My DCM disconnection odyssey.

Toyota has to pay the cellular carrier a monthly fee for every connected unit. When you tell them to disconnect, it sounds like they send a command to the DCM to stop it from reporting in, but it doesn't shut down the cellular modem. Toyota eventually sent an update to the cellular carrier that killed cellular service to your truck and that's when it went completely offline.

If they don't have provisions for reactivating an existing DCM, they might require that the DCM be replaced with a new unit with a new IMEI in order to reactivate. I'm sure they have a process for dealing with DCM replacements...disconnects are likely rare enough that they didn't bother coming up with a process for reconnects.

 

Interesting. What is your source for this info. Do you work with this stuff?

 

Yes, I write firmware for vehicle telematics via the cellular network. Not for Toyota, so I don't have inside information on the 4Runner.

 

Hi Wiz. Thanks for your input. What you said about the shutdown being a multi-step process tracks with my experience - at first the telematics stopped working, but there were still signal bars on the display, and then after a while the display became grayed bars with a line through them continuously.

The warning I received from the grumpy gentleman at Toyota was that my DCM would have to be “re-flashed” to get back its functionality.

 

I need to check mine. This could be the end of these concerns!

 

This thread and related responses demonstrate the value this forum is capable of. No snarky (well, maybe one) remarks, just good folks discussing a common concern - kudos to you all. I think being fortunate enough to have ended up with a 2019 (TRD-OR), I am not "blessed" with such technology. If my thinking is wrong please correct. As an old school automotive electrician, would it make sense to just place a control switch in the DCM circuit so you could select it if the need comes up (leaving fuse in place)? One thing I have noticed lately with my iPhone is that is informs me where I just parked my car so maybe I do after-all have a transmitting gremlin in the works? Maybe the easiest fix for those concerned - just give up your smart phone?

 

That’s on the iphone side, not the car. It’s for when you get mugged, the perp can find your car and take it home as well. It’s also proof that apple inc engineers live in a fairy land where everybody is “good on the inside”

 

I checked today, should have done it before, but have been using carplay, so I dont see these screen this often.

My display is showing crossed out-no bars for DCM like @Captain Spalding.

I have not pulled any fuses or messed with the antenna. The only thing I did was call the 800 number the day after I bought it to disconnect the feature.

I’m hopeful that I can take this as an indication of an actual disconnect! And hopefully, if Toyota has designed this in the manner that @HighwayWizard suggests toyota may have, this would pretty much put this issue to bed. We’d have to catch the arrows in the act of blinking to prove otherwise.

 

Switch in the DCM circuit: on the plus side I could get over the air software updates. Downside: I’d have to flip the switch every time the hands-free mic was needed.

Regarding giving up the phone: this is a common remark, usually made in a snarky way. (Thanks for not being “that guy”.) There’s almost no comparison between the tracking data the phone collects and the data the truck collects. The biggest difference is that the truck collects not just location data but also info on driving habits which, if given to insurance companies, could affect one’s rates, or whether or not an accident claim was paid.

 

Fingers crossed!

 

This is very interesting. Did not even know or think about what the DCM even was or meant.

 

If someone did NOT call the number to opt out upon receipt of the vehicle… would they automatically be “opted out” of everything after the one year free trial? And would the DCM light/bars go blank with a line through it?

Or would they collect data in perpetuity? And simply not allow some of the connected services functionality?

 

Captain, a completely serious question.... The things you're worried that your car is doing are already being done with your smart phone and any social media you're involved with. I'm just not following why you're worried about this so much. Now if you say your don't have a smart phone and you're not on any social media then I can see it. Just curious.

Side note, I'm curious how it works if you buy one used. Ours is a 21' ORP and we obviously didn't have that sticker. We did receive a leter in the mail about calling to activate the services (which we never did).

 

From my perspective, the problem with DCM is not primarily privacy, but rather security.

The DCM with the cellular modem gives your truck an always-on network connection back to Toyota's servers. My understanding is that the DCM can update the firmware of almost any module in the truck. It also provides a path for a remote attacker to seize control over your truck. The following article is not about a Toyota, and I do not have any evidence that Toyota has a security problem of this severity:

https://www.pcmag.com/news/hackers-remotely-hijack-a-jeep-crash-it-into-a-ditch

With this connection, your truck is only as secure as Toyota's servers. Good chance that Toyota's servers are running on Amazon Web Services instances, so it's also only as secure as AWS. I'd hope that Toyota has placed all the DCM modems on a private VPS, but it's also possible they're connected to the public Internet. If it is on the public Internet than reproducing the Jeep hack above on a Toyota is a real possibility.

From my perspective, is the convenience of Toyota's telematics features great enough to offset the increased security risks?

I don't think so, which is why I'm disabling my remote telematics. It's not enough to merely not subscribe to Toyota's services....you need to call Toyota and ask them to disable the DCM. I'm slightly paranoid, which is why I'm also going to unplug the cellular antennas and plug terminators into the antenna ports on the DCM.

What do I lose? Remote monitoring features. Remote control features like door lock/unlock & engine start. The ability to push the "SoS" button and instantly be connected to a human. Automated notification (including location) to Toyota & the authorities if the truck gets into a severe accident. Automated maintenance reminders triggered by the actual usage of the truck.

If my truck needs a firmware update, it'll have to go the dealer so they can physically connect to the truck to install the update.

What do I gain? Toyota cannot modify my truck without my approval/knowledge. Significant (nearly complete) immunity against remote hacking/attack. Greater privacy because information on my usage of the truck is not being constantly sent to Toyota.

How you value these elements is a highly personal decision and no one solution fits all.

 

That is typical for the land they currently reside in. I gotta move. I don't mind being the salt of the earth, but, I'm getting old enough that I want some normalcy - and this place ain't normal.

 

I totally understand what you’re saying, but your phone holds much more valuable info that is also just as hackable (if desired bad enough). So I feel like unless you’re someone with no phone and no online presence then it’s kind of a mute point.

 

I suspect it’s this.

I can set preferences in the Privacy settings of my smartphone to not transmit my location data. I don’t trust that for a second. But aside from that, I don’t believe that the phone collects data on my driving habits. (Perhaps it collects speed data…) But the phone doesn’t know when the automatic braking turns on, or when the seat belt reels lock up, or anything else that my insurance company might interpret as reckless driving. Also, in California there is constant talk about a tax per miles driven. I don’t want to make it easy for them. (The tax per miles driven is an answer to high-mpg hybrids and electrics that are digging into the funds otherwise collected by gas taxes.) And then there’s the issue of the possibility of our vehicles being remotely shut down by bad actors. That’s a little on the tin-foil hat side, but still.

In any case, if you don’t think having the DCM disabled is worthwhile, then don’t bother.

Try pushing the SOS button and see what happens.

Do you have a source for the appropriate terminators? Please share!

 

Why bother locking the front door when the widows are made of glass?

But seriously friends, the purpose of this thread is to share my experience with people who might want to disable their DCM. It is not a thread about whether or not you should do it. We could debate the point ad nauseam, but such a debate isn’t likely to change anyone’s mind and will only create enmity. So let’s not…

 

Agree

PSA: If enmity is what is desired (hey, sometimes we feel a little spicy), there is a thread already for that

 

So is the consensus that if we call the 800 number and opt out…. We’re good to go? (ie. not being “watched”)

Or must we physically disconnect something to be 100% sure?

 

I don’t know about a consensus, but I’m satisfied having called the 800 number and gotten to the point of having dimmed crossed out DCM signal bars all the time. But 100% sure? Let’s put it this way. If I get that phone call in the middle of the night from a buddy who asks me to come over right away and bring a shovel, I’ll be pulling that DCM fuse. ;-)

 

Nothing magic about a "terminator", it's just a 50 ohm resistor across the two contacts of the coaxial connector. However coaxial connectors are generally not designed to connect to the leads of a resistor and an improvised setup is likely to fail in a high-vibration environment.

My new truck is currently on order and should be delivered in about two weeks.

 

My phone cannot crash me into a ditch and kill me if it's hacked.

And there are things you can do to your phone to reduce the attack surface, but that's a topic for an entirely different thread.

 

Thanks for the links, and congratulations in advance on your new vehicle. If you make this modification please post here with the results!

 

I have a strong back and carry my own shovel. Let me know if you need any help!

 

It’s times like that you learn who your real friends are!

 

Do you really think that's what's going to happen? There are plenty of other car brands that have greater technology that's been around far longer and I don't believe I've ever seen that headline.

 

https://www.pcmag.com/news/hackers-remotely-hijack-a-jeep-crash-it-into-a-ditch

It didn't make national headlines because the driver was a journalist who was expecting it to happen, and Chrysler DID patch the problem.

Also see https://www.tomshardware.com/news/tesl-model-s-remote-hack,32722.html

Realistically, if someone is targeting *you*, a good old fashioned car bomb is more likely. My bigger fear is a bored idiot who gains remote access and decides to crash someone for the thrill of it. Same kind of psychopath who makes bogus 911 calls (swatting) to get the police to scare/kill some random person.

 

Hmmm, interesting stuff. Appreciate the links.

 

My truck arrived, and I had Toyota disable my DCM. They seem to have sped things up....the DCM signal indication went offline within 2 hours. The dialog with the call center was relatively painless. I had to confirm twice that I really wanted to disable Data Transmission and acknowledge all the services I would be losing.

I also pulled my glove box and unplugged the antenna connectors to the DCM. It is possible to touch the connectors through the access panel on the driver's side of the glove box, but you'll be working blind, and if you haven't seen it disassembled, you probably can't pull it off without removing the glove box. Getting the glove box out is an adventure. I swear Toyota hired some mechanical designers from Honda...this is one of the nastiest/stupidly difficult glove box removals I've ever done!

To get the glove box out:

You need to pop out the air conditioning controls just so you can remove the small plastic cover next to the knee airbag. That covers two of the screws that hold in the knee airbag. You'll also need to remove the front passenger door sill and the right kick panel to be able to get to the right screw on the knee airbag. There are also clips across the top, pry between the airbag cover and the bottom of the glove box. When you drop the knee airbag, be careful: I don't like to unplug airbags if I don't have to....increases the risk of setting them off by accident, and it can also upset the SRS computer if you haven't disconnected the battery. Suggest having a small box in the passenger footwell to set the knee airbag so you don't hang it by the cable.

With the knee airbag out of the way, you can remove the two lower bolts that hold in the glove box. There are also three screws at the top...open the glove box door, pry the covers off and remove the phillips screws. Once the two bolts and three screws are out, the glove box should pull free fairly easily. The annoying part is the cable for the light....held on by multiple wire clips that you need to free in order to be able to unplug the wire from the glove box assembly.

This is major dash disassembly and not for the timid or the inexperienced. There are lots of plastic tabs and clips that you need to pry free with measured force. Too much force and you'll break them instead of popping them free.

Way beyond most cars which are remove 4 to 6 screws and it just comes out.

Contrary to my previous speculation, the DCM antenna connectors are NOT FAKRA...looks closer to HSD, but I don't have a definite identification or a source for adapters/terminators.