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My car is the model year before they added the ET Phone Home stuff. It requires a paid subscription so I wouldn’t have used it. I have an iPhone that is far superior to anything in a head unit. Satellite radio is the same. I had it on a previous car and it was painful to stop them from hitting my credit card with auto renewal fees despite canceling the service. The gift that keeps on giving.
English please. Does "android auto" have anything to do with running my car? Talking about driving it, not playing with the toys on the dashboard.
Good point!
As long as I can drive any of the family's vehicles, without any of the DRIVING systems/features not working, I'm fine. (Our "family fleet consists of one 2001 car; a 2015 SUV; a 2016 car; and a 2020 SUV.)
And as a side question, if "work arounds" cannot be developed, causing cars to not be able to be driven, what will this do to used car values??
One of the few Consumer Reports articles you can access without a subscription. I followed the link for my GM vehicle, and entered my VIN on the GM website. Since I have an active OnStar account, my Buick should have automatically updated over the air. I have noticed at least one software update in the past, but since this tends to happen while I am busy driving, I am not able to pay much attention to it.
In case you missed it on the news, with the sticky situation surrounding the 5G rollout,** and the shutting down of 3G, there are certain cars (et Al)
*Also as an aside, if your cell phone uses 3G, you might have to buy a new one, that is 5G capable.
** The sticky situation I refer to is that apparently near airports that may actually affect planes, so there are areas nearby that might not have 5G service.
Just to be clear, the 5G issue doesn't affect anyone in any significant way. No car uses 5G exclusively (I'm not sure any even use it), and no cell phone uses 5G exclusively. They all use 4G. Any--repeat, ANY cell phone with 5G also uses 4G.
AFAIK, if you have a cell phone that uses 3G only, you have been contacted repeatedly by your carrier to let you know it is shutting down. Everyone should now be on 4G.
So the airport/5G issue is not an issue in the regards of this post about 3G and cars. And for the sake of clarity and simplicity, should not have been mentioned in this post.
This COULD go in the car sub forum, but this is geared towards retirees, so is here.
In case you missed it on the news, with the sticky situation surrounding the 5G rollout,** and the shutting down of 3G, there are certain cars (et Al)
That may be affected when 3G is shut down.
Certain features on your vehicle may no longer work.
You can try looking online to see if yours is affected, or call your local dealership and ask.
According to the news, many manufacturers are offering free fixes to the problems.
*Also as an aside, if your cell phone uses 3G, you might have to buy a new one, that is 5G capable.
** The sticky situation I refer to is that apparently near airports that may actually affect planes, so there are areas nearby that might not have 5G service.
Just an alert for retired folk who may not know this.
Best
Thanks for the heads up. Can you please post some sort of link to what you're talking about when you start a thread like this for those of us that are clueless?
I know 3G is going to be dead. I was forced by Verizon to upgrade my blackberry 3 years ago. It got to the point where phone calls weren't going through or dropping. I knew nothing about it affecting a car I may have.
Thankfully reed posted an article. I almost didn't even click on your thread because I thought you were asking for what to do to buy a car with 3 grand. It never occurred to me that cars even use 3G.
Quote:
Originally Posted by reed303
Extensive article from Consumer Reports with model by model list of affected brands here:
Thanks for the link. I'll post the title of the article so if anyone sees my reply, they'll at least know what it's about.
Thankfully Ford and Mazda do not use 3G. I have a 2017 Mazda, push button, so I was nervous! I never wanted a push button car but that's what they sell. Even my daughters 2012 Dodge is push button. I guess I better see if her car is affected. She's home with my grandson, both have omicron so I won't bother her with it unless I have to.
As 3G networks shut down in 2022, some cars can be upgraded—but others will lose the feature for good
Quote:
As wireless carriers prepare to shut down their 3G networks over the coming months, millions of cars may lose the ability to automatically contact first responders after a crash. Some vehicles just need a software or hardware upgrade, but others—including vehicles from Chrysler, Dodge, Hyundai, Jeep, Lexus, Nissan, Ram, and Toyota—will lose their connections permanently.
Automatic crash notification, which alerts first responders after a crash via a built-in cellular connection, often relies on aging 3G cellular networks to connect drivers with emergency services and share a vehicle’s location. Even though automakers have been aware that these networks are shutting down permanently between February and July, many manufacturers still relied on it until as recently as the 2021 model year.
I checked into this as well when shopping for the new-to-me car I bought in November. According to the manufacturer, it will only affect subscription services such as Starlink, remote starting, security and automated accident notifications, and some navigational aids. I don't use any of those features.
Thanks, neither do I. I don't even know what Starlink means.
Thanks for the link. Article is very good at explaining what is affected.
Yes, that was helpful. Now I know my car is REALLY old. (2010). I didn't even know there was such a thing as automatic crash notification, where your car notifies the authorities.
Then again, I have never in my life used cruise control, which my car does have. I don't even know HOW to use it or why I would ever need it.
I drove someone else's car the other day. First time I used a car with a back-up camera. It felt a little awkward. I can see where it would be useful in daytime, though. The home where I am currently staying has a driveway that crosses over a sidewalk on a street where there is an entrance to a park. Lots of people walk on this street with their dogs, and I've become afraid I am going to run some person or animal over. I'm not used to backing out over a sidewalk. I look behind me, of course, but the way it is set up, I can't see very far to the right or left as I am backing out and someone could just step behind me. The camera should prevent that from happening.
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