What happens when Ford stops supporting our connected services?

ChrisO

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I thought you could do that with Android Auto/Google Maps.
Android Auto can do pre-conditioning but only if the Ford navigation subscription is active.

I don’t have android auto, so maybe it does have that capability. It doesn’t seem to with CarPlay though.
From CoPilot:
According to Ford’s official documentation A B:

“En-Route Preconditioning enables when you:
• Choose a DC fast charger from the list of nearby chargers
• Plan a route that includes a DC fast charging stop with Connected Navigation
• Navigate with Android Auto™ to a destination that requires a stop at a DC fast charger”

This means Android Auto must route you to a recognized DC fast charger, and Ford’s system must be able to detect that charger as a valid pre-conditioning trigger.

---

⚠ Limitations and Gotchas

• Apple CarPlay does not support this — only Android Auto is compatible.
• You still need an active Connected Navigation subscription for the backend to process the route and trigger pre-conditioning.
• Pre-conditioning won’t activate if:• You’re predicted to arrive with less than 5% battery or under 10 miles of range.
• The charger isn’t recognized by Ford’s system.
• You’re navigating to a Tesla Supercharger (not yet supported).
• You’re using Apple CarPlay or a third-party app that doesn’t pass route metadata properly.



---

🧠 What’s Happening Behind the Scenes

When you use Android Auto to navigate to a DC fast charger:

• The Mach-E’s system listens for metadata from the route, including destination type.
• If the destination is flagged as a DC fast charger and the car has sufficient battery and range, Ford’s backend triggers the thermal management system to begin pre-conditioning.
• This uses excess heating/cooling capacity, so cabin climate settings can affect its effectiveness.
 

DYohn

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I don't want to use my phone; I don't always have it with me. Hard for some of you to believe but I'm old. I just want the in-car nav system to work and to recognize all charging stations including Tesla. I know, "Soon(tm)".
 

ChrisO

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I don't want to use my phone; I don't always have it with me. Hard for some of you to believe but I'm old. I just want the in-car nav system to work and to recognize all charging stations including Tesla. I know, "Soon(tm)".
Ford Navigation shows Tesla chargers for me.
 


ChrisO

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Hopefully it will in earlier models too. Soon.
I sort of remembering a thread where people with older models had them, but they were sorted way down on the list. The theory at the time was that because they advertise as a low max charge rate they were lower on the list. You can try typing in Tesla in the search bar and see if they come up.
 

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I sort of remembering a thread where people with older models had them, but they were sorted way down on the list. The theory at the time was that because they advertise as a low max charge rate they were lower on the list. You can try typing in Tesla in the search bar and see if they come up.
They don’t. They’re not on earlier model years.
 

mrblanc

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Android Auto can do pre-conditioning but only if the Ford navigation subscription is active.
I still have my Ford nav trial active so I can't test it myself, but other users without Ford nav have verified that it does precondition.

I don't have connected nav subscription, never have, and the last time i checked, it preconditioned, as measured by looking at the kw being consumed by the battery heater and the increasing temp of the battery over obd2.
 

superdave80

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Why would any for-profit company continue to pay staff for updating maps for free?
1. Because they have to update them anyways for new and future cars.
2. To get customers to buy the next car, because why would I buy another Ford if Ford decides after five years to not update my maps?
 

Snakebitten

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I don't think we are talking about a 5 year window. I assume most vehicles are supported for a period of that length, so it really comes down to just how long should a manufacturer be expected to burden the expense. I don't think anyone would expect it to be indefinitely.
 

SteveMach-ee

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Android Auto can do pre-conditioning but only if the Ford navigation subscription is active.



From CoPilot:
According to Ford’s official documentation A B:

“En-Route Preconditioning enables when you:
• Choose a DC fast charger from the list of nearby chargers
• Plan a route that includes a DC fast charging stop with Connected Navigation
• Navigate with Android Auto™ to a destination that requires a stop at a DC fast charger”

This means Android Auto must route you to a recognized DC fast charger, and Ford’s system must be able to detect that charger as a valid pre-conditioning trigger.

---

⚠ Limitations and Gotchas

• Apple CarPlay does not support this — only Android Auto is compatible.
• You still need an active Connected Navigation subscription for the backend to process the route and trigger pre-conditioning.
• Pre-conditioning won’t activate if:• You’re predicted to arrive with less than 5% battery or under 10 miles of range.
• The charger isn’t recognized by Ford’s system.
• You’re navigating to a Tesla Supercharger (not yet supported).
• You’re using Apple CarPlay or a third-party app that doesn’t pass route metadata properly.



---

🧠 What’s Happening Behind the Scenes

When you use Android Auto to navigate to a DC fast charger:

• The Mach-E’s system listens for metadata from the route, including destination type.
• If the destination is flagged as a DC fast charger and the car has sufficient battery and range, Ford’s backend triggers the thermal management system to begin pre-conditioning.
• This uses excess heating/cooling capacity, so cabin climate settings can affect its effectiveness.
"Android Auto can do pre-conditioning but only if the Ford navigation subscription is active. "

Not true! That info looks like typical dated AI slop to me. A mishmash of old and new content. Preconditioning works in AA/Google Maps without a Connected Navigation subscription. There are a lot of forum threads on this. My subscription expired a year ago. When I have Google Maps navigate to a charging station, the charging station icon shows up on the instrument cluster. When I'm less than 30 minutes or so out, I can hear the fluid pumps start. Try it.

Edit: Ninjaed by mrblanc
 

ChrisO

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I still have my Ford nav trial active so I can't test it myself, but other users without Ford nav have verified that it does precondition.
"Android Auto can do pre-conditioning but only if the Ford navigation subscription is active. "

Not true! That info looks like typical dated AI slop to me. A mishmash of old and new content. Preconditioning works in AA/Google Maps without a Connected Navigation subscription. There are a lot of forum threads on this. My subscription expired a year ago. When I have Google Maps navigate to a charging station, the charging station icon shows up on the instrument cluster. When I'm less than 30 minutes or so out, I can hear the fluid pumps start. Try it.
That is great news. For what it is worth, I didn't only get my information from AI on this. It was also what I had read on this forum. That is why I was willing to believe the AI response I got when I asked it for the reason that would be true. It seems that I was listening to someone that was also confused about it like me. :wink:
 

TechWhisperer

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That is great news. For what it is worth, I didn't only get my information from AI on this. It was also what I had read on this forum. That is why I was willing to believe the AI response I got when I asked it for the reason that would be true. It seems that I was listening to someone that was also confused about it like me. :wink:
I can also confirm it's pre-conditioning without a nav subscription. I run the car scanner app with my OBD sensor plugged in and when I select a charger in google maps via android auto, I can see the heater turn on and start to use power, as well as the temperature of the battery goes up. Of course if it's a hot day, then no pre-conditioning is typically necessary. Although I guess it could cool the battery in some cases, but the power draw for AC is a lot less than Heat.
 

Space_Pony

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It's good to stop misinformation that gets distributed by somebody that believes AI has all of the answers.
I still have my connected sync navigation but I had seen several threads indicating AA was all that was necessary to precondition.
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