Late to the Blue Cruise party! I got screwed!

[Kamuelaflyer]

I definitely won’t be subscribing for $800/yr. Honestly, after that dirty of a move, I don’t think I’ll buy a Ford ever again.

I reserved and then bought a 2021 job 1 and I was well aware at the time of purchase that BlueCruise was going to eventually be a subscription service. Why were you not aware of this nearly a year later?

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[aclosedmind]

Buyer beware. Good luck fighting it. This is common practice these days (see Tesla FSD). I find it mind boggling that anyone could have spent so much time researching a specific feature and somehow missed that. It’s mentioned in pretty much every article and review video and called out on Fords own website.

 

[Delsk]

I definitely won’t be subscribing for $800/yr. Honestly, after that dirty of a move, I don’t think I’ll buy a Ford ever again.

Honestly I’m new to all of this, as I joined the Forum for what I expect to be a Mach-E purchase, likely in Sept/Oct. So I admit that I approach this with a bit of blissful ignorance and welcome anyone who feels I what I say should be corrected.
To me, this doesn’t sound like an issue with Ford. I believe you said the dealer is no longer in business so it sounds like you might have unknowingly bought the vehicle from a shady dealer who is no longer because they were a shady dealer. I don’t know that I would write off the entire brand because of a shady dealer. But I guess that’s an option.

 

[laxwiz]

When most people bought their Mach-E’s the dealerships only had their regular salesmen and they (mostly) either didn’t want to sell them or tried to get you to buy something else. They also didn’t get educated about the car.
Before I bought mine I went to 4 dealerships and I, to this day know more about the car than any of the salesmen.

 

[Kamuelaflyer]

When most people bought their Mach-E’s the dealerships only had their regular salesmen and they (mostly) either didn’t want to sell them or tried to get you to buy something else. They also didn’t get educated about the car.
Before I bought mine I went to 4 dealerships and I, to this day know more about the car than any of the salesmen.

The question I posed above was not really intended to be rhetorical. This is an answer that could explain why the op was unaware of the subscription nature of BC.

 

[Bruboy]

I definitely won’t be subscribing for $800/yr. Honestly, after that dirty of a move, I don’t think I’ll buy a Ford ever again.

You have to pay Tesla for theirs and Chevrolet for Super Cruise. How else are they going to keep up with the infrastructure as roads are added, changed etc. everyday.

 

[Vulnox]

Yeah, I bought a 2021 F-150 Lariat 502a, which at the time had the package as "Co-Pilot Active Prep Package", which was BlueCruise before the name change. But BC wasn't available right away and activation came from an OTA update. I even see the Co-Pilot Active on your window sticker, but must have been a job 2 MME as it also calls out BC.

But it was a bit annoying because the original BC package was only good I think until December of that year, then Ford gave a 1 year extension because of the BC delivery delay. I think I ended up getting BC like 3 months before the truck was due back on the lease.

I was always aware it was going to be a subscription though, as others said it wasn't a secret even back then. In the first couple years of the MME and F-150 you had to specifically order/pay for the Co-Pilot Active (later BlueCruise) hardware, and then get the BC subscription when it became available. It was always going to be that way and Ford always advertised it that way.

The reason it wasn't on the window sticker is because Ford didn't even release pricing for BC until I think mid-2022 model year vehicles? It wasn't an issue because everyone that had a capable vehicle was still riding on that one year extension Ford provided. You can likely find posts here of people asking how much BC will be once that extension was up.

Sorry you were either given bad info from someone or misunderstood things, but one thing is for sure, Ford in no way mislead you. Maybe the dealer did, likely out of ignorance and not malice, but as someone that has had 3 BC vehicles now and one of those I got with BC Prep that wasn't able to even use BC until the initial release and I had to sign a form when I bought the vehicle indicating I understand as much, Ford definitely did their part.

 

[SonicBlue]

Ford first announced the subscription for what was then known as “Active Drive Assist” on October 30, 2020.

https://www.macheforum.com/site/thr...nounced-ota-update-available-in-q3-2021.1869/

In that press release, Ford explained…

For customers purchasing F-150 and Mustang Mach-E at this year’s launch, the hardware enabling Active Drive Assist – including forward-facing camera and radar sensors – will be available through the Ford Co-Pilot360 Active 2.0 Prep Package, while customers choosing to purchase the software for $600 will receive it through an Over-the-Air Update in the third quarter of next year.

…

When Active Drive Assist is ready to launch with software updates, customers will then be able to purchase the software – plus a three-year service period – for $600 and receive it via Over-the-Air Update.

In the second half of 2021, new customers will be able to purchase the hardware and software together in the Ford Co-Pilot Active 2.0 package, without the need for an Over-the-Air Update to initiate the feature.

So, even from the very first press release, Ford made clear that the hands free driving tech would require a 3 year subscription for $600.

This was reiterated many times in the fine print of many Ford webpages, many of which are linked or possibly screenshot’d in threads on this forum. Just search the threads on bluecruise and active drive assist pre-2022.

While I agree that the window stickers sometimes introduced confusion, it was crystal clear to anyone following this forum, or reading the fine print on Ford’s websites, that this would require a subscription.

 

[Vulnox]

Ford first announced the subscription for what was then known as “Active Drive Assist” on October 30, 2020.

https://www.macheforum.com/site/thr...nounced-ota-update-available-in-q3-2021.1869/

In that press release, Ford explained…



So, even from the very first press release, Ford made clear that the hands free driving tech would require a 3 year subscription for $600.

This was reiterated many times in the fine print of many Ford webpages, many of which are linked or possibly screenshot’d in threads on this forum. Just search the threads on bluecruise and active drive assist pre-2022.

While I agree that the window stickers sometimes introduced confusion, it was crystal clear to anyone following this forum, or reading the fine print on Ford’s websites, that this would require a subscription.

This is what I was looking for as well. Ford has updated a lot of their stuff to be BC specific, I think I found a leftover Co-Pilot Active/BlueCruise that had the asterisk language about the subscription. It is on one of the Ford Canada sites though, but language was the same for US.

 

[DYohn]

When most people bought their Mach-E’s the dealerships only had their regular salesmen and they (mostly) either didn’t want to sell them or tried to get you to buy something else. They also didn’t get educated about the car.
Before I bought mine I went to 4 dealerships and I, to this day know more about the car than any of the salesmen.

I ordered mine without talking to any dealerships, directly from the Ford website. I didn't even know who my dealer would be until they called me that my car had arrived. I spent an hour educating them about the car when I picked it up! So if you know how to research things, you don't need a dealer to buy.

 

[garapatisri]

Mine was 23 mache prem and when I brought they said bc is free and one window sticker it is part of functional group not as optional. Initial in general menu the license it was showing 2074 as expiry. Then suddenly they changed to 2026. What does this mean?

 

[MacherAWD]

I definitely won’t be subscribing for $800/yr. Honestly, after that dirty of a move, I don’t think I’ll buy a Ford ever again.

I have the same car purchased also in March 22, when I come up on 3 years I am going to install comma.ai, cost equals 1 year of BC. If enough don't subscribe they will lower the price.

 

[Triggerhappy007]

Mine was 23 mache prem and when I brought they said bc is free and one window sticker it is part of functional group not as optional. Initial in general menu the license it was showing 2074 as expiry. Then suddenly they changed to 2026. What does this mean?

In FordPass and Connected Services, it shows you when your BlueCruise subscription expires.

 

[agoldman]

subscriptions... nasty way of life moving forward I'm afraid. only way to stop them is for people to stop buying them. won't happen widespread. my '24 only came with a 90 days trial, so as said above, I'll use the point form my '21 and this purchase to help the cost.

 

[Mach1E]

Ok, this is a crock of ____!

I bought my ‘21 MachE new in March ‘22. I went for the comfort/tech package, because I have a very long daily commute and wanted BC to help with the drive. Actually, I bought a MachE because of Blue Cruise. I’m finding out now that it’s a subscription! Nowhere in any paperwork that I have was that listed, and I have it all including the window sticker. Never even discussed at the time of purchase, or it would have seriously affected my decision to purchase the comfort/tech package, or MachE in general.

I talked to Ford CS and they pretty much said sorry that should’ve been discussed and you should have been aware. I pointed out that it is not discussed anywhere, in anything I had been given. They told me to contact the dealer. The stinking dealer closed their doors!

As far as I’m concerned, Ford sold me a product, then changed it after the purchase. It’s listed as optional equipment purchased with the vehicle with no mention of subscription. They had nav listed as subscription, but not BC!

I had a similar question over a year ago, and NO, it didn’t seem to be in writing anywhere-

https://www.macheforum.com/site/threads/3-yrs-of-bluecruise-on-window-sticker.28138/

I was aware it was a 3 year subscription, but only from reading the forum and press releases. And I doubt either of those are legally binding.

I also agree it’s a bunch of BS for us 2021 and 2022 owners who paid $1900 as a line item on our sticker for BC while 2023 and later got those things for FREE. But what can we do now??

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