Removing the modem and GPS from my 2024 RAV4 hybrid

p00ter

There's going to be a lot of this going on in the future. RabbitLabs CAN Commander go BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR.

java-man

Maybe two metal pins through the GPS and the cellular antenna coaxial cables would do the trick?

venussnatch

What is the suspected method of Bluetooth communication? Afaik phones do not share their internet blindly to Bluetooth devices.

nurple

> Even after the modem is removed, if you connect your phone to the car via Bluetooth then the car will use your phone as an internet connection and send all the same telemetry data back to Toyota. However, if you use a wired USB connection then it does not do that (see the discussion here and elsewhere), so I exclusively use CarPlay via USB. The problem with this is that both carplay and android auto capture their own vehicle telemetry. So even though the car is not able to use your phone as a general data pipe, Google and Apple still get access to this data when you're connected. They are both very cagey with how they talk about this (or don't).

dingdingdang

Excellent practical guide and pictures, if OP is around on this thread: well done! Your future self is going to appreciative too when this needs repeating at some point!

aframemodular

Great guide! After getting to the end, I had no idea what AirPlay was so I looked it up... bro, all this effort to avoid telemetry and you are using an iPhone XD

summermusic

I dread the day I will have to start doing this when the 2015 vehicle I have finally goes

Barbing

> Unfortunately I think it’s only a matter of time before the modem and GPS become more deeply integrated into the car (making this blog post infeasible), or cars have more drastic failure modes when the modem/GPS is removed, or anti-right-to-repair laws get passed to further clamp down on this behavior. Guaranteed

everdrive

The 2024 Ford Maverick has a single fuse for the telematics unit that you can remove without throwing a code or an error. No idea if this remained true after the 2025-2026 refresh, but worth knowing. https://www.mavericktruckclub.com/forum/threads/telematics-f...

TheChaplain

If you live in the EU and bought the car there, the GDPR still applies, even if data is sent to Toyota in Japan. You have the full right to view and ask for deletion.

bee_rider

Who’s responsible for presenting the privacy policy to passengers of a car, anyway?

amelius

Modern cars are like Smart TVs.

ezfe

> Even after the modem is removed, if you connect your phone to the car via Bluetooth then the car will use your phone as an internet connection and send all the same telemetry data back to Toyota What is the basis for this claim? I've never heard of this capability.

chzblck

I cannot imagine the paranoia that it would take for me to go through this process.

ezfe

Just a note about Toyota specifically - There are many blog posts and articles out there alleging that Toyota shares your data with insurance companies. As I own two Toyota's I have read through these carefully and consistently the theme is that the owner was opted into this program without knowing it (likely by the sales person clicking through setup steps to enable every feature). If you are not opted in, I have seen no evidence they share driving data. When I set up my Toyotas, the app clearly walks through the programs they have and you must click either "yes/opt in" or "no/opt out" for each program. It is not opted in by default.

swader999

If you get into enough trouble they'll get all your phone data and cell tower pings or your passenger's.

chromadon

I wonder if insurance would refuse to pay out in the event of an accident due to this modification?

lapetitejort

If you are wary of all the smart features in your next car purchase, consider buying a bicycle. We do not have to entertain the creeping invasion of our privacy

Animats

How good a position can you get from GPS today in receive only mode? You can download and store Open Street Map for individual states. Map data doesn't have to come in over the air. That's not the problem. It's enhancing GPS with cell phone tower data that's the problem. That requires a cell connection.

fnord77

Couldn't you just ground or resistor out the car's cellular antenna so it can't transmit data?