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Given the increasing computerization of modern cars, how could you possibly verify that this wasn’t possible on *any* car you buy? The only way I can think of
by hamburglar 1y ago
Given the increasing computerization of modern cars, how could you possibly verify that this wasn’t possible on *any* car you buy?
The only way I can think of is “don’t buy a car made within the last 25 years”
- lazide 1y agoThis is why some hardcore folks go ‘trad diesel’. Just glowplugs and mechanical parts! Notably, you have to go back to 70’ish era to get that kind of equipment. Almost everything else has some kind of ECU. Cellular connections didn’t start becoming somewhat common until the late 90’s-early 2000’s though.
- jimnotgym 1y agoThere is a UK company that puts engines with mechanical fuel pumps in newer cars. Particularly newer landrovers. £10k ugrade, and the last car you need ever buy. https://dieselpumpuk.com/ https://dieselpumpuk.com/
- danielbln 1y agoSo, either a modern safe car with a remote killswitch or a deathtrap car that will kill you in many exciting ways. Sophie's choice of cars.
- mattmaroon 1y agoIt’s only a sophie’s choice if you’re really bad at math, if not you’ll take your chances with the kill switch thing that’s never been confirmed to hurt anyone over the thing that kills tens of thousands of Americans a year.
- danielbln 1y agoI was being facetious, I'd take the remote killswitch car over the deathtrap any time.
- ethbr1 1y agoOr something that's engineered in such a way as to be modifiable into a desired disconnected state. E.g. 5th gen Toyota 4Runners: https://www.4runners.com/threads/how-to-disconnect-the-tracking-telemetry-on-the-5th-gen-4runner.20628/page-2 https://www.4runners.com/threads/how-to-disconnect-the-track... If one wants to buy a modern car, and one cares about preserving disconnected functionality, one just needs to research if there's a workable fallback mechanism. Or, you know, deal with the 20mpg but a vehicle that will last until the heat death of the universe #2uzfeClub
- DaSHacka 1y agoYeah exactly this. FWIW while cars are essentially backdoored nowadays with all the cellular/OTA updates BS you can still disable it. I suspect this won't be an option in the near future, the way things are going. I can't wait to see Hacker News comments in 2035 lamenting how they used to be able to "just use a bypass cable" to make their cars not phone home, by the time EVs and even general ICE vehicles have telemetry so deeply integrated with the vehicle it's impossible/illegal to be disabled.
- moltar 1y agoI have a 92 civic it certainly can’t be remotely shut off. I also have 2008 mazda3. Great reliable car. Also no connectivity whatsoever.
- jimnotgym 1y agoDon't buy modern cars. There is a real movement to keep driving cars from circa 2010. This was around peak car for me. You could still block off the egr valve, remove the cat and any dpf nonsense. No 'driving aids' to distract and infuriate me. No touch screens to distract and infuriate me. No software updates. Can still get over 50mpg. My car is going to keep being fixed as long as it is viable.
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- janwl 1y agoUnfortunately increasingly illegal in the EU because of the ULEZs, mandatory driving aids, etc. Buying a car from 2010 is a guarantee that you won't be able to drive it in 5-10 years..
- gapan 1y agoCan you point me to the directive/regulation that states that? I am in the EU and I'm not aware of any such thing. I have two cars that are 2006-2008 models and I am not planning on replacing them.
- janwl 1y agoThere are EU-wide mandatory air quality standards that get stricter as time passes and that are being enforced through low emissions zones which practically make diesel cars illegal. This may not be the case in your country yet but it will arrive with time. Regarding driving aids, some cities in my European country are looking to make them mandatory in the city centre. Overall this is being done to keep poor people from driving.
- ErroneousBosh 1y agoMy nearly 30-year-old Range Rover is fully ULEZ compliant nearly everywhere in Europe except Paris, because it can run on propane which only really emits water and warm carbon dioxide when it burns - no "smog", no NOx, no HC, no CO, none of that. Annoyingly in post-Brexit Britain I need to wait two years until is *is* 30 years old to drive in ULEZ zones. It was fine until Brexit kicked in - yet another Conservative disasterpiece.
- AndrewKemendo 1y agoCorrect I will not buy a post patriot act vehicle
- DaSHacka 1y agoSo you exclusively buy pre-2000's shitboxes? Is there a reason for that, when you could literally just rip the modem out of a modern car instead? If you're driving such old cars, I have to assume you're mechanically inclined. At which point, a simple bypass cable or literally just removing the telematics unit out of a modern vehicle should not be too much to ask for. Bonus points for gaining moderate security with immobilizers that way, so any random guy can't just start your car with a set of wafer jigglers.
- AndrewKemendo 1y agoWhy would you assume it’s a shitbox My 2001 Tundra is a beast that will never die, has amazing AC/Heat radio etc… There are fleets of garage specials out there with low miles and tons of spare parts or are easy to maintain with a Chilton guide I started my working life fixing cars and obce they started putting in electronics it became impossible. So I stick with things I can fix
- AyyEye 1y agoYou can usually delete the modem on your car.
- baubino 1y agoNo need to go that far back. My 2010 vehicle has no remote connection.
- jjav 1y ago> The only way I can think of is “don’t buy a car made within the last 25 years” You don't need to go that far back. None of my cars have any kind of connectivity, the newest one is 2014. I'll never own a car with any kind of remote connectivity, the risk is far too large to ignore.
- DaSHacka 1y agoSo you'll be buying mid 2010's cars for the rest of your life?
- reddit_clone 1y agoHell, I have always wanted a '67 mustang. Time to ditch modern cars and get one. I particularly hate the 'modern' trend of have a large touch screen tablet instead of all the knobs and buttons.
- DaSHacka 1y agoFair enough, though fwiw automobile makers seem to have taken note on the pushback to the touch screen controls, and 2025MY vehicles are actually starting to shift away from touch screens and back to physical controls again.
- giobox 1y agoI assume you joke here but large parts of the car enthusiast community are considering this strategy for near term. 2010s is widely argued to be era of "peak car" in terms of vehicles that are well built with minimal complex extras added for compliance with emissions and over the top safety regulation (less lane departure warning systems to turn off...). My own group of car buddies, pretty much all we do is shop and trade 2010s vehicles now, rather than buy new.
- worik 1y agoYes. But can I please have an electric car, all the bells and whistles, that I take to a dealer/mechanic to get upgraded? Maybe once a year? If that, and at my choice....