How to disconnect the tracking telemetry on the 5th gen 4Runner

Also noticed that you have to opt-in to sharing data with insurance companies, although, again, there might some hidden shenanigans in there that by-pass opt-in rules. I built digital ad servers and tools, there are many ways to legally by-pass privacy policies.

 

Ive always thought privacy policies were never worth the paper they are printed on. Which I guess explains why they arent printed.

If the first thing a policy states is that it can be changed at any time, then it’s not really an agreement, promise, or anything. Throw in a company changing ownership, and privacy policies are really nothing more than a bad joke

 

Anyone get this email recently?

 

I did. The fact that I have to download an app turned me off, but I'm willing to wait and see.

 

The above are useful tips and it’s important that Toyota provides privacy options. I just don’t want it to disguise the main issue. It doesn’t matter how trustworthy Toyota is. They can still be hacked. And they will absolutely grant the government access to your data and your vehicle’s controls in response to government requests. Some of those requests will be based on legitimate warrants or subpoenas, and we want the government to be able to issue such things. But others will he abusive or improper fishing expeditions. Both things happen routinely.

 

Just to follow up after disconnecting my antenna's (blue and white wire's) on 20 August and going past 15,000 miles this week. I was not called or text by my dealer for a maintenance appointment like previously occurred at my 5000 and 10,000 miles mark. So it appears I'm not connected to Toyota or anyone else. Note: changed oil and rotated tires today, I will not let toyota touch it unless it's a warranty issue.

 

On a related topic, all Apple and iPhone users need to update their devices to block the possibility of Pegasus spyware.
https://www.newsweek.com/how-update-iphone-ios-14-8-detect-pegasus-spyware-hack-1628762

 

May I ask, does your DCM show any bars? Does the SOS button have the green led lit?
I opted out of the connected services and the DCM still has bars but the SOS has nothing lit up.

 

SOS is red. DCM has no bars except when I go near cell towers then I get one maybe two bars on and off but not steady.

 

That’s encouraging, I am going to have to look into disconnecting the blue and white wire. I did a similar thing on my 2019 Silverado. It was offline most of the time, the tell tale sign was when the clock didn’t match the phone clock

 

Look at post 161, 162 it's easy to do.

 

If the SOS has no lights, tracking is on. You can toggle all the settings from the Toyota phone app now. Do that and almost instantly it all dies and a red light will appear.

 

Thanks for the update!

 

Has anyone tackled the always-on red light yet? I can tell it's going to irritate me, particularly at night. Dab of black paint?

 

Undo the two 8mm bolts holding the roof console in, pull down from near the sunglass holder area towards you to pop the clips. On the back of the circuit board for the dome lights, you will see a small bundle of wires coming from the SOS switch that plugs into the circuit board. Unplug that connector, and the switch lights will be out. No more red light

 

Update to the update, I was bored today (I'm retired) so I downloaded the toyota app to my phone and checked info. It showed my mileage, but was 10 miles less than actual and no tire pressure. I drove into town and watched the bars, when it showed a bar I also noticed what looked like two arrows (pointed downward) under the DCM box flashing.....hmmm.... I drove to Wally World parking lot near a tower and checked again. Parked here, it showed a bar, but mileage was again off a few miles and on my phone app it showed last update (download) as about the time I saw those arrows flashing or whatever it was flashing. It still did not show tire pressure. I then opted out of safety connect and deleted the app. So it appears even with antennas disconnected whomever can connect if your near a tower long enough. I'm still keeping them disconnected as I do not gain anything connecting them.

 

I have been watching the red light and it appears it terminates on its own after some driving. Didn't get enough time/miles in today to tell what exactly is the line for it being on or off but there definitely is some point where it automatically turns off.

 

Much appreciated Red!

Turns off permanently, or turns off just for that drive? Maybe mine has not been driven enough.

 

I'll answer my own question. It turns read every time I drive it, and after quite a while it turns off. I'm going to do what Red suggested and unplug it.

 

Just tried this and unfortunately it makes the problem worse. Now a voice comes over my stereo and loudly announces "Communication module failure. Contact your dealer." It does this every time I start the truck, so I pulled it down and reconnected the harness. Looks like a dab of black paint is the ticket.

Funny thing is that I have a full aftermarket stereo setup, so I have no idea where this recording is coming from. The body computer or something.

 

That’s some freaky Hal 9000 sh$t going on right there.




Just keep going until hal starts singing Daisy. You’re almost there. I can hear fear in Hal’s voice!

 

Really?! Well I guess we all learned something new there. It was worth a shot.

That's interesting that even with a full aftermarket setup the DCM still has access to the speakers. I wonder where it is still tied in?

 

Mine seems to be permanently gone.

 

Thanks for this great post. It seems this method of unplugging the blue and white connectors has no side effects? Mic and speakers still work? Nothing else?

Secondly, never pulled the dash apart. Just pull the two vertical side pieces, then push in two tabs on both sides of hvac unit.. thats it? Thanks again.

 

I just got my new T4R home yesterday and unplugged the cellular antennas this morning. Job took about ten minutes, and the dash was easy to take apart. Results are similar to everyone else so far. Nothing else is affected, just DCM has no signal and the red LED next to the SOS button is lit. So far so good.

 

As someone helpfully posted earlier, we can use the Toyota app to disconnect the tracking and also opt out of all other forms of info sharing. That's the route I went.

The difference from what I can see is that SOS light does go out using this method. When the truck is started the lights will alternate between green and red a total of five times, then they both go out for the duration of the ride.

 

Toyota App -> Account -> Data Privacy Portal -> Click on which item you want to turn the consent off. https://www.toyota.com/privacyvts/

 

I think it would probably take me longer to deactivate it via calling Toyota than just disconnecting the antenna. It was literally a 10 minute job, and would probably take me 2 minutes if I had to do it again. Plus I have peace of mind that I'm not relying on a corporation's "word" that they're no longer collecting my info. I've been driving for 25 yrs and have never needed my car to be connected to the internet, no reason to start now

 

And of course they can modify it at any time without warning and deem you to be opted back in.

I love the wording where you are bound by a contract you never agreed to.

Corporations are so scummy.

 

That’s route I took, noticed the same results. However on one occasion, the DCM didn’t have any bars and the SOS continued the start sequence (flash-back and forth) until it finally had a signal.
Thinking I am going to pull the antenna wire.

Question, those of you who did take the dash apart, was there any new squeaks afterwards?