OTA bricked car

[Jesse-Infotainment]

I was just about ready to leave to my in-law's house with a car full of presents, and I go to turn the car on and get this same message. To say I'm annoyed is an understatement. I thankfully have another vehicle that I had to scurry to re-pack everything into.. but how is this scenario remotely acceptable in any circumstance?!

I called the number on the screen, and it just took me to a customer service line where they then transferred me (unsuccessfully) to roadside assistance. I had to call back to get redirected again. And somehow the only option is to get it towed to the dealer. I don't have time for this nonsense

Can you send me your Vin?

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[ricapar]

Hey folks! Got both of your PMs. I’ll reply back to you. Was busy with family/holiday stuff

As of right now my plan is to get it towed to the dealer in the 26th. Wasn’t my intended use of my day off.. but oh well ?‍

 

[rugedraw]

The update that bricked his car is OBCC update 23-PU0722-DC-CHG3. PTS does not provide any helpful info. According to PTS, the update was supposed to canceled by the server, but obviously something happened.

Correction: His car has a failed 6.8.0 update on 12/19 that put the vehicle into inhibit to install and failed. Looks like it was that one. Waiting on @ricapar to confirm something via PM to confirm.

 

[ericNdfw]

I think that's overreacting a bit IMO. OTA bricks are rare, and they will stop OTA deployments immediately if this happens. So it's not really necessary to turn auto updates off because Ford responds to these issues and stops updates themselves if necessary.

If you're super concerned, then turn them back on after a week or two, but otherwise you'll miss out on important updates and could get left behind.

I'm not saying I'm not taking any updates - I will be checking and doing it manually for now and checking online to make sure other Job 1 owners have successfully taken the update first. I have no time for a bricked car.

 

[rugedraw]

I'm not saying I'm not taking any updates - I will be checking and doing it manually for now and checking online to make sure other Job 1 owners have successfully taken the update first. I have no time for a bricked car.

If you have FDRS to update the modules, then you would be able to fix it yourself should this happen to you.

 

[ericNdfw]

If you have FDRS to update the modules, then you would be able to fix it yourself should this happen to you.

True, but I'm not interested in tinkering at that level at the moment.

 

[CarsIMBwife]

I'm not saying I'm not taking any updates - I will be checking and doing it manually for now and checking online to make sure other Job 1 owners have successfully taken the update first. I have no time for a bricked car.

Job 1 owner here. Successfully loaded these recently:

• 23-PU0722-DC-CHG3 on 12/13
• 6.7 on 12/15
• 6.8 on 12/18

So far, so good ?. Best of luck to you.

 

[ricapar]

So, some good news and some “meh” news.
The good: Ford gave me a call this morning confirming the failed update on 12/19. The lady handling the case was super kind and helpful. At the same time I also had roadside assistance sending a tow truck to my house. There was nothing they could do remotely. I got assigned a case number in case I need to call back.

The “meh”: the dealership is backlogged. And they only have one person who works on EVs. They can’t give me an ETA on when they’ll even look at it. Folks at the dealer didn’t seem remotely interested in trying to help No loaner but they’ll cover $45/day for a rental as long as it’s a Ford.

 

[ZombieJester]

So, some good news and some “meh” news.
The good: Ford gave me a call this morning confirming the failed update on 12/19. The lady handling the case was super kind and helpful. At the same time I also had roadside assistance sending a tow truck to my house. There was nothing they could do remotely. I got assigned a case number in case I need to call back.

The “meh”: the dealership is backlogged. And they only have one person who works on EVs. They can’t give me an ETA on when they’ll even look at it. Folks at the dealer didn’t seem remotely interested in trying to help No loaner but they’ll cover $45/day for a rental as long as it’s a Ford.

Report all of that to your BEV case manager at Ford. They can put pressure on the dealer to be a little more helpful.

Sorry this happened to you. I am curious if it's a wider issue with 6.8. My job 2 has failed multiple times trying to install it and I have seen others going through the same.

 

[Ghost Ryder]

That is a terrible decision.

Why? If you're happy with your car now as is, why risk any updates? It was really only in the last few years did we expect any OTA updates for our cars. Before then, the infotainment you got from the factory lasted the life of the car.

 

[RyZt]

And they only have one person who works on EVs. They can’t give me an ETA on when they’ll even look at it.

You don’t need an EV tech to run FDRS. Oh well, you probably know. But the dealers …

 

[Just Lurking]

You don’t need an EV tech to run FDRS. Oh well, you probably know. But the dealers …

Do all Ford models update software using FDRS? More occasionally for other models of course, but are all techs trained on it?

 

[Just Lurking]

No loaner but they’ll cover $45/day for a rental as long as it’s a Ford.

I've said this before, but shit like this is going to drive me away from Ford for my next vehicle. Here we have a situation where the car is inoperable and it's clearly Ford's fault.

I don't blame Ford for the issue (it shouldn't happen but with enough vehicles and enough updates rare situations will happen), but how they respond to the situation is everything.

No loaner? $45 and only reimbursed if it's a Ford? Where can you rent a Ford for $45 after taxes and fees? Maybe somewhere in the boonies or if a dealership has a special deal with a rental car agency, maybe. It's definitely not going to be comparable vehicle, that's for sure.

Just a terrible response by Ford.

 

[rugedraw]

Report all of that to your BEV case manager at Ford. They can put pressure on the dealer to be a little more helpful.

Sorry this happened to you. I am curious if it's a wider issue with 6.8. My job 2 has failed multiple times trying to install it and I have seen others going through the same.

Mostly likely failing due to low SoC/capacity. That is very common with updates that require the vehicle to be inhibited. I can check in PTS with your VIN. PM if you prefer to keep it private.

Do all Ford models update software using FDRS? More occasionally for other models of course, but are all techs trained on it?

Yes, all newer Fords can be updated with FDRS. Because of the high voltage risks associated with EV's, dealers will have one or two techs with the additional training required to work on these vehicles. With that said: To fix this, you do not need to mess with the high voltage stuff, so any tech can do it. Because the dealer does not know what the problem is, they will wait for the EV certified tech to get to it in case more than just module programming is needed to fix it.

 

[AlpaChino]

I've said this before, but shit like this is going to drive me away from Ford for my next vehicle. Here we have a situation where the car is inoperable and it's clearly Ford's fault.

I don't blame Ford for the issue (it shouldn't happen but with enough vehicles and enough updates rare situations will happen), but how they respond to the situation is everything.

No loaner? $45 and only reimbursed if it's a Ford? Where can you rent a Ford for $45 after taxes and fees? Maybe somewhere in the boonies or if a dealership has a special deal with a rental car agency, maybe. It's definitely not going to be comparable vehicle, that's for sure.

Just a terrible response by Ford.

I think we are in for a rough near future. Every single brand has software issues, but I sincerely hope that Kia/Hyundai gets it smoothed out by the time I'm ready to move on from my MME. They've got some attractive offerings, solid innovations, and seem to be pushing charging speeds in the right direction.

Add a legitimate frunk to an Ionic 5 or 6 and I'd order one now.

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