Getting rid of dealer installed vehicle's tracker

[josiahg52]

do you have a specific detector in mind ?

if someone has this expensive gear and is skilled on operating it, they'll need to weed out the 5 transmitters built in by the factory, to narrow down what might be an anomaly. the equipment to detect this in 3D space w/o tearing the vehicle apart is not cheap

and for anyone doing this, if you did not find the 5 built in factory transceivers, you didn't sweep enough imho

That's what I'm saying. I fully support the effort, but how sure can one be? How sensitive is the detector? Where is the radiator? Now close do you have to be to tge radiator? When does each transmitter actually emit a signal? How do you know if a detected signal is foreign? I don't think I'm paranoid. These peole mostly do this without discussion or notification and without consent (financial agreement fine print notwithstanding) because they know a majority would balk at the installation and implication. I think it behooves them to find new, less standard and unique ways to install these devices to ensure they continue to receive this viable source of income.

And going back to Toyota, the "Cloud Connected Services" are a ruse. They sell critical low cost features as services on a subscription model which ensures ongoing income AND sell the data that they say is "required" to establish another income source. Theres no reason why basic vehicle GPS navigation that has been around for decades couldn't be included without any additional cost.

My 2001 M5 has navigation; it's clunky, kind of slow, but it got me cross country and up and down the East Coast as late as 2016. Two driver settings technology has been around since at least 2011; I know because my X5 has key-fob based system that does exactly that: radio preset and audio settings, seat memory and position, HVAC preferences, etc.

Now I have to pay a monthly fee to get it and it doesn't even work half the time or as well as a 10+ year old fob-based system? This isn't improved services or a "better customer experience." It's ultra low-cost way to obtain valuable (for the corporation) data. It has completely monetized the customer experience.

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[mfoga]

Just wrap you car in this but you have to wrap windows too

https://www.amazon.com/Erthree-Shielding-Radiation-Blocking-Material/dp/B08917MK8L?th=1

 

[horbit]

 

[jackburton]

So If I take this out what "features" exactly does this remove?

Does it just stop the dealership from tracking me or is it breaking GPS and Android auto/Car play will not work anymore?
Is this the thing that when driving says "breaking ahead", etc.
What does it break, if anything?

I turned off the share data with insurance companies in the app.

 

[26RunnerORP]

So If I take this out what "features" exactly does this remove?

Does it just stop the dealership from tracking me or is it breaking GPS and Android auto/Car play will not work anymore?
Is this the thing that when driving says "breaking ahead", etc.
What does it break?

It is strictly a device the dealer uses to track the vehicle, in case it is stolen from their lot or in case you stop making your payments they can Repo it. All of your factory functions will work without it.

 

[jackburton]

It is strictly a device the dealer uses to track the vehicle, in case it is stolen from their lot or in case you stop making your payments they can Repo it. All of your factory functions will work without it.

Thanks dude.

So are the dealers selling our driving info to insurance companies as well as Toyota?

I wonder if I remove this it voids something in the contract signed when purchasing the car.

 

[26RunnerORP]

Thanks dude.

So are the dealers selling our driving info to insurance companies as well as Toyota?

I wonder if I remove this it voids something in the contract signed when purchasing the car.

the company the dealership uses for this tracking service in most cases is selling your driving/location data to third parties. The tracker would only protect the dealership from theft, however since they sell it to you, it’s technically at your discussion if you want to remove it or not. Toyota as a whole does not care if you have one in your vehicle or not (I.e. won’t void your warranties by removing it). I’m pretty sure the day after I removed the one out of my wife’s 4runner, that the dealership or the tracker company tried calling and asked for her. When I answered, they hung up. I completely cut the wires to the batteries on the tracker and destroyed the circuit board inside to make sure. Unfortunately in mine, being an Off Road Premium with a higher sticker price, the tracker in mine had a kill switch so they had cut my ignition wire and spliced their tracker in-line with it. I had to reconnect my ignition wire back together after removing their junk.

 

[pmedicj]

Thanks dude.

So are the dealers selling our driving info to insurance companies as well as Toyota?

I wonder if I remove this it voids something in the contract signed when purchasing the car.

Some dealers do install aftermarket trackers which I don’t agree with, I would also be pissed off about it and you can remove them.
As far as insurance and marketing info, yes Toyota does track, monitor and potentially sell this info but you can go to your account settings in the Toyota app and simply opt out to a lot of it. Some settings do lose features and it explains that in the app.

 

[jackburton]

Some dealers do install aftermarket trackers which I don’t agree with, I would also be pissed off about it and you can remove them.
As far as insurance and marketing info, yes Toyota does track, monitor and potentially sell this info but you can go to your account settings in the Toyota app and simply opt out to a lot of it. Some settings do lose features and it explains that in the app.

I did turn that off in the Toyota app about a week after I got it. The f**cking sales person turned it on when she was showing me the features.

I'm really wondering about this now because I called my insurance when I was buying the car and the insurance company insured me for the new 4runner before i left the dealer. Thing is my rate only went up $4. Now I just got my 6 month renewal and my rate went up $50.

 

[pmedicj]

Thanks dude.

So are the dealers selling our driving info to insurance companies as well as Toyota?

I wonder if I remove this it voids something in the contract signed when purchasing the car.

you can go to your account in toyota app and decline services. Insure connect is dangerous it tracks everything you do like , speed, hard braking etc. and does get reported to databases that carriers look at when deciding to insure you or set rates.

 

[josiahg52]

So If I take this out what "features" exactly does this remove?

Does it just stop the dealership from tracking me or is it breaking GPS and Android auto/Car play will not work anymore?
Is this the thing that when driving says "breaking ahead", etc.
What does it break, if anything?

I turned off the share data with insurance companies in the app.

There are two different trackers being conflated here.

The first is a physical tracker installed by your dealer for who knows exactly what. Since you don't know about it, they can ostensibly say it's for "security" and then also sell your data to a third party who can do anything they want with it. Removing this changes nothing in the vehicle.

The second "tracker" is all the data that is collected by Toyota which fall a under a large umbrella called Toyota Connected Services and requires a subscription:

- Safety Connect: SOS, emergency response, enhanced roadside assistance, etc.
- Service Connect: maintenance reminders, vehicle "health" reports, etc.
- Remote Connect - app based remote start, lock/unlock, location/status, etc.
- Drive Connect - Cloud Navigation, an "intelligent" assistant, etc.
- Wi-Fi Connect: Integrated streaming, Amazon or Apple Music streaming, hotspot, etc.

Depending on the vehicle, when you purchased it, the region the vehicle is from or operated in. various length trial periods exist for these, IF you opt in at all in the beginning.

I've opted out of all data services: no app, no registered account, ever, so no hotspot, no data services, no navigation, no service reminders, no Amazon Music. Android Auto works perfectly, vehicle Bluetooth works, Toyota voice commands work, AM/FM/SiriusXM radio work, all of the built-in Safety Sense systems work. I can make and answer calls, read and reply via voice to text messages, and stream music from my phone via Bluetooth connection or any of my music apps (compatible with Android Auto) while connected through Android Auto. You either are connected through Bluetooth OR Android Auto.

To do this, I was very clear multiple times with the salesperson. The day of delivery, he confirmed my wishes. It requires multiple, discrete steps to connect your vehicle. He registered the vehicle on his account and then opted out. I assume if my vehicle is registered, then it appears as his car since I do not have an account in my name to register to. At this time it does appear to be disconnected: there is a grey satellite(?) symbol with a line across it in the right corner of the screen, I'm prompted to experience Drive Connect periodically, and if I select Amazon Music, it says a data plan is required.

 

[pmedicj]

There are two different trackers being conflated here.

The first is a physical tracker installed by your dealer for who knows exactly what. Since you don't know about it, they can ostensibly say it's for "security" and then also sell your data to a third party who can do anything they want with it. Removing this changes nothing in the vehicle.

The second "tracker" is all the data that is collected by Toyota which fall a under a large umbrella called Toyota Connected Services and requires a subscription:

- Safety Connect: SOS, emergency response, enhanced roadside assistance, etc.
- Service Connect: maintenance reminders, vehicle "health" reports, etc.
- Remote Connect - app based remote start, lock/unlock, location/status, etc.
- Drive Connect - Cloud Navigation, an "intelligent" assistant, etc.
- Wi-Fi Connect: Integrated streaming, Amazon or Apple Music streaming, hotspot, etc.

Depending on the vehicle, when you purchased it, the region the vehicle is from or operated in. various length trial periods exist for these, IF you opt in at all in the beginning.

I've opted out of all data services: no app, no registered account, ever, so no hotspot, no data services, no navigation, no service reminders, no Amazon Music. Android Auto works perfectly, vehicle Bluetooth works, Toyota voice commands work, AM/FM/SiriusXM radio work, all of the built-in Safety Sense systems work. I can make and answer calls, read and reply via voice to text messages, and stream music from my phone via Bluetooth connection or any of my music apps (compatible with Android Auto) while connected through Android Auto. You either are connected through Bluetooth OR Android Auto.

To do this, I was very clear multiple times with the salesperson. The day of delivery, he confirmed my wishes. It requires multiple, discrete steps to connect your vehicle. He registered the vehicle on his account and then opted out. I assume if my vehicle is registered, then it appears as his car since I do not have an account in my name to register to. At this time it does appear to be disconnected: there is a grey satellite(?) symbol with a line across it in the right corner of the screen, I'm prompted to experience Drive Connect periodically, and if I select Amazon Music, it says a data plan is required.

What are you trying to accomplish? Are you in the Mafia, a witness protection program or just super paranoid? If you carry a phone all of the same information is going to be stored and tracked on that anyway which negates your efforts plus the cars black box is still storing and logging all of that information.

 

[josiahg52]

What are you trying to accomplish? Are you in the Mafia, a witness protection program or just super paranoid? If you carry a phone all of the same information is going to be stored and tracked on that anyway which negates your efforts plus the cars black box is still storing and logging all of that information.

For me, it's the total lack of discrete control. It's all or nothing with Toyota. I understand that some data is necessary to be processed to provide some of the services. It's bad enough that basic features are complete hidden behind a subscription paywall under the guise of "cloud services", it's another that to provide any of those services, I have to consent to my data being used beyond what's absolutely required to provide those services. It's pretty clear what Toyota wants and there's evidence what they want to do with the data. I choose to not participate and remove any ability for them to gather data.

Wow.

Any one piece isn't necessarily dangerous, maybe not even onerous (I mean, it is absolutely wrong and invasive), but you put all of the discrete information they gather today and it represents a significant privacy concern

I can choose to use Android Auto, Google Maps, Car Play, etc. or not. I can choose what is shared or stored or saved. Whether those choices are honored is a separate question. To use any of Toyota's vaunted cloud services, it seems like you are allowing a lot of your data to be processed, stored, shared and it's use isn't clearly disclosed. These surveillance systems aren't opt in or opt out. They exist, they're always collecting, always aggregating the information and the only way it appears to avoid ornrwally opt out is to turn off your phone and never leave your house.

Because there is no way to view the data Toyota collects nor express declaration of where it's used or by whom. I do trust that data is not collected if I opt out, which is why I opted out.

You can choose what history Google saves, you can choose which apps you want to interact with. You don't have to provide any personally identifying or payment information you don't want to, so I don't save any history and I haven't provided any personal information.

I don't have a problem with choosing which companies and which products to share my data with. I need to know what data is being collected and how it's used.

I do, if simply because I can choose and see what Alphabet has on me. I can download and see it. As I said, what they're actually doing is a sperate question and problem. I don't really know what any large company does in the background. I can choose to interact with them or not. I can't choose or generally avoid (if any are prevalent in my region) to interact with a license plate scanner, cameras, device scanners. I did not see a clear declaration of what Toyota does with the information they ask for.

I also run a locked down phone. Package and process blockers, ADB sessions, APK edits, sideloading legacy apps that work how I want them to, etc. It gets harder every time Android policies change, but there's always a way around them. Unfortunately, to do some things, compromises must be made. I'm okay with choosing to do that in ways that works for me.

You don't have to sign into your TV. You can also block its access to the internet. Mine hasn't been connected since 2014 and the other, 2025. I've never signed into any account on either. My printer is also denied internet access. My browser is oriented to privacy and all cookies and history is deleted when I close the tab or browser window. Ibdonuseba VPN to at least make it hard in my ISP and I run leak tests to see what is getting by. I want to know. I'm saying you can lower your cross section.

My problem is when I can't opt out without completely divorcing myself from a normal life.

Reduce the cross section, choose what I participate in and share what I want, when I want, opt out when I can and when it doesn't suit or please me.

 

[5Runner]

Mine has it too. I can't find where it is day 1. So I emailed CarRX(that's the brand they use, it was listed on the Add-on), and asked them to terminate the service, and I exercised my Texas consumer privacy right (Right to Know, Right to Delete), and I bothered them so badly that the director herself emailed me and confirmed the device is deactivated and all the data it collected has been deleted. So for now I decided to leave the tracker in there, just in case someone steals my car, so i can reactivate it and track it.

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