Bad 4g modem info from dealer?

[Bballwolf43]

2017 Ford fusion hybrid  97,000 miles

 

I called my dealer to discuss having a 4g modem installed and I got, what I believe to be, the worst info I've ever received in my life. 

 

I asked about the modem and was told my car has a 4g modem from the factory. I told him that I believed all 2017 Ford fusions came out with a 3g modem, but wasn't sure. I'm only interested in the remote starting feature of the app, not sure if that matters. 

 

The dealer then told me that even if I had a 3g modem then it's only a software update to go from 3g to 4g. (I'm thinking they're completely different modems, but he's the expert...)

 

I asked how much the update was and was quoted $160. I asked what they did and all they do is update SYNC! Wtf? I did that in 20 minutes for free with a flashdrive. 

 

Also I have a question about the app. I have the app and made an account. I also added my car to the app. My car pops up, but there's zero options to do anything. There never has been anything, even before the 3g shutdown. What am I missing? Should I have been able to remote start my car last year?

 

Am I wrong in thinking this guy was completely clueless about the modems in these cars?

[Waldo]

Sounds like you're both confused which is understandable as Ford never clearly published what's going on with the modems.  

 

From what I can gather, the Energi had a modem in 2017, and that would have been a 3G.  The Platinum trim also came with "Sync Connect", so that would have been a 4G.    Only in 2019 did Ford add the modem to "regular" Fusions (SE and above in 2019, all in 2020) , and that would have been a 4G.  But the Energi kept the 3G until the end in 2020. So if your 2017 is just the regular hybrid, not the plug-in, not a Platinum, then you do not have any modem.

 

Even the apps themselves are different, the Energi uses "MyFord Mobile", while the others use FordPass.

[Bballwolf43]

9 hours ago, Waldo said:

Sounds like you're both confused which is understandable as Ford never clearly published what's going on with the modems.  

 

From what I can gather, the Energi had a modem in 2017, and that would have been a 3G.  The Platinum trim also came with "Sync Connect", so that would have been a 4G.    Only in 2019 did Ford add the modem to "regular" Fusions (SE and above in 2019, all in 2020) , and that would have been a 4G.  But the Energi kept the 3G until the end in 2020. So if your 2017 is just the regular hybrid, not the plug-in, not a Platinum, then you do not have any modem.

 

Even the apps themselves are different, the Energi uses "MyFord Mobile", while the others use FordPass.

 

I have a titanium model. I wonder how the dealership was so wrong. The guy even ran my vin and told me I had a modem factory installed. But, based on him thinking a software update could change a modem from 3g to 4g, I don't have much faith in his knowledge. 

[Waldo]

12 hours ago, Bballwolf43 said:

 

I have a titanium model. I wonder how the dealership was so wrong. The guy even ran my vin and told me I had a modem factory installed. But, based on him thinking a software update could change a modem from 3g to 4g, I don't have much faith in his knowledge. 

 

Yea, sounds like he's just confused about what a modem actually is.  In Ford speak, it's called a TCU (telematics control unit) and not a modem, but from a customer point of view they call it call kinds of different things, like Sync Connect, MyFord Mobile, FordPass Connect and so on.   So he probably is confused thinking "Sync Connect" is the same thing as "Sync 3" and did a VIN search, found your vehicle has "Sync 3" (meaning the upgraded 8in screen) and assumed that you had a modem.  He would also know that Sync is always updated with software, and thus that's what he told you, not realizing Sync and the TCU are totally different systems.

 

Honestly it's not really hard to see why people get so confused about these things given the mixed up terminology used by Ford and the roll-out of the systems across the different models over a period of 3-4 years.

[Bballwolf43]

On 7/7/2022 at 8:07 AM, Waldo said:

 

Yea, sounds like he's just confused about what a modem actually is.  In Ford speak, it's called a TCU (telematics control unit) and not a modem, but from a customer point of view they call it call kinds of different things, like Sync Connect, MyFord Mobile, FordPass Connect and so on.   So he probably is confused thinking "Sync Connect" is the same thing as "Sync 3" and did a VIN search, found your vehicle has "Sync 3" (meaning the upgraded 8in screen) and assumed that you had a modem.  He would also know that Sync is always updated with software, and thus that's what he told you, not realizing Sync and the TCU are totally different systems.

 

Honestly it's not really hard to see why people get so confused about these things given the mixed up terminology used by Ford and the roll-out of the systems across the different models over a period of 3-4 years.

 

 

Thank you for all that info. I called back and was told the fee for installation and programming was $240 but, the parts guy told me he didn't not think it could be added to my car since it didn't come out with the 3g connectivity. Do you know if this is true?

 

 

I have one question about the functionality of remote starting my car via the app as well. Can I schedule my car to automatically start at a certain time? That's the biggest thing I'd like to do since I leave my work at exactly the same time every day and would love for my car to be cool by the time I walk out to it. 

[Waldo]

On 7/14/2022 at 2:25 PM, Bballwolf43 said:

 

 

Thank you for all that info. I called back and was told the fee for installation and programming was $240 but, the parts guy told me he didn't not think it could be added to my car since it didn't come out with the 3g connectivity. Do you know if this is true?

 

 

I have one question about the functionality of remote starting my car via the app as well. Can I schedule my car to automatically start at a certain time? That's the biggest thing I'd like to do since I leave my work at exactly the same time every day and would love for my car to be cool by the time I walk out to it. 

 

Sorry, but you cannot add the modem to your car, as it didn't come with it from the factory.  The $240 price must be to update the Energi 3G to a 4G, but only the Energi (plug-in) models have that.

[Bballwolf43]

On 7/19/2022 at 10:14 AM, Waldo said:

 

Sorry, but you cannot add the modem to your car, as it didn't come with it from the factory.  The $240 price must be to update the Energi 3G to a 4G, but only the Energi (plug-in) models have that.

Thank you. That stinks, but oh well. I appreciate your help

[MeeLee]

Funny thing, while I was getting acquainted to my new 2019 ffh, and the dealership was doing the paperwork, I used the dealers own wifi network to update it. Before the papers were done, the update was complete.

I drove home with Android auto, and the sales guy who saw me leave was astonished they sold me the ffh with Android auto. Apparently they didn't know the car needed to sync with a phone containing either Android auto, or Apple carplay.

 

I don't think my 2019 ffh has any modem in it. Never tried but all my software updates either came from wifi, or USB.

If you want to update via USB, make sure it's a USB 3.0 or higher, as 2.0 sticks sometimes tend to slow down a lot with a lot of read requests, and the update can fail.

Edited November 8, 2022 by MeeLee