It’s 2025. You can order hot food, groceries, and just about any retail purchase you could imagine right to your doorstep. You can also rent other people’s cars on platforms like Turo. That is, unless things go frighteningly wrong like they did for this Ford Bronco owner on one of the vehicle’s first trips. 

A TikToker bought a Ford Bronco to rent out on Turo, and it appeared stolen after just 2 trips

“I bought a Bronco to put on Turo,” TikTok user Mrs_Tink posted on one of her latest videos. It’s not unusual. People buy vehicles all the time for the express purpose of using them for ridesharing and delivery driving. Why not buy a Ford Bronco for use on a rental platform like Turo? But her experience soured quickly. “I thought it was stolen on its second trip,” she said.”

“For the last three days, my stomach has been in knots. I thought my car was stolen,” she said. A notification from Ford didn’t do much to settle her nerves. It was from FordPass, the Blue Oval’s smartphone app. It said she was “no longer authorized or connected” to her vehicle via FordPass Connect. Scary stuff, indeed. 

The renter had taken it upon themself to reset the Bronco’s FordPass Connect

The notification from Ford told Mrs_Tink that the renter, or whoever was driving her Bronco at the time, had reset FordPass Connect to factory settings. It cut her out of the mix. Troublingly, it also kept her from tracking the SUV. “I have not been able to track my car in three days,” she said on the video.

“I messaged the person and said, ‘Hey, why did you reset my computer?’” A good question. The renter responded by claiming that the “radio wasn’t working.” Mrs_Tink then asked the renter what time they were going to return the vehicle.

It took seven hours, but the renter did eventually respond by expressing interest in extending the Turo reservation. They went back and forth in a strange, lengthy discussion before the renter decided to simply return the vehicle. At least it wasn’t stolen. 

It wasn’t stolen, but it was in a much worse state

“I’m getting a better tracker, believe me,” she said about the entire ordeal. So, she finally had her Ford Bronco back. But it wasn’t in the best state. For starters, the renter had tried to play with the Bronco’s removable top and reinstalled it incorrectly.

“The car’s definitely dirtier than when I dropped it off,” she concluded. “Could I charge a cleaning fee for how dirty it is? Probably. I’m probably not because it’s not a big deal.” We can agree with that, and so did several viewers. “Business is business. Charge the cleaning fee, increase the rates, and find a tracking system that can’t be detected,” said one viewer.

Now, if the renter had stolen her Bronco, there are solutions. For starters, she can file a claim with her insurance and call the police. After all, you have to provide personal information like proof of a valid driver’s license to rent a car on Turo.

According to the platform’s help website, “In the unfortunate and rare case that your vehicle is missing or stolen during a Turo trip, our investigators will work with you and law enforcement to try and recover your car. That process may take up to 30 days from the time we receive the police report. Once we’ve recovered the car or 30 days have passed, we’ll process the claim.”

MotorBiscuit reached out to @mrs_tink for comment via TikTok comment and will update this article with any developments.