Blue Cruise Subscription Older Mach E

[SonicBlue]

I have 2021 job 1 and also received 2 updates in March.

Yeah… but what did they do again? Wasn’t one of them for a siriusxm issue nobody was complaining about? Do we need to qualify with “meaningful” updates?

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[Teslaeata]

Greetings! Ford should not charge a subscription fee for Blue Cruise on the 2021 Mach E, given how it will not be receiving any more feature updates.

If they were going to provide newer hardware for older cars as part of the subscription fee, then that would make sense.

It's disgusting to be penny pinched like this, especially given how other brands do not charge a subscription for built in features.

You Boston Massachusetts or Lincolnshire?

My UK Dec ‘20 build/Jun ‘21 delivered Premium ER RWD had an update earlier in the year with the BC update enabling me to activate the subscription.

The subscription model (AKA con) seems to becoming more commonplace, sadly, so you have the hardware but cannot use it until you pay additional to have its switch turned on

 

[Greddy1]

I have enjoyed Blue cruise on the few trips we have used it but will probably not renew. I was pissed that it took a year and half into my 3 year subscription before I got the 1.3 update and nothing further now. Unless they offer a better package that is about it for me on that one

 

[rugedraw]

Some members of this forum have a Ford Lighting which also has Blue Cruise but is it 1.5 opposed to 1.3 on the older Mach E's. Maybe they can detail their experiences.

BC 1.5 is only on the new Mach E. 22-23 Lightnings and 21-23 F150's have (or can have) BC 1.4.

2024+ trucks are shipping with BC 1.2 for whatever reason.

 

[Larry Paul]

2025+ MMEs have new advanced hardware for BC and support BC1.5+ and any pre 2024 car will be limited to a maximum of BC1.3.

 

[awp0]

Lol, almost 4 years and I've had exactly one BC update. And the only part of that update I care about is that BC now operates as originally advertised and doesn't ping-pong or hug the right side of the lane anymore. As far as I can tell, no map coverage has been added anywhere near me.

Soooo, no, I'm not buying the "continued development" argument. In fact, I'm not buying the "added" feature argument since Bluecruise was listed as an option on my car's sticker, and there was zero reference to a required subscription.

 

[ReverendPete]

Since your MME is pre-2025, another alternative is to lay down ~$1000 for Comma 4 hardware, and take an hour to install it. Then you have the basic equivalent of BC, but on all roads, not just the geofenced divided highways. And it runs open source software that gets worked on regularly.

I put one in my '23 a few months ago, and I love it! It feels equivalent to BC on highways, including lane changes (although, it won't do the autonomous changes on it's own, like the newest versions of BC, but I wouldn't like that anyway...) It will do lane changes on regular city roads as well...

I especially like the MADS system, which allows you to trigger it and then tap the brake to shut off the longitudinal control (go/stop), so you use your feet, but it will continue to handle the steering hands free. I love that around town! I have hand problems, and had a hand surgery last year. Being able to do the vast majority of my driving without having to have a hand on the wheel is a major bonus for me! You occasionally have to nudge it, like when a lane splits into two, and you need it to know which lane you want. You have to steer it during 90 degree turns, and every now and then it hits a tight enough curve that it wants your hands on the wheel, but other than that, it's truly amazing, with no subscription fees!

The only caveat is that it won't work on '25 and later models, because Ford encrypted the CAN bus, so the Comma can't hijack the sensor data and send commands to the ADAS system.

 

[Ravensfan1996]

I have a ‘21 and got updates recently, so we are still getting them. Only thing missing from the ‘21 to the 25’+ is their BC has the auto lane change instead of the manual lane change. Not a big deal to me. My BC ends at the end of the year, I’ll probably switch to the monthly subscription and use it only during the summer months when i road trip more.

 

[YunniorO]

Free? No.

Reduced subscription? Yes.

I don’t think we should be charged the same sub price with no plans for future updates (for BC that is), but free is a bit of a stretch.

I’m 100% still open to a paid hardware retrofit though. Not sure how much Ford modified with the actual cameras and so on though so I don’t know the complications with that.

 

[NY_Cade69]

Since your MME is pre-2025, another alternative is to lay down ~$1000 for Comma 4 hardware, and take an hour to install it. Then you have the basic equivalent of BC, but on all roads, not just the geofenced divided highways. And it runs open source software that gets worked on regularly.

I put one in my '23 a few months ago, and I love it! It feels equivalent to BC on highways, including lane changes (although, it won't do the autonomous changes on it's own, like the newest versions of BC, but I wouldn't like that anyway...) It will do lane changes on regular city roads as well...

I especially like the MADS system, which allows you to trigger it and then tap the brake to shut off the longitudinal control (go/stop), so you use your feet, but it will continue to handle the steering hands free. I love that around town! I have hand problems, and had a hand surgery last year. Being able to do the vast majority of my driving without having to have a hand on the wheel is a major bonus for me! You occasionally have to nudge it, like when a lane splits into two, and you need it to know which lane you want. You have to steer it during 90 degree turns, and every now and then it hits a tight enough curve that it wants your hands on the wheel, but other than that, it's truly amazing, with no subscription fees!

The only caveat is that it won't work on '25 and later models, because Ford encrypted the CAN bus, so the Comma can't hijack the sensor data and send commands to the ADAS system.

^^^This... Waiting for a jailbreak on the '25

 

[zelkito]

Guys... buy a Comma 4 and enjoy proper hand free driving!! I just bit the bullet recently and I love the Comma 4. No monthly payments.. buy it once, install it and forget!

 

[TechWhisperer]

I put a comma 4 in my 21 MachE and it works great. I'm running bluepilot on it, which is optimized for Ford vehicles. You can read about it here at the BluePilot website.

 

[Maui]

This video suggests it’s not as seamless as I was thinking. Lots of wires and addition hardware on the window and it seems to occupy the OBD completely. Is this right?

 

[TechWhisperer]

It's very unobtrusive. I don't use comma power (obd) with mine because with the MachE's not so robust 12v battery it would cause issues.

It ends up being a single USB-C cable (provided by comma) that runs to the back of the car and plugs into the ADAS module via the harness provided by comma.

The only downside to not using comma power is the comma 4 does not stay powered on when the car is turned off.

So, if you need to do software updates, etc you have to leave the car on or bring the unit inside.

This has not been an issue as bluepilot 6 is very stable and there isn't a need to update that often.

I also own a bolt euv and have had a comma 3x in it for over 3 years which is how I knew it was a great device.

I'm still amazed every time I use it. Now, it's not perfect, but it's something I would not want to live without now.

I drive nearly 40k miles a year on my bolt, so the comma has been tested in a lot of conditions. I'm currently running sunnypilot on it, which is what bluepilot is based on.

There is an install video here: MachE comma install

 

[Sikkun]

When is the last time the maps were updated? It is still stuck on 130k miles of mapped roads, and it never seems to grow. Last year, my GM vehicle went from 400k to 750k hands free miles in one update of the maps.

99% sure the “map” is a geofence allowing blue cruise or not. And that hands free and hands off works exactly the same and Ford could easily enable hands free on all marked roads if they wanted….

But if it makes someone feel better to think roads are constantly getting mapped for an algorithm that works by reading line markings more power to them.

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