Maverick Owners Warned Not to Use OBD 11 Connector

[uh50]

Would like your thoughts.

I have obd11 by bafx products for 5 years on my dodge.
I use wireless app called Torque on my phone that allows me to see several things when
troubleshooting. But in owners manual in the Introduction section, the following was written

" transmission of vehicle data to other devices or entities, or altering the performance of the vehicle, may cause interference with or even damage to vehicle systems. " In addition it suggested not to install device in obd from an insurance company for the purposes of collecting data. I did this on dodge with progressive in order to get a lower cost in insurance. So what gives Ford doesn't want that to occur either.

When I use the Torque wirelss app I guess I am transmitting data to my phone, I guess that means devices.
The statement above says that may "may cause interference."

That is very interesting. Initially, I insured my XL through Nationwide. The chosen insurance carrier recommended by Ford. They required I run a dongle for about a month or so.

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[Ozarkbeard]

Is it possible that Ford wants to be the only one collecting data from their vehicles so they can sell it? Just a thought....

This

 

[scotty]

That is very interesting. Initially, I insured my XL through Nationwide. The chosen insurance carrier recommended by Ford. They required I run a dongle for about a month or so.

that pretty much gets me confused....all a bunch of fake crap of information out there.

 

[Old Man]

If you read carefully Ford's wording about the port it has a weasel word "May". That said, in my engineering opinion a properly designed product plugged into the ODB2 port is not going to cause an issue. The port is designed to transmit and communicate data. As long as the external device conforms to ODB2 specs damage is very unlikely. If you are not trying to reprogram the onboard controllers via the port the possibly to damage is very remote. FYI I have an auto stop defeat module plugged into mine. I've used the torque app in several other Ford vehicles with no issues.

Being picky about wording goes both ways. 'A properly designed product plugged' is a weasel phrase. How do you determine any OBDII is properly designed? There is no way to determine which ones are properly designed. Cars today are computers with wheels. Unless you designed the vehicle you won't know what devices can cause an impact.

 

[SLJ]

How did you get transmission temp? Did you program your scan gauge?

Yes, once you put in the manufacturer's code there's a bunch of different info you can choose to display. I tow a 2,000 pound teardrop camper so engine, transmission temp, and charging voltage was the most important to me.

 

[Rivers90]

There is some low cost junk that plugs in to the obd2 port. It can lead to the vehicle not starting or it can run the battery dead.

Most OBD2 linked things are fine, but with so many cars out there even if 0.1% of OBD2 items have a problem at some point in there life (they may work at first but then fail) I am sure dealerships see car problems from this every month.

I have seen youtube videos of cars from auctions that did not run but only needed some OBD2 plug or OPD2 pass through removed and they worked.

Would I plug things in to my trucks OBD2 port? I have used OBD2 code readers many times when working on a car, you must to fix complex new cars. But I would not leave things plugged in. The OBD2 port has power all the time even when the car is off. One of my code readers has on battery and only gets power from the OBD2 port. as soon as it plug it in it turns on, the screen lights up and it starts booting up, this is even with the car off. I don't think it uses a lot of power but if left pugged in for a few days the battery would be run down, mostly from the screen being on. My brother has a fancier code reader that turns its self on and off when the car starts, it most likely can be left pugged in. But You can't tell by looking at a device how much power it uses and if it auto sleeps or not. I can see Ford just saying don't do it after it after seeing a few problem devices show up at dealerships.

 

[bautek_mn]

IIRC Forscan warns about potential gateway issues if you try to monitor too many parameters at once and Ford GWM failures within the current lineup aren't unheard of.

It wouldn't surprise me if the GWM's guts aren't already running near capacity managing the vehicle's busses. Maybe when you connect something that's sending non-stop OBDII request frames or Ford diagnostic requests it eventually overheats and slags itself?

Stuff like the Autostop Eliminator connect before the GWM and communicate directly with the appropriate CAN bus.

 

[MakinDoForNow]

FORD advising people to not install a device that collects data

Comical.

By the way....Ford sells the data to insurance companies. Maybe ins company would give discount if you just signed authorization for them to use it?

 

[colinl]

OP:
it is not OBD '11' as in eleven, two ones in sequence. that's the roman number II, two capital Is, meaning two. you can write OBD2 or OBDII but it's not 11.

____


I used to have an insurance device that plugged into the OBD2 port... probably 10 years ago. first gen DriveWise by Allstate. I got like $40 back the first renewal, then $15 and then $11. Then I unplugged it.

Today Allstate and many others use only smartphone apps. Everyone has smartphones with a gps, and they get to suck up even more of your private data. Ford absolutely sells insurance companies data whether you have opted in or not. They just get more data if you opt-in.

State Farm and others' smartphone apps directly integrate with FordPass. One can only image how much data they're sucking down with this ideal nightmare scenario. This was discussed in other threads: https://foundation.mozilla.org/en/p...t-category-we-have-ever-reviewed-for-privacy/

Another real concern about powering devices with the OBD2 connector is that it bypasses Ford's Deep Sleep battery monitoring system. The OBD2 port is always hot, and deep sleep does not deactivate it. I don't know how it protects against overcurrent. If something blows the fuse, you're going to have a dead truck.

 

[RedRider]

. . .
Another real concern about powering devices with the OBD2 connector is that it bypasses Ford's Deep Sleep battery monitoring system. The OBD2 port is always hot, and deep sleep does not deactivate it. I don't know how it protects against overcurrent. If something blows the fuse, you're going to have a dead truck.

There is no fuse protection on the OBD-II connector pins. Mine was shorted by a poor reader insertion and the $450 BCM computer failed. Everything still seemed to work, until I could not get my new CAA MyPace monitor to work in the socket. The dealer replacement took an hour to diagnose, two weeks to get the new computer and an hour of their specialist-rate labour to install it. It ends up a super expensive repair.

 

[Montana]

By the way....Ford sells the data to insurance companies. Maybe ins company would give discount if you just signed authorization for them to use it?

I tried one of those things where it's hooked up to your phone and navigation and it dinged me 3 times in the first week for "braking too hard"... There are deer and turkey and other wildlife constantly crossing the road here and I didn't like the need to always have it monitoring my every move. So I gave up on it. My coverage through USAA is $130/month and that's with a couple things set to a zero deductible, 20% extra value etc etc... pretty much the best you can get without overdoing it. So I just chalk it up to already being low enough for the trouble.

The other crazy thing is nobody offers discounts for dashcams. You think they would be quick to absolve themselves of liability and prove fault, but there exists the ability for them to deny and drag things out even further without it I guess. It is a little concerning how many folks with dashcams incriminate themselves of wrong doing because they truly believe they did nothing wrong.

OP:
it is not OBD '11' as in eleven, two ones in sequence. that's the roman number II, two capital Is, meaning two. you can write OBD2 or OBDII but it's not 11.

____


I used to have an insurance device that plugged into the OBD2 port... probably 10 years ago. first gen DriveWise by Allstate. I got like $40 back the first renewal, then $15 and then $11. Then I unplugged it.

Today Allstate and many others use only smartphone apps. Everyone has smartphones with a gps, and they get to suck up even more of your private data. Ford absolutely sells insurance companies data whether you have opted in or not. They just get more data if you opt-in.

State Farm and others' smartphone apps directly integrate with FordPass. One can only image how much data they're sucking down with this ideal nightmare scenario. This was discussed in other threads: https://foundation.mozilla.org/en/p...t-category-we-have-ever-reviewed-for-privacy/

Another real concern about powering devices with the OBD2 connector is that it bypasses Ford's Deep Sleep battery monitoring system. The OBD2 port is always hot, and deep sleep does not deactivate it. I don't know how it protects against overcurrent. If something blows the fuse, you're going to have a dead truck.

Yea I don't think there is any real way to opt-out of that stuff. The clauses of sub clauses in fine text within grey areas you would read on page 1,982 on version 1 of 7 still give them rights to "data" and to sell it beyond a certain period of time when it's deemed "useless" or out of date.

The crazy thing is how many companies steal it just outright in such invasive ways - like Huawei.

I can't honestly fault anyone for bringing up tin foil hat talking points. Whatever you think they are doing - it's much much worse.

It is interesting that OBDII ports are always hot though, considering you usually have to turn the vehicle to the "on" position to read diagnostics.

 

[stevj]

"Operation of this vehicle automatically authorizes us to collect...."

Steve

 

[scotty]

I tried one of those things where it's hooked up to your phone and navigation and it dinged me 3 times in the first week for "braking too hard"... There are deer and turkey and other wildlife constantly crossing the road here and I didn't like the need to always have it monitoring my every move. So I gave up on it. My coverage through USAA is $130/month and that's with a couple things set to a zero deductible, 20% extra value etc etc... pretty much the best you can get without overdoing it. So I just chalk it up to already being low enough for the trouble.

The other crazy thing is nobody offers discounts for dashcams. You think they would be quick to absolve themselves of liability and prove fault, but there exists the ability for them to deny and drag things out even further without it I guess. It is a little concerning how many folks with dashcams incriminate themselves of wrong doing because they truly believe they did nothing wrong.



Yea I don't think there is any real way to opt-out of that stuff. The clauses of sub clauses in fine text within grey areas you would read on page 1,982 on version 1 of 7 still give them rights to "data" and to sell it beyond a certain period of time when it's deemed "useless" or out of date.

The crazy thing is how many companies steal it just outright in such invasive ways - like Huawei.

I can't honestly fault anyone for bringing up tin foil hat talking points. Whatever you think they are doing - it's much much worse.

It is interesting that OBDII ports are always hot though, considering you usually have to turn the vehicle to the "on" position to read diagnostics.

Hey your right about that. What gives if obd is always on then why won't the obd read if the key isn't on

 

[Montana]

Hey your right about that. What gives if obd is always on then why won't the obd read if the key isn't on

Yea the devices will connect because there is always power, but no communication otherwise. Doesn't make much sense to have it always hot in that case.

Maybe one of our resident shop techs can explain why?

 

[Criss944]

I would hope any computer which controls throttle, braking, or steering is air gaped. As soon as you plug any wireless device in the ODBll port which exchanges data with a computer or smartphone it is no longer air gapped. The odds some hacker will take control of your Maverick are slim. Are you willing to take that change.

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