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Removing the Modem and GPS from my 2024 RAV4 Hybrid
(arkadiyt.com)
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this post was submitted on 16 May 2026
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Privacy
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Very cool. Passing this on to friends and family with the RAV4.
This makes me feel better of buying a new Toyota in the near future.
Dumb question if the modem is removed, why need to remove the GPS?
The article says that while not needed, it helped with some bugs when using a phone as the navigation device.
If you go to the dealership they'll get all your data that's stored locally. I imagine an independent shop using Toyota's software will probably do the same thing. Also buying a new car lets these companies know that you're okay with having your right to repair be taken away since this is the industry practice. New cars also have massively higher yearly registration fees and parts are more expensive to replace and lots of computers in the cars do have issues.
Just get an older car. Early 2000s. The 1.9ALH diesel in VW Jettas can be tuned to get insane fuel economy, up to ~60mpg. What do you really need in a new car that can't be installed in an old car? Fuel economy, sound deadening, double din Bluetooth carplay head unit, etc
Back in 2009 I got a brand new Honda Fit (Jazz in other markets) 3 weeks later I got into an accident and the car was written off as totalled because the body design had changed that year and no parts were available yet.
Sometimes the parts are expensive because there are fewer parts on the market when the car is new.
Oh for sure.
It's the spouce that needs convincing. I won't sell my early 2000s for this exact reason. Insane MPG no electronic bullshit.
We need something bigger with 3 rows for the kids as our two row is just way to small. Try and convince them to find something old, reliable and data gathering free is a challenge.
Get a Land Rover LR 3 or 4. They're old enough to not have telemetry, have 3 rows, nice amenities, have great traction modes, and all the (few) issues are known about so can be addressed.
cause the GPS doesn't work right after the change, and sometimes the phone will use the car GPS location, which is wrong.
GPS does not need the internet to operate (atleast it can send requests for positioning data). Although location accuracy can be improved if you combine things like triangulation w/ cellular towers and wifi connections.
Author answers this. Because with no modem but with GPS, his carplay navigation got messed up.