Repair Nightmare - Ford engineers taking incorrect SW approach

[rugedraw]

I've seen a bad GWM prevent connectivity before on multiple occasions. All I know is that if Jesse said it's the GWM, then it's the GWM.

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[voltron24]

"My Lightning ended up being at the dealership for a full month, during which there was a 2-week idle time span where the dealership tech was waiting for instructions from the Ford engineers to tell him what to do next. Ford's last instructions to dealership to tech was to reprogram the TCU (software "fix") and release the vehicle to customer if there are no more DTCs."

This is my EXACT scenario where the truck is just sitting at the dealership waiting for Ford to release a "software" package. What is in the software package and is it a custom build or any other questions just go into a black hole. @Ford Motor Company doesnt even seem to know.

But in my case, because the screen now doesnt come on, it is a safety issue and they cant even give me the truck back.

 

[RLXXI]

Just had a GWM update come thru for my truck OTA Says something about battery drain though, nothing about coms.

 

[Newton]

Has anybody tried going into Diagnostic Mode? You can see if you have cell signal, if not it could be a bad antenna connection. If you have signal, then verify that the IMEI number is allowed on the network… and so on and so forth.

 

[RLXXI]

I traded in the Mach-E, but no problems with it previously. From the diagnostics/logs, the Ford servers cannot connect to the Lightning. So the problem is limited to the Lightning. Also, the "Connectivity" toggle switch in the Lightning center screen menu is stuck on enable. It cannot reset itself by toggling that button...it just won't toggle.

After you delete cache, then data, then uninstall the app, in that order, reinstall the app and use a different email address to make a new Fordpass account and see if it'll connect then. Out of ideas failing that.

 

[MountainAlive]

This sounds similar to my day 1 experience. See thread below. Mine had a two layer problem. It was still in “fleet mode” and second, the modem/TCU was unresponsive. After 2 or 3 times at the dealer they finally replaced the modem/TCU and all communications started working again. The mothership was able to unenroll my truck from fleet mode and then I was able to connect my FordPass app. I’ve seen at least one other person check behind the rear seat and realize the cable to the modem/TCU simply wasn’t plugged in the way that fixed their issue. Sometimes it’s this simple and the dealer can miss it. https://www.f150lightningforum.com/...c-system-updates-fleet-mode.14886/post-391647

 

[Jesse-Infotainment]

He has had MULTIPLE GAteway OTA attempts. I have helped several dealers with these situations and they were all gateway modules.

The TCU going bad is very unlikely. The most common reasons for connectivity issues are Software bad due to a bad OTA, ethernet codes which this truck has. THe ethernet codes are key here because that is how the TCU communicates with everything. THe CanBus is not primary for the tcu data.

I do BELIEVE the gateway to be the most likely culprit. Hard to say for certain sometimes but going off the several I have helped DEALERS fix across the country the gateway is the culprit. Reason being the ethernet is all routed from the gateway.

It could be a As build situation but looking online(Which can be inaccurate to what is in the truck) I dont see anything. Situations like these its always nice to have forscan available to see the actual as build in the truck

I cant remember if they had already replaced the TCU or not in this situation.. I have helped a few people.

 

[Ford Motor Company]

I've been driving EVs for a while. Love my Mach-E and now my new Lightning, but support from Ford is lacking to put it lightly. The community that we have here is even more helpful than the support that I am getting from the mothership. Ford engineers wants to fix a hardware issue with software updates. As an engineer myself, I get it....its cheaper, but at one point, you just got to attack the root of the problem when "fixes" are not fixing.

The problem is that the telecommunications (FordPass, OTA, etc) hasn't been working since day 1 (can't connect/times out). I finally brought it into the dealership to get it addressed along with the upper control arms recall. Got a call from the dealership after 4 days and said everything is fixed. I tested FordPass/connectivity immediately at pickup and it didn't work. Demonstrated the problem to service in person. Their helpful salespeople also jumped in to help, but they couldn't get FordPass to connect. It's not a phone issue as I've used FordPass app for 4 years with my Mach-E. My Lightning went straight back to service after I spent $50 on a Lyft to get to the dealership. The helpful people in this community, particularly Jesse, were able to check the logs and tells me that my Lightning is not able to connect to the Ford servers.

My Lightning ended up being at the dealership for a full month, during which there was a 2-week idle time span where the dealership tech was waiting for instructions from the Ford engineers to tell him what to do next. Ford's last instructions to dealership to tech was to reprogram the TCU (software "fix") and release the vehicle to customer if there are no more DTCs. When I went to pickup my Lightning, I tested the telecommunications immediately in person, and yes....you guessed it, it didn't work. Just because there are no DTCs from the TCU doesn't mean everything is working. This time, I had to pickup my Lightning despite it being not fixed. I almost used up my 10-day rental car allowance during the month which I tried to juggle with sharing my wife's car. They have also asked me to reinstall FordPass app, log off/on FordPass, remove vehicle from app, reset vehicle from center screen, etc. None of them worked....its not a software/config issue.

Now Ford wants me to bring the vehicle back, which I would love to, but I need to know that there is an efficient plan (I.e. we will change the gateway module next) instead of my truck sitting idle at the dealership most of the time. I also asked if I can get helped with a second rental vehicle (I had to pay upfront for the first rental that isn't reimbursed yet), but my BEV case manager said the vehicle has to be fully fixed before getting any possible reimbursement. I find this level of support troubling....incorrect troubleshooting approach with lots of idle time and lack of rental car support (which affects families who have to get to work and drive their kids around).

Sorry for the long rant. This is just troubling coming from an engineer's mind.

@Ford Motor Company, is this something that you can help with?

I'll send you a message, get some details to try and help you out now.

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