Over-the-air updates and power increases

[blaiseam]

With over the air updates, wouldn't it be possible with the new hardware (turbos, cooling, etc) on the 2021 3.5 engine to update the power/torque over the air along side a new model year release?

Any thoughts on why Ford may or may not do this?

I personally think it would be a great idea, but wouldn't incentivize people to "upgrade" later on to a more performant truck. Thoughts?

 

[Nibbl3s]

Lol no

 

[bpcfi]

Over the air for the sync system is about all. I believe

 

[aileron]

There's nothing they can do via an OTA that hasn't already been possible for the past 15 years when you bring your truck in for service at the dealer. I doubt Ford will start selling updates or upgrades via pure software because of the OTA capability alone.

 

[ganooch]

In theory though, couldn't an ECU flash be triggered via OTA? Not sure why Ford would withhold a better tune, but it would be possible, no?

 

[melvimbe]

In theory though, couldn't an ECU flash be triggered via OTA? Not sure why Ford would withhold a better tune, but it would be possible, no?

Tesla has been doing this sort of thing for a while now, so it stands to reason that Ford will do the same. What upgrades are applied to already owned vehicles may be a case by case basis. I would guess that most changes will be minor stuff that don't result in anyone putting off buying a new vehicle.

There is another side to the OTA feature though, and that's detecting when a something has been changed to a vehicle that's under warranty...potentially voiding the warranty. Ford also could make it rather difficult to apply an aftermarket tune, encrypting access and regularly changing things up. They'll be justified in doing this too in order to protecting from hacking. There will still be aftermarket tunes I would imagine, but they maybe bit a more expensive, perhaps requiring a special license from Ford or something.

 

[ganooch]

Tesla has been doing this sort of thing for a while now, so it stands to reason that Ford will do the same. What upgrades are applied to already owned vehicles may be a case by case basis. I would guess that most changes will be minor stuff that don't result in anyone putting off buying a new vehicle.

There is another side to the OTA feature though, and that's detecting when a something has been changed to a vehicle that's under warranty...potentially voiding the warranty. Ford also could make it rather difficult to apply an aftermarket tune, encrypting access and regularly changing things up. They'll be justified in doing this too in order to protecting from hacking. There will still be aftermarket tunes I would imagine, but they maybe bit a more expensive, perhaps requiring a special license from Ford or something.

Yes, I would imagine people with aftermarket tunes that may affect their warranty would likely disable the OTA feature, either via the UI, or via FORSCAN.

 

[Sozzy12]

Ford has done a version of this back in 2010 with the newly released powerstroke 6.7. It was detuned until Chevy released their Durasux power figures. Ford updated the programming to best the Chivvy, free of charge to all owners. Wasn't over the air but was free.

 

[melvimbe]

Yes, I would imagine people with aftermarket tunes that may affect their warranty would likely disable the OTA feature, either via the UI, or via FORSCAN.

Disabling OTA might void the warranty, or portions of it. As a hypothetical, say that the factory tune seems to be causing a part to wear out prematurely. Ford decides they can fix that issue with an OTA update. If your part wears out, and you had OTA updates off, is Ford really liable for the repair? Maybe, maybe not.

Regardless of that, I suspect it will be found out that Ford has a much better way of determining when a tune has been applied then they currently. It's not that Ford wants to kill the aftermarket tune market, as I don't think they do. They just want to make sure they only cover under warranty the issues they are responsible for.


As for FORSCAN, I would not be surprised if there is an equivalent tool for 2021s going forward. Things are going to be encrypted, and Ford has no interest in letting you change settings via a 3rd party tool. Some of the settings are things they charge for in some models, like Lincoln mirrors, are are set for regional regulations. And if they think it's something customers should be able to change, they'll just build it into a UI.

 

[ganooch]

Disabling OTA might void the warranty, or portions of it. As a hypothetical, say that the factory tune seems to be causing a part to wear out prematurely. Ford decides they can fix that issue with an OTA update. If your part wears out, and you had OTA updates off, is Ford really liable for the repair? Maybe, maybe not.

Regardless of that, I suspect it will be found out that Ford has a much better way of determining when a tune has been applied then they currently. It's not that Ford wants to kill the aftermarket tune market, as I don't think they do. They just want to make sure they only cover under warranty the issues they are responsible for.


As for FORSCAN, I would not be surprised if there is an equivalent tool for 2021s going forward. Things are going to be encrypted, and Ford has no interest in letting you change settings via a 3rd party tool. Some of the settings are things they charge for in some models, like Lincoln mirrors, are are set for regional regulations. And if they think it's something customers should be able to change, they'll just build it into a UI.

I am sure FORSCAN will not work, but there are super smart people out there that will find a way. It may take time, but if you can jailbreak iPhones, I am sure you can beat a Ford truck.