Is it just me, or did your Taycan come with an unrequested, always-on tracking device called StarGard?

[Dancarusa]

Still exploring every nook and cranny of this wonderful new Taycan! Today I want to learn about StarGard.

Before driving off the lot, at my dealership anyway, you sit down with a friendly lady who helps you finalize all the paperwork. She also offers you some "add-ons." Most of them are pretty useless but I did bite on one of them which was essentially an insurance plan for the wheels and tires.

One of the so called add-ons was called StarGard. It's $1,000. It's basically a theft protection system, kind of like LoJack. I said I didn't want it. But she said it was already installed and there's no way to opt out of it. There was no way to complete the deal without it so I conceded.

Couple days later I got an email from StarGard where they redirected me to a tracking site at StarGardGPS.com. When I logged on, I can see that this one company is keeping a log of every place my car has ever driven. Here's a snapshot of the kind of stuff they're collecting (doesn't show my home address or anything confidential):

I'm not a privacy nut or anything. My life is pretty much an open book. But it does seem odd to me that there's this expensive, unrequested, non-optional, dealer add-on device attached to my car that's logging every place I visit.

Doesn't look like there's any mention of StarGard on this forum so figured I'd create this post to facilitate discussion.

The things I'm wondering about are:

(1) At what time was this thing installed? It definitely didn't come from Germany. It must have been done at the dealer. But if so, I'm not sure when. I literally took delivery right after it arrived.

(2) Where is this device located? It certainly doesn't appear to be visible within the car. There's also no way to control or deactivate it through the PCM interface.

(3) How long is the data retained? Keeping data for a rolling five to ten days might make sense in a theft prevention scenario, but this company seems to be keeping all data from delivery forward -- permanently.

(4) I can't find anything on the StarGard site that indicates if the data is encrypted in any form. If the data could only be decrypted by the vehicle owner using a PIN or passphrase in the event of a theft, that wouldn't be so bad -- but I haven't seen anything to indicate that that's the case.

Again, this isn't a "I think the KGB is spying on me" issue. I guess the main concern here is that anyone who knows your email address can, if they guess your password, gain access to every place you've ever been in your car. And when/if this company gets hacked (and they will -- let's just say their site wasn't designed with security in mind), there's going to be a treasure trove of information on tons of people.

If I chose to install this thing [which I guess I ultimately did by acquiescing] then so be it, but the fact that it was stuck in there without asking kind of sticks in my craw. That's just an expression.

I got mine a couple of weeks ago and the dealer did not mention it and did not offer it either.

 

[SWORDER]

Sworder, Would you name the dealer where you purchased your Taycan?

It was Porsche of San Diego.

 

[SWORDER]

I also had Stargard, once I saw how intrusive it was I asked it be removed, the dealer said ok.
I emailed Stargard and they sent a technician to my house to remove it (they are based in San Diego). I had to get my ~$1,000 back from Porsche financial, took about 6 weeks to get a check.
IMHO a very bad dealer add for many reasons, including overly expensive! Partially ruined my new Porsche customer buying experience. This was my first Porsche purchase, not impressed...

Interesting. Perhaps I will do the same. Sounds like we both bought at Porsche of San Diego.

 

[Chris8536]

Every vehicle from Porsche Marin has this spyware installed as well.

 

[RinOC]

I bought my used 2020 at Porsche San Diego and it had the StarGard added by the dealership. I have no good excuse other than being too lazy and exhausted from the ride down there to pick the car up to argue about it being removed. The question I have is has anyone removed the physical device? I’ve googled for an answer and it seems generally simple enough but thought I’d ask here if someone has actually done it or had it done.

 

[PDACPA]

I bought my used 2020 at Porsche San Diego and it had the StarGard added by the dealership. I have no good excuse other than being too lazy and exhausted from the ride down there to pick the car up to argue about it being removed. The question I have is has anyone removed the physical device? I’ve googled for an answer and it seems generally simple enough but thought I’d ask here if someone has actually done it or had it done.

Found this on the BMW Forums. My guess is its in your passenger footwell where there is a fusebox with some extra unused fuse slots. They said they just disconnected it. I would remove it completely if it was in my car. And if it did something to the car (highly doubt it would as it is like having a hardwired dashcam), take it to the dealer and let them fix whatever is wrong. If they complain about you taking it out and causing an issue, tell them they were unwilling to spend the labor to remove it and it is on them for installing it in the first place.

red arrow points to the stargard and look at the crappy wiring of it.

 

[RinOC]

Thanks for that. I’ll poke around in there. Hopefully they didn’t do anything stupid like hardware it in. I have every intention of having it removed. If it iS hardwired, doubtful, I’ll have the dealer remove it. If they complain about doing that we’ll see what Porsche says about it. Thanks.

 

[PDACPA]

Thanks for that. I’ll poke around in there. Hopefully they didn’t do anything stupid like hardware it in. I have every intention of having it removed. If it iS hardwired, doubtful, I’ll have the dealer remove it. If they complain about doing that we’ll see what Porsche says about it. Thanks.

Hopefully they used wire taps (allows one fuse slot hold 2 fuses). Unplug the wire tap, stick one of the fuses back in the slot and good to go. Though for my dashcam one of the two slots (top) I used did not have a fuse. This is my fuse box on the passenger side (cover easily pops off) to give you an idea of where they might have put it. I think there is also a fuse panel on the drivers side too where it could be.

 

[RinOC]

I’ll post what I find. I know each installation could be different but it can’t hurt to have more real world information added to the thread. Thanks for the additional info.

 

[RinOC]

I pulled both fusebox covers and didn’t see anything added on. I’ll do a little more research but I’ll probably just get the dealer to remove the thing when it goes in for it’s 20k mile service. I think it’s so tacky they even stick this thing on there. There are so many useful things that n be added to a car deal that allow them to make money I just don’t see why they would stick something so silly on a car like the Taycan.

 

[Crazycanuck]

This is a dealer installed thing. Depending on your area, this is common practice for high crime areas. My winter car is a M340i and bought from Beaverton OR. Dealers down there install Starguard since they have high instances of auto theft. They will charge extra for it and it's annoying. You can push them in most cases to uninstall it or comp the cost.

Other dealers might install it but only charge you if you activate it.

 

[RinOC]

So interestingly, San Diego Porsche service department just told me even they don’t know where the device is. I tend to believe him as I think LoJac is the same way. Double super secret installation location. I’m going to call Stargard but I’m taking bets on how difficult finding this tracker is going to be. I think it’s nuts that Porsche doesn’t know where the device is installed and by extension, HOW it was installed. What if some person is hacking away at a wiring harness? Are they okay with that?
<UPDATE> So, maybe surprisingly, the person I spoke with at Stargard was very pleasant and helpful. If they have a tech located in your area, they will come to you and remove the device. Otherwise they generally go to the dealership to remove them. The rep wasn’t surprised at all by my request. No one located near me so when I go in for service next I’ll just coordinate with them. I’m curious if I’ll be able to cajole the Stargard tech into telling me the secret location.

 

[Crazycanuck]

Interesting. Perhaps I will do the same. Sounds like we both bought at Porsche of San Diego.

FWIW my wife's Cayenne was bought from Porsche Ontario. They installed LoJack in all their vehicles. But they only charge to activate it.

 

[Henke]

I started another thread but this seems like a better place for it. My dealer has added something called RecovR for $1295 (plus tax?) but told me upfront and said it’s optional. I think based on this thread I will ask them not to add it.

 

[TayTaySD]

So interestingly, San Diego Porsche service department just told me even they don’t know where the device is. I tend to believe him as I think LoJac is the same way. Double super secret installation location. I’m going to call Stargard but I’m taking bets on how difficult finding this tracker is going to be. I think it’s nuts that Porsche doesn’t know where the device is installed and by extension, HOW it was installed. What if some person is hacking away at a wiring harness? Are they okay with that?
<UPDATE> So, maybe surprisingly, the person I spoke with at Stargard was very pleasant and helpful. If they have a tech located in your area, they will come to you and remove the device. Otherwise they generally go to the dealership to remove them. The rep wasn’t surprised at all by my request. No one located near me so when I go in for service next I’ll just coordinate with them. I’m curious if I’ll be able to cajole the Stargard tech into telling me the secret location.

Stargard was super nice, they also came right to my house and removed it when I asked them to. No charge.

Sponsored