Ford BlueCruise OTA rollout delayed until Q1 2022

[Mathington]

I don’t understand why the updates taste so long to install. 2-hours to download the software from Ford and then 4-8 hours to install? Is the hardware that underpowered that it takes 8 hours? Is this just lack of training or an actual issue with the car?

Sponsored

 

[burtonhen]

Maybe I’ll get 1.7.1 by Q3 2022

 

[newtruckinfl]

What is the basis for your understanding that BC is in any way a learning or evolving product? I don’t think we have seen anything to suggest that BC is anything other than standard ACC/LC with an eye nanny swapped for the hand nanny on geofenced section of highway.

I don't suggest BC is a learning or evolving product where it provide feedback to a mothership and new software updates are made machine-learning style ala Tesla. And thus far your analysis of BC seems accurate. I was pointing out that the delay did not appear to be for needed upgrades to the BC software itself.

Instead OTA updates need to be refined. Ford has the software, they just need a better way to get it to us. And that is what is frustrating. The cake is already baked, but only new buyers of the same vehicle with the same hardware get it. Is it something I stay up at night over, no. But to potentially need to wait another 3-5 months to get an already completed software program on my updatable hardware seems silly.

It is reasonable to assume Ford will be able to tweak and update the software to make some improvements. The way I understood GM's SuperCruise, it was using the lidar mapping process to actually help the vehicle stay centered using high accuracy GPS. I am not aware if Ford's system does or will eventually have a similar capability. But BC would be a major improvement over current lane-centering if it only stops nagging me every 15-20 seconds when my hands are already on the wheel.

 

[Timelessblur]

The only failure I see here is the setting of expectations. Had Ford said Q1 22 in the first place no one here would be complaining, instead they'd be anticipating. As a software developer myself I've learned over the years to under promise and over deliver. Always build in a buffer and if the buffer isn't used then it looks like we were way ahead of schedule. If the buffer is used then we're on time.

It's possible that Ford did this and it went way beyond the buffer. But you can bet that they've learned from this and will create larger buffers in the future.

Truth. Something I learned a long time ago as a fellow software developer. Also the other thing is if you are going to make your deadline and burn threw your buffer you over communicated that and starting being very open on why are you going to miss it. Being silent like ford is doing is one of the worse things. Being open on the issues buys a lot of good will.

 

[RickMachE]

I don’t understand why the updates taste so long to install. 2-hours to download the software from Ford and then 4-8 hours to install? Is the hardware that underpowered that it takes 8 hours? Is this just lack of training or an actual issue with the car?

Speed of update is governed by a few things, including the speed of the internet connection at the dealership and the speed of the interfacing computer/device that loads it into the car's systems, which have speed issues also.

My dealer asked me to not wait for a recent TSB that was updating several modules, and indicated a big issue was download speed, saying sometimes Ford has slow speed. Car was there for 8 hours or so, no idea how long any of the updates actually took or if it was ready sooner.

 

[DYohn]

Delayed due to still solving issues? Good news.

 

[Mirak]

I don't suggest BC is a learning or evolving product where it provide feedback to a mothership and new software updates are made machine-learning style ala Tesla. And thus far your analysis of BC seems accurate. I was pointing out that the delay did not appear to be for needed upgrades to the BC software itself.

Instead OTA updates need to be refined. Ford has the software, they just need a better way to get it to us. And that is what is frustrating. The cake is already baked, but only new buyers of the same vehicle with the same hardware get it. Is it something I stay up at night over, no. But to potentially need to wait another 3-5 months to get an already completed software program on my updatable hardware seems silly.

It is reasonable to assume Ford will be able to tweak and update the software to make some improvements. The way I understood GM's SuperCruise, it was using the lidar mapping process to actually help the vehicle stay centered using high accuracy GPS. I am not aware if Ford's system does or will eventually have a similar capability. But BC would be a major improvement over current lane-centering if it only stops nagging me every 15-20 seconds when my hands are already on the wheel.

I agree with almost everything you said, including that the hand nanny is too sensitive. But $600 seems awfully steep just to replace one nanny with a different yet potentially equally problematic nanny. I’m tempted to got the $6 ankle weight route at 1/100th of the cost first. Either way, you’ve got to watch the road. Ford just isn’t offering enough here for $600 if it doesn’t actually improve the LC.

 

[kltye]

Speed of update is governed by a few things, including the speed of the internet connection at the dealership and the speed of the interfacing computer/device that loads it into the car's systems, which have speed issues also.

My dealer asked me to not wait for a recent TSB that was updating several modules, and indicated a big issue was download speed, saying sometimes Ford has slow speed. Car was there for 8 hours or so, no idea how long any of the updates actually took or if it was ready sooner.

Sorry, your dealer is probably full of crap. I've sat in front of my apartment building, with suboptimal WiFi, and the download portion of it takes very little time at all. (I've done with at least 5-6 times over sperate occasions) Again, the longest update was the famous IPMA, which took about two minutes to download, and two hours to install. The high-speed CANBUS is limited to 512kbps, so uploading a couple gigs with that link takes some time.

 

[Mathington]

Sorry, your dealer is probably full of crap. I've sat in front of my apartment building, with suboptimal WiFi, and the download portion of it takes very little time at all. (I've done with at least 5-6 times over sperate occasions) Again, the longest update was the famous IPMA, which took about two minutes to download, and two hours to install. The high-speed CANBUS is limited to 512kbps, so uploading a couple gigs with that link takes some time.

Wow, only 512kbps on the CANBUS? That's painfully slow but perhaps they saved the other half of the bandwidth for regular operation of the car modules.

 

[benk016]

I agree with almost everything you said, including that the hand nanny is too sensitive. But $600 seems awfully steep just to replace one nanny with a different yet potentially equally problematic nanny. I’m tempted to got the $6 ankle weight route at 1/100th of the cost first. Either way, you’ve got to watch the road. Ford just isn’t offering enough here for $600 if it doesn’t actually improve the LC.

I spent around 150 miles this weekend using BC. It definitely is an upgrade to LC. Out of those 150 miles, I had to put my hands back on the wheel for a whole 40 seconds. There was one spot where there was a toll booth that you have to exit and re-enter to pay or keep going straight if you have a Toll Tag. The 20 seconds in each direction you're going through it, required hands on the wheel. Other than that I only touched the wheel to change lanes to pass someone.

Traditional LC has always had problems trying to follow the Right line into a turn lane or exit lane. Using BC this didn't happen one time. It even handles areas with the lines on the road worn away and barely visible very well.

They have already said this is a product that will get better with time, and already, in my opinion, BC is worth the $600 for 3 years.

If you never take your car on a trip on a highway, maybe its not worth it to you. But for me its a no-brainer. Especially after using it. I do wish they would actually give a detailed map of where it is available which would make that decision easier on activating it or not. Or at least show on the navigation which roads its supported on.

 

[Burnsy8787]

Image that...

Enjoy your billions now Ford, because the way you are treating your customer and the way you have approached the software side of the EV it will be short lived. You just happen to be the first "major" established moto company that put out an EV with a popular pony attached to it and riding the EV train that is happening right now.

Things would have to DRASTICLY change for me to buy another Ford EV. The car hardware its self is up to snuff, its a good looking car, but the software is Alpha quality at best.

I don't know why anyone is shocked by this. Ford will not support this car a year from now. The UI of the infotainment will be exactly the same 10 years down the road. They don't understand OTA updates and why consumers want them. To them, it is stupid because if they make it better, we won't go out and buy the newest model.

 

[newtruckinfl]

One question hopefully those more tech savvy then me can answer is what is the potentially six month delay between 3rd quarter 2021 and by end of first quarter of 2022? Is it because Ford has literally not figured out how to send this update via OTA? And if that is the case, is it possible they won't be able to figure it out?

 

[Jimrpa]

Ford is attempting to grow share with the Mach-E and take customers away from Tesla at the moment. That's the way you grow a business. You don't just talk to the fan boys and fan girls, you grow share.

This decision, and your argument, is short sighted on two fronts. First early adaptors can be your most vocal supporters and evangelist. When you are entering a new category you don't want these folks complaining about your product to folks that ask "Who do you like your Mach-E?". You want them singing your praises. There is a limited number of Mach-E owners so the voice of each is amplified as it's the only Mach-E owner some people will ever talk to.

Second, when you are growing share and bringing in new customers you need to deliver on the promises that brought these customers in. Ford has made many of them, and while you might not personally see value in them Ford clearly did which is why they announced them.

BlueCruise for many is a key feature. Delaying it from from Sumer, to September, to October, to Q1 2021 is major set of slips. It was just a few weeks ago that a Ford executive talked publicly about this update coming in September/October.

It's not a safety issue or problem with the software or Ford would be pulling from new cars. The software is done, it's on cars coming later off the factory floor, this is a problem with their OTA system. There is a short term solution, let dealers install the updates to customers that request them, that keeps happy customers and good will.

Ford announced Alexa integration is May of this year. While you might not be personally interested some folks are. They have failed to meet those dates at present and have not given any update.

Look at the PowerUp updates. You mock them as "playing tik-tack toe" but there are plenty of other useful features in there. For me personally I use Waze and would love the feature to have the next term in the dash screen like the Ford nav app. Some people want the security features in 1.4 that they haven't received. Some people just want bug fixes to problems they have that they have yet to receive.

Ford promised that the Mach-E would get better with these updates. It was a core promise of the car that Ford executives often make in public. Look at the rollout of these updates. Some people are still waiting for months for older ones. Most people don't have the latest, yet they are installed on new cars for months already with no way for existing customers to get them.

We all paid $50K based on promises of improvement. We all know there be some bumps but the bumps keep coming. The way to run a business is to have a plan B to help smooth the road if you can't deliver repeatedly.

Failing to meet promises you have made to customers is not a way to run a company for long term success.

Building a software platform that takes 4 to 8 hours of a tech's time to update is not the way to run a business either. It's 2021, if you need a tech to spend 4 to 8 hours to update minor bug fixes how can you defend that as a good way to run a company? If it is as labor intensive as you say the entire software team should be fired.

The way to run a company is to keep your promises. If you can't ship an OTA successfully at least have another solution to keep your promises. Yes it will cost in the short term but the long term good will and word of month in a new product area is critical to success. Ford beat expectations by close to a billion dollars. Paying dealers to install BC and other updates for Mach-E owners that requested them would be a rounding error in this extra billion and would pay for it's self over time with positive word of mouth leading to increased sales.


What I say when folks ask me my thoughts on my Mach-E. It's a A hardware platform, with C- software currently, and sadly an F ability to upgrade that software.

alexa is a false equivalence. It does nothing to alter or enhance the driving experience. All it does is enable you to buy more useless crap from Amazon while driving at 70 mph. And I’m pretty sure there are Alexa apps for both android and iOS.
BlueCruise does offer the opportunity to alter (and for some, enhance) the driving experience, which is why we want it.

 

[benk016]

One question hopefully those more tech savvy then me can answer is what is the potentially six month delay between 3rd quarter 2021 and by end of first quarter of 2022? Is it because Ford has literally not figured out how to send this update via OTA? And if that is the case, is it possible they won't be able to figure it out?

Unfortunately, we don't know. OTA's are still coming out. Just in VERY small batches currently. Best guess is they've identified an issue or possible issue, and are using the 1.7.1 OTA to try and get the issues resolved before doing bigger releases.

 

[Mirak]

I spent around 150 miles this weekend using BC. It definitely is an upgrade to LC. Out of those 150 miles, I had to put my hands back on the wheel for a whole 40 seconds. There was one spot where there was a toll booth that you have to exit and re-enter to pay or keep going straight if you have a Toll Tag. The 20 seconds in each direction you're going through it, required hands on the wheel. Other than that I only touched the wheel to change lanes to pass someone.

Traditional LC has always had problems trying to follow the Right line into a turn lane or exit lane. Using BC this didn't happen one time. It even handles areas with the lines on the road worn away and barely visible very well.

They have already said this is a product that will get better with time, and already, in my opinion, BC is worth the $600 for 3 years.

If you never take your car on a trip on a highway, maybe its not worth it to you. But for me its a no-brainer. Especially after using it. I do wish they would actually give a detailed map of where it is available which would make that decision easier on activating it or not. Or at least show on the navigation which roads its supported on.

Well this is certainly a different data point that @DevSecOps. Thanks.

Sponsored