Comment on Your car’s tire sensors could be used to track you
CADmonkey@lemmy.world 20 hours ago
A local city proudly mentioned on the news that they had a system that could track TPMS sensors. Pretty much all cars after 2008 uses TPMS sensors that each broadcast a unique identifier to the car. They aren’t hard to remove, and you can buy valve stems that fit your car (0.452 hole) at any auto parts store.
Yeah, a couple problems with that:
Older cars use a wheel speed sensor-based TPMS. It’s not as effective or reliable but it also doesn’t emit any signals that can be read by other devices.
I managed to drive cars for 30 years without a TPMS sensor and the only time I ever had a to check the pressure on a tire, was when I knew i had a leak and didn’t have time to fix it. I can also tell by the way my car drives if a tire is soft. I also had an air pump in my car powered by a cigarette lighter adapter that I could fill my tires.
My current car, from 2019 doesn’t have one. I’ve managed to own it 7 years (this week) without needing to check the pressure 2500 times.
The assertion you need to check your pressure everyday without a TPMS system is ridiculous.
The fact that you’ve gotten away with it is not proof that it’s unnecessary. The fact that it was legally mandated is good evidence that it is. These systems save lives, no question about it.
lots of things are legally mandated without any good evidence.
Lots of things legally mandated in the past are now unconscionable or illegal now.
Legal != effective or ethical, that is an unbelievably stupid argument for TPMS.
What a shockingly wrong take. TPMS is a convenience, not a safety measure, have properly inflated tires is. And, anyone who properly maintains their car, doesn’t need it
And, it’s not legally mandated everywhere, even if it is for you.
I live in Canada and my snow tires haven’t had functioning TPMS in years. I do have a tire pressure light on forever, and they’re not mandated.
Cool. Did you come here just to tell us that you’re proud to drive unsafely or what?
Do you drive without a LIDAR? Why, do you like to live dangerously?
1.) Lol, no I won’t. That light can be removed. Or if it’s a Ford, you can access the vehicle with Forscan and turn off that functionality.
2.) How did we ever survive before 2008? Were there disabled cars with shredded tires every 20 feet? Was it an apocalypse of failed tires? People who don’t bother to check tire pressure won’t bother for yet another warning light on their dash.
That light can be removed
LOL often times it cannot, because it’s not a “light” at all on modern vehicles.
How did we ever survive before 2008?
A lot of people didn’t. That’s why it was mandated.
They aren’t hard to remove, and you can buy valve stems that fit your hole at any auto parts store.
Good to know.
They are hard to remove, and require a variety of expensive specialty tools to do properly.
dual_sport_dork@lemmy.world 20 hours ago
By “aren’t hard to remove” you actually mean requires dismounting the tire from the rim, remounting it, and then balacing it. This is far beyond the capabilities not to mention equipment of the typical layperson. Plus, your state is likely to conveniently fail your car on its next inspection for a nonfunctioning TPMS system, same as your check engine light.
If you’re going to go the distance anyway, get your tire shop to mount aftermarket Autel sensors in your rims. Using the readily available diagnostic tool, you can occasionally reprogram those (wirelessly!) with a set of random IDs and then also program your car to use them. You’ll be a lot tougher to track if your signature is different every week.
I’m not about to do this just yet, but I do have the tool for more mundane purposes and I only paid around $200 for it several years ago.
Grostleton@lemmy.dbzer0.com 18 hours ago
It seems most states with mandatory vehicle inspections don’t fail for TPMS problems.
tirerack.com/…/what-are-state-tpms-regulations
dual_sport_dork@lemmy.world 17 hours ago
That only lists 18 states…
My own state requires it despite that list implying they don’t. Thus I really don’t think that chart is completely accurate. If you have ANY warning lights on your dash at inspection you will be failed here.
Grostleton@lemmy.dbzer0.com 16 hours ago
I did say most, not all. Some of the info on that page may be outdated, but obviously it would just be limited to those that require regular comprehensive inspections in the first place.
I was able to easily look up the inspection guidelines from my states DMV page and confirm for myself that TPMS light is not a fail here so YMMV, but my point was essentially that it’s more likely than not that bad sensors won’t fail someone, not that nobody will get failed.
Broken@lemmy.ml 6 hours ago
Well crap, that’s not a cheap solution but I’m glad you commented because I didn’t know these Autel sensors existed and that you could reprogram them. I mean, this threat is semi hypothetical right now (not like it’s been used in the wild by authorities or anything) but one day it might be. Continual reprogramming would be a valid solution.
hector@lemmy.today 18 hours ago
State inspection of your vehicle? Wtf? I’ve heard of California with catalytic converters because the smog, that’s it. I
RickyRigatoni@piefed.zip 18 hours ago
I don’t understand the confusion.
hector@lemmy.today 18 hours ago
What shitholy states force you to get them inspected, obviously.
TunaLobster@lemmy.world 9 hours ago
I feel slightly safer knowing that the cars around me most likely have a functional horn /s (but only slightly because there are more things going on in the inspection to meet the bare minimum of safety. not a high bar, but at least a bar)
grue@lemmy.world 17 hours ago
Your who is going to do what now?
(Posted from a state that doesn’t check anything except emissions, and even then only for some cars in some urban areas.)
ExcessShiv@lemmy.dbzer0.com 16 hours ago
Fuck that sounds like a place full of dangerously badly maintained vehicles…
grue@lemmy.world 15 hours ago
Surprisingly, most people aren’t actually suicidally negligent in the absence of government regulation.
innermachine@lemmy.world 14 hours ago
State inspections are a racket. This is coming from a state inspector. Waste of time and money! I only got certified so I can inspect my own and wife’s vehicles. Well that and it’s invaluable at work but shit if your determined to drive an unroadworthy POS the lack of a sticker on ur windshield and the possibility u MIGHT get a 50$ fine and no points is not enough to deter the idiots from driving rolling scrap heaps anyways. Seen em before and will continue to see em weather inspections are mandated or not.
CADmonkey@lemmy.world 17 hours ago
It certainly doesn’t require removing the tire from the rim. I removed each wheel, broke the bead on the side that has the valve stem, pried the tire back away from the rim, remove the sensor (mine had a convenient little part you can push to release them) then air the tire back up and put the wheel back on the car. Didn’t even have to re-balance them.
If we want to take steps to protect ourselves from such tracking, we cannot afford to simply say “It’s ToO hArD!!!1!” with a multi-paragraph reply that took more time to type out than it took for me to remove one sensor. Can’t do it? Learn how. Defeatist replies belong on Reddit with all the other propaganda.
innermachine@lemmy.world 14 hours ago
Hope y threw ur phone away and got rid of ur head unit while u were at it. Tpms tracking is just about the last fucking thing I’d ever worry about especially with the lack of range those transponders have. Nobody is tracking you via tpms 😂
CADmonkey@lemmy.world 12 hours ago
You know that you can leave your phone at home, right?