Beware putting a tracker in your car

[Nerfherder]

Beware putting a tracker in your car

If you have a tracking unit in your car and it negatively affects the electronics of the vehicle, you may have to fork out to cover the repairs yourself.

This is what happened to a MyBroadband reader recently, after it was discovered that his tracking unit was rapidly draining his car's battery.

Surely these things should have their own power source so that you can't disable the tracker by disabling the battery?

 

[konfab]

I don't get why you would voluntarily want a tracking device in your car. If your car gets stolen you really don't want to get it back after it's been ransacked and violated and who knows what else done to it. It will never be the same again so rather not make it any easier to get it back.

There are plenty of insurance companies that don't require a tracking device and in many cases the monthly contract fee for a tracker is more than the extra premium you pay for not having a tracking device anyway.

I think they are pretty good if you are worried about your car being hijacked and driving off with your children in it. Also if a family member goes missing, you can narrow down where they last were.

 

[namzsteve]

I have a ctrack in my car, after much research I had to settle with their product because I needed to know that it works, everyday. The moment my car is switched on, ctrack alerts me with the location. If the car is speeding, ctrack alerts me with the location. If the battery is removed, ctrack alerts me with the location. Impact alerts are also in there.
I'm in the final months of the contract. Really fighting in my mind whether I should take out a new plan

 

[Samayanaya]

I used to design tracking units and we started having issues with the cars battery being drained by our units. We found that it was the internal back-up battery of the unit that packed up after 18 months of usage. We switched to better batteries and improved the charge and usage mechanisms and our batteries lasted MUCH longer.

So what the article is describing, to a tee, is exactly the back-up battery being faulty. The unit tries to charge the internal battery at around 300mA - 500mA but cant yet still needs to provide power to the electronics inside... Causing high car battery drainage...

Wait till you hear about the horrible things technicians can unwittingly do to new vehicles...

 

[SpyShopSA]

Rather use a Spy Shop SA battery operated tracking device, that lasts +/- 90 days, no wires, no installation, no subscription fees and with free 12 months access to the tracking app + free 12 months support! You're welcome!

 

[EasyComs]

When a company takes money for a disabled service, lay a charge of fraud against them. Don't let this stuff just go.

 

[SaiyanZ]

A tracker is not purely useful for recovering vehicles. The more advanced ones with motion sensors, etc. are programmed to pick up things like accidents. So if you're in a bumper bash, a consultant will immediately call you to check if you're ok. If they can't get hold of you they will send emergency services immediately. Those few minutes might save your life if you're alone and unconscious. Discovery Insure does this for example and peoples lives have been saved. eg. some drivers who were alone and had heart attacks and crashed whilst driving.

 

[Jet-Fighter7700]

A tracker is just not useful for recovering vehicles. The more advanced ones with motion sensors, etc. are programmed to pick up things like accidents. So if you're in a bumper bash, a consultant will immediately call you to check if you're ok. If they can't get hold of you they will send emergency services immediately. Those few minutes might save your life if you're alone and unconscious. Discovery Insure does this for example and peoples lives have been saved. eg. some drivers who were alone and had heart attacks and crashed whilst driving.

somebody here on mybb had one of the discovery units, and didnt enjoy seeing where they are going every day.

 

[Gaz{M}]

I used to design tracking units and we started having issues with the cars battery being drained by our units. We found that it was the internal back-up battery of the unit that packed up after 18 months of usage. We switched to better batteries and improved the charge and usage mechanisms and our batteries lasted MUCH longer.

So what the article is describing, to a tee, is exactly the back-up battery being faulty. The unit tries to charge the internal battery at around 300mA - 500mA but cant yet still needs to provide power to the electronics inside... Causing high car battery drainage...

Wait till you hear about the horrible things technicians can unwittingly do to new vehicles...

I find it unacceptable that an electrical designer would not install some sort of battery health logic in the CPU. The fact that it tries to charge a vrot battery is unacceptable. It should instead disable battery charging and send out a "faulty battery" alert to the tracking company.

 

[ToxicBunny]

A tracker is not purely useful for recovering vehicles. The more advanced ones with motion sensors, etc. are programmed to pick up things like accidents. So if you're in a bumper bash, a consultant will immediately call you to check if you're ok. If they can't get hold of you they will send emergency services immediately. Those few minutes might save your life if you're alone and unconscious. Discovery Insure does this for example and peoples lives have been saved. eg. some drivers who were alone and had heart attacks and crashed whilst driving.

In my last accident, neither vehicle had a tracker, and before I had managed to START the call to my insurance company there were 2 ambulances and 3 tow trucks at the scene.... The tracking company can't improve that response time.

 

[Swa]

A tracker is not purely useful for recovering vehicles. The more advanced ones with motion sensors, etc. are programmed to pick up things like accidents. So if you're in a bumper bash, a consultant will immediately call you to check if you're ok. If they can't get hold of you they will send emergency services immediately. Those few minutes might save your life if you're alone and unconscious. Discovery Insure does this for example and peoples lives have been saved. eg. some drivers who were alone and had heart attacks and crashed whilst driving.

The issue with those units is that the insurance will try to wiggle out of claims by citing bad driving if you don't always follow all applicable rules. I also don't see how they can respond faster than people already on the scene.

 

[SaiyanZ]

The issue with those units is that the insurance will try to wiggle out of claims by citing bad driving if you don't always follow all applicable rules. I also don't see how they can respond faster than people already on the scene.

That's what a lot of people think but it's not really the case. It's even mentioned in the policy that driving data cannot legally be used to deny a claim.

If driving on a quiet road or late at night where nobody sees the accident for a while, the response will be faster.


The data is just used for things like:

- Verifying the time and place of the accident. If you lied about that then it's a flag for fraud. Reducing fraud is a good thing as it reduces the overall cost of claims and thus premiums for everyone.

- Collecting data to measure risk for different areas. If the insurer knows where more accidents/hijackings etc. happen then policies can be priced better so that if you are in a safer area, you don't end up paying for those riskier guys.

- Other miscellaneous things. eg. I saw a model where a team used the data and created a website with all known potholes on the entire map of SA. The device picked up when people drove into a pothole so over time they knew where all the potholes were. There's also other stuff like knowing that it's raining in an area. The device which is stuck to the windscreen can pick up the raindrops hitting it. So they have a live feed of where it is currently raining in the country.

 

[Anonymous 8]

Beware putting a tracker in your car

If you have a tracking unit in your car and it negatively affects the electronics of the vehicle, you may have to fork out to cover the repairs yourself.

This is what happened to a MyBroadband reader recently, after it was discovered that his tracking unit was rapidly draining his car's battery.

I put a tracker with car track, and it drained my car battery, in 8months I'm on my 3rd car battery, they refusing to come remove the unit of my car, and from March 2023 till now they still not doing anything, they didn't even pay for the battery there unit damaged.When the technician came he said the tracker unit is damaged my car battery because the unit was damaged, so when I took this further, that technicians boss told him to pay for the battery, but no win uptill now, they keep on covering for there faults, I just want that unit out my car before it cause more damage, because on that night my car didn't start, I was alone and the tow van the tracker people sent didn't know what they were doing, i had to call for help and got my car kick started because of the kick starting, it damaged my pc box, car over heated, and my timing went of, car track is refusing to take accountability for all this damages.. please can someone tell me what to do?

 

[Anelist]

I put a tracker with car track, and it drained my car battery, in 8months I'm on my 3rd car battery, they refusing to come remove the unit of my car, and from March 2023 till now they still not doing anything, they didn't even pay for the battery there unit damaged.When the technician came he said the tracker unit is damaged my car battery because the unit was damaged, so when I took this further, that technicians boss told him to pay for the battery, but no win uptill now, they keep on covering for there faults, I just want that unit out my car before it cause more damage, because on that night my car didn't start, I was alone and the tow van the tracker people sent didn't know what they were doing, i had to call for help and got my car kick started because of the kick starting, it damaged my pc box, car over heated, and my timing went of, car track is refusing to take accountability for all this damages.. please can someone tell me what to do?

Gather all your evidence related to this (all communication) since installation, go see a lawyer friend / lawyer, let them review this & then sue their a*#s by sending them a legal notice to sue. If indeed the tracker damaged your car then car track will take you seriously. But then again look @ the costs of battery / what is damaged vs the cost of taking the legal route.

If you do not want to go the legal route, why don't you get someone who works with tracker installations to just locate & remove this tracker for you? is it a contractual issue?