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0 pointsbonestamp23y ago0 comments

I do consulting for one OEM and all of their new vehicles over the past couple of years use encrypted bus traffic. So, it is getting much harder for third party tools to communicate with anything that is not mandated by law (most things other than DTCs and Emissions related APIs).

The sole purpose is security. Trust me, the engineers don't want to introduce any more complexity than necessary, and that's why it has been so open for so long. But, in light of hackers exposing these security vulnerabilities, there is pressure to close them. I'm sure there will be conspiracy theories about making it harder to repair cars so you have to go to the dealer. But, that's also not true -- because of Massachusetts' right to repair laws, OEM tools are available to anyone (or any shop) that wants to pay for them (in and out of MA).

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bri3d3y ago

> because of Massachusetts' right to repair laws, OEM tools are available to anyone (or any shop) that wants to pay for them (in and out of MA).

At a price that's meaningless to a hobbyist and steep for an independent shop, sure.

Also, the actual implementation of these rules has been stalled for years by Alliance for Automotive Innovation v. Healy.

Point me to where I can legally, in a "clean" way, download ODIS for VW, or INPA for BMW, or DAS for Mercedes, at a reasonable price for a hobbyist.

IMO the only reason that manufacturers aren't under even more pressure is that these tools are so widely pirated.

bonestamp2OP3y ago

> At a price that's meaningless to a hobbyist and steep for an independent shop, sure.

I agree, they're pricey for hobbyists, and I can't speak for all but the I work with is well priced for independent shops. This is not exclusive to automotive though, professional tools in most industries are not priced for hobbyists -- it's easy to lose money on enterprise software if it's priced for hobbyists.

> Also, the actual implementation of these rules has been stalled for years by Alliance for Automotive Innovation v. Healy.

You're thinking about the newer "expanded rights" law. I'm talking about the original 2012 law that the newer law is trying to expand upon:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_Massachusetts_Question_1

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