ghostrider25

I bet most of you guys didn't know your car is equipped with a black box it has limited recording capability. The things it can do is record the speed of your car at the point of impact. It can also Track alot of other data the scope of which is just now being released. Wired news recently did an article stateing that the government plans to mandate these devices in all automobiles and evenually they are planning to impliment a chip so the government can track yur car if they want to just like they can with cell phones. Ceall phone technology has gotten so far out of hand that they can even make it listen while you have the phone off and can track the phone with it off. Also with camera phones they have the ability to take pictures without you even knowing about it. Obviously if you have nothing to hide this isn't a problem or is it. I belive it's an invasion of privacy with the cell phones thats why I don't own or carry or use one. Now they are implementing these black boxes in cars they are still in their infancy but nonetheless they can be used against you in a court of law. So you need to know that any 2005 or up scion has a black box. They are supposed to have a warrant to acess the information but here's a thought the dealer can see through charts how often you speed and redline the car and make an assumption your a racer. This could be a untold weapon against you with some shady dealers and warranty claims. I just thought everyone should know whats in their car. wether you don't mind your driving habits being recorded or not.

Supertech

and if you wear a hat made of aluminum foil, they won't be able to read your thoughts either.

I assume you are referring to OBDII codes. or do you have something more sinister in mind?

ghostrider25

Thank you for contacting Scion.
The 2006 Scion xA does come with an Event Data Recorder. Please refer to page "iv" on your owners manual for more information on the EDT.
We also appreciate your feedback on the TRD supercharger and the projector headlights for the Scion xA. It is through communications such as yours that we become aware of the reactions and expectations of our customers and we appreciate your feedback.
Please feel free to contact us should you have any further questions or comments. We would be happy to assist you. You may contact us directly at 1-866-70-SCION or by email at Contact Us.
Thank you for your interest in Scion.
Scion Customer Experience

ghostrider25

I suggest reading up on event data recorders they have nothing to do with engine codes and the scion is obd3 compliant the 06 models are but please learn about something before making an ignorant post. Event data recorders record your driving habits. For those of you who think you can disable them it is impposible even going to a standalone so your stuck with big brother in your scion.

Supertech

gee, if you had those details in your original post, perhaps you wouldn't have come across as an overly paranoid conspiracy theorist Luddite.

hotbox05

they do have edt that's nothing new. but the govt can't take pictures from a picture phone , 1 how would they know which phones have pictures , and two if you have a cover over the lens?

you are a funny guy. i think you should honestly stop trying to school us all cause each time it seems that you get schooled.

as far as cell phones the GOVT CAN listen in on calls , but they can't listen to you while your phone is turned off , it's called off for a reason.

i spose in your mind they can take pictures of your speeding when your battery is removed from your non picture phone eh ?


lol

oh and you can remove the edt but unless you plan on crashing after/during a stint of travelling at a high rate of speed it doesnt matter.

the edt data is hardly ever used unless you are involved in a criminal accident aka drunk driving accident , manslaughter , things like that. or if they tried to get you for reckless , but it is hard to get ahold of and normally thrown out of court.

the other way the info is used is by techs to see just what happened before mechanical breakdown , aka racing then bam the motor is blown. but even then by law if they use that information they are in the wrong.

one day the govt may have satellite type stuff incorporated into edts but that day is nowhere near today.

i'd be afraid of onstar , now that is sooo much closer to big brother , they can track you , pick up on convo's and things from anywhere at anytime , and i'm sure with as much govt help gm gets it'd give up info much more readily than a japanese automaker who doesn't owe the us govt sheet.

ghostrider25

youhave no clue what cell phones are capable of and what has beeen imbedded in the since the early 90's I suggest getting involved in wired magazine thats where all the extremely intelligent computer and telecomunications people write the truth. I am very invloved in the industry so I do know what a cell phone can and cannot do and what can be done to you. event data recorders today are just the tip of the iceberg they will grow in capability over the years and eventually and especially in california the police will be able to shut down cars to stop car chases they will also be able to track your car I suggest reading wired magazines article on event data recorders and cell phones and how your constitutional privacy can easily be broken.

ghostrider25

you bring up a very good point with onstar they are doing the same thing they can gps track your car and aot of other things as well thereis even talk of them making your cars automatically kick in a govenor when your speeding but thats a diffrent artile all together but yes onstar can be used in good ways it can also be a huge invasion of privacy because they have gps and listening capabilities with it. I just wanted to make a simple point about event data recorders since they are on the hotseat at CNN

hotbox05

edt's will not be able to control your vehicle from an outside source , aka police or govt. the american people won't let that go through. least not if republicans like me have anything to do with it.

keep going with teh conspiracy theories. least ya got some truth in ya but damn you must be paranoid.

frogbox

Let's see, can't onstar unlock your doors if you lock yourself out?

thats not control of your vehicle of some type? What's next?

The black boxes keep a record of your driving, dealers, insurance, and police can re-call the info to see if you were at fault for any problems.( our boxes keep the last 50 miles recorded from what I have seen)

and a few people ( all ) should be a little paranoid. I make my living finding info on people and you would be surprised what I know about some people. Most think they are safe

Like pictures of their house , yeah can get most peoples phone numbers and addresses( or parents where they live), police records, credit reports, school transcripts. Keep thinking it can't happen and it only gets worse.

ghostrider25

I work on computers and electronics for a living I used to be a car mechanic before I had a lift lock fail and the lift came down on my right ankle crushing it I've had alot of surgeries. but that not important. I am very involved with computers and I helped with team Xecuter to make the modchips for the original xbox. I know alot about electronics I don't know everything like most computer guys I have my specialties and I have things I am proficent at but don't like doing because it's a pain. Onstar,Event Data Recorders,these new chips in credit cards that store all of your information,cell phones,New passports,human identification chips,and Net nuetrality are very hot topics in this post 9/11 world. I think certain things are necessary to catch people but where do we draw the line. The constitution is very clear and we are slowly loosing our rights bit by bit thats why I amde the post not to get people upset not for people to think I am a conspiracy nut. But there are alot of things going on we should be aware of and event data recorders are one of them. I'm not a republican or a democrat I vote for the best person with my limmited choices. but as long as there are lobbyist in washington and people don't voice there opinions by writing letters to there local congressman or represenative then we are fighting a losing battle. And we don't neccassarily have to be overly paranoid but you need to be aware that there are people out there that want to go as far as putting a microchip in your body. Guess what they are already doing it in california rest homes the excuse they give is it carries all the medical information on a patient. So these aren't conspiracy therois these are real life things that are happening today. People use baby monitors or import scanners from canada to listen to phone calls on cell phones or in home portable phones. this happens all the time. Every cell phone on the planet has a Tracking chip in it and they can triangulate your position down to eight feet now. thats why I wanted people to know this device is in your scion and it can and will be used against you in a court of law. For wrecks and possibly speeding thats all. And the only other worry is dealerships can see how hard you have been driving the car without you ever knowing. and that makes me worry I wonder how many crooked dealers have denied warranty claims because of this. I don't know if any have but we just need to know whats in our cars and be aware that it can be used against us. I never meant to upset anyone I just wanted you to know what they can and cannot do and whats in your car. thats all Thanks for reading the post and as some say my press releases lol.

hotbox05

one thing about onstar is it's a subscribed service.

sounds like you are out to get people yourself eh ? good job

hotbox05

one of your best posts.

the edt's can be used in accidents , and engine problems but it is not a tracking device regarding speeding.

also the edts in our cars are just recorders of the what 10 , 15 , or 30 seconds prior to the problem/crash/whatever.
not a lifetime memory. VERY limited.

yes technology can/could/maybe will go into the tracking of people at all times , but that's not here yet. and i pray it never is ( funny thing is i dunno who i'd pray to since i believe in nothing) lol.

Big_Pimpin'

Don'tmost EDTs only record in like 2 second loops? or maybe a ten second loop? They can't track alot, only the last 2 - 10 seconds. Unless they expand the loop, but the whole point was to freeze-frame the car's info at the time of impact, not to track your driving habits.

Max

Good stuff here:

https://www.scionlife.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=135478

Supertech

OnStar consists of four different types of technology: cellular, voice recognition, GPS and vehicle telemetry. OnStar's cellular service has a better range than most cell phones (although you can still lose service in remote areas), with a full three watts instead of a regular cell phone's 0.6 watts.

OnStar uses voice recognition software similar to that already used in some hand-held cell phones. OnStar uses text-to-voice technology called VoiceXML. When you ask for information, such as "weather," the software translates your request into XML and matches it to settings in your OnStar profile. Then it translates the information into VoiceXML and reads it to you.

The GPS receiver is called OnCore, and it is part of the VCIM. Motorola makes the Oncore chip. The OnStar Call Center uses four different satellites to pinpoint the car's location when either the driver or the car itself asks to be located.

To give a vehicle the ability to call when it is in an accident, OnStar uses an event data recorder (also known as a crash data recorder). GM calls the entire process the Advanced Automatic Crash Notification System (AACN). It's the car's equivalent of an airplane's black box, except that the AACN only starts recording in the event of a crash and only records data.

The AACN system comprises four components: sensors, the Sensing Diagnostic Module (which includes the event data recorder), the VCIM and the cellular antenna. The number and location of sensors vary depending on the specific car, but they all work the same way. When the car is in a crash, sensors transmit information to the Sensing Diagnostic Module (SDM). The SDM also includes an accelerometer, which measures the severity of the crash based on gravitational force. (The range is 1.0 to 2.0 gs, depending on the vehicle.)

GM first used a type of event data recorder (EDR) in the mid-1970s in conjunction with air bags, and the technology has continued to evolve. In the mid-1990s, GM began using them in racecars and some passenger vehicles to collect crash-related data. Today the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) estimates that 65 percent to 90 percent of vehicles in the United States contain some type of EDR.

In 2004, the National Highway Traffic Saftey Administration recommended that EDRs installed in vehicles built after September 1, 2008 meet a set of minimum standards. The NTSB wants to go one step further and make standardized EDR installation mandatory for all manufacturers.

RFID tags aren't nearly as scary as you think but that's another post. It's the video cameras you have to be mindful of.

surfcity40

Moving this to the ICE & interior forum.

ghostrider25

well I think that supertech explained the technology better than I did since I am not real good a communicating messages without inflaming things for some reason but thats my personal issue I'm working on it. What wories me about the event data recorders and what was expressed by wired magazine is these things are still in their infancy for say and there is no telling how far reaching they will go in the future. Nobody can predict the future of course but I see these things as being a potential nightmare in an accident. maybe police will look at the data like a flight recorder on a plane instead of doing old fashion scene investigation and may overlook things. I also don't like the idea of something that can be used in a court against you being in your car to me it's just one more thing we have to worry about.

Thanks for all the great posts and I just hope they don't go overboard with these things and it sounds like they are trying to but I don't know what the future holds. So be aware be safe and burn the roads up.

By the way I am a very nice guy even though I come across as harsh sometimes I don't mean too. if anyone ever needs help with an xbox I'll be more than happy to give you free advice just message me we are currently working on the 360 chips and they will be available very soon if microsoft wil stop redesighning their hardware lol but the original we have mastered and I can walk you through modding one. but thats off topic oops sorry.

peteski

Info about the data recorder in your Scion is detailed in the owner's manual - it is no secret. They also state how they share that data with authorities.

I think that all the other things you've mentioned are also quite possible.

That is the price you have to pay for the modern technology devices we use. It is either convenience or privacy.