My DCM disconnection odyssey.

I am in the middle of 4th call to Toyota to get my DCM disconnected. They are NOT making it easy, constantly trying to gaslight me that it isn't active until I sign up through Toyota Ap. Thankfully, my country has strong privacy laws and the fact that they are violating their own publicly posted privacy policy got my case escalated.

Thank you @Captain Spalding for posting pictures, I have something to show to the rep of how disconnected DCM should look like.

 

The main reason to disconnect DCM is this: https://apnews.com/article/c7196ddb6fe64baaacd244c2d106e279 Leaving open connection between the car and your CANBUS (via DCM) would allow a skilled attacker to override any drive-by-wire device on your car. This includes things like throttle, active cruise control, your 4WD system. For example, remotely putting 4Runner into 4 LOW mode while at highway speeds would all but guarantee a wreck.

Additionally, there is a question of lawsuits and government dragnets. LEOs are notorious for asking bulk data from telecoms, such as any connected device near a crime scene. I would rather not having to deal with police asking me to prove my innocence for the crime of driving my car 30 minutes after some crime happened 2 blocks away.

 

Completely how? The bars in the screen or absolutely everything? I still have the dcm logo but no bars.

 

DCM will be powered, but you should have no bars, no arrows, no lights on the SOS button unless you just started the vehicle, no connectivity other than what HD Radio gives you.

 

So I did all the calling and unchecking of boxes years ago. Everything was off. As of a few days ago the overhead call light is red. It was off before. Screen currently shows dcm bars greyed out with a line through it, and the dcm within a rectangle is lit. So I believe it’s the same after disconnecting.

Any ideas why the overhead sos light is now permanently lit red? Any tips on how to get this situated properly? I’ll call in again. Any other tips appreciated

 

^ Sounds like some kind of uninvited "reset." Maybe Toyo performed a broadcast "update" and that wakes up the bots to some degree. It definitely doesn't instill peace of mind about security.

 

NY Times today


“It felt like a betrayal,” Mr. Dahl said. “They’re taking information that I didn’t realize was going to be shared and screwing with our insurance.”

 

How about a certain politician's relative drowning in her tesla which reversed into a pond? An example of being hacked perhaps?

 

For the reverse, it could easily be a combination of user or design error like Anton Yelchin’s Cherokee over “hacking”

I bet it’s Tesla’s emergency door release design that sealed the deal.

When the 12V system fails, the usual buttons won’t function at all. Unlike most any car where you can still pull the lever and it’s physically connected to the latch, Teslas rely on the 12V system but include certain emergency releases.

In say, the Model 3, it’s a discreet lever. That rectangular cut out above the window switch. You’re supposed to pull it up with your fingers.


(but if you’re in the backseat, you’re SOL and would have to crawl to the front seats or trunk to escape.)

In the Model X, which was involved in this case, it would require pulling off the door’s speaker cover and pulling a tab while pushing the door. I had to look that up and I never would have thought of it beyond looking for that lever above that I did know about.

I consider these designs unsafe as it’s not something most would think about and it’s not intuitive in an emergency.

I do not want to have to read a manual in an emergency (either in the glovebox actuated by the touchscreen or in the infotainment itself so that’s probably toast anyway) or have to watch some 5 minute YouTube video first.

You’ll find it’s hardly the first “trapped in Tesla” scenario and I’d certainly panic if I was in a sinking car too.

A couple of my friend’s parents have Model 3’s and I’ve attempted to relay the emergency release’s use but I have no idea if it stuck or if they’ll remember in an emergency.

I appreciate Tesla for the work done advancing electric vehicles to something desirable and usable but I do not appreciate their tech company style of throwing out convention like this to seem cooler at the expense of safety, etc.

 

She reversed into her own pond. Nothing to see here folks lol. People w/ incriminating knowledge of bad actors never meet untimely deaths. But, it is possible that she literally did the unintended reverse, accelerate, panic sequence too. And then your description of the 12V system comes into play.

 

I "brake suddenly" often when driving in icy or snow, as a means to measure my traction. Corporations are trying everything to create disparity through whatever metrics lead them to profit. RATM

 

Let's get past the antenna phase and phone call phase -
1) where precisely is the 'dcm'
2) where precisely is the transmitter

 

There was a diagram of the components behind the dash on one of these threads, and it showed the DCM location. I can't recall where now.

 

Well, I just called 1-800-611-1749. The call was picked up within 20 seconds, and a very pleasant woman took care of disabling the DCM in less than a minute of my time. By the time I hung up with her and walked outside to the 4Runner, the DCM bars were grayed out and had a line crossed through them. I'll keep an eye on this and report any changes over the coming weeks. And if someone figures out how to permanently disable the DCM without killing the microphone (which I too use for hands free calling) I'll be eternally grateful. I wish I could help figure this out, but electrical stuff is far beyond my capacity to understand things. I'm much handier with the tools of the firefighting business - ie. good at breaking things.
Many thanks to all who have participated in this thread - with special thanks to Captain Spalding & HighwayWizard!

 

DCM and transmitter are the same. There's an external antenna but it's not required, just improves range.

There's a diagram here: https://www.4runners.com/threads/20220sr5-premium-dcm-location-in-vehicle.26226/

 

@Captain Spalding

 

@Captain Spalding

 

@Captain Spalding

This is interesting. This is a battery pack so you can always be tracked.

 

Heroic! Homeric!

 

If I might further impose, can you discover if the sockets outlined in red below are normal Ethernet or telephone style connectors? Or are they something more esoteric? Also, are there any subtle markings on the case next to those sockets to distinguish them? I’m thinking along the lines of terminators as described earlier in this thread.

A thousand thanks.

 

Yeah no problem. They are the same type connectors as GPS.

 

If you need I can get better pics in the day without the flash

 

Thanks again. It looks like the blue, gray, and white connectors are “keyed” differently so that they can’t be plugged in the wrong way. Would you say so?

 

Didn't notice and took a pic to make sure i had the color order correct when re-installing....but yes they are 100% keyed and unique. Nice catch.

Car is going to be in pieces a while. happy to send any more epics you may need.

 

Thanks crow. Maybe if there are any identifying marks on those connectors. A part number or company logo. Thanks again.

 

I'll try in the daylight tmw

 

Is that the “black box”. Are you planning on reinstalling it? Can you run the car without it? Curious if you know.

 

I'm going to put it back in yeah. I understand they track everything but I'm not up to date on the conversations going on here so am not sure why I wouldn't other than everything i do gets tracked which is already does on my phone.

 

Tracking is one thing, but the DCM as a receiver is something else!

 

According to spec sheets, kyocera AL-t52v1 is cell modem chip and it has its own GPS module.

@Thacrow Also, pictures show IMEI, this is a 15-digit number that identifies your cell connected device in a mobile network. I recommend you blur that, as it is possible to find your exact location with that information.