Ford MyFord Touch Problems Prompt Company To Send Out Software Upgrade

DEARBORN, Michigan -- Ford Motor Co., stung by falling quality ratings because of its glitch-prone MyFord Touch system, is planning a major upgrade that it hopes will fix the problems – and repair its own reputation.

Early next year, Ford is sending flash drives with a software upgrade to approximately 250,000 U.S. customers with MyFord Touch and MyLincoln Touch, the equivalent system in Ford's luxury Lincoln brand. Owners can do the upgrade themselves in about 45 minutes, or dealers will do it for free. Ford is still deciding how it will offer the upgrade to 200,000 buyers outside of the U.S.

Ford knows of no other car company that has given owners the option of upgrading their own software on this scale. The unprecedented step underscores the urgency of the problem for Ford, which last month fell from 10th place to 20th place in Consumer Reports' annual reliability rankings largely because of MyFord Touch. Ford also plummeted in a J.D. Power quality survey earlier this year.

MyFord Touch, which debuted last year on the Ford Edge, replaces traditional dashboard knobs and buttons with a touch screen. Drivers control climate, navigation, entertainment, phone calls and other functions using touch or voice commands. It's a $750 option on lower trim levels, but comes standard on higher-end ones. Ford quickly rolled out the system on the Ford Explorer, Ford Focus and other models.

Dealer phone lines and Internet chat rooms were soon buzzing with complaints. The system shut down without warning and took too long to reboot. It didn't understand voice commands and didn't always respond to owners' touch. Some owners found the information-packed screens overwhelming.

Ford had dealers perform four software updates and paid dealers to hold owner clinics. But it soon realized it had to do more. The latest upgrade makes significant changes. Screens are now simpler and cleaner, with larger text and shading to outline buttons. Voice recognition is improved. Ford says the new system responds to touch commands more quickly and is less likely to shut down.

New models due out next year, including the redesigned Ford Escape and Ford Taurus, will automatically get the upgraded system.

Ford won't say how much it's spending on the upgrade.

Ford is unapologetic about the system, saying MyFord Touch is an advanced technology that's drawing new customers to the brand. Sales of the new Ford Explorer have more than doubled so far this year, for example. But the company also learned quickly that buyers aren't as forgiving with glitches in their cars as they are with their phones or computers.

"People's expectation of what's in the car is totally different than what they brought home from Best Buy," Gary Jablonski, Ford's manager of Sync platform development, told The Associated Press in a recent interview. Sync, a four-year-old voice command system that Ford designed with Microsoft Corp., serves as the platform for the more advanced MyFord Touch.

Forrest Brown, a Ford dealer in Dyersville, Iowa, got a barrage of complaints last winter when customers were unable to defrost their windshields or turn up the heat because their screens were going blank. But the problems have become less frequent as Ford updates the software. Brown has also started inviting customers back to the dealership so he can answer questions about the system.

"We've come to the realization that this type of technology is going to be in almost all vehicles in the future, so you might as well get used to it and understand it and make your customers aware of it," Brown said.

Jablonski insists MyFord Touch was thoroughly tested and not brought to the market too soon, as some critics contend. The problem, he said, is that not everything is testable. The system syncs up to more than 70 different kinds of mobile phones, for example, which are constantly getting updates of their own. Customers may blame the car for something that is really the fault of the phone.

But Ford realizes it may have gone further than its customers wanted to go. The company is planning to bring back volume and tuning knobs, for example, because it found people didn't like using a touch screen for those functions.

Jeremy Anwyl, chief executive of auto information site Edmunds.com, once watched a MyFord Touch screen freeze up during a Ford demonstration. Still, he gives Ford credit for taking a chance on new technology, even at the expense of its quality scores. Vehicle quality is getting so good that customers are increasingly basing their buying decisions on high-tech options, he said.

"I'd rather have MyFord Touch and Sync and take the heat from than not have it at all," he said.

Comments

[Roger Kelvin]

12:41 AM on 12/28/2011

The Ford will offer upgrades and new features for the MyFord Touch infotainment system following complaints about problems with new technology in the 2011 says on of the consumer reports reliability survey.
http://newcars.indiandrives.com/carmodeldetails.php?make=Ford&model=Ford_Fiesta_2011

[thatguy242]

04:27 PM on 11/08/2011

Is everybody missing the fact that ford recognizes the problem and is now going to great lengths to fix it? for free? At work I drive Fords, Gm's, Mazda, Dodge, Honda, Kia, Nissan, etc. The MyFord touch is a neat system, that 88% of the time works well, Build quality overall on the cars is amazing, and they feel like a solid machine, i can't say to to much for the other new cars out there, a good chunk of them are going to cheaper plastics and materials to bring cost down, and it shows, the technology Ford now has is heads and tails above other companies, and as much as some people may not want to admit this, but the Lincoln MKS is a far nicer car then the Cadillacs are, Ford has really raised the bar for others to follow

[Dan2011]

11:36 AM on 11/11/2011

We are not missing the fact. If something that your livelihood depends on ONLY works well 88% of the time that is unacceptable. If you want to cite build quality and compare it to other cars- Please cite numbers, not personal opinion based on your own observations, luxury is not related to quality- look at the older jaguars- they were expensive, luxurious, but junk (Top gear episode, had to spend 30,000 pounds just to fix the problems).
Through Ford's own website, they have 1427 Things Gone Wrong per 1000 vehicles in the first few months of ownership, and they are PROUD OF IT! That's an average of 1.4 things per vehicle- that's poor build quality. Any place else whether a home builder (expect all the houses to leak? bad wiring? nails hanging?), engineering firm , restaurant, programming firm, etc- they would be out of business.
If I pay 10's of thousands of dollars for something that costs them around $4,000-$6,000 in raw materials to make, I expect it to not have anything go wrong- at least in the first few months- it's not to much to ask.

[Fletch55]

03:39 PM on 11/08/2011

Im a Ford guy but when it comes to my car the less computerized touch screen the better. Ford really needs to rethink the My touch over conventional controls as an option situation and make sure to offer regular manual knobs and buttons over the touchscreen computerized stuff.

[pcs5141]

11:35 AM on 11/08/2011

This is really no big deal.Cars of all brands require software updates to fix glitches that didn't show up in development and testing.Gm dealers have a thick book that lists prom chips to be replaced in the eng.control unit to fix various drivability complaints.The newer cars have a programable ECU that can be reflashed to update and fix various glitches. At my dealership we automatically checked any car that came in for service for available updates and did them under warrenty,most if the time the customer wasn't aware of this.

[Jmsb1]

11:07 AM on 11/08/2011

Quoted from the article: "Still, he gives Ford credit for taking a chance on new technology, even at the expense of its quality scores."

I find this completely pathetic.

[Dan2011]

10:13 AM on 11/09/2011

It is very pathetic, that's like going to a restaurant getting a steak and them bring out a rare steak when your ordered a well done steak. Then when everyone else has their plates and you complain, the server takes yours back to be cooked and the excuse is that "we are experimenting on cooking it in a new way that will make it even more delicious". You wouldn't cut the cooking staff slack for a major screw up, so why give the car company the benefit of the doubt ?
I'd have more respect for them if they would have just come out and said "oops, our technology was not ready to be released, but we wanted to be first to market to gain market share"

[Al Schrader]

10:43 AM on 11/08/2011

I like knobs better. The speakers always seem to rot-out in a few months. Maybe use poly ethylene speaker cones ?....Al-

[Steve Sedlis]

07:57 AM on 11/08/2011

Whats next? Internet access while you drive? At some point some authority should step in and warn these people that their new toys are flirting with violation of the distracted driver laws. Heck, many people already have laptops in their cars. If you're texting, putting on make-up, or any other activity that distracts you from the task at hand, you shouldn't be driving. And you do have your seat belt buckled, right?

[Mitchman57]

12:31 PM on 11/08/2011

And you do have your seat belt buckled, right?

Yea, around my cocktail shaker.

[Steve Sedlis]

02:47 PM on 11/08/2011

Good one, but don't drink and drive - you might hit a bump and spill your drink.

[walker1946]

07:17 AM on 11/08/2011

Another way for Dealerships to get you into a repair shop. They love to control your pocketbook. Another thing I hate is the automatic Low Tire Pressusre warning on the instrument panel. Doesn't everyone like to crawl under a Ford Truck to see if the spare tire is the low tire. Do away with added cost. How many automobile wreck's do you see in the city that has the Airbag deployed.

[frank1946]

06:19 AM on 11/08/2011

Never purchase the 1st Year Product !

Always there are "Bugs"..............no matter who makes it ?

Apple Computer is a good example.

[jacmed]

09:19 AM on 11/08/2011

Agreed, frank! But also never purchase a last-year product; you're bound to have problems because, frankly, they just don't care. At least that's what the dealer told me years and years ago when I purchased the last model year of the Plymouth Laser and it had problems that could not be fixed, such as every time I used the car horn the dash lights went out -- and it was a digital dash readout, not dials. When the temperature outside was below 30 degrees (as it often is where I live) the "talking" computer would say things like "your rear passenger door is open" -- and it was a two-door!! LOL

[viper1ex19]

09:09 PM on 11/07/2011

I guess if you don't want this technology in your car you’d better find an old one and take real good care of it.

Personally, I wouldn’t have a car with that in it.$$$$$ It’s just one more thing to go wrong and you’ll have to take it to the dealer do the repairs $$$$$ unless they send you the stuff to do it with and are they going to pay you to do repairs they should be doing?
Not Very Likely!

[mac2jr]

08:24 PM on 11/07/2011

Give me a car that holds six people or 25 cement blocks and 15 8' x 2 x 4s and gets 24 MPG city and 33 MPG highway, cost less than $100 per year to maintain, last for 12 to 22 years, and keeps its style. An AM/FM radio, heater, ac, and defroster, along with windshield wipers rounds out the picture.

Gee, I already have one, it is a 2000 Dodge Intrepid..

[Mitchman57]

12:35 PM on 11/08/2011

My last 4 Chrysler minivans. Since 1986, $250.00 out-of-pocket other than brakes, etc. No kidding.

[Sorenson]

05:26 PM on 11/07/2011

Why do we need all this crap in the first place? Can't they just make a car that's designed to get you and your stuff from point A to point B without a billion extra gizmos and doo-dads and other bits of junk?

[Mitchman57]

12:36 PM on 11/08/2011

Have you ever driven a Yugo?

[bi1]

03:36 PM on 11/07/2011

Ford does is unpologetic for any thing,they just hope you will eventually get tired of complaining and go away.

[Litho-stone]

03:37 PM on 11/07/2011

I own a 2010 ford, I have never had any problem with the touch system.

[DixieMelody]

03:13 PM on 11/07/2011

I bought a 2011 Ford Fiesta based on internet research that said it was the best car for the money. I feel duped because I hate everything about it.

The ride is rough while the system is changing gears, and it hesitates after stopping at a light or stop sign. . . like the system is trying to determine what gear to settle into before moving forward.

Twice after going a short distance, running into a store and then back out within just a few minutes, the car would not start at all. After I sat and waited a few seconds and tried again, the engine did turn over.

Based on past experience, I had vowed to never again purchase a Ford. . . I do so wish I had listened to myself.

[Litho-stone]

03:31 PM on 11/07/2011

Um, did you test-drive it before purchasing?

[DixieMelody]

03:51 PM on 11/07/2011

Yes. . . with the salesman beside me yammering a mile a minute about all the bells and whistles. . . about how superior the computerized system is and that "you'll get used to the hesitation in no time. . . it's on ALL new cars." Then he's off on a fuel-efficiency spiel.

In my opinion, there is a fate worse than death and that's spending time with a car salesman.

My 1993 Dodge Stealth had finally died completely on a Friday (after giving me almost no problems for 18 years), and I needed a car to get to work on Monday. . . so I do take responsibility for not shopping around . . .

BUT, the Fiesta is NOT all its "cracked up" to be. . . which was the only point I wanted to convey.