Ford cars could repossess themselves if you miss your payments

Ford has filed patents in the United States for a vehicular repossession system whereby the car could autonomously drive itself away from a house, should its owner default on loan repayments.

The patent documents have been with the United States Patent Office since August 2021, but were formally published in February 2023 and unearthed by US publication, The Drive. They describe ways for “Systems and Methods to Repossess a Vehicle”.

The patent details new ways in which a car can communicate with third parties, such as repossession agents or financial institutions, to act on the repossession of a vehicle if its owner has not – or cannot – continue loan repayments. This would remove the necessity for a tow truck to physically pick-up the repossessed vehicle at odd hours, as is often the case.

These systems could be incorporated into any future Ford vehicle, according to The Drive, with models featuring a data connection able to “[disable] a functionality of one or more components of the vehicle”. This is presumably a first step in the repossession process and could mean disabling anything from the engine to the infotainment system and beyond.

For Fords with autonomous driving technology, the system could “move the vehicle from a first spot to a second spot that is more convenient for a tow truck to tow the vehicle... move the vehicle from the premises of the owner to a location such as, for example, the premises of the repossession agency," according to patent documentation cited by The Drive.

Furthermore, if the lending agency deems "financial viability of executing a repossession procedure" to be too expensive, it could even direct the vehicle to drive itself to a junkyard. The legality around such as system is not detailed within the patent filing, though the patent itself is simply an expression of an idea.

According to documentation, the system mightn’t necessitate fitment of new parts; "the vehicle computer may be configured to perform some, or all, functions of the repossession system computer." Essentially, if a Ford is enabled with internet communication, such as for receiving over-the-air updates for example, this vehicle repossession system could take over the software.

Ford already offers a substantial amount of connected vehicle technology – you only have to look as far as the FordPass app to see how integrated your Ford car can be with the internet.

It’s not the only innovative patent the US-based car maker has been working on recently. Scraping the underside of your car door on a kerb could be a thing of the past, thanks to new technology patented by Ford.

CarBuzz has found a US Patent and Trademark Office filing which depicts an automatic door control system which is designed for the car to protect itself against scrapes and dents suffered when opening a low-slung car’s door to the kerb.

According to the patent, cars such as the Ford Mustang may be equipped with exterior-mounted sensors which can detect when a door is about to be opened onto a kerb, and to stop a tragedy from taking place. In doing so, the cameras are said to inspect the surrounding area – as well as the weight of approaching vehicle occupants (taking into account spring compression) – and subsequently calculate whether the vehicle should open the door or not.

The tech isn’t solely limited to eliminating scraped doors on kerbs, it’ll also keep an eye out for walls, signs, and even other cars. If these objects are expected to be in the way of the car door’s opening, the system will simply refuse to open the car door.

Such a system is predicated around having power-opening doors.

While it might sound like an overreach of technology, much like the aforementioned vehicular repossession system, the automatic door tech could prevent many car door dings and damage to others’ property.