My Mach-E Was Stolen

[Motomax]

I noticed this under the hood previously and kind of assumed all MMEs had it. Now realizing this is probably something the dealer put in there (and charged me for, of course)

Idk, doesn’t look very “invisible” to me… lol

 

[ARK]

I don't want to take my cell phone into the swimming pool area at the swim club. I have the phone "hidden" in the Mach E. For a while, the car wouldn't allow itself to lock with the phone in the car, and I would press the lock button on the fob to complete the locking (I know it locks when it doesn't beep back at me, and, more importantly, the outside mirrors fold in). After a while the car seemed to learn that the phone would be in it at this location, and it just locks as it should.
And, yes, at other times I have locked the fob in the car and it hasn't notified me; I have used the app on the phone to get in.

If you’re ever unsure about your phone inside the car letting someone unlock it, just turn off bluetooth on your phone and PaaK will not work until you turn bluetooth back on.

 

[SWO]

Agree completely. Possession of the key FOB should NOT mean you OWN THE CAR. Ford should be able to easily track the car and work with law enforcement to recover it.

This needs to be a no-brainer, as it would likely discourage all but the most sophisticated thieves.

Think about it from the other perspective. If you give your car to a friend, valet, mechanic, etc., and they add their phone, you should be able to delete it easily.

 

[Murse-In-Airy]

For everyone taking about leaving your key fob in the car and having to push 7/8, 9/0 or use the app to lock the car….. There is also this really cool button on the inside of the door you can push as you get out. It looks like a padlock. Cars have had these for decades.

I leave my fob in my car and truck all the time. Especially when I’m going hunting or fishing or ATVing. If I crash my ATV, drown in the creek, fall through the ice, or get a big deer and am not back at the vehicle when everyone else is, I want them to have the fob so they can go get help. So I make sure everyone in the party knows the door code and can get to the fob. It’s the modern equivalent of putting the keys on the lipof the back bumper.

For OP. I would bet that Deputy Dog is waiting for you to get him info because you told him Ford should be able to find the car for you. I’d call him back and tell him that he’s going to have to contact them himself.

 

[Knuckles39]

Woke up early yesterday morning to find that my Mach-E had been stolen. Whoever stole it knew enough to delete my phone as a key (why is there no 2FA before deletion?), but not enough to take it without damaging other vehicles around it.

The deputy they sent out sounded pretty sure they'd find it and that it was a question of when and not if, but the answers I've been getting from since then isn't filling me with confidence.

I've contacted Ford support and they ensured me there is no way to track the vehicle, but that doesn't make any sense to me considering the Vehicle Location functionality in the FordPass app. All they said I could do was make a modem log request - through mail no less - to the Office of the General Counsel.

I've also tweeted at Ford to try to get some more information but I figured I'd post here too to see if there's anything else that can be done. The detectives are actually waiting for me to get them more information.

I'd appreciate any info/advice!

Try contacting Sirius XM to see if they can track it

 

[Kabish]

Unless someone was shot or killed, the police won't give 2 cents in most states.. Had someone drive their car through my neighbors house. Sheriff asked if anyone was injured, since no one was, they told the home owner its a misdemeanor and someone will call them within the next week or two... Its what insurance is for, house gets driven into, fixed by insurance not the police. Car gets stolen, fix by your insurance not the police. However, I absolutely would not let them know you left the key in the car... Heck It might be in your best interest for them not to recover the car.

As far as everyone locking their keys in their car and using 7/8-9/0.. Yes, the fob will not allow the car to open. However, I've had my kid lock me inside my car. I was able to use the remote from inside and push the unlock, and then start the car. So one could assume that a person could just troll around popular jogging/swimming areas looking for MMEs and just break the window and drive off. Not sure if the alarm would stop it, I'm not breaking my window to test ?

I know its too late now, but here in CA, and I'd assume other states, they have S.W.A.T. From my understanding all Ford dealerships in SoCal install S.W.A.T when the car hits the lot because of Mexico. Its basically a LoJack tracking and recovering system. Think Ford charges like $800 bucks for the hardware, then there is a yearly subscription.

Really sucks though, hopefully you had gap and your insurance takes care of you.

 

[RickMachE]

See post 48 to test without breaking window.

 

[Kabish]

See post 48 to test without breaking window.

Awwh, ya I assumed once you had that fob in your hand it was over with. I would wonder if you pushed the start button if it would kill the alarm or not. So like if you hide the fob in your car someplace, could you just set off the alarm and not even be bothered with trying to find the fob, just push start.

I am guilty of locking my PAAK in the car. Unfortunately you can turn air plane mode on/off even if the phone is locked, at least on iPhones. Would like it so that you could not turn off airplane, at least that would give you a little added security with leaving your "key" in the car.

Regardless though, I only do that at work. If someone wants to steal my car with no less than a dozen facial recognition cameras pointing at them, more power to them lol

 

[SnBGC]

Okay, so what exactly should I be telling the deputy? When I talked with him earlier and told him they should be able to contact Ford to get the location of the vehicle he started asking me questions about it, like what kind of system it uses and if there's a number they can call and I'm like ??????

I would ask the law enforcement agent to contact your dealer and see if they are willing/able to track the vehicle.

This situation had me questioning the My Key feature that I never use. I might go back and read the manual again. That might allow a fob to be used to enter and start the car without allowing permission to edit or remove phone preferences. Not sure.....Will check.

I know the new Ford telematics system allows fleet owners to limit what the users are able to change in the car and it is fob specific. According to the demo I saw.....that system is backwards compatible with all Ford models produced 2020 or newer. Doesn't help us here of course because that system isn't live yet.

 

[woody]

I think FordPass has SecureAlert. I wonder if that would have been helpful in this case?

Ha Ha Ha
FordPass has SecuriAlert for those fortunate enough to have a fully functional FordPass/Sync4.
Many of us have not received any or most of the Power-ups which means many options (eg SecuriAlert) are not available.

 

[Kabish]

SecureAlert would had worked if the OP heard the alert go off and was able to get out to the car in time. However, since the thieves removed his device it would be of no use because his phone is no longer connected to the car.

I'll be honest, it would not take much to add 2FA to the car. Its not difficult to spoof/boost a fob and removing such a critical device like an authorized phone is pretty devastating. As far as the argument about a repo person taking the car and the owner being able to find it.. An insane person would try to break into a repo lot to steal their car. Those places are fairly well secured and they would have no issues busting a cap into someone's arse or introducing them to 126 or so K9 teeth lol

 

[OrangeWhipX3]

If the thief was smart enough to disable your phone access they were smart enough to rip the modem / GPS out of it too.
Given parts prices and availability I’d imagine this vehicle is already in a thousand pieces by now.

 

[dbonsett]

This is piss poor security from Ford. It should not be that easy for them to just delete your car from Ford Pass with Key Fob or not… wow

I can track my 2014 Ford Truck. Kinda sucks a car like this doesnt have that. May have to buy an agtermarket tracker.

 

[DevSecOps]

FordPass has SecuriAlert for those fortunate enough to have a fully functional FordPass/Sync4.

The newest cars and GTs don't have this either. There's speculation it was sunsetted or removed for annoyances.

it would not take much to add 2FA

Who's gonna have the master key to reset it when someone loses the 2FA? We gonna have to go to the CHP to verify identity to get a recovery? Ford has no idea who is on the phone saying I am who I say I am and do we want Ford to have that ability anyway? Audi has a "key user" code they give you when you purchase the car. If you lose it, it's a nightmare to replace (expensive too) and it's only to add a user. Removing is as easy as Ford.

As far as the argument about a repo person

Nice way to cherry pick one of my many examples. I gave many to illustrate various posibilities. Point is that there's security implications either way. I prefer to error on the side of life over property. A bf with the 2FA code tracking his gf that can't remove him would be a good example of life. Losing a car, while it sucks, is covered by insurance.

Its not difficult to spoof/boost a fob

If they can spoof or relay then they can jam or remove the modem just as @OrangeWhipX3 said. Before FOBs there was slim Jim's and hot wiring. If there's a will there's a way.

@dbonsett the MMEs can be tracked

This guy made a mistake by leaving his key in the car. We don't need to re invent the wheel here... Don't leave your key in the car unless you want to deal with the consequences. It sucks it happened and I too would be pissed, at myself more than anything.

All that being said, Ford has a theft recovery program based on the publications we have seen. It would be nice for the community here to get more information on that for future possible occurrences. Who do we call? What's the procedure?

 

[WildfireOne]

Just wondering if any of you who deliberately leave (and hide) your fob in the car, relying on the combo on the driver's door for locked exit and subsequent entry, also take the additional step of putting that fob in a Faraday cage before concealing it somewhere within the car..?

Seems like a good idea. That would prevent anyone who gained entry from simply driving away, as the fob must first be removed from the cage to communicate and be used with the vehicle.

Just a thought.

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