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Comment by tjohns | Hacker News Reader

> I wonder what happens if you disable the e-SIM (in the US) and then a safety recall appears via software update - do dealers have any way to update control modules besides OTA?

I would assume so. Even on older cars, service techs can typically manually push firmware updates over the OBD-II / J2534 port. Rivian's OBD-II port actually hides an Ethernet signal inside of it - so the interface is certainly there.

Fun fact: You can buy an Ethernet adapter directly from Rivian here to connect to the car's internal network: https://rivianservicetools.com/Catalog/Product/TSN00535-300-...

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> Rivian's OBD-II port actually hides an Ethernet signal inside of it - so the interface is certainly there.

Nice. This is really normal now, for what it's worth - all of the European makes have moved this direction as well (DoIP over ENET). There's shockingly little documentation about Rivian online, though, probably because emissions regulation doesn't mandate it.

Yeah, I got a cable to update my 2017 BMW's infotainment system, and it's OBD-II to RJ45. Doesn't seem to be too new of a thing.

Yep! Depending on the vintage, BMWs have "real" DoIP or a BMW-ized version (sort of like how KWP2000 was the predecessor to UDS). For emissions modules, they still also have to support updates over UDS as well as ENET, though, for the above mentioned J2534 reasons (Ethernet wasn't added to J2534 until 2022).

For those unfamiliar with DoIP:

https://automotivevehicletesting.com/vehicle-diagnostics/doi...

https://www.iso.org/standard/13400-2

The first link leads malicious ads/malware. On iphone says viruses detected pretending to be apple/google

I am on desktop and saw no such warning, but I'm also using adblockers and noscript.

It's a Wordpress site, probably hacked. Some Wordpress exploits only try to target 'high value' user agents like iPhones.

I don't see anything suspicious, but I browse with scripts and ads blocked, so it's possible that you encountered something that never reached me. Thanks for the warning. Unfortunately, it's too late to edit my comment.

> Even on older cars, service techs can typically manually push firmware updates

Older cars have no concept of such updates.

Happy with my 70s and 80s and early 90s cars.

Actually almost any fuel injected vehicle can accept flash updates through the port to at least the ECU and PCM, frequently the BCU is also write enabled.

If there is a BCM. My previous 1995 GMC C1500 had a PCM and the automatic transmission was controlled by mechanical linkage to a hydraulic computer in the transmission along with shift solenoids from the PCM. It also had "throttle-body injection" with two injectors replacing the carburetor. The OBD 1 system would switch to "open loop control" with preprogrammed injection in the event of a malfunction which would make the thing challenging to drive until you fixed the problem. So very simple compared to the multitude of computers and control systems in use today.

A nice feature on that system was that you could put a paperclip between two pins on the diagnostic port and it would blink out the trouble codes on the SES light.

You can adjust the ECU for these 80s and 90s cars and “flash” them like anything else. There’s just a lot less settings! Not sure about the 70s but I’m sure some resto-mods also allow for this.

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