• Ashe@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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      1 year ago

      The car has some form of AT&T GSM connectivity. I recently discovered a WiFi hot spot setting and it’s a paid service provided by AT&T. I am able to schedule service appointments via the car, and it has an SOS button and an “Info” button that primarily is for roadside assistance. I’d prefer to be able to disable it. I was gonna say I thought Subaru was a bit better. Buttttt it looks like I’m wrong.

      Check your brand here.

    • scottywh@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      I’d like to know this as well…

      If not, are they using some always on GSM data connection or something?

      Doesn’t sound like something I’d want unless there’s somehow an actual significant Value Add proposition that I’m just not seeing.

      • pokemaster787@ani.social
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        1 year ago

        Yeah, pretty much all new cars have some amount of cellular connectivity. Usually you can’t actually use it without paying some subscription, but the manufacturers use it to push updates.

          • pokemaster787@ani.social
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            1 year ago

            I mean, I don’t like my car updating but I’d rather things get fixed than not. Software recalls are a huge headache in the auto industry, and being able to just download an update that fixes something is way easier than going to a dealership and having them use very specific tools and software to update the car/modules.

            It’s also used for anti-theft features for a lot of newer cars, if your car is stolen it can be remotely disabled entirely. That’s really what’s more scary in my opinion.

              • elephantium@lemmy.world
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                1 year ago

                Yikes, do you get a new car every single year?

                I’m more of a “buy something reliable and drive it 'til it breaks” type.

                • scottywh@lemmy.world
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                  1 year ago

                  I’ve had my current 2 for 4 years and 5 years respectively.

                  I don’t think it’s that unusual to have owned dozens of cars over the course of more than 3 decades, particularly when typically owning multiple at any given time.

                  • elephantium@lemmy.world
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                    1 year ago

                    Oh, I didn’t think about having multiple cars. Are you a big car guy?

                    I’m in my early 40s, and I’ve owned two cars. I bought my current car after the last one got rear-ended.

                    Sidenote, I’m not counting cars that belonged to spouses or the car I drove in college – technically, that one belonged to my parents. If you add those in, I’m probably up to 6 or 7 cars.

        • llama@midwest.social
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          1 year ago

          Which is interesting to say the least given that most cars from the past few years use LTE radios which will eventually work about as well as cars from the early 2000s with OnStar.