What is your threshold?

[jhalkias]

I am an Apple and Mac guy too . . . so I DO want it to "just work".

However, to me the more important question perhaps now that you raised it, is will Ford ever STOP support of the Mustang Mach E software at some point in the distant future? Like MicroSoft no longer supports XP?
Will the Mach E be able to be a classic someday? Or will the lack of software support brick the car? Will an entire hacking industry spring up around these kinds of cars that are so dependent on software once the manufacturer sunsets the OS?

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[buffasnow]

.....During specialty training in 1975 I bought a Plymouth Volare for my wife and 1 year old daughter; what a disaster! It was constantly dying out in traffic (intersections - you name it) and I got rid of a one year old brand new car.....

Ha, '76 Volare was my first car, bought it at a phone company auction for $600. Always kept a spare ballast resistor in the glove compartment - probably went through 7-8 of them in 3 years......

 

[uncle_0gre]

I can honestly say when it comes to phones and computers I always buy quality hardware.
I’ve never just flat out given up and said “this sucks I need a new one”.
It’s always been more of “ooh shinny, I want that”

That being said the MME is less a personal device, and instead a car.
The level of expectation is higher.
The joy of driving a car will not degrade over time, because there’s no App Store. You can’t install garbage apps. Ad based apps that drain your battery track your movements, track your browsing history etc. All the software comes from Ford and is installed by Ford.
It would be akin to buying a computer then never installing software and not connecting to the internet. You would never see performance degradation because the system is closed and only approved apps are installed.

 

[shutterbug]

Generally, I would not replace a car unless the cost of repair would exceed the value of the repaired car. I would also ignore items that don't affect drivability. Years ago I had a Saturn where odometer stopped working and the horn was no longer working. I still kept it for 4 more years when fuel gauge was no longer working, and I needed a new set of tires and a new battery, and GM announced that it was planning to shut Saturn down. That's when I knew it was time to move on. That's when I bought my first Ford, a Mazda Tribute (rebadged Escape). That Tribute was superb, but I was getting tired of spending 30 min a week feeding it. I replaced it with C-Max. Unfortunately, my C-Max came with G2 modem. When ATT was planning to shut down it's G2 network, Ford replaced the modem. Sadly the modem didn't work, and after 3 more attempts to get it replaced, I just gave up. The car was still working fine, but I could not schedule it to charge at a set time. I just left it unplugged until my TOU rates kicked in and plugged in then. I will now replace it with MME, but that's more a function of wanting MME. Otherwise I would have kept it for another few years.

 

[JellyBelly]

So most people have a cell phone or computer or both, and they crash sometimes due to software issues, need security updates, drop signals, battery life is half of new, etc.

At some point you say "I need a new phone", or "I'm buying a different brand of phone".

The same thing is going to happen with your new BEV. What is your expectation... for example, are you unhappy if the sync screen locks up and you have to key off/key on the vehicle to fix it once a month? Do you expect that to never happen, or to maybe happen once a year?

How often do you expect software bug fixes or software enhancements to happen? Once a month? Twice a year?

At what point do you say "I need a new car"?

Having put up with Sync 1.0 for over 10 years - my threshold is low. If the responsiveness of screen and software works after 5 years the same way it worked on day 1, I would be quite happy. I am not expecting huge upgrades during those 5 years but I just want the system to continue to work and be responsive. I am hoping the Sync system today is much much better than what I bought ten years ago.

But its a challenge to be frustrated at software glitches and dump the MME too soon - and take a big depreciation hit (most likely) well before the length of time one intended to keep the car.

 

[MailGuy]

That's a good consideration. Reminds me of Bugatti, who decided against having a touchscreen-type interface of any kind solely because they saw it becoming outdated in 5 years, which would kill the value of the car.
They'd rather have analog buttons and controls because they're timeless.

But... with OTA updates, that should give the software in the Mach-E a longer lifespan.

I would take a timeless cockpit over programmable screens any day. I don't know this for a fact, but I bet there's going to be a shelf life for OTA's. No software manufacturer wants to support older systems indefinitely and at some point updating no longer is a cost effective option, if at all. Like it or not, Ford is becoming more of a software company than a car company with the MachE. They will likely follow suit.

 

[MerryBrown]

I have not had Sync problems since the very first version. However, I haven't kept a Ford with Sync for more than 3 years, so that might be key.

 

[dbsb3233]

One reason I prefer the Mach-E to Tesla is that you can also use Android Auto or Apple CarPlay. It is still dependent on a function SYNC screen, so could be an issue. But at least I will have options for nav, music, etc.

I do tend to keep my cars for 10+ years. I wonder how functional the SYNC system in the Mach-E might be after 10 years. (And I am guessing/hoping battery technology will be vastly improved by that point.)

That's where OTA functionality should really help. It should keep us more up-to-date.

But at some point we'll get limited by the hardware. There will be new features we won't be able to get because it needs more memory or a faster processor or a different screen or new hardware that it's trying to control.

 

[AndyS_OSU]

I refuse to buy any car that doesn’t fully support Apple CarPlay at this point. Besides integration with our HomeKit equipped house, the security of knowing CarPlay can keep getting better despite the hardware in the vehicle getting older is a real selling point. At some point the hardware will be limiting I’m sure, but you’ve bought yourself some time by relying on your smartphone to be the brains of the operation.

 

[TheVirtualTim]

My '09 Escape Hybrid didn't have OTA updates but it did have downloadable updates (download on your computer, copy them to a USB thumb drive, and plug them into the car to run the update.) They stopped putting those out several years ago but ... car still works fine (it just never gets an update).

More recently it got a bit of a downgrade ... because the Sync system used to generate a vehicle health report but Ford shut down the service that handled that ... so I don't get those anymore.

But as a car ... it still works great.

 

[dbsb3233]

I would take a timeless cockpit over programmable screens any day. I don't know this for a fact, but I bet there's going to be a shelf life for OTA's. No software manufacturer wants to support older systems indefinitely and at some point updating no longer is a cost effective option, if at all. Like it or not, Ford is becoming more of a software company than a car company with the MachE. They will likely follow suit.

Yes, but... They have to take into account the lifespan of the product the software runs on. On a cell phone, that's probably around a 3-year average. On a laptop, probably 5 year average. On a car, it's more like a decade average, with many making it 20+ years.

That doesn't mean they have to support it for free, of course. Maybe in 10 years they'll say "we can't support updates to that 2021 equipment anymore, but we do offer a hardware upgrade package for $2000".

 

[krafty81]

Hey I just got 400 bucks from the MFT class action suit. Almost makes up for all the frustrations I have had with the system over the years.

 

[zhackwyatt]

Hi - I am concerned about a vehicle being hacked in a ransomware attack. Examples - intentionally stop the vehicle in a dangerous place, refuse to unlock or start, accelerate or decelerate unpredictably, or anything else imagined. You pay to fix the hazardous condition - or risk death! Also malware could bill your fast charger account or credit card for much more power than the car actually used. Of course, auto design engineers will assure buyers that the critical systems are logically isolated and a malicious hack is impossible. Seek out a real expert and ask their opinion.

If the word "impossible" is used, they are full of it, or it's a marketer talking. No true thing as perfect security. However, you can design systems that are incredibly difficult to cause issues. The important thing is to continually reassess, patch, improve, etc.

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