Ford Australia - MME neglect

[Odinson]

I wasn't really sure where to post this since there's no oceanic regional subforum and it crosses between issues/OTA updates/TSBs and customer service on the whole. Apologies if this is the wrong place and mods please move if needed!

Ford released the MME in Australia probably around a year ago, and their sales numbers have not been great - primarily due to a lack of marketing alongside an extreme price difference when compared with Chinese brands that will do similar things.

An unfortunate effect of this is that those of us who have purchased one, well, we're kind of neglected at the moment.

As far as I can tell, OTAs are not available. I have reached out to Ford Australia to ask about this and they stated:

Modules and over the air update- It is depending on the modules and software update requirements some of the modules it needs to be done at a Ford dealership and some will be over the air update.

Over the air update you will not be informed when it will be happening as the term itself the software is updated over the air however if by any chance it was not completed properly you should get a notification to your dashboard and will advise you to contact Ford

They then proceeded to advise me vehicle has no outstanding FSAs and does not require any action. The screenshot they sent me shows no OTA update history and states none have been deployed in the past 90 days, FDRS checks conducted by users here confirm it is WAY out of date and doesn't appear to be receiving OTA updates.

When asked whether I should expect to need to pay extra during a service at a dealership to have updates applied if they are not being received OTA, they stated

With the module and software update if it’s a Field Service Action you do not need to pay, and the dealership will complete the update on the day your vehicle is book in for a service.

This implies that only I should only expect no cost during FSA visits - of which my vehicle has none. I have been advised that there is a RTGM update available that rectifies an issue I've experienced where the tailgate will occasionally not open fully on button press - when asking whether I should expect a cost for this update they stated:

I can confirm that there is no pending Field Service Action with your vehicle however if you are having issue with your vehicle kindly contact your local dealership for diagnosis.

So once again we're left to read between the lines, there's no FSA - only FSA updates have no cost; therefore this update which would be deployed for free OTA in most markets will have a cost to apply in the Australian market.

Edit: I received additional information after posting this from Ford stating the following:

If you have any issue with your vehicle and the dealership deemed the issue is a manufacturing defect, the vehicle will be repaired under warranty, and you do not need to pay anything.

Not sure if software issues are considered 'manufacturing defects' but all I've ever known from dealers is denials unless advice from Ford exists.

Many Australian owners have been questioning why TSBs that are being sent out the other markets don't apply to our vehicles despite them being within the same build date range and their statement was this:

Please keep in mind that not all TSB from different countries will be applicable to Australia and with TSB there is a lot of things to consider as well like for example the build date, where it was built etc.

Correct me if I'm wrong - aren't they all built in Mexico except for the Chinese market?

The TSB in particular I referenced to them was the recent TSB25-20 Unintended Deceleration Without A Vehicle In Front When Using Adaptive Cruise Control Or BlueCruise. Since this issue is caused by a pretty simple build problem and applied to a wide range of build dates, I fail to see how the issue wouldn't exist in other markets and failing to address those issues proactively is neglectful.

Overall the "Ford Experienced" with the MME in Australia has been extremely underwhelming - nobody seems to have any idea what they're talking about and are unwilling to provide clear and specific answers to issues that are pervasive through the market.

I know there's a few other Australian/New Zealander owners here, I'd be very keen to hear about your experiences with any similar issues as well!

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[Murray Wells]

Murray here from Auckland NZ I have a June 2023 MME GT PE purchased new in October 2024. I had the serial number checked by my dealer and on this forum. There were no mission critical OTA's needed although there were several minor ones that could have been updated. The car is going fine, the only problem being amazing acceleration that could lead to traffic tickets! Cheers Murray

 

[GreaseMonkey]

Tbh, your argument is a bit theoretical. Try treating it like an ice and take it to your dealer when there is an actual problem. Your lift gate not opening all the way is absolutely a problem and your dealer should fix it under warranty. Same w/ phantom breaking if you experience it (which is how it works for us here too). TSBs are addressed if you experience the issue, not if you own an impacted vehicle. And dealers will not bring your vehicle to a fully updated state as a warranty item. But every time you have an issue, take it in and demand that they fix under warranty. Don’t be too nice ?.

You will get a lot of info from this forum that will make you obsess about the vehicle. Take it as FYI.

I fully empathize with your situation, btw. And if Ford doesn’t get its shit together the Chinese will demolish it. They are horrible communicators. I’m actually impressed they gave you as much as they did. They won’t give us squat here.

 

[Odinson]

Tbh, your argument is a bit theoretical. Try treating it like an ice and take it to your dealer when there is an actual problem. Your lift gate not opening all the way is absolutely a problem and your dealer should fix it under warranty. Same w/ phantom breaking if you experience it (which is how it works for us here too). TSBs are addressed if you experience the issue, not if you own an impacted vehicle. And dealers will not bring your vehicle to a fully updated state as a warranty item. But every time you have an issue, take it in and demand that they fix under warranty. Don’t be too nice ?.

You will get a lot of info from this forum that will make you obsess about the vehicle. Take it as FYI.

I fully empathize with your situation, btw. And if Ford doesn’t get its shit together the Chinese will demolish it. They are horrible communicators. I’m actually impressed they gave you as much as they did. They won’t give us squat here.

Yeah I think it is a bit theoretical - but my issue is that the dealers and service staff don't see many (if any) MMEs and honestly don't seem to know what they're talking about most of the time. Hell, even Ford AU customer service are trying to tell me that we received OTA updates and that's just straight up incorrect.

My concern is that I'm going to take the vehicle in for something that I've figured out the solution to via my own research here and NA market TSB's - but unless that TSB applies to the Australian market, service techs aren't going to just take my advice on it.

All of these cars are being made at the same plant in Mexico right? So I just don't get why issues present in the NA market aren't automatically assumed to be present in other under represented markets. Since sales numbers are lower, they just haven't heard enough to confirm it.

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