My DCM disconnection odyssey.

I'll have an installer do it.

Oh, and there is *definitely* some kind of connectivity still active. When I drove across state lines after opting out connected services, I still got a 'welcome to idaho' audio message (and was not using, and had never used, the entune GPS)

 

My DCM fuse has been unplugged since December 2021 and I haven't had any issues. I don't use the microphone either. I'd started with unplugging the cellular antennas but was still getting signal near towers, so just removed the fuse instead.

 

When I start my 4Runner the lights on the SOS button cycle between green and red, and then shut off. Perhaps your system has not been fully disconnected. I think the app only lets you opt out of Connected Services. (See posts 31 & 34 in this thread). Maybe a phone call to Toyota Safety Connect is in order. (See the first post…)

 

Mine shut off eventually as well. I wanted to shut off the blinking sequence completely.

 

The "Welcome to xxx" announcement is a "feature" of the navigation app and doesn't require connected services.

I'm temporarily driving a 2022 Sienna minivan which wasn't equipped with navigation (puts up an error message when you push the "maps" button), but it clearly still has the navigation database lurking in there somewhere because it announces the current speed limit on the center of the instrument cluster.

 

Very interesting thread.

One question I haven't seen addressed is: with the DCM fuse pulled, is XM radio still usable? What about if the two antenna leads are disconnected - does that affect XM or is there yet a separate antenna?

 

And the security saga continues:

Toyota Japan exposed millions of vehicles’ location data for a decade

https://techcrunch.com/2023/05/12/toyota-japan-exposed-millions-locations-videos/

 

And that is why so many people want this crap disconnected.

 

I want the gps disabled on my car. That's all I want. I could rly care less about any other data they are receiving - it's honestly just the gps. I want it GONE. And I want to make sure that if I decide one day (which i wont!) that I want the gps back on, I have to physically bring the car IN to get it reinstalled or whatever. I want to have to personally bring this thing back in to find out where its at.... to be blunt, I don't care if someone steals the damn thing, I want it to NOT be able to be tracked anymore.

So i have 3 questions...

If I call and disable the dcm, will this prevent me from being able to use the Bluetooth on my phone to play music on the radio? This is the only thing I connect my phone to the car for. I understand there's no microphone anymore, and I don't care about that - I don't talk into my car or use it to make calls anyways. Even when I hook up Bluetooth from my phone, I only allow media to play - no calls or text messages.

Also, if the dcm is disabled... will it show an error message or anything weird on my radios screen? Like right now, it shows a general pic of a map where I'm at, along with whatever info about music that is playing. Will this still show up like this? Or is it gonna look stupid?

What else exactly am I losing by disabling the dcm?

Thanks in advance. I'm loving this thread already. I've been searching online and this thread has been the most helpful I've found. U guys are all awesome.
Thanks.

 

Hi Nana. Welcome to the forum. As @HotelMedicis said, the GPS and the DCM are separate devices. The DCM is the means by which data is transmitted from your car. Shutting off the DCM Will not disable the GPS. (BTW, if you have the Toyota app on your phone and the DCM is disconnected, your data will be transmitted through your phone.) Personally I enjoy the use of the onboard navigation system, so I am satisfied with just disabling the DCM.

You will still be able to play music via Bluetooth after your DCM is disconnected.

No goofy error messages. There is a DCM signal strength indicator in the upper right corner of your screen. After disconnecting the DCM it will have a diagonal line through it. (See the image in post 93). That’s it.

Okay. There are two ways that you can disable the DCM. You can call the number as described in the first post. Or you can pull the DCM fuse.

With either method you will lose the so-called connected services. Your phone will not be able to communicate with your car via the Toyota app. Toyota will not know your mileage, and so will not be able to send you maintenance reminders, and your SOS button will be disabled, preventing you from being able to summon help.

If you call the number to disconnected your DCM you lose nothing beyond what is described in the paragraph above. But those of us that have used this method cannot be completely sure that no data is being transmitted, and we are relying on Toyota’s promise. We can’t be sure that Toyota won’t one day change their terms of service and reconnect the DCM. I’ve read that that can’t happen without them having physical access to my vehicle, but I don’t know for sure.

if you pull the DCM fuse (on some years of 4Runner it’s labeled Mayday) in addition to losing all the connected services you will lose the hands-free microphone, as you mentioned. Others have reported losing one of the front speakers, although that didn’t happen when I pulled my fuse as a test. I think whether or not you lose a speaker depends on the year of your vehicle. There are 2 benefits of pulling the fuse. The first is peace of mind. Pulling the fuse is a much surer way to disable the DCM. The second is that it’s totally reversible by you.

You mentioned you didn’t care about losing the microphone. In your case I would pull the DCM fuse. If your 4Runner loses a front speaker, you can replace the fuse and call the number if you want.

Cheers!

 

If you make the calls (Toyota and/or ATT if necessary) and have everything “turned off”, the “DCM” icon remains “lit”, and it’s just the signal strength bars that will be grayed out, correct?

 

That’s my experience.

 

I made the call and had the DCM disconnected on my 2022 minutes after I took delivery and this is what my infotainment screen looks like.

Based on what I know about the technology, I doubt Toyota can easily reactivate the cellular connection without physical access to my truck. They'd have to reprogram the eSIM in the DCM with a new SIM/activation to re-establish the service with AT&T. And they claim that they would have to re-flash the DCM firmware in order to turn it back on. The most likely path for the DCM coming back online would be a Toyota dealer deciding to "do you a favor" by reactivating it when your truck is in for service. My advice there is to visually check that the DCM is still crossed out after any visits to the dealer and raise holy hell if it isn't.

There are multiple considerations here: Do you want the DCM to send a great deal of personal information up to Toyota's (insecure) servers? Are you concerned about your truck logging GPS data locally? If it is being logged in the infotainment system, and the DCM is disabled, that information can only be accessed via physical access to the vehicle. Not much you can do to stop a Toyota dealer from pulling the logged data, but the authorities will most likely need to get a search warrant before grabbing your truck and reading the data.

I don't worry about the logging in the infotainment system....I carry a cell phone which is already reporting my approximate position to my cellular carrier. All of the carriers have been documented as freely sharing this information with the authorities upon informal request. Unless I'm going completely offline while I'm travelling, keeping my travels secret from the government is already impossible, and the infotainment system in my 4Runner isn't going to make a difference.

 

One other comment about downloading data from the infotainment system: I have personally played with the official Toyota factory diagnostics tools that your dealer would be using. (The company I work for has a repair shop that has purchased the official factory tools from the major car manufacturers.)

There isn't a visible and easy-to-access function in that tool to pull this data out of the infotainment system. Not to say that it can't be done, but rather that I'm not too worried about random dealer mechanics snooping on my travels when my truck is in for service.

 

In post #77 of this thread I listed some links about what our vehicles are recording and who has access to it. The Event Data Recorders (EDR) cannot be accessed without a search warrant as per the Driver's Protection Act of 2015 but your infotainment system is fair game to law enforcement and insurance investigators. Let's say your truck was involved in a collision and is towed to a salvage yard. Do insurance investigators or law enforcement need search warrants to suck the data from the infotainment system? Can the dealer attach a tool to the OBD port and suck out data? Who owns the data our infotainment systems are collecting?

My DCM disconnection odyssey.

 

This article from Wired Magazine just dropped:

How your New Car Tracks You

 

New member, first time post. Wanted to extend my appreciation to Capt Spalding and all others who have contributed to this important topic. Before taking delivery of my new 40th Anniversary two weeks ago and with guidance from the information contained in this thread I made advance arrangements with the salesman to opt out of Toyota Connected Services and Sirius XM. The day I took delivery I called the Toyota Privacy Center and deactivated DCM and personal data sharing. Happy to report that I’ve never received any contact from Sirius, the DCM meter on my head unit display remains gray and contains a slash, and the SOS button on the overhead console is unlit.


I went through a similar ordeal with my 2018 Suburban with less success. The GM engineers tied the cellular communication circuit together with that for the airbags. How underhanded is that?

Thanks all.

 

Related article HERE

Mozilla calls cars from 25 automakers 'data privacy nightmares on wheels'

"In research published Tuesday, the org warned that manufacturers may collect and commercially exploit much more than location history, driving habits, in-car browser histories, and music preferences from today's internet-connected vehicles. Instead, some makers may handle deeply personal data, such as – depending on the privacy policy – sexual activity, immigration status, race, facial expressions, weight, health, and even genetic information, the Mozilla team found."

 

So silly question... if I disable DCM on my 4R, but still have the Toyota app on my phone, is data still being collected via Geo Fencing or some other bizarre new age tracking feature of our smart phones via the app? I mean, I can't even discuss pizza for dinner with my spouse with my phone 2 rooms away charging on a night stand without it placing pizza ads in every app as soon as I go grab it and open it up.

 

Is there any reason to think it wouldn’t? An app’s primary purpose is to collect data. And having it on your phone or car is granting permission to collect, use, and sell it.

What’s on the toyota app that you find useful? Seems everything I’ve heard about it is that it’s useless even when the car is connected.
Edit:this sounds like a jerky tone, not meant to be jerky

 

I don't think there's much reason to keep the app if you aren't using the connected services anyway when the DCM is turned off.

 

Fair enough. I did not opt-in to my connected services but I am fully aware that my iPhone is tracking my every move, and if I turn my location services off, my spouse (who thinks I am crazy for all of this) leaves theirs on when they're with me .... I think nowadays there is no way to "seal the leak" of my personal tracking information. Sadly.

 

I've never cared about sealing the leak. I like making my data less valuable, less profitable, less insightful.

 

Beisdes, if you have no DCM and only your wife has your her phone. No occupancy data is uploaded, and only one wireless device is in motion.

 

$33 NVSUNG Faraday Fabric — Military Grade Conductive Material Shields RF Signals (WiFi, Cell, Bluetooth, GPS, Radiation), DIY Wireless Shield Fabric (43"x118" in)

https://www.amazon.com/NVSUNG-Farad...PRP9H23?keywords=NVSUNG&qid=1700515159&sr=8-3

I can tell ya'll this stuff works amazingly! I go fast on motorcycles sometimes and I wrap my phone in this. Nothing in and nothing out! I have tested it thoroughly.

So you can pop your phone in and out of a faraday cloth whenever you want to go dark.

I am going to pull the antennas and cover the nubs with a little folded square of faraday cloth.

And we store our keys (pushbutton starts) in a faraday box at night.

Great threads! (This and the other one!)

 

Another good new article!

https://www.securityweek.com/16-car-makers-and-their-vehicles-hacked-telematics-apis-infrastructure/

 

Keep a faraday bag with you, turn your phone off when you are not using it and put it in the bag. Not the end of the world. Most humans didn't have a phone with them at all times until about 2000-2005 or so, everyone lived.

And also maybe a new wife, though that could be viewed as a bit too dramatic so sometimes you just have to put up with her.

 

I removed the button and put a dual battery charge indicator there. Don't buy genesis off road.

 

Hi Everyone,

I know this is an old thread, but having read through it I'm wondering if my 2017 TRD Pro even has DCM functionality. I have no SOS button, but there is a cover where it should be. I can see the spot for the 7.5amp MAYDAY fuse on the diagram under the fuse box lid, but no fuse. My original radio has no DCM indicators at all, although if I connect my phone via BT it will show the cell signal strength. I do not have CarPlay either.

Before I wrap my truck with tin foil and tear the dash apart looking for a DCM module, does anyone here think I'll even find one? What are the chances that my 2017 Runner isn't collecting tracking info? No way, right?

Thank you in advance to anyone who replies.

 

You're fine, even if you did have it, 2019MY and earlier depend on a now-decommissioned 3G cell network.