Onboard modem, could Ford brick your Maverick remotely?

[SpacemanSpiff]

In lieu of or leading up to a repossession due to non-or late payment, could or would Ford financing order the vehicle to be remotely disabled? Obviously I don’t plan to miss a payment, but curious that the technology is obviously in place to do just that. Will definitely need to read the fine print once we take possession of a Maverick.

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[g1zstar]

That sounds like a big liability problem.

 

[balucipher]

No

 

[SpacemanSpiff]

No

• NPR article: Your Car Won't Start. Did You Make The Payment?
• Pew article: Late Payment? A ‘Kill Switch’ Can Strand You and Your Car
• CBS News: How auto dealers can use GPS and "starter interrupter" tech to disable your car

Granted these are generally from shady ”we finance anyone” type dealers, but the point stands. This tech has been around since the 1990’s as an add on, now with the onboard cell connection this capability is baked into a new vehicle.

 

[giddyup]

It may be plausible that a car manufacturer wants remote disable capability, but I'm 99% certain this is not a significant part of the internal business case for such a feature. They really want the ability to deliver OTA software updates, gather diagnostic info, etc. that can reduce warranty costs.

More importantly, OEMs need remote connectivity to harvest customer location/usage data, and to deliver real-time/location-sensitive advertising to/from the retail fleet. This is an increasingly greater source of revenue for them, and I think it's a big part of the justification for modems and remote access.

 

[balucipher]

• NPR article: Your Car Won't Start. Did You Make The Payment?
• Pew article: Late Payment? A ‘Kill Switch’ Can Strand You and Your Car
• CBS News: How auto dealers can use GPS and "starter interrupter" tech to disable your car

Granted these are generally from shady ”we finance anyone” type dealers, but the point stands. This tech has been around since the 1990’s as an add on, now with the onboard cell connection this capability is baked into a new vehicle.

Ford Motor Company sold you a vehicle. If you used the dealer for financing and Ford Credit finances you, that's not Ford Motor Company. FMC isn't disabling cars for non-payment.

The remote trackers for buy here pay here lots are different because they're often the seller and the bank and the terms of your BHPH contract include terms for that device.

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