You can swipe for a date, swipe for entertainment, swipe to pay, and even swipe for dinner. Now you can swipe to thwart car theft on more Ford vehicles. The Ford Security Package gives owners a new feature to control right from their own smartphones. The jury is still out on whether it’s worth the company’s asking price.
It’s Like Lock-Out Tag-Out For Your New Ford
Ford F-150 bear testFord
The feature is called Start Inhibit and Ford launched it with the 2024 F-150 pickup. Now it’s on more trucks and SUVs, with The Drive spotting its addition to most Super Duty trucks, the 2026 Ford Expedition, Bronco Sport, and Mustang Mach-E. It’s not available on the biggest Super Duty trucks, the F-650 and F-750, and for some reason it’s not offered on the F-150 Lightning electric pickup.
It’s quick and easy to use. Open the FordPass app and tap Monitoring. Then you just slide the bar over to activate Start Inhibit. When it’s on, the vehicle won’t start even with the key. It’s perfect for parking in sketchy areas or if you’re leaving your Ford at the airport or other extended parking locations for a few weeks.
When it’s time to turn the vehicle back on, you can use the same slider in the app. There’s also a temporary six-digit PIN that can be typed into the truck’s infotainment screen to allow access, and the PIN shows up in the app. Just hope your phone doesn’t die out at an inopportune time, denying you access to your own engine.
Ford points out some of the obvious issues with the system in its troubleshooting guide. It won’t turn on if your truck is parked somewhere without a signal, for example. So avoid the deepest recesses of the parking garage. You can still start a locked truck without a signal… as long as you can open the app to get the passcode.
Added Peace Of Mind, But It’s Not Free
2027 Ford Expedition 30th Anniversary Package from the front three-quarter angleFord
Ford’s Start Inhibit even gives you something if a crook still manages to steal your truck. If you pay for the $8/month Security Package subscription cost, Ford will reimburse your insurance deductible up to $2,500. That subscription also includes theft alerts that use tamper sensors on the vehicle. There is a dedicated contact center that Ford says will work with law enforcement to track a stolen vehicle, plus remote access to the truck bed camera.
Of course, the question is whether anyone needs such lock-down security on their Ford. But for the person living in a Grand Theft Auto world, it could be invaluable.
“Our vision for security at Ford is to one day build an un-stealable vehicle,” said Christian Moran, Ford general manager of safety and security services. With thieves using incredibly sophisticated tech, that’s getting tougher and tougher to do. Ford points out that more than a million vehicles were stolen in the US in 2022 and again in 2023, with a massive rise following a pandemic low.
CarBuzz Insight – Why This Matters:
2023 Ford F-Series Super Duty Pro Trailer Hitch Assist. Cabin. Interior. Dashboard. Infotainment screen. TechnologyFord
Car theft is up, and new trucks are hot commodities. An app that prevents your vehicle from starting won’t stop a smashed window, but it should stop a thief from driving away with it even if they have a cloned key or other high-tech hacks, and that’s a reassuring feeling. At least it is until the crooks find a way to bypass it, though that should prove difficult to do.
H/T: The Drive
