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

[Mike in CA]

Porsche NA doesn't offer Star Guard in its build or specification order form. Prior to your taking delivery, the decision to install the device was unilaterally (without your consent) made by the dealership, deviating from the specs of your made-to-order vehicle. Being ambushed with this unanticipated line item and told that it has to be part of the contract, makes for poor business practice. If I were in this predicament and provided the Star Guard is not part of the lease stipulation, I would speak with the dealership's manager and request that the tracking device is removed and a full refund for said item.

That's an interesting point. In re-reading the thread I I see that a couple of other posters also mentioned the possibility of Star Guard being a requirement on the lease. The OP should look through his lease paperwork carefully to confirm if that's the case. If it's not in writing he should pursue the matter as you've suggested and/or get PCNA involved.

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[Miwa]

The lease is likely through Porsche, and they wont care about some 3rd party tracker, so feel free to rip it out of there. But you're still hosed out of $1k.

 

[PDACPA]

I would be back at the dealer pursing it and working up the chain as Porsche corporate seems to pretty tightly control their dealers. Secondly, why not pull the device off the car? If it can be installed it can be removed. Quick Google search has a number of threads on removing the device. One BMW thread the poster got the dealer to remove the $1,200 charge, but they would not take the device out as not worth the labor. Looks like 2 wires and a little box.

 

[Gambler]

I was offered this safeguard, while I was purchasing the car. I signed one paper acknowledging this option and it was $995 extra. I came back home, read the contract and it was clearly saying that, this option is not mandatory to have. Therefore, two days later, I drove back to the dealer and spoke to the finance manger, who removed it and let me sign another paper to decline it. My monthly payment, went down by 20 bucks.

 

[DerekS]

If it was easy to install it will be easy to remove - it's probably attached to the 12v battery or something similarly easy to get to.

 

[TayTaySD]

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...

 

[Torv]

It seems to me a completely disingenuous argument by the dealer that because you're leasing the car you're “required” to have some bogus after-market tracking hardware installed at a cost of $1000. This is total bullshit and I would frankly chew out this dealer and demand a $1000 refund.

I was perusing the techs specs on the Porsche website and came across this little tidbit, which is standard on all Taycans:

“Porsche Vehicle Tracking System (PVTS)*** includes: extended vehicle monitoring system, automatic theft detection with silent alarm connected to 24/7 security centre through vehicle, personal notification of customer to verify theft and secure vehicle in cooperation with local authorities”

Whatever nonsense this dealer may say, this third party crap is totally redundant with what's already installed by Porsche as standard equipment. It's time to kick some ass!!

 

[feye]

this is not a standard porsche option - I would’ve walked from the deal over this - and that data is extremely invasive...

I'd also find that extremely invasive.

I wonder, what happens, if you drive through a stop sign, or hit a speed limit, reckless driving - all insurance denied?

 

[atebit]

I wonder, what happens, if you drive through a stop sign, or hit a speed limit, reckless driving - all insurance denied?

Worse...you’re banned from Twitter & lose your Prime privileges.

 

[W1NGE]

It seems to me a completely disingenuous argument by the dealer that because you're leasing the car you're “required” to have some bogus after-market tracking hardware installed at a cost of $1000. This is total bullshit and I would frankly chew out this dealer and demand a $1000 refund.

I was perusing the techs specs on the Porsche website and came across this little tidbit, which is standard on all Taycans:

“Porsche Vehicle Tracking System (PVTS)*** includes: extended vehicle monitoring system, automatic theft detection with silent alarm connected to 24/7 security centre through vehicle, personal notification of customer to verify theft and secure vehicle in cooperation with local authorities”

Whatever nonsense this dealer may say, this third party crap is totally redundant with what's already installed by Porsche as standard equipment. It's time to kick some ass!!

PVTS(+) is not standard and requires an annual subscription to be paid. Service is managed / operated by Vodafone (UK) and someone like Verizon (or other cell provider) in US.

PVTS+ includes the two black fobs - Driver Card.

All cars have the tech as standard but without the subscription it remains inactive.

 

[Torv]

PVTS(+) is not standard and requires an annual subscription to be paid. Service is managed / operated by Vodafone (UK) and someone like Verizon (or other cell provider) in US.

PVTS+ includes the two black fobs - Driver Card.

All cars have the tech as standard but without the subscription it remains inactive.

You are correct, sir! I missed the damn asterisk.

 

[Bari]

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 picked my MY21 Taycan 2 weeks ago. I did not get this nor was it forced on me. This seems like an invasion of privacy. I would have said no or keep your car.

 

[Tiredoftesla]

Big mistake to accept and pay for something you never ordered. All you had to say when she said you had no choice was “excuse me while I phone my lawyer, And please give me time to post a review on every website I can find about your unethical business practices.” You would’ve left with your car and $1000 more in your pocket.

 

[My4S]

Big mistake to accept and pay for something you never ordered. All you had to say when she said you had no choice was “excuse me while I phone my lawyer, And please give me time to post a review on every website I can find about your unethical business practices.” You would’ve left with your car and $1000 more in your pocket.

Sworder, Would you name the dealer where you purchased your Taycan? Others may wish to not buy from such an unethical dealer.

 

[bluedonkey]

No mention of that in my paperwork, and I picked my 4S up on lease just a couple of months ago. The only thing I added was the tire/wheel package (mostly because my brother managed to burst a tire and damage the wheel on his Turbo S in the UK hitting a pothole and around here the roads are more potholes than surface).

Sounds like a dealer added extra; perhaps something they use to protect their inventory that they have found a creative way to monetize rather than paying to remove it when they sell the vehicles.

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