Removing the Modem and GPS from my 2024 RAV4 Hybrid
https://arkadiyt.com/2026/05/13/removing-the-modem-and-gps-from-my-rav4/Open linkView original on slrpnk.net438
Comments107https://arkadiyt.com/2026/05/13/removing-the-modem-and-gps-from-my-rav4/Open linkView original on slrpnk.net
If this is a more complicated version for you and you want a quick and dirty one, just disconnect the fuse marked DCM in the fuse box under the steering wheel. This will kill it's power, however there is a built in battery in the DCM module that will take a few days to die. This does cause the microphone to not work as well, but its an option. I did it when I bought my '21 RAV4 Hybrid over 2 years ago and it hasn't caused more issues than the microphone not working.
Why does a car need a microphone?
For hands free phone calls
but my phone has a microphone
Yes, and many regions currently ban any phone usage while driving, including taking phone calls. A hands-free system makes this task much easier.
but my phone microphone can be used during a call with car audio
Why don't you stick your phone in your pocket or a cupholder and then make that phone call.
it's mounted on the dash
you're really not getting the whole "car speakers, phone microphone" setup, are you
For voice calls with your phone, some cars have voice activated features, etc.
It's all crap I don't need.
My sentiments there. I was wracking my brain trying to find a use case where I would actually need my car to hear me, and I now miss my '86 SAAB 900 SPG
Our 2016 car has voice controls - had it for 3 years before I realized.
Works like shit too.
+1...I had 1981 Saab 900 while working at a Volvo dealer and my last one was a 9-3. I miss Saab.
Bluetooth phone calls?
I suppose, though a BT headset seems less intrusive
It is against traffic laws to be wearing anything on your ears in many places. I got pulled over in Colorado in around 2010 for having one ear of a wired headset on. Didn’t get a ticket, but still sucked.
It’s something about being able to hear sirens and stuff around you. It’s dumb because people will blast music as loud as they want but having one ear covered gets you in trouble.
Deaf people can drive though
Oh, I know. And I wonder how many people with large hearing aids get pulled over too.
Yeah I'm sure those laws only exist in states where no one has taken the extra time and money to challenge them, because they're obviously inconsistent and unjust.
Deaf people spend their entire live deaf and they adapt. They don't suddenly become deaf when they start driving.
Some drivers suddenly become deaf but don’t suddenly stop driving though too.
Except for the ones that don't. Do you really not know about hearing loss?
Agreed. That sounds like needless legislation. Especially considering that there have been studies that show that "loud pipes DON'T save lives." The interior of modern cars are so soundproofed that most people won't hear those really loud motorcycles until they are right next to them. Same for many sirens I would wager.
More to do with the Doppler effect than anything dealing with sound deadening. You also don't point the pipes the direction your going .
Don't give those assholes any ideas.
So my mom can call me because she's lost, but doesn't want to stop to check her Google maps because she's in a "dangerous part of town" (downtown Seattle).
(My mum's not a bigot btw, she just lived in a village of 1000 people until she was 29 and anywhere with more than 20 people at once makes her anxious. Costco trips also have her on alert like she's part of Seal Team Six)
Or just kill the antennas with these.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00BXUYDMM and https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0DCBBYQR6
There are a number of writups online, but basically you disconnect the antennas at the head unit, and replace with these. Without them there is no resistance so the system knows things are wrong (and damage can be caused), while these fool the system into thinking there is no signal.
To kill the antenna with these you need to pull trim off the car to access the antenna plugs. Pulling the fuse takes 30 seconds and doesn't require tools unless you have fat fingers like me and can't grip the fuse to pull it.
Also, this could kill your FM/AM radio access depending on how things are wired and that may not be for everyone.
Good to know these exist though
True, but onany cars pulling the fused trips other errors. For instance on many Jeep/Chryslers you get check engine lights.
Is that supposed to be.....hard? I've removed trim panels from so many different cars, it's such a trivial thing that I don't even think about it anymore. 99% of trim panels are held in with plastic clips, you just grab it and tug a bit harder than normal. Pops right off.
I don't think it's hard either, but it may not be for everyone.
Thank you for posting this. These devices are getting out of control. They are marketed as a convenience to the driver, when in actuality they are capturing and selling your location and driving habit information to data brokers and insurance companies. Sometimes dealerships will even add an aftermarket tracking device to their vehicles without telling you. I removed one that I found in a Crosstrek I bought last year. The device I removed was made by iKON Technologies, and is 'intended' to be used for lot management at the dealership. The dealership tried to sell me an overpriced security plan associated with the GPS tracker. I declined. They left it on anyway. What they don't tell you is that iKON Technologies installs them at no cost to the dealership, and that the tracker is used for repossessions and capturing data to be used for targeted marketing or sell to data brokers. Some devices have the ability to inhibit your starter and ignition system like the one in this manual.
Slap that tracker on a car belonging to an employee of the dealership.
How is that in any way legal where you are?
Yes I do that too, if you want me to advertise for you, I should get paid.
They wish they hadn't
The only dealers that use those kinds of trackers are BHPH lots, or dealers who handle a lot of high-risk customers.
It's still shitty, but the contract you sign when you buy one of these cars absolutely does state their usage.
This YouTube video includes footage from a video call with company representatives for iKON Technologies. Their products are definitely being used for more than theft recovery. There is also a Google spreadsheet in the video description with participating dealerships. Thankfully their products are easy to remove. The device in my car was connected to the battery and ziptied to one of the leads to the battery.
Very cool. Passing this on to friends and family with the RAV4.
This makes me feel better of buying a new Toyota in the near future.
Dumb question if the modem is removed, why need to remove the GPS?
The article says that while not needed, it helped with some bugs when using a phone as the navigation device.
If you go to the dealership they'll get all your data that's stored locally. I imagine an independent shop using Toyota's software will probably do the same thing. Also buying a new car lets these companies know that you're okay with having your right to repair be taken away since this is the industry practice. New cars also have massively higher yearly registration fees and parts are more expensive to replace and lots of computers in the cars do have issues.
Just get an older car. Early 2000s. The 1.9ALH diesel in VW Jettas can be tuned to get insane fuel economy, up to ~60mpg. What do you really need in a new car that can't be installed in an old car? Fuel economy, sound deadening, double din Bluetooth carplay head unit, etc
Back in 2009 I got a brand new Honda Fit (Jazz in other markets) 3 weeks later I got into an accident and the car was written off as totalled because the body design had changed that year and no parts were available yet.
Sometimes the parts are expensive because there are fewer parts on the market when the car is new.
Oh for sure.
It's the spouce that needs convincing. I won't sell my early 2000s for this exact reason. Insane MPG no electronic bullshit.
We need something bigger with 3 rows for the kids as our two row is just way to small. Try and convince them to find something old, reliable and data gathering free is a challenge.
Get a Land Rover LR 3 or 4. They're old enough to not have telemetry, have 3 rows, nice amenities, have great traction modes, and all the (few) issues are known about so can be addressed.
cause the GPS doesn't work right after the change, and sometimes the phone will use the car GPS location, which is wrong.
GPS does not need the internet to operate (atleast it can send requests for positioning data). Although location accuracy can be improved if you combine things like triangulation w/ cellular towers and wifi connections.
Author answers this. Because with no modem but with GPS, his carplay navigation got messed up.
that is so fucking insidious
But one can also disable bluetooth tethering?
Can you use the phone to only allow Bluetooth media but nothing else?
At least on my pixel, I've got a setting to enable or disable sharing phones internet to bluetooth connections.
I don't seem to have this on my S23
Does iOS still not ask fully what the user wants to use the Bluetooth connection for? As bad as Android is I can't imagine it doing something like that without asking.
Data will find a way.
My wife is worried (and so am I) about getting anything newer than like a 2016 for this reason. I'm glad we're able to rip that shit out of newer cars
Just gonna keep fixing my 19yr old Toyota until I can't.
I've thought about making a business that makes drop in electric kits for popular vehicles. So you could take an older worn out vehicle and refresh it with full electric. It would probably cost $20k or so, but that's much cheaper than a new car.
Yeah, its already a growing industry I have my eye on. I would love to just electrify my gas guzzler.
It's called retrofit. I would love to see the price go down but it's definitely a challenging task.
There are not enough people around that would sink that much money into an old vehicle.
It depends, if you watch Dave's Auto Center people will sink that much into just an engine for an old truck. If fuel prices go up and demand for used evs goes up then I could see it as a solid alternative. I would have to target the most common vehicles that are currently on the road and make universal motors and smaller battery segments so that they could be packaged for different vehicles using the same parts.
Fucking brilliant. We need much more of this--more public awareness of this type of hack.
FYI, toyota puts the part numbers on the connectors if you wanted to DIY this. Corsa Technic and Ballenger Motorsports will probably have the connectors. If not, you can get the shells and pins from Toyota once you know the part numbers.
I did something similar to a 5th gen camaro. It was much easier. Take out the cell modem unit, open the case, pull out a physical hardware pin bridge that connected it to the OnStar unit. Done.
The only thing I lost was an in-dash compass heading.
The modem was 2g so its dead now anyway, I suppose I could put the bridge back and get the compass. I won't though, that takes effort and road signs have directions on them. There is always the sun too.
I think my next car purchase will be contingent on their disabling this for me before purchase. Just sayin
Not a single new car dealer will ever do this, they will cite "safety reasons" and refuse to do it.
That's cool. I can be stubborn too. 😁
Great write up. Something I've thought of doing many times with my Honda.
Haha, bet I could find a way to mess that up.
I wonder if there is an equally in-depth info for the
20042024 4Runner. Have someone else who’s totally nontechnical who wants this done.The 2004 4Runner never had any sort of modem, and only the Limited models had GPS - but that's purely a receiver for navigation and doesn't actually transmit anything.
This level of connectivity is a relatively recent thing.
Sorry, slip of the finger while distracted. I meant the 2024 4Runner.
Edit: jeez, my fingers are potatoes today.
I'd imagine the system in a '24 4Runner is very similar to that of the '24 RAV4.
If we start at the shift selector as per the article, it is radically different. It’s a solid stick, it has no boot.
Anyone know if this possible with hyundai kona 2024?
Check your service manual.
I did. Nothing. Found several threads online, but nothing conclusive for newer than 2024.
what if you’re in a place you dk tho? /srsq
Car GPS: always able to track you.
Phone GPS App: choose your vendor (e.g. openstreetmaps vs Google), set the app to only have location access when in use.
Significantly better control.
Can you please write English? No idea what you are talking about.
Translation: "what if you are in a place you don't know though? (serious question)"
exactamente
I believe they are confirming they haven't seen a paper map nor know how to use one. lol
Nor have a phone with gps or any other outside devices
wouldn’t a phone with a gps have the same privacy concerns, just pocket sized
GPS doesn't phone home by itself. The OP article also explaines that they only removed the GPS because of buggy behaviour in combination with using a phone GPS.
Easier to turn a phone off whole your car moves or wrap it in foil it takes wa6 less foil
icantreadthis
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yes lets carry around a massive paper map with us in the middle of traffic
Back in my day, we did a little thing called "pulling over to the side of the road or into a parking lot before pulling out the map". You don't read the map in the middle of traffic, silly!
Is that really any worse than drivers now
No, but it's worse than it could be. Drivers browsing facebook while they drive isn't relevant to the GPS vs map comparison.
Oh you can use Facebook on a map
It was a joke.
Anyway, downloading offline maps using any number of apps is an option as is installing a dedicated GPS unit in the car.
Fun fact: Automobiles and roads have existed for much longer than GPS navigation. Maps were very common and not "massive".
If you were taking a road trip, you might bring a larger map (known as an "atlas"), but those were more like books (vs. local maps, which were just a folded piece of paper).
Neither were massive. Local/regional maps fit easily in pretty much any compartment or pocket in the car. Atlases wouldn't fit in quite as many places, but they were still manageable.
I know what an Atlas is (british schools are behind enough that they still use them) but the same principle applies that it might not be the best idea to unfold and read a whole in the middle of rush hour traffic
Rush hour traffic is usually going slow enough that you probably could. But in fast traffic, yeah, that's why you don't do that, you fold it down to the part you need.
That is quite literally how it was done before GPS navigation took hold. The passenger handled the map.
Fuck your anglinguistic chauvimperialismings!
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