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I've always wondered if a car is still insurable after one loads custom firmware.

by akeck 4y ago

silon42 4y ago
yes... but insurance might be void when you have an accident, if this is discovered (I'd hope it will only matter if there is an electronic problem impacting the accident).
- johannes1234321 4y ago
  This means you have a (void) insurance contract, but the car isn't insured.
Nextgrid 4y ago
He's not loading custom firmware on the car - the title is clickbait. In fact, there is no "car" when it comes to firmware - there's not central computer that controls the "car". There are separate modules that do well-defined tasks and only a few of them would ever be relevant in an insurance/accident scenario (engine/transmission controller, power steering and maybe ABS). What he's done here is equivalent to installing an aftermarket head unit, something people have been doing for decades. But even editing firmware (or rather the data tables in there - also called "maps") from more "spicy" controllers such as the engine management controller is routinely done by auto tuning shops and in practice the worst that happens is blowing up your engine by pushing it beyond its limits.
- TedDoesntTalk 4y ago
  After-market head units don’t seem to have access to the same data as this factory-installed one. Can after market head units read gas tank levels, battery voltage, door lock statuses (and lock/unlock doors with commands), probably interface with the climate control system, too.
  - 95014_refugee 4y ago
    The challenge with doing this with an aftermarket headunit is that you need to cover a meaningful number of different vehicles in order for the feature to be useful to your customer base. With that said, yes, if you happen to have a suitably common vehicle (e.g. Ford F150).
  - Nextgrid 4y ago
    Nothing prevents them from having access - it’s just a matter of reverse-engineering the messages transiting on the various CAN buses the radio has access to. Zenec for example makes units that are able to display & control HVAC and parking radar on VAG Group (Volkswagen/Audi/Seat/Skoda) vehicles, pulling the data from the CAN bus. In the authors case he’s reusing existing manufacturer-provided libraries that handle CAN message parsing but there’s no reason you couldn’t do it from scratch with enough effort.

I've always wondered if a car is still insurable after one loads custom firmware.

by akeck 4y ago

I've always wondered if a car is still insurable after one loads custom firmware.

yes... but insurance might be void when you have an accident, if this is discovered (I'd hope it will only matter if there is an electronic problem impacting the accident).

johannes1234321 4y ago
This means you have a (void) insurance contract, but the car isn't insured.

Nextgrid 4y ago

He's not loading custom firmware on the car - the title is clickbait. In fact, there is no "car" when it comes to firmware - there's not central computer that controls the "car". There are separate modules that do well-defined tasks and only a few of them would ever be relevant in an insurance/accident scenario (engine/transmission controller, power steering and maybe ABS). What he's done here is equivalent to installing an aftermarket head unit, something people have been doing for decades. But even editing firmware (or rather the data tables in there - also called "maps") from more "spicy" controllers such as the engine management controller is routinely done by auto tuning shops and in practice the worst that happens is blowing up your engine by pushing it beyond its limits.

TedDoesntTalk 4y ago
After-market head units don’t seem to have access to the same data as this factory-installed one. Can after market head units read gas tank levels, battery voltage, door lock statuses (and lock/unlock doors with commands), probably interface with the climate control system, too.
- 95014_refugee 4y ago
  The challenge with doing this with an aftermarket headunit is that you need to cover a meaningful number of different vehicles in order for the feature to be useful to your customer base. With that said, yes, if you happen to have a suitably common vehicle (e.g. Ford F150).
- Nextgrid 4y ago
  Nothing prevents them from having access - it’s just a matter of reverse-engineering the messages transiting on the various CAN buses the radio has access to. Zenec for example makes units that are able to display & control HVAC and parking radar on VAG Group (Volkswagen/Audi/Seat/Skoda) vehicles, pulling the data from the CAN bus. In the authors case he’s reusing existing manufacturer-provided libraries that handle CAN message parsing but there’s no reason you couldn’t do it from scratch with enough effort.