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Data collected by cars and sold to third parties

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Re: Data collected by cars and sold to third parties

#191

Post by petre »

kevin_thibedeau wrote: post #154
taraindara wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I share the sentiment. I want a new car, but only if I can guarantee all telemetry is hard disabled. But I don’t have the kind of money to buy a new car and risk bricking it. Luckily I’m pretty handy, so I’ll have to keep my 2014< cars forcefully running as long as I can.

Disabling the antennas is the only way to be sure. There will typically be a coax connection that you can cap with a terminator. GPS can be merged with other radios you might not want to lose but suitable splitters are available.

GPS uses a different frequency and a very weak signal. The antenna is typically separate from the others but it's very small 1. https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/gnss-chip-antenna-hooku...

Re: Data collected by cars and sold to third parties

#192

Post by left-struck »

heaney-555 wrote: post #44

I notice that not one comment here, nor the article, notes that this doesn't happen with a Tesla.

This is not a conspiracy, just normal human behaviour. The loud voices are loud. People are complaining about cars that do collect data. Do you see ANY comments about any manufacturer that doesn’t do this? The only time I’ve ever seen a comment like that was regarding older used cars.

All it can tell us is that maybe this is something tesla should market (if it’s true) rather than bullshit like “self driving”

Re: Data collected by cars and sold to third parties

#193

Post by CableNinja »

wkjagt wrote: post #29
everyone wrote: post #5

Another reason to use a car from 90's or 2000's.. Also they wont burn oil like a modern car + more durable and repairable metal parts. https://youtu.be/Ft12aZffCEg?si=qP1J5k6RXAxmZChf https://youtu.be/SeMZGICNSMg?si=-YLnt5Q477xpFbra https://youtu.be/8Kp108x4tQA?si=j7JV-_Dpl5afP99F

My wife's Ioniq 5 was hit on the bumper while it was parked. Took weeks for all parts to get to the dealer and cost thousands of dollars because sensors etc. if someone hit my 1981 Volvo 240 the same way I'm not even sure it would cause any noticable damage.

Someone forgot to set the brake in their car, rolled into the back of my dads 70ish pickup. It rolled the width of a parking row, on fairly flat surface. The car had no chance obviously, but it was pretty funny seeing the damage; bumper and fender, not just a minor one you could slap out with a good fist slam either. There was zero damage to the truck

Re: Data collected by cars and sold to third parties

#194

Post by bitwize »

The "genie out of the bottle" argument has been used in the ongoing AI-or-no-AI, we're-so-cooked/we're-so-back debate among software engineers, something like: you can't undo technological advances nor would you want to, so best cope with this new reality.

And there are technological "advances" I would very much like to undo. One of them being social media, another being modern cars. Automobiles peaked when they were purely mechanical. An average American high schooler could understand all its systems, and many did. When they started becoming LANs on wheels beginning in the 90s, they became necessary millstones around their owners' necks, and these days they're as inscrutable as a smartphone, just as user-hostile, and just as tethered to vendor services. I think my father was speaking from a place of wisdom when he groused about computers in automobiles.

And no, EVs are actually simpler than ICE engines, their drivetrain being basically a battery, a set of electric motors, and maybe some variable resistors to control speed. An EV that is purely electromechanical and operable via analog controls would be a godsend, but it's not going to happen under current regulatory environments.

Re: Data collected by cars and sold to third parties

#195

Post by petre »

CableNinja wrote: post #189
BobbyTables2 wrote: post #181

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Would be darkly hilarious if they were using the speaker or rear defroster as a cellular antenna. (Yeah, technically horrible but I’m sure someone will find a way)

Funny enough i was just recently thinking about how most defrosters would probably make a great antenna with minor modifications

They get off the frequency when heated, might not pass FCC testing.

Re: Data collected by cars and sold to third parties

#197

Post by petre »

e40 wrote: post #105
samsullivan wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your mileage went from VW->telematics vendor->broker->carfax, thats the chain it usually follows. The fuse stops it but the real issue is the owner is the only one without the record. You could probably find some interesting info if you send out some privacy requests through the chain. LexisNexis and Verisk are consumer reporting agencies, so they have to provide you a disclosure on request. Start there.

Is there usually a fuse that just turns off the telemetry? I would be surprised if that is the case. I could see the design being "if you turn this fuse off to turn off telemetry, you'll also lose these functions: ..." and if they did it "right" they'd make the car non-functional. My car is from 2011 and I do wonder if there is any telemetry in it.

Probably has something to do with the fact that car companies are obsessed with having the thing modularized, each module needing a fuse.

Re: Data collected by cars and sold to third parties

#198

Post by ranger_danger »

mannanj wrote: post #120
willis936 wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Okay it's a red herring here. I also like to use carplay and the phone's GPS is truly awful to use. I also like to dictate texts and take calls in my car. These are things that don't need to be sacrificed if a scalpel is used in place of a butcher's knife. Sometimes it helps to have someone with their priorities in order keeping a reality check on people who don't always stay grounded.

The convenience here for you is CarPlay though. You could instead use a different more accurate gps device you plugin that doesnt have the data leak issues concerned in articles like this one. Then if you really needed you could pull out a sort of external monitor stick it over the other display when carplaying and when needing car-vital features you need the car display for, pull over and temporarily do that thing t…

I think most people would not be on board with your solution, but in general to your point I would say everyone draws the line somewhere different.

Yes there are many (maybe most) who will not give up their comforts or risk modifying their vehicle in order to make it more private... but trying to play the judge in a made-up internet game of altruism olympics is not going to convert many people either.

Re: Data collected by cars and sold to third parties

#199

Post by petre »

kaladin-jasnah wrote: post #165
CommenterPerson wrote: post #158

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have been thinking of upgrading from my 2003 Corolla to an electric (not Tesla). The Corolla hasn't had a single repair problem in 23 years! My main motivation to get a better car was, DD goes to a super prestigious college and it seems degrading to put their bumper sticker on a 23 year old car! But I guess I won't get another car. Serves you right mfr mfrs!

See my other comment, but the fuse pulling stuff still works on GM EVs and disables connectivity, but the telematics unit may still be collecting offline to batch upload.

That's why it's better to replace it with a blown fuse instead, so that a helpful repair shop doesn't replace it when they see it missing.

Re: Data collected by cars and sold to third parties

#200

Post by ranger_danger »

forgetfreeman wrote: post #180
tomrod wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Much like owning a home without an HOA attached, it is becoming harder and harder to meet this requirement. It also seems to conflict with `right-to-repair` laws if the capability is legally required.

It really isn't. FB Marketplace is literally awash in perfectly serviceable vehicles that don't and can't phone home. For the budget conscious among us it's also significantly cheaper to buy a "clapped out" used older car and refresh the drive train than buying new or late model.

Besides the irony of a privacy-conscious user using facebook to buy a car... those "perfectly-serviceable vehicles" are 1. no longer manufactured, and 2. will not last forever.

Unless a new age of unconnected cars becomes a reality in the near future, I don't see this being a long-term solution.

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