Lock for OBDII port

Hey! I was super-excited to have the BEM Auto peeps use my car for their product photos. I think the production units look awesome!

https://www.bem-auto.com/product-page/universal-tune-saver

Miss_Athanatos said:

I know BEM Auto are making one of these specifically for the Ram trucks. One guy told me that there are enough people who have tunes on their trucks under warranty to be concerned taking the trucks in for dealer service. I'm not in that boat, but I get it. These folks don't want to pick up a truck stuck in limp mode.

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Ironic that those with tunes under warranty who are "concerned" are going to use a device that has engraved on it "Universal Tune Saver" to hide the fact they have a tune.

Some individual people might want to hide that they've changed something on their vehicle which may void their warranties. I don't think the purpose behind BEM Auto's lock is to hide anything, hence the engraving. The lock is to prevent unauthorized access as stated on their website.

I'm still happy they used my car for their product photos.

I wasn't speaking of BEM but the individuals. If you are worried about your losing your warranty that ought to be a good start to getting noticed.

Umm... Shouldn't this thread be in the vendor items for sale area?

Miss_Athanatos said:

Hey! I was super-excited to have the BEM Auto peeps use my car for their product photos. I think the production units look awesome!

https://www.bem-auto.com/product-page/universal-tune-saver

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Can I post there without being a vendor?

Wish I had one of these before they put the "fix" on my car without my consent. I took my TDI in for an oil change only, back at the end of January, and they put the software update on mine; without my knowledge or consent. When I went to pick it up, they said I needed to talk to someone from Volkswagen to give consent and that I would be receiving the 2/3 of the emission modification compensation. I told them that I was still on the fence on what I wanted to do and they said they couldn't take it off now that it was done. Long story short, I still have my fixed TDI and a signed letter from the regional Volkswagen manager that I can still do the buyback or take the emission modification money if I decide to.

HighPlainsDrifter said:

Wish I had one of these before they put the "fix" on my car without my consent. I took my TDI in for an oil change only, back at the end of January, and they put the software update on mine; without my knowledge or consent. When I went to pick it up, they said I needed to talk to someone from Volkswagen to give consent and that I would be receiving the 2/3 of the emission modification compensation. I told them that I was still on the fence on what I wanted to do and they said they couldn't take it off now that it was done. Long story short, I still have my fixed TDI and a signed letter from the regional Volkswagen manager that I can still do the buyback or take the emission modification money if I decide to.

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I'm sorry to hear that happened to you. I remembered reading on several forums about people's horror stories with dealers putting the software fix on people's TDIs without their knowledge or consent. That's why after I got a chance to try out a prototype, I thought I'd post here...so that other people would know about the product coming out (and is out now) before the same happened to them.

I got one for my Ram truck, too.

My sister's bf is a diesel mechanic and he told me about the VWs with the keyless systems being susceptible to theft through the OBD-II port as well. He was saying that car thieves just have to plug in to the OBD-II port to clone the key code, then load the code on a blank "key", start the car, then drive away. All that means for me is that I'll have the port lock on the OBD-II port of my TDI if I have to park in the city.

so whats stopping yeh from pulling the under dash panel this is attached too, unplugging the cable from the back of the OBD2 port and plugging it into an unlocked OBD2 port salvaged from another vehicle? Thats what I'd do in the shop, 2 mins tops and you'd never know about your lil lock being bypassed.

nayr said:

so whats stopping yeh from pulling the under dash panel this is attached too, unplugging the cable from the back of the OBD2 port and plugging it into an unlocked OBD2 port salvaged from another vehicle? Thats what I'd do in the shop, 2 mins tops and you'd never know about your lil lock being bypassed.

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Right...two minutes.

Sounds like nothing would stop an ambitious and amoral/unscrupulous mechanic from violating a person's vehicle/private property. The lock is an obvious symbol that no consent has been given by the owner of the vehicle for the mechanic to access the computer.

When a person will deliberately violate private property which is locked you can't help but see malice there. I would think that if the effect on the vehicle were serious and the violation by the mechanic became known to the owner at some later time it wouldn't appear to be a neutral matter in civil court.

if you dont trust the mechanic you shouldn't be taking it in, lots of work can require computer access.. Why are you taking a vehicle to dealer at all if your trying to delay fix?

Just last week I was working on wife's radio and unplugged the airbag warning light right under the radio to get the panel off, triggered an airbag code that required a computer to reset.

If you wont let em into your vehicle computer, why do you let em under the hood in the first place?

Dealers wont fill windshield wiper fluid without plugging into diagnostics port, its step one on all procedures.. you blocking em is just going to end up w/no service at all or em just bypassing it.

nayr - please read the thread. All the answers to your questions are on the first page.

I never give my mechanic the keys when I drop off a car. Why should i trust them with my locked, private property?

...oh wait, that makes no sense. If they need to work on the vehicle (my private property), they need access to it. Just like a plumber going into your bathroom!!! The horror!

I DIY all that I can - mainly to save money - so luckily I trust the grease monkey with me/myself/I/our keys.


The one example of a dealer inadvertently performing a fix without consent, led to the owner still having the option of getting the full buyback amount.

Not much loss there. If they cared to, they could try and sue the dealer/VW for more compensation.

Between this lock and the double fuel cap lock, I'm guessing you've had past issues that I've never run into with mechanics or the public.

Your analogy is not pertinent, surfstar. It is a policy to connect a diagnostic tool to a vehicle's computer, not a necessity for an oil change, filter change, tire rotation, etc. Enactment of policies require explicit and specific address when a mechanic comes upon a lock for which he does not have a key. According to common sense and ethics, permission must be gained to open a lock which is not yours.

Just because your plumber shop has a policy to check for and record information of expired opiates in your medicine cabinet when he services bathroom plumbing does not mean that he can ethically open your medicine cabinet to check for expired opiates if it is locked and you have not given him the key.

Also, your statement "The one example of a dealer inadvertently, etc." is mere conjecture. I have read numerous complaints across several forums of dealers deliberately completing the software "fix" for emissions without permission from the vehicles' owners, in the UK, EU and in the USA. Besides that, I would ask, at which point was completing Phase I of the "fix" on HighPlainsDrifter's TDI inadvertent? When the service department chose to upload the new software without consent of the TDI's owner? When they inspected his TDI to make sure the software took? When they slapped the stickers on it to denote competed inspection? When they demanded consent for the violation after the fact? or When they refused to restore the factory settings?

Bottom line, everyone thinks these things won't happen, even when it's evidently likely, until either it does happen or something very similar happens. I appreciate that you've read through the thread and posted a comment.

Miss_Athanatos said:

nayr - please read the thread. All the answers to your questions are on the first page.

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I see absolutely no reasoning for taking the vehicle to the dealer in the first place.. If you dont trust em why are you not wrenching on it your self or taking it to an indy mechanic you can trust?

I had my MK6 for 6-60k miles and the only time it went back to dealer was to get bought back.. I didnt even trust em enough for the first 3 free oil changes, so I did it my self..

$50 so you can feel smug as they require you to remove it anyhow, I guess its true what they say about a fool and his money.

I really do appreciate all the interest people have in this thread, which is obvious from the several people who have posted multiple comments. Thanks, folks. I do think the photos of the OBDII lock turned out pretty nicely in my TDI.

Eh... from a former dealer service manager standpoint, I would view with much skepticism any customer with something like this installed. In fact, we would probably laugh at your excess once you leave the service dept.

As stated above, a few minutes and splicing in another OBDII port, and I could bypass this without much effort.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that this would only represent a "hey look at me, I don't trust you" sign under the dash, with little impediment to actually using the port if required.

Windex said:

Eh... from a former dealer service manager standpoint, I would view with much skepticism any customer with something like this installed. In fact, we would probably laugh at your excess once you leave the service dept.

As stated above, a few minutes and splicing in another OBDII port, and I could bypass this without much effort.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that this would only represent a "hey look at me, I don't trust you" sign under the dash, with little impediment to actually using the port if required.

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That's nice, dearie.

When I was 9, our school had a lot of portable classrooms parked around the playground. These had heavy metal doors with several locks on them. The teachers would only lock the door latch however, which I knew how to open from the outside without the key. So I did during recess. I also told teachers that I could open the portable classroom doors and how they could do it, too.

All that came from it was plates got bolted on all the doors and the teachers threw all the locks when they left the classrooms.

So, all the propositions that you can splice in a new OBDII port just come across to me that faced with a locked OBDII port, you would violate it as a service manager. That would make your conclusion that there is an "I don't trust you" sign under the dash a fitting conclusion in the objective sense. And you're right, I do want the service people to "look at me" in the sense of taking an attentive view of what service is ordered for the vehicle.

Miss_Athanatos said:

That's nice, dearie.

When I was 9, our school had a lot of portable classrooms parked around the playground. These had heavy metal doors with several locks on them. The teachers would only lock the door latch however, which I knew how to open from the outside without the key. So I did during recess. I also told teachers that I could open the portable classroom doors and how they could do it, too.

All that came from it was plates got bolted on all the doors and the teachers threw all the locks when they left the classrooms.

So, all the propositions that you can splice in a new OBDII port just come across to me that faced with a locked OBDII port, you would violate it as a service manager. That would make your conclusion that there is an "I don't trust you" sign under the dash a fitting conclusion in the objective sense. And you're right, I do want the service people to "look at me" in the sense of taking an attentive view of what service is ordered for the vehicle.

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"Dearie"?

Is that an attempt at a passive-aggressive insult?

Either way, don't care.

You would never know if I did or didn't. Tapping into the three wires required would be a matter of backprobing the terminals on the port.

Your "lock" would represent nothing of the sort.

Instead of this ill-conceived device, why not bring your vehicle to a place you trust?

Or do you just thrive on conflict?

Seems the latter...

As a VW mechanic at a dealer I have a few insights for you.
First yep we laugh like crazy at people using these things.
Second yes you do need access to the data port for an oil change. You need to reset the service light and TPMS on some car that can only be done with a scanner.
Third the FIX for TDI CAN"T be done with out consent. It's step one in the recall.
And last yes we make notes against the VIN that the vehicle is most likely Tuned.
So put one on if you like it's just going to slow you getting your car worked on and people laughing at you.

ManicMechanic said:

As a VW mechanic at a dealer I have a few insights for you.
First yep we laugh like crazy at people using these things.
Second yes you do need access to the data port for an oil change. You need to reset the service light and TPMS on some car that can only be done with a scanner.
Third the FIX for TDI CAN"T be done with out consent. It's step one in the recall.
And last yes we make notes against the VIN that the vehicle is most likely Tuned.
So put one on if you like it's just going to slow you getting your car worked on and people laughing at you.

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Thanks for your insight.

I think HighPlainsDrifter would disagree with you about the "fix" requiring consent as "step one in the recall". His dealer contacted him for consent after the "fix" was completed without his consent during an oil change visit.

I don't mind people laughing at me. I laugh at me, too.

Not sure what was done to HighPlainsDrifter's vehicle but the TDI FIX was not released to the dealer until August this year so not sure how he got it 6 mouths early.

For the Gen 3, 2.0L TDIs, phase 1 of the fix was released in January 2017.

https://jalopnik.com/volkswagen-tdi-owners-seem-mostly-happy-about-their-die-1791432942