Connected Nav required for DCFC Precondition

[bshaw]

So, after 3-yrs this week, my Connected Nav subscription lapsed. I don't use it often, so I was fine with letting it go.
The "Chargers" and "Dynamic Parking" options when choosing a destination in Ford Nav are now grayed out. Which I was kind of expecting.

However, I opened the "Charge Assist" app, and that seems to work just like before, but with one HUGE caveat. I searched for a nearby DCFC and pressed the routing button. It flipped me back into Ford Nav with the destination selected, and it indicated that chargers were available at this location. I pressed Go.

HOWEVER, no HVB pre-conditioning was activated while I drove to the destination (~15 miles, approx 30 min).
I had my Car Scanner app going before entering the destination, and it was HVB temp 51.8 deg F and did not change at all on my drive. Ambient temps were about 35-37 deg F, and I had a departure setting from a few hours earlier which is how I was still at 51.8 on the HVB.

So, if anyone was wondering why there is no "Precondition for DCFC" button in the car, now we know. Ford is withholding this capability as part of a Connected Nav subscription. Its kind of BS if you ask me. Basically removes an essential function of being able ever charge at reasonable speeds in cold temps.

I'd be interested if anyone else can test other workarounds, or see a flaw in how I approached this.

And yes, I'll probably be re-subscribing to Connected Nav in order to regain DCFC precondition.

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[21st Century Pony]

So, after 3-yrs this week, my Connected Nav subscription lapsed. I don't use it often, so I was fine with letting it go.
The "Chargers" and "Dynamic Parking" options when choosing a destination in Ford Nav are now grayed out. Which I was kind of expecting.

However, I opened the "Charge Assist" app, and that seems to work just like before, but with one HUGE caveat. I searched for a nearby DCFC and pressed the routing button. It flipped me back into Ford Nav with the destination selected, and it indicated that chargers were available at this location. I pressed Go.

HOWEVER, no HVB pre-conditioning was activated while I drove to the destination (~15 miles, approx 30 min).
I had my Car Scanner app going before entering the destination, and it was HVB temp 51.8 deg F and did not change at all on my drive. Ambient temps were about 35-37 deg F, and I had a departure setting from a few hours earlier which is how I was still at 51.8 on the HVB.

So, if anyone was wondering why there is no "Precondition for DCFC" button in the car, now we know. Ford is withholding this capability as part of a Connected Nav subscription. Its kind of BS if you ask me. Basically removes an essential function of being able ever charge at reasonable speeds in cold temps.

I'd be interested if anyone else can test other workarounds, or see a flaw in how I approached this.

And yes, I'll probably be re-subscribing to Connected Nav in order to regain DCFC precondition.

Yeah that's what I surmised. Thanks for posting your observations.

14 months to go on my Connected and Nav subscriptions... however I understand that FordPass points can be used (saved up to) pay for these services.

 

[thenew3]

Ok that explains it. I never use DCFC. Got the Tesla update a week or so ago and wanted to try it. found the charger option greyed out and when I click on it, it tells me to go into fordpass and enable it. I couldn't find anything in ford pass. Connected NAV on my car expired in January. Since we basically always use Apple or Google maps, I didn't renew it.
Guess I won't be able to pre-condition on those rare occasions when I need to DCFC.

What charging speeds were you getting without pre-conditioning?

 

[ChehRob]

We need that damned button to condition battery. And while Ford is at it, quit all the game playing in order to just drive the car. Even knowing which navigation you are using should have a label on the navigation screen. Most of us have three options, Ford, and via phone both the phone version and Google. I've had the car run two of them kind of active at the same time. Screen should reflect this, making it easy to disable the two you do not want.

 

[kodiakng]

So, if anyone was wondering why there is no "Precondition for DCFC" button in the car, now we know. Ford is withholding this capability as part of a Connected Nav subscription. Its kind of BS if you ask me. Basically removes an essential function of being able ever charge at reasonable speeds in cold temps.

this will quickly erode all of the "free adapter" goodwill gained. needs to be put in the "heated seat subscription" bucket of bad ideas and give us a precondition button.

 

[benk016]

You should still be able to search in the nav for a charger using the old POI system. It should have a list of whatever DCFCs it last got from Ford and those SHOULD still let you pre-condition.

However, if a new station comes up, it will never be in that list until you re-subscribe to the service.

I think as it stands now, preconditioning never happens if you choose to route there from Charge Assist because it doesn't select the charger but just a point on the map.

 

[Mache_Nor]

This is such bullshit. No adapters, letters or gift cards will outweighs the decision of locking core functionality of a 60 000 dollar car behind a subscription. It’s just petty at this point.

 

[Fremont Kid]

I am generally supportive of Ford, particularly for taking the risk of being an early BEV manufacturer. However, charging subscription fees for essential features does not engender positive customer sentiments.
Ford: This will be a money sink because you will spend money to develop applications, while we customers will find free or less expensive alternatives. So, just like heated seats are not subscription features, neither should be navigation and DCFC locations.

 

[bshaw]

You should still be able to search in the nav for a charger using the old POI system. It should have a list of whatever DCFCs it last got from Ford and those SHOULD still let you pre-condition.

However, if a new station comes up, it will never be in that list until you re-subscribe to the service.

I think as it stands now, preconditioning never happens if you choose to route there from Charge Assist because it doesn't select the charger but just a point on the map.

Possibly what you suggest could work. Someone would have to test it, or I can try next week.

The other thing I noticed is that "Recent Items" still contains previous DCFC locations you used. The ones in my list are nowhere near around me, so I couldn't test if that was different than sending a location from Charge Assist.

I am fine with a new station not being listed in Ford Nav unless you re-subscribe, that seems reasonable to me.
The weird thing is that "Charge Assist" seems to have its own data connection, and *will* know about new charger locations, you just won't be able to precondition to them.

 

[bshaw]

What charging speeds were you getting without pre-conditioning?

I didn't actually pull into the station because I was at 60% SoC and didn't need it. I was just running this as a test since I was driving in that same direction. I don't know of any min charge requirements before Precondition will activate, but maybe that's a thing?

When I first had the car and didn't know about the Ford Nav requirement, I would get 45-65Kw in the winter with a cold battery.

 

[benk016]

I am fine with a new station not being listed in Ford Nav unless you re-subscribe, that seems reasonable to me.
The weird thing is that "Charge Assist" seems to have its own data connection, and *will* know about new charger locations, you just won't be able to precondition to them.

This is because Charge Assist is part of the Blue Oval Charge Network which doesn't have a cost now. The stuff in the built-in Navigation is not actually Fords software, but an app made by Garmin. Basically that subscription cost is for enabling the features in the garmin app only.

 

[zvez]

this will quickly erode all of the "free adapter" goodwill gained. needs to be put in the "heated seat subscription" bucket of bad ideas and give us a precondition button.

I've never been a big fan of in car built in nav systems, because the maps never get updated etc. For the annual subscription of $90 I don't have a problem tho it's something I rarely use. I just don't see an issue with $90 as being some devious way to make money. The nav system works fine without connected component but if you want the bells and whistles, pay the $90.

LOL, "goodwill gained" I've been in car groups for a myriad of cars and motorcycles over the decades, can't recall any enthusiast population group that complained as much as the mach e fb and internet groups. The complaints range from justified to "why can't I turn off this safety feature", "the turn signal sound is annoying"...................

 

[timbop]

LOL, "goodwill gained" I've been in car groups for a myriad of cars and motorcycles over the decades, can't recall any enthusiast population group that complained as much as the mach e fb and internet groups. The complaints range from justified to "why can't I turn off this safety feature", "the turn signal sound is annoying"...................

You've got that right. 95% of the threads here start as complaints, and the ones that don't turn into a complaint fest by post 3. I think I'm starting to get PTSD from all the angst.

Crap, now I added to the complaint fest....

 

[zvez]

You've got that right. 95% of the threads here start as complaints, and the ones that don't turn into a complaint fest by post 3. I think I'm starting to get PTSD from all the angst.

LOL, yep, I think the only angst in a group that comes close to this would be a teen girls slow pitch softball team...................the pearl clutching! At some point you just have to laugh

 

[kodiakng]

I've never been a big fan of in car built in nav systems, because the maps never get updated etc. For the annual subscription of $90 I don't have a problem tho it's something I rarely use. I just don't see an issue with $90 as being some devious way to make money. The nav system works fine without connected component but if you want the bells and whistles, pay the $90.

interestingly, i wasn't commenting on the built-in nav system itself - it was about the fact we can't currently precondition the battery without it. i have zero use for the built-in nav system and only use it because i have to to get said preconditioning - which, in my view, should be a basic feature of the car.

LOL, "goodwill gained" I've been in car groups for a myriad of cars and motorcycles over the decades, can't recall any enthusiast population group that complained as much as the mach e fb and internet groups. The complaints range from justified to "why can't I turn off this safety feature", "the turn signal sound is annoying"...................

everyone has their bugaboos to complain about but there has been plenty of kudos expressing goodwill to ford for the free adapter. you're free to ignore it.

i don't know for sure if the venn diagram showing the intersection of those expressing goodwill for the free adapter and those wanting a separate preconditioning button is larger than one (me) but i do expect it is.

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