That was difficult to watch. William Shatner-esque levels of breathless punctuation.
this post was submitted on 12 Jun 2026
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I felt like she was about to chuck a box of fibre-based cereal at me.
Every car my ass, maybe after 2012 or so
I've learned to embrace OBD actually, and the sensors in the car that go with it. The adapter she holds up can be bought for just a few bucks and connected to a laptop or phone. The software is relatively simple, and can be real helpful in figuring out problems. FOSS versions exist, Windows versions work without internet connection.
It's completely offline, per se (at least on my 2006 model, not sure how that works with newer cars). There's also not a single camera in or on my car.
The only thing that would worry me is if my workshop reads it out with some proprietary internet connected software. But since my car doesn't have GPS, only a little. Also I'm pretty (but not 100%) sure that data isn't automatically shared with 3rd parties (e.g. insurance companies), because that would be illeagl to do without consent where I live.
She continues to show seller pics of cheap gizmos. Yeah, maybe don't buy those if they require a companion app or otherwise pride themselves on connecting to the internet.
She uses her OBD dongle (very similar to the one I bought) with "some random app from the store" - after dramatically pointing out privacy risks 🤦
I guess I'm asking how OBD has developed on newer models? The video's "cars are iPads on wheels" doesn't sound too factual.
For some less click-bait-y information, check out any of the "Car Hacking Village" videos from the past 5 DefCons. They go into great detail about what new vehicles actually do.
For example there was an extended period of time where any asshole could make themselves into an admin and get, and change, information on ANY car sold by a particular manufacture: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNuS0rvqc8c
Disconnect the antenna of your car's wireless modem. That instantly solves most of the spyware problems.
Cars don't need any antennas except for an am/fm radio. Looking up replacement cellular antenna for any car model usually brings up a picture of what it looks like and instructions on how to remove it.
Well, sometimes it could also be nice to have a GPS antenna so the onboard navigation still works. If you're lucky, that's separate from the cellular antenna.
It will also void any warantee or service agreement you have with the dealer.
No it won't. Why do people keep parroting this bullshit?
Car modifications only void a warranty if the shop can make a reasonable case that your modification caused the malfunction you're wanting work done on. If you tune your engine to make more power and then your transmission blows up because it can't handle the extra power, then yes -- you probably voided your drivetrain warranty. But if you tune your engine to make more power and then bring the car in because the power windows stopped working, they can't deny your warranty claim for that, because there's no reasonable way your modification could have caused the problem.
First example I could find.
The computer network in your car touches everything, engine control, powertrain, body control, SRS, emtertainment system, stc. If the dealer thinks they can get away with denying a claim because you "damaged" the vehicle by removing the cellular antenna you know they will. And it's not like you can just pop it back on before you bring it in, new cars are streaming data 24/7 into the manufacture's network, and is visible to the dealer, whether you pay for car control the app or not.
If the dealer thinks they can get away with
That is different than "voids your warranty "
That's just normal dealer shenanigans.
Manually update then?
If the dealer thinks they can get away with denying a claim because you “damaged” the vehicle by removing the cellular antenna you know they will.
That's when it's lawsuit time.
Honestly, they'll probably change their tune pretty quick the moment they get a demand letter with a lawyer's name at the top. They do warranty work all the time -- and the dealer shop is paid by corporate to do that work -- they're not that motivated to get out of doing warranty work.
I mean this is old news at this point. But how is a car getting Genetic information.
It's not. Companies make their protection in these terms extreme because nobody denies them
But how is a car getting Genetic information.
Fart sniffing seat sensors?
She talks like Shatner at times. Every word isn't its own sentence.