What Could Ford Do Better?

[LG_123]

Just in case the engineers at Ford ever want to know what their biggest fans want changed in future Expeditions, why don't we tell them a couple things that are irritating about our Expys that could be ironed out in future releases?

My biggest pain point is the foot activated lift gate. It works about 40% of the time when I'm trying to open it and every so often when I'm just hitching up a trailer and don't want it to open at all.

I've watched the instructional videos online for how to open it reliably and I still can't get it to work consistently...

Also the Apple Car Play is quite buggy...

Any other thoughts?

 

[AKentPhoto]

Infotainment hardware is ancient garbage by today's standards. Especially for the price being asked. If it stutters through the start up sequence it's time to go back to the drawing board.

I get I'm way blow the average age for Lincoln buyers but you don't have to remove functionality for luxury brands. The drive mode setup is nice but we should still have every option and or manual override for vehicle settings. Most vehicles offer a "user" mode allowing you it individually set trans, steering, suspension, throttle, rear diff etc... This would allow for much fewer drive modes as well...

 

[Lou Hamilton]

Infotainment hardware is ancient garbage by today's standards. Especially for the price being asked. If it stutters through the start up sequence it's time to go back to the drawing board.

I get I'm way blow the average age for Lincoln buyers but you don't have to remove functionality for luxury brands. The drive mode setup is nice but we should still have every option and or manual override for vehicle settings. Most vehicles offer a "user" mode allowing you it individually set trans, steering, suspension, throttle, rear diff etc... This would allow for much fewer drive modes as well...

I 100% agree with a user mode. Shift modes of Economy with suspension stiffness of Sport would probably be my default.

Also, I wish there was some intelligence with the modes.

- Let the vehicle start in the last mode used
- Set default as Economy mode (many other vehicles allow this, such as my wife’s Honda CR-V)
- Automatically switch to Tow/Haul mode when the 4-pin or 7-pin plug is in use.


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[Going_Going_Gone]

Whoever they tasked with interior design must either be four feet tall or just flat out oblivious to some of the horrible placements of certain controls. Could they be the same engineers who designed the infamous My Ford Touch system?

The first that immediately comes to mind is the location of and operating method of the blower motor controls. Example: If you live in a very sunny climate and wear sunglasses or are tall; during daylight hours it is difficult to see, much less to operate the blower motor controls while driving--sometimes even when stopped at a light. I have to take my eyes off the road and tilt my head to see down there. It appears that the 2021 F-150 will use a rocker switch (up to increase speed/down to decrease speed) that you can operate by "feel" while still paying attention to your driving. When or if the Expeditions will get that modified control is unknown.

The second is the electric parking brake control. Now, I realize that it can be overridden by simply accelerating in D or R, but since it performs such a basic function, you have to wonder why the control was not situated somewhere on top of the center console. I can remember driving Jaguars sixteen years ago (when they were owned by Ford) and they had the e-brake switch on the console--easy to see and easy to engage or dis-engage.

My other beef is with the "hands-free" lift gate operation. It is at best erratic, won't sense your foot movement under the bumper, and sometimes will close on your head when you're doing simple tasks like loading, unloading, hooking up a trailer, and couple times just walking behind the vehicle with the fob in my pocket. Given the erratic nature of my lift gate's operation, I make sure to drive far enough into the garage that there will be enough room for the lift gate to open/close even with the garage door closed. Unfortunately most people's garages are not that deep.

 

[Wayne Decker]

- Automatically switch to Tow/Haul mode when the 4-pin or 7-pin plug is in use.

That would be good when I'm towing the 6,600 lb. Airstream, but not when I have the 250 lb kayak trailer plugged in.

I don't mind switching it on, but once I do, it should stay on as long as that trailer is connected. And it should go back to normal drive mode and "No Trailer Selected" when I pull the plug.

 

[Greg Parker]

Whoever they tasked with interior design must either be four feet tall or just flat out oblivious to some of the horrible placements of certain controls. Could they be the same engineers who designed the infamous My Ford Touch system?

The first that immediately comes to mind is the location of and operating method of the blower motor controls. Example: If you live in a very sunny climate and wear sunglasses or are tall; during daylight hours it is difficult to see, much less to operate the blower motor controls while driving--sometimes even when stopped at a light. I have to take my eyes off the road and tilt my head to see down there. It appears that the 2021 F-150 will use a rocker switch (up to increase speed/down to decrease speed) that you can operate by "feel" while still paying attention to your driving. When or if the Expeditions will get that modified control is unknown.

The second is the electric parking brake control. Now, I realize that it can be overridden by simply accelerating in D or R, but since it performs such a basic function, you have to wonder why the control was not situated somewhere on top of the center console. I can remember driving Jaguars sixteen years ago (when they were owned by Ford) and they had the e-brake switch on the console--easy to see and easy to engage or dis-engage.

My other beef is with the "hands-free" lift gate operation. It is at best erratic, won't sense your foot movement under the bumper, and sometimes will close on your head when you're doing simple tasks like loading, unloading, hooking up a trailer, and couple times just walking behind the vehicle with the fob in my pocket. Given the erratic nature of my lift gate's operation, I make sure to drive far enough into the garage that there will be enough room for the lift gate to open/close even with the garage door closed. Unfortunately most people's garages are not that deep.

I haven't had any particular issues with controls ...but I am only 5'6"

I agree 100% on the e-brake. What I really don't get is with all the tech, the vehicle doesn't just AUTO set the e-brake once the vehicle is fully stopped and trans shifted to park (and then disengaged with the opposite occurs). I mean, there are a LOT of people that never use the e-brake at all ...that should (I know...my wife is one of 'em). I suppose that would make "too much sense" and reduce repair needs over the long haul for Ford's dealership network. ??

The only time my life-gate thing works is when I'm down there trying to connect or disconnect the camper. SOOO annoying and bad design. They should've put the sensor like way to the left or way to the right of the hitch.

 

[carymccarr]

There are many but let’s start with my top 5 biggest current pet peeves...

1) locking out native apps and nav if you have your phone plugged in

2) No ability to scroll through the preset station lists from the steering wheel

3) No ability to combine XM/AM/FM into a single preset list

4) No ability to sync rear climate control with the front

5) No ride height adjustment

 

[Dice Roll]

The ****** DVD player!!!!

 

[FormerGermanFan]

If I leave my car running and locked I DO NOT need it to shut off after 30 minutes.

For the love of God if I turn off the auto stop-start, leave it! I shouldn’t have to spend $100 aftermarket to disable it permanently. BMW has figured this out.

Definitely concur on the lift gate. The window sticker says I have the feature, yet I’ve never gotten it to work when I need it most.

 

[DWs-TTEB]

Cloth wheel well liners, Teflon coated plastic liner or Rhino liner is better IMHO (have fun getting road paint off them)! Rear wiper should be mounted up and under the rear air foil & be longer (like my Toyota sienna mini van)!

FORD: Add adjustable ride height via air suspension to the Expedition

#adjustablerideheightexpedition

 

[BFD350]

For me, not syncing the rear climate with the front drives me nuts.

Drive modes that remember your last choice.

Sport mode shifts to 4WD but if you turn engine off it reverts the drive mode to a normal but leaves you in 4H. How dumb is that.



2018 Expedition Platinum
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[Bones]

How about where they mount the spare tire and jack. If you have the back packed full of stuff and you get a flat then you have to remove all the stuff to get the jack out and get to the access point for the spare tire release. In the GM SUV's I have rented the jack is stored in the driver's rear side panel and access point for the spare tire is in the back. Don't have to remove much of the stuff.

How about where the rear clothes hangers are in the Max. It doesn't make sense.

 

[Robert Stucky]

Create a Ford Cloud. Vehicle settings are stored in the cloud. Buy a new Ford, all the settings are downloaded. Use Navigation? All your prior trips are downloaded. Prefer a given app? Downloaded.

Watch what the driver does and learn. You know where they go. You know that the driver weaves in the lane a lot, so increase sensitivity on lane keeping - not low-medium-high - much finer grained. Perhaps enough to gently train them.

When the vehicle parks, allow driver to set current location as a named destination. Get to the store, click 1 button, Sync voice prompts the driver. Driver says: "Safeway". Next trip: "Looks like you're going to Safeway", "Yes". "There is a 10 minute traffic delay, route around it?", "Yes".

Start thinking in terms of "Given all the various inputs (gps, speed, driver actions), what do can we surmise to make their driving experience better?"

On lane keeping - doesn't work so well on country roads. Might want to turn down the sensitivity a bit when on one.

 

[wingrider]

Why did they move the tail gate button to bottom edge of the door? My wife is not tall and the button to open/close being just inside the door is a big deal. Why did it have to even be moved?

 

[5280tunage]

Oh Boy! Here's a few, considering this is my first Ford as well.

• Why in the world would Ford create a nice cubby in the center console with several USB ports but not have a hole anywhere to feed cables through. That means you have to leave the cubby door open all the time.
• Rear tailgate hands-free operation still functions when liftgate is open, which is quite dangerous, leaves the glass in danger of breaking - the liftgate open should disable the hands-free operation
• Rear bumper cover has two major issues for me, for one, it's so wide open underneath that it fills with snow in the winters, a lot of snow and ice, like gallons worth. I really wish those cavities were closed in more. Second, it seems very poorly built, that is, for a bumper on a massive SUV, when I put any kind of weight on the bumper (i.e. climbing into the back), the plastic pops, moves, makes a bunch of popping sounds like it's not fastened well to any supporting structures
• The ridiculously flimsy undercarriage protection is mind numbing for a $70K+ vehicle. No protection for a fuel tank this big, which for an SUV is only a few inches off the ground?
• The interior in most cases is awesome, but I'm finding tons of nooks and crannies that can fill up with dirt and kiddo food, etc. Seems like a little more thought could be put into how the plastic sections are molded to reduce dirt traps
• The kiddo mirror in the overhead console is a nice thought but you can't see crud. Really wish it was a bit bigger, I actually do use it though. If I remember correctly, the one in the Yukons is definitely more usable

I know it seems like I'm just complaining, but I wish manufacturers would do a better job of consumer testing these things. Otherwise I so far really love this thing!

 

[StealthyBulldog]

Oh Boy! Here's a few, considering this is my first Ford as well.

• Why in the world would Ford create a nice cubby in the center console with several USB ports but not have a hole anywhere to feed cables through. That means you have to leave the cubby door open all the time.

Actually there is, if you look at the front passenger side top there's a notch out to run your cables out, use it all the time

Edit: unless you mean the sliding one in the front that has the phone charger built in, but if the other then my statement is correct

 

[MHay]

Nothing that hasn’t already been mentioned. I’ve only had my Platinum Max for two weeks and I’ve given up on the hands free liftgate. I had the dealer look at it and they supposedly “calibrated” it — no improvement.

The other item I was shocked to learn is you can’t sync the rear climate control with the other zones. I don’t want to be fumbling with that when driving.

And I agree with 5280tunage about the bumper cover — super flimsy!

 

[Matthew Marlowe]

The liftgate as is actually a hazard .... the door closes with minimal warning sometimes when adjusting the hitch or loading rear cargo... and, yet it doesnt work when you want it. Fix this.

Secondly...many of us expedition owners tow stuff or put cargo on the roof... owners bought the expedition to move stuff.... yet, the default navigation system is oriented more for sedans. There is no option to choose truck friendly routes, to find parking structures the expedition roof wont hit, or to ensure that travel trailers behind the expedition dont hit a low hanging bridge. Navigation system needs to be smarter for longer travel and also incorporate height in travel planning. The new trail system in the bronco would be a nice plus.

Lastly, platinum versus fx4 seems nuts. Shouldn't platinum have more under carriage protection ....shouldn't have to give back to dealer to add more covers.

While we are at it... bigger fuel tank upgrade option... I want 40 gallon somehow...

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[DWs-TTEB]

Like the ideal of the built-in wireless cell phone charger, but how about making that area bigger!?! My sausage fingers can barley retrieve my iPhone 6 out of it, when I’m driving forget about picking that thing up out of there...

 

[Dice Roll]

If I leave my car running and locked I DO NOT need it to shut off after 30 minutes.

For the love of God if I turn off the auto stop-start, leave it! I shouldn’t have to spend $100 aftermarket to disable it permanently. BMW has figured this out.

Definitely concur on the lift gate. The window sticker says I have the feature, yet I’ve never gotten it to work when I need it most.

that auto off at 30 minutes is dangerous. Little kids sleep in cars all the time once you get home or to grandmas. Bad deal. I was hooking up to leave a campground and mist wife got in just as the stupid thing shut off.