twmalonehunter Posted June 19, 2012 Share Posted June 19, 2012 http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-06-19/ford-says-software-fixes-to-late-to-help-j-dot-d-dot-power-score It looks like the MFT upgrade is only helping a minimum amount and that the dual-clutch is still a source of complaints. I hope Ford gets this technology right and soon before it begins to become a major drag on sales. On a side note, sort of, I am kinda ticked off that the Sync Applink is still not available as an upgrade on my 2012 Focus, yet it was available on the 2011 Fiesta, and has been added to several cars recently. That and the fact my phone is not compatible with text reading (no MAP support), not really Ford's fault. But they could have integrated other ways to accomplish it, hell my $39 bluetooth headset reads the texts to me. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted June 19, 2012 Share Posted June 19, 2012 It looks like the MFT upgrade is only helping a minimum amount and that the dual-clutch is still a source of complaints. I hope Ford gets this technology right and soon before it begins to become a major drag on sales. Based on a quote from David Champion from CR? He's a worthless douchebag. MOST of the MFT issues have been resolved (not all) and I don't think there are very many complaints about the powershift DSG after the new software. Neither is perfect but they're not that bad either. That and the fact my phone is not compatible with text reading (no MAP support), not really Ford's fault. But they could have integrated other ways to accomplish it, hell my $39 bluetooth headset reads the texts to me. With the same phone? That's strange - I wonder how the headset reads texts if the phone doesn't support MAP? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted June 19, 2012 Share Posted June 19, 2012 On another side note: Champion is wrong. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF1011 Posted June 19, 2012 Share Posted June 19, 2012 With the same phone? That's strange - I wonder how the headset reads texts if the phone doesn't support MAP? I'm guessing it doesn't. It probably just reads the audio that the phone is sending to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
97svtgoin05gt Posted June 19, 2012 Share Posted June 19, 2012 The software update on my car for the dual clutch made a huge difference. Now I will say that once in a while it still does things that make me wonder, but compared to the way it was when I first took delivery, its worlds better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted June 19, 2012 Share Posted June 19, 2012 The biggest takeaway has to be: "What did we learn? What will we do differently next time?" That's more important than numbers like the JDP IQS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted June 19, 2012 Share Posted June 19, 2012 I'm guessing it doesn't. It probably just reads the audio that the phone is sending to it. Aha - so it's really the phone reading the texts, not the headset. That makes sense. But in that case Sync should do the same thing with bluetooth audio. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twmalonehunter Posted June 19, 2012 Author Share Posted June 19, 2012 Maybe it would, but Sync won't interrupt the radio or cd to play a message. If I am streaming Pandora then it should, I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aneekr Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 Based on a quote from David Champion from CR? He's a worthless douchebag. Mr. Champion's statement, "They need to get these innovations right or just dump ’em" describes Ford's predicament perfectly. He may be a douchebag, but in this instance he's absolutely correct. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoonerLS Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 Mr. Champion's statement, "They need to get these innovations right or just dump ’em" describes Ford's predicament perfectly. He may be a douchebag, but in this instance he's absolutely correct. Captain Obvious usually is... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 Mr. Champion's statement, "They need to get these innovations right or just dump ’em" describes Ford's predicament perfectly. He may be a douchebag, but in this instance he's absolutely correct. They do have them right - finally. Not perfect, but acceptable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edstock Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 They do have them right - finally. Not perfect, but acceptable. With more updates coming in the future, so they'll be even righter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 (edited) Mr. Champion's statement, "They need to get these innovations right or just dump ’em" It's a correct statement in the abstract. However, it's open to question whether it's a suitable summary of Ford's *current* position. Edited June 20, 2012 by RichardJensen 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 It's a correct statement in the abstract. However, it's open to question whether it's a suitable summary of Ford's *current* position. What I found incongruous with Champion's statement:Ford in March sent a software upgrade to 377,000 customers with the MyFord Touch and MyLincoln Touch dashboard controls. J.D. Power measures quality on new cars from November to February, Fowler said. Champion said, The automaker’s touch-screen dashboard controls still receive poor marks from owners, even after improving the software, said David Champion, auto-test chief with Consumer Reports magazine.What survey did Champion or hs rag do to verify this?Or did he assume that the survey included post upgrade feed back? I call that sloppy research... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackHorse Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 (edited) LOL!!!! Oh I should point out that I was laughing at the whole exchange between aneeker and sooner becuase I know it will get asked. Just found it funny. Edited June 20, 2012 by BlackHorse Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mettech Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 IMHO... Ford should just display the smartphone screen for GPS, music, text and phone. Software and hardware updates will be more rapid and cheaper with the smartphone then with MFT/Sync. I only use Google Maps for navigation because it is easier and quicker than the GPS in Sync. Compared to my wife's Droid Razr Maxx and even to my Droid X, GPS and Sync in my '11 Fusion behaves like a 10 years old PC. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 IMHO... Ford should just display the smartphone screen for GPS, music, text and phone. Software and hardware updates will be more rapid and cheaper with the smartphone then with MFT/Sync. That would require an entirely new interface standard that all cell phone mfrs would have to agree to provide including standard connectors. It's a great idea and one that I've thought about before but very difficult to execute properly. Compared to my wife's Droid Razr Maxx and even to my Droid X, GPS and Sync in my '11 Fusion behaves like a 10 years old PC. But how does Sync and MFT behave in comparison to other vehicle infotainment systems? That's the question. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvrsvt Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 IMHO... Ford should just display the smartphone screen for GPS, music, text and phone. Software and hardware updates will be more rapid and cheaper with the smartphone then with MFT/Sync. I only use Google Maps for navigation because it is easier and quicker than the GPS in Sync. Compared to my wife's Droid Razr Maxx and even to my Droid X, GPS and Sync in my '11 Fusion behaves like a 10 years old PC. The only problem is that integrating those features would just about be impossible to do the way your asking to do...not to mention the loss of profit on not being able to offer a stand-alone Nav system etc. What about people who don't want Smart phones? (paging DeanH! LOL) I'd hope your 2-3 year old Cell phone would perform better then a GPS system that was designed back in 2005 or so. Try comparing it to the newer flash based GPS systems that are in newer Ford products... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF1011 Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 Aha - so it's really the phone reading the texts, not the headset. That makes sense. But in that case Sync should do the same thing with bluetooth audio. Well, I'd guess the reason the capability isn't built-in is that it would require direct interaction with the phone itself to read the message. It's not something that could be controlled via in-car controls or Sync. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF1011 Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 Ford in March sent a software upgrade to 377,000 customers with the MyFord Touch and MyLincoln Touch dashboard controls. J.D. Power measures quality on new cars from November to February, Fowler said. So basically any improvements/declines we see in this survey will have nothing to do with MFT. Gotta wait another year for that data. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GTwannabe Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 They do have them right - finally. Not perfect, but acceptable. Like the old Ford TFI ignition module. Worked most of the time... except when it burned cars to the ground. Good enough for production, right? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron W. Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 The TFI module was known for dieing when it got hot, caused ignition failure not fires. If you want to talk fire stick to ignition switches and cruise control switchs, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF1011 Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 Like the old Ford TFI ignition module. Worked most of the time... except when it burned cars to the ground. Good enough for production, right? I continue to give MFT extremely high marks since the update. If there is one complaint I have is that it still takes a few seconds after starting the car for the audio to come on, but really, whoopty doo to that. Everything that I previously had issues with (which really wasn't much to begin with) has been corrected. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 Like the old Ford TFI ignition module. Worked most of the time... except when it burned cars to the ground. Good enough for production, right? Such a drama queen. This is an infotainment system (and climate control) that locked up, not a vehicle fire hazard. Except for a few owners who appear to have hardware problems all of the current issues are minor such as the temp not being there or the song title not displaying or the street name not displaying or an occasional reboot. Same with the DSG issues - they're virtually non existent since the software update. The remaining issues are simply that it "feels" different than a traditional auto. I own a Focus with both and I'm telling you that they are no longer major issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GTwannabe Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 Such a drama queen. This is an infotainment system (and climate control) that locked up, not a vehicle fire hazard. Except for a few owners who appear to have hardware problems all of the current issues are minor such as the temp not being there or the song title not displaying or the street name not displaying or an occasional reboot. Same with the DSG issues - they're virtually non existent since the software update. The remaining issues are simply that it "feels" different than a traditional auto. I own a Focus with both and I'm telling you that they are no longer major issues. If I'm forking over $20-30k+, I shouldn't have to beta test Ford software because they wanted to be "first to market" with a new technology. Owners are justifiably pissed when their new car's radio/climate control locks up frequently and the tranny bucks and hitches like a 16 year old learning to drive stick. That generates negative buzz which hurts Ford's reputation. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.