Does anyone know why Ford has pulled the BlueCruise 1.3 update?

[MTNestr]

Wait that is the first I heard that BC 1.3 is available to 2021's via FDRS. So I can have my garage install it on my GTPE 2021 now?

If you’re able to get yours updated at the Ford dealer please repost when you get yours updated.

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[Ravensfan1996]

Don’t count on Blue Cruise 1.3 anytime soon. Ford continues to treat 2021 owners as second class - promises made but never kept.

I haven’t found that to be true at all. I have 2021 and have all the updates except the BC 1.3 currently. I’m usually just a bit behind when i see people on here post they got an update.

 

[SonicBlue]

Do you really think Ford feels differently about a customer with a 2021 than a customer with a 2022?

Well, Ford literally said they were prioritizing newer cars after “a thoughtful process on the backend” so… yes. Yes I do.

 

[SonicBlue]

Yes, I called Ford tech support.

Define that. Many people here know more than Ford’s frontline CSRs.

 

[timbop]

Well, Ford literally said they were prioritizing newer cars after “a thoughtful process on the backend” so… yes. Yes I do.

Let's just try to imagine that it isn't that they are INDIFFERENT to '21 owners, but that there are more DIFFERENCES in 2021 components compared to 2022 and 2023 cars. That may sound farfetched, except that we KNOW FOR A FACT that the parts shortages of the 21 to 22 time frame caused them to alter the bill-of-materials in order to get cars completed. Those differences can - and probably DID - lead to compatibility issues and unexpected behaviors. Perhaps you recall they started rolling out BC 1.3 in December to all models and promptly stopped because of problems?

Maybe you are taking it personally when there's a lot more going on that you don't know or understand.

 

[SonicBlue]

Let's just try to imagine that it isn't that they are INDIFFERENT to '21 owners, but that there are more DIFFERENCES in 2021 components compared to 2022 and 2023 cars. That may sound farfetched, except that we KNOW FOR A FACT that the parts shortages of the 21 to 22 time frame caused them to alter the bill-of-materials in order to get cars completed. Those differences can - and probably DID - lead to compatibility issues and unexpected behaviors. Perhaps you recall they started rolling out BC 1.3 in December to all models and promptly stopped because of problems?

Maybe you are taking it personally when there's a lot more going on that you don't know or understand.

This all makes sense… except that 1.3 is already available to 21s on FDRS……… which kind of shreds your entire argument. Ford is simply pushing it OTA to newer cars first.

And if OTA was the problem, Ford could have allowed the 21s to come into the shop for manual install under a customer satisfaction program - just like they did for BC1.0. Ford has not done that, either.

 

[Neil4Real]

Yes, that’s correct. It showed up around August 7th, I installed it on my 2021 with no issues.

You’ll need to update the IPMA and PSCM. They are coordinated updates so its impossible to not update both anyways.

You still have to do Forscan changes, no? I did Forscan changes and have BC 1.3, I just did the IPMA and PSCM updates last night and it looks like it reverted my Forscan changes and lane change doesn’t work.

 

[Snakebitten]

I think you are right after thinking about it.
Ford doesn't give a rat's #&$# about the 2021 customer. And it's obvious that instead of firing those customers, they've decided to promote them to just quit and go somewhere else for their next vehicle.

It finally makes sense to me.

If I had a 2021, I'd use a Mongoose/FDRS just to spite them. ?

 

[avdonr]

You still have to do Forscan changes, no? I did Forscan changes and have BC 1.3, I just did the IPMA and PSCM updates last night and it looks like it reverted my Forscan changes and lane change doesn’t work.

Seems that those that edited manually before will need to re-do the edits, yes. I had to re-do some of mine as well. Not sure if the same will be required for those going directly from 1.0/1.2 to 1.3. If so, it’s easy enough to do, but Ford will also send out another config update shortly after the main OTA that will enable the features as well.

So even if you update manually now and don’t make any as built changes, you can still benefit from the MUCH improved lane centering and cruise control while waiting for the config edits OTA to enable the new features.

 

[timbop]

This all makes sense… except that 1.3 is already available to 21s on FDRS……… which kind of shreds your entire argument. Ford is simply pushing it OTA to newer cars first.

THAT IS PRECISELY THE POINT. OTA is different than a technician doing it through FDRS. If the FDRS process faults out then it can be corrected by a trained and thinking technician. INTERMITTENT TIMING ISSUES are the hardest to find and correct in the code, and when they happen in the field during the OTA process it isn't necessarily able to deal with them appropriately.

 

[avdonr]

THAT IS PRECISELY THE POINT. OTA is different than a technician doing it through FDRS. If the FDRS process faults out then it can be corrected by a trained and thinking technician. INTERMITTENT TIMING ISSUES are the hardest to find and correct in the code, and when they happen in the field during the OTA process it isn't necessarily able to deal with them appropriately.

Difference with OTA and FDRS is that OTA usually uses an A/B swap process (not all the time), where the new software is loaded onto the module and simply “swapped out” with the old software upon installation/reboot. FDRS uses a direct write method which first erases the module and then writes the new software directly.

In theory, OTA should be more stable than FDRS programming due to this. If the A/B swap fails to install, the module should just revert back to the old known good software. If the FDRS direct write fails, the module is usually soft bricked until it is fully re-flashed.

While OTA should be more robust and less prone to bricking a vehicle, it’s understandable that Ford wants to gather data from installations on new vehicles first before updating older vehicles. Those new vehicles have less software/hardware differences than the older 2021s so they can learn from that process and refine the deployment so that it is more reliable for 2021s.

 

[ryannix123]

I have not received any software updates since late May.

 

[timbop]

Difference with OTA and FDRS is that OTA usually uses an A/B swap process (not all the time), where the new software is loaded onto the module and simply “swapped out” with the old software upon installation/reboot. FDRS uses a direct write method which first erases the module and then writes the new software directly.

In theory, OTA should be more stable than FDRS programming due to this. If the A/B swap fails to install, the module should just revert back to the old known good software. If the FDRS direct write fails, the module is usually soft bricked until it is fully re-flashed.

While OTA should be more robust and less prone to bricking a vehicle, it’s understandable that Ford wants to gather data from installations on new vehicles first before updating older vehicles. Those new vehicles have less software/hardware differences than the older 2021s so they can learn from that process and refine the deployment so that it is more reliable for 2021s.

That's how Ford has said it would happen, but it is unclear if every component truly has an A/B swap functionality - or if it works 100% of the time.

I first started working on distributed systems back in the late 90's and I can assure you that there are failure conditions and "gotchas" that software engineers don't think about or even imagine can happen - until they do. In particular the biggest issues occurred during "live" software upgrades where the systems had to be online. Even the engineers that had worked on the system for decades didn't fully appreciate what could go wrong and what happened if it did.

Most software engineers have very little training in parallel and distributed systems - if they're lucky they took a single graduate course in it. It is orders of magnitude more difficult.

 

[avdonr]

That's how Ford has said it would happen, but it is unclear if every component truly has an A/B swap functionality - or if it works 100% of the time.

I first started working on distributed systems back in the late 90's and I can assure you that there are failure conditions and "gotchas" that software engineers don't think about or even imagine can happen - until they do. In particular the biggest issues occurred during "live" software upgrades where the systems had to be online. Even the engineers that had worked on the system for decades didn't fully appreciate what could go wrong and what happened if it did.

Most software engineers have very little training in parallel and distributed systems - if they're lucky they took a single graduate course in it. It is orders of magnitude more difficult to do well.

Of course, that’s true. I used to work on such systems too. It’s nearly impossible to account for all failure conditions and scenarios, best you can do in place of 100% prevention is build out a system that is tolerant to these occurrences and plan as best as you can with all the data you are provided.

Not every module is capable of A/B swap. However most of the core modules for the new vehicle platform the Mach-E was built on such as APIM, TCU, GWM, etc are capable of it. Definitely doesn’t work all of the time either. Only point I was trying to make is that it makes sense Ford is putting 2021s last in the queue for the OTA from a software perspective. 2021s have the most potential to mess up the process as they have the oldest hardware/software combos. A lot more to account for. The data they get from the deployments to 2022s/2023s will most certainly help streamline the process for 2021s.

I’m my honest opinion, I am fine knowing that 2021s weren’t the first to get the BC 1.3 update ? if the rollout was a spectacular failure, it would have likely caused even more delays. We should just be thankful that Ford is committed to updating all cars, even the first model year. Got to remember that before the Mach-E platform, updating full vehicles over the air wasn’t even a thing for Ford. They have made tremendous progress over the last few years.

 

[timbop]

Of course, that’s true. I used to work on such systems too. It’s nearly impossible to account for all failure conditions and scenarios, best you can do in place of 100% prevention is build out a system that is tolerant to these occurrences and plan as best as you can with all the data you are provided.

Not every module is capable of A/B swap. However most of the core modules for the new vehicle platform the Mach-E was built on such as APIM, TCU, GWM, etc are capable of it. Definitely doesn’t work all of the time either. Only point I was trying to make is that it makes sense Ford is putting 2021s last in the queue for the OTA from a software perspective. 2021s have the most potential to mess up the process as they have the oldest hardware/software combos. A lot more to account for. The data they get from the deployments to 2022s/2023s will most certainly help streamline the process for 2021s.

I’m my honest opinion, I am fine knowing that 2021s weren’t the first to get the BC 1.3 update ? if the rollout was a spectacular failure, it would have likely caused even more delays. We should just be thankful that Ford is committed to updating all cars, even the first model year. Got to remember that before the Mach-E platform, updating full vehicles over the air wasn’t even a thing for Ford. They have made tremendous progress over the last few years.

100% agree

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