New Sync 3 Info!

[wlepse]

One funny take away from this press release...Ford finally put in a real touchscreen. Back when MFT was released many wanted a multipoint touch but could understand there would be issues due to use with gloves. But no one but Ford fanboys could understand why the touchscreen sensitivity was garbage and required an actual push of the screen. At the time some were saying the poor sensitivity was due to it needing to be so rugged for automotive use. So I guess Ford gave up on rugged designs? That, or as we all know the original design for MFT was half baked.

[akirby]

Or they heard all the negative feedback and decided to sacrifice a little realiability for better customer sat. And probably because other mfrs started using them and the price probably came down.

[wlepse]

Spin it however you like. Truth is there are and have been many industrial and commercial applications for touchscreens that see more user interface with a better tactile experience than the MFT. And if Ford was so concerned about customer satisfaction they would have done more to help those that ended up with cracked screens due to the need to actually push the screen when making a selection. As for the cost reasoning...sure I do think cost had everything to do with their decision. But again they still could have picked a resistive touchscreen that had decent sensitivity and still kept the costs down.

[akirby]

The point was there are hundreds of factors that go into such a decision including cost, supply, durability, compatibility, etc. Something changed between 4 years ago and today that made Ford go a different route whether it was different for them to manufacture or it was done to change customer perception.

 

There is no spin here either way. There are pros and cons to both types of screens and just because YOU prefer one over the other doesn't mean it's always a better choice. What if the new one proves to be less durable and more people get cracked screens?

[Davom97]

We will continue to release updates for SYNC and MyFord Touch as needed.

 

Wonderful! Can you just go ahead let us know now that Ford will eventually decide that future updates won't be needed? It will save you and us time and angst.

 

Ridiculous. Infuriating.

[bce]

 

Wonderful! Can you just go ahead let us know now that Ford will eventually decide that future updates won't be needed? It will save you and us time and angst.

 

Ridiculous. Infuriating.

 

I understand completely. I'm never buying Apple products again because my 3GS won't run IOS 8.

 

You bought a computer. At some point, the manufacturer will stop supporting it and come out with a new model.

As someone who keeps a car for 8-10 years, I expected them to stop supporting the current version.

[wlepse]

I fully expected them to stop supporting it in the future and no longer have features added...what I didn't expect was they would cut the cord before it worked. Several years have gone by and it is still plagued with bugs and dealers refuse to support it without first taking another $100. Worst customer service I have ever experienced.

[akirby]

Plagued with bugs is such an exaggeration. Then again I shouldn't have expected anything less.

[roadkill401]

You bought a computer. At some point, the manufacturer will stop supporting it and come out with a new model.

As someone who keeps a car for 8-10 years, I expected them to stop supporting the current version.

 

But would you be all that happy if it was the computer that you bought this year and still under warranty, yet the manufacturer decided that they want to put their effort into a new product and discontinued support of the one they are still currently selling?

 

I couldn't give a rat's ass about an 8-10 year old car, but a 1-2 year old one is a totally different story. That is what Ford has effectually done. They sold a duff bill of goods that promised one thing and delivered another with the words that "trust us we will fix it" but never did.

[bce]

But would you be all that happy if it was the computer that you bought this year and still under warranty, yet the manufacturer decided that they want to put their effort into a new product and discontinued support of the one they are still currently selling?

 

I couldn't give a rat's ass about an 8-10 year old car, but a 1-2 year old one is a totally different story. That is what Ford has effectually done. They sold a duff bill of goods that promised one thing and delivered another with the words that "trust us we will fix it" but never did.

I haven't seen anywhere that they have discontinued support. If it is under warranty, you can still get it serviced. They have stated that they will continue to support as needed.

 

Mine is two years old and does everything I need it to do just fine. I expect that it will continue to do so. Most of the complaints are about promised functionality.

 

What do you think is a reasonable thing for ford to do in this case? I really would like to hear.

[akirby]

The current software is extremely stable. I have 3 vehicles with MFT and have not had any problems since the 3.6 update.

 

You hardly ever hear new owners complaining about anything.

 

Other than a couple of hot button missing features like a built-in web browser (unnecessary with smart phones) and lat/long input on nav (that hardly anyone uses) I don't see the problems. Anyone having stability issues has a hardware problem.

[joesworld]

...don't forget about the nasty and annoying bug that often resets the interior lighting color back to default when you restart the car. Seems minor but has a huge impact on the annoyance factor of MFT.

[CinnamonEdge]

Mine always starts as the aqua green then fades to the color that I have set once the car starts. I do wish that I had the white LED color like my wife has in her Mercury Milan. Kinda weird there are two blue colors that look almost alike and no white.

[wlepse]

Or reverse cams stopping/flipping, phone background noise, USB that randomly is recognized, GPS location randomly off and voice recognition that functions 25% of the time. I am sure there are others I am forgetting but I think that qualifies as plagued. Also sucks that even though my system has had problems from day one if I want ford to look at it I will have to spend $100. Also ford has to make up their minds....is this software or hardware. Early on we were told to wait for the next update then the magical rewrite but none fixed the issues. Then they blamed hardware then we were told again to wait for update. I have had apim replaced at least twice and we still have issues. At this point I have lost all hope that ford can or will make this system work right.

[cv27]

Or reverse cams stopping/flipping, phone background noise, USB that randomly is recognized, GPS location randomly off and voice recognition that functions 25% of the time. I am sure there are others I am forgetting but I think that qualifies as plagued. Also sucks that even though my system has had problems from day one if I want ford to look at it I will have to spend $100. Also ford has to make up their minds....is this software or hardware. Early on we were told to wait for the next update then the magical rewrite but none fixed the issues. Then they blamed hardware then we were told again to wait for update. I have had apim replaced at least twice and we still have issues. At this point I have lost all hope that ford can or will make this system work right.

I use the Navigation all the time; only once have I seen it position the car off the road and after a few minutes it corrected.

 

I use Voice recognition quite often, in French on top of that: the issue I see is being constrained by the available vocabulary and syntax. Not much flexibility in recognition, most probably because of available processing power. We're told Sync3 will be closer to natural language: we'll see.

 

I've never had an issue with the reverse cam, nor interior lighting, nor with all the issues reported here. The issue I have had is with the software and, as others have said, 3.6 seems to bring it to an acceptable level.

 

So, why have I been so "lucky" ?

 

Obviously, forums are ideal to vent one's frustration or to ask others if they have had a similar experience. I also read about bad experience with dealerships: why not ask around and switch?

 

So, I really think it's great that people post their issues, just in case I come across one of them in the future. I understand people expressing their frustration, for a short while.

 

What I find difficult is reading from people that relentlessly post negative, nonconstructive comments. It gets tiring and it begs the question: why don't you get rid of that "trash Ford" ? Why are you still posting here? Maybe tied to a lease? Maybe psychologically inclined to confront? In any case, those people made their point months, years ago. So what's the objective with this continuous bashing?

 

Am I totally satisfied with my Edge? No, I can see too many ways to improve this rig. Has anyone compared the Edge to a BMW, Lexus, Infinity or whatever only to realize that the others cost several thousands more (try $10-20k) for equivalent features? Nonetheless, from my perspective, it's the best ride in terms of ratio: price to technology and comfort.

[wlepse]

I use the Navigation all the time; only once have I seen it position the car off the road and after a few minutes it corrected.

 

I use Voice recognition quite often, in French on top of that: the issue I see is being constrained by the available vocabulary and syntax. Not much flexibility in recognition, most probably because of available processing power. We're told Sync3 will be closer to natural language: we'll see.

 

I've never had an issue with the reverse cam, nor interior lighting, nor with all the issues reported here. The issue I have had is with the software and, as others have said, 3.6 seems to bring it to an acceptable level.

 

So, why have I been so "lucky" ?

 

Obviously, forums are ideal to vent one's frustration or to ask others if they have had a similar experience. I also read about bad experience with dealerships: why not ask around and switch?

 

So, I really think it's great that people post their issues, just in case I come across one of them in the future. I understand people expressing their frustration, for a short while.

 

What I find difficult is reading from people that relentlessly post negative, nonconstructive comments. It gets tiring and it begs the question: why don't you get rid of that "trash Ford" ? Why are you still posting here? Maybe tied to a lease? Maybe psychologically inclined to confront? In any case, those people made their point months, years ago. So what's the objective with this continuous bashing?

 

Am I totally satisfied with my Edge? No, I can see too many ways to improve this rig. Has anyone compared the Edge to a BMW, Lexus, Infinity or whatever only to realize that the others cost several thousands more (try $10-20k) for equivalent features? Nonetheless, from my perspective, it's the best ride in terms of ratio: price to technology and comfort.

I can totally understand your frustration about reading such posts over and over, but imagine my frustration. I have paid for a vehicle that still doesn't work reliably. Over and over I have been told by Ford to what for the next update, then told I had to wait for replacement APIM's...all of which I have done to no avail. Now I am out of warranty and the dealers refuse to look at the system; even though I have a well documented history of problems, without charging me $100 diagnostic fee. This was confirmed at two other local dealers. I had originally thought when Ford up'd the warranty they did it on the system not just the APIM.

 

As for why I still have the Edge; well this is two fold. First this is my wife's DD. With the exception of the reverse camera issue, the quirks don't drive her as crazy as they do me. If this were my ride it would have been gone long ago. Maybe since she drives a shorter distance, something not working right for 15 min isn't as infuriating as an hour plus ride. Second, since the issues with MFT are well known the trade in on this vehicle puts us in a position where we would take a loss. Oh and not to mention, Ford has promised they would make this right. I guess my trust was misplaced.

 

As I have posted in other threads, I am fully aware that many people have MFT systems that are stable and seem to be working fine. I am happy for those people, jealous but happy. But as much as you may get frustrated with my posts of continual problems, I get frustrated with the continual white washing some on this forum do. The truth is there are many people that are still having problems and Ford moving to a new platform means I will likely get no help.

[akirby]

Stating that 3.6 fixes virtually all of the serious software issues and that the vast majority of MFT owners do not have these problems is not white washing.

 

Individual vehicles can have many problems that others don't. It sucks that yours can't be fixed to your satisfaction whether it's MFT or anything else.

 

From here on out please limit the sync 3 discussion to sync 3 and not to rehashing MFT problems or history. If you want to do that start a new topic.

[SmilingMike]

Because the R.I.M. (Blackberry) software works so well. Lol

I wish Apple would have developed something for Ford.

Also, who owns the name SYNC? Microsoft? Since it says SYNC by Microsoft

Heck no. I don't wan't Apple anywhere near my business.