What the deuce is Toyota Safety Connect?

A large multi-national corporation finding new revenue streams to enhance profit - HEATHENS!!!

As @RearViewMirror stated, there are so many other ways your data is shared and buying habits tracked that TSC is just a drop in the bucket. If the subscription provides you with enough benefits, then take it. If not, then don't. Every company you deal with is using the data you allow them to use to their benefit in one way or another.

 

A lot of people don’t know that.

 

There is a portion that monitors the way you drive. Whether you can actually use that portion to lower your insurance rate? I doubt it. I know Travelers doesn't allow it and we had to download Intellidrive from Travelers. They monitor your driving for 90 days then give you a score. At the end of the 90 days you can either accept that score or you can sign up for another 90 days to improve. We have 3 days left and my wife, my daughter, and I all have 100% on our score. So when our insurance renews we'll save another 30% off our deductible. I don't mind the insurance company tracking my driving habits since I've long passed the age of driving like an idiot.

I did notice on the Safety Connect that it also tracks your drives. We have 4 roundabouts leading into our neighborhood and the only thing that has showed up is cornering too fast on the Safety Connect. That just has to do with the way our roundabouts are made. No big deal since it doesn't matter anyway since that app can not be used for insurance purposes. And yes, you can also turn it off. But whether you turn it off or not, every new car made has a "black box" installed so it's tracking your driving habits anyway. You cannot opt out of that. In fact, you sign a form when you purchase any new vehicle that you are aware of the black box in your car and you accept that fact. There is no privacy anymore and everything you do is monitored (even by your car). Like I said before, if you have a phone and it is turned on? You are being tracked. So it's just the world we live in now. Accept it and move on.

You can not use a new phone until you accept the "end user agreement". If you don't accept it you can not use the device. And like everyone else in this world. I have never once read the "end user agreement". I would venture a guess that none of us actually has. And even if you did, you still clicked "accept" because you want to use that device.

 

Can someone confirm that you need cell signal for the SOS to work? Heading out to a remote trip with no cell service. Was trying to save on a Garmin Inreach.

 

I would say that the SOS function does not work without a cell signal. Much like the built in WiFi doesn’t work without cell service in our RAV4.

 

most of us spend more in beer money in a week than it costs to have this peace of mind service. Personally, if my wife and kids could be in the car then absolutely, just me? meh... i'm expendable and they are set for life.

 

A lot of talking back and forth about the pros/cons to Safety Connect, but I'm curious where the hardware that makes this work is located.

Is this in the head-unit or else ware under the dash?
If I replace the head unit does this break Safety Connect?

Looks as though Safety Connect uses both the modem and the satellite depending.

 

Don't think your 19 has Safety Connect. If your truck is going to report home it would need to piggyback off of your personal cell phone.

 

Oh no, it doesn't as I verified that with a vin lookup and I don't have the SOS button etc.

However I am also looking at a 4Runner or Rav4 for my wife (not sure what her preference will be) and am trying to verify where everything is (hardware) and how it works.

For example, if I replaced the OEM head unit with something else I don't know if that would break Safety Connect.

It's weirdly hard to find technical information on to be honest.

 

Toyota Safety Connect is connected through the Data Communication Module (DCM for short). The DCM is a cell phone built into your vehicle that allows you to control many different aspects of the vehicle from your phone. Depending on where you live, the DCM is connected through a service provider. That service provider happens to be Verison here. It may vary in other parts of the country. As far as "where" the DCM is located? Couldn't tell you.

This is what the DCM looks like (may differ from vehicle to vehicle)



Sorry that doesn't answer your question specifically. The DCM should show up in the menu system of your head unit but as far as I know, it is not built into the head unit. But I will give a little advice about Safety Connect. We all know what it does and allows you to do from your phone. There are some people that don't find this service useful or worth the $8 a month after your 1 year free service is up. I understand that and that is a decision you will have to make when the time comes. I also understand (to a point) that people don't like to be tracked by their vehicle since the DCM actually does track you. But I'd argue that is a moot point as long as you have a cell phone with you. You are being tracked all the time anyway so we gave up our privacy rights a long time ago.

But... And this is the main problem with disconnecting the DCM from the service. There was a recall on the DCM a couple years ago because the DCM would stay on high alert looking for service after the customer disconnected from the service and would run the battery down overnight. That problem has since been fixed with a recall. The issue arises once you decide to disconnect from the service. You're vehicle will no longer receive over the air updates and "if" you decide to reconnect at some point in time, it may cause issues that it may or may not reconnect properly. This issue could also be caused if you should happen to switch cell phone providers but it's not nearly as frustrating as if you decide to disconnect from the service altogether.

Toyota Safety Connect is a good product when it works. But Toyota rolled out Safety Connect before it was truly fleshed out so it is not perfect. "I" personally plan on spending the $8 a month for the service since I find it useful. Plus I don't want any issues with my vehicle if I disconnect.

 

Oh dang, thank you!

You just connected a few dots for me as I didn't realize all that was in the DCM.

This gives me some good info to dig into as I research more.

As someone who likes privacy and security, I do find it helpful to know what I'm getting into.
Also as someone who does IT and knows a bit about pen-testing/hacking a lot of these features are also sadly attack surfaces to exploit.
While I'm not sure how this modem is setup in the DCM, the fact that it has one...that has remote access to features of your vehicle is problematic on many levels.
It is not hard to man-in-the-middle attack cell service by spoofing a cell tower. This is why MFA via text isn't best practice...

Speaking of features that can come back to bite you, I've seen this first hand...as the neighbors car was stolen via a key-fob relay hack(thats generally what it's called). I didn't even realize what was happening as I thought the person that was stealing the car had the actual key fob / was a family member to said neighbor.
They walked up to the door > unlocked it > got in > started the car > drove off.

Not going to lie, I feel dumb, but there was no way I could of known any better....
It was reported to the police who later found the car in not so great shape.

My 2019 MT Tacoma thankfully has an older fob with no remote start etc.
Though, I still use a small cheap faraday bag when it's not in use which I'd argue is a must for anyone that has an automatic/newer style fob.

Anyway, not to ramble but I admittedly struggle when I see certain things sold as "features" when they are also liabilities.

 

Yup... As technology advances, people will find a way to exploit those advances to their benefit. Hope I was able to give you some good info on just what happens if you should decide to disconnect. It could become problematic.

 

I really don't understand how these manufacturers expect you to be "remotely" interested in buying another of their vehicles when they give you something then take it away (or charge you for it). Stupid short-term thinking.

Always put the key fob in a martini shaker when I get in the house, inexpensive way to eliminate potential fob duplicating and you maybe already have one.

 

It's the same way with Sirius Radio. It's a service that you can either subscribe to or not. Your choice. Every vehicle manufacturer does this to some extent or another. They give you a free year to see if you like the service and you have the option of continuing with that service if you think it is valuable enough "to you". Personally that doesn't bother me at all. I can choose whether or not to subscribe to it or cancel it. That holds no bearing on whether I'm going to buy another vehicle from them or not. It's just a service. If you don't like it or don't use it then don't subscribe to it when the free period is over. The vehicle will still run fine. It's not stupid short term thinking. It business marketing and "you" are in charge of whether you want to keep the service or not.

 

Your perception of it is clearly different than mine. Each potential buyer, their own perception.

I can definitely say I don't appreciate the Sirius people calling my cell phone when they notice I am driving.

 

We were always plagued by "Drive by Cell Phonings" from people so concerned that they couldn't be bothered to stop and see what was actually going on.

 

I believe it is satellite from an older LC200 brochure I looked at a while back.

 

Well... look at it this way. Every vehicle manufacturer is doing this now. So if it upsets you enough because of a service that they give you for a year for free with the option of either keeping the service or discontinuing the service... That will leave you with no vehicles to chose from the next time you go buy a vehicle if that is your rationale for deciding on a vehicle.

 

I agree it's the norm, and they must be making $'s for at least the current crop of executives. I guess my alternative is to keep the vehicle that I have the "bugs" worked out on, as the new car experience is proving to be both good and bad lately. I'm from the era of tape decks and payphones. No worries mate.

 

Id pay $8 a month for “lojack” type service for finding my vehicle if it was ever stolen.

Also… your belongings end up all over the place when you are in a collision, so imagine a roll over and trying to find your phone while you are injured. Having a button or automatic accident recognition seems logical.

that being said - I do not subscribe at this time because of the data collection and profitability that I will never see any gains from.