New vehicles are coming equipped with aftermarket vehicle immobilizers and GPS modules. Some of these are simple man in the middle OBD cables which can often easily be removed without any permanent damage to the vehicles electrical system. Unfortunately there is a flip side where dealers install invasive aftermarket devices using methods like wire splicing and tapping which permanently compromises the wiring of the vehicle and cannot be repaired reasonably using manufacturer service information. Depending on the region, none or the majority of vehicles can have this aftermarket unit installed during the PDI (pre delivery inspection) and there be no record of it ever shared with the buyer of the vehicle. Using these for leased and financed vehicles makes sense since there is a contract and co ownership but if the vehicle is bought in full and there is no disclosure of any aftermarket systems installed in the sale paperwork, is it legal? I found this unit in my car 1.5 years after the sale. The vehicle manufacturer (Kia) is voiding the electrical system warranty because the dealer installed the device invasively to the vehicle harness. The 2023 Kia Sorento Hybrid is now factory warranty voided because of a device not disclosed to me at the time of sale.

The dealer who sold the car is turning a blind eye and not admitting to installing the device nor helping me fight the voided warranty situation from Kia Corp after I asked my usual Kia service dealer to make record of it.