Ford Files Patent for TCU Replacement Snitch Mode to Combat Vehicle Theft

According to foreign media reports, Ford Motor Company has applied for a patent for a TCU replacement snitch mode at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), which may be applied to future Ford models. The patent was submitted on January 10, 2024, and is set to be published on July 10, 2025, with serial number 0222897. In recent years, Ford has released several patents outlining potential methods for vehicles to detect stolen items, introducing concepts such as active wheel anti-theft systems, wheel theft detection systems, and parts theft detection systems. This newly released patent takes this trend in a slightly different direction, proposing an alternative TCU (Telematics Control Unit) snitch mode. The sole purpose of this new patent is to prevent thieves and hackers from accessing connected vehicles in very specific ways. Currently, criminals have been installing TCU removal protective covers on vehicles, which can cause various problems for owners. Therefore, Ford has proposed a system that alerts the owner when a controller mismatch is detected. These alerts can even be sent via mobile devices in the cloud (such as smartphones), helping owners report to the relevant authorities and potentially catch thieves on the spot—making the application of this system in future Ford vehicles seem feasible. The invention discloses a method for managing mismatch controller alerts. This method includes storing mismatch controller alerts received from multiple vehicles in a cloud system's component database with one or more hardware computing devices, where each mismatch controller alert indicates the identifier of the current vehicle with the mismatch controller and its location. The method also includes clustering mismatch controller alerts via the cloud system to associate them by location. Additionally, the method indicates the clustered location of mismatch controller alerts through the cloud system. Ford stated, 'Filing a patent application is a routine measure for companies to protect innovative achievements and build an intellectual property system. The content of the patent application should not be seen as a basis for business or product planning. Regardless of how the patent is described, we always focus on customer needs in our decisions regarding the development and promotion of new product services.'