Can ETC still be used when changing cars without changing license plates?
3 Answers
ETC cannot be used if the vehicle information it is bound to does not match. Different vehicle types have different highway toll fees. According to the "Rules for the Use of Non-Stop Rapid Passage Systems," when applying for ETC, the ETC card and OBU device are already bound to the vehicle, and the relevant vehicle information is imported, forming a one-to-one correspondence. If you replace the car with a new license plate, you need to cancel the original ETC and reapply for the new car. If it's a new car with the old license plate, you can simply update the vehicle information at an offline service center. ETC is an electronic toll collection system that allows vehicles to pass without stopping. ETC lanes are designated for vehicles equipped with ETC onboard devices, using electronic toll collection. The electronic toll collection system is an automatic toll system for highways or bridges. ETC deduction principles: There will be one or more ETC lanes on highways. Through dedicated short-range microwave communication between the onboard electronic tag installed on the vehicle's windshield and the microwave antenna in the ETC lane at the toll station, computer networking technology is used to settle accounts with the bank in the background. This achieves the goal of vehicles not needing to stop at highway or bridge toll stations to pay tolls, all based on the principle of passing first and deducting fees later. Benefits of installing ETC: Time-saving: Eliminates the hassle of waiting in line; Green and eco-friendly: Low-carbon, as vehicles pass through toll stations without stopping, reducing noise and exhaust emissions and minimizing pollution; Reduced wear and tear: Saves costs by reducing the frequency of vehicle starts and brakes, lowering wear and fuel consumption; Improved efficiency: The theoretical efficiency of ETC lanes can be increased by 2-3 times, making traditional ETC faster, newer, and more high-tech. Compared to license plate payment, ETC technology is more mature and advantageous. More policy support: The State Council explicitly stated in the "13th Five-Year Plan for the Development of a Modern Comprehensive Transportation System" that "by 2020, the interoperability of transportation cards in key city clusters will be basically achieved, and the proportion of vehicles equipped with ETC will significantly increase." It also set a clear target in the "13th Five-Year" comprehensive transportation development indicators: "By 2020, the ETC usage rate for road passenger vehicles should reach 50%." More future possibilities: In addition to continuously improving the convenience of ETC installation and usage and increasing the ETC usage rate for passenger vehicles, efforts will be made to promote ETC usage for trucks in the future. There will also be exploration of deep integration between the ETC system and smart transportation development directions such as vehicle-to-vehicle communication and vehicle-road coordination, providing comprehensive travel services for car owners. This means more application scenarios will support ETC usage. ETC usage precautions: The ETC transaction sensing range is 8 meters. If the vehicle in front stops, to prevent the ETC device of the front vehicle from malfunctioning or not having an ETC device at all, maintain a distance of more than 10 meters to avoid automatic sensing and paying for the front vehicle. The recognition speed for ETC lane passage is 20 km/h. If the speed is too fast, the vehicle device information cannot be read, leading to deduction failure. Unauthorized removal or movement of the OBU device, or detachment or loosening of the ETC electronic tag, will cause the electronic tag to fail. It can be sent to the bank where the ETC card was issued or the highway service office for inspection. If the loosening or detachment is not due to human factors, reactivation is sufficient. When using a debit card bound to ETC, insufficient balance will also cause deduction failure. Follow the guidance of on-site staff to use the manual MTC lane and pass by paying in cash or swiping a card. Poor sensing due to overly thick car windshields. This is especially important for vehicles that have had their windshields replaced after accidents or for those who have modified their front windshields.
As a car owner who enjoys delving into technical details, I believe ETC devices indeed rely on license plate numbers to bind with the vehicle system. If you change cars but keep the same license plate, theoretically the device can temporarily function since the system recognizes the plate rather than the vehicle body. However, the new car's engine number and other details being out of sync may lead to toll booth scanning failures, incorrect fee deductions, or data transmission errors. I experienced this firsthand when switching to an SUV—the ETC worked for the first few highway trips, but later my account showed overcharged fees. I promptly visited an ETC service point to reregister the vehicle documentation, where they updated the data free of charge, resolving all issues. My advice: don't delay—contact customer service or visit a service center beforehand to prevent minor hassles from escalating. After all, electronic systems aren't infallible; maintaining accurate binding information ensures hassle-free and cost-effective usage.
Well, I've been through the hassle of changing cars and license plates a few times. If the license plate remains the same, you can still make do by plugging the ETC device into the new car, but that's not a long-term solution. Last time, I upgraded from an old car to an electric vehicle, and the ETC was still registered under the old license plate. At first, it beeped through the toll gates, but after a week, the billing was a mess—some fees weren’t deducted correctly. The customer service said mismatched vehicle info would mess up the backend. In the end, I spent an afternoon at the service center sorting it out. They just checked the license plate and re-registered it to the new car—super simple. The key takeaway is that if you don’t update it promptly, accumulated errors could lead to a frozen account or even a small fine. So my advice is: don’t gamble with it. Deal with the ETC as soon as you change cars to avoid a meltdown on the highway. It’s like swapping a SIM card into a new phone—it might seem to work, but you really need to reset it properly.
