Problems with SYNC.

[RSR]

Need Some Comfort & Confidence

Seni,
I hate to be the one to start this but I suspect I and a few other very nice people are going to insist that
"This Customer Satisfaction Program will be in effect until January 31, 2012 regardless of mileage."
changes to:
"This Customer Satisfaction Program will be in effect until January 31, 2015 regardless of mileage."
Betcha Ford is thinking the same, this may really flare up and I hope you give us some comfort and confidence in the MFT SYNC system very soon.

 

[jess4tip]

Hi All,

First post, but thought I'd share that Ford now seems to be replacing the unit itself. At least they are replacing mine. After multiple issues with the clock and a reprogram last month, the screen went out last night. I took it to the dealership this morning and they said that Ford is now just doing a replacement since the reprogram didn't work.

Interesting how many people have the same clock issue. I thought mine was just bonkers! I never imagined it would lead to the whole unit quitting.

 

[JAZNY]

Mine went blank last weekend while driving down the highway. It came back on it's own after about 5 minutes with nothing but black. Hope this isn't the beginning of the end of the APIM.

 

[gfrjr]

Hello all, first post but here it goes. I purchased a 2011 Ford Explorer XLT with the 202A package (includes Sync and My Ford Touch). Everything worked fine for the first two weeks aside from the clock resetting itself three times and two "scheduled maintenance updates". Last week the center counsel screen went "blank" and it hasn't come back on since. I have been to two dealers and have spoken to the dealership where I purchased my vehicle and nobody had a solution to fix the problem. I then spoke to Ford's corporate office and they told me that they have created a Technical Service Bulletin to correct this problem by March 8th!!! In the meantime I have no radio, heated seats, rear heat, reverse camera, or bluetooth phone. Ford had promised to get back to me today and failed to do so. Their customer service thus far has been less than helpful to put it nicely. Has anybody else experienced these problems?

 

[gfrjr]

I don't know where to begin, so I will list some of the more common issues that happen to me (since I have had the car...just thought it would "go away" ?!) when trying to use the Sync system. I have researched this on-line and realize many people are having the same problem(s) ! I'm just wondering if ANYONE is completely satisfied and if anyone has a vehicle with NO problems and ALL systems are operating properly...OR are most of the Sync systems "lemons" !!!

Here are some of my bizarre symptoms and believe me, I would not be taking time out of my busy schedule to complain and write this detailed email. And they HAVE happened. I wouldn't mind it so much if it was a glitch here or there, but when you read some of my weird off & on symptoms, you'll understand !

*Clock is off anywhere from 15 mins to 3 hours, 3 - 5 times/week !
*Sometimes cannot sync with phone, happened about 6 times so far and the last time was the worse, lasting 6 days !!! Then all of a sudden it worked yesterday !
*Having difficulty hanging up calls, privacy light stays on ?
*Navigation system takes sometimes forever to "boot up"., blank screen, have to drive around for 3-5 miles for it to start working again.
*Navigation previous destinations only stores last few and seems there is room to store many more ?
*For 1 full week my radio would blast out to "level 12", (12 notches) even when I was listening to my Spa satellite radio on low volume !
*The "spelling" during the navigation prompting is VERY difficult to use, sometimes up to 1/2 hour of "talking" to prompt for directions !! (You would think they would have a voice recognition time period to understand MY voice)!!
*There are NUMEROUS delays between pushing the touchscreen and getting the specific request function to work !
*The weirdest one of all !!!, and this has happened about 6 times ! When I shut the car off and open my driver door, there is a delay on the music going off and all of a sudden, my Blackberry cell phone begins playing this same sort of fast pace, upbeat ballad like the "Lord of the Dance" for about 1 minute, even when I take my cell phone into my house, it is still playing this crazy same old upbeat ballad...it's possessed !, AND I cannot turn it off, until it quits on it's own !

*There are other issues, I'm sure, I just can't remember them for now !

In addition to the Sync... Here are a few of some other issues Ford may or may not be aware of...

*The "Auto" heating seems to come on very quickly in the cold weather, thereby blowing cold air on you until the car heats up. (I end up shutting off the system so it doesn't blow cold air on me). Is there an adjustment for this to come on when the temperature gets to a Hightower temperature ?

*My panic alarm goes off very frequently while in my pants pocket, is there a setting to eliminate this or "lock it out" ? This is very annoying and I would never use this option.

*Back door hatch still occasionally opens back up, so now I just shut it manually !

*Car off, driver door open, trunk open, & when I opened the left rear door...the panic alarm went on !!, turned off panic alarm on key chain...opened right rear door next & the panic alarm went on again !!

 

[FordService]

gfrjr, I saw the same post in another thread and I replied, but I wanted to answer here as well in case it was buried. When I looked into this, I found that there appears to be some phone compatibility concerns, along with other issues, that the SYNC Support team would have the resources to troubleshoot with you. If anyone else is having issues, I suggest calling the SYNC team (800-392-3673 - Option 1 then 3) so they can assist.

Cory

 

[thebeaur]

Sync issues

Today I put my '11 Explorer Limited in reverse and the camera got stuck on a "freeze frame" if you will. Drove it home, shut it off multiple times, open and shut the doors etc. but it would not erase and the radio would not stop playing. Left it sit with the engine off for a few and finally decided to disconnect the battery. This reset the sync and hopefully it is an isolated event.

 

[jess4tip]

All,

The Sync system in my Explorer was replaced less than a month ago with a new one. During the last week, the clock has begun messing up; the phone connection is spastic-sometimes it works, sometimes I can't use the privacy feature, today it told me the call was ended even though I was still talking to the person; and lastly, this afternoon the screen went black. When it finally came back on, it told me it was "System Maintenance." This is really absurd. After having gone through all of this before, I recognize the symptoms and know that at any moment, the whole thing is going to quit working. Again.

 

[1995E]

All,

The Sync system in my Explorer was replaced less than a month ago with a new one. During the last week, the clock has begun messing up; the phone connection is spastic-sometimes it works, sometimes I can't use the privacy feature, today it told me the call was ended even though I was still talking to the person; and lastly, this afternoon the screen went black. When it finally came back on, it told me it was "System Maintenance." This is really absurd. After having gone through all of this before, I recognize the symptoms and know that at any moment, the whole thing is going to quit working. Again.

Same thing has happened to me. I got the APIM replaced. Worked flawless for 4 months and then problems reappeared with system maintenance and 911 Assist failure. It's definitely the fact that the parts were designed poorly. Lets take a look at the Microsoft's Xbox360 3 red rings of death. I would hate to go through the same experience except now with a $38,000 vehicle...

 

[Loganfilm]

I have a ton of problems with mine. I'm hoping this next software update does the trick. If not, then I'm going to start looking into Lemon Laws.

The car is awesome, aside from the computer problems. It's just way too distracting to deal with. I really hope they solve it. It's brilliant if working.

 

[FordService]

Today I put my '11 Explorer Limited in reverse and the camera got stuck on a "freeze frame" if you will. Drove it home, shut it off multiple times, open and shut the doors etc. but it would not erase and the radio would not stop playing. Left it sit with the engine off for a few and finally decided to disconnect the battery. This reset the sync and hopefully it is an isolated event.

After the “reset”, have you had any more issues or was it really an isolated event? Please let me know if you run into any more troubles I can help with.

jess4tip, this must be annoying and I would like to help. So I can do this, would you mind sending me a private message with your VIN, approximate mileage, and dealer name?

1995E, from the message you sent me before, I’ve been looking into this but would you also send me the info I mentioned above so I can escalate your concerns?

Loganfilm, because your concerns were escalated, I will be keeping tabs on the progress to get your problems resolved.

Cory

 

[thebeaur]

I just drove it on a trip of about 1K miles. Never had the freeze again until today, when I got back home and went to the store. This time I just let the radio pay with the frozen picture but went ahead and went into the store with the key in hand. When I returned it was off and when I started it I had a blank screen for about 60 seconds and then the SYNC system maintenance came on and seemed to reboot.

After the “reset”, have you had any more issues or was it really an isolated event? Please let me know if you run into any more troubles I can help with.

jess4tip, this must be annoying and I would like to help. So I can do this, would you mind sending me a private message with your VIN, approximate mileage, and dealer name?

1995E, from the message you sent me before, I’ve been looking into this but would you also send me the info I mentioned above so I can escalate your concerns?

Loganfilm, because your concerns were escalated, I will be keeping tabs on the progress to get your problems resolved.

Cory

 

[FordService]

I just drove it on a trip of about 1K miles. Never had the freeze again until today, when I got back home and went to the store. This time I just let the radio pay with the frozen picture but went ahead and went into the store with the key in hand. When I returned it was off and when I started it I had a blank screen for about 60 seconds and then the SYNC system maintenance came on and seemed to reboot.

I’m sorry to hear you had issues with it again. Have you had a chance to take it to your dealer to diagnose the concern? If you would like my assistance, please feel free to PM me with the details I noted above.

Cory

 

[powcha]

My screen is black now

Went black few times starting from day 3 of getting the vechicle. Came on again after about 15 minutes each time. Now black for last 3 days and worse yet radio is out too. So I drive around holding my phone to talk to people in one hand, map in the other, and listenning to the sounds of the road.

Hopefully can get a an appointment with the dealer over the next few days to get it in to be look at again.

 

[Sheryl]

Sync Black Screen of death

Yes, once again, I have the black screen of death. The first time I had it, I did the battery unhook, due to the fact that I was traveling and couldn't get it to service. I have ongoing issues with the system since my truck arrived in Feb. Constant ipod connection issues. The box would say my ipod was not connected while it played songs from my ipod. Phone connection issues and my nav system has seemed like it was on crack before. I constantly have to unplug my ipod and replug. I hate the "updates" because my system seems to mess up afterwards, even worse than before. My artwork with my ipod music started freezing up a couple of weeks ago, then the artwork stopped working all together, then the second total black screen of death. I have spent the last 4 days with no radio, nav, phone, cooled seats, ipod or cd player. My wipers go on with sunny days, 8 times the other day, my heated/cooled seats stopped working for several hours one day then suddenly returned. I have the front bumper issue. I have squeaky brakes at very low speeds, my hatch has started to pop loudly when it closes, my trim has come off the track of my moon roof, both sides, my sunglass holder sticks out on the corner, makes it look so cheap, and I am starting to wonder if I have the fan issue. I am scheduled for service on Monday. I have heard some dealerships give the lame answer to someone with a dead sync system that they were supposed to unhook the battery when it happened to fix it. Yes, the service center expects us to fix this issue. I will fall over if my dealership offers this "A+" advice. I want to love this truck, especially after what I paid. I want FORD to tell me that they WILL fix this sync system so that it works as it should....but when I ask that question on the facebook page, no Ford rep will ever answer me.......ho hummmmmmm

 

[Kat827]

I also have the black screen. Twice so far and it only has 1700 miles on it. I was wondering if anyone has had theirs actually fixed and stayed fixed. If so was it by updating or full replacement? Dealership re-booted mine but that is only a temporary fix.
Also, how legal is it to sell a product that is known to have continual problems?

 

[jess4tip]

Kat827: There is no fix for these issues.

My situation continues to escalate with no resolve. Most recently, I was told by a Ford Customer Service rep (that Cory from this board connected me with) that an update was due at the end of July. Week before last I took my car in to have the update done. The update didn't take and actually took out the whole system (aka black screen of death). So, last Monday they replaced the APIM (with the supposed update) and low and behold it's already messing up again. I turned off the car last night with it on satellite radio and when I started it this morning it was on AM.

My advice to you is to research the lemon laws for your state. Where I live they get 3 opportunities to fix the issue and then you file and give the manufacturer one additional attempt. I'm actually working on my lemon law complaint right now.

Short of them recalling the whole system and replacing it with a completely different one that works, I don't see an end to this debacle.

 

[TennesseeTider]

I was told by a Ford Engineer who looked at my vehicle last week that Ford CANNOT fix these issues right now. THEY DO NOT KNOW HOW!

The engineer said that right now ALL Explorers on the road could experience the screen going blank and other glitches and that there was nothing he could do about it.

I was told that maybe by January a fix would be available.

This is UNACCEPTABLE!! Mine has been in the shop 5 times for a total of 33 days!

Lemon law papers have been filed on mine also.

I hate this vehicle. It has ruined the past 5 months for my wife and me as we have spent so much time and effort on it.

I want to wash my hands of this vehicle and just move on!

 

[jess4tip]

TennesseeTider,

I hate it too! I'm sick of having to deal with it and getting the run around constantly. Last week when my screen quit, we were in the midst of 113+ degree weather and there was no air in the backseat for my kids. Talk about fun!

 

[camattin]

We've had multiple "System Maintenance Updates" in the past as well over the past few weeks of owning our Explorer. Last night my wife reported it had the black screen - both to and from her destination. Looks like we're taking it to the dealer to see what they can "fix" (what are the odds they just pull the battery?).

Based on other posts in this thread, we will most certainly be keeping good documentation on every trip to the dealer for this defect. We otherwise love the vehicle and are a Ford family (got the explorer on the Z plan) but these kinds of defects are absolutely unacceptable.