tdj wrote: ↑May 30th, 2023, 3:35 pm New vehicles now have a device put on them that will allow them to prevent the car from starting if you miss a car payment. It's under the control of the car company from where you bought the vehicle from. There's also talk of making a self driving car drive itself BACK to the carlot in the event of non payment. I wonder if that means if you are driving somewhere and are late for a payment, it can automatically lock you in the car and drive it AND you back to the lot? The thought is both hilarious and terrifying.
I bought a used jeep TJ a few years ago cheap. Previous owner was letting it go because he thought it had major problems but I knew the body and engine were in good shape and the problems were minor things that could be fixed relatively easily and for cheap. One of those things was that intermittently it would not turn over
I replaced the starter and relays, still had the problem. I started tracing the wiring and found it had a box under the dash from one of those buy here pay here lots. A box that could remotely disable the starter if you missed a payment as well as track the car. The box had its own relay that was going bad. I removed the box and it now starts every time
They have had the ability to remotely disable a car since the early 2000s. It just wasn't built in.