An honest suggestion for Ford

[Hellwig]

I like the balance of knobs and the screen my 19 has. Not looking forward to the day I retire the truck. Long live it!

I think oems would be wise to offer a delete of the screen, either as a cost lowering when optioned that way, or at least have it available at the same price if you so desire. I’m not believing there is an economy of scale that would favor doing all with a screen. Just have a panel with the switches and maybe a small screen for some stuff that can be plugged in place of the huge screen right on the assembly line.

That's why I purposefully purchased a vehicle with sync 4 other than sync 4a. When I sorted Expeditions out on Cars.com, I disregarded any vehicles equipped with the 15 in. screen. Eventually I had to order one to satisfy my other needs as well as the 12 in. screen.

 

[PhoenixRizez]

Here Here!! As one who just graduated from a 2017 Limited to a 2023 Limited SPP, I find the 15' screen and all the features as digital touch a bit too much. I like big dials that I can find without looking.

That’s why I ordered my 2022 SPP w/ the 12” screen, so I’d have physical buttons for my radio and air conditioner. I’m fine with the touch screen for some things. But, I just want to turn the A/C fan speed or temperature up or down with a simple turn of a knob.

Just because they CAN do something, doesn’t always mean they SHOULD do it. At least they still have the smaller screen with physical buttons as an option.

 

[GlennSullivan]

This is all part of manufacturers and owners being forced down the EV road. Look at the interior of a Tesla and you will see. I was in the IT systems business for over 30 years and if anyone would be comfortable with using large touch screens, it would be me - and I am, BUT NOT when I'm supposed to be driving a vehicle and looking at the road. I want buttons of different sizes in specific locations so I don't need to look to do something. And I definitely don't want to drill down through menu pages to get to something while I'm driving. This is probably the worst design decision that automotive manufacturers have ever made and they all seem to be just walking down the same road following the pied piper.

As far as getting better programmers. Again, I designed, built and managed IT systems for a very long time and software was and is never complete and or without flaws. Software is, by design, is a constant process of upgrades, beginning with the Alpha, then Beta and so on where code updates are released to resolve known / reported issues. However many times these updates then cause other unknown (until they show up) issues. Any questions, just take a look at the number of updates installed on your PC, Tablet or Phone.

Rant off.

 

[BSarchet]

I have the 15 inch screen and I love it. I’ve had very few issues in the 18 months of ownership. Little glitch here and there but that’s it. Overall I would get it again. I do understand people’s concerns and why they might prefer the other format.

 

[JamaicaJoe]

This is all part of manufacturers and owners being forced down the EV road. Look at the interior of a Tesla and you will see. I was in the IT systems business for over 30 years and if anyone would be comfortable with using large touch screens, it would be me - and I am, BUT NOT when I'm supposed to be driving a vehicle and looking at the road. I want buttons of different sizes in specific locations so I don't need to look to do something. And I definitely don't want to drill down through menu pages to get to something while I'm driving. This is probably the worst design decision that automotive manufacturers have ever made and they all seem to be just walking down the same road following the pied piper.

As far as getting better programmers. Again, I designed, built and managed IT systems for a very long time and software was and is never complete and or without flaws. Software is, by design, a constant process of upgrades, beginning with Alpha, then Beta and so on where code changes fixes known problems, but then cause other unknown (until they show up) problems.

Rant off.

It really should not be. There was a sweet spot in my opinion, the 1990-2000's when stuff was coded in firmware, design locked down and few complaints. I come from the Land Mobile Radio industry where I saw the product quality degrade when manufacturers figured the customer was a great Beta tester for their overpriced (government funded) toys.

 

[slideboy7]

Column trans shifter, optional front bench seat, air bag suspension would make me happy.

 

[Moeman]

Agree! We also searched out our 22 Expedition with the smaller screen. That solves the problem of not having any knobs, but vehicles have definitely gone too far down the fully integrated software road. It's not just Ford either. Our BMW was bought back because they couldn't get the brake booster to stop having intermittent failures, THE BRAKE BOOSTER! (for the sake of staying factual, this is what my wife and I deduced. They admitted a problem but never divulged a firm diagnosis). Our 17 Explorer had plenty of bugs with the infotainment system. The Expedition throws a park brake failure fault that the dealer is throwing up their hands on.

Make your voice heard. I give plenty of feedback to the manufacturers of the vehicles I purchase. Even some of the vehicles I would consider in the future (Rivian looks interesting to me), I write them and indicate my interest, but tell them I won't consider them until some physical knobs are in place. Maybe wasted time, but it's a step further than just complaining on the forums.

 

[GlennSullivan]

I have a 2020 European sports / luxury car that has a fully digital console stretching from the drivers side through the center of the dash. The large center display has many layers of touch menus. The saving grace is the designers realized the need for hard buttons / controls and they have duplicated all of the important functions with controls on the steering wheel, steering column and down the center stack / console.

When I'm configuring things for long term functionality, I sit in the driveway and use the touch screen. When I'm driving, I operate the car with hard buttons only, not having to take my eyes off the road.

This is essentially how my 2017 Expedition works and how any vehicle I own needs to work.

 

[SunnySunshine]

I see so many Ford job listings for remote software engineers. I feel like if they get themselves a presence here in Silicon Valley, the computers would be a lot better designed in these vehicles. I think we've already seen several posts about updates bricking the vehicle and it needing to be towed to the dealership... You'd think their design team would think to put a back up computer inside the thing that the vehicle can roll back on in case the update failed...