[S1ack]

I'd be livid if I found that.

Loan through VW Credit here.

Yank it out.

 

[KevinC]

I would write a scathing letter to the owner of the dealership, and plaster this experience all over social media. Absolutely outrageous.

As far as "required by loan company" comments, that should only happen a) with full disclosure to you, and b) only if you have horrendous credit and the lender is some sub-prime specialist charging you about 30% interest because of it. Any conventional loan for a normal person with average or better credit should NEVER see any such device installed on their car, period/exclamation point.

I suggest pulling your contract and making sure you didn't get charged for this "service" - decent chance they buried it someplace and didn't even mention it to you.

 

[MyBrainIsInDeadlock]

OP, so it's hooked into this purple port under the drivers side dash?

View attachment 119245

Yes, my port is black, but it is hooked into the OBD port with an adapter and wire harness

 

[2wheelgnr]

Could it be a factor item installed for Carnet services or some other app feature for parking location services or mapping services??? All I can think off offhand is carnet or does it have option to be a hotspot...I see many new cars can be a hot spot and in order to do that they need a Cellular connection??? Hmmm Dont know..

Maybe NSA...are on a no fly list??!!!

 

[2wheelgnr]

or cut it out and see who contacts you...hehehehee and someone gotta be paying cel but for it in active...maybe there but not active?? Hmmmmmmmm

 

[VolInGa]

or cut it out and see who contacts you...hehehehee and someone gotta be paying cel but for it in active...maybe there but not active?? Hmmmmmmmm

Remove it and tape it to the bottom of one of those rental scooters. [emoji1632]

 

[SDArteon]

The device is like LoJack. I asked and I was told that they install that on every new and used vehicle that they sell. They sell you the service and if you did not purchase it with the car, then you can just take it out. I was told it is ELO GPS. They should take that out if you are not getting the package that they sell or tell you that it's there if you do, but maybe the general public doesn't really care or will ever find out that it's there.

Thank you all for the replies!

Total spyware. Your privacy rights have been violated. Good job you disconnected it.

 

[98silverbeetle]

Just out of curiosity, is the dealer name on the window sticker the same as the dealer you bought it from? Meaning the car could have been traded from one dealer to another and the first dealer forgot to remove the device and the second dealer didn’t notice it was there.

 

[kirk_augustin]

Not only was it illegal for them to install, but they are unreliable and can malfunction, leaving you stranded.
Any hacker can also monitor your every move.

The only way I would not be livid is if the insurance company put it in after getting your permission and giving you a lower rate.

 

[MamboMedic]

If they spliced this into your harness, I would get the dealer to extend the warranty at least for electric issues! My experience with VW’s is once there is any wiring issue, it multiplies. Any factory gps or crash emergency alert or CarPlay is not wired into a vehicle like that.

 

[Syndicated]

Hi Everyone,

I recently bought a new 2021 Arteon R-Line and I was looking into hooking up my dashcam to the fuse box. Looking around in the fuse box compartment and I found this rectangular box hooked up with a wire harness; it looks like it is hooked up to the OBD port?. It is not secured to anything, it is just tucked in there so I doubt it is from the factory. Does anyone know what this is? Searching for the FCC ID turned up that it's a "PHILLIPS CONNECT TECHNOLOGIES LLC Battery Operated LTE Cellular GPS Tracker AQA01". Is this a part of the infotainment or navigation system? Is it one of those trackers that dealers put on cars?

In the pictures, it is tucked in on the left hand side. The wire coiled in there and the wire harness are part of it.

If anyone knows what this is and if it is safe to remove it, please let me know.

Thank You!
View attachment 118907 View attachment 118908 View attachment 118909 View attachment 118910 View attachment 118911 View attachment 118912

Ok, since everyone seems to think this is some super invasive thing, let’s set the record straight.
This is nothing more then a tracker for the dealer, usually installed during the PDi. All it does is allow the managers to keep track of inventory, from what’s on the lot, what’s out for a test drive, battery status, and a few other things.

Most of the time, the dealers use these because they or their parent companies have had a car stolen once or twice. The Audi dealership I work at was using Spireon for a while, but those guys are junk Chinese crap that couldn’t connect to a satellite for anything.

Once they are set up, the item is locked to that ViN, meaning they cannot take it out of your car and put it in another one.

I also doubt they are required to tell you it is installed because it was put in when the dealership owned the vehicle.

If you did not buy the services, you can remove it, and have a great paperweight, other than that you can leave it (personally I don’t trust them so I took mine out of my GTi).

 

[chris89topher]

Ok, since everyone seems to think this is some super invasive thing, let’s set the record straight.
This is nothing more then a tracker for the dealer, usually installed during the PDi. All it does is allow the managers to keep track of inventory, from what’s on the lot, what’s out for a test drive, battery status, and a few other things.

Most of the time, the dealers use these because they or their parent companies have had a car stolen once or twice. The Audi dealership I work at was using Spireon for a while, but those guys are junk Chinese crap that couldn’t connect to a satellite for anything.

Once they are set up, the item is locked to that ViN, meaning they cannot take it out of your car and put it in another one.

I also doubt they are required to tell you it is installed because it was put in when the dealership owned the vehicle.

If you did not buy the services, you can remove it, and have a great paperweight, other than that you can leave it (personally I don’t trust them so I took mine out of my GTi).

I would think it's invasive if they CUT INTO the cars wiring. When you buy a car, you usually assume it hasn't already been butchered. Seems to me that's a great way for possible future electrical issues.

 

[brad.houser@gmail.com]

Here is a link to the User Manual from the FCC database: https://apps.fcc.gov/eas/GetApplicationAttachment.html?id=5113786 Note that the FCC ID on the device is different this is for the 2ASKHAQG01 ID, which I would assume is a newer version, not 2ASKHAQA01, as it looks the same in the photos. It is meant to disable the starter remotely, so it could theoretically be used by a loan company or if the car is stolen. The issue is that you should know why it is there. I would insist that it be removed at their expense. You can bet that the bad guys who steal cars know how to disable this.

 

[The G Man]

Might want to read the fine prints on your loan contract. it is legal as long as you agree to it as a condition of the finance contract. That doesn't mean they have the right to track you, but it does mean that they can activate it if you don't pay the car payment and they need to determine where your car is to repossess.

 

[TanStarfield]

Yes, my port is black, but it is hooked into the OBD port with an adapter and wire harness

So is it plugged in inline behind the dash or into a secondary OBD plug, or actually plugged into the port that sticks out of the bottom of the dash? In other words, is your normal OBD port still visible, or was it just plugged in to that. I've plugged in an OBDEleven to my vehicles, so I would know if something was plugged into the port that sticks out.

 

[MyBrainIsInDeadlock]

So is it plugged in inline behind the dash or into a secondary OBD plug, or actually plugged into the port that sticks out of the bottom of the dash? In other words, is your normal OBD port still visible, or was it just plugged in to that. I've plugged in an OBDEleven to my vehicles, so I would know if something was plugged into the port that sticks out.

It was plugged in via an adapter wire harness from behind the dash. The OBD port exposed on the bottom of the foot well was still available for use, nothing was plugged in on that side. My port was black because of the adapter wire harness that they used. In the first picture, the car's OBD harness (right) and the ELO's adapter (Left) are unplugged and hanging side by side.

 

[lnoriel]

I live near Los Angeles California. I recently bought a Nissan from a dealership in January of 2021. While negotiating, there was a charge for a tracking device installed by the dealership. They showed it to me and I asked that they remove the charge and the device but---unlike your OBDII device --- mine was hardwired into the vehicle. The technician claimed to have "disabled" the device and I wasn't charged for it. I'll have to take their word for it. But I've heard some dealerships charge up to $2500 for the tracking device and will not negotiate the cost of the tracking device.

I inquired more information from the manager and he told me, his dealership (Along with other dealerships in SoCal) have been plagued by theft from the dealership lots. He told me that very week I bought my truck, they had tracked three cars stolen from their dealership and located them using the installed tracking devices. The cars were recovered in San Diego --almost 200 miles away from the dealership-- and he said he believes the suspects will cross the border into Mexico. In my case it was inventory control. Dealerships don't have enough cars to sell and if they're stolen, it's even more devastating to their business/inventory costs.

I don't know if your OBDII device is the same. I would prefer something like that rather than a hardwired device that weakens the wiring harness.

 

[ThatDudeTom]

Edit: double entry removed

 

[ThatDudeTom]

Took my car to the Mazda dealership today and received an update video that they found this device and a fuse for it. Said it was the cause of my battery being drained. It was pulling ~4.6 amps and it should be pulling below 0.020 amps. Pulling the fuse dropped it to 280 milliamps and pulling the tracker dropped it to 18 milliamps. They said it was a GPS tracker and I started trippin out thinking I was being tracked or something. Started searching the internet and found this post. I don’t own a VW. I leased my new Mazda 3 years ago. About a month ago my my car wouldn’t start, so I thought, “battery died”. Once I got a new battery, the car died again about a few days later. Gonna head to the mechanic when the cars ready and I got a lot of questions lol.

 

[MyBrainIsInDeadlock]

Dealership told me they give you a username/password that you can use to track the car in ELO's website. They install it in every new and used car that they sell as a "convenience" for the customer. Apprently ELO can disable the car if it gets stolen and you call them with a police report number. Dealership doesn't tell customers that the device is there or bother to take it out if the service is not purchased. Hopefully it's something similar in your case. I took mine out as soon as I knew that it was not part of the car.
I'm checking the OBD port on every car I purchase from now on.