Wkendrvr Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 For over a year now, the Ford Escape Hybrid, and the Mercury Mariner Hybrid have been advertised, on the web and even on their window stickers that the Nav radio is MP3 capable AND the radio is Sirius ready. Both claims are PATENTLY false! Once you buy the vehicle, you find in the owners manual that the sticker and website are wrong, the NAV radio (the MOST expensive radio!) can not support MP3's or Sat! http://www.mercuryvehicles.com/marinerhybr...e=sound_systems As you can see in the picture, this is the NAV radio and it clearly states that it supports both sat and mp3. The window sticker says the same. When contacting the dealer you are met with, "We dont know, call Ford" Call Ford and you are met with, "Call the dealer" I understand that specs change, but when you (Ford) have been notified that its wrong and you do NOTHING to correct the bad information, you are guilty of false advertising. Clearly this is FALSE advertising! Does the FTC need to get involved to straighten it out? I want a Nav system that plays MP3's as advertised! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF1011 Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 I think you need to read your owner's manual. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unhappyinmich Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 why do you say the radio is not mp3 compatible? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FLLMTR Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 Apparently, it depends on the year. The 2007 Navigation models apparently are SAT and MP3 compatible, but the 2006 models are not. I have been getting the run around by Ford and the dealer as to how I can install an MP3/Auxiliary input into the 2006 Navigation radios without disabling the SAT, but these guys don't know anything. The people at PEI sell adapters but could not answer the question as to how the 2006 Navigation system is different from the 2007. Is it software and a difference in the wiring harness? Or is it a hardwire difference in the two head units? If it is a software difference, can the 2006 model be updated? If I buy a 2007 Navigation unit will the wiring harness support the MP3 and SAT? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wkendrvr Posted January 31, 2007 Author Share Posted January 31, 2007 (edited) The owners manual CLEARLY states the NAV radio does NOT play MP3. All of the advertising states it does, INCLUDING the window sticker! Its a little thing, but the fact that Ford knows that it doesnt (the owners manual says it doesnt) but they keep advertising (both on the window stickers AND on the website, heck even the DEALER told me that because of the window sticker, that Ford would correct it once they found out that it was wrong. It just shows how Ford cares about the details, they simply don't. And as to reading the owners manual, I wasn't allowed to open it til after signing on the dotted line. Why would I think that the sticker and the website were wrong? Unhappy - if you try to play a cd that has mp3 on it, it doesn't play. You have to have the Audiophile radio without NAV to get that feature as well as the ability to use the sat radio... Nick - What are you talking about? I said in the owners manual it contradicts the window sticker and the website. Edited January 31, 2007 by Wkendrvr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roadrunner Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 (edited) Its a little thing, but the fact that Ford knows that it doesnt (the owners manual says it doesnt) but they keep advertising (both on the window stickers AND on the website, heck even the DEALER told me that because of the window sticker, that Ford would correct it once they found out that it was wrong. It just shows how Ford cares about the details, they simply don't. Not to excuse the error made, but I would recommend not seeing this as "Ford did this" but instead "somebody at Ford made a mistake about what's in the vehicle that was filtered through to marketing" Usually in situations like this, one group of people (the people who make the nav system, or whoever wrote the owner's manual) gives out bad or outdated information to some other group (the people who wrote up the window stickers and the marketing department) and then a disconnect happens. This stuff happens all the time, and usually it's because of bad communication. If you bring this up to both the team that builds the Escape/Mariner radio and the team that does the written material, they'll all have this brought to their attention and they (should) communicate so the problem is fixed. The people to talk to are Ford Customer Service and to make sure that they forward your complaints to the people in marketing / window stickers because they are the ones who have the wrong info. Edited January 31, 2007 by Roadrunner Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roadrunner Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 When contacting the dealer you are met with, "We dont know, call Ford" Call Ford and you are met with, "Call the dealer" The dealer won't know shit -- they don't manufacture the window stickers (right? Deanh, jump in if that's wrong.) The people to get to are, individually, the Web marketing people and the window sticker people. Make sure Ford Customer Service forwards your issue to these groups if you want this fixed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wkendrvr Posted January 31, 2007 Author Share Posted January 31, 2007 The dealer won't know shit -- they don't manufacture the window stickers (right? Deanh, jump in if that's wrong.) The people to get to are, individually, the Web marketing people and the window sticker people. Make sure Ford Customer Service forwards your issue to these groups if you want this fixed. What you get from customer service is, "The manual clearly states" Yeah no kidding, but the problem isn't the manual. They basically then tell you to call the dealer, its a dealer issue. I will try to get in touch with those groups, but as of yet no luck, just run around. Many folks have complained, you would think Ford would care enough to correct the bad info... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roadrunner Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 (edited) The number of people or companies who buy the Escape and Mariner represent about 160,000 sales of Ford NA's 2.7 millions sales for 2006. (http://media.ford.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=25114&make_%20id=trust) With Escape going at around 20% fleet now, that's about 130,000 retail customers. The number of people who get the NAV audio system probably splits into 1/3rd of the consumers. The number of people who will make an MP3 CD is, I'll be fair, probably half of that one-third. So we end up with like 5,000 people. Out of 2.7 million. Just putting it in perspective. It's important that you are taking a stand about this problem that should be fixed, and feel free to keep up the good fight, but keep in perspective that Ford has bigger issues to focus on, like not losing the company in 10 years. Edited January 31, 2007 by Roadrunner Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wkendrvr Posted January 31, 2007 Author Share Posted January 31, 2007 Remember “God is in the details" If they can't get little stuff right, how can they expect to get the big stuff right? And on the Hybrid, I would say its more than 1/3 of the folks that get the NAV system, as its the only way to monitor the Hybrid system... The number of people or companies who buy the Escape and Mariner represent about 160,000 sales of Ford NA's 2.7 millions sales for 2006. (http://media.ford.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=25114&make_%20id=trust) With Escape going at around 20% fleet now, that's about 130,000 retail customers. The number of people who get the NAV audio system probably splits into 1/3rd of the consumers. The number of people who will make an MP3 CD is, I'll be fair, probably half of that one-third. So we end up with like 5,000 people. Out of 2.7 million. Just putting it in perspective. It's important that you are taking a stand about this problem that should be fixed, and feel free to keep up the good fight, but keep in perspective that Ford has bigger issues to focus on, like not losing the company in 10 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deanh Posted February 1, 2007 Share Posted February 1, 2007 The dealer won't know shit -- they don't manufacture the window stickers (right? Deanh, jump in if that's wrong.) The people to get to are, individually, the Web marketing people and the window sticker people. Make sure Ford Customer Service forwards your issue to these groups if you want this fixed. no we don't but unfortunately this happens more often than customers know, I don't know how many times someone has seen something somewhere that we are not aware of ( classic was a year ago when i was asked about an I pod receptecle that was listed in a parts manual but wasn't available ) and once someone sees something in either a brochure or on the computer it must be true right. Anyway, i side with the customer on this one and I guess Ford has woken up a little, now I see a bunch of "Late Availability' flags on options plus there is always the "specifications subject to change without notice "fallback that ford uses on brochures etc... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roadrunner Posted February 1, 2007 Share Posted February 1, 2007 And on the Hybrid, I would say its more than 1/3 of the folks that get the NAV system, as its the only way to monitor the Hybrid system... ...oh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted February 1, 2007 Share Posted February 1, 2007 For over a year now, the Ford Escape Hybrid, and the Mercury Mariner Hybrid have been advertised, on the web and even on their window stickers that the Nav radio is MP3 capable AND the radio is Sirius ready. Both claims are PATENTLY false! Once you buy the vehicle, you find in the owners manual that the sticker and website are wrong, the NAV radio (the MOST expensive radio!) can not support MP3's or Sat! http://www.mercuryvehicles.com/marinerhybr...e=sound_systems As you can see in the picture, this is the NAV radio and it clearly states that it supports both sat and mp3. The window sticker says the same. When contacting the dealer you are met with, "We dont know, call Ford" Call Ford and you are met with, "Call the dealer" I understand that specs change, but when you (Ford) have been notified that its wrong and you do NOTHING to correct the bad information, you are guilty of false advertising. Clearly this is FALSE advertising! Does the FTC need to get involved to straighten it out? I want a Nav system that plays MP3's as advertised! Sorry, but the Mariner website does not say that the Nav radio plays MP3s or is satellite capable. If you read the text (instead of just looking at the picture) it says the Audiophile unit does that and the note at the bottom says the Hybrid Energy/Nav/Audiophile combo radio is available but doesn't say anything about mp3s or satellite. A little misleading maybe but certainly not false advertising. What does the window sticker say? The one on forddirect.com doesn't say anything about mp3s or satellite. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wkendrvr Posted February 1, 2007 Author Share Posted February 1, 2007 Sorry, but the Mariner website does not say that the Nav radio plays MP3s or is satellite capable. If you read the text (instead of just looking at the picture) it says the Audiophile unit does that and the note at the bottom says the Hybrid Energy/Nav/Audiophile combo radio is available but doesn't say anything about mp3s or satellite. A little misleading maybe but certainly not false advertising. What does the window sticker say? The one on forddirect.com doesn't say anything about mp3s or satellite. The window sticker is the spec for the Audiophile and then in the additional options it says that it has the NAV radio. Here is the website quoted Crank it Up. Get the most out of your music with the available Audiophile® Sound System. Features include: * 320 watts of power * Six-disc in-dash CD changer * Seven strategically located speakers, including an eight-inch subwoofer * MP3 Capability * SIRIUS* Satellite Radio capable — featuring 100 percent commercial-free music The available Hybrid Energy/Navigation/Audiophile® Sound System combines the sound system with an LCD color screen that displays hybrid energy use and navigation system maps. Included in the Premium Package. Note that it says that the NAV radio IS an audiophile sound system combined with a LCD screen. So where else when you combine things do you lose features? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deanh Posted February 1, 2007 Share Posted February 1, 2007 The window sticker is the spec for the Audiophile and then in the additional options it says that it has the NAV radio. Here is the website quoted Note that it says that the NAV radio IS an audiophile sound system combined with a LCD screen. So where else when you combine things do you lose features? think that explains it but it is confusing, standard on the Escape Hybrid is 6 disc in dash mp3 and Sat compatible, and will list as standard equipment...listed in the options will be the "upgraded" Audio and Nav system which will superceed the "standard" audio system and does not support MP. Super confusing as one would assume an "upgraded" audio system would have all the features of the base model and then some...pretzel logic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deanh Posted February 1, 2007 Share Posted February 1, 2007 think that explains it but it is confusing, standard on the Escape Hybrid is 6 disc in dash mp3 and Sat compatible, and will list as standard equipment...listed in the options will be the "upgraded" Audio and Nav system which will superceed the "standard" audio system and does not support MP. Super confusing as one would assume an "upgraded" audio system would have all the features of the base model and then some...pretzel logic. PS...2008 model is the same....no MP3 capability is mentioned in conjunction with the Nav system ( option code 60n ) but IS mentioned with the Audiophile system( 588 )and the base optional 6 disc in dash system ( 58x ), and the standard am/fm single cd. In reality I think they should warn customers that tha Nav system does not support MP3 or at least a dis-claimer...cofusing even for us let alone potential purchasers... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wkendrvr Posted February 1, 2007 Author Share Posted February 1, 2007 PS...2008 model is the same....no MP3 capability is mentioned in conjunction with the Nav system ( option code 60n ) but IS mentioned with the Audiophile system( 588 )and the base optional 6 disc in dash system ( 58x ), and the standard am/fm single cd. In reality I think they should warn customers that tha Nav system does not support MP3 or at least a dis-claimer...cofusing even for us let alone potential purchasers... I was informed that this was going on for even longer than the last year... So it looks like they are going to REPEAT the same misleading text for the next model year. That is TRULY negligent. They have been told repeatedly (you can check the greenhybrid forums) and instead of someone stepping up and admitting that there was a mistake, they would rather ignore it and continue misleading customers. Sure makes you wonder if this is a deliberate attempt to mislead folks. At the least, they could reimburse the folks that have had to add back the feature they removed... Could you imagine ordering 18" wheels and find out that when you do, they don't give you a spare because of the upgrade? This is the same thing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF1011 Posted February 1, 2007 Share Posted February 1, 2007 Could you imagine ordering 18" wheels and find out that when you do, they don't give you a spare because of the upgrade? This is the same thing! There are a few vehicles in which that is exactly the case. All you get instead is a can of Fix-A-Flat. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deanh Posted February 1, 2007 Share Posted February 1, 2007 I was informed that this was going on for even longer than the last year... So it looks like they are going to REPEAT the same misleading text for the next model year. That is TRULY negligent. They have been told repeatedly (you can check the greenhybrid forums) and instead of someone stepping up and admitting that there was a mistake, they would rather ignore it and continue misleading customers. Sure makes you wonder if this is a deliberate attempt to mislead folks. At the least, they could reimburse the folks that have had to add back the feature they removed... Could you imagine ordering 18" wheels and find out that when you do, they don't give you a spare because of the upgrade? This is the same thing! actually the information is there but should NOT require jumping thru damn hoops to find...I researched thru an ordering guide and even then it was not logical....it should NOT be this difficult, no-wonder you are annoyed...I would have taken it for granted myself ...like I said ...should be a disclaimer somewhere...brochure? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF1011 Posted February 1, 2007 Share Posted February 1, 2007 I don't even want to think about how much more complicated this could get when they start offering Sync as an option. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deanh Posted February 1, 2007 Share Posted February 1, 2007 [Could you imagine ordering 18" wheels and find out that when you do, they don't give you a spare because of the upgrade? This is the same thing! Actually I have seen similar idiotic decisions...how about Pickup trucks without Airconditioning...wonder how many dealers got stuck with Trucks sans A/C due to taking it for granted, spare tires were optional on Super Duty's for a while, also Tow packages....hey they pay these decision makers good money too... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wkendrvr Posted February 1, 2007 Author Share Posted February 1, 2007 I don't even want to think about how much more complicated this could get when they start offering Sync as an option. Well thats where it gets even funnier, the hybrid you see won't have sync. So all the ad material for the Escape and the Mariner will be wrong cuz they are using a special radio to show the hybrid screens. Dean, when you look at the sticker and it says it has a feature, you expect the add ons not to remove it. I.E. when they up'd to the NAV they included a 6 disc changer under the seat instead of in dash because of the (puny) nav/hybrid screen. If it took you a while to figure out that the sticker is wrong, how long is it going to take someone that JUST READ THE STICKER (or website)? I know a number of folks that bought the vehicle with that radio because it said it had it... So far NONE of us have gotten any satisfaction. A bunch of folks that went green buying these are now seeing red Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deanh Posted February 1, 2007 Share Posted February 1, 2007 (edited) Well thats where it gets even funnier, the hybrid you see won't have sync. So all the ad material for the Escape and the Mariner will be wrong cuz they are using a special radio to show the hybrid screens. Dean, when you look at the sticker and it says it has a feature, you expect the add ons not to remove it. I.E. when they up'd to the NAV they included a 6 disc changer under the seat instead of in dash because of the (puny) nav/hybrid screen. If it took you a while to figure out that the sticker is wrong, how long is it going to take someone that JUST READ THE STICKER (or website)? I know a number of folks that bought the vehicle with that radio because it said it had it... So far NONE of us have gotten any satisfaction. A bunch of folks that went green buying these are now seeing red Absolutely agree with you, wrong that you are EXPECTED to know that when you upgrade to Nav you waive MP3....I mean I didn't know and it took me 1/2hr to find out...sheesh! i know if i was a buyer I also would have taken it for granted...hell, i sell the damn things and took it for granted... Edited February 1, 2007 by Deanh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF1011 Posted February 1, 2007 Share Posted February 1, 2007 (edited) Actually I have seen similar idiotic decisions...how about Pickup trucks without Airconditioning...wonder how many dealers got stuck with Trucks sans A/C due to taking it for granted, spare tires were optional on Super Duty's for a while, also Tow packages....hey they pay these decision makers good money too... Most of the vehicles seen on dealer lots with quirky/missing options are usually the result of custom orders that end up not being sold. A few years ago when I worked at a Ford dealer, we ended up with a horrid vehicle on the lot that we couldn't get rid of for the life of us. It was a special order for a customer who ended up backing out after it was delivered. They ended up throwing a $1000 spiff in it for whoever finally got rid of this damn thing: 1997 Ranger 4 cylinder, 5-speed manual, Regular cab, 4x2 Painted steel wheels Rubber floors Vinyl seats AM/FM radio JALAPENO GREEN!!!! I think it had A/C though. :lol: Sold it to some guy who had enough in the bank to pay cash, but had so horrid a credit line that he couldn't afford anything else. He insisted on a NEW truck. I think he drove off in it for around $9200, paid in full. I sure enjoyed that $1000. Edited February 1, 2007 by NickF1011 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deanh Posted February 1, 2007 Share Posted February 1, 2007 Most of the vehicles seen on dealer lots with quirky/missing options are usually the result of custom orders that end up not being sold. A few years ago when I worked at a Ford dealer, we ended up with a horrid vehicle on the lot that we couldn't get rid of for the life of us. It was a special order for a customer who ended up backing out after it was delivered. They ended up throwing a $1000 spiff in it for whoever finally got rid of this damn thing: 1997 Ranger 4 cylinder, 5-speed manual, Regular cab, 4x2 Painted steel wheels Rubber floors Vinyl seats AM/FM radio JALAPENO GREEN!!!! I think it had A/C though. :lol: Sold it to some guy who had enough in the bank to pay cash, but had so horrid a credit line that he couldn't afford anything else. He insisted on a NEW truck. I think he drove off in it for around $9200, paid in full. I sure enjoyed that $1000. Was his nickname Kermit? We had a problem here with F-150's with no A/C due to a change in ordering parameters...one year A/c was standard..the next it wasn't and our ordering personell took it for granted...ekkkk, Southern California with no A/c...can we say loss leader advertisers....I also seem to recall a color on T-birds ( earlier models ) and Winstars that were ordered before we knew reality...it was called Chameleon....sales called it spiff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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