MyFord Touch disgust torpedoes Ford's JD Power rating

[NutBucket]

That's a good point. Poor dealers could really hurt Ford by failing to really show the buyers how to use the controls. Good dealers, on the other hand (like the one you describe) could prevent many of those headaches by showing the customers how to use it.

I don't credit the dealer; I credit Honda for making sure the dealer did its job. Why else would there have been a checklist in the owner's manual?

 

[PhoKingGuy]

I don't credit the dealer; I credit Honda for making sure the dealer did its job. Why else would there have been a checklist in the owner's manual?

Ford has a checklist as well, some of the dealers don't bother to follow it though. I had to request when we bought our Fiesta that they go over it with my uncle.

On the other hand the dealer I'm dealing with spent about half an hour teaching me how to use MFT. It depends on who you deal with.

 

[exar333]

Ford has a checklist as well, some of the dealers don't bother to follow it though. I had to request when we bought our Fiesta that they go over it with my uncle.

On the other hand the dealer I'm dealing with spent about half an hour teaching me how to use MFT. It depends on who you deal with.

Exactly.

Sure Ford has the opportunity to put a great manual/training guide/checklist together but it is still up the dealer and the user to maximize those tools. A poor dealer will not spend any time showing the customer the features (aka customer service) and most buyers are lazy and do not even read the manual, let alone read it to learn all the functions of the Sync system.

If dealers want the customers to mark the cars highly, they should take the time to walk the customer through the main functions and make sure they are comfortable. By no means have I spent a lot of time in dealerships, but the salesmen are usually hanging around and don't look crazy busy when I am there.

I build software based on customer's specs, and STILL show them how to use it properly. Spending a little time showing someone how to use something has a HUGE impact on their satusfaction. If Ford is serious about their ratings that may measure customer satisfaction for their software (like Sync) they should work hard to make sure this is done every time. There is also no better way to get good customer feedback then spending time with them showing it how it works. Dealers will discover the main 'gripes' and issues, and should be encouraged to give that back to the software devs to improve their product.

Sorry to get off on a tangent, but good software development and enhancement has a huge customer component to make it successful.

 

[QuantumPion]

My mustang has MFT and it is the best OEM navi I have ever used or seen. It is easy to use with a clear and logical GUI. I haven't noticed any bugs or problems except some minor annoyances with my iphone (which I believe is the fault of the iphone, not Sync).

 

[LTC8K6]

Yeah, don't understand the complaints about using the Ford system. It's light years ahead of anyone else's.

I can understand complaints if it doesn't work, but I can't understand complaints about it otherwise.

It's great.

On a scale of 1 to 10, if Chrysler's is poor and we give it a 2, I would give Ford's system a 12 in relation.

 

[senseamp]

This is why we can't have nice things. The praise and merits are ignored, but the complaints get blown out of proportion

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

This is why we can't have nice things. The praise and merits are ignored, but the complaints get blown out of proportion

You don't even know what you're talking about. I guess since half of the time sync works properly I should only discuss the 50% of the time that it works and totally ignore the other 50% that it doesn't work.

 

[senseamp]

You don't even know what you're talking about. I guess since half of the time sync works properly I should only discuss the 50% of the time that it works and totally ignore the other 50% that it doesn't work.

You don't have to ignore it, but the final accounting should include both merits and annoyances. The JD Powers survey only counts the latter, and it counts them same as major problems. If Sync does 99 things great, but does 1 thing not as well, the 99 things get completely ignored, but the 1 thing that someone complains about gets counted same as a seized engine or exploding transmission would. Plus it's so subjective. It's user interface design, one user may love it, another will hate it. JD Powers will only listen to the hater.

 

[LTC8K6]

You don't even know what you're talking about. I guess since half of the time sync works properly I should only discuss the 50% of the time that it works and totally ignore the other 50% that it doesn't work.

Is the latest software/firmware loaded?

 

[Throckmorton]

This is why we can't have nice things. The praise and merits are ignored, but the complaints get blown out of proportion

Nice things and gimmicks are different

 

[senseamp]

Nice things and gimmicks are different

One man's gimmick is another man's nice thing. But if JD Powers gets is way, automakers will pander to the lowest common denominator for fear of complains and simply stick with old, uncontroversial technology like FM radio. Less features, less things to complain about. If you put traffic info into the navigation system, and there is bad cellphone reception, and customer complains that traffic wasn't working, that's a black mark equivalent to an engine seizing as far as JD Powers is concerned. Never mind that on balance it's a useful feature, never mind that even when there is something to complain about, it's still no worse than not having it, it gets counted as if the car is unreliable compared to one that doesn't have this feature.

 

[Capt Caveman]

One man's gimmick is another man's nice thing. But if JD Powers gets is way, automakers will pander to the lowest common denominator for fear of complains and simply stick with old, uncontroversial technology like FM radio. Less features, less things to complain about. If you put traffic info into the navigation system, and there is bad cellphone reception, and customer complains that traffic wasn't working, that's a black mark equivalent to an engine seizing as far as JD Powers is concerned. Never mind that on balance it's a useful feature, never mind that even when there is something to complain about, it's still no worse than not having it, it gets counted as if the car is unreliable compared to one that doesn't have this feature.

So, what do you call not being able to use your radio, climate control without having to pull over and rebooting your car by removing a fuse?

 

[Pariah]

You don't have to ignore it, but the final accounting should include both merits and annoyances. The JD Powers survey only counts the latter, and it counts them same as major problems. If Sync does 99 things great, but does 1 thing not as well, the 99 things get completely ignored,

No, they do not. JD Power reports problems as a rate, not an absolute. If JDP reports 75 problems for a car maker, that means out of every 100 surveys, 75 problems were reported. That would imply that at least 25% of respondants reported no problems. People who do not report problems are not ignored, they are still statistically important and obviously effect the rate that problems are reported.

but the 1 thing that someone complains about gets counted same as a seized engine or exploding transmission would.

Can we please stop with the idiotic melodramatics about cars grenading themselves within 3 months? Maybe I have a piss poor memory, but I can't recall a car within the last 20 years that had problems with explosive transmissions right off the lot.

 

[LTC8K6]

So, what do you call not being able to use your radio, climate control without having to pull over and rebooting your car by removing a fuse?

That's called a CANBUS vehicle...

 

[ElFenix]

No, they do not. JD Power reports problems as a rate, not an absolute. If JDP reports 75 problems for a car maker, that means out of every 100 surveys, 75 problems were reported. That would imply that at least 25% of respondants reported no problems. People who do not report problems are not ignored, they are still statistically important and obviously effect the rate that problems are reported.

you just completely misread that.

if ford didn't offer sync or MFT and just had a CD player that worked perfectly, it'd have 0 problems per 100. but that's largely because of reduced functionality. more features, more chances for problems.

 

[CupCak3]

This is really unfortunate; I was really looking forward to MFT. I'll still try it out but with all the problems I'll likely stick with the "base" Sync system with Climate control.

 

[Pariah]

you just completely misread that.

if ford didn't offer sync or MFT and just had a CD player that worked perfectly, it'd have 0 problems per 100. but that's largely because of reduced functionality. more features, more chances for problems.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Just because it is hurting their rating this year, doesn't mean that if Ford can get it working right in future iterations that it won't be an asset for them down the road. Eventually most major manufacturers are going to have a release a similar system, and they will likely have similar initial issues as well, while Ford and BMW will be sitting pretty with more mature systems.

 

[mastertech01]

If you havent had your my touch system reprogramed since July 25, check and see if there is an updated version avaliable for your vehicle. The latest version corrects a lot of problems we have been seeing such as complete lockups, blank screen, etc. Most of them I have been doing have been on the MKX, Edge,New Explorer.

 

[Throckmorton]

When did designers start thinking it was a good idea to control all the functions of a car from a touchscreen? It's a car not an iPhone.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

You don't mind if I point and laugh at people who base their impressions of a car based on their sync experiences do ya?

 

[ElFenix]

When did designers start thinking it was a good idea to control all the functions of a car from a touchscreen? It's a car not an iPhone.

iDrive

well, that was a weird single knob, but similar

 

[senseamp]

Point is Ford quality is still great. But if you aren't tech savvy, don't get MFT and then complain

 

[Zenmervolt]

As hard as it might be for a tech God like you to believe, not everyone is a master of all that is tech like you are. How great the system is is irrelevant if the average user can't figure out how to use it. I fail to see how large numbers of users complaining about this particular system tarnishes the reputation of JDP.http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/201...-ford-plummeting-in-j-d-power-quality-survey/

If my 60-year-old mother can figure out the touchscreen system just fine in her MXZ, the system is sufficiently intuitive for the average user.

Now, that's not to say that there aren't issues hiding in there (e.g. she doesn't have an iPod and she refuses to use a phone while driving even with hands-free so she's not exactly using every last feature of the system), but whatever issues exist, they aren't in the UI in my opinion.

ZV

 

[KK]

MyLincoln Touch so far in our MKX has worked well. I guess its a good thing we didn't go with the Edge.

 

[CraigRT]

That is not something I'd want or need.
When I priced out a 2012 Focus, I priced a loaded SE model with none of this dumb additional crap.