this post was submitted on 28 Dec 2025
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I wish I could develop my own apps on my own car. I mean I own the car.. why can't I "sideload" my own created apps? Their apps are sht anyways.
https://www.automotivelinux.org/
Not only will Automotive Linux not save us it will power the new proprietary car systems
You can, but it's a Google filled minefield. A good view of it is reading into all of the trouble of using Android Auto in GrapheneOS without destroying all the privacy protections. It's essentially impossible to get navigation going without doing so, but audio for music and phone calls can be done with some hoop jumping. You're still probably better off just using bluetooth though.
There are open source navigation apps. No need for google.
No, you misunderstand what I was trying to say, so I probably didn't communicate it well. You cannot use any of them, open source or not, without allowing the Google Play Services some rather invasive permissions. That's the Google I was referring to.
Best thing to do is remove google play services if at all possible. Installing microg will solve most issues. This of course means rooting the device. Which is admittedly not an easy task when dealing with head units.
.? No the information entertainment system is fully proprietary as far as I know. Without any way of flashing something else like Linux on it.
You probably can, just nobody bothers to do it. My Subaru has installable apps. Hell older Hondas (and possibly current ones) just run android. You can even get to the regular android UI on them.
I'm pretty sure the sofware that is running on the information entertainment system from VW is fully proprietary without any way of flashing it with a custom rom or running Linux on it.
I'm not taking about connecting other devices like apple or android phone to this system.
It kind of makes sense to not allow people to do that - just imagine what horrors people will create that totally will kill people. Cars are dangerous.
Your car radio can't kill people lmao
100% fearmongering bullshit designed to erode property rights. Cars have been completely "open" throughout their entire history until recently, and the problems caused by irresponsible owner modification have been both negligible and entirely acceptable (compared to the alternative of going full-blown police state to stop them).
Make no mistake: full-blown police state is exactly what you're arguing for when you suggest people shouldn't have the right to modify their own fucking property!
They would probably have a panic attack if they learned about megasquirt. Cars being locked down is so unnatural that most of their design allows them to be controlled by open source solutions.
Of course I'm talking about the information entertainment system. Not the main Can bus that is handling breaking or whatever...
People have been able to change their own brake pads for as long as cars existed.
There are two things hidden here:
Why are you assuming that the infotainment center in a car can take over steering at all?
the entertainment system should have zero access to anything that controls the movement of the car. androidauto apps can't implement self driving functions either. if it's possible, the car manufacturer was incredibly irresponsible and needs to be sued into oblivion. see, the actual problem is not that irresponsible users could implement "self driving apps", but that the entertainment system lacks any real security, is filled with vulnerabilities, and often even have remote access capabilities with bluetooth/wifi/cellular, and bad actors could load malware wirelessly that would kill the passengers and whoever else on the road.
Not only is is possible, there are many CAN bus attacks from the entertainment system I've seen over the years. That, along with your noted remote attacks makes modern cars a nightmare. It doesn't help that manufacturers cheap out on basic protections to save a few bucks (see the Hyundai boys and the lack of an installed engine interlock).
yeah, unfortunately. but do androidauto apps have access to the CAN bus? I would at least hope that this platform would not grant access to it
One would hope. But given we've seen CAN bus attacks over basic radios, I wish I could say I was confident they've taken those basic precautions. Car hacking is one of those topics that can keep you up at night when you think about how lax some manufacturers are to save a buck.
Lacking government regulation in the largest markets, proper separation will never be enforced, because it isn't to the manufacturers' benefits. And that probably isn't going to happen until hacked infotainment systems kill enough people to draw attention, unfortunately.
If saftey is your concern I hope you do not blindly trust manufacturers given their history of "safety and security". My concern is software freedom: being in control of your own computing (instead of the creator being in control). All software has bugs, but at least 3rd party software isn't intentionally adding anti-features and spyware.
He's at least right on the front that physical maintenance is easier to do right and be understandable to your avg person due to its higher barrier of entry.
Digital lower barrier of entry if you can just side load apps means that some real dumb shit will be done that can cause way more problems.
Both of the possibility of killing people. But physical is harder to fuck up if for no other reason then you can see or feel it's wrong. Digital is already a problem with distracted drivers. Let's not make it easier.
Not to mention there's literally nothing that actually requires the infotainment and canbus being isolated... So digital attacks are extremely likely. The rabbit hole basically always leads to do not allow user access no matter what for the safety of fucking everyone.
People have totally gotten killed from maintenance done by a "professional" (new kid on the job at the shop.)
I watch YouTuber CarCareNut and he's shown many stupid mistakes made by dealerships.
I assure you I take greater care doing repairs than a tech who will get yelled at if they don't finish the job fast.