to stop saying things like: "Select your Zipcar, pack your tent and pick your spot, from national parks with campsites to choice spots listed on USACampgrounds.info." [1] Besides, even driving on the freeway between two cities, you can often find dead spots. Imagine pulling into a rest area in the middle of nowhere for a bio-break, only to find yourself stranded.…
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VLC is available for both flavors of phone/tablet, you don't need an SD card, builtin storage is fine.
builtin storage is tiny (typically 128 or 256 GB) to force people into keeping all their data in the cloud, which doesn't help you when you're offline.
This is very anecdotal, but I never really had any issues - even more so, the last ZipCar hire I did took me from downtown SF to the Muir Woods (no cell reception at all). I had no issues locking / unlocking the car during the trip - I'm fairly certain it uses bluetooth for the connection between app and car; but likely needs data for starting or ending a trip.
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How was this ever allowed? This sounds like litigation central. How you can rent cars that will brick themselves in tunnels, valleys, and in the country? Do cell phones even work in most parking buildings?
> Do cell phones even work in most parking buildings? This is why Zipcar issues a card for unlocking the car. I'm not sure why the people in the article didn't have one.
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builtin storage is tiny (typically 128 or 256 GB) to force people into keeping all their data in the cloud, which doesn't help you when you're offline.
On Android, you can usually plug flash drives into the phone's USB port (either USB-C drives or using the correct dongles/adapters). They might insist you format them first so make sure you start by plugging them in and formatting on the phone before adding media. I think there's some apps that can read, for instance, NTFS (although I remember it being a little flakey)
I've been a member of ZipCar for well over a decade, from when they first came to London and issued the plastic NFC cards. Then it was the smaller ones that could attach to a keyring, and for the past 5 or so years - just the mobile app. This is very anecdotal, but I never really had any issues - even more so, the last ZipCar hire I did took me from downtown SF to the Muir Woods (no cell reception at all). I had no i…
This is specifically a Zipcar (multiple vehicle vendors, less car infotainment integration) problem, even happens in urban garages. Similar article written about this a year or two ago. Reachnow (BMW based) when it was around solved the issue by having a pin code you enter, Car2Go (Mercedes based) probably also did I think. Here's the other hn post from 3 years ago: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20873234 , and…
Also, GIG Car Share will mail users an RFID card free of charge to solve this problem: https://gigcarshare.com/gig-card/