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Automakers Try To Keep Repair Codes Secret
An anonymous reader writes "Can't get the trouble codes out of your car's computer? Congress wants to help. I think it's odd that they think it's your God-given right to reverse-engineer your car, but not your XBox. Why aren't the automakers bashing these third-party code readers over the head with the DMCA while they still can?" This debate has been going on for several years.
"Why aren't the automakers bashing these third-party code readers over the head with the DMCA while they still can?"
Because the DMCA protects copyrighted information that is protected by some sort of security system (although the system is often lame). These auto codes are not protected by any security, besides obscurity.
The Technonaut
Hell... Even local auto parts stores will run a FREE scanner for you and tell you what the code is....
Hmmm.
Nope, the law already allows you to keep your warranty and have the work done anyplace you like (say like having tune up s and oil changed). You are not required to go back to the car company and its doesnt invalidate your warranty. So that doesnt fly.
. I love the sound of burning women and screaming rubber....
... you just have to pay for it. One place you can get this sort of stuff, off the top of my head, is ALLDATA. There's many others, I'm sure.
The info is out there and many of the car companies do indeed offer it. They just don't much advertise it. They're too busy making cars to be selling information about them. Don't chalk this up to malice so fast, is what I'm saying. Mark it down as stupidity instead. It seems more likely.
- Give a man a fire and he's warm for a day, but set him on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life.
Yes.. this is the same with my car. Although we have found a couple ways around it. They integrated the radio, climate controls, and the LCD display for everyhting into one circuit board. Therefore, to do anything aftermarket creates a HUGE PITA. Even some of the biggest aftermarket radio manufactuers (Scosche, Metra, etc..) refuse to make any parts. With the repair cost topping $300 it's no wonder why they don't because of the liability if it screws someone's system up.
Hmmm.
Go to Autozone. The nice man there has a code reader, and will read the code, for free, and tell you what it means. Of course he wants you to buy some parts to fix it, but you don't have to.
Alternatively, you can look it up here Input your car model and year, and the specific code.
If you don't want to buy your own reader, drive by an AutoZone and ask them to read it for you. Guy will come out to your car and plug the thing in and check the codes and even explain what it means (assuming he knows what it means, which I'm sure varies from person to person). It's a useful way to determine if you actually need service or if it's just complaining about the gas cap or low oil or something.
Disclaimer: I work for AutoZone and have for about 2 months now. However, I'm trying hard not to be a shill, sort of thing. Still, if you don't feel like dropping $100 on a reader, this is an alternative you'll want to look into.
- Give a man a fire and he's warm for a day, but set him on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life.
The codes are available on the net if you know where to look. Often they are found on auto enthusiast websites. Websites like Focaljet.com
Not only that there is a great project for retrieving codes under linux. The project is called FreeDiag. It can be found at Sourceforge.net
Not only that, there are some great "open" cables you can build yourself. the BR interface is my fav. It happens to work very nicely with freediag.
Hope this helps people that are interested.
What could possibly go wrong?
> My father-in-law drives a Jetta with a horrible radio, and was told by an independent shop that a
> certain key is required (?) to remove the radio from the dash, and that he'd have to go to the
> dealer for that.
The tool for this is widely available, and it doesn't cost that much. If the stereo shop your father went to doesn't have one, he should find a different stereo shop.
Here.
Don't blame the auto dealerships, blame your father-in-law for not knowing how to do a Google search for the answer. Any stereo installation shop will have the tool you need. I had to remove my stock Ford stereo yesterday, and instead of the "special tool" I jused a coat hanger.
The codes aren't encrypted on cars for the most part, though on some they are. That's where you might run into trouble, although the car's yours and you never signed a license agreement of any kind when you bought it, so anyone trying to sue you for doing your own work might not have much to stand on. My experience described here is completely legitimate. No law requires me to take my car to a dealership if I don't have to, not even interrogating its computer to see why it turned on the check engine light.
;) But even if you don't, take a look at the tool site -- if you own one of the compatible cars, and are even slightly tech-saavy, you should really own this tool.
I'm a member of the St. Louis Volkswagen Organization (I'm one of the early founding members) and several members have aftermarket scan tools that run on PCs.
When the check engine light came on briefly a few months ago, then went out after less than a minute, I put a note up on the club forums asking that a scan tool be brought to the next meeting which was to be held that next upcoming weekend.
After the meeting, I talked to the guy with the scan tool. We connected the tool to the car using the OBDII diagnostic port under the dash, followed the startup procedures described in the tool's manual, and downloaded the code. It turned out to be a momentary sensor blip from one of the numerous sensors in the engine and transmission, and a transient error, nothing serious, so we cleared the code. It never did recur, so it was indeed just the kind of blip that can happen anytime due to a slightly loose wire, gremlins, you name it.
The dealer would have charged me a LOT more than the yearly club membership fee to do the same thing, and the dealer doesn't hold social events, club drives, parties, get-stuff-installed-for-free days, or anything remotely as cool.
The car's a 2000 VW Golf GLS 2.0L, if you want to get on the racket, and feel free to move to St. Louis.
i am a soviet space shuttle
I don't think anyone mentioned this yet - so I will.
I'm running a project to write a GPL'ed car diagnostic tool that runs under Linux (and probably BSD too). It's called 'freediag' and the current version works well enough to read out error codes (and possibly zero them) on at least a few types of car.
You'll need to buy or build a cable to connect a laptop to the OBD-II port on your car. A simple serial cable won't do because you have to have optoisolators to protect your valuable laptop from the rigours of the crappy signal quality you get from most cars. If you buy one, it'll set you back maybe $70.
Anyway - the project needs developers - and it needs testers (there are lot of different interface cables and a lot of different subtle variations on the supposed standard car interface).
If you are interested - head over to http://freediag.sf.net (of course!) and sign up to the developer's mailing list.
www.sjbaker.org
This starts with a basic incorrect fact. Getting hooked up by a dealer to read your ODBII error codes is almost ALWAYS billed as one hour standard labor.
--- I do not moderate.