Explorer Navigation Tracking Problem

[sdm9465]

Wow, thats great news!

Well, that depends. They have been working on applink for years now...

For what it's worth I have been reasonably happy with nav in my 2011. There have been some glitches, but no major problems. The nav in my 2009 has been flawless though.

 

[916sp]

Well, that depends. They have been working on applink for years now...

For what it's worth I have been reasonably happy with nav in my 2011. There have been some glitches, but no major problems. The nav in my 2009 has been flawless though.

I was trying to be sarcastic. Can't tell you how fed up I am with Ford's comments about this issue.

 

[FordIVTteam]

Rebecca - thanks for chiming in on this issue. I understand no fix is available now, how do we know when a solution is available? Will the dealer contact me? The Ford IVT Team? My dealer is really good, and I do want to get this fixed as soon as a solution is ready.

Best Regards,
Jim

I'll let you know, Jim.

... I will continue to visit this forum and am hopeful that you will have encouraging news for all of us soon. If, however, no solution can be developed by Ford, are you able to tell all of us whether or not there is a means of Ford reimbursing us for the cost of this non-viable feature?

John

I'm not able to speculate on that, John. If your issue is not resolved after we release the fix, let me know and I'll escalate your concerns to our customer care team.

Rebecca

 

[JohnMD]

This message is for Plumbago. I'm curious. What other problems have you experienced with your new 2013 Explorer, beyond the navigation system issues. Other than this, we haven't had any problems or issues with the vehicle. It's my wife that drives it day-to-day, and her only other complaint is that she finds the width of the door sills to make getting in and out of the vehicle more difficult compared to her previous 2003 Explorer. However, I had DeeZee running boards installed on her 2013 Explorer to make it easier for her to get in and out. Other than that, we have had no performance or reliability problems with the vehicle. But, let me know what to watch out for in case you have experienced issues beyond the navigation system.

 

[jrmexplorer]

This thread is interesting. I had a similar problem when I first got 3.5.1 installed at the dealer. The icon with the X through the GPS to indicate that it didn't have GPS would almost instantly disappear, and it would track alright for a couple miles and then it would veer off and basically show me miles from where I was.

My dealer was able to read some trouble codes, they reinstalled the 3.5.1 software (after wiping the old software clean) and now I have no problems with the Navigation other than once in a while taking too long (in my opinion) to find the satellites.

I'm curious why some people are having this problem and others are not?

Try unpairing all devices and music, and go into Sync and do a Master Reset (while parked). This should clear your Sync to factory settings. See if that helps. If that helps, then some setting or some external device is interacting badly with your GPS. If that doesn't help, then I would conclude that since lots of people are not having this problem that something in your hardware is bad.

Try pulling the battery cable for 10 minutes and then re-hooking back up (see the instruction manual for proper procedure).

I'm surprised dealers haven't tried swapping APIM modules, or replacing GPS modules yet.

 

[WiEx]

I'm surprised dealers haven't tried swapping APIM modules, or replacing GPS modules yet.

Dealers aren't doing that because Ford is telling them that it is known issue without a known solution.

Your problem seems to be different from some others. I have never seen the icon with the X and the system shows the vehicle a few hundred feet from its actual location rather than miles. Mine existed when the vehicle was delivered with 3.2.2. Of course, I am also curious why only a few of us have the problem.

 

[Fast Gator]

I guess Iam lucky as mine tracks my truck pretty accurately. There sure seems to be major problems with some nav systems.
Why doesn't Ford just replace the "brain" or control box of these bad units instead of rebooting/updating???
Ive only had my truck 2 weeks and it was the latest software

Best of luck in getting these issues resolved

Just an after thought.
What are the build dates for the problem trucks?
Could it be a bad batch from suppliers?

 

[Riley]

TSB 13-03-11 released today addresses this issue. Reprogram the GPSM.

 

[FordIVTteam]

Good morning, everyone!

As Riley stated, the fix has been released to dealers; before heading over, please call them to make sure your vehicle is eligible, and to setup an appointment.

Rebecca

 

[jrmexplorer]

anyone with access to the TSB?

 

[WiEx]

anyone with access to the TSB?

I don't, but my dealer was able to quickly access it. The service department said that it takes about 20 minutes and applies to vehicles built before sometime in January. I don't recall the exact cut-off date. I already had an appointment booked for Monday to rotate winter tires and wheels off so they will do it at the same time.

 

[JohnMD]

Hi all,

I'm very happy to hear that a GPSM reprogramming solution has been developed. Thank you Rebecca and the team at Ford for addressing this matter. My dealer also proactively contacted me today to inform me of this. So, I was very pleased to see that the dealer is also on top of this. I will schedule an appointment and write back to everyone here on the forum to let you all know how things turn out. Here's hoping this finally brings an end to this problem. I am thankful to everyone here for sharing your experiences. Hopefully our collective efforts were influential on Ford in addressing this problem successfully.

John

 

[FordIVTteam]

Hi all,

I'm very happy to hear that a GPSM reprogramming solution has been developed. Thank you Rebecca and the team at Ford for addressing this matter. My dealer also proactively contacted me today to inform me of this. So, I was very pleased to see that the dealer is also on top of this. I will schedule an appointment and write back to everyone here on the forum to let you all know how things turn out. Here's hoping this finally brings an end to this problem. I am thankful to everyone here for sharing your experiences. Hopefully our collective efforts were influential on Ford in addressing this problem successfully.

John

You're welcome, John! I look forward to your next post.

Rebecca

 

[Kirby Baker]

I don't, but my dealer was able to quickly access it. The service department said that it takes about 20 minutes and applies to vehicles built before sometime in January. I don't recall the exact cut-off date. I already had an appointment booked for Monday to rotate winter tires and wheels off so they will do it at the same time.

I certainly hope this January timeframe is not correct, because my Sport that has a date on the window sticker of 20130220 has got GPS tracking issues. Just recorded a video of it today, where the NAV had me about 1/10 of a mile behind actual position, so when I turned onto a side road, I was driving through a field on the map. I've never had the GPS icon show up on my screen (with or without a line through it), and yesterday when I got home (and after driving through a golf course) I went into the diagnostic mode and the GPS showed the picture attached.

 

[WiEx]

I certainly hope this January timeframe is not correct, because my Sport that has a date on the window sticker of 20130220 has got GPS tracking issues. Just recorded a video of it today, where the NAV had me about 1/10 of a mile behind actual position, so when I turned onto a side road, I was driving through a field on the map. I've never had the GPS icon show up on my screen (with or without a line through it), and yesterday when I got home (and after driving through a golf course) I went into the diagnostic mode and the GPS showed the picture attached.

That sounds like the symptoms on mine, which was built in November, except that my nav shows the vehicle ahead of its actual location. I have also never seen the GPS icon and usually have 8 or 9 satellites. I should know by Monday afternoon whether the TSB fix solves the problem.

 

[JohnMD]

AARRRGGGHHH! Well everyone, I'm no further ahead. I went to my York Region, Ontario dealer today to have them perform the GPSM reprogramming according to TSB 13-03-11. After they took my vehicle into the shop and hooked it up to their computers, they told me that they got a message that reads that my vehicle GPS is already up-to-date. So, they're scratching their heads. I said to them "how can it be fully up to date, when the fix was just released and I haven't had the TSB addressed yet?". Their only answer was to put a call into Ford Engineering. And,.....so the waiting continues. Another wasted trip to the dealer! Is it possible that the dealers here in Canada have the TSB but do not yet have access to the repair? I'm not sure what the hell is going on here. So, I'll just have to sit tight and wait.... Very disappointing!

 

[916sp]

AARRRGGGHHH! Well everyone, I'm no further ahead. I went to my York Region, Ontario dealer today to have them perform the GPSM reprogramming according to TSB 13-03-11. After they took my vehicle into the shop and hooked it up to their computers, they told me that they got a message that reads that my vehicle GPS is already up-to-date. So, they're scratching their heads. I said to them "how can it be fully up to date, when the fix was just released and I haven't had the TSB addressed yet?". Their only answer was to put a call into Ford Engineering. And,.....so the waiting continues. Another wasted trip to the dealer! Is it possible that the dealers here in Canada have the TSB but do not yet have access to the repair? I'm not sure what the hell is going on here. So, I'll just have to sit tight and wait.... Very disappointing!

Sorry it didn't work out for you! Doesn't surprise me at all though, the way Ford handled this issue so far was so unprofessional that an outcome like yours was to be expected.
My car goes in Monday, if they don't fix it - lemon law here I come!

 

[JohnMD]

Hi Everyone,

My dealer called me later in the afternoon on Friday. Apparently, in light of the fact that the TSB reprogramming doesn't apply for my Q4, 2012 vehicle build date, Ford Engineering has instructed my dealer to replace the GPS module antenna instead in an attempt to rectify the problem. Not the one on the exterior of the vehicle. Apparently there is a component of the antenna that is mounted on the GPS unit itself. This is going to be a major procedure, involving a lot of dash removal to access the unit. I can't help but wonder if Ford is just grasping at straws here. Has anyone else had this repair performed? Did it make any difference?

John

 

[WiEx]

Apparently, in light of the fact that the TSB reprogramming doesn't apply for my Q4, 2012 vehicle build date, Ford Engineering has instructed my dealer to replace the GPS module antenna instead in an attempt to rectify the problem.

That's really discouraging. The TSB says that it applies to vehicles built on or before 1/15/13. I have a mid-November build date. I will see what happens at the dealer tomorrow morning.

 

[JohnMD]

Thanks for your message WiEx. I wasn't aware that the TSB applies to vehicles built before Jan 15, 2013. I don't understand why my dealer is indicating that my vehicle is already current. i"m very confused why the TSB says one thing and the dealer is telling me something else. Good luck tomorrow. Hopefully you have a better outcome than I did.

Rebecca - Can you shed light on why the dealer is telling me that the TSB doesn't apply to my vehicle, built in Nov and delivered to me in December 2012?