TCU is now unplugged - how much telemetry is stored by the truck

[austinzone]

It's wicked easy to disconnect the maverick TCU:

1. Remove right side lower center console trim (medium size piece of plastic on the transmission tunnel. From the corner closest to the passenger seat/floor - pull out and work all 5 tabs loose. Very easy.

2. The TCU is a black plastic module - it has a white label that is facing forward (hard to see because the label is in the middle of the module). The main connector is on the lower, passenger side of the box. seach google images for "Ford TCU" to know what to look for. Press plastic tab and pull down to disconnect the main harness.

3. The drivers side has 2 antenna hookups - but I dont think its necessary to remove them.


My question is - how much back log telemetry data do the rest of the modules store? An hour? A week? A month?

Also - is there any way to clear the telemetry cache from the vehicle - so if I take it to forward they cant pull the data that would normally have been uploaded over the cell network.

Thanks!

Sponsored

 

[Maverick2022XL]

No idea but your best bet besides what you can see and control in the fordpass app is to find a software solution that can pull the data from the tcm module to see exactly what it is doing. Bosch would be a good start to try since they make alot of these modules for Ford and other vehicles. Also keep in mind the TCU doesn't stay off even when turned off in the ACM settings. I know this first hand when I did some modding on my truck a tripped about 20 different dtc codes. The second I did that radio screen settings automatically switched over to the TCU and turned it on to send the codes out for diagnostic purposes to Ford.

Reality is the only reason you'd need the TCM is for over the air software updates. I'd find out if there is a way to do a factory reset which should clear all the stored data and only plug it in when you want to update software if you can't get the files from Ford or the dealer like for the radio for example. Reset it, plug it in, do your update, then reset and unplug again.

The bigger snitch device you'd want to look into is the EDR aka event data recorder aka car black box. Those are now used in courts and my understanding is they collect GPS tracking info besides speed and other moving data.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/marina...e-black-box-a-witness-against-you-in-court-2/

https://kodsiengineering.com/what-is-a-black-box/

On the plus side you should be able access this on a Maverick using Bosch software to see exactly it is storing.
https://cdr.boschdiagnostics.com/cdr/software-downloads

If it is tied into the GPS the easy solution unless the antenna is built into the box is to disconnect it from the main radial and that should be the end of that.

Figure all that info plus whatever the telematics modem collects is being stored in the cloud by geotab and the cloud is not that secure regardless of what anyone says. So that is another reason to not use Fords telematics system and devise your own that is more secure to communicate directly with Ford's servers.

https://auto.economictimes.indiatim...-with-geotab-for-telematics-solution/71424185

 

[ShadowBlack XL440]

It's wicked easy to disconnect the maverick TCU:

1. Remove right side lower center console trim (medium size piece of plastic on the transmission tunnel. From the corner closest to the passenger seat/floor - pull out and work all 5 tabs loose. Very easy.

2. The TCU is a black plastic module - it has a white label that is facing forward (hard to see because the label is in the middle of the module). The main connector is on the lower, passenger side of the box. seach google images for "Ford TCU" to know what to look for. Press plastic tab and pull down to disconnect the main harness.

3. The drivers side has 2 antenna hookups - but I dont think its necessary to remove them.


My question is - how much back log telemetry data do the rest of the modules store? An hour? A week? A month?

Also - is there any way to clear the telemetry cache from the vehicle - so if I take it to forward they cant pull the data that would normally have been uploaded over the cell network.

Thanks!

Any codes or CEL due to disabling the TCU? That is the only thing I dislike about my Maverick is that it is spying on me 24/7. I know others will say "what about your cellphone?" Yes, I am aware of that too but can choose not to carry that if desired. Not that I am hiding anything, but it is just un-American to track law abiding citizens and let anyone enter illegally across the open borders. This is just my non-political opinion so don't go jumping to "conspiracy theorist" or "MAGA" labeling. I am just a proud "American, Land of the Free" Ford owner.

 

[NeedForSteve]

There's a good possibility that a bunch of Uxxxx codes will be stored in other modules if the TCU is unplugged. I can't remember if that module is online CAN or if it's tethered through another module. If tethered that module may need reprogrammed; if it's online then all the modules on that BUS may need reprogrammed.

 

[The Weatherman]

How paranoid are we?

 

[Gullzway]

How paranoid are we?

Tinfoil Hat Level.

 

[paneubert]

Tinfoil Hat Level.

Tinfoil TCU level.

 

[Chris_G]

How paranoid are we?

Good weed does it every time

 

[ShadowBlack XL440]

Welcome to the conversation and thanks for all the useful information, wait that was nothing but judgemental criticism and childish name calling. Glad the forum gives you the opportunity to be condescending to others with different opinions or ideas.

 

[paneubert]

Welcome to the conversation and thanks for all the useful information, wait that was nothing but judgemental criticism and childish name calling. Glad the forum gives you the opportunity to be condescending to others with different opinions or ideas.

Not sure who specifically you are talking about, but I think you might be assigning malice where some good natured poking is all that was intended. We are all here for the funny (to us) jokes along with the normally useful info as well!

 

[Mavonorder]

Any codes or CEL due to disabling the TCU? That is the only thing I dislike about my Maverick is that it is spying on me 24/7. I know others will say "what about your cellphone?" Yes, I am aware of that too but can choose not to carry that if desired. Not that I am hiding anything, but it is just un-American to track law abiding citizens and let anyone enter illegally across the open borders. This is just my non-political opinion so don't go jumping to "conspiracy theorist" or "MAGA" labeling. I am just a proud "American, Land of the Free" Ford owner.

Amen to that brother

 

[Mavonorder]

By the way .. My Maverick has shipped as of 7-1-22 and is on the way to the dealer

 

[austinzone]

Not sure why you dont care that Ford can capture all of you telematics - and sell it to whoever they want.

So much so that they give you free cloud start and a portion of your vehicle telemetry. I believe the dealer is incentivized to get you logged in as well.

I dont like that. Its a gross invasion of privacy. It gives Ford, and others, the ability to shut your truck off if they chose to.

It bothers me that you dont care.

 

[whitef]

I'm doing some experimentation on this. Ford's telematics is unacceptable. It's not just Ford. Every automaker expects billions in revenue from mining customer data for monetization. Car makers are becoming social networks.

What's galling is that they cloak it under the useless "start your car with your phone" carrot, and encourage you to blow through the EULA and Privacy Policy without reading either. This makes sense, as both are genuinely disturbing.

That said, does anyone know if pulling the TCU fuse (number 11 under the glovebox) is as good as unplugging it? I plan to do just that today and observe.

One thing I happened upon accidentally is that we as consumers can discover the diagnostic portion of the telematics. I was looking for some connector pinouts for another project and happened to sign up for 72 hours of access at 'motorcraftservice.com.' This is the factory tool, and you can authorize a pull of the live telematics from the car. It's a subset...that is that there is no behavior related data. Only stored codes, mileage, fluid status and so on. Interestingly, there were a bunch of codes collected via telematics that don't show up in Forscan, so there's quite a lot more to this story.

 

[Mavonorder]

With that said, does anyone know if pulling the TCU fuse (number 11 under the glovebox) is as good as unplugging it? I plan to do just that today and observe.

Well...what did you observe? Don't forget about the "connect your cell phone to your Mav" carrot by giving Ford points worth about $200 of services or merchandise at Ford. If they are giving away $200, they are receiving more in return somehow... Business practices 101

Sponsored