this post was submitted on 03 Aug 2023
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Even ICE manufacturers have been including hardware that software disabled for a while
I got an OBDeleven for my 2015 GTI so I could unlock stuff and customize. Enabled rolling down the windows with the key fob, being able to display the engine oil temp in the dash and also setting the accelerator pedal curve to linear.
What I didn't even know that was stuff you could even do
The accelerator curve is really cool. A lot of modern cars just have a sensor that detects your pedal position and a simple algorithm decides how much power to translate that into. It's like adjusting the mouse speed on a computer. Feels like you're driving a different car.
Having said that, the default curve is often the best curve. They put a lot more effort into getting it right than you would.
Kinda depends on the car. Volkswagen cars are pretty "hackable" with OBDeleven which is a wireless interface for the hilariously named "VAGCOM" protocol.
Hang on, have I being saying this wrong for years? I thought it was OBDII or OBD2 ?
It is OBD2, OBDeleven is a Bluetooth dongle you plug into it
Almost every car company does something similar and has as long as they've had on board computers.
VW/Audi/Porche are all the same company and generally share the same electronics. A lot of gauges and features are considered "premium" so they just disable them for VW branded vehicles. There's also regional feature lockouts; IIRC North American VW's can't have their fog-lights and headlights on at the same time but you can enable it through VAGCOM.
Subscribe to enable your BMW seat heater! They definitely require periodic software updates and is absolutely NOT a blatant money grab
Audi had been doing this for years and they even disable stuff if you sell your car to another private person. One of my friends bought a used Audi and everything was disabled so he installed a cracked version of the infotainment software and now the only thing that doesn't work is the fingerprint unlock.
A fingerprint unlock on a car? I've never heard of that, is it to unlock the doors?
I recently read about 2 or 3 cars doing the whole user your fingerprint to unlock doors and start the car thing. This is one of the reviews I read
https://www.thedrive.com/new-cars/41690/how-the-2022-genesis-gv70-removes-all-need-for-a-car-key
It uses your fingerprint to start.
Probably used for user profiles for the seats and stuff and Aircon. Mercedes does it too
Don't know: there is a fingerprint reader on the handle of the car but it doesn't work
There are some manufacturers that do not do this garbage, or at least not often. I've heard good things about Hyundai specifically.
For now they have customer goodwill to win back after nearly a decade of building cars that practically fell apart in a year or 2 in the late 00s and early 10s.
They'll catch up to the others in anti-consumer practices soon, but for now they're a good choice if you don't particularly care for performance or ride quality.
Tesla got rid of the heater subscription bullshit in 2021. Now, the only thing locked behind a paywall is internet related stuff (sentry over mobile, streaming media access, etc.), the performance boost, and FSD.
only lol
But if the car is completely capable of habe that performance, why should people pay for it.
Oh I'm just correcting the article. Facts are better than fiction for conversations about reality.