---
title: "Ford App Lets Man Control Rental Car He Returned Months Ago"
description: "Five months after returning a rented Ford Expedition, a man can still use a connected Ford app to control the vehicle's doors and engine."
date: "2019-10-29"
modified: "2019-10-29"
authors:
  - name: "Kristin Houser"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/kristin"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/ford-app-control-returned-rental-car"
categories:
  - "Advanced Transport"
tags:
  - "app"
  - "ford"
  - "the digest"
---

# Ford App Lets Man Control Rental Car He Returned Months Ago

![Five months after returning a rented Ford Expedition, a man can still use a connected Ford app to control the vehicle's doors and engine.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/ford-app-man-control-returned-rental-car.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: Ford/Victor Tangermann\</em\>*

## Access Granted

A man who rented a Ford Expedition in May is still able to track the SUV's location and control its engine and locks using the FordPass app — despite returning the vehicle five months ago.

"I have been opening the app and tracking the vehicle almost every day to see if my access is still there," Masamba Sinclair [told *Ars Technica*](<https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2019/10/five-months-after-returning-rental-car-man-still-has-remote-control/>), "and sure enough, I can see exactly where my old rental, affectionately named 'The Beast,' is at any given moment."

## Continued Control

Once connected to a vehicle via the app, a smartphone user can track the vehicle's location, lock and unlock its doors, and even start or turn off its engine.

Sinclair told *Ars* that he's reached out to Ford multiple times via both [Twitter](<https://twitter.com/MasambaS/status/1136230018730905602>) and the company's website about his continued access to the Expedition, which he rented through Enterprise Rent-a-Car. But so far, the company hasn't done anything to remove his access.

## Blame Game

Ford spokesperson Martin Gunsberg did respond to *Ars*, however, telling the publication that FordPass users can disconnect from the service by either performing a master reset via a vehicle's infotainment system settings or by selecting "Remove Vehicle" in the app itself.

Enterprise Rent-a-Car spokesperson Lisa Martini, meanwhile, told *Ars* that employees are trained how to clear vehicle data as part of the company's "standard vehicle cleaning procedures" — but clearly that hasn't happened to this particular Expedition for at least five months.

**READ MORE:** [Five months after returning rental car, man still has remote control](<https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2019/10/five-months-after-returning-rental-car-man-still-has-remote-control/>) \[*Ars Technica*\]

**More on Ford:** *[Ford Patent Would Let You Steer Your Car by Tilting Your Phone](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/ford-patent-car-phone>)*

### Author social links  
[LinkedIn](<https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristinjhouser>)