What is the true identity of the 'mysterious button that's not even mentioned in the instruction manual' that was attached to the car?
Cars are equipped with various buttons and switches for lights, various driving support functions, air conditioning, audio, car navigation, etc., but since you can drive without using all of them, there must be some people who don't know what the role of some switches is. Dutch software engineer Koen van Hove found a mysterious button in his purchased car that was not even described in the instruction manual, so he thoroughly investigated its identity and reported the results on his blog.
What does this button do?
Van Hove had been driving a Peugeot 107 for 12 years, but after experiencing increasing problems with it, including poor fuel economy, brakes locking up for no apparent reason, and exhaust fumes getting into the car when the airflow was set to 'high,' he predicted he would need to make expensive repairs one day and decided to buy a new car.
After considering various cars, Van Hove decided to purchase a used 2020 Opel Corsa . The Corsa that Van Hove purchased is shown on the left in the photo below.
Unlike the Peugeot he had been driving, the Corsa had a variety of buttons, so Van Hove decided to read the instruction manual to understand the functions of the buttons. However, he noticed that there was one button that was not even mentioned in the instruction manual and had an unknown purpose.
In the photo below, the button in the red frame is the 'mysterious button.' The button is lit red, and when you press it, the light goes out and nothing else happens.
When I looked into where the button was connected, I found that it was connected to
Next, Van Hove noticed that when he started the engine, he heard a noise from the button. The noise sounded like this, and it was possible that the button was transmitting data obtained from the vehicle somewhere.
That sound your old pc speaker does when you receive a phone call - YouTube
Modern vehicles generally come equipped with a function that collects and transmits various data and allows the status to be checked via an app, etc. However, Van Hove had no knowledge of this button and had never authorized the transmission of data.
When Van Hove called the dealer and the company that had previously serviced the car, none of them had any recollection of installing the button, and they only responded with things like 'Maybe it's an immobilizer ' or 'Maybe it's a GPS tracker.' So Van Hove took the car back to the dealer where he bought it and asked a mechanic to actually find out what the button was.
As a result, it turned out that the button was a vehicle tracker for a company that once owned the Corsa to register 'which employees were driving the car'. By sending employee information to the vehicle manager via a device installed in the car, it is possible to track which employees drove the car and how. However, the mystery of whether the button has an immobilizer or other function, or why it is a button, could not be solved.
Van Hove discovered that he had no need for the button or the tracking device, so the entire set was quickly removed. He said that he had only just discovered the button, but that there are probably many drivers who are driving with the data collection device attached without realizing it.
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