I dare you to spot the EZ-Pass on my S5

[bosco115]

You know what I'm talking about. That giant, hideous, injection molded white plastic piece of junk that's stuck to your windshield and draws unwanted attention. You wish you could get rid of it, but it's so convenient for the tolls you travel through daily. Well I have a solution for you. I found the perfect spot to mount an EZ-Pass on my S5. I assure you, there is a Pennsylvania EZ-Pass in full view in this photograph:





Can you see it? Let me help you out. First of all, you probably have one of these:





WRONG. You want one of these instead:





I tried requesting one of the smaller ones directly from the PA Turnpike commission, but they just sent me another giant one. I specifically go to Shoprite or one of the other authorized retailers and ask them if they have any of the smaller EZ-Passes. They never have any idea what I'm talking about, but they always find them and give me one.

Next, you want to grab a rattle can of matte black paint and do three coats. Make it look like this:





You're almost done. Take those two velco adhesive strips they give you and mount them to the passenger side of your rear-view mirror. Then stick the EZ-Pass on top of it, like this:





Do you see it now?





It works 100% of the time, and you cannot see it from inside or outside the car unless someone specifically points it out to you.

[Street Nasty]

What if the pass is not being read by the machine? Then, the tollbooth operator is supposed to scan the barcode or type in the number manually. Yes, they can look up your account info but it takes longer. Safer to plastidip the transponder.

[bosco115]

I have gone through EZ-Pass lanes in multiple states and never had a problem. All types of lanes - barrier tolls, express lanes, dual-purpose, etc - and I've always gotten the green light.

If you're really that concerned, sure, plastidip it. But the location is the real purpose of this post. It's virtually invisible unless you're looking for it.

[Sweep]

Wow, I never even knew about these smaller ezpass tags. This looks great. I always just left it in my glovebox, then pulled it out and held it up to the windshield with my hand as I went through the toll booth. When you say you went to an authorized retailer, did you just give them your big tag and trade it in for the smaller one?

[noshadow]

now you just have to figure out how to hide all those permits on the lower part of the window, eek

[bosco115]

now you just have to figure out how to hide all those permits on the lower part of the window, eek

If I could, I would. Those are Pennsylvania state inspection & emission stickers. I don't have a choice unless I want to live in Florida again, where they don't require a front license plate or any window stickers. Heaven.

Wow, I never even knew about these smaller ezpass tags. This looks great. I always just left it in my glovebox, then pulled it out and held it up to the windshield with my hand as I went through the toll booth. When you say you went to an authorized retailer, did you just give them your big tag and trade it in for the smaller one?

I always did the same thing with the center console and hated it. Here are the authorized retailers for the PA EZ-Pass. There may be different retailers depending on the state, but they all sell basically the same thing.

Now here's the pain in the ass. If you have an existing EZ-Pass and want a new one added to your account, it's going to take some gyrations. I clicked through their list and selected "Request an additional transponder" and filled out specific instructions to only send the new, small EZ-Pass. A week later, they had sent me another brick, not the small one. Assuming they're simply incompetent state employees, I shipped it right back and did it the hard way instead. This is what I recommend:

Go to Acme or Walmart and specifically request a Go-Pak that contains the small EZ-Pass. Again, the store employee will be dumbfounded by your request and say "I don't think we have any of those." Ask them to go check. They will be bewildered upon returning and say something to the tune of, "Oh, I didn't know we had these. They must be new." No, they've been selling them for years at this store, but that's okay. Here's where it gets tricky. You can't simply add a Go-Pak EZ-Pass to your existing account. You need to activate your Go-Pak within two days with a new vehicle AND A NEW ACCOUNT. Once your new account is setup, you have to call the PA Turnpike Commission (or whatever state you're in) and request that they merge the two accounts together. It takes anywhere from 4-10 weeks until they actually do it.

I've completed this entire small EZ-Pass process twice, now. I did it once for the motorcycle, and once for the S5. You deal with a lot of people that just don't give a shit about their jobs, but in the end, it's worth it to have completely invisible transponders.

[alexza4]

I also keep mine in the door pocket, doesn't bother me one bit to pull it out and hold it up to the windshield when going through the toll. Further, few times in the past when I didn't pull it out from the door pocket, it read anyway. Nevertheless, nice work and points for ingenuity. I've also seen people painting them and mounting behind the bumper or front grill. I remember seeing a thread on vortex, where a guy actually took the case apart and hid just the electronics portion (there really just one board) somewhere in the overhead console. Now, that's the real stealth! You can probably hide inside the rearview mirror. I may try that as I'm working on the rearview mirror project.

[Alkivar]

You can probably hide inside the rearview mirror. I may try that as I'm working on the rearview mirror project.

I wouldnt unless you dont mind taking your mirror apart in a couple years when the lithium battery dies.

[bosco115]

You mean inside the transponder? Not sure about other states or regions, but EZ-Pass in the northeast is a passive RFID technology. It requires no power to operate. I know the sunpass in Florida operates on the same technology as well. So you wouldn't have to take apart the mirror to replace any battery in the transponder.

[alexza4]

You mean inside the transponder? Not sure about other states or regions, but EZ-Pass in the northeast is a passive RFID technology. It requires no power to operate. I know the sunpass in Florida operates on the same technology as well. So you wouldn't have to take apart the mirror to replace any battery in the transponder.

You're correct about the Sunapass as its a true passive RFID device, it operates on the energy emitted by the transmitters.
EZ-Pass is unfortunately not like Sunpass is battery operated. It is still considered a passive RFID technology, meaning, its not broadcasting all the time and only "wakes up" when receiving a radio signal from the transmitting source. However, the do have a battery source, BUT, the battery is not serviceable, its actually soldered onto the board. The battery life in the EZ-Pass should last 5+ years.

[bosco115]

You're correct about the Sunapass as its a true passive RFID device, it operates on the energy emitted by the transmitters.
EZ-Pass is unfortunately not like Sunpass is battery operated. It is still considered a passive RFID technology, meaning, its not broadcasting all the time and only "wakes up" when receiving a radio signal from the transmitting source. However, the do have a battery source, BUT, the battery is not serviceable, its actually soldered onto the board. The battery life in the EZ-Pass should last 5+ years.

Wow. If you're correct, that would explain why Sunpass has that wonderfully clear sticker that gets mounted on your windshield, while EZ-Pass is stuck with the bulky transmitters. What a shame, thanks for the info.

[alexza4]

Wow. If you're correct, that would explain why Sunpass has that wonderfully clear sticker that gets mounted on your windshield, while EZ-Pass is stuck with the bulky transmitters. What a shame, thanks for the info.

Yes, that's exactly the reason why the EZPass still looks like its something from 1985. They've been talking about changing EZ-Pass to true passive RFID for years... The problem is the systems are incompatible, so they would have to upgrade all the toll stations in the EZ-Pass system which is used in over 10 states, not to mention replacing the receivers for all the customers. Shame it is....

EDIT: Out of curiosity, just did the search on this, as I haven't looked into this in a while, and looks like they're working on making the systems compatible, with the goal of one system country wide within next several years. That would be nice.

[Need4Speed]

Nice that's a smart idea !

[noshadow]

If I could, I would. Those are Pennsylvania state inspection & emission stickers. I don't have a choice unless I want to live in Florida again, where they don't require a front license plate or any window stickers. Heaven.

Ah bummer!

[Lavoisier]

Or the states could just stop screwing people who already pay taxes to drive on the highways...

[/dev/null]

I have two of the smaller ones, two of the larger (original) tags... READ YOUR INSERT that comes with the ting.... you paint it, you own it (they will charge you a damage fee... not that I care all that much, as its ugly, but having the silhouette in the windshield is also helpful in disputing a mis-read.

It looks nice in stealth... to each their own. I just tuck it behind the mirror myself. You can cut some construction paper to slide around the mounting - and behind the mirror you dont see it period. Wrapping it in a swatch of trash bag might also work without marring the turnpikes "precious" and avoid a charge.

[bosco115]

I have two of the smaller ones, two of the larger (original) tags... READ YOUR INSERT that comes with the ting.... you paint it, you own it (they will charge you a damage fee... not that I care all that much, as its ugly, but having the silhouette in the windshield is also helpful in disputing a mis-read.

It looks nice in stealth... to each their own. I just tuck it behind the mirror myself. You can cut some construction paper to slide around the mounting - and behind the mirror you dont see it period. Wrapping it in a swatch of trash bag might also work without marring the turnpikes "precious" and avoid a charge.

If they want it back, it will be conveniently reported as lost/stolen. I've had toll disputes in the past where I plain forgot to hold the tag up to the windshield and they don't see the transponder in the picture. They don't seem to care, they just ask where you came from so they can correct the charge.

I've also had to deal with it a bunch of times on the motorcycle. I found an awesome place to mount the same EZ-Pass on my R6 so that it's completely invisible, but still reads in the tolls without me having to do anything but concentrate on riding.

[Quidproquo]

Has anyone tried using black electrical tape to cover the transponder?
Do you think it will reduce it's performance?

[Brick Oven]

Nice work. Our fastrak transponders in cali are ugly bricks so I just leave mine under the armrest; sometimes it goes off and sometimes not. If not tho a camera gets my plate and charges my account anyway. Pretty convenient. Different system out there I guess?

[AWDfreak]

Has anyone tried using black electrical tape to cover the transponder?
Do you think it will reduce it's performance?

The tape gets gooey and sticky after it has been heated up when the car sits in the sun. I don't recommend it.

[AWDfreak]

There are exterior mount ezpass, specifically for cars where the windshield composition blocks the signal (some are Audis). They can mount to the front license plate or be hidden other places on the front of the car. Here's an example of what some states do: https://ezpassmaineturnpike.com/EZPa...:-1?id=extTags

The regular ezpass units are not meant to be mounted on the exterior of the vehicle--they will not survive exterior conditions.

Contact your ezpass office and see if they offer the exterior mount version, then hide it someplace up front.

[MME1122]

Great idea.
I have an exterior one mounted on my license plate. I was thinking about mounting it to the crash bar behind the grille to keep it out of site, but what you did seems like a much easier solution lol.

[bakedziti]

Great idea.
I have an exterior one mounted on my license plate. I was thinking about mounting it to the crash bar behind the grille to keep it out of site, but what you did seems like a much easier solution lol.

My plate mount tag is mounted behind the crashbar, works well for me.

[MME1122]

My plate mount tag is mounted behind the crashbar, works well for me.

Good to know, thanks. I was worried it might not read properly. I'll have to get on that then.

[RockJGC]

I did the same thing many years ago. When EZPass sent me a new one because the battery on my old was was dying, they charged me for the old one because it was painted flat black. They said I violated the termsof agreement, so I had to pay for it. So I used black PlastiDip on my new one, and I'll peel it off when it goes back some day.

[RockJGC]

I can assure you that your EZPass does in fact have a battery. I had the old blocky style and the newer slim style, just like yours. Batteries in both, I'm afraid. EZPass will ask for it back in approximately seven years due to battery life expectancy.

[street sleeper]

This is genius! I might have to do this with my E-ZPass since I couldn't stomach mounting it.

[jacobhencke]

Not sure about this. Had issues several times and didn't like the system in general. I'd recommend you checking out uproad tolling app that includes a huge base of toll and free roads. It's really convenient to use.