How is BlueCruise for you?

[ericpullen]

When doing full hands free mode, I’ve also noticed a lot of ping ponging between lanes, so much so my wife says it makes her car sick. I just keep my hands on the wheel and try and keep it more steady.

Still not sure what I’m going to do when bluecruise runs out, but as it sits right now I probably wouldn’t keep it.

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[Tyler Durden]

Did I miss the memo? All you Lariat ER's (I'm one) and Platinum's keep saying something to the effect of "until BC runs out...".

I assumed I get the "keep" BC, but it's only 3 years?

 

[beatle]

Yeah, only 3 years. Check out your connected services here:

https://www.ford.com/myaccount/connected-services

Connected navigation is also a subscription as is Alexa built in and Ford Streaming.

 

[ChrisCon]

-Absolutely love Blue Cruise-
I drive both major highways on Long Island most days of the week in Blue Cruise Hands Free.
Stats- 54 Days of ownership and 5975 miles

Pros-
- On Sunrise Highway it works absolutely perfectly without ever disengaging for the entire length except at a two lane to three lane merge . In this scenario the lane is added as a new left lane and due to lack of markings at the lane creation, you have to hold the wheel. Hands free blue cruise automatically cancels into hands on blue cruise and then reengages hands free blue cruise in about 5 seconds. On the Long Island Expressway (LIE AKA Hell I E , a road that is in such poor condition, it could be in a third world country) , as long as the pavement is marked, it does a decent job. Once this road is fixed, I would assume I will get better results.

- Doesn't ping pong for me. When I first read about ping ponging, I assumed it was drivers trying to go hands free on "hands on" roads, where it will ping pong and you should be touching the wheel anyways.. I haven't noticed any ping ponging and my truck seems to follow the lane marking located to the left of the truck.

- Works in almost all weather conditions. I've used blue cruise hands free in steady rain storms and it works well . Works fine at night too. Only during torrential down pours have I seen issues.

- Feels safe up to the maximum 79 (sometimes 80mph) software governed speed limit. To me, the quality of blue cruise works equally at all speeds. I particularly enjoy using it in bumper to bumper traffic.

- Nanny isn't terrible. I wear polarized ray ban aviators during all hours of day light. Blue Cruise has had no false positives and many times is more forgiving if I look away but don't move my head. Not sure if the polarized lenses are giving me more leeway with eye tracking. I prefer the fact that there are nearly no audio cues, but in the beginning I would have preferred them.

Cons-
- With "hands on" blue cruise you have to fight the wheel once in a while to prove you are holding it. In my old 2016 F150 platinum, as long as I squeezed the wheel in the correct spots, I could hold it extremely loosely and not get "keep your hands on the wheel" errors. In this configuration, I have to jerk the wheel slightly once in a while to prove I'm holding it.

- In general I just wish the visualizations and entire UI was better. Tesla wins here by a mile. You get strange quirks in the UI like you can only see "percentage left" on the dash when in blue cruise or with the calm screen, yet you can't see it in regular mode.

- Yes it follows too far from the car in front of you even in the closest setting. With aggressive New York drivers, I get looks like "you shouldn't be in the left lane" because it appears to them I'm driving too slowly, when I'm just locked into the car in front of me. People constantly try to merge between me and the vehicle in front.

- No lane changes of course.

To compare it to Tesla autopilot, it seems to be more predictable to me, if also slightly less advanced, but I love not having to hold the wheel, and sitting in bumper to bumper traffic on the belt parkway has gone from a hell I'd only wish on my worst enemies, to only a slightly bad experience.

I will definitely be renewing the feature in three years.

 

[beatle]

Your positive feedback is encouraging. I wonder why some trucks ping pong and others don't? I plan to talk to my dealer but not sure how much they're really going to know.

 

[RickLightning]

Your positive feedback is encouraging. I wonder why some trucks ping pong and others don't? I plan to talk to my dealer but not sure how much they're really going to know.

Some Mach-E owners note the issue. Others say "what are you talking about?"

A "fix" suggested by some is to INCREASE the following distance, and it goes away. I have not tested this.

 

[sotek2345]

Some Mach-E owners note the issue. Others say "what are you talking about?"

A "fix" suggested by some is to INCREASE the following distance, and it goes away. I have not tested this.

I will add my anecdote. In our Mach-e, we have had no issues with ping-ponging in the lane after several thousand miles on blue cruise. We also have the follow distance set to the longest possible, so maybe it is related.

 

[beatle]

I'll try anything! I am heading into the office today and will test following distance on the way home in rush hour.

 

[Amps]

it follows too far from the car in front of you even in the closest setting. With aggressive New York drivers, I get looks like "you shouldn't be in the left lane" because it appears to them I'm driving too slowly, when I'm just locked into the car in front of me.

How does it react when someone cuts in front of you? Does it do regen and brake lights to make the driver following you do the same? Then, the new gap encourages another car to join you ahead of you in the lane you're in?

Typically, if someone squeezes ahead of me in normal rush hour traffic, I let up on the accelerator and cover the brake in case I need it without 'brake checking' the driver following me.

 

[RickLightning]

How does it react when someone cuts in front of you? Does it do regen and brake lights to make the driver following you do the same? Then, the new gap encourages another car to join you ahead of you in the lane you're in?

Typically, if someone squeezes ahead of me in normal rush hour traffic, I let up on the accelerator and cover the brake in case I need it without 'brake checking' the driver following me.

Again, this is not BlueCruise, but normal Adaptive Cruise with Stop and Go.

Yes, if someone comes in, it will brake, if needed, and then adjust, by moving back, allowing another person to pull in.

If you are in rush hour traffic doing speed (vs. bumper to bumper) and people are aggressive, you'll keep moving backwards unless you keep some pressure on the accelerator.

 

[sotek2345]

Again, this is not BlueCruise, but normal Adaptive Cruise with Stop and Go.

Yes, if someone comes in, it will brake, if needed, and then adjust, by moving back, allowing another person to pull in.

If you are in rush hour traffic doing speed (vs. bumper to bumper) and people are aggressive, you'll keep moving backwards unless you keep some pressure on the accelerator.

I find the longer following distance helps with this a lot - more room for folks to move in with minimal need to slow down.

 

[beatle]

How does it react when someone cuts in front of you? Does it do regen and brake lights to make the driver following you do the same? Then, the new gap encourages another car to join you ahead of you in the lane you're in?

Typically, if someone squeezes ahead of me in normal rush hour traffic, I let up on the accelerator and cover the brake in case I need it without 'brake checking' the driver following me.

The Lightning did not seem as "panicky" as Tesla to slow down and jab the brakes when a car merges in front of you, but neither is particularly human like in their behavior. I follow the same routine as you do of letting off the gas and covering the brake if someone cuts me off.

 

[ChrisCon]

How does it react when someone cuts in front of you? Does it do regen and brake lights to make the driver following you do the same? Then, the new gap encourages another car to join you ahead of you in the lane you're in?

Typically, if someone squeezes ahead of me in normal rush hour traffic, I let up on the accelerator and cover the brake in case I need it without 'brake checking' the driver following me.

It's extremely hard to say exactly when brake lights are being turned while in blue cruise except at night where I can see the reflection of them on the back of my truck. That being said, it does regen/brake at that regular "regen speed" which isn't terrible and then opens up a new gap in front of you that is the same distance as the previous gap. It doesn't feel scary or jerky.

More importantly though, a "con" I should have mentioned before. I consistently worry people think I'm "brake checking" them in blue cruise. With so many instances of road rage these days, I don't need to get into an argument with someone because my truck is driving.

 

[PopsGG]

My feedback

Over all I love it.

• + Hands free is so much nicer than I thought it would be. Being able to rest your hands on your lap is very nice.
• + No ping pong for me. Although I have heard this before and it caused me to realize humans ping pong when they drive too. Just watch the people in front of you.
• - The system wants you to hold it on turns that it can easily handle. As a test ignore the alerts and watch, it will handle the turns alone.
• - The amount of torque you need to apply for it to detect you are holding the wheel is too high.
• Oddity, the camera/infrared lights are on constantly, even for a while after you turn off and lock the car. Why Ford?!

Will I pay for it after the trial? Unlikely, ACC and lane centering is enough for me. To me, hands free I might be worth $3-$5 dollars a month, and I am guessing they will want more than that.

 

[Amps]

To me, hands free I might be worth $3-$5 dollars a month, and I am guessing they will want more than that.

I think GM wants $25 a month for SuperCruise after the trial period on Bolts. I don't know if it includes anything else like OnStar.

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