jbuck Posted December 9, 2011 Report Share Posted December 9, 2011 I too am pleased that Ford is addressing these issues. For all my griping to Ford, I will say that I was impressed that they called me personally to inform me that the update was coming....much appreciated. They even put me on a 3 year or 45, 000 mile maintenance warranty for FREE for my troubles. Not sure this is something that is being offered to everyone but if you get a call you might ask. Everyone that has been dealing with this problem should get something. I do beta testing for a living but did not find it enjoyable pointing out the problems Ford should have (must have) known about, and addressed before selling us these expensive vehicles. MFT was not fully baked first time around. Keeping my fingers crossed that they are going to do right going forward and I truly believe that will be the case. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbuck Posted December 9, 2011 Report Share Posted December 9, 2011 Have you ever managed an extremely large and complex software project? ...Why yes I have. You test the hell out of it before you stage it into production. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted December 9, 2011 Report Share Posted December 9, 2011 ...Why yes I have. You test the hell out of it before you stage it into production. You missed the previous discussions. They did test the hell out of it. The bugs were known well ahead of time. The original developers screwed up big time and by the time they realized it - they didn't have enough time to fix it before the vehicles were scheduled to ship. So they had to make a decision - pull the technology out of the 2011 Edge and Explorer, delay the new vehicles until they could be fixed, or go ahead and hope they could stabilize the software quickly before too much damage was done. There was no easy answer - you don't just delay a new vehicle and they would not have been able to offer Navigation or any type of touch screen radio for several months to a year. In short they were between a rock and a hard place. My point was that you don't just rewrite software like that in a couple of months. It takes 6 months to a year to do a rewrite like that especially when you have to be sure not to screw up again. You just can't rewrite complex software (remember it's integrated into the vehicle controls - it's not just the radio) like that quickly and be successful. Given that, I'd say they've done as much as they could possibly do in the time given once the original mistake was made. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wilsons66604 Posted December 10, 2011 Report Share Posted December 10, 2011 I too am pleased that Ford is addressing these issues. For all my griping to Ford, I will say that I was impressed that they called me personally to inform me that the update was coming....much appreciated. They even put me on a 3 year or 45, 000 mile maintenance warranty for FREE for my troubles. Not sure this is something that is being offered to everyone but if you get a call you might ask. Everyone that has been dealing with this problem should get something. I do beta testing for a living but did not find it enjoyable pointing out the problems Ford should have (must have) known about, and addressed before selling us these expensive vehicles. MFT was not fully baked first time around. Keeping my fingers crossed that they are going to do right going forward and I truly believe that will be the case. How do you rate a call from FORD? I've gotten diddley squawk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tpm419419 Posted December 10, 2011 Report Share Posted December 10, 2011 How do you rate a call from FORD? I've gotten diddley squawk. I too received the 3 year 45,000 maintenance. I have a lease so I am hoping they make some concessions when I go to lease a new ford in 2013. Seeing as half the time I have had my 2011 it was less then expected Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wilsons66604 Posted December 10, 2011 Report Share Posted December 10, 2011 I too received the 3 year 45,000 maintenance. I have a lease so I am hoping they make some concessions when I go to lease a new ford in 2013. Seeing as half the time I have had my 2011 it was less then expected Did you call FORD HQ or is this something the dealership did for you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tpm419419 Posted December 11, 2011 Report Share Posted December 11, 2011 Did you call FORD HQ or is this something the dealership did for you? I emailed Ford HQ offering to beta test the new MFT interface and received a phone call from Ford several days later. The phone call was about whether I was happy with the MFT. I am not positive my email and the phone call I got was related but I'm guessing it was Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshaustein Posted December 11, 2011 Report Share Posted December 11, 2011 I emailed Ford HQ offering to beta test the new MFT interface and received a phone call from Ford several days later. The phone call was about whether I was happy with the MFT. I am not positive my email and the phone call I got was related but I'm guessing it was What email address did you use? I do software design for a living and would like to offer to help Beta test the software as well... or get 3 year 45k Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tpm419419 Posted December 11, 2011 Report Share Posted December 11, 2011 What email address did you use? I do software design for a living and would like to offer to help Beta test the software as well... or get 3 year 45k I can't find the address but I expect paperwork to arrive in the mail any day now. You can try this # Ford Motor Company Corporate Office | Headquarters 1 American Rd. Dearborn, MI 48126 (313)322-3000 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waldo Posted December 12, 2011 Report Share Posted December 12, 2011 Ford doesn't need your help to Beta test anything, they will soon have over 1000 management lease vehicles running around with the new stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tpm419419 Posted December 12, 2011 Report Share Posted December 12, 2011 Ford doesn't need your help to Beta test anything, they will soon have over 1000 management lease vehicles running around with the new stuff. Never hurts to ask my friend Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tulsa Posted December 12, 2011 Report Share Posted December 12, 2011 Ford doesn't need your help to Beta test anything, they will soon have over 1000 management lease vehicles running around with the new stuff. Just hope it's not the same staff they used the first time through. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted December 12, 2011 Report Share Posted December 12, 2011 Just hope it's not the same staff they used the first time through. For the 100th time - it was not lack of testing. They had thousands of bugs identified before the launch. It was a business decision to launch with known problems, not a lack of testing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dingo Posted December 12, 2011 Report Share Posted December 12, 2011 For the 100th time - it was not lack of testing. They had thousands of bugs identified before the launch. It was a business decision to launch with known problems, not a lack of testing. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dr.edge Posted December 13, 2011 Report Share Posted December 13, 2011 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tulsa Posted December 13, 2011 Report Share Posted December 13, 2011 For the 100th time - it was not lack of testing. They had thousands of bugs identified before the launch. It was a business decision to launch with known problems, not a lack of testing. Hey don't bark at me. If you have issues with folks opinions, close the thread. I've paid my dues. I've gone from 2.3 to 2.11 and still if I press the Sirius button by mistake (I didn't keep the subscription) it goes into an endless loop that won't let me cancel out of it and select another audio source. If there are known problems then tell the buying public about it so they can make an educated choice. That certainly didn't happen when I made my purchase. To be honest the stealership was totally clueless about the operation of MFT and just sent me on my way. I've generally supported it as I've not experienced the same level of frustration others have but it's been more buggy than Windows 3.1. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted December 13, 2011 Report Share Posted December 13, 2011 Hey don't bark at me. If you have issues with folks opinions, close the thread. I've paid my dues. I've gone from 2.3 to 2.11 and still if I press the Sirius button by mistake (I didn't keep the subscription) it goes into an endless loop that won't let me cancel out of it and select another audio source. If there are known problems then tell the buying public about it so they can make an educated choice. That certainly didn't happen when I made my purchase. To be honest the stealership was totally clueless about the operation of MFT and just sent me on my way. I've generally supported it as I've not experienced the same level of frustration others have but it's been more buggy than Windows 3.1. I don't disagree at all. I just don't like to see facts stated incorrectly. And I prefer Margaritas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dingo Posted December 13, 2011 Report Share Posted December 13, 2011 I'm on the bourbon now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dr.edge Posted December 13, 2011 Report Share Posted December 13, 2011 I don't disagree at all. I just don't like to see facts stated incorrectly. There's a difference between facts and opinion. To be honest, you seem to state your opinion as fact just as much as anyone. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wilsons66604 Posted December 13, 2011 Report Share Posted December 13, 2011 (edited) ...It was a business decision to launch with known problems, not a lack of testing. It's that business decision that I'm so upset about. I can understand problems with software development. I can also understand why software should NOT BE RELEASED if it does not work. Why the hell did FORD release the 2011 Edge? I think Ford released the new Edge because they wanted to avoid bad press for delaying it. Ford really stuck it to me on this one. I feel like I need a shower. Edited December 13, 2011 by wilsons66604 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted December 13, 2011 Report Share Posted December 13, 2011 There's a difference between facts and opinion. To be honest, you seem to state your opinion as fact just as much as anyone. It was already reported last year (by an employee) that at one point there were over 1500 known bugs prior to release. That's not my opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted December 13, 2011 Report Share Posted December 13, 2011 It's that business decision that I'm so upset about. I can understand problems with software development. I can also understand why software should NOT BE RELEASED if it does not work. Why the hell did FORD release the 2011 Edge? I think Ford released the new Edge because they wanted to avoid bad press for delaying it. You make it sound so simple - just delay releasing 2 new vehicles (don't forget the Explorer) for months until MFT could be stabilized. That's almost impossible to do at such a late stage. Here is what they should have done (in hindsight): Delayed the production date for MFT - don't schedule it into a new vehicle until the product was stable. In this case it would have delayed MFT by at least a year (but it would have been stable) OR Design the vehicle to accept both MFT and the old sync/navigation system without huge changes. This would have allowed MFT to be ditched and the new vehicle to be launched with alternate technology. However, it may have required compromises on the MFT design. Because Ford failed to do either one of those and bet the farm that MFT would be ready - they were stuck between a rock and a hard place and they did the best they could under the circumstances. I'm not saying they did the right thing - I'm just saying that the error occurred before the vehicles were ever released (lack of a backup plan, lack of oversight on the developers, too aggressive schedule). At that point releasing the vehicles with known bugs and working like crazy to stabilize the software was the only viable business decision. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wilsons66604 Posted December 13, 2011 Report Share Posted December 13, 2011 You make it sound so simple - just delay releasing 2 new vehicles (don't forget the Explorer) for months until MFT could be stabilized. That's almost impossible to do at such a late stage. Here is what they should have done (in hindsight): Delayed the production date for MFT - don't schedule it into a new vehicle until the product was stable. In this case it would have delayed MFT by at least a year (but it would have been stable) OR Design the vehicle to accept both MFT and the old sync/navigation system without huge changes. This would have allowed MFT to be ditched and the new vehicle to be launched with alternate technology. However, it may have required compromises on the MFT design. Because Ford failed to do either one of those and bet the farm that MFT would be ready - they were stuck between a rock and a hard place and they did the best they could under the circumstances. I'm not saying they did the right thing - I'm just saying that the error occurred before the vehicles were ever released (lack of a backup plan, lack of oversight on the developers, too aggressive schedule). At that point releasing the vehicles with known bugs and working like crazy to stabilize the software was the only viable business decision. Yes, They were stuck between a rock and a hard place. The issue I have, they went ahead and took my money for the system that did not work. It's as if they thought nobody would notice. Like I said since day one, I feel like there was some deception involved. They knew is MFT was a cluster and continued to sell it as a functioning system. Here is what I think they should have done (in hindsight): Tell me up front that the system had bugs and they were working on it and give me a $2000 credit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted December 13, 2011 Report Share Posted December 13, 2011 Yes, They were stuck between a rock and a hard place. The issue I have, they went ahead and took my money for the system that did not work. It's as if they thought nobody would notice. Like I said since day one, I feel like there was some deception involved. They knew is MFT was a cluster and continued to sell it as a functioning system. Here is what I think they should have done (in hindsight): Tell me up front that the system had bugs and they were working on it and give me a $2000 credit. I think they believed they could stabilize it within a month or two at most and if they had then it wouldn't be an issue. But they didn't and I agree they should compensate folks who have had problems. I think they will but we'll have to wait and see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
viper001 Posted December 13, 2011 Report Share Posted December 13, 2011 Tell me up front that the system had bugs and they were working on it and give me a $2000 credit. For the record (if Ford is reading this forum) I would be happy with $1000 and a big reassuring hug for my problems. Sans the hug I'd be looking for about $1200... :D 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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