- A GR Corolla owner had a strange battery drain that he tracked back to a hidden GPS device.
- He claims that the dealer installed it without his knowledge and never informed him about it.
- The potential implications of such a device go far beyond simply repossessing a vehicle.
Imagine the excitement of picking up your brand new Toyota GR Corolla Circuit, a performance machine ready to rip up the road. Now imagine that thrill evaporating faster than your car’s battery juice after just a month. That’s the reality Anthony Do found himself in, thanks to a little “surprise” his dealer forgot to mention: a hidden GPS tracker silently draining the life out of his new ride.
Anthony Do says he paid in full for his new Toyota GR Corolla Circuit. However, after leaving it parked for about a month, he returned to find the battery completely dead. While investigating the potential cause of the battery drain, he learned something unexpected: others had reported that a GPS piggyback device was draining their batteries. To his surprise, Do discovered the same issue with his car, despite the dealer never informing him about it.
Read: Toyota GR Corolla Erupts In Flames As Dashcam Captures It All
The device he found is from Phillips and it’s one of several different GPS trackers available that work the same way. They plug into the OBDII port of a vehicle and then offer a second OBDII port that goes where the original one did. Do reports that some tuners have actually noticed and complained about these devices because they interfere with the tuning process.
In Do’s case, the tracker has no apparent legitimate purpose. He claims that he turned down the dealer’s offer for a GPS tracking device meant to track the car if it was ever stolen. On top of that, since he bought the car outright, the dealer (or financing institution) has no need to worry about repossessing it.
More: New Toyota GR Corolla Owner Money Shifts His Way To $42k Repair Bill, Warranty Denied
The potential dangers of having something like this in your vehicle aren’t always immediately obvious. Dealership employees could potentially use this information to commit crimes. Used examples of this same tracker are available online for under $100. Individuals with access to a vehicle’s location could even try to steal it after selling it.
Theoretically, dealers could sell data about how drivers use their cars. In addition, it’s not too hard to make the connection between a GPS tracker and our recent coverage of ‘driver scores.’ Insurance providers are thirsty for more data about how drivers behave and this sort of device collects lots of data that those companies can use.
Read: Most Drivers Say They’d Welcome Anti-Speeding Tech, Are You One Of Them?
If you’ve recently bought a vehicle, it’s probably a good idea to go looking for something like this. Before removing a device like this be sure to check the fine print though. Some sales and financing documents will stipulate that such a device is installed and functional.
As always, be sure of what you’re agreeing to beforehand. We’ve reached out to Toyota for comment and will update this story if we hear back.