FDRS Intimidation and Fear

[fordtruckman2003]

If you don't want to spring for the Rotunda, Cardaq or Mongoose interfaces, you can also use a VXDiag VCX FD. It's about $200 with the Ford/Mazda license and you can also add licenses for other OEM's if you want. I updated my 2024 truck this week because it wasn't getting OTA and had some TSB's I was dealing with.

People have repeatedly screwed up their trucks using less than a Mongoose.

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[Paul Neubauer]

People have repeatedly screwed up their trucks using less than a Mongoose.

The cost of the mongoose is pretty insignificant compared to what people pay for these trucks and then the possible repair bill if you kill something with a cheap adaptor that can't be recovered and it ends up towed into the dealership service bay.

 

[Fordphanatic]

I think the answer is both tools have their place and you should use the one best suited for each job. FORScan is great for making config changes/mods to settings as you've already figured out. FDRS is a better troubleshooting, diagnostics and firmware update tool ... it's an OEM tool designed to do exactly that. FORScan can technically upgrade firmware but seems to lag behind on versions and complete module support based on my experience. It's also harder to figure out whether you really need an update. In FDRS, you just click the sw updates tab and it shows everything you need to update and you mash the run button. It's pretty hard to screw up. The only 3 things I don't like about FDRS are the price, you still have to subscribe to another service get workshop and wiring diagrams and lastly FDRS is a bit of a "snitch". It logs everything you do to Ford backend servers ... like literally every button click.

If you don't want to spring for the Rotunda, Cardaq or Mongoose interfaces, you can also use a VXDiag VCX FD. It's about $200 with the Ford/Mazda license and you can also add licenses for other OEM's if you want. I updated my 2024 truck this week because it wasn't getting OTA and had some TSB's I was dealing with.

You are asking for trouble using the VX Diag adaptor. It has been heavily discussed and the issues it causes are well known to the community. The Mongoose is the recommended interface. The price is not cheap...but neither was your truck! I really hope that you or anyone on the fence about doing updates does not make this mistake.

 

[poopy_pants]

Let’s be clear, I’m not telling anyone not to buy, rent or borrow a Mongoose or full blown Rotunda interface. The cost of the modules themselves are expensive and a bricked module could certainly negate the difference in interface cost. For my BMW which uses (2) DME’s (PCM per bank) on the V8 and has dozens of modules throughout the vehicle I use an official dealer interface. Why … because the $600 I spent on the ICOM was negligible when the DME’s are $3000/each. That said, for me personally it was worth a try to use the upgraded VXDiag FD, especially considering some of the riskier and more expensive modules like APIM use a USB to load and flash the software anyway. But I agree on everyone’s advice and Mongoose or better would be the best choice.

 

[rugedraw]

There have been a few guys on the Mach E forum using some $200-$300 VCI's lately that have had success. The thing about those cables is that they work great until they don't. Without a Mongoose, it is difficult for members here to offer help to people who get stuck, and impossible for FDRS users not on the forum because calling FDRS support will be a waste of time once they find out you are not using a supported interface.

 

[poopy_pants]

There have been a few guys on the Mach E forum using some $200-$300 VCI's lately that have had success. The thing about those cables is that they work great until they don't. Without a Mongoose, it is difficult for members here to offer help to people who get stuck, and impossible for FDRS users not on the forum because calling FDRS support will be a waste of time once they find out you are not using a supported interface.

Anything in particular you’ve seen with behavior on these? I’m curious on what to look out for versus a legit interface. From what I’ve read, FDRS stability is questionable anyway. Is an FRDS crash a software issue or most likely an interface issue? By the way, I’m using mine in J2534 mode with the vendor’s FDRS specific driver, not the older IDS/VCM II emulation.

 

[rugedraw]

Anything in particular you’ve seen with behavior on these? I’m curious on what to look out for versus a legit interface. From what I’ve read, FDRS stability is questionable anyway. Is an FRDS crash a software issue or most likely an interface issue? By the way, I’m using mine in J2534 mode with the vendor’s FDRS specific driver, not the older IDS/VCM II emulation.

I've read stories of modules being bricked and people having to buy a mongoose anyway to get the module to program correctly. This was mostly with the VCX Nano years ago. There are a few vendors making them now that people have used with success recently, but the sample size is small.

I agree that fdrs is not perfect and I've had programming failures that I can only attribute to fdrs messing up. However, when that happens with fdrs, you can fix it by doing it again via PMI. If the VCI is the problem, then you're up shit's creek with no paddle.

 

[Snakebitten]

I'm that guy. Documented in the infamous FDRS thread in its infancy.

Bricked the CCM with the VCX Nano.

Purchased the Mongoose and stressed about the dilemma while waiting for the delivery.

The Mongoose + PMI = rescue of CCM.

A lot of history has taken place since those days. It's very difficult for me to stress over the risks of DIY FDRS efforts today. The success ratio of the Mongoose and FDRS for updating modules is so amazingly high, regardless of the technical skills of the person logging in. More than ever I am amazed at the difficulties dealerships have with the procedures, considering layman, with the collective knowledge of the forum, have a near perfect batting average.

 

[FirstFord]

A lot of history has taken place since those days. It's very difficult for me to stress over the risks of DIY FDRS efforts today. The success ratio of the Mongoose and FDRS for updating modules is so amazingly high, regardless of the technical skills of the person logging in. More than ever I am amazed at the difficulties dealerships have with the procedures, considering layman, with the collective knowledge of the forum, have a near perfect batting average.

POWERFUL statement!

 

[FirstFord]

regardless of the technical skills of the person logging in

And I will put that to the test, as soon as the Mongoose shows up!

 

[revinkev]

Credit goes to this forum and the people on it as I've learned everything I know from it and the people on here.

So I'm a little confused. Is it true that you can get BlueCruise 1.2 or 1.4 via FDRS on a 2022 F150 Lariat PB?

 

[Snakebitten]

So I'm a little confused. Is it true that you can get BlueCruise 1.2 or 1.4 via FDRS on a 2022 F150 Lariat PB?

Yes, since about last Christmas. ? And at the time, Ford had that software package labeled as 1.4

 

[rugedraw]

So I'm a little confused. Is it true that you can get BlueCruise 1.2 or 1.4 via FDRS on a 2022 F150 Lariat PB?

FDRS and FORScan, but yes.

 

[revinkev]

How do I get access to FDRS, I understand that Forscan is free. Do I need the Mongoose or will the cheaper ones on Amazon work?

 

[Snakebitten]

How do I get access to FDRS, I understand that Forscan is free. Do I need the Mongoose or will the cheaper ones on Amazon work?

https://www.f150gen14.com/forum/threads/ecu-module-programming-guide-using-fdrs.8249/

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