Really Ford, WTF!!!

[Expee17Max]

My wife and I purchased a CPO 2017 Expedition Max back on 12/7. On 12/8 I attempted to register the vehicle online. It allows me to go through the whole process of entering all the pertinent information and even asks me if this(2017 Expedition EL) is my vehicle. I create a password and then I'm greeted with a message stating:

1/9/2019 System error
https://owner.ford.com/tools/system-error.html 1/1
System error
Sorry, we are unable to process your request at this time. Please try again later or .
Return to .

This has been happening everyday since 12/8/18. I've attempted this on my home pc, phone, work pc and from a friends pc. Normally this wouldn't be a big deal except my SYNC is out of date. My wife does a lot of work out of the vehicle and is having issues with her phone connecting, which i'm pretty certain is due to the outdated software in the truck. I tried updating it through WiFi but it reaches a certain point and then hangs up and won't go any further. Unfortunately without being able to register the device I'm unable to download the update for our vehicle to install it through usb.

We've contacted Ford multiple times regarding this issue and they have acknowledged that their site is experiencing issues and to try again later. Well It's been over a month now and nothing. Customer service offered to try to create an account on our behalf so we can get the update. NO GO. Their final solution is for us to go to a dealer and pay a service fee of approximately $55 for 1/2 hour to have the tech hook our vehicle to the computer to install the update. We have been very adamant with Ford that we will not pay for something that is offered for free on their website. They told us flat out that they would not reimburse us or cover the charge for an update at the dealership.

I don't understand why this is such an issue for a billion dollar company. First off, their website has been malfunctioning for at least a month now, which they are aware of but have yet to fix. Second, why should we have to pay for something that is free? And finally, why are they not able to just send me an update or create an account for me so I can download it myself?

I am not at all happy with Fords customer service. We paid tens of thousands of dollars for a used vehicle yet they want us to shell out more money for an update that is FREE! This is Bull$h!+. My wife was literally in tears today to the the point where she wants to return the vehicle and go back to her Honda.

Sorry for the rant, but I am extremely dissatisfied with Ford at the moment.

 

[Adieu]

This is like trying to pay DMV fees or parking tickets online in the PRC

At least here you don't pay a penalty just cuz their server crashed...

 

[99WhiteC5Coupe]

Perhaps contact your Ford vehicle salesperson and explain the problem to them? Then, ask if the dealership will install the update for you at no charge - and perhaps tell the salesperson that it should have been updated when you bought it.

 

[Trainmaster]

Certainly not a good business decision. But we're seeing this more and more as America slips away...

 

[Expee17Max]

Perhaps contact your Ford vehicle salesperson and explain the problem to them? Then, ask if the dealership will install the update for you at no charge - and perhaps tell the salesperson that it should have been updated when you bought it.

Did this yesterday, waiting to hear back from him. Unfortunately we drove to DE from PA to purchase the vehicle and I'm not really willing to make that drive again for something that I should be able to do from my driveway. Hopefully they can arrange something with the local Ford dealership to have the update installed.

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[Plati]

Sometimes its better to just let it go and pay the $$$ and move on. Its not worth the aggravation. Just consider it part of the cost of the vehicle. In the grand scheme of things you'll be much happier. Sorry if you don't like my advice but just trying to help you. Life is too short to suffer when you can avoid it.

 

[Expee17Max]

Sometimes its better to just let it go and pay the $$$ and move on. Its not worth the aggravation. Just consider it part of the cost of the vehicle. In the grand scheme of things you'll be much happier. Sorry if you don't like my advice but just trying to help you. Life is too short to suffer when you can avoid it.

I completely understand and unfortunately this is the outcome I'm expecting. It just sucks that us customers are forced to deal with these unfair and unethical businesses. I know $55 is nothing considering the price of the vehicle, it's just the principle of paying for something that is free.

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[Clemson82]

If the dealer you purchased it from doesn't satisfactorily address the issue, be sure to leave reviews on any websites you can. Our local dealer calls everyone that leaves a bad review to see what they can do to fix the issue, to have the review removed or updated. On the other hand, if they address the issue and you're happy, I'd leave a review to that affect also.

They should be looking at this the same way they would look at any other item on the vehicle not working and that wasn't working the day you purchased it. They have an obligation to make it right, though it sounds like it might involve a trip to Delaware...

 

[Plati]

I completely understand and unfortunately this is the outcome I'm expecting. It just sucks that us customers are forced to deal with these unfair and unethical businesses. I know $55 is nothing considering the price of the vehicle, it's just the principle of paying for something that is free.

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I had to do that when I bought my 2014EL. Week after I bought it, it rained & I found out my intermittent wipers didn't work. I went round and round … Ford said windshield had been replaced so no coverage. Dealer I bought it from ran me in circles. Finally I just had it fixed and went on a trip and I really like the wiper feature. Its taken me a while but I've learned (sorta) what battles are worth it and which ones aren't. If its worth it, I go to the mat!!!

My buddy had a beef with Samsung on a broken tv. He was relentless … would not give up. It was the principle with him. Weeks, months … of calling and talking. I think he was trying to hobble the companys Customer Service system. Finally he packed up the tv and shipped it to the companys US Executive at his office in NYC. That worked , he got a replacement tv. Funny thing was, at the end of the day .. his son had broken the screen by throwing a game controller at it and it wasn't even Samsungs fault.

 

[Flexpedition]

My wife was literally in tears today to the the point where she wants to return the vehicle and go back to her Honda.

If this is true, I'd head over to the Honda dealership immediately and see what kind of deal you can make.






And maybe sell the Expedition, too.

 

[Dorzak]

When I bought my 2016 CPO I went through a few weeks with the website not allowing downloads of updates. NOTE: That was late January 2018.

 

[Expee17Max]

When I bought my 2016 CPO I went through a few weeks with the website not allowing downloads of updates. NOTE: That was late January 2018.

I assume the site was eventually fixed or did you take other measures to get the update?

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[Expee17Max]

If this is true, I'd head over to the Honda dealership immediately and see what kind of deal you can make.






And maybe sell the Expedition, too.

Well she can be a bit dramatic at times. Lol. Unfortunately Honda doesn't offer a 3 row SUV with the towing capabilities and cargo capacity of the Expedition. If they did we would've never even looked at a ford. With 3 kids a boat and a camper her Accord just doesn't cut it... hell, my Ridgeline is barely enough. Overall we love the Expedition just the customer service on this issue down right sucks.

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[Trainmaster]

Ford usually has a way to update their "information" systems on line. Have you really checked their Web Site (good luck with that) and seen if there isn't an upload you can do with a thumb drive via USB? I know their updates often don't work, but it may?

 

[Expee17Max]

Ford usually has a way to update their "information" systems on line. Have you really checked their Web Site (good luck with that) and seen if there isn't an upload you can do with a thumb drive via USB? I know their updates often don't work, but it may?

As far as I know, the only way to download the update to a thumb drive is to have a registered account. Being that they're site isn't working, I'm unable to register and therefore unable to get the update.

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[Dorzak]

I assume the site was eventually fixed or did you take other measures to get the update?

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It was eventually fixed. I had to go from 1.0 to 2.0 via USB. Since then I have been able to update from my home Wi-Fi from the carport.

 

[Adieu]

Did this yesterday, waiting to hear back from him. Unfortunately we drove to DE from PA to purchase the vehicle and I'm not really willing to make that drive again for something that I should be able to do from my driveway. Hopefully they can arrange something with the local Ford dealership to have the update installed.

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Your name and state suggest you might have an originally-Canadian vehicle now in USA?? (EL vs Max naming)

In that case, yeah, vin number might limit or trip up certain US-market online services....maybe try Ford Canada

 

[Tereza]

I had this same problem happening on my 2009 Expedition Limited over summer of 2018. Maps on the navigation were outdated. Researched it online and found a few posts stating I had to update the system. Went to the Ford site where I had already registered a few years back, tried updating but the link was useless. Kept going back every two weeks to no avail. That link never worked and I guess Ford has no intention on making it work. Finally had to buy the discs through Ford which set me back a couple hundred bucks. Updated the system and yet NO DIFFERENCE.

 

[Plati]

I had this same problem happening on my 2009 Expedition Limited over summer of 2018. Maps on the navigation were outdated. Researched it online and found a few posts stating I had to update the system. Went to the Ford site where I had already registered a few years back, tried updating but the link was useless. Kept going back every two weeks to no avail. That link never worked and I guess Ford has no intention on making it work. Finally had to buy the discs through Ford which set me back a couple hundred bucks. Updated the system and yet NO DIFFERENCE.

This is EXACTLY why navigation & communication (and what's next?) built into a vehicle is skeewacky. Car companies want to sell you a car and then <vanish>. Need to have these technologies portable / modern / and modular. Look into the future and that's unpredictable.
My EXPY has a radio, OK its Sirius but that's gonna work for a few more years (only since they need the monthly subscription).

 

[Gregg Eshelman]

I know a guy who bought a couple of Sirius or XM (or Sirius-XM) car receivers at an auction. They were still active. He's never paid a bill and several years later they're still working. Apparently the company 'lost' them somehow and has never updated their database to discontinue service to their serial numbers.

I wonder if there's a way to use 3rd party maps like Open Street Map with SYNC? I've done that with my Garmin Nuvi 40 rather than paying big $ for the official maps. I put the OSM data on an SD card and plug it in.

There are so many things in electronics where the devices are made and sold, with the promise of software updates, but none are ever released. That's especially common with cheap Android tablets. Rather than release updates they just come out with a new tablet and leave the prior product with older software.

Part of that comes from one of the biggest names in low power CPUs and SoC (System on Chip) manufacturers. Allwinner. They'll crank out a new design and adapt whatever the latest Android version is to it (or an older version) and release that - then NEVER produce any more software updates. In some cases heroic efforts by the open source Android development community will make a newer version of Android work on an Allwinner chip (which they haven't done for the H3, it's stuck with 4.x.x despite being powerful enough for 5 through 8). Making newer versions of Linux, Armbian and other operating systems work is far easier due to them having all or mostly all open source code.

At some point I expect to see a SYNC modding, hacking, total replacement community develop, especially if/when Ford totally abandons older versions. People with pre-2005 GMs with OnStar know that feeling of abandonment since they used old Motorola analog bagphone modules almost up to the digital cellphone changeover. Only the last analog OnStar models were offered digital upgrades. Older ones got bupkis. It is possible to remove the GPS board from analog OnStar, connect up a TTL to RS232-C level shifter then set the board to output raw NMEA code to use it as a standalone GPS receiver for a laptop, robot, drone aircraft etc.

Thankfully I don't need to bother with SYNC etc on my 07 EL since it doesn't have it and the other computer frills, not even a sunroof - and I like it that way.