The "how to disable the data link to Ford" thread

[kilobravo]

Not so sure about that. Pull the plug and see if your wifi connects to your network.

Thanks Tom and, since you are also unsure about the wifi connectivity, I don't feel too bad. <BSEG> I will pull the power harness today or tomorrow and letcha know.

I suspect the post break in spirited runs were logged.

I was in the same boat FS, although not for as many months. Car insurance did go up overall but I haven't yet filtered the bill down to how much of the increase was on the 500. As for the data we DID transmit, I think you can be absolutely, positively certain that LexisNexis and Verisk have it.

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[kilobravo]

I will pull the power harness today or tomorrow and letcha know.

Boy, do I EVER feel like the biggest dumbass in the world! <laughing at my stupidity>

So, I pulled the power harness on the TCU which I presume is this connector..

​

Thinking for SURE this would solve the problem, I pulled up the wifi page on the phone and sh_t, f_ck, DAMN, the "SYNC9a" SSID was STILL THERE!

Grabbed a Dos Equis to ponder the situation and perhaps it was the beer that gave me the idea..MAYBE it's the F250's TCU which was parked next to Sarah in the garage? Grabbed the key and moved the truck a couple hundred feet from the garage then, checked the phone again.

Good thought about the SD's TCU perhaps but, that wasn't it.

Grabbed another brew and put on my thinking cap and asked myself, what could be generating that wireless network signal?!

After a few minutes of cogitation, my feeble brain FINALLY came up with the correct answer and OMG did I feel dumber than dirt.

The culprit was the Carlin Bluetooth adapter that is plugged into the USB port in the console!!! When I pulled that, the SYNC9A SSID disappeared immediately. <20-ton DUH!>

Finally, after learning the details regarding what the auto companies are doing with our driving data, I am definitely going to attempt to kill comms in the SD and the wife's CT6 and I'm SURE that our increased rates are due to the spirited driving I did before pulling the fuse back during The Germ.

BUT, I thought these gizmos ONLY used Bluetooth so I didn't consider the adapter as the cause for the SYNC9A SSID from the getgo. But, as it turns out, I found this:

"just a clarification... wireless carplay uses bluetooth INITIALLY to connect the phone to the car (or adapter) and then WIFI once the connection is made. the car/adapter provides its own wifi network for that communication."

BINGO and THAT explains why the audio quality is a LOT better with the adapter than with just the phone connected via BT.

PLUS (and what caused me to go the wrong direction with troubleshooting) is, the "SYNC" part of SYNC9A. I mean what are the odds that an adapter company would use the word "sync" in their SSID AND, I was in a Ford vehicle where "SYNC" is associated with FordPass?! Talk about a coincidence, geeze.

Therefive, my apologies for starting this wild, wifi SSID goose chase. Bottom line is and, as far as I can tell, if all you do is pull the #8 breaker, there's no way the car can talk to Ford or anyone else.

 

[moby4dick]

So here’s a question. Does the car store info that it would transmit after reconnecting, as in putting back the fuse? Or is it only real time?

 

[RTFM]

A number of people have said it can’t store info for later, but they have not explained why they believe or know so.

From a design point of view, it would make sense to only phone home every 5 or 10 min. It saves resource consumption on both sides. The question is whether the 5 min state is kept in volatile memory or can be written down and persisted for much longer, including across car restarts.

 

[Jaymar]

A number of people have said it can’t store info for later, but they have not explained why they believe or know so.

From a design point of view, it would make sense to only phone home every 5 or 10 min. It saves resource consumption on both sides. The question is whether the 5 min state is kept in volatile memory or can be written down and persisted for much longer, including across car restarts.

Because it wouldn't make sense to have the memory and software provisions to store that much data given the intended function of the unit. That would be like Ford including wings on the Mustang just in case a customer decided to use it as an airplane. The box may not even report speed, it might be inferred from position reports over time.

 

[K4fxd]

If people think one election is going to change things, I’ve got lakefront property in the Mojave I’d like to sell you. Carry on.

Voting for a guy with obvious dementia is, well, stupid beyond belief.

Both candidates are are either 80 or near it, so who am I talking about?

 

[K4fxd]

Because it wouldn't make sense to have the memory and software provisions to store that much data given the intended function of the unit.

Storage is so cheap it makes no sense for them not to.

 

[Jaymar]

Storage is so cheap it makes no sense for them not to.

We're talking the same manufacturer who omitted the glove box light and tried to make the 2019 with only one horn to save a buck. If it doesn't earn them money, they don't put it in.

 

[kilobravo]

Does the car store info that it would transmit after reconnecting

A number of people have said it can’t store info for later, but they have not explained why they believe or know so.

I still don't know where the data is stored, i.e., locally or, on Ford's servers.

Yesterday, I rang up the store in town where I thought the Shelby tech from the purchasing dealer, also in town, had moved to the store I called. I was also hoping that they have a mobile unit for software updates, etc., and they do. (Best news was that my man Vinnie does work there but in the Fleet department. Fortunately, the Service guy I talked to after the woman said I could take the car to their Fleet location and Vinnie could do the work.

However, when I gave the woman Sarah's VIN, there was a long silence. Why? Because there was NO data for Sarah on her screen and she was befuddled. That took me by surprise as I thought for sure the data transmitted before I pulled the fuse would be there. She said it wasn't.

Without seeing the OASIS screen myself, I can't say for sure, but this info appears to indicate that the storage is in the car. I still find that difficult to believe simply because of the amount of data. And, as @K4fxd indicated, memory is cheap and I don't see Ford spending the pesos when they already have thousands of servers to use. Nonetheless, that's what she said.

I haven't heard back from them with an appointment date but I will absolutely, positively look at the mobile tech's OASIS screen to know for sure.

 

[K4fxd]

If it doesn't earn them money, they don't put it in.

They sell the data

 

[Jaymar]

They sell the data

That's likely a side stream of revenue that some "genius" came up with after the fact. And even then, there is no market for real time status of the car down to the minute that wouldn't still put the same value on position pings every 5-10 minutes with the latter requiring much cheaper equipment and data amounts. I'd wager a guess that those pings contain basic status info too like service codes, oil life, etc to allow Ford the opportunity to present you with their suggestions as well.

 

[sms2022]

I was firmly in the camp of “no way ford is selling my data” but now just got dropped by my insurance for being “uninsurable”. I’ve never switched something off so quickly. Additionally, according to my dealer the datalink tells ford when you change setting in Forscan, tune the car, etc and ford retains this information for 3 months or so.
F that.

the other inside info is that once you disable the data link, 200 key cycles wipes the ecu memory of when it was last flashed.

Edit: btw before someone says I’m a bad driver, I have 0 accidents ever in probably half a million miles driven. Only comp claims for glass and once when a deer ran into my truck 10 years ago.

 

[308 Cal. Bullitt]

Bureau of Statistics data below was aggregated to create this chart, for a youhoo news article.

So if insurance providers are not canceling pple to mitigate risk, than they're hitting them by up/over 20%, on paid premiums.

chart is for the #'s from past 12 months.
Y over Y is why it looks to low on things like gas & groceries.

Car insurance is certainly a
booming & $$ business of late.

My question is, will our insurance rates even stop rising w/ around ~15 million new
(un-insureable & unlicensed) drivers being paid ea month to be our "Newcomer guests", so they can also live the American dream on Taxpayers funds..

The 2026 Infrastructure Bill mandate should kill all spirited driving anyway, & nobody seems all that concerned about it that I can tell.

I don't care if FoMoCo sells the next GT500 cheaper than our '22, & w/1000+hp. If ya can't step down on the throttle w/o being deemed impaired by the 2026+ veh's system mandated thru Captain TrippyTrip. Then it's no more advantageous to own the latest high hp Stang variant, vs an Ecoboost w/a bad turbo.

 

[K4fxd]

That chart is wrong. Groceries have gone up 40% or more. I suppose the rest are low balled too.

 

[Rael]

The chart shows only the change between 2023 and 2024.

Per Nerdwallet, food prices, including both food at home (groceries) and restaurant purchases — increased 2.2% from March 2023 to March 2024, according to the CPI report released April 10 from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. By comparison, prices rose 8.5% over the previous one-year period in 2023.

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