PaaK made me look like an ass

[zephiyr]

I'm not making excuses for PaaK. People have varying success with it, but I think everyone would agree that it doesn't work 100% every time. I agree that it should, but that's just not the current reality. Most people also seem to agree that it wouldn't be an issue if Ford provided two fobs. What amazes me is that people who spent $50k+ on a car are so against spending $200 for a second key fob because they "shouldn't have to". I agree that the car should have come with 2 fobs, but it didn't, so I bought another one. People can shake their fists and not buy another fob out of principle, but that's not hurting Ford or making PaaK work any better. It's just continuing to frustrate the driver needlessly.

I’m sure we can all afford the second fob. It is just a sour taste since providing one fob is a cost saving measure on a premium vehicle and the advertised alternative is flaky at best.

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[Carsinmyblood]

It isn't just the cost of the fob. The service department has to have one or order one. You have to go back to the dealer. You have to sit there while it's being programmed. You have to pay whatever they say to pay for it.

But first you have to get the service department on the phone and get an informed answer.

This is not putting the customer first.

 

[RickMachE]

The minute I raised the issue of PAAK, my dealer ordered a 2nd fob on his dime, and programmed it when I visited to pick up accessories I had ordered. Every dealer should do that, and then push Ford to reimburse them.

 

[fayt349]

PAAK works for me, not 100% but a few second delay a few times is not a big deal. I've not used a FOB since late April. I bought a 2nd FOB as insurance but have not had to use it. Sure Ford should have supplied a 2nd FOB, so since they did not just buy one and get over it. Not an apologist, just a realist.

Instead of buying a new fob, I'm just gonna sell my car instead lol. That's how I'll get over it.

PaaK not working for me, is the same as if the A/C didn't work for you. I'd rather have Paak instead of an A/C. I think some people here will just never understand how much I needed that to work. i came from a tesla where it worked 100% of the time and it changed my life forever. I just don't want a tesla though for other reasons.

 

[RockwallRick]

The minute I raised the issue of PAAK, my dealer ordered a 2nd fob on his dime, and programmed it when I visited to pick up accessories I had ordered. Every dealer should do that, and then push Ford to reimburse them.

My Wife tried it for about a week and then it got blown away after a Fordpass upgrade. Instead of trying to reprogram PAAK again we went back to our dealer and requested another FOB. They sent us to another dealer to pick up the FOB and program it at their expense! For us it was a matter of principle, EVERY car should come with a spare key!!

 

[skiingj]

Also not an apologist. Also don’t give two ?s about PAAK. I have a car. It’s fun to drive. It looks cool. I don’t have to buy gas. They gave me a fob. I can drive it. If I had paid extra for Phone-as-a-key, then I might give a darn. But I didn’t. It’s like the hotspot. I don’t care. My phone has a way better hotspot. It works without me doing anything.
If you paid for PAAK and it came with a free car, I guess I can see your perseveration. But anyone who has been here or on fb for more than a single day knows it’s garbage and anyone trying to use it exclusively is setting themselves up for failure / embarrassment. 50% of the people can get it to work all of the time. 25% of the people can get it to work 50% of the time. The other 25% of the people can’t get it to work. Add all that up and it works about 2/3 of the time.
This is the part that I find funny. If I told you eating at a certain restaurant would be totally safe 2/3 of the time, how many of you would go to that restaurant? And how many of you would be on a foodie forum saying “but they told me the food would be safe” while praying at the porcelain alter? I think the Ven diagram of those people versus the PAAK people is a circle.
Also, I bought a second fob for each car. Total uses of second fobs… ZERO. My wife and I share well.

Dude we all paid for Paak, that's why we only got one fob. You paid for an automatic trunk. If it didn't work would you be upset? Yes you would. Enough said.

 

[Kamuelaflyer]

the first response is "well use the other method instead"

Like what?

Like … the key fob. It works. If PAAK doesn’t, or isn’t reliable enough, or perhaps someone just hates using FordPass, or disagrees with PAAK as a thing, then use the FOB.

BTW, there’s a strong market for used Mach-e’s. There’s little reason to hang on to a car you don’t like.

 

[SnBGC]

FordPass does not let me or my wife setup PAAK - says device not supported. We both have iPhone 13.

In your case the feature is broken and should be repaired under warranty. I am pretty sure PaaK works with iPhone. If PaaK is important to you then you have every right to make the dealer take the car completely apart until the faulty item is identified and repaired or replaced.

 

[SnBGC]

Instead of buying a new fob, I'm just gonna sell my car instead lol. That's how I'll get over it.

PaaK not working for me, is the same as if the A/C didn't work for you. I'd rather have Paak instead of an A/C. I think some people here will just never understand how much I needed that to work. i came from a tesla where it worked 100% of the time and it changed my life forever. I just don't want a tesla though for other reasons.

Not possible for a Mach-E with stellar PaaK to be worth more than a Mach-E with broken A/C. Even a Tesla won't run if the A/C doesn't work. Not for long anyway.....

 

[DevSecOps]

I've never had any issues with PAAK on Android 11 / Pixel device. I've even restarted my phone while driving the car and never had the car honk or even alert to a key not being in the car.

And if we're being honest there's a billion youtube videos and forum complaints about Telsa's PAAK not working well either.

Has anyone every tried to find a common denominator since it appears this might be phone / BT related in some way? Possibly even a setting that Ford should be more clear about enabling. For example, with Android, you have to manually go and turn on always allow location (instead of using the popup "while using app" dialog) in order for PAAK to work reliably. With android there's also a perm silent alert when it's connected to the car so you can verify the connection.

 

[Mirak]

Hey Ford, you really ought to provide owners 2 key fobs until PaaK "just works". Make your engineers only use PaaK until that is the case.

This morning I was using PaaK when dropping my daughter off as school and sitting lin line. My phone was awake and sitting on the wireless charging pad with FordPass app open, but suddenly the car decided I didn't have a key and it quickly honked 2x! So I quickly picked my phone, dismissed the are you driving notification, and hit the unlock button.

I'm now the asshole in a Mustang who honks while waiting in line.

Ah the dreaded PAAK double honk. I’ve come to know it well recently. And yes it’s embarrassing.

I don’t want a second fob. I want PAAK to work well without doing stupid crap like this. And I don’t think that’s an unreasonable ask.

 

[TruWrecks]

Welcome to adopter/first year problems. They will both get better over time if you a patient.

 

[MMXX500]

I would be happy if so could have option deleted anything having to do with PaaK or even A/C for that matter. Less weight.

I could go without Paak, without any of the power options - windows, mirrors, seats etc, even without power steering and a radio...... but no way I could survive without A/C!

 

[c max]

Instead of buying a new fob, I'm just gonna sell my car instead lol. That's how I'll get over it.

PaaK not working for me, is the same as if the A/C didn't work for you. I'd rather have Paak instead of an A/C. I think some people here will just never understand how much I needed that to work. i came from a tesla where it worked 100% of the time and it changed my life forever. I just don't want a tesla though for other reasons.

Hi, first, I'm not trying to be a smart ass, but how did a working PaaK "change your life forever"??......I have had my MME since Feb 2021 and have never even tried PaaK, just use the fob......

 

[GoGoGadgetMachE]

Has anyone every tried to find a common denominator since it appears this might be phone / BT related in some way? Possibly even a setting that Ford should be more clear about enabling. For example, with Android, you have to manually go and turn on always allow location (instead of using the popup "while using app" dialog) in order for PAAK to work reliably. With android there's also a perm silent alert when it's connected to the car so you can verify the connection.

A Ford representative has said elsewhere on here in a post I can't find right now (and didn't think to bookmark at the time) that one of the major issues people have with PaaK, in fact for some really the base cause of all PaaK issues, is that some phones wake the app for Bluetooth status information way more than they expected / saw in testing / see on other devices. This battery drain on Android at least leads to many (including me, and I'm 100% in on PaaK) setting the app to be allowed to sleep, which means it's not as reliable because it won't be "seen" by the car until you launch the app and give it a few seconds to connect.

Assuming that statement by the Ford rep is accurate, then it absolutely would be phone / BT related, although we don't know yet if it's possible to be fixed or not.

In my case, I have the app set that way, and it means I do have to launch the app for it to connect, but in the big picture, it's less of a hassle for me than dealing with a fob is. The gf's C-Max has a fob so I deal with one on a regular basis still (in fact I dealt with it on two trips yesterday for that reason, one of which led to the "double honk of dude, where's my fob?" when I dared to get out of the car and close the door while it was running), and at this point every time it annoys the heck out of me that I can't use the phone that I'm going to have with me 100% of the time, way more than the PaaK connect thing annoys me. This is not being helped by having to replace the battery in the thing again this weekend which is a minor nightmare on that key fob variation.

The battery thing reminds me clearly of the time I was out of town and I got an angry call from her about her car not working only to get home days later to find out that it was that her fob's battery had died and the C-Max apparently doesn't do what my Fusion used to and warn her about the low battery... I ended up buying a spare fob that I regularly remember to test the battery on, just in case. (Yes, there's the "emergency" fob slot, but I guarantee that like any normal person she won't remember that because it's obscure-as-F.) I never want to hear about a missed appointment again.

This is of course a personal decision of cost/benefit, essentially.

There have been plenty of posts on other threads on here around "should they have used Bluetooth" vs. "why not NFC" or "why not UWB" so that particular line of thinking wouldn't add anything new here.

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