36,000 mile report card

[ARK]

CarPlay turn by turn is now showing in the driver's screen. Just started this evening. Weird, but I'll take it. I prefer the Ford native nav but like mentioned earlier, there are sometimes where CarPlay is more convenient. What I don't like about the nav in iPhone (not sure if it's Google or Apple), it that it doesn't auto zoom based on speed. I have grown accustomed to slowing down and then the screen zooms in with such detail that it actually shows both directions of travel for the surface streets. The CarPlay map just has a big arrow on a thin line and I sometimes miss my turn. Probably something that I just need more practice with, but the Ford Nav spoils me so much that it's hard to give up.

Even so, I ordered another vehicle. No clue when it will arrive. I don't expect it this year so I will keep the Mach-E until at least then. Wife said she might want it. She doesn't drive as much as I do so the nuisances that I complain about aren't really that important to her. The Mach-E is grandfathered here in Arizona in respect to registration fees so that might be a compelling factor. Plus the 360 camera view and native nav are industry leading in my opinion. For comparison, the Mach-E cost $71 to register it for 5 years here in AZ. Her Wrangler 4xe costs $1400 for two years! She will probably give up the Wrangler to keep the Mach-E.

Our secondary plan is to sell it at Barrett-Jackson Auction in Scottsdale Jan 2023. That might be interesting. Being a First Edition with the little statue and certificate might amount to something. Not sure, everything could change between now and then. No more Ford vehicles though. I've owned too many of them anyway. If you don't count my fleet vehicles.....I think I have owned 10 different Ford vehicles since 2002. Been a good run.

What did you end up ordering, the Rivian truck?

I agree about the 360 degree camera, and also about the navigation, I've been surprised by it a number of times at suggesting what I know to be a smarter route as compared to Google Maps.

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[SnBGC]

Yes

What did you end up ordering, the Rivian truck?

I agree about the 360 degree camera, and also about the navigation, I've been surprised by it a number of times at suggesting what I know to be a smarter route as compared to Google Maps.

Yes. Looking at Rivian RT1 for my daily driving needs and a van for fleet use. Still waiting on pricing for the van though...

 

[SnBGC]

This car gets a split score from me due to extenuating circumstances. 82 points for the first 35,000 miles and 56 points for the last 1,000 miles unfortunately. If given the choice and I could go back in time to Feb 2021, then I would definitely purchase the car again. But if I had to make that same decision today, I would look for some other car instead.

So now that I've had some time behind the wheel, there are some really great things about this car that I appreciate.

1. 360 Camera View is excellent. I don't think I want to go without that feature going forward.
2. Ford's native navigation is also excellent. By far the best navigation program that I have ever used (and I've used a lot of them over the years).
3. The cross traffic alert when backing up is really superb. I don't know how it can detect oncoming vehicles in such a crowded parking lot but I am glad it works. Has saved me some embarrassment more than a few times.
4. The L mode is genius. Love that feature. Hope Ford keep it in future models.

So, how did it only score 82 points out of 100 for the first 35,000 miles?
Assuming a perfect vehicle is 100 points and then deduct for deficiencies....

• -5 points for ride quality. It rides like a truck, but it's an SUV so I guess that is to be expected but even new pickup trucks are smoother than this car.
• -1 point for SiriusXM radio alert song/artist not working when vehicle was delivered
• -5 points for PaaK. It works, but it is poorly executed and not convenient at all. Requires way too much effort to use that feature and it is very unreliable.
• -2 points for only 1 key fob
• -2 points for a loose RR door striker latch (repaired myself)
• -2 points for no remote start on key fob
• -5 points for sometimes missing it's charge schedule. Kinda important for a EV to get this one right.
• -3 points for sometimes missing it's pre-condition schedule.
• +9 points for real world range exceeding EPA estimates. I average around 295 miles per full charge so 1 point for every percentage point increase over the promised 270 miles.

The most horrible experience with this car has been the update process. This has really soured my opinion of what is otherwise a great vehicle. I have owned a lot of cars in my years, including 4 EVs (2 are first year models). I have never had a manufacturer take away functions after the sale like Ford has done to me with this car. The hardware is fantastic but the software isn't up to the task.

Due to loss of use on several features, I deduct another 26 points. Most of these features were removed from my vehicle about 1,000 miles ago when my car was at the dealership for safety recalls and software "enhancements". The list below are things that worked perfectly well prior to the various updates....

• -3 points for full screen CarPlay which also now causes my native nav to malfunction whenever a passenger with an iPhone rides in my car with me.
• -1 point for auto high beams. That was a nice feature but now it doesn't work the same. The car now flashes it's high beams 3 times before switching back to low beams. I now have to turn them on manually when the conditions require.
• -3 points for door locks not always opening on first press. It was 100% before the update. I guess "more robust door lock update" means it won't let you into your car even with a fob. I sometimes have to press the button 6 or 8 times before the car unlocks.
• -5 points for HVAC no longer automatically switching to Max A/C when first started in hot conditions. It worked great before but now I have to open the HVAC screen and turn on Max A/C myself.
• -5 points for broken Lane Centering. It worked so good prior to the update and would hold the lane position that I choose. Now it just goes straight down the center of the lane or ping pongs back and forth. So annoying that I now have to drive with it turned off. Why would Ford take that away? Doesn't make sense...???
• -5 brake feel. Car drove so nice before but now it's grabby and jerky at times. Sometimes it does fine but once or twice a day I get my fillings jerked loose. Pretty upset about this one to be honest.....
• -5 Walk away locks fail about 20% of the time now. They were 100% for the first 35,000 miles but now they are unreliable since the updates
• -1 point for adding a front compartment hood button to Sync but it doesn't work. WTF? Why add a button just to tease us? That just seems cruel.

That adds up to a 28 point deduction for senseless deletion of function and features due to updates.
But, I'll give 2 points back since the updates DID fix the error that caused the tenths to vanish from the odometer at 10,000 miles AND they did fix the song/artist alerts in SiriusXM. So, we end up with 26 point deduction for these past 1,000 miles. Add to the 18 points from the first 35,000 miles then I end up with a very embarrassing 56 points for this car.

I have decided this is my last Ford vehicle. I have cancelled my Lightning reservation because I don't want to have this experience ever again. I enjoy my vehicles when they operate correctly. And when something wears out or breaks, then I repair the car and continue on but to have features taken away for no reason just makes me more and more angry each time that I am reminded at how well it USED to work BEFORE the updates.


If you read this far, then you are correct in that my ONLY mechanical issue was a loose right rear door striker latch. If it wasn't for the reckless and irresponsible software included with this car then it would likely rank way up high on my all time list. I think the guys and gals in Cuautitilan Mexico did a fantastic job building this car, especially for a first year model. When I took delivery, the car was near perfect. Apparently Ford decided that it worked a little too good and knocked it down a few notches by subjecting me to updates that didn't actually improve anything.

Oh yeah.....one more thing. My car has the hardware for BlueCruise but I can't get it. Dealer updates fail and does not work on my car. I didn't deduct any points because I signed a paper when I bought the car saying that I understand that BlueCruise does NOT work on my car so nothing lost in that regard.

UPDATE: Giving 20 points back so now it scores a respectable 76 points.

It has been 7 days since my rant and another 1000 miles. For reasons unknown, several of my complaints have corrected themselves. ???

I don't know how....maybe the 12V reset did the trick? Not sure.
At any rate, this week there have been several items work perfectly or nearly perfect so points deducted are now awarded back. (Feels like Hogwarts...)

3 points CarPlay no longer messes up my nav. I can even have routes planned on both and switch back and forth between them. Wireless or plugged in works either way.

3 points for key fob working first try every time. Even when the liftgate is closing.

5 points for HVAC. Max A/C now comes on immediately due to the high temps which was how it worked before the updates. Glad to have that back.

4 points for brake feel being sooooo much better. I held back 1 point still because it isn't as good as it once was but splitting hairs at this point.

5 points for walk away locks working 100% again.

No clue how or why these items started working....just glad they are back. I hope it stays this way for a while to come.

 

[Jimrpa]

Wow! I read page 1 of this thread, then immediately skipped to page 6. Fortunately, I haven’t had any of the major issues you describe (other than PAAK, which now works for me). The headlamps flashing 3 times just sounds weird.
Best of luck with the Rivian - I hope they make it. Perhaps Tesla will acquire them to fill holes in their product lineup.

 

[SnBGC]

Wow! I read page 1 of this thread, then immediately skipped to page 6. Fortunately, I haven’t had any of the major issues you describe (other than PAAK, which now works for me). The headlamps flashing 3 times just sounds weird.
Best of luck with the Rivian - I hope they make it. Perhaps Tesla will acquire them to fill holes in their product lineup.

Thanks.
Yeah, I really need a truck. Been daily driving a pickup for 16 years and then went electric. Been making do but a truck is what I really need for day to day work. I have no idea if Rivian will make it but I am tired of being at the mercy of a retailer so I will give this a try. Will hope for the best. Meanwhile, I have to make this car work and try and keep it together. Kinda curious what condition it will be in when I get to 50k miles. That was how many miles I had on my previous EV when I sold it for this car.

 

[Jimmy2]

Glad many of your issues resolved. Congrats on being the first I've heard to reach the 36K club.
I saw Ford reached out to you. How did that go?

 

[Jimrpa]

Glad many of your issues resolved. Congrats on being the first I've heard to reach the 36K club.
I saw Ford reached out to you. How did that go?

Any update from Ford on this?

 

[SnBGC]

Glad many of your issues resolved. Congrats on being the first I've heard to reach the 36K club.
I saw Ford reached out to you. How did that go?

Me too. Car has been pretty good lately. I had some weird charging issues earlier this week but it turned out that our Wallbox Pulsar Plus units are work are overheating and faulting out.

The folks contacting me really have no power to change anything. The corporate culture at Ford is a bit strange lately. There was a time when regional managers had almost ultimate authority but it sounds like all that is being passed onto the social media people instead. And since I don't do social media (except for this forum I guess...), then I get left behind. The truth is that Ford has moved on from Gen X (myself) and now is focused on Millennials and Gen Z customers. I was actually told to contact Ford via Twitter or some other platform that sounded similar. I wouldn't have the faintest idea how to accomplish that and I have no desire to figure it out. Give me an e-mail address or a phone number. Any more work than that and I am tapping out.

Any update from Ford on this?

Nope. Car works pretty well. Fob and kick to open is back to 100%. Walk away lock back to 100%
Bad brake feel is better but I think that is because I can predict when the friction brakes blend in and ease up a bit on the pedal. Sometimes I have to stop quicker than expected and I end up with a jerky stop.

The lane centering feature doesn't work very well any more so I now drive with just ACC enabled. I used to be able to hold the car just left of center (where the lane is smoother) and Lane Centering would remember my preference and hold it there. That function is now broken and in fact, Lane Centering insists on holding the car just right of center. That makes me uncomfortable so that feature is likely to be permanently broken for me.

The good news is that nothing else has broken since then so I think we stopped the bleeding. Until the next OTA of course. If I even get any more OTAs that is.......

No word from the dealer about the BlueCruise package. I think that ship has sailed.

 

[Jimrpa]

Me too. Car has been pretty good lately. I had some weird charging issues earlier this week but it turned out that our Wallbox Pulsar Plus units are work are overheating and faulting out.

The folks contacting me really have no power to change anything. The corporate culture at Ford is a bit strange lately. There was a time when regional managers had almost ultimate authority but it sounds like all that is being passed onto the social media people instead. And since I don't do social media (except for this forum I guess...), then I get left behind. The truth is that Ford has moved on from Gen X (myself) and now is focused on Millennials and Gen Z customers. I was actually told to contact Ford via Twitter or some other platform that sounded similar. I wouldn't have the faintest idea how to accomplish that and I have no desire to figure it out. Give me an e-mail address or a phone number. Any more work than that and I am tapping out.



Nope. Car works pretty well. Fob and kick to open is back to 100%. Walk away lock back to 100%
Bad brake feel is better but I think that is because I can predict when the friction brakes blend in and ease up a bit on the pedal. Sometimes I have to stop quicker than expected and I end up with a jerky stop.

The lane centering feature doesn't work very well any more so I now drive with just ACC enabled. I used to be able to hold the car just left of center (where the lane is smoother) and Lane Centering would remember my preference and hold it there. That function is now broken and in fact, Lane Centering insists on holding the car just right of center. That makes me uncomfortable so that feature is likely to be permanently broken for me.

The good news is that nothing else has broken since then so I think we stopped the bleeding. Until the next OTA of course. If I even get any more OTAs that is.......

No word from the dealer about the BlueCruise package. I think that ship has sailed.

You still haven’t gotten BlueCruise - either through 2.5.X or 2.8.X OTA or via the dealer? That totally sucks.
My lane centering makes me nervous sometimes because it seems to like to be slightly to the left and I sometimes drive on highways with Jersey barriers.

 

[SnBGC]

You still haven’t gotten BlueCruise - either through 2.5.X or 2.8.X OTA or via the dealer? That totally sucks.
My lane centering makes me nervous sometimes because it seems to like to be slightly to the left and I sometimes drive on highways with Jersey barriers.

It is okay. I didn't have BlueCruise when I bought the car and the promise of it being added later was not a factor in my decision to purchase the vehicle.

Ford is trying to give it to us for free right now and they can't quite figure out how to do that yet. For some reason, it doesn't bother me in the slightest. My main concern is being able to keep the features that I have been enjoying so far. The loss of Lane Centering does suck. I think that might be a consequence of BC though. Does anyone with BC know if the Lane Centering works the same as before? Meaning, is there a way to position the car off center and it will continue to track there? I think maybe that had to go away in order for BC to work properly?

Just speculating....

No. I haven't received any OTAs since my warranty expired. To be fair, it has only been a few weeks though. Will give it some more time before that ship sails. I did get the "get ready for BC e-mail" a couple of weeks ago but no OTAs yet.....

 

[TRP]

It is okay. I didn't have BlueCruise when I bought the car and the promise of it being added later was not a factor in my decision to purchase the vehicle.

Ford is trying to give it to us for free right now and they can't quite figure out how to do that yet. For some reason, it doesn't bother me in the slightest. My main concern is being able to keep the features that I have been enjoying so far. The loss of Lane Centering does suck. I think that might be a consequence of BC though. Does anyone with BC know if the Lane Centering works the same as before? Meaning, is there a way to position the car off center and it will continue to track there? I think maybe that had to go away in order for BC to work properly?

Just speculating....

No. I haven't received any OTAs since my warranty expired. To be fair, it has only been a few weeks though. Will give it some more time before that ship sails. I did get the "get ready for BC e-mail" a couple of weeks ago but no OTAs yet.....

Prior to BC activation I felt like I was in the center of the lane all the time, perhaps this is due to my hand on the wheel
With BC it feels like the car wants to lock onto the center lane marker on a 2 lane hiway. So if in the left lane it hugs to the right of the lane and if in the right lane it hugs to the left. Although, I will say the right lane feels more "center" than the left lane does and is more confidence inspiring to me

 

[SnBGC]

Prior to BC activation I felt like I was in the center of the lane all the time, perhaps this is due to my hand on the wheel
With BC it feels like the car wants to lock onto the center lane marker on a 2 lane hiway. So if in the left lane it hugs to the right of the lane and if in the right lane it hugs to the left. Although, I will say the right lane feels more "center" than the left lane does and is more confidence inspiring to me

Prior to Blue Cruise.....if your car was working normally, when activating ACC and Lane Keeping Assist and Lane Centering radio button enabled in the Sync menu.......then you were able to hold the car off center in the lane for a few moments and the car would learn that is where you prefer to track and keep it there instead.

That feature seems to have gone away with BC.....or perhaps the failed update broke it in just my car and it works fine for those cars where the update was successful. ???

 

[Jimrpa]

Prior to BC activation I felt like I was in the center of the lane all the time, perhaps this is due to my hand on the wheel
With BC it feels like the car wants to lock onto the center lane marker on a 2 lane hiway. So if in the left lane it hugs to the right of the lane and if in the right lane it hugs to the left. Although, I will say the right lane feels more "center" than the left lane does and is more confidence inspiring to me

I have the exact OPPOSITE behavior. My car seems to have an affection for the Jersey barriers dividing highways. (And if a highway doesn’t have a Jersey barrier, it just stays in the middle of the lane).

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