Ford's Buggy Infotainment System Referred To By Engineers As 'Polished Turd' and 'Unsaleable' (computerworld.com) 292
Lucas123 writes: A class-action lawsuit against Ford and its MyFord Touch in-vehicle infotainment system -- originally based on a Microsoft platform -- has brought to light corporate documents that show engineers at the Dearborn carmaker referred to the problematic technology as a "polished turd" that they feared would be "unsaleable." The documents even reveal that Henry Ford's great grandson experienced significant problems with MyFord Touch. In one incident, Edsel Ford was forced to wait on a roadside for the system to reset and could not continue to drive because he was unable to use the IVI's navigation system. The lawsuit describes an IVI screen that would freeze or go blank; generate error messages that wouldn't go away; voice recognition and navigation systems that failed to work, problems wirelessly pairing with smartphones, and a generally slow system. Ford's CEO Mark Fields even described his own travails with the SYNC IVI, referring to it as having crashed on several occasions, and that he was so frustrated with the system he may have damaged his car's screen out of aggravation. The civil suit is expected to go to trial in 2017.
Microsoft... (Score:4, Funny)
What did they expect?
Re:Microsoft... (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Microsoft... (Score:4, Informative)
Every time I turn on my Ford truck, here's what I have to do to connect my phone via bluetooth:
1) select AUX
2) press menu
3) scroll to select source
4) click enter
5) scroll to select bluetooth
6) click enter
If while I sit in my truck I turn the vehicle off, turn it back on, I have to do the same thing over again. It doesn't remember shit between vehicle starts.
No usability testing, typical of Microsoft products.
Re: Microsoft... (Score:2)
Re: Microsoft... (Score:2)
Really? That's Ford claim for having a terrible UX. My cheapie Prius and ancient Acura do that stuff without noticeable power drain on my phone. Although when the Bluetooth module on my Acura went bad it caused power drain to the car.
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You're lucky. At least that works for you. My phone rarely syncs with my Ford's Sync system at all. Meanwhile, in my Kia Sedona, I have no problems ever. In the Ford Fusion, I just use a wire into the headphone jack because BT is usually too much trouble.
As far as being a car goes, I like my Ford Fusion fine, so this is a minor annoyance in general. I'm only (sort of) joking when I say the Fusion is built entirely out of blind spots.
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The best one I had was a Chevrolet rental car. The Bluetooth device list was full (it only allows 5), but trying to delete any of the devices left by previous renters did nothing. We tried turning the car off, trying it with the engine stopped, trying it parked with the engine running etc, but no difference. The UI went through all of the motions of deleting it, but didn't actually delete it. Googling brought the following procedure to reset the system. Stop the car, turn it off. Open the drivers door. Wait
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The high belt lines in modern cars are necessary for crash protection. They're not really a problem though as long as you get blind-spot monitors. But there's no way I'd get a modern car now without BSM and a rearview camera.
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You might be right about Hondas only working well with iPhones. My mom has a '15 Odyssey and an iPhone (5-something), and I had zero problems getting them to sync for her. But I never tried it with my Samsung. If this is the case, that's rather disappointing.
That bit about BMW is rather galling, but somehow I'm not too surprised. The more I hear about those cars, the less I would ever want one; they just seem to be designed to extract as much money from owners as possible. I've been really happy with m
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Mostly it's been a minor annoyance in what is otherwise an a
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Yep, the MyFordTouch stuff was a major reason I didn't bother looking at Fords when I last got a car (even though they had switched away from MS by this time, I was car-shopping in May 2015). That, and also all the reviews slamming the DSG transmissions they were using.
I ended up getting a Mazda. It works great. Zero problems so far (except some asshole scraping the rear bumper when they backed out of a parking space), and Bluetooth works just great. It always auto-connects whenever I restart the car, a
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The Old Ford Sync, non-touch screen isn't too bad, but the new sync with touch screen needs help. The main problem is that Microsoft never ships finished working software and patches the hell out of everything. Patching software is harder to do with cars where users aren't interested in waiting for their OS to patch and reboot before driving. I have downloaded the Sync patches from Ford and patched quite a few systems and it is a slooooowwww process. Slow = 20 minutes or more to load update and reboot
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I've often thought that instead of trying to reinvent the wheel, automakers should just make a spot in the dash where you can slide in an iPad. iPads are stable, have good touch interfaces, and you can pop them out and take them into the house to patch them then put them back in the car. But what do I know?
That's not a bad idea, but it's not a good idea either. The most obvious objection is that an iPad is not really designed to handle that environment. Another obvious one is that automakers will want control over mounting location and size. In any case, most automakers are already implementing Android Auto and Apple Carplay, and virtually all of them are implementing at least one of these.
I think what's really wanted is a HID-class USB touch screen and a HDMI-pro-connected (with the retention screw, that is)
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Probably running Linux with systemd.
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We already have the double DIN standard for head units. Maybe expand it to quad DIN now we want massive touch screens, but if car manufacturers just supported the existing options we wouldn't have this problem. Move the car specific stuff like air-con control to a separate screen.
Another alternative is Mirrorlink or similar tech that lets the phone put its display on the car's screen. It's based on VNC. Some of the better car manufacturers support it. Android Auto similarly allows casting of apps to the scr
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I love how on day 2 they call in the big guns at BMW to remotely fix it, and good news it drives now but bad news the radio doesn't work and about that reverse light you came in to get fixed, well now both of them don't work. Customer service!
Re: Microsoft... (Score:4, Informative)
I have a 2015 F-150 Lariat. The rest of the truck is awesome. Truly I really love the rest of the truck. Engineering masterpiece and so many details right plus great gas mileage. I would give it 5 out of 5 stars....except the &$-)1#^!! My Ford Touch! I hate it! I am not a person to get too upset over things, but I had to pay $1,500 extra for something that doesn't work well and never will because Ford and MSFT stopped development on it. Also according to Ford there is no upgrade path except to buy a new truck some year in the future. When I turn my truck on it automatically connects via Bluetooth and plays something random....it grabs anything up on iCloud. I've had rap music, kid pop, French language lessons, metal, ....it's always a surprise. The navigation system is comical and pathetic circa late 1990's or early 2000's tech. I will just stop writing right here on this because I am already getting mad thinking about it.
I will never buy another Ford (or other make) without fully testing the infotainment system. Mobile device integration is too important in this day and age. It has to fully support Apple CarPlay and/or Andriod Auto or won't be considered.
I really dislike Ford for also not taking care of recent customers. $1,500 for something flawed and dead ended while my iPhone is half the cost and infinitely better plus getting updated all the time.
Buyer beware! Test it yourself fully before buying. Don't get a Ford until Apple Car Play comes standard (and not by a software update which may never come).
-Andy
fellow F150 Lariat Owner Here... (Score:2)
I installed an Alpine ILX-007 bought off eBay for $480 along with a Camera Source backup camera purchased directly from the manufacturer for $268.
The Alpine is a CarPlay head unit that works great. It's a wired connection - NO BLUETOOTH. You can still do hands-free phonecalls. I have had severa
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I have a 2015 F-150 Lariat. The rest of the truck is awesome. Truly I really love the rest of the truck. Engineering masterpiece and so many details right plus great gas mileage. I would give it 5 out of 5 stars....except the &$-)1#^!! My Ford Touch! I hate it! I am not a person to get too upset over things, but I had to pay $1,500 extra for something that doesn't work well and never will because Ford and MSFT stopped development on it. Also according to Ford there is no upgrade path except to buy a new truck some year in the future. When I turn my truck on it automatically connects via Bluetooth and plays something random....it grabs anything up on iCloud. I've had rap music, kid pop, French language lessons, metal, ....it's always a surprise. The navigation system is comical and pathetic circa late 1990's or early 2000's tech. I will just stop writing right here on this because I am already getting mad thinking about it.
I will never buy another Ford (or other make) without fully testing the infotainment system. Mobile device integration is too important in this day and age. It has to fully support Apple CarPlay and/or Andriod Auto or won't be considered.
I really dislike Ford for also not taking care of recent customers. $1,500 for something flawed and dead ended while my iPhone is half the cost and infinitely better plus getting updated all the time.
Buyer beware! Test it yourself fully before buying. Don't get a Ford until Apple Car Play comes standard (and not by a software update which may never come).
-Andy
Why don't you remove it and put a third party infotainment system in there? The only way it is connected to the vehicle is for the random bell dings it does for low fuel. I'm sure third party would support that and back camera.
Have you used other company's offerings? The Mercedes Benz I tried was super terrible. The GPS was more interested in telling me if there was a Subway restaurant in the every exit I drove through than actually doing proper navigation.
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Seriously, this was so predictable. When they decided to go with MS I knew that there wouldn't be a Ford in my driving future.
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The parent got moderated as Funny, but I think he was dead serious. When the Ford/Microsoft pairing was first announced years ago, I (and many others) immediately predicted major problems. Everything Microsoft touches turns to shit.
Everything.
Microsoft is the Reverse Midas, and always has been.
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Why isn't this rated troll? Honestly I love Linux and have no Windows boxes because I personally don't like their software but it doesn't automatically discount them from being useful somewhere. On any other site this would be considered a troll. Instead it's rated funny, but is very pandering and not really a nuanced joke in any way. Disappointed in Slashdot here.
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Odd. The same comments they made could be applied to self-driving cars, which will certainly be far more buggy than the infotainment screen. Only the SDCs could actually kill you. Why people think the music player would naturally be a piece of useless crap code while the car will be an AI marvel far better than human drivers... explain this to me...
Now for the comments about paranoia, stupidity, Ludditism...
A bad Ford product? (Score:3, Insightful)
This is my shocked face. I've owned 2 Fords, and as far as I am concerned, that was 2 too many.
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When I was young and stupid, and had a car that required refilling the radiator every 20 miles, I went to a Ford dealership and got sold an 87 Escort. Biggest pile of shit I've ever owned. Within 2 years I'd replaced every light bulb on the car. The cruise control installed by the dealer (Pearson Ford at Fairmont and El Cajon) kept coming unscrewed and would hang down as gravity took over. Battery died with no warning 2-3 years in, fortunately it was a manual clutch so I got a stranger to push start me. I'd never had comprehensive insurance, they sold me a 1 year plan for over $1k. After a year I went to renew it and found out that A) it only covered the car, not me, my passengers, nor any damage done; and B) I could have a proper insurance plan for $200. The car itself was shit. The floorpan rusted out, when it rained your feet got wet. At 80k miles the fanbelt squealed, mechanic pointed out the crankshaft pulley was wobbling, which is Never A Good Sign. The driver's seat broke so I was driving in a reclining position (this got a recall after I'd sold the car but before I bitched at the dealer for it).
Fuckers ripped me off, they closed some 10 years back and move to Miramar road.
Been driving imports (Infiniti rocks) ever since, I'll never buy an American car again.
In 1991/92 I bought a used 1986 Mercury Lynx Sport 4-cylinder manual (same base as the Escort). It was a reliable car all through university and a couple of years after. Battery went a couple of years after I got it, but it was 5 years old at that point. Plus, as a manual, it was easy to push start. The engine computer also went but that was an easy and inexpensive fix.
Just as I was about to get rid of it, I had a similar problem as you with leaking water. I finally found the source when I was cleaning
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I never knew it at the time, but these cars were known for rusting at the top of the foot well that extended into the engine bay. The top lip would hold water, rust out, and then the floors would get wet. The water wouldn't drip, like you would expect, but it simply ran down the back of the carpeting. I'm guessing that you never knew that it was actually leaking at the top and not from underneath. Once the floor got wet, this would cause the foot wells to rust out.
My family had Fords in the 70s. They were also famous for rusting out at the bottom of the doors as well. The fix was to spray motorcycle chain lube into the drain holes and let it flow into the bottom door seam. Never had a problem after I learned that.
Betcha wish you still had that 65 'stang, huh? Best car Ford ever made...if you had the manual transmission. Their automatics were shit.
I buy Toyotas now. They don't rust. They don't die. They just keep running.
Wife has a Jeep Wrangler. A hoot to drive
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My first Ford was a badly beaten up '75 Mustang II with a 6 cylinder and a 4 speed stick - of which 2nd gear didn't engage so shifting was 1-3-4. I bought it for $200 so I wasn't expecting much to be honest. But even with that, that thing managed to disappoint me. When I bought it the driver's side window was missing so I got another at a wrecker and then spent 4 hours putting it in. This was a job I had done on other cars in less than an hour. It wasn't stuck nuts/bolts or anything like that, it was j
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Found on Road Dead?
Personally I prefer the Fiat acronyms:
Fix it again Tony!
or
Futile Italian Attempt at Technology
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Flipped-Over Rotten Dog was my favorite.
Can we sue Honda too? (Score:2)
The navigation system and most other functions in my 2012 Civic are useless when the car is moving making the crappy voice recognition more distracting and dangerous IMO. Other models have a hidden 'operator restrictions override' function but in this model they went out of their way to make it impossible.
Re:Can we sue Honda too? (Score:4, Interesting)
About 7 years back, an auto industry player asked me (well, it was an open contest really) what they should do with in-vehicle computing. I told them they should quit mucking around trying to save $10/unit on embedded systems and go with a standard "real PC" that both has more compute horsepower behind it, and also saves massively on application development. They actually awarded me $2000 for my advice, and apparently promptly ignored it.
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Can I ask what you had in mind for "standard" PC hardware? What kind of processor?
bet the "marketing requirements" were the original (Score:4, Insightful)
It will be interesting if there's public disclosure of the marketing requirements doc, not to mention the purchasing input. The former are likely to be a mass of mutually-exclusive bullet items, with no input beyond magic to resolve the contradictions, and the latter will have no allowance in the cost of goods for hardware (and WHY THE HELL MICROSOFT?) for the inevitable feature creep, so there's no way it could ever have worked.
I own one, it's horrible (Score:5, Insightful)
It's really pretty bad. I wish it was easy to replace, and that there was an open source project to replace it. The moment I saw that Microsoft bezel under the infotainment system, I knew it was trouble. Hopefully this lawsuit forces Ford to replace every single one of them with something more usable.
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A previous time this came up, an anonymous poster claimed to be one of the engineers that worked on the interface. According to him, it was not the Microsoft nature of the system that was at fault, but insufficient hardware resources and the decision to build the interface in Flash.
There were a lot of complaints about how unintuitive the interface was, but I disagree strongly with that. The interface is fine. If only it worked reliably. I've had it crash while going down the road, and the music subsyste
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There is no logic to it. It's what happens when you have pure engineers design an interface component instead of people with common sense.
Ford deserves to be actually fried for this, but they won't LEARN from it. For instance - they had an android integration app that allowed many google apps to communicate with sync.
Re:I own one, it's horrible (Score:5, Informative)
Probably breaking an NDA here, but here's what's happening: Ford's autonomous vehicle division (AVD) has signed a 10-year exclusive partnership with the division at Microsoft that's developing the MyDrive system. That means all Ford vehicles for at least the first two product generations, probably more, will be running embedded Windows and using Microsoft cloud services for real-time video processing and sensor fusion (GPS, accelerometer, gyros, wheelspin, etc.)
The codename for all of this is an ominous-sounding "PodBay." You've been warned. Cover the driver camera when you talk about it, this bitch can read lips.
In fact, cover both cameras. There's one in the steering-wheel hub and one in the rearview mirror.
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Re:I own one, it's horrible (Score:4, Informative)
It's a hybrid system. It doesn't send the video back. Lots of wack-ass ML code runs on the in-vehicle computer and talks to the mothership indirectly. It's sort of a realtime scheme with extensive dead-reckoning fallbacks, running under the same Windows instance that's playing your tunes.
If I say anything more I'll get a knock on the door at 5 AM, and believe me, I need the sleep.
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Probably breaking an NDA here, but here's what's happening: Ford's autonomous vehicle division (AVD) has signed a 10-year exclusive partnership with the division at Microsoft that's developing the MyDrive system. That means all Ford vehicles for at least the first two product generations, probably more, will be running embedded Windows and using Microsoft cloud services for real-time video processing and sensor fusion (GPS, accelerometer, gyros, wheelspin, etc.)
The codename for all of this is an ominous-sounding "PodBay." You've been warned. Cover the driver camera when you talk about it, this bitch can read lips.
In fact, cover both cameras. There's one in the steering-wheel hub and one in the rearview mirror.
Duct tape...is there anything it can't do?
(An autonomous Ford, powered by Microsoft? Hope the airbags work)
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The moment I saw that Microsoft bezel under the infotainment system, I knew it was trouble.
I literally decided against buying a Ford for this exact reason. At least, waiting until they got rid of it.
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I rented a Ford Exploder recently and it's system compared very unfavorably with the Chrysler 300 I rented the week before. So much so that when I next rent a car it wont be that one. The system in the Chrysler was a little strange to me to start with but after the first day it went very well. I had the Ford for a week and it never really worked worth a damn. I'm looking at buying a new car in the next few months and my last 3 cars were Mercury Grand Marquis. The current one is a 2001 and it's time for
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Crutchfield.com
Get something from Pioneer, or one of the other aftermarket makers... that is, if you can rip out the MyTouch without crippling non-entertainment related systems. We have an older Mercedes (2002) and they integrated the radio into the carputer so tightly that it really can't be replaced very easily.
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Had good luck with Crutchfield. And Scoshe harness adapters.
Car manufacturer nav systems suck. Overpriced, and they don't do this everyday, so the engineering is usually not as good as Garmin, Magellan and the other guys who do this stuff for a living. And you can forget about updates. The dealers are just not equipped to handle them and the manufacturer has contracts that say everything has to go through the dealers. Hey, they're car companies, not software companies. Not surprising that they have no
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I sometimes wonder whether these "green tax" measures (in the UK that tends to be higher tax on older, supposedly less efficient engines), take total environmental impact into account.
What about the manufacturing process? Surely replacing your car every couple of years is worse for the environment than keeping older cars running. The marginal gains in efficiency must be outweighed by the environmental cost of the manufacture.
So these green taxes are nothing to do with the environment, everything to do with
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It's really pretty bad. ... Hopefully this lawsuit forces Ford to replace every single one of them with something more usable.
Like with a BMW? At least THEY run.
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If it works like most class action lawsuits Ford will settle, the class action attorneys will get $20M and every class member will get a coupon for $300 off their next new Ford purchase.
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It wasn't the main focus of the purchase, we bought it because of its size and other (non-infotainment) features that matched our requirements. If this was an Android or iOS based infotainment system, the car would be simply perfect 10/10 (for a gas engine anyway). That, and the amplifier/speakers are Sony, and they do sound great (when the system manages to connect to my phone and I can play Spotify...).
Fords are great cars (Score:2)
As long as you dont have computers in them.
I love my Mercury Grand Marquis. The most digital thing in the car is the stereo.
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Unless you want something crash worthy. Who needs crumple zones, airbags, antilock brakes, or safety glass.
Check this out: 2009 Chevy Malibu vs 1959 Bel Air Crash Test | Consumer Reports [youtu.be]
So yeah, I am all for the classic cars, just don't ever get in a high speed accident and expect to walk away without serious damage to your entire body.
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People keep saying this crap and yet I've owned 3 with little problems here and there but basically they're hard to actually break. Now the other Ford stuff like the Taurus with the fucked up Transmission that just suddenly wont do anything out of the blue is another matter. Ford made great full size stuff but the little cars all seem to break routinely. We wont mention the Pinto.
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Oh .. Ford Taurus transmissions!
You've reminded me of the hilarious fleet of Ford Taurus wagons that my employer had when I was there years ago (mid-90's). Out of ten vehicles, I believe eight had to go in for transmission replacement. They were leased vehicles, so the company didn't care, but it sure was inconvenient.
Windows CE - hmmmm (Score:2)
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GM did you a favor. I have a Kia with the Microsoft system. An Apple iPhone can crash the system so hard that it needs a full reboot. You have to stop the car, turn the engine-off and restart to get the phone interface working again. The system doesn't work with Android properly either. I assume Microsoft's system must work well with a Zune or a Lumia phone, however I have never seen one to try it out. :-)
Keep the engine stuff separate than the entertainment stuff. If you let Microsoft near your car
Ford "Stynk" is more like it (Score:3)
I tried connecting my 32GB Apple iPod to it in my 2012 Ford Fusion. It attempted to index every song and crashed in the process, and became stuck on disc 2 of Pink Floyd's The Wall. It would not play anything else until I did a hard reset of the system. The only way I connect to it now is through the Aux jack in the centre console.
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I have the same car and the same system. The Aux jack is the only thing I use.
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You lack courage
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Waiting for the worms, forever.
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This is typical for Ford (Score:5, Interesting)
This seems to be the norm for Ford.. Wife and I have a 2012 Escape, which has a "Sync by Microsoft" entertainment system (SirusXM/am-fm/Cd/Bluetooth Handsfree).. We've had the car since 2012, and right after we bought it, the sat radio would get "no signal" dropouts at almost every street intersection, no matter what sat channel you were on.. Once you cleared the intersection, signal would return, only to go out again at the next light.. Went back to the dealer and bugged them about it, they said "We'll take a look if you can leave the car for at least a week"... ???? WTF?? That AINT happening... Anyway we've just lived with it.. And not to mention the total of FIVE different Android smartphones we've tried to pair with the hands-free system.. None of which will pair.. I guess I should have realized when we were shopping for an SUV that ANYthing with parts with Microsoft's name on them would be a piece of shit...
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If these features are important to you, then why didn't you test this stuff out before you bought the thing?
Satellite Radio (Score:2)
Check the forums to see if anyone else is having this problem. If not, it's probably an issue with your antenna. Sync has nothing to do with the radio firmware, which is pretty much the same for every satellite radio. They all source the same chipset and firmware from the same company. I'm guessing the cable to your antenna is defective or the connection is bad.
Why Ford? (Score:2)
A world where a crash could end a life. Well, for decades, Windows has been crashing. Apart from a few exceptional cases, it hasn't taken a life directly but, it has taken PARTS of lives: Minutes and hours.
Add all the reboots you have ever done in your lifetime and I'll bet a week of your life has been stolen. STOLEN
Yet, it's FORD that ends up in a lawsuit.
Go figure.
Dear autos: please give up (Score:4, Insightful)
Auto makers just don't understand tech, and the product cycle of phones is way, way faster than cars. I own a car typically 10-15 years. I own a phone maybe 4, if it doesn't get a fatal screen break.
I want my car to have an audio input, and a USB charge port. That's it - let me handle the GPS, audio, whatever with my own phone & my own apps.
If autos want to really get fancy, mirror my phone on a bigger touch screen - but stay out of the way.
Re:Dear autos: please give up (Score:5, Insightful)
If autos want to really get fancy, mirror my phone on a bigger touch screen - but stay out of the way.
Actually, this is the norm. Almost everyone but Ford is implementing Apple Carplay, Android Auto, or both — technologies which do basically what you are describing, although your launcher is likely to go into an automotive mode as I understand it.
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Built-in ODB-II bluetooth and USB connection. There's no longer an acceptable excuse for not including those features.
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"Ford's Buggy Infotainment System...." (Score:2)
QNX (Score:2, Interesting)
They should have gone with QNX.
http://www.qnx.com/content/qnx... [qnx.com]
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http://autoweek.com/article/ca... [autoweek.com]
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Oh you just wait (Score:2, Funny)
rented a ford with that in it. (Score:2)
Hopefully, Ford is forced to pay for the crap that they are turning out.
At the same time, all of these companies need to look at Tesla to see how it is done correctly.
Does Ford Make Buggies? (Score:3)
Time to blow the dust off my whip-manufacturing line.
Blast from past! (Score:2)
Obviously never saw Tesla 8.0 media player UI (Score:2)
Absolutely worst thing ever. I'd take a 8 track player over it. Hopefully their developers die a slow and painful death.
For me, never worked (Score:2)
I've tried pairing my phone to Ford cars, and it never works. It pairs, but then: zilch. It thinks it's a music player of some sort. Phone doesn't function through the car. I always carry - YES - a 3.5 audio cable and connect the phone through the headphone jack to hear music. Even THAT fails and I have to reboot the system to make it work. This among many other common failures of simple gadgets make me laugh to see self-driving cars - we are no where near ready for that level of complexity. In the real wor
performing scheduled system maintenance (Score:2)
I have rented a Ford a few times and a more than once, I saw the "performing scheduled system maintenance" start all of the sudden and then it stayed on that screen until I reached my destination, parked the car and turned of the ignition. When I came back to the car, it worked again. I don't know which version it was( it was in the latest Mustang GT), but it seemed to me like it was more like a way to hide the fact that it crashed than it was "performing scheduled system maintenance". It sure was one hell
Re:Wrong company for the job (Score:5, Informative)
There was a story on Hacker News a couple years ago [ycombinator.com], an embedded systems engineer (inside Ford) was lamenting upper-management's choice of Windows CE and BSquare for the system.
Interesting that the 3rd generation of SYNC (out since 2016 I think) is based on QNX and appears to very well received. No Microsoft, no BSquare, no Windows CE. QNX is a real-time operating system. Windows CE purports to be, but a) all the middleware crap that comes in MS Auto is so buggy and full of priority inversions etc,, give me a break.
Someone (maybe the Hacker News article?) said something along the lines of "the decision to use WinCE in MyFord Touch was a handshake on a golf course, and Ford has felt the pain ever since."
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How do you know that your WRX isn't running QNX?
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We have a Subaru WRX STI with the fancy system. It seems to work OK. The nav is a bit wonky but overall it works well enough.
Is this the one that takes like three seconds to zoom in?
If my car were fairly new I would simply make them give me the stock head and refund my money. Then go buy a double din head from the likes of say Alpine or Pioneer or what ever gets good reviews for function.
Most cars today no longer have a standard ISO DIN slot for the stereo, or if they do, they have an oversized faceplate that you'll have to fill with something.
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Microsoft suckers you in to using Windows CE with promises that it can't keep. For example, you will be able to write all your software in nice and easy .NET and Silverlight they say, without telling you that it will "run" like crap and be basically unusable, and that half of the really useful language features aren't supported anyway.
We used it on a product and found that Portuguese language support didn't work. We supplied our own strings etc, it's just that when you select Portuguese the .NET code uses E
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Interesting that the 3rd generation of SYNC (out since 2016 I think) is based on QNX and appears to very well received.
I have a 2016 Fusion, and its SYNC is indeed adequate. It's responsive, well laid-out, and the bluetooth pairing does what you want it to with no problems. Voice recognition even works. Wish it had Android Auto (apparently the 2017 models do), as exporting processing of navigation and stuff to your phone seems the right way to go.
On the other hand, my 2013 Subaru's system is complete trash. Getting in the car and trying to select my phone to pair to (after my wife has driven it) is eleven-levels deep
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Yes, every person in the car MUST stare out the front window at all times and never do anything but help the driver.
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Fix Or Repair Daily
Fast Overhaul, Rapid Depreciation
and, of course...
Found On Roadside, Dead.
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Ferrous Oxide Research Department
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The super-annoying part about these integrated navigation/entertainment systems, is that if they're crap (like the "sync by microsoft" crap we have in our 2012 Ford Escape) you're stuck with it.. Can't yank the crap out and go to a store and buy an aftermarket system like you could in the past...
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It wasn't you. I rented one for a week and it never worked. Maybe you need a Microsoft Phone.
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I don't know what Ford's doing now but the last 4 cars I owned were Ford products and all performed well with minimal problems. My 2001 Mercury Grand Marquis is still banging along at over 200K with no major problems except hard use has made it cosmetically unacceptable to my wife. Unfortunately they no longer make a full size car. No one does. I rented a Ford Exploder and that definitely is not an option. It rode shitty and handled shitty. My 77 GMC 4X4 pickup with off road tires had a better ride.
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Unfortunately they no longer make a full size car. No one does. I rented a Ford Exploder and that definitely is not an option. It rode shitty and handled shitty.
The exploder is not the one you want. You want the incursion. Or if you must have a car, Chrysler is still making the 300. It basically wishes it were a Mercedes from the 1990s, but it'll be slightly more reliable. Of course, Audi, BMW, and Mercedes all make long-wheelbase sedans (or short limousines) which are definitely full-sized, but they're also full-price.
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Yeah, I'd love a Mercedes unfortunately I don't make that kind of money.
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Android Auto / CarPlay maybe?
I was looking at an RPi based system a while ago but ironically it costs too much for the kits.
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