I have a 2008 Toyota Solara. It has a factory GPS. If you are going more than a couple MPH it will not let you do any data entry, presumably to protect you from yourself and them from lawsuits.
Is there a hack to disable this feature so that if I am on I-95 and the kids start screaming about how hungry they are my wife can punch in a search for McDonald’s while I continue to drive?
I believe that they are attempting to comply with there interruption of a federal safety regulation. IMHO it would be against board policy to discuss such a hack on this board.
Is asking how to get around this really a contravention of law? Toyota’s attempts to protect itself form lawsuits/comply with the law aside, isn’t this a bit like asking how to take the tags off one’s mattress?
Not that I have a solution…
Except, what if you slam on the breaks really hard, have your wife jam in the request, then step on it? If anything else, it would surely minimize the number of peeps outta the kids.
I’m just curious as to what laws specifically prohibit one from operating devices such as this while the car is moving? It seems pointless because cell phones are still legal in the vast majority of places, as well as various other car electronics.
I believe it may depend on what state you are talking about. Some have passed laws concerning cell phone usage while driving.
I myself would like a hack for letting me use my rear view camera while driving or let me use the dvd player on my GPS while driving so I could watch movies. But I believe that these would be inappropriate for this board as well. Those mods can be quite conservative sometimes. 
I can “interrupt” that regulation with my Chrysler nav system.
(I’m guessing you meant to say “their interpretation” of said regulations.)
Can we get a ruling on this? I know how to bypass the “in motion” lockout on most Toyotas, but first, we need to confirm that there actually is a law requiring it.
So far, I’m coming up donuts.
(From http://www.digitaldriver.org/roadtest.htm)
The state of Tennessee says: (bolding mine, and it’s just the first state law that I ran into)
I’m gonna be the bad mod here and close this. Not because I think there’s anything illegal about giving this advice, but because our host, the Chicago Reader, is in a state that has allowed communities to ban such things. I know, I know–but this is just a precaution on my part.
I’ll ask Gfactor, the lawyer, for a better interpretation on whether we’ll allow this to be reopened. He’s usually pretty liberal on these kinds of things, so give it a rest until he has a chance to look at it. Sorry.
samclem GQ moderator
I’m going to reopen this one for now. If the discussion turns to illegal activity, I’ll reconsider closing it.
Hopefully Creative Loafing doesn’t consider this illegal:
Google up navigation “in motion” defeat <your car name>
Depending on the specific make, model and year, the “trick” involves digging into “secret” service menus, buying an updated software disc or hardware hacks.
Perhaps there is an owners club for your make/model on-line where others have posed the same question?
Most of these systems can be disabled. Sometimes it takes a secret combination of button presses. Or there is a password or physical token required to access the root level menu. Some dealers will reveal how to do it if you pester them enough.
As to the legality, I’m almost certain no federal law requires automakers to prevent usage of the gps while the car is in motion. There isn’t even a federal seat belt law. And I seriously doubt every state has passed legislation already. Nevada in particular hates that kinda of nanny state stuff.
And automaker lawyers definitely had a hand in this feature.
It sounds like the classic case of an overzealous car maker trying to avoid lawsuits and give the appearance of safety, at the user’s convenience expense. I can understand not allowing front-seat DVD players to possibly run while the car’s moving as that would definitely be a distraction, but not allowing GPS control seems rather asinine.
I think it does sound asinine, especially considering that no third party navigation or GPS system that I know of has a similar lockout or nanny feature.
So, asking how to make a bong out of a GPS is right out.
I did a variety of searches on VA code (navigation, operation device, gps, etc.) and the closest I found was a “can’t have a video display in front of the driver, but GPS (and others) are excepted” rule. I don’t believe (whoa, dangerous sentiment in GQ) that there is any crossing of the copy-protection rules and the like (i.e., it may be illegal to post a DVD encryption hack), so that’s likely out. The above notions that there is no such feature on aftermarket devices adds to a fairly safe, non-legal conclusion that this hijack into legality is fairly concluded.
(counting the seconds until a contradicting cite shows up)
But it’s probably ok to ask how to make a “water pipe” (for tobacco use 
) out of one.
My analyssis last night was that no criminal laws are violated by modifying your own GPS unit. It might violate distracted driving rules in some jurisdictions for the operator of a vehicle to mess with the GPS, but even assuming that’s so:
If you were to make the changes and then sell the modified GPS, your work could be an impermissible reconstruction (I think) of the unit, at least under some circumstances: http://www.gjn.com/CM/ArticlesandEvents/Refurbishing%20Patented%20Products.pdf
http://www.devicelink.com/mddi/archive/98/01/026.html
There might also be some agreements that cover use of the GPS unit and prohibit modification.
All that said, it’s been over 12 hours and everyone’s head still seems to be on their torso. 
I have a Prius, without the nav system, but hacks to defeat the “not while in motion” rule have been posted on Prius discussion boards.
Wire cutters have been mentioned. 
I wouldn’t consider it overzealous so much as required CYA in a litigation happy society.
They release it with the option enabled but have also designed it where it can be disabled with deliberate effort so that their lawyers can point out that the user deliberately tampered with it thus absolving the manufacturer of any culpability for its misuse.
So just poke around the user manual and discussion boards and you’ll probably find instructions to go through some arcane menu structure or to clip the red wire (not actual suggestion) to disable the feature.
Obviously, you’d inform your insurance company about this before proceeding, right?
I always enjoy that you post links that even engineers are capable of reading. So given that (and having read two out of three of the links), isn’t the GPS still covered under the first sale doctrine? That is, I don’t ever recall seeing any type of license agreement for anything during the purchase of a car. If there were a restrictive license that had to be assigned during exhange of ownership, wouldn’t the chain work something like this? Delphi (lets say) restricts GM’s use as “single-use” or “you can’t change this.” Next, the dealer has to accept that license. Then the first purchaser. When it’s time to sell on the used market, you’d have to pass that license on to the used car buyer. Licenses are based on contract law, and you can’t have a contract without consent, right?
On a quasi-side note, there are so much electronics and other gadgets in cars, I’m surprised we don’t have to sign license agreements to purchase them.