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What does this button do? – My new car has a mysterious and undocumented switch

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311–320 of 525 posts

Re: What does this button do? – My new car has a mysterious and undocumented switch

#311
post #25

The scary part is not the GPS installed by the fleet company that previously owned the car, which in all likelihood was just forgotten there, but the GPS and eSIM that comes with most (all?) new cars and that in most (all?) new cars cannot be disabled. Apart from privacy concerns of your data being used or sold by the car vendor, government outreach is also a concern. There was a bill announced in the US for all new…

> but the GPS and eSIM that comes with most (all?) new cars

All. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ECall:

“eCall (an abbreviation of "emergency call") is an initiative by the European Union, intended to bring rapid assistance to motorists involved in a collision anywhere within the European Union. The aim is for all new cars to incorporate a system that automatically contacts the emergency services in the event of a serious accident, sending location and sensor information. eCall was made mandatory in all new cars approved for manufacture within the European Union as of April 2018.”

Re: What does this button do? – My new car has a mysterious and undocumented switch

#312
post #25

The scary part is not the GPS installed by the fleet company that previously owned the car, which in all likelihood was just forgotten there, but the GPS and eSIM that comes with most (all?) new cars and that in most (all?) new cars cannot be disabled. Apart from privacy concerns of your data being used or sold by the car vendor, government outreach is also a concern. There was a bill announced in the US for all new…

There should not be an expectation of privacy from the authorities when operating a motor vehicles on public roads on which you need a license to drive

This argument doesn't really make sense. The "expectation of privacy" in public doesn't refer to losing all your rights and letting anyone peek into anything when they want to. Vehicles can also be used on private roads or property, so the privacy invading tech would need to account for that (which I'm sure it doesn't, and there isn't a straightforward solution)

Re: What does this button do? – My new car has a mysterious and undocumented switch

#313
post #253
post #249

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I know your comment is just the traditional HN karma grab, but rejecting technological advancement in vehicles based on privacy concerns means missing out on significant improvements in safety, efficiency, and comfort. Would you also reject modern healthcare because hospitals use connected devices?

What is the nature of karma grab?

The "I'm a tech guy so I shoot my printer if it makes a weird noise" meme essentially.

Re: What does this button do? – My new car has a mysterious and undocumented switch

#314

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Tell that to the Amish. Car dependency is something that we've learned, not the natural state of things.

Internet dependency is something we've learned, not the natural state of things. So, try to go about your existence without Internet of any sort and please report back at any difficulties it may cause for you.

This is not about usage. I am not saying we should live without cars. I am saying that there is a very bad systemic issue if people simply can not live without owning a car.

If you want to make a comparison with utilities: The fact that people in Flint are getting bottled water delivered from distant cities (and the fact that some people prefer to drink bottled water anyway) does not mean that this is not a serious crisis.

I am not saying "other people can live without cars, so just suck it up". I am saying "if you are living in a place where you can not function without a car, this is a serious issue and you should be getting the pitchforks to hunt down the responsible authorities that brought this to you."

Re: What does this button do? – My new car has a mysterious and undocumented switch

#315
post #25

The scary part is not the GPS installed by the fleet company that previously owned the car, which in all likelihood was just forgotten there, but the GPS and eSIM that comes with most (all?) new cars and that in most (all?) new cars cannot be disabled. Apart from privacy concerns of your data being used or sold by the car vendor, government outreach is also a concern. There was a bill announced in the US for all new…

> but the GPS and eSIM that comes with most (all?) new cars All. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ECall : “eCall (an abbreviation of "emergency call") is an initiative by the European Union, intended to bring rapid assistance to motorists involved in a collision anywhere within the European Union. The aim is for all new cars to incorporate a system that automatically contacts the emergency services in the event of a ser…

It's crazy the EU passed this and collecting someone's IP address or assigning them a random UUID is considered a GDPR violation.

Re: What does this button do? – My new car has a mysterious and undocumented switch

#316
post #315

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> but the GPS and eSIM that comes with most (all?) new cars All. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ECall : “eCall (an abbreviation of "emergency call") is an initiative by the European Union, intended to bring rapid assistance to motorists involved in a collision anywhere within the European Union. The aim is for all new cars to incorporate a system that automatically contacts the emergency services in the event of a ser…

It's crazy the EU passed this and collecting someone's IP address or assigning them a random UUID is considered a GDPR violation.

Assuming the tech is not abused, it makes perfect sense (GDPR Art. 6(1)(d)). And, in fact, abusing the tech would be a GDPR violation. You might consider it foolish, but it's not inconsistent.

Re: What does this button do? – My new car has a mysterious and undocumented switch

#317
post #25

The scary part is not the GPS installed by the fleet company that previously owned the car, which in all likelihood was just forgotten there, but the GPS and eSIM that comes with most (all?) new cars and that in most (all?) new cars cannot be disabled. Apart from privacy concerns of your data being used or sold by the car vendor, government outreach is also a concern. There was a bill announced in the US for all new…

Since I'm going to buy a new car in the following years, wondering which cars don't have those? I don't mind old gas cars but I don't have the knowledge to tell whether the car contains those eSIMs.

These days, the better question is in which cars can you disable the esim.

Some have a fuse you can pull for the modem, without disabling anything else. Others you can pull the antenna, and add a resistor instead.

Re: What does this button do? – My new car has a mysterious and undocumented switch

#318
post #25

The scary part is not the GPS installed by the fleet company that previously owned the car, which in all likelihood was just forgotten there, but the GPS and eSIM that comes with most (all?) new cars and that in most (all?) new cars cannot be disabled. Apart from privacy concerns of your data being used or sold by the car vendor, government outreach is also a concern. There was a bill announced in the US for all new…

Last year Mozilla did a study on the privacy of modern cars. Every car they tested showed terrible privacy problems. Privacy Nightmare on Wheels: Every Car Brand Reviewed by Mozilla https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37443644 ( edit I see I'm not the first to link this in this thread)

Whenever I talk about this issue with friends and family I bring up how that report revealed Nissan was gathering info on sexual activity in their cars and can sell it to third parties. That usually gets people to start listening.

Re: What does this button do? – My new car has a mysterious and undocumented switch

#319

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm with you here. I have an 89 BMW (which is old enough to have an actual servo motor attached to the intake manifold for cruise control) and an 83 Land Cruiser (whose most advanced feature is that it controls its emissions using vacuum controlled pneumatic circuitry). I'm very glad I've put in the time to learn how to work on cars because I have zero interest in the tech direction of modern vehicles.

This makes me wonder what the cost is to convert a vehicle over to biodiesel so it can be ran on used oil. Still green, unlike gas, but restricts the surface area of issues related to modern cars

Most injection systems are rated for 20% bio aka b20 without voiding the warrantee. Bio beyond that doesn't have enough lubrication so you have to supplement it with a splash of something like 2-stroke oil. It can run for a long time like that without hurting the pump but manufacturers don't support it. Some gas stations sell b20. If you're talking straight veg you need a certain type of injection system for reliability, and even there you're decreasing the life of the pump. Old mechanical pumps work great, first gen cummins, vw 1.6, mercedes om617 machines can run on straight heated veg for a long time with no issues. Electronically controlled mechanical systems like the vw 1.9 tdi can run on it too but might be a bit more finicky about what you're injecting.

Assuming you want to make your own bio you'd have to set up a transesterification process where you convert the trans fats out of the oil, that process uses lye so it needs a decent container and is best automated. If you're trying to recover the solvent, which is probably methanol, you'd need a still as well, and decent ventilation. Fully automated with raspi or arduino components is a couple grand or more, prefab units run something like 10k.

If rather than bio you're talking straight grease, it is cheaper to clean but more expensive to set up the car. You'd need a second fuel tank, preferably heated depending on climate, some solenoid valves, and a heated fuel filter. And a pile of hoses and wires to connect it all. Maybe a grand or so to set it up depending on driving conditions, kits run 1-2, some are better designed than others.

Either way you'd also want some big drums for holding tanks at home where you can let the fluid layers separate and a pump to move them around. Most car washes give away polyethylene 50gal barrels.

Most expensive thing in my opinion, is your time and the cost of the oil. You can get something like 5-50gal per week per restaurant, tho most overuse the oil. Best places don't cook meats in there at all. Chain and large restaurants want a schedule. Cost of the oil varies, used to be paid to take it, somewhere around 2010 that inverted and now you pay for the oil.

Re: What does this button do? – My new car has a mysterious and undocumented switch

#320
post #306

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm with you here. I have an 89 BMW (which is old enough to have an actual servo motor attached to the intake manifold for cruise control) and an 83 Land Cruiser (whose most advanced feature is that it controls its emissions using vacuum controlled pneumatic circuitry). I'm very glad I've put in the time to learn how to work on cars because I have zero interest in the tech direction of modern vehicles.

I love older cars and drove an early 80s Volvo until 2010 or so, but I also love side impact airbags, antilock brakes, and a car that mostly just “works”.

When I was younger I loved having an 84 Chevy Scottsdale. It was a cool looking truck and was easy to work on. I used to love getting under the hood to chase down problems and find solutions.

Now my knees hurt when it's cold outside, so crawling around on the ground to fix the fucking u-joint AGAIN isn't that fun, and I also like knowing that my children might survive if we get in a crash; something that's genuinely up for question in old vehicles.

I would pay a premium for a new car without an "infotainment" system, cameras (except backup camera), gps, or any form of touchscreen.

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