Keeping track of your car's mileage shouldn't require a pen and paper, a photo of the odometer, or a best guess every time a service is due. Connected Car changes that by syncing your vehicle's data automatically — no hardware, no manual entry, no effort on your part.
This guide explains what Connected Car is, how it works, what data it tracks, and why it makes maintaining your vehicle significantly easier.
What Connected Car Means
Connected Car is a feature that links your vehicle directly to Your Service Book through your car manufacturer's existing connected services. Once linked, your vehicle's mileage and key data points sync automatically in the background.
There is no hardware to install. No OBD-II dongle, no Bluetooth adapter, no physical device of any kind. Your car already has a built-in cellular connection that communicates with your manufacturer — Connected Car simply reads that data with your permission and brings it into your service book.
Think of it like connecting your bank account to a budgeting app. The data is already there. Connected Car just gives you a window into it.
How It Works
The setup takes about two minutes. When you add a vehicle to your garage, you'll have the option to connect it. Here's what happens:
1. You choose your car manufacturer from the list — Tesla, Ford, Chevrolet, Toyota, Honda, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Hyundai, Kia, and many others.
2. You log in with your manufacturer account — the same credentials you use for the Tesla app, FordPass, myChevrolet, OnStar, MyBMW, or whichever app your brand provides. This happens on a secure authorization screen hosted by your manufacturer, not by us.
3. You grant read-only access to your vehicle data. That's it. Your Service Book can now pull your odometer reading, fuel level, and other data points automatically.
The connection works over your vehicle's built-in cellular modem — the same one that powers your manufacturer's own app. There is nothing to plug in, charge, or maintain.
What Data It Tracks
Connected Car syncs the following data points from your vehicle, depending on what your manufacturer makes available:
Odometer / Mileage — Your actual, real-time mileage. This is the most important data point for maintenance scheduling and is the foundation of everything Connected Car enables.
Fuel Level — The current fuel level as a percentage, for gas and diesel vehicles.
Battery Level (EVs and Plug-in Hybrids) — The current state of charge for electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles.
Range — Estimated remaining range based on current fuel or charge level.
Charge Status (EVs) — Whether your vehicle is currently charging, and the charge state.
It is important to understand that this connection is strictly read-only. Your Service Book cannot send commands to your vehicle, unlock doors, start the engine, adjust settings, or control anything whatsoever. We can only read the data your manufacturer provides. That's by design.
Which Vehicles Are Compatible
Connected Car uses Smartcar, which supports over 40 vehicle brands. Most vehicles from model year 2015 and newer with active connected services are compatible. The list includes:
Tesla — All models (Model S, 3, X, Y)
Ford — Vehicles with FordPass Connect
Chevrolet — Vehicles with OnStar and myChevrolet
Toyota — Vehicles with Toyota Connected Services
Honda — Vehicles with HondaLink
BMW — Vehicles with BMW Connected Drive
Mercedes-Benz — Vehicles with Mercedes me connect
Hyundai — Vehicles with Bluelink
Kia — Vehicles with Kia Connect
And many more — Audi, Volkswagen, Porsche, Volvo, Cadillac, GMC, Buick, Lincoln, Lexus, Acura, Infiniti, Nissan, Mazda, Subaru, Jaguar, Land Rover, and others.
If your vehicle has a manufacturer app that shows your mileage or fuel level, there's a good chance it's compatible with Connected Car.
Why It Matters for Maintenance
Most people don't know their exact mileage. They guess, or they check the odometer occasionally and try to remember the number. That means maintenance reminders based on mileage are also guesses — and guesses lead to missed services or unnecessary early visits.
Connected Car eliminates the guesswork entirely. With real odometer data syncing automatically, your maintenance schedule becomes precise:
No more guessing mileage. Your service book always has your actual, current odometer reading. When you log a service, the mileage is already there.
Smarter maintenance predictions. Because we know your real mileage and how quickly it's increasing, we can predict when your next service will actually be due — not based on a generic estimate, but based on how you actually drive.
Automatic alerts based on real data. When your oil change is due at 75,000 miles and your odometer hits 74,500, you'll know. No more discovering you're 3,000 miles overdue because you lost track.
This is the difference between reactive maintenance and proactive maintenance. Connected Car keeps you ahead of the schedule instead of behind it.
What You'll Need
To connect your vehicle, you need one thing: your vehicle manufacturer account login.
This is the same account you use (or would use) for your manufacturer's mobile app:
Tesla — Your Tesla account
Ford — Your FordPass account
Chevrolet / GM — Your myChevrolet or OnStar account
Toyota — Your Toyota account
Honda — Your HondaLink account
BMW — Your MyBMW account
If you don't have a manufacturer account yet, you can create one on your manufacturer's website or through their mobile app. It's free and typically takes just a few minutes. You'll need your VIN or vehicle details to register.
Included on All Plans
Every Your Service Book subscription includes connected vehicles at no additional cost — 1 with Standard, 2 with Pro, and 3 with Ultimate. Whether you're on a monthly or annual plan, Connected Car is part of your subscription.
If you need to connect more vehicles beyond what your plan includes, additional connections are available for $2.49 per month each. Each additional connection gives you the same automatic syncing and real-time data for another vehicle in your garage.
Privacy and Security
We take your data seriously. Here's how Connected Car handles privacy and security:
Read-only access. We can only read data from your vehicle. We cannot send commands, control features, or modify anything on your car. Ever.
Encrypted connections. All data transmitted between your vehicle, your manufacturer, and Your Service Book is encrypted in transit and at rest.
Never shared with third parties. Your vehicle data is yours. We do not sell, share, or provide your data to any third party. It exists solely to power your service book and maintenance tracking.
Disconnect at any time. If you ever want to stop the connection, you can disconnect your vehicle instantly from your garage settings. The link is severed immediately, and we stop receiving data from your vehicle.
You are always in control of your data and your connection.
Get Started
Connecting your vehicle takes about two minutes. Head to your garage, add your vehicle if you haven't already, and look for the option to connect it. You'll select your manufacturer, log in with your existing account, and you're done.
From that point forward, your mileage updates automatically, your maintenance schedule stays accurate, and you never have to guess when a service is due again.