My DCM disconnection odyssey.

Put on your tin foil hats, here it goes….

Toyota is monitoring (or in cahoots with) Autoharnesshouse for purchases of the 4Runner bypass harness and cross referencing with registered owners. They know who you are.

Silliness aside, this is an excellent thread, big shoutout to Madmax20 for great info!

George Orwell was right all along.

 

@madmax20

Thanks for sharing your install. I’m part way into this now on my 2024. To clarify, are there two bolts per side of the airbag (total four)? I’ve got the three out that are easily seen but the air bag doesn’t want to budge and I’m not seeing another bolt. Any suggestions to deliver the airbag would be a help. Thanks again.

 

K20K54R

On the left hand side.
do you see the little bolt on the left side just above the bolt you took out already?
That is the 3rd bolt you must remove.
then take a plastic trim tool and pull out on the gap between the air bag and the glove box.
...
I am assuming you already disconnected the negative terminal on the battery.... PLEASE.
let's not have any mishaps.

 

Thanks for the prompt reply. I had seen that other bolt and was able to remove the airbag with a more forceful tug than I’d previously tried. The harness is now installed. The plastic trim tools do help a lot.

I did disconnect the battery at the outset. Good thing because the bag didn’t deploy until I reconnected it. Is there a thread about stuffing the bag back inside? That powder made a real mess.

Just kidding. Should any issues arise after I’m able to get some seat time I will report back. This 4r I keep off salty roads.

 

LOL !!!!!
I nearly jumped out of my seat!
Thanks for the chuckle

 

Here’s my display with the engine running.

 

Very reassuring!

 

That's a darn good looking display you got there.
She's a keeper!

 

Ordered, thanks for the write up and info.

 

I have been following this thread for some time, just made an account to post my results. I ordered and installed the harness over the weekend. Everything works, including the microphone, which was the biggest issue from disabling the dcm. Just wanted to say thanks for keeping at this for so long!

 

Did you fully pull out the DCM or just unplugged completely?

 

The dcm unit is still in there, but I pulled out every connecter plugged into it. The harness from AutoHarnessHouse plugs into 2 of the connectors that were previously plugged into the dcm, if that makes sense.
So the whole unit could probably be removed if you wish, since its all unplugged.

 

I will do that, and set it on fire.

 

If you want to remove the DCM itself, make sure you have a deep 10mm. There are two bolts holding the DCM bracket in place.

 

I'm thinking about getting this harness. My Start-X remote start plugs into that module, so it will be rendered non-functional, and I'll need to find a different remote start system. What are some recommendations?

 

Hi Jim Bob

I was looking at the Start-X remote but didnt buy it for the same reason.
I wonder if, after connecting the bypass to the startx, the remote start will still work as intended.

Here is what I mean...

Leave your startx in place. But rather than plugging the end to the DCM, plug it into the bypass harness.
Then, try doing the remote start and see if it works. If so, you saved a lot of money.
If not...then here is one that I have been looking at as a possibilty...
https://www.n2designsinc.com/produc...ner-remote-start-push-to-start-w-key-takeover
...
To be honest I hope you try my little experiment and let us know how it goes.
If it works, I'd rather have a startx.

Cheers.

 

I'll buy it and try it. I've been meaning to take it apart again anyway to replace the extra bolt that I ended up with.

 

Fuse pulled on new 2024. "Communication module activation failed, blah blah about cellular coverage and call dealer if persists" is GONE without having to subject myself to surveillance just to own a Toyota.

I am one happy owner now. No more DCM. Yay
John

 

Could you post up a pic of the radio screen to see what is in the upper right hand corner?

 

Hi John. Have a look at post 164 of this thread.

 

I also updated my original post with this photo.

 

Not sure it demonstrates my results (which are positive). See my uploaded photo of the DCM status on my navigation screen.

 

John, the thing is, pulling the fuse might not be enough. According to the wiring diagram the DCM gets power from more than 1 source. You have DCM bars that are greyed. But the feedback you are looking for is DCM signal bars which are grayed and crossed out. The collective brain trust is pretty sure that that means both Toyota and AT&T have abandoned your vehicle. Pretty sure. But the only way to be positive is to unplug the DCM completely. And the only way to do that and retain speakers and hands free mic is to use the AutoHarnessHouse bypass kit. The feedback you’d get then is all mention of the DCM removed from the display, as @K20K54R shows in the photo above.

If disconnecting the DCM was as easy as pulling the fuse this thread wouldn’t be 10 pages long.

 

My understanding in reading through all the posts in this and the other thread(s) was that people wanted the ability to use their phones through the Nav display system (thus the desire for the hands free mic). I literally do not want any part of using my phone through any system in my car. That is how much I detest the corporate surveillance obsession which creates "necessities" via perceived convenience. I do not find it to be a problem using either the speakerphone on my cell phone or a Bluetooth earphone. I prefer that.

All I was concerned about losing was my right front speaker which does not happen when you pull the fuse. Plus I get emails telling me that my "trial period" for "Connected Services" has ended and how much I am missing out by not subscribing to it. And when I bought the car the dealer could not understand why I refused to sign up for it in the first place.

Maybe if evidence turns up that I am still being surveilled without my consent, I'll install a harness (if they are still legal). The Display that still shows DCM with no bars on my dash I figured comes from the backup battery which I believe will eventually stop displaying "DCM" after the charge runs out on it in a few years.

John

 

Hi Craftech,

Welcome to the journey.
I believe that we have found in the previous posts that removing the fuse only disconnects the microphone and panic button above the mirror.
As evidenced by the DCM logo at the top right of your radio display, the DCM is in fact still getting power, collecting your driving data such as speed, braking, GPS mapping and transmitting that data to Toyota whether you want them to or not.
All you did was deny them permission to share that data with someone else.
Of course, you can trust them. But I do not.

Please compare your display photo to mine and k20k54r's photo above.
In yours, you will see that it shows the DCM is still plugged and, powered and without a doubt still collecting data for big brother.
However, in ours the DCM is completely unplugged from power, and the internal lithium battery will eventually drain leaving the DCM as nothing but an overpriced paperweight inside the dash.

Having one surveillance device in my pocket is enough.
I don't want to drive one as well.

Best Regards.

 

Thanks for the reply, but I am confused. If DCM is a cell system and there are no bars, how exactly is data being transmitted to Toyota. Are you sure we aren't talking about the data being recorded in the NAV system where it can be read by Toyota when you bring it in for service?

 

It can still connect when you get near a cell tower.

 

The bars look greyed out, but I will keep an eye on it when I drive around.

Thanks,
John

 

Anecdotal story,
I asked toyota to disable the DCM on the phone.

Several days later, I thought it would be nice to have remote start. So I called them up and gave permission to collect and share data. They turned it back on remotely.
Within a few short weeks, I found the remote start so unreliable that I called them again and revoked permission.
And, they turned it off remotely.
End result,
They can both turn it on and off remotely.
They don't need you for anything.
They can start your car remotely and they can shut it off remotely without your permission if they really wanted to.
And....
Just like when PGE offered smart thermostats to people for free and then wouldn't allow people to set the temperature below a certain degree in summer in their own home, I saw that as a horrible violation of personal space.
So...
If the government told toyota to shut your car down for wrong speech, they could totally do it.
I still have a home thermostat from the 80s....
And I unplugged my DCM from my car.
...
I am a law abiding citizen.
My thermostat.
My car.
I want to keep control of both.

 

Anecdotal story time? Can I play? I used to be a pyrotechnician in the film industry. Often the pyrotechnics were initiated by a battery and a momentary switch. In the early part of my career it was fashionable among the old school pyro guys to use a push button switch with open contacts, mounted in a clear plexiglas tube. When I asked about the odd configuration, the wizened old guy supervising me said “I can look at the switch and see the air gap.” Wiring up the explosives may be the most dangerous part of the process. Seeing the air gap in the switch, knowing that the switch didn’t weld itself closed the last time it was shorted across a car battery, provided piece of mind.

And that’s the case with the DCM. The only way to be really sure is to unplug the cursed thing. Air gap.