[SonicBlueStage2]

I was alarmed by this NYTimes article investigating the common practice of manufacturers collecting driver data and selling it to insurance companies. The article includes many accounts of drivers paying more for insurance despite an accident-free driving history. Given that many of us enjoy pushing our cars more than the average consumer I thought I would share what I found with the forum.

Everyone should paste their VIN into this website:
https://vehicleprivacyreport.com/

I pasted my 2011 E90's VIN into it and was blown away by how much they're tracking. I bought this car used and didn't think it was new enough to be tracking data. There's a TCU module in the trunk broadcasting my location (this can be used to calculate speed and changes in speed) to unnamed affiliates. I was glad to see that the SiriusXM in my E90 is one-way, but this is often another backdoor for manufacturers to gather and sell data.

I'm currently looking into ways to disable the telematics in my 13 year old car now. Going forward I'm look for a car without connected features.

[Onizukachan]

Anything 2015 or older was on 3g, which is now defunct. Your car is no longer a connected car and can’t report anything to anyone.