ES - 6th Gen (2013-2018) Discussion topics related to 2013+ ES models

Spy Chip?

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old 03-31-17 | 12:06 PM
  #1  
Maljunulo's Avatar
Maljunulo
Thread Starter
Rookie
 
Joined: Nov 2016
Posts: 93
Likes: 10
From: Connecticut
Default Spy Chip?

Does the ES ( or any Lexus) come with a factory-installed, "spy chip", or "GPS Tracking", or a "Black Box" or whatever you want to call it?
Old 03-31-17 | 12:17 PM
  #2  
JDR76's Avatar
JDR76
Lexus Champion
 
Joined: Nov 2013
Posts: 12,549
Likes: 1,630
From: WA
Default

Yes they have a "black box".

Here's a decent explanation of what they do:
If you've bought a new car in the past half-dozen years, there's a good chance it has a "black box" that activates if you brake suddenly, swerve off the road or hit something hard enough to make the airbags deploy.

The black box is formally known as an event data recorder (EDR), and today it's in 96 percent of new cars sold in the United States, according to industry estimates.
Event data recorders aren't actually black boxes but tiny microcomputer chip sets. In most vehicles, they're part of the airbag control module, and originally were included to ensure airbags deployed when they were supposed to.

Over the years, as electronics got cheaper, smaller and smarter, event data recorders became capable of doing more than simply monitoring airbags. Automakers realized the devices could be used to provide information about the seriousness of an accident, and if a car was being operated properly when a crash occurred. Based on a separate NHTSA regulation passed in 2012, if a vehicle today does have an event data recorder, it must track 15 specific data points, including speed, steering, braking, acceleration, seatbelt use, and, in the event of a crash, force of impact and whether airbags deployed.
Most event data recorders are programmed to record data in a continuous loop, writing over information again and again until a vehicle is in a front-end collision or other crash. When an accident occurs, the device automatically saves up to 5 seconds of data from immediately before, during and after an incident.
https://www.edmunds.com/car-technolo...rash-data.html
Old 03-31-17 | 12:22 PM
  #3  
bc6152's Avatar
bc6152
Lead Lap
 
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 4,931
Likes: 1,306
From: SE PA
Default

Originally Posted by Maljunulo
Does the ES ( or any Lexus) come with a factory-installed, "spy chip", or "GPS Tracking", or a "Black Box" or whatever you want to call it?
Yes, your Lexus has a "black box" which is an event data recorder or "EDR". It records accidents, MPH, and other features accessible to manufacturers. Manufacturers started installing them around 1994. It can be compared with the flight data recorders in commercial aircraft.
Old 04-01-17 | 08:37 AM
  #4  
Kansas's Avatar
Kansas
Lead Lap
 
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 3,588
Likes: 259
From: Kansas
Default

All vehicles made by Toyota that have Safety Connect (i.e. SOS button in the roof) can be tracked: http://drivers.lexus.com/lexusdriver...afety-Connect/
Old 04-01-17 | 10:00 AM
  #5  
dchar's Avatar
dchar
Lexus Champion
 
Joined: Feb 2013
Posts: 2,954
Likes: 231
From: SoCal
Default

Originally Posted by Kansas
All vehicles made by Toyota that have Safety Connect (i.e. SOS button in the roof) can be tracked: http://drivers.lexus.com/lexusdriver...afety-Connect/
Only if you have an active subscription. If you let it expire, then it's can't track since you need to press the button in the car in order to reactivate it. So if your car is stolen but your Safety Connect is expired, don't expect them to be able to track your car.
Old 04-01-17 | 10:49 AM
  #6  
bc6152's Avatar
bc6152
Lead Lap
 
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 4,931
Likes: 1,306
From: SE PA
Default

I think that the OP is asking about the manufacturer installed EDR - not anything to do with Lexus Safety Connect. Has nothing to do with subscriptions or Safety Connect. This is a device that the makers would use in the event of a catastrophic accident or vehicle equipment failure to detect cause. Installed in most - if not every car - since the middle 90's.
Related Topics
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
chopperpl
GS - 3rd Gen (2006-2011)
43
01-06-22 11:46 AM
SilverSprt
GS - 3rd Gen (2006-2011)
5
11-26-06 06:59 PM
Big Jimm
LS - 4th Gen (2007-2017)
9
09-11-06 07:36 AM



Quick Reply: Spy Chip?



All times are GMT -7. The time now is 12:27 AM.