OTA Update Question

[pkirby11]

Mine spent over 6 hours at the dealership getting updates; I had a couple of gremlins which apparently are resolved with the updates. The tech said he couldn't understand why Ford requires the truck in the shop rather than OTA and he's in the dark what will happen once the truck is out of warranty. So far no cost to me (except my time). 2023 XLT ER

I wish I had a dealer that knew or cared about doing those for me. I asked because of the problems and they tried to update it, only updated the Sync module and nothing else. Said there were no more updates which was wrong but they would not budge. That is the other problem with the whole update issue. Neither Ford or dealers really know or care, yeah you find some good ones at times but that is my whole reason for being so disapointed. And you are right, once the truck is out of warranty either you buy the hardware to update it yourself fearing that it might brick it or you just wait.

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[Daragh]

I got two updates with a week of buying the truck two weeks ago and then nothing. I guess I am use to the iPhone when an update comes out everyone can update it right away. I do remember the beginning of iPhone when the servers would get overloaded and phones were bricked in the middle of an update. So I guess I can understand the by vin release or slow roll out. I remember how angry people got when their phone was bricked. Imagine if it was your truck. I think we have all gotten so used to OTA updates on other devices being immediate. Imagine if we all of a sudden had to use dial up internet again

If there were million or billions of trucks getting updates with 5 years of differing firmware and hardware then the random elongated roll out could be understood, but there’s not there’s only tens of thousands if that, and at the present time the firmware/hardware differences are minimal.

With respect to fear of updates bricking a truck, again goes back to my original point your update creators and testers (Engineers) need to be competent.

If Ford wants to play in the OTA update space they need to get their act together! What in place at the minute is significantly sub par for 2024.

 

[BabyDoc1012]

If there were million or billions of trucks getting updates with 5 years of differing firmware and hardware then the random elongated roll out could be understood, but there’s not there’s only tens of thousands if that, and at the present time the firmware/hardware differences are minimal.

With respect to fear of updates bricking a truck, again goes back to my original point your update creators and testers (Engineers) need to be competent.

If Ford wants to play in the OTA update space they need to get their act together! What in place at the minute is significantly sub par for 2024.

I agree, the team should have definitely been in place before the vehicles started rolling off the line. But I think it is the growing pains of a legacy automaker. I don’t think Ford thought the OTAs were going to be as involved and often as they expected. Ford is only like 3 years into the EV game. It will get better with time or as you point out Ford will pay the price with sales. It is difficult to change the mindset of a company that has been building vehicles one way for as long as it’s been in existence. The price we pay as early adopters.

 

[TaxmanHog]

EV's are a limited subset of the Ford portfolio needing OTA updates, latest generation ICE vehicles also get them.

FORD execs have admitted in recent interviews that they need to bring many of the contractor-based dependencies in-house, it is going to take time as they age out old ways for new ways.

This is a 121-year-old company, not some young bullish whipper snapper

 

[SpaceEVDriver]

EV's are a limited subset of the Ford portfolio needing OTA updates, latest generation ICE vehicles also get them.

FORD execs have admitted in recent interviews that they need to bring many of the contractor-based dependencies in-house, it is going to take time as they age out old ways for new ways.

This is a 121-year-old company, not some young bullish whipper snapper

And the difference in numbers of vehicles delivered with OTA capable hardware from Ford and the most-mentioned brand that "does it right" is:
Ford: About 18-22 million vehicles since 2020 when Ford announced that it would be putting OTA capabilities into its new vehicles. And they have somewhere between a dozen and two dozen models worldwide.
Other Brand: Fewer than 5 million vehicles delivered worldwide in its entire existence, five models with OTA capabilities.

There's no comparison. The complexities of doing OTA are far greater for Ford than the other brand.

 

[Daragh]

EV's are a limited subset of the Ford portfolio needing OTA updates, latest generation ICE vehicles also get them.

FORD execs have admitted in recent interviews that they need to bring many of the contractor-based dependencies in-house, it is going to take time as they age out old ways for new ways.

This is a 121-year-old company, not some young bullish whipper snapper

Don’t release a product if you’re not capable of supporting it.

The age of a company is no excuse in failing to adapt and modernize to match their products even a subset!!!

 

[TaxmanHog]

Don’t release a product if you’re not capable of supporting it.

The age of a company is no excuse in failing to adapt and modernize to match their products even a subset!!!

Their drive to beat out T has consequences, no disagreement the current generation of technical experts available in industry-wide can make a turnaround, Ford needs to employ them and give them license to create, but they got to work through transition, not make irrational shake outs like someone did recently, I wouldn't want the leadership of Ford doing what T did.

 

[H8N-8NT-EZ]

@Ford Motor Company are you reading any of these threads? The hundreds of complaints about OTA updates and those frustrated with your team's inability to communicate let alone update our vehicles????

 

[pkirby11]

@Ford Motor Company are you reading any of these threads? The hundreds of complaints about OTA updates and those frustrated with your team's inability to communicate let alone update our vehicles????

Sadly no I do not think they listen or care. I am in the EA program, don't get any updates any faster and I actually had a Zoom call meeting with them for a QA they asked us to join and they seemed to agree with me but had no upcoming solutions. Now they just seem to ignore me, I guess being vocal isn't liked.

 

[RickLightning]

Sadly no I do not think they listen or care. I am in the EA program, don't get any updates any faster and I actually had a Zoom call meeting with them for a QA they asked us to join and they seemed to agree with me but had no upcoming solutions. Now they just seem to ignore me, I guess being vocal isn't liked.

I've heard that being in the EA program, you get surveys and such, and sometimes meetings, and all come with a confidentiality agreement that if you talk about Fight Club you get kicked out of Fight Club.

 

[BabyDoc1012]

Don’t release a product if you’re not capable of supporting it.

The age of a company is no excuse in failing to adapt and modernize to match their products even a subset!!!

I don’t think they released a product they couldn’t support. They released a product that isn’t supported according to you and your timeline.

The age of a company does affect the adaptation and modernization of a company. OTA updates are still a very new aspect of the automotive industry. 121 years of culture does not change over night. I’d rather them take their time get it right. We are early adopters, the guinea pigs. For EVs to become mainstream, it is going to take legacy manufacturers to get it right. There are going to be growing pains, unfortunately we feel them. Give it a few more years and the updates will be as smooth as your smart phone.

 

[pkirby11]

I've heard that being in the EA program, you get surveys and such, and sometimes meetings, and all come with a confidentiality agreement that if you talk about Fight Club you get kicked out of Fight Club.

I've been in plenty of beta's over my life and alpha's. The EA program is just as bad as everything else Ford does. First the NDA is non-existent, but even with that being said mentioning what it does is not against NDA. In fact they even mention what EA does which is what I did. Second I haven't gotten any beta software or software that any other user hasn't. But what was funny is all the updates I got were consider available because I was in EA. Here have a EA software release that other non EA members have.

 

[pkirby11]

I don’t think they released a product they couldn’t support. They released a product that isn’t supported according to you and your timeline.

The age of a company does affect the adaptation and modernization of a company. OTA updates are still a very new aspect of the automotive industry. 121 years of culture does not change over night. I’d rather them take their time get it right. We are early adopters, the guinea pigs. For EVs to become mainstream, it is going to take legacy manufacturers to get it right. There are going to be growing pains, unfortunately we feel them. Give it a few more years and the updates will be as smooth as your smart phone.

Early Adopter does not mean beta tester. Anyone would be upset in this situation if you were sold an item that wasn't complete (100% of most games these days) and then never once saw it patched because you are an early adopter. And in this case it's both a money and safety situation, I worry about the systems in my Lightning just going out while driving. I have all kinds of randomness with that Truck and it is amazing that Ford though it was a good idea to release these trucks as they have. Now I'm sure the newer models are better but as it stands my truck is a rolling alpha on wheels that could cause an accident due to Ford's inability to release updates. And here is the thing, I don't care how archaic or bad their systems are. You should have never sold something as an early access with no solid plan in place to fix those vehicles over time. I am upset that BC 1.4 isn't released but that is more feature upgrades which don't affect the overall stability of the truck, I am talking about fixes to the doors, the entertainment system and so on. It's not fun driving down the road and having random errors popup on dash and then disappear seconds later and the dealer has no idea why.

 

[BabyDoc1012]

Early Adopter does not mean beta tester. Anyone would be upset in this situation if you were sold an item that wasn't complete (100% of most games these days) and then never once saw it patched because you are an early adopter. And in this case it's both a money and safety situation, I worry about the systems in my Lightning just going out while driving. I have all kinds of randomness with that Truck and it is amazing that Ford though it was a good idea to release these trucks as they have. Now I'm sure the newer models are better but as it stands my truck is a rolling alpha on wheels that could cause an accident due to Ford's inability to release updates. And here is the thing, I don't care how archaic or bad their systems are. You should have never sold something as an early access with no solid plan in place to fix those vehicles over time. I am upset that BC 1.4 isn't released but that is more feature upgrades which don't affect the overall stability of the truck, I am talking about fixes to the doors, the entertainment system and so on. It's not fun driving down the road and having random errors popup on dash and then disappear seconds later and the dealer has no idea why.

I understand your frustration, I would be just as mad, and loosing my mind if I was having random errors pop up and then go away a few seconds later, or if I was having safety issues with the truck. And I agree the dealerships and their techs need much better/more training. Not just on EVs, but on Ford products. I took my mustang in to the dealer for the state inspection and told the service advisor the registration was in the owners manual compartment which is hidden in the top of the glovebox. I then had to show the service tech, who then had me show all the service techs, and advisors about that spot.
If you dont mind me asking, what is the issue with the doors? I am new to the lightning and have been watching the forum for a while before I pulled the trigger to make sure I knew what to look out for and what issues others were having with their trucks, but I do not recall seeing an issue with the door. Maybe I don't want to know so my anxiety doesn't kick in, LOL.
You are correct early adopter does not mean beta tester, however no team, no matter how good they are, can catch everything and be 100% perfect. And we brave souls to jump on board are going to find things. But the suggestions we make should be for improvement to the product. Safety should be caught before it is released.

 

[pkirby11]

I understand your frustration, I would be just as mad, and loosing my mind if I was having random errors pop up and then go away a few seconds later, or if I was having safety issues with the truck. And I agree the dealerships and their techs need much better/more training. Not just on EVs, but on Ford products. I took my mustang in to the dealer for the state inspection and told the service advisor the registration was in the owners manual compartment which is hidden in the top of the glovebox. I then had to show the service tech, who then had me show all the service techs, and advisors about that spot.
If you dont mind me asking, what is the issue with the doors? I am new to the lightning and have been watching the forum for a while before I pulled the trigger to make sure I knew what to look out for and what issues others were having with their trucks, but I do not recall seeing an issue with the door. Maybe I don't want to know so my anxiety doesn't kick in, LOL.
You are correct early adopter does not mean beta tester, however no team, no matter how good they are, can catch everything and be 100% perfect. And we brave souls to jump on board are going to find things. But the suggestions we make should be for improvement to the product. Safety should be caught before it is released.

The door issue is more a proximity issue, which was just fixed on my dads Mach E but I have no clue if or when I will see that update. But basically the back door sensors for the key fob or the phone to unlock hardly ever work. I literally have to do like almost a dance to make it work where I have to shift my hip with the key almost touching the door. Most of the time I give up and just using the front handle. Again, minor annoyance I know however there are other issues I have trouble with that worry me more. And again it would be one thing knowing that that is just how it is, or even bad hardware but that isn't the issue. As Ford has fixed the issue and has an update they just haven't given it to me yet.

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