So, I got an email this past week that my complimentary BlueCruise subscription is about to expire, and it got me thinking…

[bshaw]

I don't have to renew for a while, but I agree with the OP and I probably wouldn't renew without 1.2. I don't need lane change, but I do need better lane centering which I believe is part of 1.2. I also need a manufacturer committed to delivering software improvements to keep a car feeling fresh.

Same. I will not commit to a 3-yr paid upfront subscription until v1.2 is available.
If the lane centering is much improved in v1.2, then I will definitely buy.

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[Blue highway]

Right, I know it's there. But you don't have FP setup until after you buy the car. So the point I'm making is that perhaps a bait and switch argument could be made here......?

no I don't think it's a bait and switch. I get that you do, good luck with that.

 

[GatorJ_MME]

that's not Bluecruise, that's the built-in navigation and all its features

No! That says BLT = Built that’s the navigation portion.

Fair points, however my understanding is what you are actually paying for are updated maps for Bluecruise. The capability (hardware) exists in your car, but they will not let you use it unless you have the latest maps (liability reasons?). These maps are likely the same as the Nav maps, which is why they are tied together in my mind.

I could be off base, but that is my logic....

 

[Kamuelaflyer]

Well I'd LOVE to have my $1900 option NOT cost me another $200+ a year to use. Moreso after it JUST started actually working 1/2 way through last year?
Feel free for someone to try to get the ball rolling on that. For me for some reason I can't pull my window sticker from Ford.

The $1900 was for the hardware required to run BlueCruise, not tte BlueCruise Service iirc.

 

[azerik]

Right. So that hardware was free for job2's?
As I can't get to my window sticker I assume job1's state BC is a subscription?

 

[dbsb3233]

I won't be paying for it. I simply prefer to steer myself. Never felt comfortable with the idea of handing steering duties over to the car. Cruise control, fine. Adaptive cruise control, even better. Those are gradual and give me plenty of time to react if they screw up.

But steering? No. That can kill me (or someone else) in a split second, especially next to other vehicles.

The basic Lane Centering capability that came with the car is plenty for me, and even that I only use for maybe 10 seconds on an open highway with no cars nearby if I need to take both hands off the wheel to do something quick.

 

[JohnFoxeSheets]

that's not Bluecruise, that's the built-in navigation and all its features

Agreed and yes it makes sense that that would have an on-going cost since they need to keep the maps up to date. So if BC and Nav are bundled, then that's fine. But as of now, they are listed separately in Connected Services.

But in the Connected Services section in our Ford account, Navigation and BlueCruise are two different things. So that wording isn't sufficient to assume it includes BC IMO.
I agree.

That being said....I did sign a document at vehicle purchase that said I realize and understand that I paid for the BC hardware but he software was subscription based and additional cost. (In my case.....software to be available at a later time). So. If the OP signed a similar agreement then it would answer the question most definitively.

I just looked through all the agreements I signed when we bought the car and there is nothing about Connected Services. I did need to sign an agreement to accept my FordPass Rewards points, but nowhere could I find anything about Connected Services, BlueCruise, Nav, etc.

I agree with @GatorJ_MME that Nav subscription is listed, but that's not enough IMO.

The $1900 was for the hardware required to run BlueCruise, not tte BlueCruise Service iirc.

EDIT: It has been pointed out to me that the Ford BlueCruise website makes specific mention of BC being tied to Connected Services, for which there is a 3-year subscription. So I withdraw my complaint.

But nowhere does it say that for 2022 cars that included it functioning (as opposed to Job 1 2021s where only the hardware was included). Imagine if Ford tried to charge a subscription price for the AWD feature.... (Sure, you paid thousands extra for the hardware, but now we want you to pay for continued use of it!)

@Ford Motor Company: To be clear, conceptually I think paying for BC is not unreasonable if the need to pay on-going is disclosed up front. I'm even (kinda) ok with not knowing in advance what the future subscription price will be. But being told I (will) need to pay for continued use of a feature that was never listed as subscription-based is not ok. Will I fight it? I dunno yet. Mine doesn't expire until 2025, so Ford has lots of time to either show me where it was disclosed/what I signed when I bought my car, and if they can't then to provide it free on an on-going basis.

On-going Nav is different since it's on the sticker.

 

[dbsb3233]

I refuse to pay for anything on a monthly basis. Nav sucks anyway and Google maps is fine.

The only one I expect I'll pay for is the BOCN EA discount plan (assuming it's still like $50/yr when mine expires). I have the year of beta testing now and it's great with Plug & Charge since we road trip a lot and use EA roughly 50 times a year.

 

[hybrid2bev]

Right. So that hardware was free for job2's?
As I can't get to my window sticker I assume job1's state BC is a subscription?

Here's the window sticker of my 2021 early Job 1. This is before BC was out at all so it's just a 'prep package'.

 

[RickMachE]

With the feature fragmenting they're doing on newer models with BC 1.2, it's frustrating more so than anything for older models. I also don't get why it's a subscription in the first place. When it's active, is it actually doing anything that needs a connection? I'd assume it downloads a map where it says it can do things, and if not on that road to not activate. Seems like I can just download a map once and have the onboard cameras and software manage everything and not need a subscription. There's also tons of spots on I-10 and I-75 in FL that randomly stop working for like 5-10 seconds and then resume. Pretty annoying.

I do expect older models to get 1.2 eventually, but as others have stated before, it's silly to pay for a subscription when you don't even know the timeline of things. Why should someone spend $200/year to have BC work and not work in the same areas they drive on a daily/usual basis AND not get new features? Sounds like something that should be more of a flat fee since it all exists on the car already.

If Ford showed some consistency/parity in their releases, I'd be more up for it. But seems like back in the day with Sync 3, where they bragged it can do updates and somehow in a handful of years they release like 1 map update that's already outdated. I'm gonna need more reassurance from Ford that spending that kind of money on a subscription (or multiple subscriptions) will actually give me new and up-to-date services.

It's a subscription model to a) deliver new features and b) get a stream of revenue.

Right, I know it's there. But you don't have FP setup until after you buy the car. So the point I'm making is that perhaps a bait and switch argument could be made here......?

No bait and switch. Not even close to the definition of bait and switch.

I refuse to pay for anything on a monthly basis. Nav sucks anyway and Google maps is fine.

You can use BlueCruise and GoogleMaps together. And you're not paying monthly, you're paying for 3 years...

Hell yeah you have a case. BC was a $1900 priced option, and nowhere did it say that a separate subscription was required. Now, for continuous updates to BC...probably no reasonable expectation of that. But if you pay $1900 for a feature, and there's no heads up that the feature will have limited (zero? near-zero? some but not all? most but not all?) functionality, then you bought a substandard and very overpriced paperweight. Now, having a case and that case are very different things, but it's not a crazy claim (if it's true that the BC subscription model wasn't known/advertised).

As someone else stated, BC was not a $1,900 option. Yes, it is a crazy claim. Any lawyer would laugh.

Fair points, however my understanding is what you are actually paying for are updated maps for Bluecruise. The capability (hardware) exists in your car, but they will not let you use it unless you have the latest maps (liability reasons?). These maps are likely the same as the Nav maps, which is why they are tied together in my mind.

I could be off base, but that is my logic....

No, they aren't the same maps. No, they aren't tied together, and yes, you have to have the latest maps for it to work.

 

[azerik]

Here's the window sticker of my 2021 early Job 1. This is before BC was out at all so it's just a 'prep package'.

Ah so it was included in Job1's and a paid thing for job2's. I have no leg to stand on ?

 

[itsthenewdc]

It's a subscription model to a) deliver new features and b) get a stream of revenue.

I’d have no problem with B if they actually did A. But when it comes time to renew and I’m left with the same features as when I initially got it then there’s no point in mean giving them money. I want to give companies money for features and things I enjoy, but it’s dumb to give them subscription money for nothing in return - because BC doesn’t NEED to be a live service. They’re masking it (so far) as an equivalent to Sync 3 - capable of updates but not getting any.

If they come out at any point up until my renewal and say “1.2 for older models coming xxx” or something else coming to it, I’ll gladly keep paying.

 

[JohnFoxeSheets]

No bait and switch. Not even close to the definition of bait and switch.

As someone else stated, BC was not a $1,900 option. Yes, it is a crazy claim. Any lawyer would laugh.

Rick, how is BC not a $1900 option when it is stated as exactly that on my window sticker?

As for it not being "bait and switch", perhaps that's not the correct term. But Ford specifically states that Nav is subscription-based on the sticker but doesn't state that BC is. It isn't stated anywhere (that I can find).

Imagine if Ford tried to charge a subscription price for the AWD feature.... (Sure, you paid thousands extra for the hardware, but now we want you to pay for continued use of it!)

EDIT: It has been pointed out to me that the Ford BlueCruise website makes specific mention of BC being tied to Connected Services, for which there is a 3-year subscription. So I withdraw my complaint.

If someone can point me to where it is stated, then great, I'll stand down. Otherwise I might ultimately take Ford to small claims court. (Something I've never done before in my life, to be clear.)

 

[awp0]

No bait and switch. Not even close to the definition of bait and switch.

Wait a sec.....why couldn't this be considered a bait and switch? If there's no pre-purchase documentation stating that your $1900 option also requires a subscription to be functional, then they've implied one thing (Bluecruise for $1900) and delivered something different (Bluecruise for $1900+$200/yr). I don't think it's a reach to consider this a bait and switch.

 

[NJDevFan30]

Since mine has never worked (always tells me to put my hands on the wheel)

And here I thought I was the only lucky one. In the same boat.

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