r/CarHacking Feb 02 '17

Car Hacking Subreddit Intro

92 Upvotes

Hi rch, we have added a lot of people lately with intro posts on other subs like the one below. We also usually get about 10 subs a day from people just stumbling in here. So I wanted to create a welcome post, to kinda show them what we are about and how to get started. If anyone has anything to add please do so. If anyone has any questions about us or where to start do so here.

Our goal is to create a highly technical car subreddit, a place for automotive engineers, senior technicians, full blown car nerds, or people who are working towards one of these. We are interested in the inner workings of cars and today that often involves electronics. While we see electronics as the priority we are pretty liberal in allowing other topics as long as they somehow fit our goal of trying to understand cars. So things like DIY aero, suspension setup and other things the community is hacking on come up. In general our other tangential interests include: Modern cars, New tech, Open source hardware/software, DIY, hot rodding, eco modding, customization, security research, right to repair and more.

We started this subreddit about a year ago. Right now we have 3000 people and discussion is just starting to get good. Most of our members found us through maker or engineering subreddits. So I wanted to reach out to more of the car communities and try to grow our knowledge base.

Our name is r/carhacking and I know the term hacking can be offputting to some as it has a bad connotation. When someone says they are “hacking” their car it generally means they are trying to reverse engineer it for any number of reasons like to find security flaws, make upgrades, make repairs, or just understand how it works.

Here are a couple examples of posts that have been popular so far. A lot of our posts focus on beginner through intermediate projects using arduino and readily available hardware for the purpose of learning and or not paying a premium for things you can make yourself:

More advanced projects:

Relevant news/ research:

If your new our documentation is a good place to start

If you aren't new and you’re interested in helping out please consider:

  • Improving documentation - think about what resources have helped you
  • Spread the word - this is a niche community that is pretty spread out, but there is a lot of potential if we can get together on a third party site like this
  • Work on the theme, sidebar and flair - this is next level community stuff that isn’t necessary, but it’s fun to work on when you have the time.
  • Modding - right now we are fine, but we might need help in the future as we grow

Let me know if I missed something or got something wrong.


r/CarHacking Feb 27 '21

CAN CAN bus and car hacking getting started resources

286 Upvotes

I get asked how to get started with automotive networking, car hacking, and CAN almost weekly. I often direct people to this subreddit, so I figured I would help out and post some resources I have found and think are a good place to start.

learning resources:

Car Hacking 101: Practical Guide to Exploiting CAN-Bus using Instrument Cluster Simulator

I also direct people to the Car Hacking Village to get some hands-on experience. They put on great conference talks, demos, and contests. Looks like they are even working on some “getting started” content.

And of course, The Car Hacking Handbook is a great resource.

I will add more as I think of them. Please add your finds in the comments.

Tools:

Good wiring diagrams and car manuals are essential. This is pretty much where my research starts for each project. You see how things are networked and what to expect to find on CAN. You'll quickly learn to recognize things like gateways. You can also use the troubleshooting section to understand things. For example, what things do I need to control to start the car?

I like:

  • prodemand (I pay $170/mo for a shop subscription, I think you can purchase it for individual cars, but be careful you often have to jump around to find a year that has complete diagrams)
  • Identifix (probably what I would buy if I was starting over)

Basic hardware: Here you will be working with things like Arduino, Linux, SavvyCAN, and Can-utils. You have to learn to do a lot yourself, but these tools are more open for you to make them do what you need.

Tools designed by the community I use:

The above articles offer a pretty good step-by-step guide to getting started with the Macchina M2.

Any cheap “Amazon special” OBD2 dongle will come in handy from time to time. They are all based on something called ELM327. "ELM327 abstracts the low-level protocol and presents a simple interface that can be called via a UART". This abstraction has fundamental limitations that prevent it from being useful in most serious applications. But, it is sufficient for reading and clearing some codes and that sort of thing when you’re getting started.


r/CarHacking 18h ago

Original Project BMW iDrive 8 - Virtualized

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65 Upvotes

So, I decided to do a thing...

Yes, it's extremely slow, and yes, barely anything works, but we have an UI.

But why..?
Ive been messing with BMWs hardware and software for a while now, and keep on finding more and more interesting stuff. The next logical step was to make it run on something its not supposed to, and that's how HMI8 in a VM was born.


r/CarHacking 33m ago

Scan Tool Options for SFD unlock on newer VW Group cars?

Upvotes

SFD protection is definitely a hurdle for newer VW group cars like the Octavia. From what I've seen, some adaptations and coding changes need that online unlock, which makes the tool options pretty confusing. Apparently, there are ways to get SFD access without a full pro setup, but it's worth looking into which specific cables or software the community generally recommends for a straightforward unlock.


r/CarHacking 1d ago

Original Project 60hz filtered speed vs 1hz GPS Speed comparison on realdash

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52 Upvotes

Wanted to show a comparison of gps speed update rate vs my filtered speed which uses the tablets internal sensors to derive a smoother and faster speed signal


r/CarHacking 10h ago

Community Vz alloytec

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0 Upvotes

Hi all, not sure if ill get the answer i need but these codes are coming up on my vz commodore 2005, can anyone tell me what they mean?


r/CarHacking 1d ago

Scan Tool How Are Small OBD Apps Getting Manufacturer-Specific Data?

13 Upvotes

I’m building a car-scanner app that goes beyond standard OBD-II PIDs. I want manufacturer-specific readings such as MAF, fuel data, odometer, temperatures, pressures, transmission and battery information across many makes and models.

Official data from brands like BMW and Mercedes seems expensive, and paying thousands per manufacturer isn’t realistic.

How are smaller scanner apps solving this? Are there affordable databases, tools, partnerships, extraction methods, shared captures, or other practical alternatives?

I’m focused on ECU identification and live readings—not coding or flashing. Any advice, experience or useful direction would be appreciated.


r/CarHacking 13h ago

Original Project CAN-FD interface testing

0 Upvotes

I let a friendly LLM loose on a prototype vehicle tracker I'm building (https://l0destar.com) with a CANable interface and a scope. Quite impressed by the results: https://l0destar.com/canbus.com

It seems like from this report it should be fairly reliable but I don't have a car with a CAN bus to test it with. Is there anything further that's normally done to validate CAN interfaces?


r/CarHacking 1d ago

Original Project 2016 Nissan Murano QY84 Head Unit Firmware running in qemu

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9 Upvotes

r/CarHacking 15h ago

Original Project No response to service 0x1 PID 0x00 (services supported)

1 Upvotes

Hi. I'm testing a self developed CAN OBDII application, but I'm running into a road block.

I've confirmed that my node is synchronized to the bus correctly. When connected, no bus faults are reported, a successful transmission is reported when I send a frame, and I receive frames when I don't filter by CAN ID.

I've also tested communication with another node that I have, and that appears to receive the data I send correctly.

I'm having a problem requesting the supported PIDs. I'm requesting this with the following CAN frame:

CAN ID: 0x7DF
byte 0: 0x02
byte 1: 0x01
byte 2: 0x00
byte 3: 0xCC
byte 4: 0xCC
byte 5: 0xCC
byte 6: 0xCC
byte 7: 0xCC

I'm not 100% sure what to use for padding, but I've also tried 0xAA and 0x00. I'm setting DLC = 0x8

For the receive side; I'm looking for a response from 0x7E8, but have also checked for responses from 0x7E9-0x7EF.

I'm testing with a 2016 honda civic. Any help would be appreciated, thank you!


r/CarHacking 1d ago

Original Project DIY Driver Display for EX30

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3 Upvotes

TL, DR;

  • I built a custom DIY driver display for the EX30 BEV using a Raspberry Pi and a companion AAOS app.
  • The project is fully open-source and free for anyone who wants to build their own setup.
  • It is a hobby project—all setup guides, requirements, and hardware details are documented in the repository linked at the bottom of this post. Any feedback is welcome!

Hey everyone! A few months ago, I discussed my plans to create a dedicated driver display for my EX30. After a month of real-world testing and bug fixing, the project is stable enough to share with the community.

AAOS Development Path

My initial goal was to get everything strictly via OBD-II readings, but mapping and cross-validating the correct DIDs was tough. I decided to pivot and leverage the Android Automotive OS (AAOS) platform instead.

I built a companion app, cross-validated data using Volvo’s official EX30-AAOS emulator, and tested it on my own vehicle. Massive credit to Volvo for providing a solid emulator—it streamlined development significantly.

The EX30 Companion App forwards essential telemetry directly from the vehicle’s head unit to the external display:

  • Speed & Power Output
  • State of Charge (Battery Level)
  • Ignition Status, Gear Selection, Night Mode, etc.

Note on App Availability: The app is currently distributed via Google Play's testing track. Complete instructions on how to join the test build are available directly on the GitHub repo.

OBD Path Integration

While AAOS gave me most of what I needed, a few parameters like exact odometer data, brake status, and min/max battery temperatures required direct CAN/OBD access.

To bridge this gap, I captured btsnoop logs via a standard Bluetooth dongle and an Android scanner app. Cross-referencing timestamp logs with video recordings allowed me to quickly isolate the target DIDs and init sequences to pull those extra parameters.

UI & Iterations

Designing the user interface was the trickiest part. I started with a rough "vibe coded" prototype to get real-time data rendering. Over time, I iterated to add derived telemetry like trip statistics.

To refine the visual layout into something clean and modern, I utilized Claude Pro (Fable 5) to help generate and polish the UI concept. The result is a sleek, driver-focused interface that fits the EX30's aesthetic.

Next Steps & Hardware

Right now, the Pi and display assembly are mounted temporarily behind the steering wheel. I'm currently modeling a custom 3D-printable enclosure to neatly house the screen and board together. Once the design is finalized and tested, I'll upload the STL files directly to the repository!

Repository & Setup Guide:

You can find the source code, hardware list, and setup instructions on github repository


r/CarHacking 22h ago

Scan Tool ECU Programming, Flashing

1 Upvotes

Hi

What tools are there can program/reflash ECU?


r/CarHacking 1d ago

CAN HUD OBD2

0 Upvotes

r/CarHacking 1d ago

Article/news Reverse engineering OBD tools

5 Upvotes

More of a question, we know many clone Chinese tools exist rebadged etc, would there be a way to monitor everything going in and out of the obd port and re-creating the functionality of the device?

For example my scan tool can force my vehicle to regen it's dpf for example, something is sent out over the obd to do that so if you captured that and replayed it would do the same?

I know there and thousands of different makes and models and probably even more functions that are model specific but with AI the logging process and actually sending of commands could maybe be automated perhaps? Thinking out loud here, and open source scan tool for all that does all the cool stuff like injector coding etc would be cool! Don't know or understand enough about the can bus network, maybe there is already a project or software out there that's doing this already thats free and open source?


r/CarHacking 1d ago

CAN Understanding CAN BUS-B Traffic

4 Upvotes

I'm sniffing CAN BUS B traffic (2005 mercedes slk) with an ESP32S3 rs485, performing an action (moving my mirror), then 'replaying' that traffic back into the BUS. Through process of elimination, I can find the values I need. This works well.

Except today while sniffing the movement of the mirrors. I captured 3 seconds of me holding my mirror, which I thought was going to be 3 seconds of my car spamming code X into the bus for 3 seconds. Which I did find. But when narrowing the codes, I found 1 code by accident that when put in front of my move mirror code, makes it move the full 3 seconds. Since the car didn't know how long I was going to hold the button, how could it produce a CAN code to do this? I'm new to CAN BUS, so I'm guessing it's something I don't understand.


r/CarHacking 1d ago

Tuning Clone HEX-V2 VCDS cable (₹4-6k on Amazon India) — anyone actually used one long-term? Worried about coding for customers

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4 Upvotes

I'm looking at starting a small coding/feature-unlock side business for VW/Skoda cars in India (starting with a Taigun 1.0 TSI Highline). Genuine Ross-Tech VCDS (Unlimited VIN) runs about ₹48,000 here, which is a big upfront investment to start with.

I found "Generic" brand HEX-V2 clones on Amazon India for ₹4,190–5,990, claiming "lifetime free software" and compatibility with 1995–2023 models. Obviously the price gap makes me suspicious.

Questions for anyone with real experience:

Has anyone actually used one of these clones for coding (not just reading codes)? Does long coding / adaptations work reliably, or does it fail on certain modules?

Do these get bricked by official VCDS updates like I've read, or does that only apply to specific clone chipsets?

Does it work at all on SFD-protected cars (2020+ VW Group models), or is that a hard no on clones?

If you were starting a small coding business, would you consider a clone acceptable to start with and upgrade later, or is that a bad idea from day one for liability reasons?

Any recommended budget alternative besides genuine VCDS and OBDeleven that's actually reliable?

Not trying to cut corners on customer cars — just trying to figure out if there's a sane way to start small before committing ₹48k, or if that's just the cost of doing this properly.


r/CarHacking 2d ago

Original Project DIY Gauge for my F87 M2 sampling telemetry data with a display refresh rate of 60fps and telemetry logging at 60hz.

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43 Upvotes

Got a lot of curious people asking about my DIY gauge for my m2. This was a test to find the max refresh rate of the display. In the car I’ll probably settle around 30fps

Previous post: https://www.reddit.com/r/CarHacking/s/0UJvdY53lr


r/CarHacking 1d ago

Original Project 2015 Tahoe ppv steering wheel retrofit?

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2 Upvotes

My 2015 tahoe ppv came with the super basic rubber steering wheel with no controls. I got a new GM civilian wheel and put it in. All of the connectors were the same and it was just plug and play.

The issue I'm having is the steering wheel buttons dont do anything. This ppv has the special certified IC with the basic black and white screen.

Is this a programming issue or hardware issue? I would think the steering wheel buttons would be connected to the BCM but apparently they're connected to the IC?

I really just want the buttons to work with my android head unit, I don't care about the OEM functions. Anyone have experience with this?


r/CarHacking 1d ago

Community Tesla Rollback Question

1 Upvotes

I Bought a tesla that had the odometer rolled back. I was aware of this prior to buying it so I did not get scammed. My question is how do I put the mileage back to the last known mileage? Currently shows 62,018 and last known mileage is 140,719. I Do I have to buy a new screen for it or a new BCM or reprogram a part?


r/CarHacking 1d ago

Tuning Starting in ECU

0 Upvotes

Hello,

I'd like to start doing ECU modification but I know nothing about it pretty much.

I would like to start in motocycles since i'm more into motos.

Where can I learn the basics ?

What softwares do I need ?

What hardware do I need ?

How can I start ?

Any advice ?

I do not know how to take off the files from a motocycle with what hardware or software. I own a Z900 and I'd like to take out the files from it just for testing on my computer. After that I do not know what software to use.

As you can see, its a new world for me in this ECU part.

I work in IT so I have some skills in computers and eletronic stuff.

Need help, i really want to start from scratch and learn it the proper way


r/CarHacking 1d ago

Original Project KIA EV4 - Carcoding

0 Upvotes

What fun can i do with my new KIA EV4 with carcoding?


r/CarHacking 3d ago

Original Project Got tired of using my phone for telemetry data (MHD app) so I made my own wireless gauge instead

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226 Upvotes

Connects to BMW DME via wireless ENET. Since it’s an esp-32, I can add an SD card and log live telemetry data and do a lot of real time data analysis. My goal is to make a full engine health monitor for thermal, boost, fuel, and ignition systems.


r/CarHacking 2d ago

Tuning I built an open-source OBD1 Honda ECU Tuning & Live Telemetry suite from scratch (.NET 8 / C#) — 32k+ lines of code, looking for code review and feedback!

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1 Upvotes

r/CarHacking 2d ago

Original Project Passat B9 Seat Massage without Car

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6 Upvotes

Hey guys, any idea how i can get the seat massage and the electic backseat adjustment running without a car?


r/CarHacking 2d ago

Scan Tool Sub-$500 programming tool???

0 Upvotes

I'm sure this has been asked too many times already but I need a little help. I have done all kinds of mechanical work on all of my own cars but the electrical side of things has always befuddled me. I have a basic scan tool where I can read and reset codes and do some very basic systems monitoring but I'd like to take it a step further if for only a learning opportunity.

I currently need to write my VIN to a donor Jeep PCM (2005) for testing purposes. I've seen videos where folks do it in seemingly no time with a programming tool (one was an Autel Maxiim and another was a Daigun IV) but I can't make heads or tails of all the options out there. Is there a sub-$500 tool that I can get to do this and learn some other stuff while I'm at it? Thanks in advance for any helpful replies!