assuming you need gps and radio on
family wants a car thats 2020 or younger t and toyota
also if you have dashcam suggestions let me know
Even if I have a built-in GPS Tomtom offline navigator I use an offline Garmin and online Gmaps (on GOS) and/or offline Osmand. Radio is non-digital, never use that. Mitsubishi ASX, even no modem to disable.
Radio is non-digital, never use that.
What does this mean?
It’s not DAB+. Just analog. Can play CD/mp3. We don’t use it, at all.
I see.
Not sure why you object to AM/FM, but there are still lots of folks who use it, and it lacks the privacy threats op is trying to avoid.
We just don’t listen to it. No CDs either. DAB+ is digital, but also no back channel.
So try talking to the dealer.
It helps if you live in an urban area with lots of options, but many manufacturers would simply say no. I found a few who were willing to help
An Audi dealer said they can’t disconnect the stuff, but there is an airplane mode you can use. I didn’t trust that.
But I found a Honda dealer and a Nissan dealer who were willing to help. They both gave me detailed descriptions on what they were oging to do, what featuers I would lose, etc etc.
Amazing that they can consider a car being on an airplane more easily than imagining someone wanting their car to not be spying on them
Honestly with many modern cars, yes even electric you can turn of most things like GPS and data tracking if you put the time and energy in too jt. But you might loose out on many features. If you dont care about most features just get the more basic model. And even then the data tracking that exist can be shut off someway or another. I know with Audi you can program things out with VAG Odis.
You can safely assume that turning anything off in “settings” does little to nothing as far as data collection. Gamers Nexus already proved that with TVs and EFF has done some reports on how terrible cars are.
Physically removing the LTE and WiFi modules is pretty much the only way to actually turn off spying data harvesting…
It are not just “settings” I am talking about. With tools like Odis it is possible to turn most things off as it is software from the dealer. Technically you can even modify the firmware of many components with it.
Got any documentation on that? My understanding is that it isn’t “most” cars that you can disable the privacy violating features, but relatively few.
I’m not sure, but maybe Lemon Manuals has some kind of information on that matter?
Documentation highly depends on the auto group/brand. I happen to know a bit about Odis which is VAG specific. I am sure other big brands have similar tools.
If your car has a shark fin antenna, you can sometimes disconnect the leads for the cellular, WiFi, and/or satellite antennas that the car uses to report telemetry and private driving data back to the manufacturer or any other services. You will lose certain functionality, of course, like satellite radio, emergency services if you subscribe to them, etc. But you can then leave the GPS antenna connected.
I’d recommend disconnecting them at the source rather than the fin of possible, though, as, depending on what kind of signal we’re talking about, just the lead running through the car might be enough of an antenna to still transmit to very close cell towers. But it’s usually easier to find the wires at the fin.
Not the best solution, but can be useful in some cases. It might be a more targeted solution than some of the others like popping a fuse which may also disable more essential features.
Does this mean that all new cars come with esims or sim cards. Who pays the bill of the network operator?
OnStar has existed since the 90s. That system requires a subscription that pays for the cell connection. The old ones no longer work because the cell tech is too old and the towers are gone. But usually the sim is embedded in the device, not replaceable or updatable. But it doesn’t need to because it’s built into a car and rarely would be transferred to another car while maintaining the same owner like a phone sim might.
There are lots of other devices that have existed over time that the manufacturer negotiates with a cell carrier and because these devices use small enough amounts of data, the initial cost of the device pays for all of the service. Usually the device advertises that it has “lifetime” service, but of course that isn’t the lifetime of the owner or even the device, but more that of the contract between the manufacturer and cell carrier.
As for the systems that car manufacturers use for telemetry, they pay the cell providers for that. In bulk and with very little data, I’m sure it’s not even all that much and they likely use the promise of selling other services like OnStar and giving a cut to the cell provider to at least partly offset that cost to them.
Toyotas after around 08 have a bunch of telemetry.
That’s not to say your family shouldn’t get one. Often people need a recent car from a reliable manufacturer that will hold its value. Just that you gotta be aware of it.
Backup camera, too.
I’ve never needed a built-in GPS since I can just use my phone.
You all can just wire up your own cameras to your own stereo screen. Preferably you have rca or some form of input. Many of them are better quality, or you can get different types like a screen in your rear view mirror. You have flexibility/repair ability and you can keep it on while driving if you wanted. You can place it on the top of your car for a better view, or get a camera with higher FOV. Still can do android auto through USB because your phone just does that.
Its not even hard, its just tucking wires behind the plastic trim, and you have to take apart your dash a little. Maybe its hard to do the screen/stereo if you don’t have a wire harness but whatever you buy usually comes with one. Your system can be as cheap or nice as you want, and you can get whatever features you want like a microphone for calls, or a DVD player, USB storage slot for pirated music/movies. You can get some with android auto pre installed if you need that. All the cheap ones feel cheap and slow. I prefer the cheap cartoys vibe shitty os from like a late 2010’s high end system. 4:3 screen, lots of nobs, lots of inputs. But solid and doesnt suffer software issues that bug me.
Theres so many accesories for older cars especially if you have a car with a cult following. To make them modernish. Many people still lust over older jeeps, Toyotas, Honda’s depending on what kind of car nerd you are, and they have tons of anything you can think of. You can get blind spot detectors and complete dash/gauge replacements if youre lucky.
i know you can pull the fuse on many car’s “”“smart”“” features.
Buy something without an internet connection, and hope that data privacy laws catch up by the time you have to buy a new one.
Some manufacturers like Mazda allow you to remotely disable the telematic control unit (Sim card basically). But note that they can remotely enable it too. Some models you can take it out. The dealer will not usually agree to do this and it could void your warranty. It can also disable some features like front speakers or the stereo entirely, so do your research on the model you are interested in.
hope thatpush for data privacy laws to catch up by the time you have to buy a new one.
