OBD-II Devices found in all Post-1996 Vehicles
The On-Board Diagnostic, or OBD-II port, is required for every car sold in the United States after 1996. Because it provides a wealth of real-time and historic information about a car’s performance, it is perfect for telematics devices offered by insurance companies. Just about every driving-based discount and mileage-based plan utilizes OBD-II plugins in order to garner information about your driving habits. When the OBD-II port is not used, insurers usually are getting their data from a smartphone app or a pre-installed sensor and communications setup such as GM’s OnStar system.
However, the vast majority of insurers who are building telematics devices prefer the OBD port because (1) it is universal and (2) it provides a ton of information, all of which can be recorded and transmitted to big data servers somewhere in the hinterland. You may have no idea why you insurer could be tracking hundreds of different data points provided by the OBD-II port and the device’s proprietary gadgets, but the universe of data is collecting information that can affect your pocketbook down the line.
Why is it called OBD-2. Not to be confused with ODB from the Wu Tang Clan, the original (OBD-I) protocol is the result of the California Air Resources Board mandating that vehicles sold in 1991 and beyond should have a basic on-board diagnostics capability. Diagnostic ports and scanners were introduced in the 1970s and were proprietary to each vehicle, so you would need different readers for Ford, GM, and Chrysler vehicles. Mechanics with readers and scanners would charge a premium to plug these devices in to tell you basic facts about your engine performance. When your “check engine” light went on, you were off to the dealership or mechanic to find out what the problem was, and sometimes it was just that the car had reached a certain mileage. This is why people started ignoring these lights. At any rate, Federal legislation mandated a standard diagnostic connector for all 1996 and newer vehicles, which is a real plus when you need an emissions test and they just plug the device into your car instead of running it over one of those dynamometers and seeing how high they can rev up your engine before a piston rod shoots through the hood.
Nature of Data Collected
What information does the OBD-II collect? A surprising amount of information is found in the Engine Control Unit (ECU), starting with your VIN number, emissions controls (oxygen sensor, catalyst, EGR system, etc) vehicle speed, idling time, over-revving, RPM, and engine problems. This data is combined with information collected by the plug-in unit, which may have miniaturized gyroscopes, accelerometers, GPS antennas, and wireless communication devices designed to determine speed, direction, and acceleration/deceleration measurements that are common to good and bad driving. If you put the pedal to the floor at every light and then hit the brakes hard all the time, while riding through bad neighborhoods in the dead of night, then that information is going to be collected and sent off to your insurer. Likewise, if you keep the car parked in the garage most of the time in your retirement community, and only drive to Indian Casinos on Saturday Morning, then the device is going to record low miles and you pay less until that fateful day that you plow through a farmer’s market when you lose the ability to distinguish between big horizontal brake pedal and the small vertical gas pedal. In either case, the information gleaned from OBD-2 is sufficient to determine whether you are getting a discount or a cancellation notice in the mail.