I'm DONE with OTA updates !

[My 2ND Ford]

Update successful. 23-PU1009-SS-NS. It changed nothing in my truck other than the usual truck info screen where I have to reload trip 2, tire pressure, seatbelts, and trailer lights. I did drive the truck since there was an update to the ABS calibration. I did a panic stop from about 50 without any drama.

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[wessermgm]

After each OTA update, Ford has screwed up something with/on my SYNC4 screen and/or with the truck itself.
So... i've turned off the automatic updates.
this last one, reset everything, deleted all my recent and saved NAV destinations, and now the 12" screen defaults to the SETTINGS screen, instead of staying on the last screen, when the truck was shut off.

Every update has changed and/or screwed up something.
Ford software engineers.. if you can do it right... dont do it at all!

i'm ready to cash it in, and buy a late 60s or early 70s F100, F150 or 250 hi-boy with manual everything! im done with the computerized EVERYTHING!

Mine is starting with the worthless SETTINGS screen now, which is kinda pissing me off as well. Has anybody experienced a remedial update from whatever disaster this one is?

 

[fordtruckman2003]

Mine is starting with the worthless SETTINGS screen now, which is kinda pissing me off as well. Has anybody experienced a remedial update from whatever disaster this one is?

You'll eventually get a later update that quietly fixes it. Someone did claim a master reset also fixed it. I dealt with it about 3 weeks before getting an update that restored starting on last used screen.

 

[Ed21]

They need to send an update to fix the update that broke the update that fixed the update holding the presets after an update. I have to reset my tone controls and dashboard lighting is always on high after an update.
Huh?

 

[Mtnman1]

whatever.....lol, when i pay 70k for a truck, it should be the way i want, or at least not change from day to day! its not JUST that screens change, but all kinds of things started acting up ever since the first update, glitches, varried and inconsistant.
if your phone screen constantly changed, you wouldnt like it either!

Numerous updates installes, never any issuse. You are in the vast minority. Maybe figure out why you are having problems?

 

[fordtruckman2003]

They need to send an update to fix the update that broke the update that fixed the update holding the presets after an update. I have to reset my tone controls and dashboard lighting is always on high after an update.
Huh?

Never heard of those issues. Presets was a known issue they fixed. Never was an issue for my truck but was for some of them. I am annoyed that every OTA update resets my dash settings back to Canadian and clears out "my view" and the programmable gauges. That is just an annoyance though, nothing else changes with updates.

 

[jhelrey]

I'm in the, "I've never received an update" group.

 

[mrerick]

The thing is... (and I'm not working for Ford), the vast majority of what makes your Ford truck run down the road today is engineered in software.

It still has much of the metal we all expect and are used to, but it's controlled by stuff that we can't typically touch, see, feel or manipulate easily - but the engineers and designers can.

Since it's software and firmware, much of it can easily be replaced - unlike most of the hardware stuff that requires an on site visit, parts and a mechanic. That now means that they don't really finish making it at the factory; and that means "Updates"...

When marketing says "ship it", it gets "finished", put in the catalog and shipped to us. Now products get "finished" after they leave the factory. That is the world we live in.

The engineers still get some time to finish it because the things that are unsatisfactory can still be corrected and improved. These end up on a priority list, and their priority list may not be our priority list. Things that kind-a work most of the time may break until they get addressed later. This may drag on over multiple years. Under pressure, not everything on the list gets thoroughly addressed. This makes detail oriented engineers more than a little unhappy.

Right now, my truck works pretty well considering the complexity. I'm impressed.

 

[Suns_PSD]

After each OTA update, Ford has screwed up something with/on my SYNC4 screen and/or with the truck itself.
So... i've turned off the automatic updates.
this last one, reset everything, deleted all my recent and saved NAV destinations, and now the 12" screen defaults to the SETTINGS screen, instead of staying on the last screen, when the truck was shut off.

Every update has changed and/or screwed up something.
Ford software engineers.. if you can do it right... dont do it at all!

i'm ready to cash it in, and buy a late 60s or early 70s F100, F150 or 250 hi-boy with manual everything! im done with the computerized EVERYTHING!

Interesting side story here.

My stepdad had a very nice all original '76 Chevy and it had some factory packages on it. It was factory lifted, 4x4, 4 speed manual, 454ci, and it was a solid 9.5 out of 10, never restored truck with around 50K miles on it. That truck legitimately got 8 mpg, every tankful, driving it nicely, according to him. He had custom ordered it from new.

My point is, I don't really think that you want that.

 

[CaptainAmericaRob]

The thing is... (and I'm not working for Ford), the vast majority of what makes your Ford truck run down the road today is engineered in software.

It still has much of the metal we all expect and are used to, but it's controlled by stuff that we can't typically touch, see, feel or manipulate easily - but the engineers and designers can.

Since it's software and firmware, much of it can easily be replaced - unlike most of the hardware stuff that requires an on site visit, parts and a mechanic. That now means that they don't really finish making it at the factory; and that means "Updates"...

When marketing says "ship it", it gets "finished", put in the catalog and shipped to us. Now products get "finished" after they leave the factory. That is the world we live in.

The engineers still get some time to finish it because the things that are unsatisfactory can still be corrected and improved. These end up on a priority list, and their priority list may not be our priority list. Things that kind-a work most of the time may break until they get addressed later. This may drag on over multiple years. Under pressure, not everything on the list gets thoroughly addressed. This makes detail oriented engineers more than a little unhappy.

Right now, my truck works pretty well considering the complexity. I'm impressed.

im well aware, i just think id rather have less things "software defined" i understand the argument for it on the company's side, and from an engineering standpoint. However... from a user standpoint, it can be frustrating, when things dont work right or things changed for no apparent reason

 

[CaptainAmericaRob]

Numerous updates installes, never any issuse. You are in the vast minority. Maybe figure out why you are having problems?

ive had direct emails with the software engineers responsible for updates, ive got nowhere.
dont get me wrong, i LOVE my truck...i just want them to stop making changes that effect the user experience in a negative way, or at least get the bugs fixed when their update effects things it wasnt supposed to.

 

[mrerick]

I'd actually like them to finish engineering the technology before shipping it to customers.

The problem is that they are all competing with the other companies, and since they refuse to collaborate on common core layers of technology (differentiating on features) they all end up building the systems separately from bottom layer to top. No reuse, and design and construction in isolation - or purchase of proprietary designs from others. This leads to errors.

When architecting these systems, they sometimes make critically disabling mistakes early in the process because of the pressure to actually produce a product and ship it. Engineers need more time. Designers need to look longer forward. Marketing needs the attractive products to generate the buzz and the money to drive the business engine.

it typically takes multiple attempts to architect these complex systems properly, and businesses that compete rarely have that luxury. (There is a technology model that solves this problem - I worked on it in the software industry, it's called "Open Source" and can be used in any industry profitably with the right approach)...

There is a fine balance at work here between engineering / architectural design and marketing. This is why generations of these products tend to run decades now, and the components within them don't necessarily track within those generations perfectly.

So... the balance of hardware / firmware / software and component nature of today's vehicles is very different than what we drove even a decade ago. So is the complexity. Even a light switch drives a network which sends a command which asks a controller to check the state of the operating component in charge of the array which hosts the illumination function controlling the panel which the LED occupies at the currently configured brightness.

Do we need the complexity? Do we benefit from the complexity? Do we want the complexity? The market is not offering us a choice here, except for levels of features built with the complexity which we seem to be buying just fine.

If given the choice between a vehicle that engineering certified as "finished" and one that engineering will be "enhancing" based on a revised architecture that promises new features, I wonder what the market would choose? Windows 10 vs. Windows 11 seems to be about to shed some light on that in the PC world. Anyone going to scrap their old PCs?

 

[BUCKETCOWBOY]

Man people sure get worked up over nothing.

 

[mrerick]

I'm not sure I'd call a major paradigm shift in the way something as important as our transport is built, insignificant...

I've never seen a vehicle as internally complex as these new Gen14 Fords.

As it's serving a purpose - and my truck has been stable and runs well I'm satisfied so far.

Updates can destabilize that. That's why I'd like the engineers to finish things before shipping them - but in today's world that's probably not practical.

I just saw this announcement, which may lead to collaboration between companies on some of the core technologies if they choose to do this. It's a better strategy than proprietary towers in isolation.

https://arstechnica.com/cars/2024/0...y-minded-software-defined-vehicle-developers/

It's not easy to make cycle time critical operating software for buss operation and engine control. Things in the vehicle operate in a very different context than our PCs and networks.

I know it can take a company decades to understand that because I worked for one that finally took that journey and is now finally winning because of that.

 

[Snakebitten]

I see the quandary.

On one hand, without updates I wouldn't now have the much improved 12V charging strategy that apparently is pretty recent.
Nor would I have enjoyed the AMAZING improvements in Bluecruise that I used for ~13 hours 750 miles yesterday. (700 of which was I-10 east bound from H-Town to Tallahassee. Child's play for Bluecruise 1.4)

Stunning improvements compared to the truck I originally took possession of ~730 days ago.

On the other hand, now I don't want Ford to touch the truck with any more updates. ???

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