For anyone that has a new vehicle or bought one in the last 2 or 3 years, take a little time to check your vehicles.
I have pulled these out of some vehicles I've worked on recently. Nobody knew they were installed. They come with a "T Harness" that plugs into your OEM OBD port and then has another port that will bolt in place of where your OEM harness is. Often times you will also find along the harness, there is an inline fuse holder with a mini ATC Fuse. The white card was in a glove box of a fleet car I worked on. My buddy recently bought a new Denali HD from Wiesner in Conroe and we found one in his truck. Dealer staff didnt even make any mention of it.
These are GPS telematics devices that dealerships install for multiple reasons.
You can go under the dash and look where your OBD Port is. and look behind. Usually this is "in place" of where the Factory Port is.
How to identify
Most North American built GM factory OBD ports are black with a blue retention clip. If you dont see the light blue part, then you likely have an APEX installed.
Starting in 2015 Ford started putting in a "Gateway" which is the OBD port with a large box (its the modem) attached. If you have the Sync Connect or Fordpass, you have this.
Most Japanese and Korean cars use a white OBD Port. If you dont have this, then you need to do some more poking around.
I have pulled these out of some vehicles I've worked on recently. Nobody knew they were installed. They come with a "T Harness" that plugs into your OEM OBD port and then has another port that will bolt in place of where your OEM harness is. Often times you will also find along the harness, there is an inline fuse holder with a mini ATC Fuse. The white card was in a glove box of a fleet car I worked on. My buddy recently bought a new Denali HD from Wiesner in Conroe and we found one in his truck. Dealer staff didnt even make any mention of it.
These are GPS telematics devices that dealerships install for multiple reasons.
- Extended Test Drives - ever wonder why the sales guy is too eager to let you take that Denali home?
- Certain subprime lenders require them to make sure the buyer doesn't skip out.
- F&I Add-on that the dealer can sell to the buyer as a lo-jack style add on. "Well its already on, we cant take it off"
- Who knows what other info they're collecting whether you have paid to have it activated or not.
You can go under the dash and look where your OBD Port is. and look behind. Usually this is "in place" of where the Factory Port is.
How to identify
Most North American built GM factory OBD ports are black with a blue retention clip. If you dont see the light blue part, then you likely have an APEX installed.
Starting in 2015 Ford started putting in a "Gateway" which is the OBD port with a large box (its the modem) attached. If you have the Sync Connect or Fordpass, you have this.
Most Japanese and Korean cars use a white OBD Port. If you dont have this, then you need to do some more poking around.
