Car trackers for a Ford: built-in tracking and theft risk, model by model

What does the Ford app do?

Ford South Africa now calls it the Ford app, though the app stores still list it as FordPass. It works only on a Ford with a modem, and Ford says “Every new Ford Connected Vehicle is fitted with a modem.”¹ When the service arrived here in 2021, the modem was described as one that “cannot be retro-fitted”, so a Ford built without one can’t have it added.¹¹

With the Vehicle Location settings switched on, the app lets you “Check your vehicle’s exact location”. It also locks and unlocks the vehicle, starts and stops automatics remotely, sounds the horn and flashes the lights on certain Ranger, Everest and Transit models, runs the climate control, checks the trailer lights, and reports fuel, mileage, oil life and health alerts.¹ In 2022 Ford’s brochure said those health alerts covered “any incidents that result in your vehicle alarm being triggered”; the current app page doesn’t mention alarm alerts.¹²

Will the Ford app help if your Ford is stolen?

Not as a recovery service. Neither the app page nor Ford’s brochure offers geofencing, remote immobilising or stolen-vehicle tracking, and the 2021 launch coverage presented the locator as a way to find a parked vehicle.^1,11,12 Ford’s 24-hour roadside assistance, for three years with no mileage limit, is there for breakdowns, and no control room is mentioned with the app.²

The app is also free only for a while. Ford grants complimentary access “for the first three years of your warranty”, after which it “may cease to be available or may be subject to a subscription fee”, and it gives no price.¹ That is a change from 2021, when Ford said “there are no charges to use the FordPass Connect service” beyond the app’s data.¹³ We found no insurer that accepts the Ford app as an approved tracker.

Are Fords targeted by hijackers?

Yes, the Ranger above all. In June 2025 The Star named Ford among “the most targeted brands”, with Toyota, Volkswagen and Nissan, and tied that to demand for parts and to 4x4s and utility vehicles that suit smuggling across borders. Fidelity put the share of stolen and hijacked vehicles taken to neighbouring countries at about 30%.¹⁴

The Ranger is third on both King Price’s and AutoTrader’s 2026 lists, neither of which gives counts, and AutoTrader calls it “A permanent target in the top three”.^4,5 MasterDrive said in May 2026 that “its numbers are reportedly increasing”.¹⁵ We found nothing that names the Ranger Raptor on its own.

Ford Everest

Every Everest built from September 2021 has the Ford app and its modem as standard, and every trim in the current brochure has keyless entry and a Thatcham security system with an alarm.⁷ One stolen in Bela-Bela at the end of 2025 was found in the Limpopo River near Musina with a false registration.⁸ The Ford Everest tracker page covers the Everest in full.

Ford EcoSport

Ford made FordPass Connect standard on “the Trend and Titanium derivatives of the EcoSport” in October 2021, with the same locate, lock and remote-start functions, and its brochure listed the 2021.75 EcoSport “excluding Ambiente models”.^2,12 The EcoSport is no longer among the brochures on Ford South Africa’s site.⁹

If you own a Trend or Titanium, check in the app that it still connects, because Ford’s current terms tie the free service to the first three years of the warranty. We found no keyless, immobiliser, alarm or theft details for the EcoSport.

Get tracker quotes for an EcoSport

Ford Territory

The Territory comes as the Ambiente, Trend and Titanium, all with the 1.8-litre EcoBoost and a seven-speed automatic, and all three have the Ford app’s remote lock and unlock, vehicle locator and remote start and stop. Ford says “The modem will be enabled at the time of vehicle delivery”, and the user is responsible for the “internet access, mobile network data and voice call services”. Every Territory also has keyless entry, push-button start and a Thatcham alarm.¹⁰

We found no source that names the Territory as a target.

Get tracker quotes for a Territory

What to fit to a Ford

The Ford app helps you find a parked vehicle; for theft you want a tracker with a recovery team. On the keyless models, which are the Ranger from the XLT up, the Raptor, the Everest and the Territory, protect the key as well.

Check your schedule before you buy. Safire tells drivers to make sure “all prescribed anti-theft devices are fitted, operational and activated”, and mentions “additional tracking devices or other security measures that insurers require in higher-risk areas”.¹⁶

Our deals start from R99pm for a wireless recovery unit, or R149pm for a full insurance-approved tracker. Free installation, 36-month contract.

Choose your Ford in the form, from an EcoSport to a Ranger, and compare the deals for it.

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