I was reading this on Fox's website regarding Electronic Data Recorders (EDR). They said some 04 models have them and I am not sure about status on '05s. I was wondering if the RX8 is equiped with one and can it be turned off?

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,132056,00.html

 

Anyone? I'm very curious about this also.

 

I'd read that Ford (and family companies) wasn't putting EDR's in yet... not sure if Mazda's stance is any different. I've never seen anything in the repair manuals or wiring diagrams that would indicate there's one... at least not in my 04.

 

This is real trouble. Put an EDR coupled with an ONStar type system and insurance companies will know whether or not they will honor your accident claim even before the fire dept. pulls you from the twisted wreckage. Its coming.

 

North America... the land of freedom...

not so free anymore...

 

Sure as the car has airbags, it has an EDR installed as part of the SRS system ... it may only record the condition of the car 10 seconds before impact/deployment, but it's there. Car & Driver (or Road & Track) last month had an article on these and every car mfr and model sold in the USA has some level of data recording in it. Think about it ... how do you suppose the ECU works - it's recording RPM levels and stuff - you violently overrev your car and abuse the engine and that data is in the ECU for all to see with the right toolset.

 

You're right, there have long been EDR's for the safety system that you're referring to, that record data for the airbags as they deploy... and just airbag information. However some of the newer EDR's like GM is installing can start recording when they feel a crash is imminent (i.e. too many G's being pulled for the DSC to recover) for many seconds before the incident, and they record all the parameters like steering wheel angle, throttle position, brake, RPM, yaw angle, g's, etc. I read an article that OnStar is also activated based on this data, even if a collision/accident is avoided. This info could then be D/L'ed by the insurance company and used for or against you... it's a double-edged sword.

I would love to find out a definitive answer on the EDR capability of our 8's ECU...

 

I found this company on the web that sells diag equipment used for downloading the crash data- this is the vehicle list that they support - tons of GM and Ford... a little Isuzu, SAAB, but no Mazda. I'm emailing them to see if they just don't support Mazda, or if Mazda does not use a full fledged EDR.
http://www.vetronix.com/diagnostics/...icle_list.html