Hidden LoJack

If I told you, I'd have to kill you... ;-)

 

Honestly, aside from any 3rd-party tracking system, I think Toyota's built-in SOS system can access the GPS, but I wonder if it can be remotely activated? Does anyone know? I know it activates when the airbags go off, but could Toyota's emergency service be opening the mike and listening in on conversations?

 

With enough money to throw at the problem and with a will to do it, any well-funded and well-enough-managed entity could remotely activate any cell phone's microphone without the cell phone's handler being aware. A cell phone is basically a radio transceiver. A better question is "would any such entity be interested enough in Person X to lavish such effort on their car's built-in SOS system" which is basically a cheap cell phone.

Another way to frame it would be "who would have the means and the motive?" because the opportunity is built into the car (the SOS system).

So the next level question, with several million Toyota and many more GM SOS systems crowding our roads, is our hypothetical Prius driver of high enough interest to, say, the Colombian drug cartels, the Chinese State Security, the used-to-be-KGB or whoever fits the criteria in my 1st paragraph, to have one of these organizations expend humongous effort and resources to listen in as our hypothetical Prius driver converses with their Significant Other about where to go eat out that night? Boy, talk about an extremely boring job.

...and anyone with circumstances serious enough to warrant such worries should absolutely remove the battery from their ever-present smartphone when they get around to having that Get Smart conversation with their Prius passenger, before they even worry about a possibility of being monitored by the car's SOS system.

 

A few years back, a new member posted about his Prius being stolen from the driveway on its first or second night home. The thief found its fob in the center console of the minivan parked next to it.

The owner was able to activate the SOS subscription post-theft, and quickly locate the car.

 

The plug-in Prius with En tune allows the owner to locate his own car anytime form his smart phone.

 

Only on the Advanced. The Base model does not have the built-in Safety Connect cell phone. (Unless this has changed in the 2014 model.)

 

I work for LoJack... our installers don't tell the customers where it is installed. This helps protect the covert nature of the product. Interesting timing on this post as we just released an infographic and one of the stats on it is that the number of Toyota Priuses recovered by LoJack is up 70%.

 

We have similar in the UK. I had one on my Merc (terrible car). A car is very small volume to search especially when you consider it has to have a continuous power supply tickling its battery.

Hint. Mine was supplied from the rear dome light and the aerial was under the rear hatch weather seal. Obvious really when you think about it.

 

I have LoJack units on two of my cars, but not the Prius. I have no idea where the unit is located on either car. Ironically, both of those cars, a Lexus and a Miata, sit in my garage probably 98% of the time. The Prius gets driven and has the exposure.

 

The real question is, "How many of these Prii retrieved through Lojak was totally intact?"

Probably, NOT many.


It's not advantageous for LoJack to advertise how many cars are returned wrecked or trashed.


I can remember working the San Ysidro, CA border in the early 1980's. Cars would arrive on the back of flatbed trucks; the cars having been driven over a cliff.

This was very common for very expensive sports cars and cars like Rolls Royces.

The owners of lessors apparently could not afford the payments any longer, so they were "stolen" and driven across the border and trashed.


Prii are more likely stolen for parts that joyriding or resold whole.

It's better to have the car NOT stolen than stolen and recovered. If stolen, I would rather have it NOT recovered, and the book value reimbursed to me by my insurance company.

 

I remember, when the loJack tech came to my house to install it he said " if you watch we can not warranty anything". I was told to go inside if I wanted any warranty or guaranty, while the installation only took 5-10 mins. I did get to see the guy crouching under my glove box on the passenger side, from my security camera. When he left, I tried looking for it but didn't see anything out of place. I honestly thought it was a scam, still do worst $390 I ever spent (so far).

 

LoJack wans you to assume that your car will be likely recovered intact and as if it wasn't stolen.


Wrong!

I gave you my real world experience in my previous post.
Even if the car was recovered, it would always remind me on how my privacy and security had been violated by those low life's.

I'd rather be reimbursed for the car's book value and move on.

If it was recovered and repaired, I'd trade it in for a NEW car.

 

I agree if my car was stolen and recovered I would not want it anymore. Who knows what they did to the car or what permanent damage they caused that isn't noticeable yet. Plus the psychological violation aspect. My apartment got broken into once and I moved without spending another night in there.

 

Wow, this is a whole new aspect of looking at it. Once my dad's car got stollen and recovered by Oakland pd the only thing wrong was all our CDs were broken and a empty gas tank. Hearing your perspectives makes me want to have the LoJack disabled


iPhone ?

 

So LoJack literature listed something like 20 - 30 places they typically use to place the transmitter and antenna.

As for blocking signals, there're always Faraday cages. But those who know enough about them to use them correctly also don't tend to work in the car theft business, I'd imagine..

 

Terms and Conditions of Your Safety Connect Telematics Service Effective as of October 20, 2010

15. YOUR PRIVACY

USE AND SHARING OF INFORMATION ABOUT YOU AND YOUR CAR. You agree that we can, subject to applicable law, use any of this information we collect to: (share with)... emergency service providers, or others, as needed (and to) (k) comply with legal requirements, including valid court orders; (l) protect the rights, property, or safety of you or others; ... You understand that, for quality assurance purposes, we ... may monitor and record conversations between our ... respective Response Centers and your Car’s occupants. We ... may also monitor and record any calls coming into our...

T-SC-10.10 Page 4 of 5

Response Center from any source. Therefore, for yourself, your car’s occupants and anyone contacting us on your behalf, you: i) consent to all such monitoring and recording and, ii) release us, third-party beneficiaries and the Underlying Wireless Carrier(s) from claims, liabilities and losses that may result from any such monitored and/or recorded conversations.

Looking at the above, they are already set up to record over the phone, by having the service you have consented to it and agree to hold them harmless for doing so. They can do it for themselves if it's considered market research. They'll roll right over for anybody with a warrant. The only open question is if the phone rings or anything when they initiate a call. Maybe you could ask them to call you back, see if it chimes or anything?

 

Still, nothing in that T&C answers the question of whether the system, as designed, allows them to initiate a connection. It just says that IF there is a conversation, they can record it.

 

I recall seeing something in my Toyota Financial contract that they can / will use it to locate the vehicle if you are a dead beat with your payments.

 

There's even a device that will shut down your car, if you don't pay.

Technology is wonderful, isn't it.