Ford Tests BlueCruise Hands-Free Driving in “Mother of All Road Trips” Ahead of F-150 OTA Software Update

[F150ROD]

Ford Co-Pilot 360 Assist 2.0 is exactly how mine reads.

Thats all you need to have some sort of self driving, especially in traffic. I have the basic Autopilot in my Tesla and does what I need it to do, drive itself in traffic. Sure it's not the fancy "take me home feature" but its better than just having cruise control. You'll be fine.

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[spud_41]

What I expected for us Mountain folk, but I was hoping for a little more.

 

[BLoflin]

Does anyone have an info on whether it can be used with a trailer (specifically travel trailer)? Would be nice, but I also might bet that with a trailer would just further complicate the millions of traveling tests they have to run, so won't support it....

 

[Jack in Prescott]

Rich, you might be imagining hands-free trailer hauling later this year, but that is apparently not possible with the initial software package. Tow Haul = No BlueCruise, according to a Ford summary I read. OTOH they phrased it as 'not initially', so perhaps we trailer haulers will find it possible after some initial break-in period. (I was bummed to read that). It's also my understanding that lane centering is cancelled out by Tow Haul mode. I believe you have both your Airstream and F150; have you tried the lane centering feature by chance? (I'm without my truck until - maybe - July).

The especially good news for those of us BC equipped has been lost in the shuffle. The Fall 2020 roll-out announcements about the F150 said hands-free driving software would be OTA delivered in the 'late' in 2022 and would include 200,000 miles of highways. So Ford apparently decided to benefit from the cash flow generated by BC software subscriptions a year early - perhaps due to assembly and delivery slow-downs? - and make the smaller vetted highway data base available a full year sooner. I'm very pleased about that.

I'm guessing Canadians in western Canada are not very impressed...and Mid-Westerners above the border likely wonder what the fuss is about. For our Canadian members here, are you being offered a better/different BC map?

This is 'walk now, run later' capability so apparently much additional satisfaction lies ahead. They could still in fact double the available BC highways by the latter part of 2022. And for those of us in hill and mountain country, the Predictive Speed Control feature that dials down speeds for curved sections will be appreciated. Ditto for auto lane changing for some. I just hope Ford widens the window over time for their driver assist features to be accessed in Tow Haul mode. Without doubt, towing is the most tiring kind of driving I do, and I'll bet that's true for many drivers with RV's.

Jack

 

[2AActuary]

Rich, you might be imagining hands-free trailer hauling later this year, but that is apparently not possible with the initial software package. Tow Haul = No BlueCruise, according to a Ford summary I read. OTOH they phrased it as 'not initially', so perhaps we trailer haulers will find it possible after some initial break-in period. (I was bummed to read that). It's also my understanding that lane centering is cancelled out by Tow Haul mode. I believe you have both your Airstream and F150; have you tried the lane centering feature by chance? (I'm without my truck until - maybe - July).

The especially good news for those of us BC equipped has been lost in the shuffle. The Fall 2020 roll-out announcements about the F150 said hands-free driving software would be OTA delivered in the 'late' in 2022 and would include 200,000 miles of highways. So Ford apparently decided to benefit from the cash flow generated by BC software subscriptions a year early - perhaps due to assembly and delivery slow-downs? - and make the smaller vetted highway data base available a full year sooner. I'm very pleased about that.

I'm guessing Canadians in western Canada are not very impressed...and Mid-Westerners above the border likely wonder what the fuss is about. For our Canadian members here, are you being offered a better/different BC map?

This is 'walk now, run later' capability so apparently much additional satisfaction lies ahead. They could still in fact double the available BC highways by the latter part of 2022. And for those of us in hill and mountain country, the Predictive Speed Control feature that dials down speeds for curved sections will be appreciated. Ditto for auto lane changing for some. I just hope Ford widens the window over time for their driver assist features to be accessed in Tow Haul mode. Without doubt, towing is the most tiring kind of driving I do, and I'll bet that's true for many drivers with RV's.

Jack

Late 2022? I always thought they said the OTA update was targeted for Q3 2021. Is that not the case?

 

[ryken]

For anyone trying to decide whether to get this, I will say that as a "young" guy, I really wanted the Active 2.0 to get the hands free driving. We ended up settling on an in-stock unit without it because we're impatient, the truck was almost perfectly optioned otherwise, the dealer matched Granger's pricing and the chip shortage was looming by the time we bought. We do have the Assist 2.0 as part of the 502a package.

I have to say, part of me still wants the Active, just because it's cool, and what's another $1,000 at this point, especially when you get the park assist too. That said, the Assist 2.0 package is still very good, and much better than our 2019 Honda Odyssey. You have to keep your hand on the wheel, but if you just let the weight of your hand push on the wheel a bit, the lane centering still keeps it straight and it doesn't trigger warnings very often. The lane centering works well and so does the adaptive cruise. I used the stop and go in average suburban traffic, letting the system come to a complete stop as cars in front of me caught red lights and letting the system take off with the green lights, and it worked surprisingly well. It was very nerve wracking at first, because the truck leaves about as much room behind the car in front of you as you would, but it always stopped. I don't see much heavy traffic, but I think it would work great for that as well.

 

[Jack in Prescott]

Nope, I was wrong. Was certain I saw references to (now called BlueCruise) hands free driving not being available until 2022 but, looking back briefly, I only see references to a 2021 introduction.

Jack

 

[fourZero]

I agree with ford2021 about wishing there was an interactive map. $600 for a 3-year subscription seems pretty fair. I'll be spending the next few years driving around the lower 48 pulling a small Airstream, so this has some real appeal to me.

I can almost guarantee you this system will not work for towing, I.e. it will be disabled if any trailer is detected. The software is incredibly complex as is without complicating it by trying to compensate for trailers of various size, weight, weight distribution etc.

 

[Jack in Prescott]

Regrettably, John (just above) could be correct. OTOH Ford did not dismiss the idea of hands free driving while towing. They said it was 'not available' at this time. I'd love to have the option to make my own decision about whether my towing conditions would safely suit the use of BlueCruise.

Jack

 

[uptongirl24]

Hey guys, speaking of road trips, what tolling app would you recommend? I read lots of stories of people getting fees and decided to trust an app in this matter. https://www.uproad.com/toll-point/s...py-toll-info-rates-cost-prices-and-how-to-pay I use this site and heard they've got an app too. Anyone experienced?

 

[charmincarman]

It should read something like 'Ford Co-Pilot360 Active 2.0 prep package'. This is the combined $995 package that support Bluecruise.

so after all the back and forth I was under the impression I didn’t have the package that supported blue cruise. I just received this email that seems to insinuate that I can get it for $600?

 

[GatorLariat21]

so after all the back and forth I was under the impression I didn’t have the package that supported blue cruise. I just received this email that seems to insinuate that I can get it for $600?

What package do you have?

 

[charmincarman]

What package do you have?

Assist 2.0. That’s why I’m confused why I even got the email insinuating it would be a $600 upgrade.

 

[GABAR]

This tech is interesting and I enjoyed watching the video but I was wondering if anyone has thought about this.

I’m not sure if I’m wrong or not but in order for a consumer to use this, one has to use the manufacturers maps / navigation system not to mention having to pay the subscription for the Ford connected service.

If this is the case, Apple Maps, Google maps, and Waze would be useless.

I find it hard to believe that the above mentioned navigation services have not mapped the same roads for this system to work the same way if not better.

If Ford or any brand allows Apple CarPlay and Android Auto via a simple setting on the center stack screen, and if the vehicle is equipped with the hardware for self driving, one should be able to use Apple Maps or Google maps.

Perhaps in the future Ford and other brands who offer self driving will let owners pick and choose which navigation service they want to use with the self driving feature but this will also require some type of standard for the roads to be mapped so the system in the car can adapt and update automatically.

Sorry for the rant.

 

[Caniki]

This tech is interesting and I enjoyed watching the video but I was wondering if anyone has thought about this.

I’m not sure if I’m wrong or not but in order for a consumer to use this, one has to use the manufacturers maps / navigation system not to mention having to pay the subscription for the Ford connected service.

If this is the case, Apple Maps, Google maps, and Waze would be useless.

I find it hard to believe that the above mentioned navigation services have not mapped the same roads for this system to work the same way if not better.

If Ford or any brand allows Apple CarPlay and Android Auto via a simple setting on the center stack screen, and if the vehicle is equipped with the hardware for self driving, one should be able to use Apple Maps or Google maps.

Perhaps in the future Ford and other brands who offer self driving will let owners pick and choose which navigation service they want to use with the self driving feature but this will also require some type of standard for the roads to be mapped so the system in the car can adapt and update automatically.

Sorry for the rant.

From what I understand, BlueCruise does not integrate with the Navigation system. It'll drive for you in the highways, but it's still your responsibility to get off on the right exit, for example.

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