Blue Cruise Co-Pilot 360 Disappointment / Frustration

[copper224]

Like the previous poster, I added this to my 2022 Lariat 502A ordered in October.

I put 2000 miles on my truck in 5 days and have to say it works impressively!

I'm sorry you guys are missing out.

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[FoundryMan12]

I think the blue cruise is awesome! I have been playing around with it the last few days and I love it! I do a lot of highway driving so it is a great feature. It’s so cool to hit the buttons and see the hands free pop up and then let go of the wheel. That sucks for those that don’t have it activated yet. Mine was working as soon as I got the truck and started using the app.

 

[cool rod]

So you paid for the prep package and it wasn't installed? because you have not paid for the BC software yet.

You can't get the BC software unless you buy the prep package. You can't use the prep package until you buy the software. Buy the prep package and the software isn't delivered, you got took.

 

[NewtruckinFL]

You can't get the BC software unless you buy the prep package. You can't use the prep package until you buy the software. Buy the prep package and the software isn't delivered, you got took.

Correct, the Job 1 owners with the prep package are not able to pay for the software until the software is available. No one is complaining because they don't want to pay for the software. The software was expected to be available to us by Q3 2021 (assuming that means the end of September for Ford) and still is not available. It appears really hard for Ford to make this software available to F-150 and MachE owners unless it is installed at the factory. I have not heard an explanation for why it can't be provided now at the dealership. I love my truck but this has been an unfortunate and seemingly unforced error both in execution but more importantly in communication that impacts quite a few Job 1 Ford owners.

 

[discothan]

Hmmm.....where is the "Official Ford Account" auto-responder on this thread?

Let's be honest here. Ford isn't a software company. Heck, they aren't even a technology company. If they can't get the My View to save your custom settings, do you expect them to have this BlueCruise thing rolled out/functioning? I sure hope Ford can straighten some of their software out before the Lightening starts delivery.

 

[Jesse-Infotainment]

My guess, is the IPMA is the issue. The 21.5(job 2) trucks have a different ipma. That is what handles all of the BC and cruise and sensors and cameras. I am guessing they have a problem with the early hardware they can’t resolve and aren’t wanting to replace all the ipma modules and are looking at all options before they go that route. The job 2 ipma is a lot more expensive than the job 1 units and this makes me believe the BC is the reason. I didn’t really know why before.

There maybe some software in the gateway that needs to be updated also: it changed also. So ford may have a huge mess on their hands

this is just my thoughts based on what I know

 

[gtotco]

My guess, is the IPMA is the issue. The 21.5(job 2) trucks have a different ipma. That is what handles all of the BC and cruise and sensors and cameras. I am guessing they have a problem with the early hardware they can’t resolve and aren’t wanting to replace all the ipma modules and are looking at all options before they go that route. The job 2 ipma is a lot more expensive than the job 1 units and this makes me believe the BC is the reason. I didn’t really know why before.

There maybe some software in the gateway that needs to be updated also: it changed also. So ford may have a huge mess on their hands

this is just my thoughts based on what I know

Just out of curiosity what is order of magnitude of “a lot more expensive”? Like are these modules hundreds of dollars? Are they something that is swappable if they need to replace hardware?

 

[Jesse-Infotainment]

Just out of curiosity what is order of magnitude of “a lot more expensive”? Like are these modules hundreds of dollars? Are they something that is swappable if they need to replace hardware?

The ipma when I added 360 cams for my early build was about 500$ when I was looking at getting the cameras in motion and the full scream Cargo I was going to swap the IPMA.. it was $3000

So I decided to wait. I am looking at adding blue cruise to my STX and have done a lot of research and again.. I am not stating that to be fact I just believe it to be the issue from what I have discovered.

 

[gtotco]

The ipma when I added 360 cams for my early build was about 500$ when I was looking at getting the cameras in motion and the full scream Cargo I was going to swap the IPMA.. it was $3000

So I decided to wait. I am looking at adding blue cruise to my STX and have done a lot of research and again.. I am not stating that to be fact I just believe it to be the issue from what I have discovered.

Yikes. Guessing some (or a lot) of that may be supply constraints - I can’t imagine that difference is all technical. If this is the case and fix is IPMA swap maybe this is going to get stuck in the supply chain queue which I’m sure they would not want to prioritize over new builds. The one saving grace is that subset of Job 1 BC enabled vehicles might actually be relatively small. I thought I remembered reading a while back that BC was only expected to be on 10-15% of vehicles. I know Ford sells a lot of F series but they aren’t all 150, and if we are talking about 10-15% of 6 months the number starts shrinking relatively quickly. These are a lot of assumptions, however.

Either way, to me it always seemed plausible that the always on camera and BC issues were linked - would this be the case if it’s the IPMA module?

Tangentially related - I know if I go in reverse on my Job 1 truck the frame rate feels like about 5 frames per second on the camera, which I always assumed was part of why they weren’t releasing always on camera. I always wondered if this was a screen issue, or a hardware issue upstream.

 

[Jesse-Infotainment]

Yikes. Guessing some (or a lot) of that may be supply constraints - I can’t imagine that difference is all technical. If this is the case and fix is IPMA swap maybe this is going to get stuck in the supply chain queue which I’m sure they would not want to prioritize over new builds. The one saving grace is that subset of Job 1 BC enabled vehicles might actually be relatively small. I thought I remembered reading a while back that BC was only expected to be on 10-15% of vehicles. I know Ford sells a lot of F series but they aren’t all 150, and if we are talking about 10-15% of 6 months the number starts shrinking relatively quickly. These are a lot of assumptions, however.

Either way, to me it always seemed plausible that the always on camera and BC issues were linked - would this be the case if it’s the IPMA module?

Tangentially related - I know if I go in reverse on my Job 1 truck the frame rate feels like about 5 frames per second on the camera, which I always assumed was part of why they weren’t releasing always on camera. I always wondered if this was a screen issue, or a hardware issue upstream.

The software is different. They have different capabilities.. I dont believe the IPMA change was due to any constraint. I really believe they found an issue and had to make a revision and are now trying to figure out what to do about it for job 1 trucks.

You can make the cameras in motion work with Job 1 IPMA. I already have with a update that became available. You also have to adjust as built in the apim to make it work. You do not get full screen cargo and cargo in side stack with he older IPMA.


The IPMA is a very critical module and handles so much. It handles all the Bliss all the radar modules up front it handles cruise control and it handles auto high beams.. collision avoidance. The lane keep. It handles the auto brake. Cross traffic.. The list is long.

The slow frames was an issue I had that a update corrected. The first update of the IPMA corrected a clarity issue. The second update handled the slow refresh rate and some other things.

Again the Blue Cruise is just my thought. I really think its right though. We shall see. If the IPMA needs to be replaced though its going to be a nightmare for dealers and customers. I hope they are able to resolve with software BUT the IPMA updates are huge and take 3-6 hours.

 

[EatDirtFartDust]

I don’t have BlueCruise but can still drive hands-free on mostly straight highways.
I just hang a 1-lb ankle weight on the wheel and watch the instrument cluster closely.

 

[gtotco]

The software is different. They have different capabilities.. I dont believe the IPMA change was due to any constraint. I really believe they found an issue and had to make a revision and are now trying to figure out what to do about it for job 1 trucks.

You can make the cameras in motion work with Job 1 IPMA. I already have with a update that became available. You also have to adjust as built in the apim to make it work. You do not get full screen cargo and cargo in side stack with he older IPMA.


The IPMA is a very critical module and handles so much. It handles all the Bliss all the radar modules up front it handles cruise control and it handles auto high beams.. collision avoidance. The lane keep. It handles the auto brake. Cross traffic.. The list is long.

The slow frames was an issue I had that a update corrected. The first update of the IPMA corrected a clarity issue. The second update handled the slow refresh rate and some other things.

Again the Blue Cruise is just my thought. I really think its right though. We shall see. If the IPMA needs to be replaced though its going to be a nightmare for dealers and customers. I hope they are able to resolve with software BUT the IPMA updates are huge and take 3-6 hours.

Thanks for all of that info!

On the 3-6 hours of updates is that actual labor time for physical install or software update? Honestly if it is a hardware issue I’d be happier if it was updated at some point even if it is a pain, but that’s just me. I don’t mind being patient if it’s the best fix possible. Worst case to me would be a half assed software fix that ends up being inferior or hamstringing updates down the road. We will see what happens as things move forward. I’m less concerned/upset than other people on here, provided the correct fix is done at some point. I’ve been happy overall with the truck, I’m excited for BlueCruise but if it takes more time I’m fine with it. I bought this assuming I’m going to own it for 5-10 years so I want whatever fix makes that possible.

 

[Jesse-Infotainment]

The 3-6 hours is the update time. It took me about 3 hours to update the software because it’s through can and it’s limited in speed.
I believe that there will be a hardware upgrade required for bc to work. I believe they could be working to allocate parts enough for the upgrade for everyone .
Again just theory on my part

 

[FXDR131]

Why is it so important to have hands-free driving? Do you want to eat a bowl of cereal while you "drive"? Do you have better things to do, so you put your life and the lives of others in the hands of AI?

 

[EatDirtFartDust]

Why is it so important to have hands-free driving? Do you want to eat a bowl of cereal while you "drive"? Do you have better things to do, so you put your life and the lives of others in the hands of AI?

Statistically, there are fewer accidents and deaths per mile when AI is driving.

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