dealer can't get car to update :-(

[Mtm81]

Took my early 21 (new to me) ER into my local dealer as it wasn't showing any updates pending but the version number on the sync 4 was either showing as blank (if I have carplay turned on), or if I turn it off - it shows 21139 revision 263. That tells me the car pretty much hasn't had an update (at least on the sync side) since 21, day 139 - so almost two years (i.e pretty much since new).

Anyway - it's been in at my local dealers today who've said they cannot get it to update and so they'll need to get a Ford Field Engineer out to look at the car. I can have it back in the meantime whilst I wait for a new appointment.

My question is - has anyone else seen a car that literally won't update even at the dealers? And if so, has their been any resolutions?
I mean - if it literally won't update and that's it - I'm not too concerned as i like the car as it is - but it would be good to get that better charging curve and the other minor nips and tucks happening (I don't even have ANY games in my sync for goodness sake!)

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[bshaw]

If your APIM (center screen) was attempted to be updated (but failed) by a previous owner/dealer, then that piece of equipment is now bricked and will need to be replaced. This may be why you are seeing an old sync version.

If you post your VIN over here, someone will look up any pending updates for you. And also, they may be able to see what previous update attempts have failed and why.
https://www.macheforum.com/site/thr...ing-to-look-up-info-for-others.10230/page-334

 

[RKinWA]

I have a new 22 that sat on the lot for 6 months. It has zero updates applied. It's been almost 2 weeks and there have been no OTA updates. It's connected to my home wifi, has auto updates on, scheduled for 1 AM, etc. I am bringing it to the dealer on Thursday for them to do a manual update. It will be interesting to see how that goes.

 

[ChasingCoral]

I have a new 22 that sat on the lot for 6 months. It has zero updates applied. It's been almost 2 weeks and there have been no OTA updates. It's connected to my home wifi, has auto updates on, scheduled for 1 AM, etc. I am bringing it to the dealer on Thursday for them to do a manual update. It will be interesting to see how that goes.

2 weeks isn’t very long to wait. It may take a couple of months to get set up in the Power Up queue.

 

[RKinWA]

2 weeks isn’t very long to wait. It may take a couple of months to get set up in the Power Up queue.

That's crazy. I've heard that, but then I've also heard of people that had to get the dealer to update because it wouldn't. Might just cancel and wait. The less interaction with the dealer the better ?

Edit: I cancelled for now and will wait. You aren't the first to say this, so I will wait. If in 3 months it still hasn't started updating, then I will reschedule.

 

[ChasingCoral]

That's crazy. I've heard that, but then I've also heard of people that had to get the dealer to update because it wouldn't. Might just cancel and wait. The less interaction with the dealer the better ?

Edit: I cancelled for now and will wait. You aren't the first to say this, so I will wait. If in 3 months it still hasn't started updating, then I will reschedule.

I'd give it 2 months and then reschedule.

 

[BillPitman]

That's crazy. I've heard that, but then I've also heard of people that had to get the dealer to update because it wouldn't. Might just cancel and wait. The less interaction with the dealer the better ?

Edit: I cancelled for now and will wait. You aren't the first to say this, so I will wait. If in 3 months it still hasn't started updating, then I will reschedule.

I went thru this several months ago, car not getting updates…..
I would make sure you have the 12v battery, (1)hooked up to a battery maintainer, and (2) make sure you have at least 3 bars cellular service!
good luck……. Bill P

 

[luckie]

That's crazy. I've heard that, but then I've also heard of people that had to get the dealer to update because it wouldn't. Might just cancel and wait. The less interaction with the dealer the better ?

Edit: I cancelled for now and will wait. You aren't the first to say this, so I will wait. If in 3 months it still hasn't started updating, then I will reschedule.

There are tips for those seeking OTAs that I have read on this forum and used with success in the early days of ownership. Not the crazy complex list of tips but a simpler idea.

This was the approach: If you want an OTA update, then "go fishing" for them. Fun reason to go for a drive. The idea is to go on "drive about" in areas/corridors with strong cellular coverage. While driving the car charges up the little 12V battery AND if you have a high signal strength for the car from a cell pole (AT&T in the US) those together pass a threshold that it is acceptable for updates. You can also go on "drive about" for 25 minutes and then park at a coffeehouse/movie theater/other place you like, if it's next to a strong cell signal.

It's kinda win win if you get to drive the car, go to a favorite place, get a coffee, see a movie, etc, and occasionally you soon get that alert, there's been an update.

 

[RKinWA]

There are tips for those seeking OTAs that I have read on this forum and used with success in the early days of ownership. Not the crazy complex list of tips but a simpler idea.

This was the approach: If you want an OTA update, then "go fishing" for them. Fun reason to go for a drive. The idea is to go on "drive about" in areas/corridors with strong cellular coverage. While driving the car charges up the little 12V battery AND if you have a high signal strength for the car from a cell pole (AT&T in the US) those together pass a threshold that it is acceptable for updates. You can also go on "drive about" for 25 minutes and then park at a coffeehouse/movie theater/other place you like, if it's next to a strong cell signal.

It's kinda win win if you get to drive the car, go to a favorite place, get a coffee, see a movie, etc, and occasionally you soon get that alert, there's been an update.

Yeah love this, will try it every day! ?

 

[Mike G]

Hang on, hang on....he hasn't been on this forum that long. He probably has no idea of what many of us went through with the PowerUp 1.71 issue where the APIMs got jacked up and eventually (months later) they released a procedure where the dealership had to order network adapters and USB-A to USB-A adapters etc. from Amazon (of all places) so they could then pop off the side panel of the console and run the Module Update Repair procedure.

The smart move at this point is to just get them to get a repair authorization code for a replacement APIM (assuming it is the APIM that's at fault, could be the GWM).

I've attached the TSB I was talking about for reference.

This procedure is painful. And frustrating. Ordering replacement parts is a whole lot simpler than dealing with a corrupted data issue in the APIM, GWM, or TCU.

 

[BigMach-E]

Here’s my story, might be helpful: bought a 21 Job 2 made sometime around August 2021 in Feb 2023. Had only 2800 miles on it, which kind of indicated it hadn’t been driven much. Totally OTA stuck. Had a suspension control fault shortly after purchase. Brought to the dealer, who ran minimal updates just to resolve the issue. Still OTA stuck. Bought my own FDRS rig (Mongoose Plus interface, 2 20 AMP battery chargers, a two day FDRS subscription). Spent most of those two days running all available updates on my car. Since then, I am not OTA stuck, running 4.2.6 and two updates after, a total of four updates.

My advice to folks who bought a used MME that is OTA stuck is to DIY your updates, don’t mess with the dealership.

 

[Ottuso]

Just the other day, my dealer was able to upgrade everything, including the modem on my '21. It took six weeks to unravel. The problem was not the dealer's but access to the FORD gateway, which FORD finally acknowledged, pertained to certain '21 VIN#s. It took three of those weeks for FORD to fix it.

If it still won't upgrade, tell your dealer that they need to contact Jake, a module programming specialist at FORD–he figured it out. Good luck!

 

[HuntingPudel]

There are tips for those seeking OTAs that I have read on this forum and used with success in the early days of ownership. Not the crazy complex list of tips but a simpler idea.

This was the approach: If you want an OTA update, then "go fishing" for them. Fun reason to go for a drive. The idea is to go on "drive about" in areas/corridors with strong cellular coverage. While driving the car charges up the little 12V battery AND if you have a high signal strength for the car from a cell pole (AT&T in the US) those together pass a threshold that it is acceptable for updates. You can also go on "drive about" for 25 minutes and then park at a coffeehouse/movie theater/other place you like, if it's next to a strong cell signal.

It's kinda win win if you get to drive the car, go to a favorite place, get a coffee, see a movie, etc, and occasionally you soon get that alert, there's been an update.

To add to this: OTAs require a few things. 1) Good State of Charge (>80%) on the 12V battery. 2) Minimum AT&T cellular signal of 3 bars. 3) Automatic Update time set to some time when 1 and 2 are both met. ??

It does not sound like the issue @Mtm81 is having is an issue that can be solved in this manner. I’m with @Mike G on thinking it’s a GWM or APIM issue. ??

 

[Mtm81]

Cheers everyone for the replies. It’s booked in for a ford field tech to look at it on July 24th. I’ve got all these replies plus my list of outstanding updates from my vin all saved and will leave them on the dash for them to see as a help

 

[EPDP]

Same thing here. MME first edition. Can not update and has connectivity issues once on wifi. Dealer was convinced the tcu module needed replacement. Its now almost 4 weeks at the dealer and they are not able to fix it yet. Tell me that they have got 4 different tcu modules but all failed to load the firmware....If they find a solution I will post

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