FoMoCo Repo: Ford Patents System for Self-Repossessing Vehicles

• Ford has filed a patent with the USPTO for systems and methods that aid in vehicle repossession, as first reported by The Drive.

• One of the systems described in the patent enables an autonomous vehicle to repossess itself.

• Other methods suggest limiting vehicle functions (A/C, power windows, power seats, etc.) and even locking delinquent owners out of their vehicles.

Avoiding the repo man could get a lot harder in the future, specifically if vehicles can one day repossess themselves. With autonomous driving tech likely becoming more prevalent in the coming years, all it would take is an automaker to introduce a system where that new car, truck, or SUV parked in your driveway can drive itself away if you don't pay.

So far, none have. However, Ford could play spoiler based on a filling with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) that details a self-repossessing system along with other repo-related repercussions. Ford first filed the patent with the USPTO back in 2021, but it wasn't formally published until last Thursday—a discovery originally made by The Drive.

Dude, Where's My Ford?

As we already mentioned, the most startling details described in the filing regard autonomous and semi-autonomous vehicles that can repossess themselves. For vehicles equipped with the latter, they might simply move themselves a short distance to a location where they can be more easily towed. For vehicles with more advanced autonomous tech, they could drive themselves to the lending company or the repo lot. In situations where Ford's repo system corresponds with the lender and determines the vehicle's market value isn't worth the cost of the repossession, it could drive itself straight to the junkyard. Yikes.