Software Updates
Senior Member
Joined: Sep 2021
Posts: 3,143
Likes: 1,454
From: Miami, FL
Yes, you still need 2.7.4, 2.8.1, 2.8.2 and 2.8.3 to be fully up to date. When you get to 2.8.1, remember to hook your trucks battery up to a charger before you start the update to help prevent it from failing.
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Joined: Apr 2021
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Senior Member
Joined: Jul 2022
Posts: 157
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Among other things, the idea that a car mechanic at a dealer is suddenly going to become a competent software engineer is kinda silly.
Senior Member
Joined: Sep 2021
Posts: 3,143
Likes: 1,454
From: Miami, FL
Senior Member
Joined: Jul 2022
Posts: 157
Likes: 84
After having updated my truck myself, I can tell you that you do not have to be a software engineer to perform these updates at the dealership level. You just need to be able to follow instructions and be patient. It is rare that a truck is borked to the point where a Ford engineer needs to be involved in order to install these updates. When you plug the truck into the laptop, it's not like you get a screen from the Matrix movies in binary code falling down the screen that you have to decode in real time and push the files directly onto the modules. lol It really is easy......just time consuming. The software does everything for you except turn the ignition on/off when required and stick the USB flash drive into the truck when required.
The fact that they are now being converted into trained monkeys who inserts a USB stick when instructed makes my point … the old model of dealership service departments staffed with trained wrenches is apparently breaking down.
Beyond that, reading through these threads makes it clear that the dealership mechanics are more-or-less helpless whenever something goes wrong with a given download or installation, or the sequence in which a given update is installed. This points to weaknesses in the automakers’ software development tools including its software validation tools, configuration management tools and revision controls.
We’ve never before lived in a world where new features are made available for vehicles already on the road much less routine software updates for maintenance purposes. Hard to imagine ten years ago that you would buy a vehicle and sometime later the manufacturer makes e.g. cruise control available. That’s novel.
Not to say that these problems cannot be overcome, just that changes are required in the ways cars and trucks are developed and maintained. In the meantime, we the consumers are more or less forced to do some of this maintenance ourselves. You’ve had to become a semi-skilled hobbyist, maintaining your truck at home using tools you had to learn about, purchase, and use. For now, we’re all in that same bucket where for whatever reason we’re forced to rely on ourselves for what should be routine maintenance tasks.
I admire those on this forum, like you, who are leading the way in helping all the rest of us to keep these complex vehicles running and up to date. A fantastic example of crowd sourcing. My deep thanks for out to you and others doing this work.
Senior Member
Joined: Sep 2021
Posts: 3,143
Likes: 1,454
From: Miami, FL
The fact that the software is more-or-less self-installing is encouraging. Nevertheless, this is not the wheelhouse in which auto mechanics are comfortable. They have been trained over decades to diagnose and correct problems related to internal combustion engines, engine electrical systems, brakes, suspensions and so forth.
The fact that they are now being converted into trained monkeys who inserts a USB stick when instructed makes my point … the old model of dealership service departments staffed with trained wrenches is apparently breaking down.
Beyond that, reading through these threads makes it clear that the dealership mechanics are more-or-less helpless whenever something goes wrong with a given download or installation, or the sequence in which a given update is installed. This points to weaknesses in the automakers’ software development tools including its software validation tools, configuration management tools and revision controls.
We’ve never before lived in a world where new features are made available for vehicles already on the road much less routine software updates for maintenance purposes. Hard to imagine ten years ago that you would buy a vehicle and sometime later the manufacturer makes e.g. cruise control available. That’s novel.
Not to say that these problems cannot be overcome, just that changes are required in the ways cars and trucks are developed and maintained. In the meantime, we the consumers are more or less forced to do some of this maintenance ourselves. You’ve had to become a semi-skilled hobbyist, maintaining your truck at home using tools you had to learn about, purchase, and use. For now, we’re all in that same bucket where for whatever reason we’re forced to rely on ourselves for what should be routine maintenance tasks.
I admire those on this forum, like you, who are leading the way in helping all the rest of us to keep these complex vehicles running and up to date. A fantastic example of crowd sourcing. My deep thanks for out to you and others doing this work.
The fact that they are now being converted into trained monkeys who inserts a USB stick when instructed makes my point … the old model of dealership service departments staffed with trained wrenches is apparently breaking down.
Beyond that, reading through these threads makes it clear that the dealership mechanics are more-or-less helpless whenever something goes wrong with a given download or installation, or the sequence in which a given update is installed. This points to weaknesses in the automakers’ software development tools including its software validation tools, configuration management tools and revision controls.
We’ve never before lived in a world where new features are made available for vehicles already on the road much less routine software updates for maintenance purposes. Hard to imagine ten years ago that you would buy a vehicle and sometime later the manufacturer makes e.g. cruise control available. That’s novel.
Not to say that these problems cannot be overcome, just that changes are required in the ways cars and trucks are developed and maintained. In the meantime, we the consumers are more or less forced to do some of this maintenance ourselves. You’ve had to become a semi-skilled hobbyist, maintaining your truck at home using tools you had to learn about, purchase, and use. For now, we’re all in that same bucket where for whatever reason we’re forced to rely on ourselves for what should be routine maintenance tasks.
I admire those on this forum, like you, who are leading the way in helping all the rest of us to keep these complex vehicles running and up to date. A fantastic example of crowd sourcing. My deep thanks for out to you and others doing this work.
Senior Member
Joined: Jul 2022
Posts: 157
Likes: 84
The problem is not the training......they have been using FDRS software for years and years updating modules because OTA updates didn't exist with Ford before the 2021 F150. I've been in the automotive business for 12 years on the sales side. However, I have learned a lot about the service side of the industry during my tenure in this field. The major problem is the time it takes. Due to one of the USB updates not taking properly, it took me 13 hours to install all the updates my truck needed, and Ford is only paying dealers 8 hours to do the job. Not to mention, if they cannot get the truck fully updated for whatever reason, they don't get paid one dollar for any and all time invested in the truck. Furthermore, most dealer may have only 2-3 computers with a working FDRS license on it, and just about every single car/truck that goes through the dealership needs to be hooked up to one of these computers. What happens when you tie up one of two computers to one truck for 8 hours to do updates? You bog down the rest of the department because now all the techs are twiddling their thumbs waiting for a computer to become available so they can work on their repair orders. It decreases productivity for the entire department. Therefore, it is my opinion that dealerships are just telling customers they can't do it because it is not worth the hassle. I know for a fact that it happened to me with two different dealers I took my truck to where they blatantly lied to me not knowing I have access to Ford's system and can see every thing they did (or didn't do) to my truck while it was in their possession.
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Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 90
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