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Ford Tests DIY Firmware Updates

Posted by Soulskill on from the what-could-possibly-go-wrong dept.

wiredmikey writes "This month, Ford is borrowing something from the software industry: updates. With a fleet of new cars using the sophisticated infotainment system they developed with Microsoft called SYNC, Ford has the need to update those vehicles — for both features and security reasons. But how do you update the software in thousands of cars? Traditionally, the automotive industry has resorted to automotive recalls. But now, Ford will be releasing thirty thousand USB sticks to Ford owners with the new SYNC infotainment system, although the update will also be available for online download. In preparing to update your car, Ford encourages users to have a unique USB for each Ford they own, and to have the USB drive empty and not password protected. In the future, updating our gadgets, large and small, will become routine. But for now, it's going to be really cumbersome and a little weird. Play this forward a bit. Image taking Patch Tuesday to a logical extreme, where you walk around your house or office to apply patches to many of the offline gadgets you own."

7 of 164 comments (clear)

  1. But wait: How to drop from 5th to 23rd place... by phonewebcam · · Score: 5, Interesting

    ...in the JD Power IQS Customer Satisfaction Rankings:
    "Ford went from a fifth place ranking in the 2011 J.D. Power Initial Quality Study to a mediocre 23rd place showing this year. Sister-brand Lincoln took a similar nosedive, falling from eighth place all the way down to 17th place this year. ... Not surprisingly, MyFord Touch was the biggest contributor to Ford's fall from grace. "
    And who designed the MyFord touch? Give you one guess.

    1. Re:But wait: How to drop from 5th to 23rd place... by UberOogie · · Score: 5, Interesting
      Holy crap. I made a joke in my head about rebooting a car, but MS has again found a way to make truth stranger than fiction (from the wiki):

      "For new car owners whose MyFord Touch systems crash, both Ford dealerships and Ford-sponsored websites have been recommending that owners disconnect the black (negative) lead to the battery for several minutes, reconnect, then run the car for at least five minutes to reboot the MyFord Touch system. Owners have complained that this is extremely inconvenient, even dangerous in many situations, and should not be required of owners who have paid tens-of-thousands of dollars for their new cars."

      --
      "Enough of this wretched, whining monkey life." -- Marcus Aurelius, _Meditations_, Book 9, 37
    2. Re:But wait: How to drop from 5th to 23rd place... by Compaqt · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Why should car owners have to understand anything (I'm not talking about the need to change the oil or keep up the tire pressure).

      Why should they have to understand the "need" for a reboot?

      Rebooting may well be a valid diagnostic technique, but it doesn't make it any more acceptable for the car manufacturer. Their anger was not directed at you as a mechanic. Their anger is directed toward the maker who can't get a car to run in the 21st century without "crashing".

      --
      I'm not a lawyer, but I play one on the Internet. Blog
  2. Re:Wait a minute there... by mrquagmire · · Score: 5, Interesting

    It's not a security update. This update is more like a complete rewrite and has very little to do with Microsoft. You see, for their first attempt Ford decided to outsource the project to a company called BSQUARE who put the UI together using Adobe Flash Lite. For some reason, the results were slightly less than stellar.

    Anyway, the preliminary reviews of the new version sound promising so I am at least a little hopeful. I am still quite frustrated, however, that I've had to deal with such awful software for well over a year on a brand new vehicle that cost almost $40k.

    --
    giggity
  3. Re:Wait a minute there... by sparkyradar · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Well, the hardware was made by Sony, so "update" means:

    a) remove functionality
    b) rooting and snitching on your usage
    c) adding requirement for cryptic, lightning-fast keypresses to perform even the most-basic functions, like turning on
    c) new TOS to prevent suing

    I cannot think of a better Marriage Made in Hell than Sony and Microsoft. B*stards forever :-)

  4. Re:Wait a minute there... by AmberBlackCat · · Score: 3, Interesting

    It reminds me of years ago when my brother bought a Sharp Zaurus. It was our first experience with a Windows operating system on a handheld organizer, Windows CE. It was also the first time we saw a handheld organizer lock up. It's amazing how Microsoft can get car companies, who are trying to earn a reputation for quality and reliability, to put this software in their products.

  5. Re:Don't worry guys! by Ihmhi · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Custom ECUs (basically the main computing unit in a car) already exist. It used to be that you'd have to remove a manual piece of the car to get rid of pesky things like speed limiters - now that stuff is coded in software.The car enthusiasts decided to go all Wozniak on these bitches and just make their own car computers.

    --
    Random Thoughts From A Diseased Mind (Not For Dummies)