Teardown of Car Telematics Control Module and Shark Fin Antenna!

I found this LG TTA20BNEBN Telematics Control Module (TCM) and Shark Fin Antenna in a field.. but why? The TCM sends car information to cellular towers and allows for various tracking and remote functions. Why was it ripped out of the car? Leave your theories below in the comments!

[@Marc-i6u]

Did you have a Freudian slip? You stated you found it but in the video when you found battery you said it might have been tracking you.

[@turtlewax3849]

It spies on you and how you drive. Reports to Toyota for "diagnostic purposes" and they sell it to insurance companies and they raise your rates due to the driving habits the DCM module keeps track of and transmits.

[@devhackmod]

While I'm sure that is technically possible, I'm not sure your car manufacturer would give this out to 3rd parties unless they record all the data and make it available for purchase by insurance companies (and others) who want to look up their policy-holder's driving habits. But if that was the case, insurance companies wouldn't be asking people to install apps on their phone to track driving or giving them monitoring devices to plug into the ODB2 port to receive discounts. Either way, it's scary how much data they gather and whether it can be abused to track people unknowingly by law enforcement, government and others (without proper legal processes).

[@youtubasoarus]

@@devhackmod It goes a lot deeper than you think. th-cam.com/video/Nad4CLg6F-o/w-d-xo.html They are denying claims based on historical vehicle data they are quietly collecting.

[@rickswanberg4995]

Just a guess but, the fin is probably the cell phone/wifi antenna, the square, flat, horizontal antenna is for the GPS and the odd, curly antenna is for the am/fm radio.

[@RemiLynn4264]

Finding both the antenna and telematics module together, in a field, showing signs of being hastily removed... My money's on theft.

[@devhackmod]

I don't get it, why not just remove the battery from the unit and unplug it from the system? Without power it can't operate. Why rip it off the car completely and leave an obvious defect in the roof? By the way, I found another one not long after in a different area (just the telematics unit) and will be doing another proper teardown of it as well (stay tuned!).

[@RemiLynn4264]

@@devhackmod Speed. It takes less time to unscrew, snip, and toss to keep the car from being tracked. Besides, they can't sell a whole car with a VIN reported stolen so it'll end up at a chop shop and sold for parts. The missing telematics and hole in the roof wouldn't be an issue at that point because neither could be reused.

[@user-vh2cj4id2g]

Can you please tell me where the telematics control unit is located on honda cr-v 2023?

[@devhackmod]

From what I see online, the 2022 and 2021 models have it under the infotainment control unit. So I would imagine that for 2023 it is likely in there as well. That means it isn't so easy to steal it or disable it maybe?

[@rj-me3fh]

They are vin specific.

[@devhackmod]

Thanks, interesting!

[@KSCPMark6742]

Yeah, vehicle theft is the only reasonable explanation. Google says its an onstar unit from a cadillac

[@devhackmod]

Why deface the top of the car when you can just remove the battery from the unit? Surely that would stop any telematics transmission to cellular towers? Or is it just that they need to do it fast and just don't care? The shark-fin is the antenna but the actual unit can be opened and battery removed fairly quickly too. Why remove the antenna and screw up the top of the car if they already removed the telematics unit?

[@JonBeck-kh5ky]

Probably vehicle theft

[@devhackmod]

Yes I gather, but why remove it instead of just disconnecting the battery from the module if you already know where it is? They chucked the module and it has a battery so just unplug it and that's it, rather than leave a hole in your roof!