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MyTouch Steers Ford to a Lawsuit

7K views 35 replies 27 participants last post by  jasonof2000 
#1 ·
Land vehicle Vehicle Car Center console Motor vehicle

By Justin Lloyd-Miller

July 17, 2013

National law firm Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP is bringing a class action lawsuit against Ford, alleging the company’s infotainment system, MyFord Touch (and by default, the MyLincoln and MyMercury Touch), is defective.

Managing partner Steve Berman said that the MyFord Touch system is a theoretically “brilliant idea” that falls short in execution. In his statement, Berman wasn’t so gung-ho about its actual performance. ”In reality, the system is fundamentally flawed, failing to reliably provide functionality, amounting to an inconvenience at best, and a serious safety issue at worst,” he says.

In total, the complaint reads through 41 pages, and describes the ongoing list of issues that the firm is addressing in its lawsuit. Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro also goes so far as to describe the efforts that Ford has made in its attempts to patch up the system, which have apparently been unsuccessful.

Introduced by Ford in 2011, the MyTouch systems promised owners of Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury vehicles the ability to seamlessly operate audio controls, use a GPS navigation system, control climate systems, and operate a Bluetooth-enabled device. However, since its release, it’s gotten some pretty harsh feedback from owners, who find it more of a chore to use than the simple knobs and dials that it was designed to replace. So much so, that Ford is working backwards and bringing a more analog approach to its dashboard.

According to the suit, the system fails even while controlling crucial vehicle functions, such as the defroster and rear-view camera, whose controls are routed through the system.

It also points out consumer complaints involving the vehicles’ GPS navigation systems. According to the complaints, these problems involve the touchscreen turning off, and then turning back on, with a message saying it is “performing scheduled maintenance,” and leaving the driver without any directional guidance.

Additionally, the lawsuit claims that Ford has demonstrated it is aware of the problem, having issued several technical service bulletins and software updates. The complaint documents a number of consumer complaints in the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s database, all detailing issues with the touchscreen system, Hagens Berman’s statement says.

MyTouch Steers Ford to a Lawsuit | Wall St. Cheat Sheet

Second lawsuit headline: Consumer Class Action Brought Against Ford, Alleging Defects in its Dashboard Infotainment System, MyFord Touch

Consumer Class Action Brought Against Ford, Alleging Defects in its Dashboard Infotainment System, MyFord Touch - Yahoo! Finance
 
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#2 ·
I gotta say....I SO don't miss it. The "lower-rung" ST1 climate control couldn't be simpler or more reliable, and the radio controls & phone interface are just way more user-friendly than MFT. I won't be at all surprised when the lawsuits start rolling in from people who've gotten into wrecks while trying to make MFT & Sync do anything right. I'm not saying they're justified in doing so, because people should always put a priority on paying attention to the road, but MFT can be a serious distraction when it just blatantly defies your commands or just doesn't respond at all. There were several times within a 6-month period when I wanted to put my fist through the screen.
 
#5 ·
Same here.....everyone is so damn sue happy!! "Arg, My radio is slow to react to my touch, I'm sueing!!" Geeze, you want to sue someone? Make it the oil companies, I swear, everytime a shot is fired in the middle east gas prices shoot back the heck up! :furious:
 
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#8 ·
Mines not perfect. When I try to change a station # while in FM/Sirius it can take 5 seconds to actually change. Happens every once in a while. Also, when I'm listening to any media it will 'burp' and mess up the audio for a half second - happens usually once each time I'm driving. I don't use it for climate since the controls are right there by my fingers when I'm shifting. Not too much problem yet w/ the phone either but I don't get a lot of calls while driving.
 
#9 ·
The system is laggy, unresponsive, a pain to use. Even the gui is slow to respond to touch input.

Rather than running flash on TOP of a windows based OS, it should have been a full on user interface programed to run in the windows OS.

What we have with the MFT is essentially phone hardware running a windows OS, accessing a Internet Browser flash page.
 
#11 ·
Whatever the outcome the only true winner will be the lawyers. Ford has already extended the warranty service for MFT and has done a few upgrades. It isn't like Ford has said there's no issue and hasn't done squat about the problems. I haven't had any issues with MFT but when there are thousands in use there's going to be a percentage that have issues.
 
#24 ·
+1. Seriously...lets sue ford for money so they don't have the money to develop a better car/system. The legal system in this country is ridiculous
 
#13 ·
The nav is horrible. I ran google maps against the MFT nav and MFT routed 2 extra hours for a 2 hour trip. Google was spot on. I will always use Google nav from here on. Hope somehow that is covered in the lawsuit.
 
#16 ·
I've noticed my screen brightness changes when I pass through shaded areas. I think it's related to the sensor in the center/front of the dash for your auto headlights. Other than that, I've really not had any problems with the unit itself. I do have a Garmin that I bought just before moving here from Florida, and it usually takes 5-10 minutes before it acquires a GPS signal. The NAV in the ST has not been off or misdirected me and responds fairly quickly. Every once in awhile, it seems like the MFT is a bit laggy, but because I'm a bit OCD in regards to the appearance of my car, I try not to touch the screen. Fingerprints are baaaaad, mmmkay?
 
#20 ·
All I wanted was xenon lights.. not the headaches packaged with them. Im with BlueSVT. The more I read about MFT, the happier I am knowing that my lil square blue screen shows and does what I want it to ALL the time. I hope Ford keeps up on the issues some of you guys are having.
 
#21 ·
Mine went to the dealer for MFT issues more than I can count... was without the car for a week at one point. Had rental cars twice. I'm telling you, it was the absolute MOST frustrating thing I've ever been through with the 12 new cars I've owned over the past decade.
 
#23 ·
I've got my first maintenance coming up at the dealer next week...they're going to get an earful. It is hands down the WORST part of this car, which is generally a blast to drive.

-Sync bluetooth connection to phone unreliable - intermittent audio during calls, bluetooth music playback has weird caching/skipping tracks issues; track info display rarely works correctly
-USB connection unreliable - does not recognize device abut half the time
-voice commands unreliable (climate control has never worked for me)
-slow GUI - touchscreen needs a decent amount of pressure to recognize input
-volume blasts when it first turns radio on (before it remembers where it was set); switching inputs does not remember previous volume, leading to blasting radio when switching from iPod/CD
-Nav is slow, unresponsive while processing data, locked during driving for touch input, and poor nav choices as demonstrated above.

I'm writing these down partly to keep track of them, and also because I understand where these folks are coming from. I have seriously considered ripping out the entire system and replacing with an iPad or some other custom setup. Sigh.
 
#29 ·
-Sync bluetooth connection to phone unreliable - intermittent audio during calls, bluetooth music playback has weird caching/skipping tracks issues; track info display rarely works correctly
-USB connection unreliable - does not recognize device abut half the time
-voice commands unreliable (climate control has never worked for me)
-slow GUI - touchscreen needs a decent amount of pressure to recognize input
-volume blasts when it first turns radio on (before it remembers where it was set); switching inputs does not remember previous volume, leading to blasting radio when switching from iPod/CD
-Nav is slow, unresponsive while processing data, locked during driving for touch input, and poor nav choices as demonstrated above.
I've never had any of these issues with mine except for the Nav lockout when driving. That is not problem with the system though. It's a std safety deal. All my cars with built in Nav do this. Even ones from Jeep Nissan Toyota.
 
#28 ·
Maybe they'll actually fix the issues, like dropping Flash for something not retarded. Overall I wouldn't rate the system "sueable". I have noticed though if I use the voice commands for music more than twice in a trip it'll play the third selection, but I cannot skip the track and the meta data doesn't update on the screen. Also every time I get a phone call after I hang up the music player stops working until I unplug and replug in my iPod. Those are my two major complaints. I don't have Nav which sounds like a big part of this lawsuit, so I cannot comment on it. I do hate though how the right side of the screen is entirely useless in the ST2. Why do I care about a compass when it has one in the gauge screen and the temps for my climate control are shown on the climate control. Come on Ford!

Me thinks if they fired or reassigned all the people who originally programmed the system, or who currently develop "updates", and hire some fresh minds that'd fix a lot of issues. Or hell, allow us, the users, to modify the system. Would it be such a crime to change the Flash code to eliminate the compass and temps and expand the Music section, while minimizing the Bluetooth connectivity section. I am aware you can select "Entertainment" and see more details for the music playing, but even that interface is terrible. How did they mess this up so bad? What genius thought anything in the layout is functional? The old SYNC system in my 09 Focus was better, and it only had two lines of text in the display, number one being that the controls worked and the system didn't lock up. I feel like some beta tester for a program written by a team of blind monkeys hacking at a command-line interrupter.
 
#31 ·
I know that the only real winners in a class action lawsuit are the lawyers. But, if a lawsuit is what is needed for Ford to get the motivation to fix the MFT issues, I am fine with it.
 
#32 ·
My issues;
All MFT features are slow and sometimes unresponsive when you first start the car. These issues do seem to smooth out when the car has been running for about 5 minutes, but when are you most likely to be looking for an address? Example, I get in the car and ask it to find an address. It's not sure about the address so it says "Please choose" but it doesn't go to a menu from which I can choose, it still has the last menu on the screen. It then beeps and says I did not make a choice. Um, yeah, there's nothing to choose from?! Another example, I leave my flash drive with 2500 songs plugged in all the time. When I start the car and say "Play Beatles" it says, "I'm sorry, I didn't understand." We go back and forth for several minutes and then it finally says it's indexing and to try again later. Why doesn't it say this up front. Actually, why does it need to re-index something that has been re-indexed 20 times? And while we are on the subject, why does it switch to another input about every 3rd time I start the car? When I have a passenger in the car this can be really embarrassing. All that fumbling around and it refuses to work properly. Car and driver once said that the failure of Oldsmobile could be directly attributed to the owner embarrassment factor. In other words, if your car frequently embarrasses you then you are more likely to trade for another brand. If all the owners traded for Buicks it would be enough for the marque to go under (just slight paraphrasing!). Embarrassments would include, but are not limited to, 1) Rattles that can't be fixed. 2) Infotainment foibles. 3) Frequent breakdowns. 4) Anything else that might pop up when you might take a coworker, friend or boss to lunch or dinner.
To be fair, I knew about the MFT issues before I signed on the dotted line. However, I have had the car since December last year and there are no updates? Doesn't that seem a little odd that they would not be able to fix the issues in 8 months? All leading me to think that 1) they are not fixable, or 2) they aren't trying to fix them, or 3) they aren't spending enough money to fix them. Leading me to the conclusion that they must not be aware of how badly the issue reflects on the company as a whole.
 
#33 ·
Not only is MFT a pile of garbage half the time, but so is syncmyride.com... its always laggy, and half of the things time out or black screen. I cant even download the "update checker tool" because it just refuses to download and goes to a blank screen (chrome, IE, firefox) on both of my computers at home. It seems like once a month I have to completely reset system settings thanks to blue-booth completely borking out or some other unnecessarily broken feature to stop working. If Ford is selling this MFT as something so amazing, they really need to step it up. I came into it expecting something that was at least usually stable, but what I got was something that 30% stable.
 
#35 ·
The fact it's so bad and been in the shop so many times (like mine was) could definitely affect resale... one look at the dealer history, and anybody with half a brain would have run away screaming when they saw mine... haha

Would make it much harder to resell, and I would NEVER dream of selling to anybody that I knew or liked.
 
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