Skip to main content

Vivint’s Car Guard keeps tabs on your vehicle when you’re not in it

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Your car is part of your home. Whether it’s parked in your garage, the street, or the driveway, or simply getting you from place to place, it’s something that you count on almost as often as the roof over your head. Now, Vivint wants to protect it like it’s part of your home, too. The security company is introducing the new Vivint Car Guard, a first-of-its-kind service that allows users to keep tabs on their vehicle when they aren’t behind the wheel.

Integrated directly into the existing Vivint Smart Home app, Car Guard is able to send you mobile notifications about your car. All you have to do is plug the tiny device into your vehicle’s onboard diagnostics port (OBD-II), which is found under the dashboard of most cars. Once installed, the Car Guard tracks everything that you could possibly want to know about your car. It’s one of the most useful car accessories on the market.

Car Guard can tell you if your vehicle has been bumped, if it’s being towed, or if someone breaks in and attempts to steal it. You won’t be able to see it, though; you’ll need a dash cam for that. It’s perfect for folks who leave their car parked outside at night or leave their vehicle in public places like parking lots or on the street during the workday. It will also give you car diagnostic information so you’ll be alert to any issues that may be plaguing your ride.

Because Car Guard integrates directly into the Vivint Smart Home system, you can use the service in tandem with existing Vivint services. That means you can customize how your house and car react when triggered by an alert. For instance, if your car senses a disturbance in the middle of the night, you can set that issue to trigger your outdoor lights to turn on and your camera to start recording. It offers an extra layer of protection for both your car and your home.

“Consumers want to protect their two most valuable assets – their home and their car,” Jeff Lyman, chief product officer at Vivint Smart Home, said in a statement. “Connecting the car and home unlocks enhanced protection and convenience that weren’t possible before.”

Vivint Car Guard will be available as a stand-alone service or as a part of an existing Vivint home security system package. The device itself will cost $199, and service will cost an additional $10 per month.

Editors' Recommendations

AJ Dellinger
AJ Dellinger is a freelance reporter from Madison, Wisconsin with an affinity for all things tech. He has been published by…
Amazon Alexa’s Guard is a new security feature to keep your smart home safe
amazon alexa guard rollout echo mode feat

Smart home security is a really lucrative market but it looks like Amazon is getting ahead of the curve by rolling out a bunch of advanced home security features enabled by Alexa and available on Echo devices -- for free. The new platform is called Alexa Guard and it's now available for all Echo device owners, with no additional fee or monthly subscription. Amazon tells us that Echo owners can set up and enable Amazon Guard features almost instantly using the Alexa app.

Probably the most useful feature of the new security platform is a set of monitors that Amazon simply calls "Smart Alerts." Echo owners can simply issue the command, "Alexa, I'm leaving," and the digital assistant will switch the Guard feature over to Away mode. Once the device is in away mode, it listens for things like smoke alarms, carbon monoxide alarms, or the sound of glass breaking. Once a designated event has occurred, you would get an alert telling you which type of sound was detected as well as an audio clip of the event.

Read more
Kia’s HabaNiro concept is an autonomous electric car that knows when you’re sad
Kia HabaNiro concept

What will the car of the future look like? Will it fly? Will it be powered by some previously unknown propulsion system? Kia thinks cars will develop in a different direction. Debuting at the 2019 New York Auto Show, the HabaNiro concept is a small car that's part hatchback, part SUV, and powered by electric motors. It's also packed with tech that could change the way people interact with cars.

Kia considers the HabaNiro to be a crossover, but the automaker claims that's only because the auto industry hasn't come up with a proper classification for it. Like many current crossovers, though, the HabaNiro has the general proportions of a hatchback, but with a raised ride height and more upright roof. Designers added some unusual details as well: The grille is supposed to resemble a shark's snout,  according to Kia, and the daytime running lights pulse to represent a heartbeat.

Read more
The Apple Car was reportedly dubbed ‘the Bread Loaf’
A man checks his phone in an Apple retail store in Grand Central Terminal.

A 2020 prototype of the so-called "Apple Car" was dubbed "the Bread Loaf" for its looks, according to a Bloomberg report on Wednesday.

In a deep dive into the costly project, which Apple canceled last month, the report described the vehicle as “a white minivan with rounded sides, an all-glass roof, sliding doors, and whitewall tires [that] was designed to comfortably seat four people and inspired by the classic flower-power Volkswagen microbus.”

Read more