Ford BlueCruise OTA Rollout Delayed Until Q1 2022

[Pioneer74]

I have only been able to activate BlueCruise when cruise control is on and don't know if there is another way to do it.

My experience with the turning lane was to have the truck make a rather sharp and unexpected change of direction into a turning lane. The system was probably following the solid righthand stripe, with a delayed awareness of its change of relationship to the vehicle and did not have the ability to self-deactivate when there were changes to the striping pattern on the road. Fortunately, due to the frequent alerts telling me to have my hands on the wheel, I was able to correct back to my intended lane, and the instrument display subsequently flashed an alert notifying me that it had cancelled that action.

BlueCruise is looking like more of an assisted highway cruise control functionality and does not have a self driving functionality like Auto Pilot.

I'm curious. Ford says that BlueCruise is only available on mapped sections of "divided highways called Hands-Free Blue Zones". Where are you using Bluecruise that has turn lanes to confuse it?

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[djdj1000]

I'm curious. Ford says that BlueCruise is only available on mapped sections of "divided highways called Hands-Free Blue Zones". Where are you using Bluecruise that has turn lanes to confuse it?

Yes, I saw that descriptor of BlueCruise as well. My intention was to see if the system worked in my area at all- not knowing where Ford's mapped areas are. While I would be surprised if the local divided highway was part of that library, it had some functionality as described. Will be able to test on I70 next week and do expect that will be part of the mapped network.

 

[gtotco]

I have only been able to activate BlueCruise when cruise control is on and don't know if there is another way to do it.

My experience with the turning lane was to have the truck make a rather sharp and unexpected change of direction into a turning lane. The system was probably following the solid righthand stripe, with a delayed awareness of its change of relationship to the vehicle and did not have the ability to self-deactivate when there were changes to the striping pattern on the road. Fortunately, due to the frequent alerts telling me to have my hands on the wheel, I was able to correct back to my intended lane, and the instrument display subsequently flashed an alert notifying me that it had cancelled that action.

BlueCruise is looking like more of an assisted highway cruise control functionality and does not have a self driving functionality like Auto Pilot.

Autopilot does not have any self driving. It requires hands on the wheel at all times and is just lane centering and automatic cruise control. It is basically the same as the non BlueCruise Ford CoPilot 360 but tuned a little bit better for curves.

 

[Pioneer74]

Yes, I saw that descriptor of BlueCruise as well. My intention was to see if the system worked in my area at all- not knowing where Ford's mapped areas are. While I would be surprised if the local divided highway was part of that library, it had some functionality as described. Will be able to test on I70 next week and do expect that will be part of the mapped network.

So, where were you driving when you made this post? Was it in a "Hands-free Zone" or not?

Have been playing with Bluecruise for the last couple of days, and it still needs work. Drifts to the centerline, corrects quickly (making me worried that other drivers would think I’m intoxicated) and cannot handle turning lanes. It also requires some form of steering input every 5-10 seconds or you get an alert

it maybe the newest thing, but it isn’t there yet

 

[djdj1000]

So, where were you driving when you made this post? Was it in a "Hands-free Zone" or not?

To answer your first question- Colorado

As far as your second question goes- I have no idea. Will take a look if you have a map of the areas.

 

[additionsola]

There's a map available via Fordpass app.

Launch App - Go to map - zoom out - notice "Red Roads."

Those are Bluecruise applicable.

 

[BHunted1]

There's a map available via Fordpass app.

Launch App - Go to map - zoom out - notice "Red Roads."

Those are Bluecruise applicable.

Great tip! Thanks...

 

[NewtruckinFL]

I love how Ford removed Blue Cruise from my login page on my truck. For me its still dishonest. I expected to have it by now and I bought mine in March. By the time I get it, it will be a year old and that's 1 year I could of used it. I sure hope they through in a free year at least. (I was told June it will be out).

Its also not fair that new customers have it, but us who have waited are screwed. If its hardware changes then Ford needs to step up and replace it. I don't think its OTA updates, I work in IT and pushing updates is not that big of a deal. Its so easy to stagger and AT&T has plenty of bandwidth. Lets say that was the issue. I am sure people can do the USB or go in for this 1 big update. I would be there in 5 mins to get Blue Cruise working.

I never stopped to consider that it could actually be a hardware issue. I think that would be a major problem for Ford because it is not just F-150 owners but also a ton of MachE owners that need this software installed over the air. I am resigned to the fact that Ford makes great hardware and is working to catch up on their software. Based upon the limited number of F-150's that were ordered with BlueCruise capability I get the feeling we are a small minority of owners that actually care about this capability and that most are in the "I bought a truck to drive it" camp. Otherwise it is hard to explain the lack of urgency by the company to provide communication to its early adapters.

 

[RyanStroeder]

I never stopped to consider that it could actually be a hardware issue. I think that would be a major problem for Ford because it is not just F-150 owners but also a ton of MachE owners that need this software installed over the air. I am resigned to the fact that Ford makes great hardware and is working to catch up on their software. Based upon the limited number of F-150's that were ordered with BlueCruise capability I get the feeling we are a small minority of owners that actually care about this capability and that most are in the "I bought a truck to drive it" camp. Otherwise it is hard to explain the lack of urgency by the company to provide communication to its early adapters.

It’s not hard to explain the lack of urgency if Ford doesn’t think it will have a negative effect on sales. They can go ahead and not communicate clearly to customers, delay rollout for who knows how long and not suffer any loss of sales.

it’s unfortunate and a total bummer to those of us who were promised it, but it’s not looking good.

 

[Mash150]

It’s not hard to explain the lack of urgency if Ford doesn’t think it will have a negative effect on sales. They can go ahead and not communicate clearly to customers, delay rollout for who knows how long and not suffer any loss of sales.

it’s unfortunate and a total bummer to those of us who were promised it, but it’s not looking good.

Here in Canada it’s just around the corner. Don’t know if it’s a totally straight road , or after you pass a corner it’s right around the next corner. I suppose we will get it when we get it. Not much else to do but wait.

 

[Itsjustmd]

Judging from the feedback in here, I'd guess it's not that they can't do the OTA. It sounds like it's in beta lol. They just decided to use the people who just bought as the beta program instead. Just doesn't sound ready for prime time. Which I guess I get. But at least let us sign up for the beta. Honestly, if they would just fix the issue with it asking for my hands to be on the wheel when my hands are already on the wheel I'd be fine. I love the lane centering. I'm fine with keeping my hands on the wheel with it. It does get tiring having to exaggerate it to keep it from beeping and cutting off.

 

[NewtruckinFL]

Judging from the feedback in here, I'd guess it's not that they can't do the OTA. It sounds like it's in beta lol. They just decided to use the people who just bought as the beta program instead. Just doesn't sound ready for prime time. Which I guess I get. But at least let us sign up for the beta. Honestly, if they would just fix the issue with it asking for my hands to be on the wheel when my hands are already on the wheel I'd be fine. I love the lane centering. I'm fine with keeping my hands on the wheel with it. It does get tiring having to exaggerate it to keep it from beeping and cutting off.

That would be great but in the very limited communication that was parceled out of the Ford quarterly investor conference call and a few web articles it sounded like it was not about improving the system first, but rather it was just that they weren't able to send the BlueCruise update over the air at this time. If Ford actually said that they were making improvements to the system before sending that would be awesome, but I haven't seen anything to that effect. What is frustrating all of the F-150 and MachE owners that purchased the hardware before Job 2 builds is that it seems we are just not able to use the same system all of the new owners get because they can't figure out how to get it to us. Someone please show me where Ford is saying they need to make improvements to the BlueCruise software before sending out. What I have seen is them saying they need to make improvements to the delivery system to make the Over the air update a better experience, possibly by reducing the number of updates it would require. Big difference from waiting for an improved version of the software.

 

[gtotco]

That would be great but in the very limited communication that was parceled out of the Ford quarterly investor conference call and a few web articles it sounded like it was not about improving the system first, but rather it was just that they weren't able to send the BlueCruise update over the air at this time. If Ford actually said that they were making improvements to the system before sending that would be awesome, but I haven't seen anything to that effect. What is frustrating all of the F-150 and MachE owners that purchased the hardware before Job 2 builds is that it seems we are just not able to use the same system all of the new owners get because they can't figure out how to get it to us. Someone please show me where Ford is saying they need to make improvements to the BlueCruise software before sending out. What I have seen is them saying they need to make improvements to the delivery system to make the Over the air update a better experience, possibly by reducing the number of updates it would require. Big difference from waiting for an improved version of the software.

“We wanted to improve the customer experience,” Farley said. “So we pushed it back in terms of an OTA because we want it to be much simpler for the customer than was originally planned. And that takes a little planning to consolidate. Often these Level 2 systems require multiple updates to the car. We want it to be very simple. That took a little bit more work on our team’s part.”

I read the subject of the experience relating to BC not the OTA. This is from the most recent earnings call.

https://www.theverge.com/2021/10/28/22750476/ford-hands-free-bluecruise-2022-delay-adas-farley

 

[NewtruckinFL]

“We wanted to improve the customer experience,” Farley said. “So we pushed it back in terms of an OTA because we want it to be much simpler for the customer than was originally planned. And that takes a little planning to consolidate. Often these Level 2 systems require multiple updates to the car. We want it to be very simple. That took a little bit more work on our team’s part.”

I read the subject of the experience relating to BC not the OTA. This is from the most recent earnings call.

https://www.theverge.com/2021/10/28/22750476/ford-hands-free-bluecruise-2022-delay-adas-farley

As a stock owner I did listen to the call.

"So we pushed it back in terms of an OTA because we wanted it to be much simpler for the customer than was originally planned." - In terms of an OTA. Simpler, meaning less updates.

"And that takes a little planning to consolidate." Consolidate = less updates. Still no mention of an improvement to the BlueCruise operating system.

"Often these Level 2 systems require multiple updates to the car" - Again, he is indicating he wants to see fewer required OTA updates to get the system installed.

"We want it to be very simple" - Again, fewer updates. Alternatively, I guess you could read this sentence in isolation and think he means making the BlueCruise system more simple to use, but unlikely. And how does BlueCruise need to be more simple to use? I would gladly use the current system until it is improved, seems simple enough to me.

Trying to parse meaning from an investor call is probably not the way a major company should be communicating with its customers. With that said, I would love to be wrong and the delay based upon making updates to the BlueCruise system itself. But if it is not ready for prime time, why release it on all new builds? And if it is ready for prime time, give it to me.

 

[gtotco]

As a stock owner I did listen to the call.

"So we pushed it back in terms of an OTA because we wanted it to be much simpler for the customer than was originally planned." - In terms of an OTA. Simpler, meaning less updates.

"And that takes a little planning to consolidate." Consolidate = less updates. Still no mention of an improvement to the BlueCruise operating system.

"Often these Level 2 systems require multiple updates to the car" - Again, he is indicating he wants to see fewer required OTA updates to get the system installed.

"We want it to be very simple" - Again, fewer updates. Alternatively, I guess you could read this sentence in isolation and think he means making the BlueCruise system more simple to use, but unlikely. And how does BlueCruise need to be more simple to use? I would gladly use the current system until it is improved, seems simple enough to me.

Trying to parse meaning from an investor call is probably not the way a major company should be communicating with its customers. With that said, I would love to be wrong and the delay based upon making updates to the BlueCruise system itself. But if it is not ready for prime time, why release it on all new builds? And if it is ready for prime time, give it to me.

I mean the Level 2 multiple updates is clearly a BC issue. I read this as they want to simplify OTAs by not pushing them weekly in order to fix BC bugs (like Tesla has to do with its FSD users). Minimizing OTAs IMHO is a good thing - my iPhone updates less than monthly and most updates are at the beginning of a version update.

Maybe I’m still reading this wrong but I still read this completely as “we want to minimize product updates on BC (because it isn’t ready and we don’t want to say that) and OTA’s are the vector for doing that”. I think the use of the word OTA is maybe distracting from the subject and that may be purposeful.

I do agree, however, that they should be more clear and just admit the product itself still needs work. This is where Tesla has really screwed up auto execs narratives on these systems, as is consistently demonstrated here by users who think Autopilot does a lot of things it doesn’t. Elon has figured out that it’s better to put narratives out that the general public thinks are true (like that it drives itself when it’s really pretty similar to all ACC plus LkAS systems) rather than deliver products. I mean shame on Farley for following in that lane, but it does seem this is just becoming the domestic auto industry norm where you put out products in small numbers so you can brag they exist until it’s actually delivered. Earlier in this thread (I believe) I praised Barra for the more tempered approach to messaging GM has generally taken and I will commend her again here.

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