Update Failure-Car Bricked

[Carlos R]

Well it took 9000 miles but sadly I have joined the club. Today message Automatic Update Failure and car won’t shift to Drive. Waiting for a tow to dealership. Very frustrating, yet not surprised after being on this forum. Any advice will be appreciated since it’s my first rodeo.

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[ack154]

Not sure what the update was that caused it, but have you tried disconnecting the 12V battery for about 10 min and see if that makes any difference?

 

[Gimme_my_MME]

If you have the message on the sync screen that says update failed and you need a tow, DO NOT DISCONNECT 12V

 

[Mach-Lee]

Yeah, just call the number and get the tow, don’t mess with it. You’ll get priority treatment.

 

[Carlos R]

So here is an update. Spoke with Ford numerous times, set up to get car delivered to nearest dealer. Contacted dealer to let them know to expect the car.
5:50pm still waiting for the Ford requested tow company to arrive.
Entire day shot, couldn’t even go get a rental since I have been standing by waiting for tow. Numerous calls and text, always same BS answer just an hour away.
Horrible, Horrible. Love the car but I’m having second thoughts if this happens again.

 

[pikepilot]

Probably don't want to hear this, but make sure the tow is a flatbed. Very similar situation where I had to wait hours for a tow only to have them show up without a flatbed.

 

[Carlos R]

Well now it has been scheduled to be picked up on Saturday noon, giving me time to run and get a rental so I don’t run thru same issue as today.
Lets keep our fingers crossed that the new tow company arrives with a flat bed and can get the car out of the garage which is not a flat driveway

 

[AZMMESTAR]

If you have the message on the sync screen that says update failed and you need a tow, DO NOT DISCONNECT 12V

Please explain: Why?

 

[Gimme_my_MME]

Please explain: Why?

If you have an event where the OTA update fails to leave inhibit due to an issue and the message comes up on sync that says you need to be towed and gives you a phone number, there is NOTHING you can do to rectify that. It will need a dealer to connect up to it, fix the update, AND most importantly get it out of that state. If you disconnect 12v you risk masking that issue with something else and they might miss the code that tells them exactly what to do.

Basically, you can't fix it and will likely make it worse

 

[Snakebitten]

I don't know if I can completely agree.
I WOULD want to know exactly which update failed. At that point at least I know which module is in play.

I think you'd be surprised just how possible it is to rescue a module that is in "bricked" status. And depending on which module it is, if disconnecting the battery rescued the vehicle from inhibit status, I might be able to drive the car to the dealership. (or home, in my case, just to see if I could unbrick it myself)

 

[eastern refugee]

What year is the car?? My 2021 bricked twice. On YouTube it tells you how to jump the car. It is easy. If it is a bricking issue then the repair is quite simple. First off DO NOT DISCONNECT THE BATTERY. If you do then the error codes disappear for ever. The issue is the big battery is not charging the small one which is how the car starts. The connected wiring has to be replaced and the small 12 Volt battery has to be replaced. If you jump the car which is simple it will start and you can drive to the dealer. The small battery costs $250 plus a $15 core charge which will be retuned if you use the same dealer. I had points so the battery cost me $15. The labor to change the wiring etc was $45. It is really not a big deal.

what is crucial are the codes. Disconnecting the battery erases ALL of the codes. Just jump it and drive it to dealer.

 

[Desertskibum8]

Just curious about why a flat bed tow truck. When my 2023 went comatose, Ford told me specifically to get a tow truck with lift arm and dollies as they didn’t want the car dragged into a flat bed.

 

[Carlos R]

Thanks might end up doing this.
After one entire day of waiting for Towing company that never showed. Got another one by Ford Road Assistance second day, it seems my driveway is too steep for the flat bed truck to get to car.
so now waiting on dealer to send Monday a mobile unit to see if we can get car started.
Got a rental that Ford is paying for, so ok as long as they can get the Mach E started on Monday.
i just don’t understand why they haven’t come up with a solution that when this happens it will just give you a message and send you to dealer, not brick the car.

 

[Johnny572]

What was the update # ???

 

[Mach-Lee]

Thanks might end up doing this.
After one entire day of waiting for Towing company that never showed. Got another one by Ford Road Assistance second day, it seems my driveway is too steep for the flat bed truck to get to car.
so now waiting on dealer to send Monday a mobile unit to see if we can get car started.
Got a rental that Ford is paying for, so ok as long as they can get the Mach E started on Monday.
i just don’t understand why they haven’t come up with a solution that when this happens it will just give you a message and send you to dealer, not brick the car.

I agree the best solution would be for the dealer to send a mobile mechanic with FDRS to deinhibit the car and re-apply the failed software update.

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