Is Honda selling car-tracking data?

  • Thread starter Thread starter NorCalPete
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NorCalPete

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A New York Times piece headlined "Automakers Are Sharing Consumers’ Driving Behavior With Insurance Companies" was published on March 11 (and updated March 13). They noted that
LexisNexis, which generates consumer risk profiles for the insurers, knew about every trip G.M. drivers had taken in their cars, including when they sped, braked too hard or accelerated rapidly.
With regard to our Claritys:
In recent years, automakers, including G.M., Honda, Kia and Hyundai, have started offering optional features in their connected-car apps that rate people’s driving. Some drivers may not realize that, if they turn on these features, the car companies then give information about how they drive to data brokers like LexisNexis.
For some drivers, this led to sharp increases in the cost of their insurance. Occasionally I purposely do some hard braking to keep rust from building up on our infrequently used brake rotors. I'm wondering if Honda is selling similar information about our Claritys. As noted in the article, permission to do so is often buried in the contracts or app agreements.
 
Honda is pretty tight lipped about what they do. If they can, they probably are.

FWIW: My sisters father-in-law intentionally has his driving habits sent to his insurance company. If he behaves, and boy does he, his rates are reduced.
 
Honda is pretty tight lipped about what they do. If they can, they probably are.

When I leased the Clarity BEV for the insanely low rate of $199 per month, part of the deal was you had to agree to allow Honda to upload all of your driving data.
This was explicitly delineated in the contract over several paragraphs with several places I had to initial my acknowledgement. Since there was no analagous language in the paperwork I signed when I bought my 2020 Clarity PHEV, I am guessing they are not collecting it.
 
When I leased the Clarity BEV for the insanely low rate of $199 per month, part of the deal was you had to agree to allow Honda to upload all of your driving data.
This was explicitly delineated in the contract over several paragraphs with several places I had to initial my acknowledgement. Since there was no analagous language in the paperwork I signed when I bought my 2020 Clarity PHEV, I am guessing they are not collecting it.

The analogous language may appear when HondaLink is activated. That’s the Tracker. Never activated it, so it’s just a hunch. Honda wanted the data from the BEV’s, for the PHEV’s it’s a voluntary program.
 
The Telematics Control Unit is on the left side of the trunk behind the tire pump kit, and the car works fine with it disconnected. (In fact, it doesn't even show anything strange at the dealer.)
 
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