Patent ID: 7129852

Claim:
A vehicle immobilization system coupled to a network system for a vehicle having a powertrain controller comprising: a speed sensor generating a vehicle speed signal; a telematics control unit receiving and transmitting signals to and from the network; a speed control module within the powertrain controller having a maximum operating speed; and an immobilization controller coupled to the speed sensor, the telematics control unit, and the speed control module, said immobilization controller receiving an immobilization signal from the network; setting the maximum operating speed for the vehicle in the speed control module; when the vehicle speed signal is below the maximum operating speed for the vehicle, reducing the maximum operating speed for the vehicle within the speed control module to the vehicle speed, whereby the immobilization controller keeps resetting the maximum operating speed of the speed control module as a function of the vehicle speed falling below the maximum operating speed until the maximum operating speed for the vehicle is a predetermined lower speed limit greater than zero.