I (like many on this forum) have been following the discussions related to the MFT problems users have been experiencing. Since I am set to take delivery of my new 2012 Explorer in a couple weeks, I thought I'd send an email to my salesman at the dealership and see what he knows....below is the email I sent to him:
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From: Aaron <email removed>
To: 'Brian' <email removed>
Sent: Tuesday, November 1, 2011 1:18:01 PM
Subject: Explorer order
Hey Brian,
How are things going? Just thought I’d check in to see if you have any updates on our order? It’ll be 6 weeks this Saturday, so we’re hitting the halfway mark now. Yippee!
I was also hoping you could ease my mind a bit about something that’s been troubling me lately…
I’ve been on a LOT of forums over the past month in preparation for getting my new Explorer. It seems the general consensus of the online world is that the current version of the MyFord Touch/Sync infotainment system used in the car can be VERY buggy at times. When it works- it works great, but people have said the system is plagued with random reboots and overall has a slow, unresponsive feel to it. Numerous reputable car review bodies have even slammed the system, causing Ford to drop a number of spots on accredited quality ranking sites. The latest version (2.11) is better, but still not up to par with what people expect.
The forums are also plagued with rumors of a redesign of this system coming. “My salesman told me a complete overhaul is in the works…” , “early 2012 there will be an update to install…”, “my salesman said they had training on the new version this month..” etc etc. Ford hasn’t acknowledged that a redesign is in the works, but with the amount of press these issues are getting online, I have to imagine they are aware that customers are unhappy. I’m not sure if the rumors are true or if it’s just sales managers trying to brush off angry customers.
Here is my question – would you have anyone (whether at your dealership or at Ford Corporate) that you could talk to in order to confirm a) Ford is aware of the issues and is working on a solution and b) that the solution (whether software update, car recall, etc) will be applied to existing (2011/2012) models? I certainly hope they wouldn’t issue an update for the 2013 models (only) and leave all the existing customers with a buggy, non-working system which is also being rumored online).
Anyways, hope to hear from you soon.
Thanks,
Aaron
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I got a fairly generic email back with a promise that he would see what he could find out. I didn't expect to hear anything back today, but lone behold I check my email after dinner and I indeed had a reply:
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From: Jef <email removed>
To: Brian <email removed> (Brian then forwarded the email to me)
Sent: Tuesday, November 1, 2011 6:13:59 PM
Subject: Re: Explorer order
Hey Brian,
Your e-mail came at a good time. Our Ford rep was here an hour after I read your notes. Ford has released numerous bulletins regarding updates, future developments and third party reviews.
Yes Ford Motor Company is aware of issues with the system.
Yes there is a 2013 refresh for the My Touch system which will be included as a standard feature on the 2013 models including the Explorer.
Yes this refresh will be sent to all owners of the 2011/2012 in the form of a “jump drive” to be easily installed by the client or done through a Ford service department if required.
We remind our My touch clients that this system is software and is not comparable to mechanical recalls. For example, when you start up your vehicle it is important to allow the My Touch system to fully boot up before using the touch screen, just like your home computer (in my experience 5-10 seconds).
I personally own an iMac and my wife gets frustrated because she thought nothing would ever go wrong with it. We are still required to do resets, updates and hardware replacements as needed to maintain it. I still prefer my Apple experience over all my previous PCs. Unlike Apple, Ford will provide each customer with a 3 year 60000 km warranty and available 7 year 150000 km warranty and a no charge customer hotline.
Everybody I know who has had issues with their MY Touch love the system and despite some blogs and third party reviews we have a large take rate on the system.
Let me know if there are any other concerns I have not addressed in this response.
Jef
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This seems to coincide with the rumours others on the forum have been getting from their dealerships. No timeframe, but at least it has been confirmed Ford IS aware of the issue, it WILL be fixed, and all 2011/2012 users WILL receive the refresh. If anyone is curious, I got all this info from Gallinger Ford in Milton, Ontario (about 30mins west of Toronto). I hope this helps set some people's frustrations at ease. A fix IS coming. I know I feel a lot better knowing this.
I have emailed Brian back in the hopes of getting some info on the "anticipated" release date for the refresh. I'll post if I hear back.
