Replacing the replacement APIM
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Member
Joined: Jan 2015
Posts: 34
Likes: 7
Replacing the replacement APIM
2015 F150 XLT Ecoboost 3.5, 53K miles, with navigation
Three years ago I installed the Sync 2 to Sync 3 upgrade and overall it works/worked well. Every once in a while when I started the truck the display would not come on, so no stereo, no backup camera, no backup sensors, etc. Sometimes it would magically boot up after I'd been driving for a few minutes but usually if it did not fire up when the truck started, it was dead for the duration of the drive. Then if I stopped somewhere and started it up again, everything would (usually) work properly.
Then it transitioned into working the first time the vehicle starts in the morning but when I go to leave work at the end of the day, the screen does not work. However, recently it has been to the point where it is much more likely that it will not turn on when I start the truck at any time.
The battery is new, tests as good, as does the charging system. I found no bad grounds or fuses, or any loose wires. Folks I talked to that know a lot more about these things than me say it has the symptoms of a failing APIM, which sounds like a fairly common issue in this model.
I ordered another Sync 3.4 APIM with nav. The challenge is that the seller said he can't program it based on the VIN since the truck originally came with Sync 2. I will need to use Forscan to save all the as-built data from the Sync 3 APIM installed now, then install the replacement APIM and write the as-built data I pulled from the flaky APIM to the replacement. Fingers will be crossed that I don't end up bricking the replacement. I'm not sure why the seller could not just use the as-built data from the VIN and Sync 2 to program the replacement Sync 3 APIM like the original seller did with the first Sync 3 APIM, unless maybe the APIM pushes data to another part of the system and that secondary data would be incompatible.
I guess I will know this weekend.
Three years ago I installed the Sync 2 to Sync 3 upgrade and overall it works/worked well. Every once in a while when I started the truck the display would not come on, so no stereo, no backup camera, no backup sensors, etc. Sometimes it would magically boot up after I'd been driving for a few minutes but usually if it did not fire up when the truck started, it was dead for the duration of the drive. Then if I stopped somewhere and started it up again, everything would (usually) work properly.
Then it transitioned into working the first time the vehicle starts in the morning but when I go to leave work at the end of the day, the screen does not work. However, recently it has been to the point where it is much more likely that it will not turn on when I start the truck at any time.
The battery is new, tests as good, as does the charging system. I found no bad grounds or fuses, or any loose wires. Folks I talked to that know a lot more about these things than me say it has the symptoms of a failing APIM, which sounds like a fairly common issue in this model.
I ordered another Sync 3.4 APIM with nav. The challenge is that the seller said he can't program it based on the VIN since the truck originally came with Sync 2. I will need to use Forscan to save all the as-built data from the Sync 3 APIM installed now, then install the replacement APIM and write the as-built data I pulled from the flaky APIM to the replacement. Fingers will be crossed that I don't end up bricking the replacement. I'm not sure why the seller could not just use the as-built data from the VIN and Sync 2 to program the replacement Sync 3 APIM like the original seller did with the first Sync 3 APIM, unless maybe the APIM pushes data to another part of the system and that secondary data would be incompatible.
I guess I will know this weekend.
Senior Member
Joined: Apr 2025
Posts: 165
Likes: 96
From: Traveerse City, MI
I could download and send you the aipm file for my 2020 XLT 302A but no guarantee it would work on a 2015. Or you could download an as built from a later model from motorcraft and hand code it in. If it doesn't work you can always restore yours.