"Connected Vehicle Features" settings are empty - A theory

[astrorob]

The TCU for our '23 Mach-E Premium just came in. The service manager said that replacing the unit takes a few minutes but getting it programmed can take up to 4-5 hours! We dropped the car off at the dealership at 7am and haven't heard anything yet (almost 1pm).

I'm planning on keeping an eye on the Connected Features and will report back here.

did you ever pull fuses to try to reset the TCU? my dealer/technician insisted that the TCU had to be replaced (and still does) but i got everything working with a power cycle and delete/reinstall of the fordpass app.

i even got an OTA update so i can't see how there's actually any problem here.

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[w0ger]

Is there a reason they changed the TCU? This seems to be a software bug, wonder if the same thing will happen unless the new TCU has updated software?

Dealer stated that Ford corp technicians saw something and wanted it replaced. I didn’t get many details.

 

[Logal727]

Dealer stated that Ford corp technicians saw something and wanted it replaced. I didn’t get many details.

What was your issue with it? Not functioning at all?

 

[w0ger]

What was your issue with it? Not functioning at all?

Back in January, we had an issue where Blue Cruise stopped working. Then then low/12v voltage battery drained. This caused a bunch of errors to be triggered. The car had to be towed to the dealership. They checked the 12v battery and it failed the tests immediately. So they replaced it under warranty.

After some other diagnostics, Ford said the TCU had to be replaced even though everything seemed to be working correctly.

The dealership checked again with Ford when the part came in and the answer was still to replace the module. so that’s where we’re at.

 

[Logal727]

Back in January, we had an issue where Blue Cruise stopped working. Then then low/12v voltage battery drained. This caused a bunch of errors to be triggered. The car had to be towed to the dealership. They checked the 12v battery and it failed the tests immediately. So they replaced it under warranty.

After some other diagnostics, Ford said the TCU had to be replaced even though everything seemed to be working correctly.

The dealership checked again with Ford when the part came in and the answer was still to replace the module. so that’s where we’re at.

Ah ok, so it's unrelated to this issue specifically, got it, makes sense they would replace it then.

 

[astrorob]

After some other diagnostics, Ford said the TCU had to be replaced even though everything seemed to be working correctly.

The dealership checked again with Ford when the part came in and the answer was still to replace the module. so that’s where we’re at.

i really wonder if they have a problem with their diags. on day of delivery PAAK would not configure so they took it to a service bay and said the TCU was not communicating with their test rig, which i guess is FDRS. they then apparently replaced it with another TCU and it did the same thing, so they ordered yet another one.

meanwhile i resolved my issue with PAAK myself. i guess it is still possible the TCU does not respond to the OBD2 port but otherwise it is working fine. i'm hesitant to have them replace something which at least from a customer-facing standpoint seems to be working fine.

would be interesting if you can get more details from them as the problem sure sounds similar.

 

[astrorob]

well just to update i did notice the other day that the connected services icon was not in the top bar, and sure enough the connected vehicle features menu was empty. this was out on the road. then the next day i noticed the connected services icon was there, but i didn't get a chance to check the menu.

throughout all this the car is reporting trips and charges consistently, and never misses logging a single one. i can even change the charge settings from the FP app. PAAK continues to work.

maybe it is a mistake to not let the dealer replace the TCU since it does seem like there is some kind of problem, though i can't be the only one or this thread would not exist.

 

[Kmp14]

I have found that it is consistent, when the connected services icon is not up at the top, the menu is always empty. But like many have noticed, the icon seems to just come and go, when it's not there, other than the menu being empty, it doesn't seem to have any other effect on the functioning of the vehicle.

 

[ziptbm]

Yeah it’s a known bug, you can also pull the 11 fuse under the passenger footwell if you have zero connectivity.

My MME just took 4.2.3 and this issue is still present. I haven’t pulled the fuse again yet, because it took two updates this week, so I’m now wondering if it’s just a UI bug and the connection is still there and active.

 

[Logal727]

My MME just took 4.2.3 and this issue is still present. I haven’t pulled the fuse again yet, because it took two updates this week, so I’m now wondering if it’s just a UI bug and the connection is still there and active.

Interesting, this seemed to have been fixed on 4.2.2, I haven't experienced it since that. If you have connectivity, no need to pull the fuse. You may want to do a Sync reboot though since you just got the update.

 

[ziptbm]

Interesting, this seemed to have been fixed on 4.2.2, I haven't experienced it since that. If you have connectivity, no need to pull the fuse. You may want to do a Sync reboot though since you just got the update.

Is your connectivity icon always present and the menu accessible?

I did do a sync reset (combo on steering wheel) and also tried to do my “workaround“ of toggling Bluetooth and wireless app projection then turning car off/on, but that doesn’t appear to work anymore (or it was previously coincidentally successful a few times).

I’ll give it another drive or two then try the fuse again. And same issue with Lightning on 4.2.1. Sigh.

 

[Logal727]

Is your connectivity icon always present and the menu accessible?

I did do a sync reset (combo on steering wheel) and also tried to do my “workaround“ of toggling Bluetooth and wireless app projection then turning car off/on, but that doesn’t appear to work anymore (or it was previously coincidentally successful a few times).

I’ll give it another drive or two then try the fuse again. And same issue with Lightning on 4.2.1. Sigh.

Since 4.2.2, yes it's present. It used to not show up but I still had connectivity. There was an issue with TCU would get stuck and need to be restarted that's why I pulled the fuse. I figured this was fixed in latest updates, but YMMV. So unpredictable

 

[RKinWA]

Decided to search the forum before posting and sure enough found this thread. My vehicle got 4.2.4 last week, and ever since I noticed my connectivity symbol is gone. I pulled the fuses and didn't help, then I noticed on two occasions I went out after dark and in both cases the symbol (and subsequent menu items) came back, the next day, gone again. But then I also noticed despite the symbol not being there, my vehicle still seemed to have connectivity (software update check, traffic, weather, navigation) so I stopped worrying about it.

So it's good to see I am not alone, and eventually it will be fixed in later updates (it was fixed right?)

Anyway, thanks for this thread and Google for helping me find it.

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