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.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[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