Its a box that can record a few seconds of data from sensors in the car. Its not big brother, its the car companies trying to learn more about how their vehicles perform in accidents. Yes it can be used against you in court to determine if you were speeding at the time of impact, but at the same time it could be used (and has) to disprove you traveling at an excessive speed before a collision. Chill on the big brother theory, the government does not care that much about you.

Also, about the "black box" being able to determine if you abused the car. Only an ECU that was designed to register driving logs can be used to check on your driving habits. Case in point, the Lotus Elise. Lotus designed the ECU so that dealers can check the cars performance before the first service interval. IF the Ecu registers that the engine rpm went above the recommended break-in limit, they can void the powertrain warranty. That being said, that is a Lotus, we drive Mitsus. To my knowledge other than registering CELS and other fault codes, the Evo's ECU cannot be used against you FOR REGULAR DRIVING HABITS. I believe it does register sensor input before and after a crash though.

 

this topic has been covered, this will prob help w/your question

https://www.evolutionm.net/forums/sh...ight=black+box

 

Many modern cars already have electronics that record such things as how many times you hit the rev limiter. Dealers can download that info and use it to deny warranty claims due to abuse. I recommend you go to an instant oil change place like Jiffy Lube and ask them to erase the codes your "black box" has registered. They'll charge you $15 or do it for free.

The other scary scenario is a system being considered in England that uses GPS navigation satellites in conjunction with mapping software. The system knows the speed limit of the road you're on. If you exceed that by a certain amount the system will just mail you a ticket. This is not yet a reality but is being considered by lawmakers in England. It will probably start innocuously enough with insurance companies offering discounts to people who install it voluntarily, then they'll charge astronomical rates unless you install it, then it will become mandatory. It's a slippery slope. Big Brother is real and he wants your speeding fines!

 

So, what happened to us living in America? Fredom is what? Hell, i guess were paying for it.

 

Domestics are prone to such things in the future.

Import, besides the mainstream sellers, is unknown. There has to be some standardization . . . remember OBD 1, everyone had their own standard.

Otherwise, Tristar is about right. Right now, insurance companies and certain car accident scenarios by the police use the blackbox as evidence.


Right now, Americans are willing to trade away their freedom in favor of more security via paternalism: "Trust me. I know what's best for you better than you do yourself."

 

Actually this box does have GPS so it can locate where your car is. They won't disclose that part because it is illegal. The box started from the insurance company and not the manufacturers.

 

Well it's mentioned in the manual for the EVO 9 I just bought. Talking the freeby manual, not the service manual. Don't have my service manuals just yet.

 

This is an interesting thread. You can see both sides of the coin here. Our side, and the Automaker Side. They trying to protect their asset by bullcrap claims and us feeling looked upon. Bottom line to me is, why promote a car like the EVO with all its racing heritage, the borchure says, "go forth and modify" all this bull and soon as you change your exhaust out your the A-hole and your warranty is shot. That is what gets me. Why promote the car and its RACING heritage to sell cars, but not back them when people tinker a little. That to me is not right. I mean, I have an EVO 8 training video from when the EVO first came out in the USA in 03. It is basically a training tape to show sales people what the car is, and what it can do and the type of people most likely to buy it. In the video, it shows a Mitsubishi Driver, driving the **** out of an EVO. So its ok for them to do it, but the moment we do it our warranty is out the window? That is very missleading to the consumer. I am not saying allow a black box to prove what your doing, but if your selling a street legal race car, you have to expect people to extract that out of the car..........am I right?

 

Sorry - should've searched first. This was an interesting thread. At the very least such a thing should be readily disclosed to the owner. I know that the government may not be that interested in me (yet), but the thought that I'm being unknowingly monitered in any way is a bit unsettling. And as a previous poster mentioned, it could be a slippery slope.

 

I wouldn't be surprised if right after Gas Guzzler tax it's like. " Black Box Security Feature Tax $500. " They will likely play it off as an "anti-theft" device, making it like we want it, so we'll be forced to pay for it.

 

where is it?

 

anything after 2007 will have this black box but if your car has one the dealer must inform you before purchase of the car.

 

I agree...

 

I'm not buying it at all. Where is this "black box"? Built into the ecu? I dont think so, if it is and you are worried about the government watching you speed than get AEM EMS, problem solved. Better yet why dont you become the first one to hack it and erase all the info, than you can sell the software on ebay for $0.01 plus $4.99 shiping.

Tomorrow I am going to Jiffy Lube and tell them to erase my "black box". Pretty sure that a company know for charging people and not performing service would be more than happy to take my money for such an outragous duty!

If there is such a thing as the "black box" in our cars then they must not moniter it very well or I would have been in jail long ago. There are systems out there that can locate a vehicle if need be like Lojack, OnStar, ect. but I think you guys are making a big deal out of nothing. Just enjoy driving your evo and stop watching Dateline.

 

didnt know mitsubishi had enough money to add such a thing, if it does it probably doesnt work lol. i hope =p