APIM swap scheduled, what to check before I leave?

[Allted]

"It is not an actual TSB at this time, this is per engineering as they are still reviewing the issue. It may become a TSB."

It really sounds like if any of this was true, they would issue a service bulletin just in case. If 50% of the time it killed a APIM, and they do not have replacements....I am having a hard time believing any of this now.

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[rugedraw]

It's BS.

Understand that techs do not work for free. You are asking them to do something that they cannot bill Ford for. The right thing to do as far as customer service goes is to just do the damn PMI. However, they would have to pull a tech from a car he is working; ask a porter to bring your truck into the service bay, find an available laptop with FDRS that isn't in use on another vehicle (most dealers will only have a few laptops since every laptop requires a $900 a year FDRS license), hook your truck up to a battery charger and perform the the PMI.

Before you know it, you have 30-60 minutes of no productivity between one thing and another all to do a PMI they aren't getting paid for.

Is this what you want to hear as a customer? No....of course not. So you will get BS excuses assuming you don't know any better or don't have the resources to find out the truth. Now, even if you offer to pay them to PMI the truck, they won't because they would look stupid going back on what they said.

 

[Allted]

I totally get it, but the real issue is how many times they have actually lied to me. They can simply say, Ford has not authorized us to do so, or we would prefer to do a full swap, or hell unless Ford says this we will need to charge you for our time.

They have lied about updates, they stretched the truth about bulletins, they had my truck for a full day and did not even get in it. Manger tells me there are no such thing as brake updates when they sent me a screenshot showing differently, My battery is showing perfect condition only to replace it a year later even though it still "passes" a test...just be honest. By Lady keeps saying "what if this was me, how would I even know something was not as it should be?"

 

[Allted]

To be extra specific, what would the difference have been? --Can we just PMI this one??---

1-The Ford techs say there is a high chance of failure best not to try until we have a replacement in hand. -small lie-
2-There is a service bulletin saying 50% failure rate on APIM PMI's, up to you if you want to schedule an appointment. --Several lies, and a weird passive aggressive tone--
3-Sorry that is not covered as it is experimental Ford techs are sending a replacement we would prefer to wait for that. (to which I COULD ask how much to give it the old college try?) -truth-

 

[Snakebitten]

There are a lot of APIMs in member's trucks that were declared unfixable by dealerships. (only to be fixed by the owners)

Certainly there ARE faulty APIMs.
But I believe it's a small percentage compared to the number that have been replaced.

 

[rugedraw]

I can't say I disagree with you. However, that is not the normal process people have at dealers......Ford or otherwise.

I work for Jaguar/Land Rover now, and JLR uses a program called "InControl" which is their version of Fordpass. In order to activate InControl, you need to use a dealer portal website and you have to go out to the car and push and hold a button in the overhead console to complete the activation.

For 2024 vehicles, they did something different where pressing that button is no longer required. However, the first batch of 2024 sent out had outdated software on the TCU, VDC and/or APIM that do not allow the button-free activation to work. My GSM asked the service manager to update these 3 modules on all vehicle when they arrive as part of the PDI, and he said that he cannot because the only way the techs would get paid for the hours of work is if there is a documented issues where the vehicle cannot be activated.

So here I am selling a $100k+ vehicle to a client and I am trying to activate InControl (manufacturer requires us to do it or we lose money), and I can't because the new vehicle needs module updates so I either keep the client waiting for hours, or ask them to bring it back so we can "fix" it.

These module update issues affect all brands. It isn't just a Ford thing.

With all of that said, I still think the truth is the way to go. That's what I would want to hear.

 

[Allted]

Yes, I even understand that part.

The tech told me there were absolutely no updates whatsoever in oasis "I can prove it to you" sends me a screenshot of FDRS...showing two pending updates. Why say none, instead of THAT stuck update isn't showing. Why say Oasis when he checked FDRS, why even tell me what system he checked? Then have a manger get on the phone and give me a stern rant about zero updates whatsoever, and then say the Brakes/ABS system is not connected in any way and never has updates, when there is an update pending on the paper they sent to me...That sort of thing is crazy to me. They both just keep making things up and acting like I am not capable of checking?

Like shouldn't this service department have some sort of system in place where FORD checks on them. In my case with Ford, they said "it might be best to go to a different service department if this doesn't work out" What the heck.

 

[rugedraw]

Yes, I even understand that part.

The tech told me there were absolutely no updates whatsoever in oasis "I can prove it to you" sends me a screenshot of FDRS...showing two pending updates. Why say none, instead of THAT stuck update isn't showing. Why say Oasis when he checked FDRS, why even tell me what system he checked? Then have a manger get on the phone and give me a stern rant about zero updates whatsoever, and then say the Brakes/ABS system is not connected in any way and never has updates, when there is an update pending on the paper they sent to me...That sort of thing is crazy to me. They both just keep making things up and acting like I am not capable of checking?

Like shouldn't this service department have some sort of system in place where FORD checks on them. In my case with Ford, they said "it might be best to go to a different service department if this doesn't work out" What the heck.

In this case, I don't think Ford is needed to intervene. I would go to another dealer. I went to three different dealers when I needed to get my truck properly updates and got help from none. It was at that time that I decided to get a Mongoose and just do it myself. Best decision I ever made.

 

[Allted]

At this point, I feel a bit stuck. I don't want them telling me I voided a warranty or something. Although I bet they would have no issues if I told them "no worries, update went through last night!"

Or what if the APIM did crash??

 

[rugedraw]

At this point, I feel a bit stuck. I don't want them telling me I voided a warranty or something. Although I bet they would have no issues if I told them "no worries, update went through last night!"

Or what if the APIM did crash??

Then they would have to diagnose it and replace it when parts are available. There is not much anything can be done about that.

 

[Allted]

I mean, waiting for them to do it makes sure if it crashes they have to replace it and not put any blame or cost on me. At this point, there are no good pending updates to be in a rush for. I will see how much longer this takes. If a fun updates comes through, then I might get a bit more antsy. At that point, get back on your mongoose list, or take my chances with another dealer.

 

[Snakebitten]

Don't what-if yourself too much.

You don't need to win a debate or convince someone of what the truth is, nearly as much as you need your truck and to take matters back into your own hands.

We have witnessed more than a few fellas that have been right where you are now.
Not all of them took the Mongoose route, but the one's that did aren't dropping their trucks off at dealerships for software related issues anymore.

And I don't think I have read a single post regarding a warranty issue related to someone using FDRS to fix what's ailing. Not one.

 

[Allted]

Okay, if you guys think a PMI has a good chance of fixing these issues, I will get back on the rugedraw list. I trust you all far more than anyone else. I appreciate the support tech and moral.

Is the procedure self-explanatory, any pitfalls other than follow the prompts carefully? Last time around the updates went smooth enough.

 

[rugedraw]

Okay, if you guys think a PMI has a good chance of fixing these issues, I will get back on the rugedraw list. I trust you all far more than anyone else. I appreciate the support tech and moral.

Is the procedure self-explanatory, any pitfalls other than follow the prompts carefully? Last time around the updates went smooth enough.

Yes, it is very easy. When you see how easy it is, it will piss you off even more. lol

 

[Allted]

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