Just purchased used F-150 Lightning Lariat ER - Vehicle is fleet locked

[theawesomegamer]

I'm more than curious to know just why Ford Corporate won't help you with this.

If the truck was a test mule it should probably have never left their test garage to be sold with beta software in the first place.

Somebody ought to be able to elevate this concern to engineering and request your local dealership and FSE get involved to normalize the relevant software you have now to the current production standard.

It's a long story. So ford OTA told me to wait 2 weeks (which I did, and surprise nothing happened), and then I took it to the dealership. They contacted the TAC team, and they said "It left without beta software"... Ford OTA confirmed with me (I called them like 5 times) that the last OTA update was Beta software. So direct conflict with what they told me there. Jesse confirmed it's running beta software on 3 modules. So the dealership is a lost cause. It's above what they can do/know what to do.
Ford OTA can't escalate it (They said it needs to be through the dealer), Ford is telling the dealer that there's no issue...

One of the better lessons Ford could take from this and similar events is that Jesse is an asset to the brand, not some kind of enemy. He's basically a super specialized independent mechanic who can solve problems most dealerships can't. Ford should find a way to collaborate with him or at least stop doing things like disabling his access to diagnostic tools.

1000%. They are treating Jesse like he's some form of criminal for helping people get their trucks fixed when Ford can't even fix it. They need to start working with him, he's doing more for the community than they can at this point. Ford should thank him for helping the community, and not block his access to tools.


I appreciate @Ford Motor Company 's wiling to help.. I just think it's such a rare issue and people aren't willing to escalate it, or just say how there is nothing wrong. I just wish they would start working with @Jesse-Infotainment like @tls said. Thanks everyone for all the messages here.

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[Mike G]

Well frankly if it’s got beta software on it there’s a possibility it’s got engineering tokens installed as well and they have to come off (get deactivated) before the software can get updated. I’m just spitballing here, but I’ve had tokens on my Mach-E and had to both install them and remove them. It’s not hard to check and see if they’re there.

 

[MaintGrl]

Well frankly if it’s got beta software on it there’s a possibility it’s got engineering tokens installed as well and they have to come off (get deactivated) before the software can get updated. I’m just spitballing here, but I’ve had tokens on my Mach-E and had to both install them and remove them. It’s not hard to check and see if they’re there.

Tokens? What are these tokens you speak of...

 

[Jesse-Infotainment]

THe TCU and gateway can be downgraded pretty easy.. I can fix those.. BUT I cant downgrade APIMs.. THe easiest action would be for him to replace the APIM with one off ebay.. I could update it to teh correct version and eventually it would syn up on fords servers and be correct for the future. Its not a hard fix for me. It is impossible for dealers. THey cant do the things that need to be done. It would be possible for me to remotely correct the TCU and gateway.. but the APIM would still be an issue. It has Beta software. As long as those are on the server there is no path to update. THe Tokens wouldnt make a difference in this situation. The issues is a mismatch of software.

Meaning what the truck should have versus what it does have. Save issue people have that do upgrades that have incorrect software and wonder why they never get an update. FOrds update servers are sequenced. They dont work like an iPhone lik eif your at iOS 15 and 26 comes out and one update takes you all the way to 26 latest. The APIM updates are sequenced.. and if at any point the gateway, TCU or APIM have a version that isnt 100% matching what is expected on fords side it will pull the software packages off the server for that vehicle.. UNTIL it sees the correct firmware.

That was an issue witht eh cheap VCM clones early on.. it was submitting data in a corrupted way thus making it impossible for updates to release. It was an easy fix back then you get a mongoose and do a network scan and it would fix the corrupted data.

If he were here I could fix it very easy. Remotely I can fix two of the three. He knows this also because I told him. Its up to him if he wants to do the APIM replacement. Unless someone at Ford gets involved that can do what needs to be done it will never get fixed.

THey have knee capped me. SO I cant do as much I used to but I can in extreme emergencies make things happen. This would be one of those situations. But I cant downgrade APIMs. It jsut isnt allowed in the firmware. Ive tried.. I can delete packages.. but then you cant see anything on the screen.
So He will have to decide what he wants to do but I told him expecting a dealer to correct it is useless. If they replaced the APIM and ran a PMI it would just reinstall the exact same beta software on the current one. THat would be the case for all three modules. We have to get them to the correct versions and then it would be fine from that point forward.

 

[MaintGrl]

THe TCU and gateway can be downgraded pretty easy.. I can fix those.. BUT I cant downgrade APIMs.. THe easiest action would be for him to replace the APIM with one off ebay.. I could update it to teh correct version and eventually it would syn up on fords servers and be correct for the future. Its not a hard fix for me. It is impossible for dealers. THey cant do the things that need to be done. It would be possible for me to remotely correct the TCU and gateway.. but the APIM would still be an issue. It has Beta software. As long as those are on the server there is no path to update. THe Tokens wouldnt make a difference in this situation. The issues is a mismatch of software.

Meaning what the truck should have versus what it does have. Save issue people have that do upgrades that have incorrect software and wonder why they never get an update. FOrds update servers are sequenced. They dont work like an iPhone lik eif your at iOS 15 and 26 comes out and one update takes you all the way to 26 latest. The APIM updates are sequenced.. and if at any point the gateway, TCU or APIM have a version that isnt 100% matching what is expected on fords side it will pull the software packages off the server for that vehicle.. UNTIL it sees the correct firmware.

That was an issue witht eh cheap VCM clones early on.. it was submitting data in a corrupted way thus making it impossible for updates to release. It was an easy fix back then you get a mongoose and do a network scan and it would fix the corrupted data.

If he were here I could fix it very easy. Remotely I can fix two of the three. He knows this also because I told him. Its up to him if he wants to do the APIM replacement. Unless someone at Ford gets involved that can do what needs to be done it will never get fixed.

THey have knee capped me. SO I cant do as much I used to but I can in extreme emergencies make things happen. This would be one of those situations. But I cant downgrade APIMs. It jsut isnt allowed in the firmware. Ive tried.. I can delete packages.. but then you cant see anything on the screen.
So He will have to decide what he wants to do but I told him expecting a dealer to correct it is useless. If they replaced the APIM and ran a PMI it would just reinstall the exact same beta software on the current one. THat would be the case for all three modules. We have to get them to the correct versions and then it would be fine from that point forward.

I have said it before , , ,and I'll say it AGAIN!
@Jesse-Infotainment YOU ROCK!
We Here at F-150LF are so lucky you help us out here. I have to admit much of what you speak of, is Greek to me, But I see the results of your participation. Thank you Jesse!
And knee capped, just ain't right!!!!!

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