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by 1-6 976 days ago
I wonder what happens when car companies increasingly connect their vehicles to cell towers?
4 comments

They will make using an app on a vendor-locked smartphone the only way to unlock the doors, start the engine etc.
https://www.theverge.com/2022/7/12/23204950/bmw-subscription...

(I believe they rolled it back after an outcry)

People have started identifying and pulling the fuses on vehicles' cell radios. I would also be interested in digging down to the radio itself and replacing the antenna with a dummy load.
That may create a parasitic battery drain if I radio is constantly seeking connection to a cell tower and not finding it. Subaru experienced a similar problem with their StarLink service after the 3G network shut down, car batteries started draining while trying to talk to towers that no longer existed.