FDRS Shows these updates available -

[Kansan]

This is the list of available updates for my ‘24 Flash. I’ve had it one month and have had 4 OTA updates. I’ve applied my ForSCAN preferences and the truck is setup great.

I can’t tell if I already have BC 1.4 installed or if that is yet to come, but BC works great and it doesn’t nag me often about watching the road. It does have lane change assist and lane repositioning in the settings - does that indicate 1.4, or was that part of 1.2 or 1.3?

I'm considering jumping into the FDRS pool. My motivation includes having direct control over the updates and learning something new. I'm wondering if it's worth the effort though - because I am receiving OTA updates. Are the updates in the list worth the effort of installing via FDRS to obtain them earlier than OTA? What will I gain? Any drawbacks to installing any of these - in particular, I'm wondering about the CMR update - I'd hate to end up with an update that causes BC to nag me more.

Thanks for your input!

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[21st Century Truck]

I found it wonderfully informative when I bought an annual FDRS license and the associated equipment back in 2022, as it happened from a former Mach E owner who had sold his Mach E.

In the following year, as I updated my Mach E and some other Mach Es whenever I chose to, usually when the Mach E blog had alerted me to some new update, I learned simply a tremendous amount about my own car and also about Ford's software module systems, etc.

After a year I let my FDRS license lapse and got the 2-day one about every 5 - 6 months, just to keep the car updated if some available OTA didn't get to it. I found that was enough, as by then I really understood a lot about that car's software and had an innate sense about what update was a real need and what update was basically fluffy stuff.

Now with the Lightning, I follow the 2-day update purchase(s) every six months or so. I would be far less comfortable and far more "update-anxious" without that one 1st year of FDRS learning on the Mach E.

For accessory update equipment I'd look at the Clore 1600 power supply, the Mongoose cable and also a small portable SSD with a USB connector dongle to significantly speed up "USB-type" software loads.

In my opinion, the "necessary / sometimes critical" updates are usually for the IPMA camera system, the powertrain management modules, AC and DC charging modules and pretty much any central electrical management module like the BMS. I classify the "not critical but useful" series of updates as anything to do with the HVAC system, where the updates often seem seasonal, and the IPC for driver's operator information. In my view, the door module updates and the TRM module updates, as well as most of the audio system and Sync (APIM) updates, are (gasp gasp) prettifying stuff... nice to get and not truly necessary for the truck's basic functions.

I hope this is useful info for You.

 

[rugedraw]

@Kansan 2024 trucks shipped with BC 1.2. The IPMA software for BC 1.4 has not been released for them yet. BC 1.2, 1.3 and 1.4 all had lane change etc, but each newer version is supposed to be more stable in terms of overall performance and not disengaging as often as the previous version. The newer BC maps where they add roads to the BC network is what allows BC to work on roads where it didn't work with older versions.

 

[Kansan]

I found it wonderfully informative when I bought an annual FDRS license and the associated equipment back in 2022, as it happened from a former Mach E owner who had sold his Mach E.

In the following year, as I updated my Mach E and some other Mach Es whenever I chose to, usually when the Mach E blog had alerted me to some new update, I learned simply a tremendous amount about my own car and also about Ford's software module systems, etc.

After a year I let my FDRS license lapse and got the 2-day one about every 5 - 6 months, just to keep the car updated if some available OTA didn't get to it. I found that was enough, as by then I really understood a lot about that car's software and had an innate sense about what update was a real need and what update was basically fluffy stuff.

Now with the Lightning, I follow the 2-day update purchase(s) every six months or so. I would be far less comfortable and far more "update-anxious" without that one 1st year of FDRS learning on the Mach E.

For accessory update equipment I'd look at the Clore 1600 power supply, the Mongoose cable and also a small portable SSD with a USB connector dongle to significantly speed up "USB-type" software loads.

In my opinion, the "necessary / sometimes critical" updates are usually for the IMPA camera system, the powertrain management modules, AC and DC charging modules and pretty much any central electrical management module like the BMS. I classify the "not critical but useful" series of updates as anything to do with the HVAC system, where the updates often seem seasonal, and the IPC for driver's operator information. In my view, the door module updates and the TRM module updates, as well as most of the audio system and Sync (APIM) updates, are (gasp gasp) prettifying stuff... nice to get and not truly necessary for the truck's basic functions.

I hope this is useful info for You.

That's great insight. Thank you!

 

[Kansan]

@Kansan 2024 trucks shipped with BC 1.2. The IPMA software for BC 1.4 has not been released for them yet. BC 1.2, 1.3 and 1.4 all had lane change etc, but each newer version is supposed to be more stable in terms of overall performance and not disengaging as often as the previous version. The newer BC maps where they add roads to the BC network is what allows BC to work on roads where it didn't work with older versions.

Thank you for the info! Reading through the posts, I hadn't picked up on that yet.

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