PSA: the next time you get a Nissan rental car (because why else would anyone drive a Nissan?) it will probably auto-reply to your texts without you knowing about it

"Textured Soy Protein" (texturedsoyprotein) 01/02/2020 at 17:07 • Filed to: None

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My brother is traveling at the moment. I replied to a text from him and just got the following auto-reply:

Driving, can’t text.

Sent from MY SENTRA

So, I guess he got a Sentra for his rental. !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! don’t !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! .

I sent him a screenshot of his message which t hen produced autoreplyception.

MKULTRA1982(ConCrustyBrick) > Textured Soy Protein 01/02/2020 at 17:11

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I wonder if it can be edited.....

RPM esq. > Textured Soy Protein 01/02/2020 at 17:14

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That is an insane feature that I cannot imagine anyone actually wanting. In fact, I literally cannot conceive of an automotive feature that would annoy me more than this, up to and including Flintstones-style foot propulsion.

benjrblant > Textured Soy Protein 01/02/2020 at 17:14

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who pairs their phone to a rental car?

You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much > Textured Soy Protein 01/02/2020 at 17:14

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I assume this means he paired his  phone with a rental car. Who pairs their phone with a rental car?

Textured Soy Protein > You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much 01/02/2020 at 17:15

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I always pair my phone when I rent a car, and always un-pair it when I return the car.

DAWRX - The Herb Strikes Back > You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much 01/02/2020 at 17:20

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Wait...why is this weird?

facw > You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much 01/02/2020 at 17:22

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People who want to play their music on the cars speakers? People who want hands-free calling?

The Ghost of Oppo > Textured Soy Protein 01/02/2020 at 17:23

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“The p erson you are texting is driving a rental car and did not purchase the rental insurance. They probably shouldn’t be texting and driving - Sent from Enterprise Rental of Dallas Forth Worth”

facw > MKULTRA1982(ConCrustyBrick) 01/02/2020 at 17:23

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That’s a dangerous question given how unlikely it is that rental car companies do a factory reset between renters. That auto- reply could get changed to something quite nasty indeed.

MonkeePuzzle > Textured Soy Protein 01/02/2020 at 17:25

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also, it’s a Sentra. or... *shudder* a Versa

“Driving myself off a cliff top escape this car , can’t text. Sent from  MY VERSA”

facw > The Ghost of Oppo 01/02/2020 at 17:28

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Whatever I’ve got Visa for the CDW and my personal insurance for liability. And knock it off with that loss of use nonsense, we both know you have other cars available.

412GTI > Textured Soy Protein 01/02/2020 at 17:31

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Another reason to hate Nissan!

But really that’s why I would just use CarPlay or Android Auto if possible. 

ClassicDatsunDebate > Textured Soy Protein 01/02/2020 at 17:34

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Never   pair   your   phone

I’m not overly ‘tinfoil hat’ about privacy...But, I probably do 10 rentals a year and I never pair my phone.

fintail > Textured Soy Protein 01/02/2020 at 17:42

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As an aside, last night I had one of these behind me for a few miles, at least an hour after sunset, with no lights.

You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much > DAWRX - The Herb Strikes Back 01/02/2020 at 17:48

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See C lassicDatsun’s reply and read his linked articles. It’s a massive security hole that opens you up to identity theft and other less than desirable events.

https://oppositelock.kinja.com/1840779844

You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much > Textured Soy Protein 01/02/2020 at 17:50

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But do you delete all the data that gets transferred to the car, or does that get left for the next person to use in the event they want to steal your identity?

https://oppositelock.kinja.com/1840779844

You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much > facw 01/02/2020 at 17:50

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People who don’t mind taking massive security risks with their personal data.

https://oppositelock.kinja.com/1840779844

LastFirstMI is my name > MonkeePuzzle 01/02/2020 at 17:56

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Came here for this 

DAWRX - The Herb Strikes Back > You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much 01/02/2020 at 17:56

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Good timing, I just got done looking at those. To be honest a lot of cars ask if you want to sync your contacts and call history and I always say no. That seems to clear up about 90% of the issues those articles point out aside from using the built in GPS. I don’t really understand how you can have your identity stolen from that but I’ll take your word for it.

The last two rentals I’ve had had carplay which seems to be a self contained system. So...non issue for me I guess.

facw > ClassicDatsunDebate 01/02/2020 at 17:59

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Really what it says is that BT should have finer grained permissions so that you can tell it that it that you just want the speaker or whatever but not give it access to address book and call log and such. Of course people already complain about BT pairing being too complicated, so we are left with another in a long line of security vs. usability trade offs.

Deltyn drives a meh car > Textured Soy Protein 01/02/2020 at 18:18

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Experienced this nuisance first hand in a rental Altima. It also kept trying to read incoming text out loud. The entire infotainment system was a headache tbh

SiennaMan > facw 01/02/2020 at 18:20

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I’ll acknowledge that I’m old fashioned, but for music I uses a 3.5mm audio cable from my phone to the radio.

I’ll admit that doesn’t help with hands free calling, but I don’t like to talk on the phone so driving is a happy excuse to ignore incoming calls..

glemon > Textured Soy Protein 01/02/2020 at 18:21

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Normally not a fan of the rise of the machines and our lost autonomy that goes with it, but I have no problem with this one, you shouldn’t text and drive, if you are in the rental car you are probably driving on roads you don’t know, likely  in an urban area, more reason not to text and drive.  Still sucks to be in a Nissan rental, been there, done that, never again.

DAWRX - The Herb Strikes Back > facw 01/02/2020 at 18:47

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Most cars I’ve driven ask for permission to download stuff from your phone. 

SmugAardvark > Textured Soy Protein 01/02/2020 at 18:54

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I usually travel with a backup phone. Mostly because a phone takes up so little space in luggage, that it is effectively an afterthought, and it helps immensely if I’m away from home and my active phone gets lost/damaged. I always wipe my old phones whenever I upgrade, then just go back and add a couple of apps for music, navigation, etc. I leave it in the center console or in my bag, and just connect that to the car’s infotainment unit when needed.

For me, it ultimately comes down to this:I just won’t pair my primary phone with any rental. I don’t really care enough about the convenience to effectively sign everything over on my phone to a machine that isn’t mine.

CB > Textured Soy Protein 01/02/2020 at 19:09

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“Hey bro, if you reply “ Driving, can’t text. Sent from MY SENTRA” to this text, you owe me a beer”

Also, the capslock MY SENTRA is a little funny. Like it’s trying to come across as bragging. 

Textured Soy Protein > facw 01/02/2020 at 19:10

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Android phones prompt you when a bluetooth device requests call history or contacts. I always deny those permissions in rental cars.

Boxer_4 > Deltyn drives a meh car 01/02/2020 at 19:27

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I had a rental Sentra briefly last year. I couldn’t figure out how to change to a radio station that wasn’t a preset while driving. The headunit later partially froze where it stopped displaying the volume level and the clock stopped. The clock in the gauge cluster still worked. Every Nissan econ omy car I’ve had the displeasure to experience has been aw ful.

facw > Boxer_4 01/02/2020 at 19:38

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So what you are saying is that the JSDF should invade Lebanon?

smobgirl > SiennaMan 01/02/2020 at 20:17

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There are cars now that no longer have aux connections!! Just when I got to reliably packing a cable, too.

MKULTRA1982(ConCrustyBrick) > facw 01/02/2020 at 20:59

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Someone with absolutely no morals could even make it say something like....

Sent from MY VERSA 

Textured Soy Protein > You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much 01/02/2020 at 21:11

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Android phones prompt you if a bluetooth device requests your contacts, texts, or  call history when you pair. I always deny these requests. 

SiennaMan > smobgirl 01/02/2020 at 21:12

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 Apparently our phones need a function to push music over bluetooth without giving up the farm..  or manufacturers need to stop cheaping out..  (dang, reading that I realize just how old I'm getting)

smobgirl > SiennaMan 01/02/2020 at 21:29

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Hah. I was so happy to finally buy a car that was new enough to have an aux jack - trust me, I’m pretty sad the window of those is apparently so short.

I did drive my first rental with a standard outlet a couple days ago though. (Luckily, because I forgot the  portable charger for my WiFi pack!)