Photo of dealer technician installing FordPass SmartLink OBD-II device courtesy of Ford.

Photo of dealer technician installing FordPass SmartLink OBD-II device courtesy of Ford.

Ford is enabling owners of 2010 to 2017 model-year vehicles to add a Wi-Fi hotspot and telematics features through FordPass SmartLink, an OBD-II dongle available from dealers.

By using the dongle, owners of the older models can use additional smartphone-enabled features and get more information about vehicle health, security, and location through alerts.

Ford is allowing owners to enroll in the program now, before making it available in the summer. The initiative is part of Ford's connected-vehicle plan. By 2019, all new Ford vehicles will offer connectivity.

FordPass SmarkLink customers pay $16.99 per month plus installation for a 24-month plan. Customers purchase the OBD-II device and receive a complimentary trial of a Verizon 4G LTE Wi-Fi hotspot with 1 gigabyte or 30 days of data, whichever comes first. Users can add the device to their existing wireless plan.

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