BlueCruise not available until second half 2022 - says Ford customer service

[Lippy]

Hang on. This data point is from a random customer service rep. They probably didn’t know what they were talking about. Ford announced its delayed into Q1 but nothing more, so let’s wait and see.

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[gtotco]

Hang on. This data point is from a random customer service rep. They probably didn’t know what the Lu were talking about. Ford announced its delayed into Q1 but nothing more, so let’s wait and see.

Yeah my thought on this too. Having been contacted by a customer service rep through here im skeptical of their knowledge regarding any of this.

If they are senior enough to actually know I would assume they are also senior enough to know that there are more appropriate channels for transmitting these updates (this is why companies have marketing and PR teams).
I also have worked with enough large organizations to know they don’t operate this well, so maybe it is a factual statement but err to this is a datapoint and needs to be substantiated by more before the collective freak out.

 

[n8dgr8]

BC is ok. It came with my truck in December. It cuts out on corners, snow, tunnels, and whenever I take a drink of water. It doesn't work on 2 lane highways either. My kids ask me why I keep my hands on the steering wheel when the truck says "hands free"? At any second it will give up and I need to take over. It isn't like you can go on a 3 hour road trip and have it drive the whole way without requiring human intervention. I feel like I need to resume steering every couple of minutes.

If I was promised it, I would be upset that I didn't have it. However, it is only a slight improvement over the existing lane centering and adaptive cruise control. There is less nagging that your hands are not on the steering wheel. BC is not life changing.

 

[charliecbp]

@charliecbp how did you get a Customer Service Manager on the phone?
[/QUOT

I have spoken with The Customer service reps, the OTA reps and the OTA "escalated Reps", each time the message is different, yesterday I called the Ford Customer service # and once someone answered I asked to speak to a Manager, they took my number and a manager did call me back within a few hours, but was absolutely NO HELP WHATSOEVER.

2 weeks ago I called Ford to ask when BC was going to be available and how to address the OTA's that I don't get and the Ford Rep told me to schedule with my local dealership to have the latest and greatest software loaded and have BC activated, she said they could do it all right at the dealership now. I scheduled the truck in, 5 days later got it back, nothing had changed.

The day I picked the truck up I called the OTA Dept to have them ping my truck to see if they could tell what version power up or sync version I had and the first thing they said to me was you shouldn't have taken it the dealership, there is nothing they can do, we are telling everyone to be patient

I also scheduled to have the recall done on the truck for the "loose/sagging underbody insulators" That didn't get done either because parts to complete the recall are backordered at Ford.

 

[ZOSICK]

I'd much rather have led lights in my bed than BC lol. Hell, I'd settle for Ford updating their website lol. Then again, at least I can see the 2021's with items my truck won't have lol. I think Ford is really screwing their current/future customers with this latest model. Making promises they can't keep is bad for business. That being said, there will still be people like myself that buy their truck no matter what is promised. For me, there just anything else I want other than a Ford. At least right now. Bottom line, I think Ford is misleading customers. Hard to believe a company like Ford can't update their website or at a minimum, pass along information to their current/future customers.

 

[Jesse-Infotainment]

My theory makes more sense now than ever. If the early build Mach e isn’t getting it either. I really believe the ipma is the issue and that will need to be replaced on all job one and early production Mach e in order for blue cruise to work. The job 2 trucks have a newer ipma. I am willing to bet you drop a newer ipma in a job 1 truck and bc will be available. Only problem is the new ipma is about 3k versus the early ipma being 500$
This fully explains why they are more money also. I always wondered why the price jump.

 

[snyce1]

I just got off the phone with a Ford Customer Service Manager, she told me that BlueCruise would not be available until the second half of the this year, no offer of compensation of any kind, she just kept on saying she understood my frustration.

I am by no means a conspiracy theorist although I am beginning to think that the job 1 build may never get BC, there just aren't that many Job 1 builds out there, first promised by the end of the 3rd quarter, then maybe by Christmas, then January, now second half of 2022.

Ford can just keep ignoring the relatively few of us that this affects. It will also drive the trade value down, if the truck does not have and cannot get BC.

My 2021 has blue cruise active level 1 meaning it does hands free on mapped highways but wont navigate yet (Level2). FORD may be too busy figuring out the problems w Sync4 (Stink4). Many frustrating errors . Also powerboost w Generator unfortunate errors in more % than they would admit . My powerboost has fault in Generator that cannot be reset and if stays on if it rains the fault stays and Generator wont work. They say software but i dont think any software gets wet !
Woukd not buy a Ford truck with this quality control situation.

 

[BoilerTimmay]

I'm confused. Bluecruise isn't available? I just used it 5 minutes ago... Unless I'm missing something.

You’re missing something.

 

[YzermanTopShelf]

Yeah my thought on this too. Having been contacted by a customer service rep through here im skeptical of their knowledge regarding any of this.

If they are senior enough to actually know I would assume they are also senior enough to know that there are more appropriate channels for transmitting these updates (this is why companies have marketing and PR teams).
I also have worked with enough large organizations to know they don’t operate this well, so maybe it is a factual statement but err to this is a datapoint and needs to be substantiated by more before the collective freak out.

@gtotco, I agree with you - there is a high likelihood that the average support person doesn't have the latest information and large organizations struggle with communication. I've also experienced the opposite situation in my own business - a support person shares information with the customer which the company didn't want communicated.

The thing that bothers me most about the BC situation is that lack of transparency from Ford. As an engineer, I don't except an explanation as vague as saying "it is an OTA issue." I have enough experience to know that when an engineering team slips delivery multiple times and by multiple months there is a more fundamental issue.

Some of us specifically bought these trucks for BC and put our trust in Ford's ability to deliver. At a minimum they could give us the same respect and be transparent about the situation. In my business if a customer purchases my product for a feature that will be delivered in the future then I cannot recognize the revenue until the feature is delivered.

 

[gtotco]

@gtotco, I agree with you - there is a high likelihood that the average support person doesn't have the latest information and large organizations struggle with communication. I've also experienced the opposite situation in my own business - a support person shares information with the customer which the company didn't want communicated.

The thing that bothers me most about the BC situation is that lack of transparency from Ford. As an engineer, I don't except an explanation as vague as saying "it is an OTA issue." I have enough experience to know that when an engineering team slips delivery multiple times and by multiple months there is a more fundamental issue.

Some of us specifically bought these trucks for BC and put our trust in Ford's ability to deliver. At a minimum they could give us the same respect and be transparent about the situation. In my business if a customer purchases my product for a feature that will be delivered in the future then I cannot recognize the revenue until the feature is delivered.

Agree on all points. I wasn't trying to absolve Ford's (lack of) communication on the issue, just merely agreeing with the earlier poster that the anecdote should perhaps be taken with a grain of salt (for the time being at least).

The fact of the matter is that if communication were better there would not be the issue of people trying to parse these interactions (or for that matter earnings call statements) to try and discern what is going on.

I honestly am in the minority here in that I don't particularly care when this feature is released, though knowing it will be fixed at SOME point would be helpful. The fact that the company has to generally rely on a relatively unsophisticated dealer network (and apparently customer service team) for managing a lot of these discussions/interactions certainly doesn't help.

 

[mlkrouse]

I'm confused. Bluecruise isn't available? I just used it 5 minutes ago... Unless I'm missing something.

I think what they are referring to is the 2021 version with Ford CO-pilot active prep. These trucks are Snyc 4 ready and awaiting the over the air update. Later versions to include most 2022's are shipping with blue cruise installed and active. Just my opinion I could be wrong

 

[Ajzride]

My theory makes more sense now than ever. If the early build Mach e isn’t getting it either. I really believe the ipma is the issue and that will need to be replaced on all job one and early production Mach e in order for blue cruise to work. The job 2 trucks have a newer ipma. I am willing to bet you drop a newer ipma in a job 1 truck and bc will be available. Only problem is the new ipma is about 3k versus the early ipma being 500$
This fully explains why they are more money also. I always wondered why the price jump.

I can confirm my April delivery Mach-E does not have the BC OTA either. Doesn’t really bother me on that one because I didn’t buy it specifically for BC, I bought it for an around town EV.

 

[Xmerlyn]

Total Bullshit. I bought my first 21 Lariat in April and sold it in October. Then I bought a Lariat 502A Powerboost with the prep pack and expected Q3-21 Bluecruise. I heard the earnings call when the CEO said Q1-22, now it's Q3-22? What the Fuck? Ford? Did you hire Microsoft programmers? just keep kicking the can down the road? I have other quirky stuff with both of my displays. This is outrageous.

 

[nicholsbradley]

I also spoke with a so called manger yesterday and was told February- March of 22 time frame. I don't believe any of them. I think Ford CEO would lie to our face.

 

[JohnMcClane]

@gtotco, I agree with you - there is a high likelihood that the average support person doesn't have the latest information and large organizations struggle with communication. I've also experienced the opposite situation in my own business - a support person shares information with the customer which the company didn't want communicated.

The thing that bothers me most about the BC situation is that lack of transparency from Ford. As an engineer, I don't except an explanation as vague as saying "it is an OTA issue." I have enough experience to know that when an engineering team slips delivery multiple times and by multiple months there is a more fundamental issue.

Some of us specifically bought these trucks for BC and put our trust in Ford's ability to deliver. At a minimum they could give us the same respect and be transparent about the situation. In my business if a customer purchases my product for a feature that will be delivered in the future then I cannot recognize the revenue until the feature is delivered.

Hello fellow engineer ?,

I think there are multiple factors in play here.

1. The business/marketing team selling BC before it’s even half baked. “Engineering said it could be done by Jan 2021”. Leaving out the part where engineering got less than half the resources it needed to finish it by Jan 2021.

2. Sounds like Engineering quickly discovered job 1 APIMs were going to be a problem.

This has created the class action situation I think we’re now in, based on what I’ve read about BC in Job 2 F150s and later, I’d hardly call it “hands free” driving, but it sounds near production ready.

Ford is trying to find the cheapest way forward without hurting $F share value. Options include

1. Refund prep cost to job 1s
2. Upgrade APIM in job 1s and release BC
3. Continue running the “beta” BC and settle the eventual class action quietly out of court ala Tesla.

Option 3 seems like current selection.

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