A Ford patent would start disabling car functions if an owner misses payments and could eventually even drive it away to be repossessed.

… a Ford patent application titled “Systems and Methods to Repossess a Vehicle” was published by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Feb. 23, although it was submitted to the agency Aug. 20, 2021.

The document describes using vehicles’ built-in data connections to remotely disable “a functionality of one or more components of the vehicle,” which would serve as warnings if the owner has missed car payments.

  • WhiteOakBayou@lemmy.worldEnglish
    4·
    12 hours ago

    I’m in the middle of driving a 2026 rental car for two weeks and it has a huge screen for maps, lane keep, adaptive cruise and all that. I hate the screen but like the other new features. The car still runs when it doesn’t have cell service. I wonder if I could just open the dash, sever a connection for the SIM card and it still all work or if I would have to pass some voltage through where the sim is supposed to be to keep the ECU from detecting a fault? I can find wiring diagrams online but they don’t list anything that seems gps or cellular sounding.