Question about updates and longterm ownership

[Newtype311]

I just got my 23 GT back from a week at the dealer for a number of center console issues (freezing, crashes, buttons not working, etc.). I've always gotten my OTA updates no problem, but 19 different modules were out of date with 1-4 missing updates each. After those were updated the car worked normally again.

First off, through this process I learned that the car needed additional updates that were not OTA and that the vehicle can get into a state where version mismatches lead to critical instability. I'm clearly late to the party, but here I am.

Secondly, there were multiple Mach E's at the dealership that needed the same sort of update work and the technician hinted that at least one of them was out of warranty (over 50k miles) and the owner needed to decide if they wanted to spend the $2500 to get the updates. This is my concern.

Will there always be software updates that require dealership service that could potentially cost thousands of dollars? There was nothing "wrong" with the car, it just needed the latest updates essentially. This seems like the sort of thing that should only cost the service technician's hourly labor rate, at best. I can't think of another instance at the consumer level where you'd have to pay for software/firmware updates for an existing license. If this is the case, then I guess I need to start studying that FDRS DIY guide...

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[Kamuelaflyer]

Dealers will generally not do an update for free unless it’s a specific warranty issue or there is an outstanding Ford CSP which calls for free to the customer work. Out of date modules are almost always going to be at owner’s expense.

Extended warranties at a discount are available online from a couple of different Ford dealerships, unless you’re a California or Florida resident. They may or may not be worth considering.

 

[garyd9]

The ultimate choice for updating modules is an FDRS setup. Then you can update your own modules at home. See this thread for more info: https://www.macheforum.com/site/thr...ach-e-with-fdrs-alternative-to-forscan.10217/

 

[Jerrytball]

I just got my 23 GT back from a week at the dealer for a number of center console issues (freezing, crashes, buttons not working, etc.). I've always gotten my OTA updates no problem, but 19 different modules were out of date with 1-4 missing updates each. After those were updated the car worked normally again.

First off, through this process I learned that the car needed additional updates that were not OTA and that the vehicle can get into a state where version mismatches lead to critical instability. I'm clearly late to the party, but here I am.

Secondly, there were multiple Mach E's at the dealership that needed the same sort of update work and the technician hinted that at least one of them was out of warranty (over 50k miles) and the owner needed to decide if they wanted to spend the $2500 to get the updates. This is my concern.

Will there always be software updates that require dealership service that could potentially cost thousands of dollars? There was nothing "wrong" with the car, it just needed the latest updates essentially. This seems like the sort of thing that should only cost the service technician's hourly labor rate, at best. I can't think of another instance at the consumer level where you'd have to pay for software/firmware updates for an existing license. If this is the case, then I guess I need to start studying that FDRS DIY guide...

I’m not sure if my answer is any Comfort but I bought a 19 mustang GT off of Carvana and it was way behind on updates and I took it to the quick lane at the local Ford dealer, which I never bought a car from and I said it looks like my Vehicle needs several updates from what I’m reading and they just took the car in the back for about 20 minutes and updated everything and brought the car out. Have a nice day never even charged me so I don’t know.
But on another note, my 23 Mach e have not been getting updates and I took it into the dealer and they kept it for several weeks replaced some stuff and now I’m getting updates all the time but before that I was not getting any updates and the car was running fine so if it’s running fine and working worry about an update ?

 

[bshaw]

Not every module in the car can be updated via OTA. Many/most can, but not all. So yes, studying the FDRS DIY and making a small investment in equipment & license really is the best companion to a MachE right now (and Lightning, but I don't have one).

I think Ford will have to make it more clear the difference between bug fix OTA, and new features OTA. Maybe for long term ownership, you only get bug fixes pushed free down to your car after the warranty period ends.
The feature stuff starts to get blurry when considering subscription-based things like BlueCruise and Connected Nav. In those cases, since you're paying, then I would expect features to be added for long term ownership subscribers.

Ford has gotten better with the ability to ship OTAs in the past ~3-yrs, but they still have a long ways to go.

 

[rugedraw]

You're going to get mixed opinions on this. If the dealer did all outstanding updates, the OTA process will now do a decent job keeping you up to date. With that said: If you have the disposable income, having the tools needed for FDRS is still a good thing to have in your possession. IMO, of course.

Example: The deployable running boards on my truck stated acting erratically the other day. Plugged in FDRS and ran a self-text on the DSM to force them to recalibrate and problem solved. No trip to the dealer to leave the vehicle there for 3 days for something that can be fixed in 3 minutes.

 

[garyd9]

I think Ford will have to make it more clear the difference between bug fix OTA, and new features OTA. Maybe for long term ownership, you only get bug fixes pushed free down to your car after the warranty period ends.

One unresolved issue with OTA updates is going to be what happens when Ford sends an OTA to a car that somehow breaks the car, but the car is out of warranty (or the car was in warranty when it got the update but was out of warranty when the owner reported a problem.)

My opinion is that if Ford pushes the update and it breaks something, Ford should fix whatever broke. Others are of the opinion that customers should be responsible and they turn off OTA updates when their warranty is about to expire to ensure they don't get any "broken" updates.

This is probably an argument that won't get resolved until it gets into the courts...

 

[Jerrytball]

You're going to get mixed opinions on this. If the dealer did all outstanding updates, the OTA process will now do a decent job keeping you up to date. With that said: If you have the disposable income, having the tools needed for FDRS is still a good thing to have in your possession. IMO, of course.

Example: The deployable running boards on my truck stated acting erratically the other day. Plugged in FDRS and ran a self-text on the DSM to force them to recalibrate and problem solved. No trip to the dealer to leave the vehicle there for 3 days for something that can be fixed in 3 minutes.

How did Will Smith say it, I’m moving to Miami avi avi lol

 

[RickMachE]

Updates should only be the hourly rate, but some take many hours. They don't seem to charge for 30 min of tech when the update runs by itself for 3 hours.

 

[JohnFoxeSheets]

This is the kind of thing that made me decide to get Ford PremiumCare when I bought the car. As others have said, it can be gotten online where you are. I got 8 years/100K miles and basically everything is covered (except consumables). I will almost certainly sell the car when it expires. In addition to being able to resolve any s/w issues for free, if any significant module dies, the extended warranty will likely pay for itself. But setting FDRS is certainly an option, though the annual subscription cost is around a grand... (Some folks do periodic short term subscriptions instead.)

 

[bshaw]

One unresolved issue with OTA updates is going to be what happens when Ford sends an OTA to a car that somehow breaks the car

Hard to say for sure, but this seems to have been pretty rare, and Ford hit the brakes very quickly on the particular OTA when it did render the car inoperable for some people. Non-catastrophic OTA failures seem to happen very regularly however.

But agreed, it should be on Ford to restore a vehicle to prior condition if an OTA causes any malfunction (regardless of warranty status).

 

[ack154]

The ultimate choice for updating modules is an FDRS setup. Then you can update your own modules at home. See this thread for more info: https://www.macheforum.com/site/thr...ach-e-with-fdrs-alternative-to-forscan.10217/

I've been trying to avoid digging into this (it's totally up my alley) because I'd just like to be able to have the car and drive it and not worry about updates/software and such like I do with other devices, but I feel like it's eventually going to happen.

 

[garyd9]

I've been trying to avoid digging into this (it's totally up my alley) because I'd just like to be able to have the car and drive it and not worry about updates/software and such like I do with other devices, but I feel like it's eventually going to happen.

Give in to the dark side....

 

[bshaw]

Give in to the dark side....

Haha. Yes, learn the dark arts of FDRS! Once you buy the cable and power supply, then do a $50 license a couple of times per year, and feel pretty good about being up-to-date.

If anything, it's wayyy less worrisome than praying for OTA to come from the sky.

 

[garyd9]

Haha. Yes, learn the dark arts of FDRS! Once you buy the cable and power supply, then do a $50 license a couple of times per year, and feel pretty good about being up-to-date.

If anything, it's wayyy less worrisome than praying for OTA to come from the sky.

Another advantage: So far, there haven't been any unrecoverable errors/issues with updating via FDRS. Even when everything seems to go wrong, people have been able to recover on their own.

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