OTA bricked my car

[johnfredmay]

(UPDATE on page 4)

My 2021 extended-range AWD Premium attempted an OTA update on Friday night and had catastrophic results. My car is now undrivable.

Here are some details:

• I do not know the update number and cannot find it now. My car is fairly up-to-date with its software. (EDIT: the attempted update was 6.8.0)
• I can access the car with my FordPass app and use PAAK to open the car.
• The odometer in my FordPass app is now displaying either 5 miles or 39 miles (it flips between the two), even though I have ~25000 miles on the car. We will see what the car's odometer says when I get it back.
• The vehicle health report in my FordPass health still shows a big green checkmark and says "no issues found".
• The gauge cluster screen does not turn on at all.
• The center screen displays a message that the car is out-of-commission. CarPlay works and will hide the warning message if my phone connects.
• The center screen gives directions on how to get the car into neutral so it can be pushed: simultaneously press the accelerator and brake pedals and turn the drive select dial to N, then press the L button. The emergency brake engages and disengages as required. The backup camera will turn on if I rotate through R on the drive select dial.
• The car accepts L2 charging and updates the charge level in the App.
• Ford initiated a call to me the morning after the failed update. They had Roadside assistance tow the car to the local dealer on Saturday. The local dealer's service department is not open on weekends and so I had to wait two days to get an update from them. There is no loaner vehicle available for me.
• My car is parked on the street outside the dealer now. The car is sending my FordPass app alerts that the 12V battery is low and that there is an electrical system drain. I hope this issue does not kill my 12V battery.
• Ford offered reimbursement for a rental car at $60/day, payable by them at some future time. This is not enough reimbursement to get an equivalent-class rental in my region, so I'm going to be out-of-pocket for around $20/day (after reimbursement kicks in) until my Mach-E is back to me. Getting a smaller and cheaper car is not an option for me because I have two carseats for my kids, including a rear-facing one that takes up a lot of seat pitch. The 4Runner I was upgraded to is very nice and I'm confident that it will not be remotely disabled by Toyota. The drawback to the 4Runner is the terrible fuel economy that I have to pay for while my EV is getting repaired.
• My dealer says the repair will take a week or two. They will do the HVJB recall at the same time since I already had an appointment for this scheduled later this month. Since I don't have a solid timetable for the repair I'm having to extend my rental car manually every few days. I don't want to keep the rental after my Mach-E is repaired since my reimbursement eligibility is only good while the Mach-E is in the shop.

Overall, I'm pretty frustrated that an OTA update can completely disable my car, and I've now lost a lot of confidence in the vehicle. The car died the day after I returned from a two-week work trip in SE Asia, and my wife was driving the car while I was away. She and our two toddlers did a 400-mile roundtrip drive to her parent's house in a rural part of Oregon while I was gone. This would have been an incredibly-huge hassle if it would have happened while she was travelling. I know that OTA updates are technically difficult, but am shocked that there is even the smallest chance of a failed update causing a complete failure of the car's systems.

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[rugedraw]

Ah crap. VIN?

 

[johnfredmay]

Ah crap. VIN?

3FMTK3SU0MMA63204

 

[RickMachE]

Ford will also reimburse for the gas you pay for, after the fact.

 

[johnfredmay]

Ford will also reimburse for the gas you pay for, after the fact.

Good to know. I'll keep my receipts for that. Thanks!

 

[rugedraw]

It was IPC update 6.8.0. Vehicle got stuck in inhibit mode. Dealer can fix it in minutes with FDRS.

I'm sorry for the mission you're going through, but I'm just glad it wasn't the BC 1.4 update. That would mean even more delays.

Veh

 

[johnfredmay]

It was IPC update 6.8.0. Vehicle got stuck in inhibit mode. Dealer can fix it in minutes with FDRS.

I'm sorry for the mission you're going through, but I'm just glad it wasn't the BC 1.4 update. That would mean even more delays.

Veh

Thanks for the info on this. It seems like a fluke and I'm glad that others are not having this problem often. I hope Ford can figure out how to prevent this sort of thing so we can continue getting our software improved without delays.

 

[rugedraw]

Thanks for the info on this. It seems like a fluke and I'm glad that others are not having this problem often. I hope Ford can figure out how to prevent this sort of thing so we can continue getting our software improved without delays.

This is a VERY rare occurrence indeed.

 

[johnfredmay]

Thanks for the info on this. It seems like a fluke and I'm glad that others are not having this problem often. I hope Ford can figure out how to prevent this sort of thing so we can continue getting our software improved without delays.

It's still wild to me that an update that includes the release notes "we've made an enhancement to let you know that if your frunk is ever ajar, you will now hear a louder chime" can turn my car into a rolling paperweight.

 

[rugedraw]

It's still wild to me that an update that includes the release notes "we've made an enhancement to let you know that if your frunk is ever ajar, you will now hear a louder chime" can turn my car into a rolling paperweight.

This can only happen with updates that require the vehicle to be inhibited; regardless of whether update is major or minor. The BCM does not release the vehicle from inhibit mode once and goes into it, and this is the result. I can imagine how frustrating this is and all things considered, I think you're taking it pretty well.

 

[johnfredmay]

This can only happen with updates that require the vehicle to be inhibited; regardless of whether update is major or minor. The BCM does not release the vehicle from inhibit mode once and goes into it, and this is the result. I can imagine how frustrating this is and all things considered, I think you're taking it pretty well.

I assume that I did nothing wrong and that I can't do anything differently in the future to prevent this. I got unlucky and this very likely won't happen again.

Unfortunately, many in my work and social circles seem to take this as an opportunity to show that EVs are not ready for mass adoption. The fact that this is not caused by the electric drivetrain doesn't matter to them.

 

[Snakebitten]

Yeah, there are no ICE vehicles in the service bays of any dealerships. Nor are there any tow trucks that ever have ICE vehicles on the hook.

Friends without EV's are still friends, of course. But their opinions carry less weight. I know, because I used to be one of them. And it wasn't that long ago.

Crow taste like chicken, it turns out.
I don't mind eating it.

 

[rugedraw]

I assume that I did nothing wrong and that I can't do anything differently in the future to prevent this. I got unlucky and this very likely won't happen again.

Unfortunately, many in my work and social circles seem to take this as an opportunity to show that EVs are not ready for mass adoption. The fact that this is not caused by the electric drivetrain doesn't matter to them.

No, you did nothing wrong and could not have done anything differently. This could have and has happened to ICE vehicles, as well. If you lived close to me, I could have your vehicle back on the road in minutes.

 

[thekat03]

Software updates can and have bricked ICE vehicles. This is a consequence of the increasing computerization of cars.

 

[AtomicInternet]

A quick Google search will find several OTA bricked ICE vehicles if you want to send your friends those links lol

X5 bricked while performing OTA software update - Page 2 (bimmerpost.com)

My favorite was the radio station that sent logos without file extensions and bricked a bunch of Mazdas

Radio station snafu in Seattle bricks some Mazda infotainment systems | Ars Technica

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