Content Overview
Telematics systems offer more than just GPS tracking — they deliver critical vehicle and driver data to optimize maintenance, reduce costs and improve safety. In this guide, we’ll break down how telematics works, how it helps both operations and maintenance teams, and what to expect from evolving telematics trends.
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What is fleet telematics?
Fleet telematics devices use GPS and vehicle diagnostics technology to monitor fleet activity, track driver behavior, and collect real-time data from vehicles. This data includes location, speed, fuel use, and diagnostic trouble codes (DTCs), which helps fleets improve safety, reduce costs, and optimize operations.
Fleets can use telematics data to strengthen maintenance practices, identify costly patterns, and optimize asset utilization for improved ROI.
How do fleet telematics systems work?
Telematics systems use a combination of physical plug-in devices (either via J-bus or OBD II connections) and software. The on-board device records operational data directly from the vehicle’s engine control module (ECM) and transmits that data to management software through either a wireless or satellite network. Fleets can then view and analyze this data from a desktop, tablet or mobile app — giving managers full visibility no matter where they are.
How telematics improve fleet operations
Telematics can help fleets reduce operating costs and improve asset ROI. Maintenance and fuel are two of the largest expenses in fleet; data gathered from telematics — including asset location — helps fleets better control these expenses through route optimization, idling reduction and by alerting fleets to mechanical issues early for expedient resolution. Early issue detection doesn’t just serve to improve asset maintenance, though. It also improves safety on the road and in the field. Plus, because telematics captures driving behavior like speeding and harsh braking, fleets can improve driver training and coaching to further develop a culture of fleet safety and reduce driver behavior-related service expenses.
For fleets looking to take safety and accountability a step further, video telematics is becoming a game-changer. Smart dash cams with AI capabilities can detect and record incidents like distracted driving or hard braking, providing visual context for coaching, insurance claims and risk mitigation. Combined with telematics data, these systems give fleet managers a clearer picture of what’s happening on the road — not just what the vehicle is doing.
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How does telematics help manage fleet maintenance?
If you’re like most fleet managers, you probably associate fleet telematics solutions with location tracking. Though telematics devices are great for monitoring vehicle location (especially when your fleet is spread out), there are many more benefits to leveraging data from fleet telematics providers.
Fleet telematics devices provide a mass amount of vehicle data, including information on the health status of your vehicles, making them an ideal resource for tracking and analyzing your fleet. Receiving vehicle data from your telematics device is a great way to improve your fleet maintenance plan and measure your fleet management KPIs.
Choosing the right telematics provider starts with your fleet’s goals. Whether your priority is GPS accuracy, deep diagnostics, driver safety insights or all three, it's important to evaluate what each vendor offers. Look for systems that integrate with your existing tools (like Fleetio), support your vehicle types, and meet compliance requirements for FMCSA and DOT. You’ll also want responsive customer support and the ability to scale as your fleet grows.
How fleet maintenance telematics strengthens your PM plan
Fleet maintenance telematics connects real-time vehicle data to your preventive maintenance strategy. By supplementing telematics data with integrated fleet management software, fleet managers can receive real-time telematics data in a cloud-based platform to automate maintenance workflows and immediately address vehicle issues as they arise.
Housing all fleet data on a comprehensive platform ensures managers have maximum visibility into vehicle status, maintenance schedules and inspection results to prevent vehicle downtime and improve fleet efficiency. Here are a few ways pairing a telematics device with fleet management software can improve your fleet maintenance plan.
1. Improve fleet operations by receiving real-time data
Telematics gives your team a real-time pulse on every vehicle, so maintenance decisions happen faster and with greater confidence.
When your fleet is spread out across the map, receiving up-to-date vehicle information can be difficult. Drivers may not be able to easily communicate while on the road, and if you’re still relying on paperwork to manage your fleet, you could be waiting days or weeks to receive pertinent data.
Fleet technology eliminates communication gaps and provides you with real-time data regarding your assets. A fleet telematics system can provide real-time data regarding the health of your vehicle to keep you informed of any issues and make necessary fleet maintenance decisions to avoid downtime.
Integrating telematics data into fleet management software provides increased visibility into overall operations, allowing you to automate fleet maintenance processes and make data-driven decisions regarding your assets.
While telematics tools can provide real-time vehicle information, one of the benefits of fleet management software is that it centralizes all of your fleet data to automate workflows and keep you connected with your team. By pairing the two, managers can accurately monitor driver behavior, fleet maintenance, fault alerts and overall vehicle health – all from a simple fleet management dashboard.
A seamless fleet telematics integration lets you sync diagnostic data, odometer readings and location history directly into your maintenance workflows. This ensures maintenance teams can respond to issues in minutes instead of days, reducing downtime and improving safety.
2. Conduct preventive maintenance based on odometer readings
With odometer data syncing automatically, PM schedules become proactive instead of reactive—ensuring safer, more reliable vehicles across your fleet.
Most fleets base their preventive maintenance (PM) schedules on mileage, but manually tracking odometer readings is inefficient and often error-prone. Paper-based systems don’t provide fleet managers with accurate, real-time updates to ensure PM tasks are carried out on time.
By utilizing fleet telematics devices, odometer readings can be automatically uploaded into fleet maintenance software — ensuring managers can stay organized and keep PM schedules aligned with DOT and state inspection requirements.
Telematics tools also play a key role in helping fleets stay compliant with DOT and FMCSA regulations. By automatically capturing odometer readings, inspection logs, and fault alerts, you can ensure vehicles meet required maintenance thresholds and documentation is up to date. Paired with fleet management software, this data helps maintain a digital audit trail and stay ahead of roadside inspection risks.
For example, if a service threshold is set at 5,000 miles, the system can notify technicians as soon as the threshold is reached—automatically.
Fleet managers can set fleet maintenance service reminders in fleet management software based on odometer readings. Setting service reminders and due-soon thresholds allows you and your team to receive email or push notifications to schedule preventive maintenance.
Integrating a telematics device into your software system ensures accurate odometer readings are uploaded each day. You can also sync updates from any of your assets at any time with one click to get instant updates from your fleet telematics system.
Instead of manually tracking odometer readings and calculating when fleet maintenance is due, software automates these processes by pulling current telematics data to ensure your fleet maintains a proactive PM schedule.
3. Immediately address issues from Diagnostic Trouble Codes
Diagnosing issues as soon as a DTC triggers means fewer breakdowns, lower repair costs and safer drivers on the road.
When it comes to unplanned maintenance, time is of the essence. Vehicle issues can fester under the hood for days, weeks, even months at a time without you knowing, resulting in more extensive and costly repairs.
Catching DTCs early helps prevent minor issues from escalating into costly repairs and unexpected breakdowns.
While that check engine light may go ignored by drivers, fleet managers can gain peace of mind and create fleet resolution strategies based on information from their telematics tools. By pairing a telematics system with fleet management software, fleet managers receive instant notification of diagnostic trouble codes (DTC) across their fleets.
DTC and fault alerts from your telematics devices can be linked to digital work orders in fleet management software, providing maintenance technicians a complete picture of any issues. Linking DTC alerts directly to line items issues are addressed and are automatically recorded in your fleet’s service history, ensuring you and your team have accurate insight into a vehicle's current and past condition.
Some assets trigger multiple fault alerts, and determining which alerts are relevant can disrupt your day. Fleetio allows managers to choose which alerts they receive, ensuring only relevant alerts come to your inbox.
Pairing your telematics system with your other fleet management solutions allows you to see issues across your assets immediately and jumpstart the maintenance process to reduce overall downtime. With a telematics dashboard in Fleetio, managers can instantly see all active DTCs, pending work orders and recent service history — all in one place, allowing you to spot possible maintenance trends across your fleet and proactively manage them.
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4. Aggregate fleet maintenance and telematics data into configurable reports
Bringing all your data into one system helps you uncover trends, control costs and drive long-term improvements across your fleet.
To maintain an efficient fleet, fleet managers must track and analyze every aspect of their operations. Fleets who still rely on paper and spreadsheets to manage operations have a difficult time compiling fleet data and accessing relevant information quickly.
Managing your entire fleet with cloud-based software ensures all of your data is organized into easy-to-read visualizations. With configurable fleet management reports, fleet managers can analyze the exact data they need to make the best decisions for their fleet.
Tracking maintenance and telematics data in fleet management software eliminates manual data entry, saving fleet managers countless hours and allowing them to use that extra time to analyze data and monitor their operations.
By integrating telematics data into fleet software, users can view maintenance reports regarding asset utilization, vehicle service records and fault codes. Fleet management software also calculates cost-per-mile based on geolocation data, allowing you to track fleet expenses and develop strategies to cut costs and improve your bottom line.
Configurable reports give fleet managers the ability to benchmark performance across vehicles, identify recurring issues, and adjust maintenance plans accordingly.
Fleet maintenance tracking with telematics + Fleetio
| Feature | Telematics | Fleetio | Why You Need Both |
|---|---|---|---|
| GPS location tracking | ✅ | — | Fleetio pulls real-time location data from telematics for live maps and asset insights. |
| Engine diagnostics (DTC alerts) | ✅ | ✅ | DTCs from telematics trigger work orders and maintenance actions in Fleetio automatically. |
| Odometer updates | ✅ | ✅ | Telematics captures mileage; Fleetio uses it to automate PM schedules and compliance tracking. |
| Maintenance reminders | ⚠️ (Limited) | ✅ | Some telematics tools offer basic reminders, but Fleetio enables full workflow automation, status tracking and technician visibility. |
| Digital work orders | — | ✅ | Fleetio turns alerts into actionable tasks, streamlining service workflows and approvals. |
| Driver behavior monitoring | ✅ | — | Behavior data from telematics feeds into Fleetio reports and safety improvement efforts. |
| Preventive maintenance workflows | ⚠️ (Manual setup) | ✅ | Fleetio automatically triggers PM tasks based on real-time mileage and service thresholds. |
| Asset service history | ⚠️ (Limited) | ✅ | Fleetio maintains detailed service records, linked to DTCs, inspections, and technician actions. |
| Reporting & cost analysis | ⚠️ (Basic) | ✅ | Fleetio provides in-depth cost-per-mile tracking, downtime analysis, and trend benchmarking. |
| Third-party maintenance management | — | ✅ | Fleetio streamlines shop communication, integrates with national maintenance providers, and centralizes outsourced service data. |
| Integration capabilities | ✅ | ✅ | Fleetio integrates bi-directionally with top telematics providers (Geotab, Verizon Connect, Samsara, etc.) to centralize fleet data and actions. |
Even if your telematics provider offers basic maintenance tools, Fleetio delivers the automation, third-party service coordination, and cost insights fleets need to scale operations and reduce downtime.
Want to see how Fleetio’s fleet telematics integration gives you more visibility and automation? Schedule a demo today.
The future of fleet telematics: What to expect
Fleet telematics is advancing rapidly thanks to smarter data capture, AI innovation, and seamless platform integration. Here’s where the technology is headed:
- Connected vehicle APIs: OEMs are enabling deeper access to vehicle data without the need for external hardware.
- Predictive analytics powered by AI: Telematics platforms are starting to forecast maintenance issues and driver risk based on historical data trends.
- Enhanced video telematics: Smart dash cams provide visual context for driving events, helping fleets improve safety and reduce liability after incidents.
- Expanded driver behavior insights: From real-time coaching to G-force detection, fleets can better understand and influence how their teams operate on the road.
As these capabilities evolve, integrated platforms like Fleetio will play a key role in connecting telematics data with real-world decisions across operations, maintenance and safety.
Telematics FAQs
What is telematics used for in fleet management?
Telematics is used to monitor vehicle location, track driver behavior, automate maintenance workflows, and reduce operating costs. It provides real-time data that helps improve safety, compliance, and efficiency across your fleet.
Can telematics integrate with other fleet systems?
Yes. Telematics systems often integrate with fleet management platforms, maintenance tools, fuel cards, compliance tracking systems and more. Fleetio supports bi-directional integrations with major telematics providers to centralize your data and workflows.
How does telematics help with maintenance tracking?
Telematics maintenance tracking uses vehicle data to automatically log mileage, detect issues through diagnostic trouble codes (DTCs), and sync service timelines with your preventive maintenance plan. When paired with Fleetio, this tracking becomes actionable through automated workflows and digital service logs.
What kind of data does a telematics system collect?
Common data includes GPS location, speed, harsh braking, engine diagnostics, idling time, fuel usage, odometer readings, and fault alerts. Some systems also support video or driver coaching data.
Does telematics require internet or cellular data?
Yes. Most telematics systems transmit data using cellular networks, though some use satellite for remote locations. This connectivity allows for real-time updates to your fleet management platform.
Is telematics only for large fleets?
No. Fleets of all sizes — from small service vehicles to enterprise operations — benefit from telematics. It helps even small teams gain visibility, automate maintenance, and reduce downtime.
