Dealership turned off dashcam before service

[Sherman Bird]

Hi everyone,

Recently I took my 2023 Ram 1500 to the dealership to have checked the front camera for the Forward Collision Warning system, because I never got an alert, by sound or brakes, and I think it is not working even there is no malfunction message in the system.

They said the FWC was working and they took the pickup for a test drive, and they confirmed the system worked. So it was nice, when I got my truck back the first thing I did was to check the dashcam and see how it went, but for my surprise there was no recording.

The first thing the technician did was to turn off the dashcam when he jumped in my pickup and turned back on after parking in the parking lot return the vehicle to me.

So, I was very frustrated and felt I was being scammed by the dealership. When I asked why did he do it the manager said they didn't like people spying in their employees, so that moment I realized I lost all trust I had in them.

Does anyone has some legal advice about what can I do in this situation? The FWC stills the same, doesn't appear to work.

Thanks,

Hot topic.

 

[Wild one]

I'd think if the dealership is allowed to have camera's watching you,you should be able to have a camera watching them.When they're open to the public,i'm not so sure if they can claim privacy that only works in their favour. I'd hazard a guess if it came down to a lawsuit,they'd lose in court. Your camera is still private property when it's in your vehicle,and i don't think they have any right to turn it off

 

[CanRebel]

I'd think if the dealership is allowed to have camera's watching you,you should be able to have a camera watching them.When they're open to the public,i'm not so sure if they can claim privacy that only works in their favour. I'd hazard a guess if it came down to a lawsuit,they'd lose in court. Your camera is still private property when it's in your vehicle,and i don't think they have any right to turn it off

If you were in Canada, you would wrong. It's Criminal offense. Dealer would just refuse to do anything.
Alberta Dealers Association was first to tell all their members to unplug/turn off Dash Cams. Was in news year ago.

States like Cali and others, the dealer would win as well. They have very strict privacy laws. Mostly related to Audio.

 

[Wild one]

If you were in Canada, you would wrong. It's Criminal offense. Dealer would just refuse to do anything.
Alberta Dealers Association was first to tell all their members to unplug/turn off Dash Cams. Was in news year ago.

States like Cali and others, the dealer would win as well. They have very strict privacy laws. Mostly related to Audio.

I highly doubt you would,even in Alberta.Just because your vehicle is in a dealership,doesn't give them the right to screw with personal property.I watch the news pretty religiously in Alberta,never heard of the the dealers association or Amvic having the right to screw with your private property,or them even telling the dealers they need to turn off dash camera's,was this like your bush story,were you a bit high when you seen this news program,lol.A dealer loses alot of rights as soon as they open their doors to the public,very similiar to a mall,once open to the public they lose alot of their private property rules. I beat a dangerous driving ticket a couple years ago,when i was caught doing donuts in a snow covered mall parking lot. They were closed to the public at the time of the incident,and as soon as they were closed to the public,they once again became private property,if they'd of been open,then the cop would of had a foot to stand,and it would of been a differant story,i would of lost the court battle

 

[CanRebel]

I highly doubt you would,even in Alberta.Just because your vehicle is in a dealership,doesn't give them the right to screw with personal property.I watch the news pretty religiously in Alberta,never heard of the the dealers association or Amvic having the right to screw with your private property,or them even telling the dealers they need to turn off dash camera's,was this like your bush story,were you a bit high when you seen this news program,lol.A dealer loses alot of rights as soon as they open their doors to the public,very similiar to a mall,once open to the public they lose alot of their private property rules. I beat a dangerous driving ticket a couple years ago,when i was caught doing donuts in a snow covered mall parking lot. They were closed to the public at the time of the incident,and as soon as they were closed to the public,they once again became private property,if they'd of been open,then the cop would of had a foot to stand,and it would of been a differant story,i would of lost the court battle

Alberta dealers association advises members to turn off dashcams in the service bay​

https://canada.autonews.com/retail/alberta-dealers-association-advises-members-turn-dashcams-service-bay

Last fall, the Motor Dealers Association of Alberta (MDA) issued an advisory urging its members to unplug or switch off dashcams in vehicles to prevent customers from spying on technicians servicing their cars.

Was 2019 when they did.

Afterwards Ontario and BC followed. I could find ones if you would like.

 

[CanRebel]

I highly doubt you would,even in Alberta.Just because your vehicle is in a dealership,doesn't give them the right to screw with personal property.I watch the news pretty religiously in Alberta,never heard of the the dealers association or Amvic having the right to screw with your private property,or them even telling the dealers they need to turn off dash camera's,was this like your bush story,were you a bit high when you seen this news program,lol.A dealer loses alot of rights as soon as they open their doors to the public,very similiar to a mall,once open to the public they lose alot of their private property rules. I beat a dangerous driving ticket a couple years ago,when i was caught doing donuts in a snow covered mall parking lot. They were closed to the public at the time of the incident,and as soon as they were closed to the public,they once again became private property,if they'd of been open,then the cop would of had a foot to stand,and it would of been a differant story,i would of lost the court battle

And Hey... I don't work and get high, drink yes, not high... I leave that for off-roading

As per your story. I would agree, you would get off. Service Bay is technically in "most" dealerships as private/work area. Without the Employee giving consent. It's crime in Canada. As I mentioned at start. "Better" dealership would tell customer to remove/turn off or not work on the car.
In US, it would fall under Federal or State Wiretap law. Texas for example is 1 party consent. Cali, Michigan, few others have all-party. Most are audio related, but few states have included camera's, and work place.

 

[Wild one]

Alberta dealers association advises members to turn off dashcams in the service bay​

https://canada.autonews.com/retail/alberta-dealers-association-advises-members-turn-dashcams-service-bay

Last fall, the Motor Dealers Association of Alberta (MDA) issued an advisory urging its members to unplug or switch off dashcams in vehicles to prevent customers from spying on technicians servicing their cars.

Was 2019 when they did.

Afterwards Ontario and BC followed. I could find ones if you would like.

I stand corrected then.

 

[pacofortacos]

It could be overly sensitive like my Chev Traverse is - it goes off all of the time for people on the sidewalk, sensitivity set to as low as can be set, has almost launched me through the windshield at least a dozen times as it likes to apply the brakes after my foot is on the brake.

But on the plus side, it might stop me in time to prevent an accident.

 

[CanRebel]

I stand corrected then.

No worries. I only heard about it cause of my job. Work at large trucking company. Union lawyer gave us 50000 pages of crap about it
That article was one of them. I was surprised Alberta would do it before BC
Our mechanic's were turning off our cameras. We are also not allowed to turn on camera facing driver unless they give written permission. Only camera facing out.

 

[ts27330]

That's is ****** up.

I really don't mind about having the dashcam turned off while in service because I don't wanna hear all ******** they say and the 10-minutes-charged-as-1-hour service.

What really pissed me off was the manager implying I was spying on them, on purpose, while all I wanted is to have a proof that the FCW is working.

Cant you test the FCW alert by pulling up close to an object (car, wall, etc,) ?

 

[blackbetty14]

It is illegal to record in the dealer. I had service done and I have a rear camera that I can turn, they missed that one lol. Also no footage means no repercussions. By you taking it to the dealer or any mechanic your taking the risk of not getting what you pay for. Precisely why I do all my own work when possible. I won't even let them swap a fog light on my truck, on my past 14 they ordered me a new one and handed me the box. Only time they had my truck was for the delaminating radio and a recall which I had to have done.

 

[Joe Merchak]

Both the Ram and Ford dealer I used do not touch my dash cam.

The FCW save my wife from having serious damage done to her Mach-e when a guy made a illegal left turn from the right lane right in front of her. The car reacted to that and stopped the car before she could even process what was going on. So instead of major damage she got a scratched bumper.

I also know that Ford has a way of testing the system without taking the car for a drive because when she had her windscreen replaced by Safelite they had to adjust and test that system. The tech there told me they test all manufactures FCW system.

I have the Park Sense on my Ram2500 and it only make noise when items are within a foot or so. I also had it go off when there was a bug smashed ton the sensor in the bumper. The FCW system should deactivate if there is something blocking the camera on the window so if something is going off you sure you dont have something on your bumper?

 

[bear52]

Hi everyone,

Recently I took my 2023 Ram 1500 to the dealership to have checked the front camera for the Forward Collision Warning system, because I never got an alert, by sound or brakes, and I think it is not working even there is no malfunction message in the system.

They said the FWC was working and they took the pickup for a test drive, and they confirmed the system worked. So it was nice, when I got my truck back the first thing I did was to check the dashcam and see how it went, but for my surprise there was no recording.

The first thing the technician did was to turn off the dashcam when he jumped in my pickup and turned back on after parking in the parking lot return the vehicle to me.

So, I was very frustrated and felt I was being scammed by the dealership. When I asked why did he do it the manager said they didn't like people spying in their employees, so that moment I realized I lost all trust I had in them.

Does anyone has some legal advice about what can I do in this situation? The FWC stills the same, doesn't appear to work.

Thanks,

In todays times, you don't need a dash cam to understand what the tech is doing. They don't know what they're doing. And it doesn't matter...Ram, Ford, Chevy, etc etc. There's not enuf space here for me to tell you all of my experiences. I've worked on cars my whole life, but, unfortunately they've made it so you can't work on them anymore.

 

[markabby]

That's is ****** up.

I really don't mind about having the dashcam turned off while in service because I don't wanna hear all ******** they say and the 10-minutes-charged-as-1-hour service.

What really pissed me off was the manager implying I was spying on them, on purpose, while all I wanted is to have a proof that the FCW is working.

you can't slowly drive the truck towards a wall and tell if the FCW is working?

Every time we pull into the garage, the warning tells me exactly where i want to be (distance from the wall) It's also adjustable via the apps.

If you need to check the rear ones, lower the tailgate and try to back up...those damn brakes lock right up. Ask me how i know..lol

you really need to have a video of them checking your truck out? It's amazing what triggers people these days.

 

[bear52]

It slams on the brakes too? I thought it was just a chime/warning lights. Idk why anyone would want that feature, I can pay attention to what's in front of me just fine thank ya very much. Glad my '17 doesn't have that crap

I literally couldn't back my truck out of the garage. I had to toggle the system off. Yes, it slams on the brakes.

 

[Hootbro]

The Dealership is still a private business. Get too indignant about it, they can just trespass you and tell you to go elsewhere.

 

[MSandRebel]

Yes, dash cams get unplugged due to privacy concerns. Not just for the dealerships and us techs working on your vehicle but for other vehicles in for service. Think law enforcement, emergency services vehicles, high profile client vehicles. We don’t need people posting that kind of info on the internet. To much liability. Get over it.

 

[czervika]

I really don't mind about having the dashcam turned off while in service because I don't wanna hear all ******** they say and the 10-minutes-charged-as-1-hour service.

Hi everyone,

Recently I took my 2023 Ram 1500 to the dealership to have checked the front camera for the Forward Collision Warning system, because I never got an alert, by sound or brakes, and I think it is not working even there is no malfunction message in the system.

They said the FWC was working and they took the pickup for a test drive, and they confirmed the system worked. So it was nice, when I got my truck back the first thing I did was to check the dashcam and see how it went, but for my surprise there was no recording.

The first thing the technician did was to turn off the dashcam when he jumped in my pickup and turned back on after parking in the parking lot return the vehicle to me.

So, I was very frustrated and felt I was being scammed by the dealership. When I asked why did he do it the manager said they didn't like people spying in their employees, so that moment I realized I lost all trust I had in them.

Does anyone has some legal advice about what can I do in this situation? The FWC stills the same, doesn't appear to work.

Thanks,

We have the FCW on our 23 Pacifica. Change your settings to maximum and follow behind someone making a right hand turn and do not touch the brakes. The system should freak out and try to brake for you. At least it does on ours, so much so even on minimum settings I have to turn the whole thing off.

Another way to tell if it's working if the adaptive cruise controls work. Same system.

 

[Tx210boys]

Hi everyone,

Recently I took my 2023 Ram 1500 to the dealership to have checked the front camera for the Forward Collision Warning system, because I never got an alert, by sound or brakes, and I think it is not working even there is no malfunction message in the system.

They said the FWC was working and they took the pickup for a test drive, and they confirmed the system worked. So it was nice, when I got my truck back the first thing I did was to check the dashcam and see how it went, but for my surprise there was no recording.

The first thing the technician did was to turn off the dashcam when he jumped in my pickup and turned back on after parking in the parking lot return the vehicle to me.

So, I was very frustrated and felt I was being scammed by the dealership. When I asked why did he do it the manager said they didn't like people spying in their employees, so that moment I realized I lost all trust I had in them.

Does anyone has some legal advice about what can I do in this situation? The FWC stills the same, doesn't appear to work.

Thanks,

Not legal advice but does your dash cam have the option to put in a password or pin where it can’t be turned off or have settings changed unless you put in the password or pin?
The Roav DashCam I have has the option for a pin even if they disconnect it it’ll run off the built in battery which is good for 72 hours. Check your settings you may have the option!

 

[Gasdude59]

I had asked my dealer how to test it. They replied no real way other then attempting to drive into something and of course did not recommend that. Also said it runs a self diagnosis on each start up and should throw an error if it fails. Who knows.
My other car flashes a warning on a certain sharp curve near my house. I figure that is a pretty good test.