Mk8 ST-Line X 140 early impressions

[Mike9846]

Cheers mate. To be fair mine, when I ordered back in Feb, did have an estimated ETA of the end of June, then it moved to the beginning of May with no warning.. I honestly don’t know how it works (I’m in the motorcycle trade and we have similar irregularities with build dates and delivery dates that often make no sense!) All I can say is; hold on in there because trust me you’ll love yours when it does make an appearance. Fingers crossed you won’t have long now. 🙂 

[jackhoppkkins]

22 hours ago, Mike9846 said:

Cheers mate. To be fair mine, when I ordered back in Feb, did have an estimated ETA of the end of June, then it moved to the beginning of May with no warning.. I honestly don’t know how it works (I’m in the motorcycle trade and we have similar irregularities with build dates and delivery dates that often make no sense!) All I can say is; hold on in there because trust me you’ll love yours when it does make an appearance. Fingers crossed you won’t have long now. 🙂 

I know ill definitley love it. Im just fed up with waiting for it now. everytime it feels like its close to me finally having it, it gets pushed back another week, so frustrating

[superwasak83]

Can anyone control their electronic climate control through their voice recognition function? Thought the st line x would have this facility?

[lst]

Quote

Can anyone control their electronic climate control through their voice recognition function? Thought the st line x would have this facility?

 

Should be able to?

commands are : (copied from handbook)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Climate Control

Note:  Not available through the system on all models.

 

Voice Command	Description
Set temperature to ___ °F Set temperature to ___ °F	Set a temperature between 60°F (15.5°C) and 85°F (29.5°C).
(temperature high | (high | maximum | max) [temperature [on]]) Max temperature Max temperature	Set the temperature to maximum.
(temperature low | (low | minimum | min) [temperature [on]]) Min temperature Min temperature	Set the temperature to minimum.

Add the required temperature to the command.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Haven't tried it yet, and doesn't look like you can control the blower speed (which was useful when I had my 2012 Focus Titanium X)

[superwasak83]

2 hours ago, lst said:

 

Should be able to?

commands are : (copied from handbook)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Climate Control

Note:  Not available through the system on all models.

 

Voice Command	Description
Set temperature to ___ °F Set temperature to ___ °F	Set a temperature between 60°F (15.5°C) and 85°F (29.5°C).
(temperature high | (high | maximum | max) [temperature [on]]) Max temperature Max temperature	Set the temperature to maximum.
(temperature low | (low | minimum | min) [temperature [on]]) Min temperature Min temperature	Set the temperature to minimum.

Add the required temperature to the command.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Haven't tried it yet, and doesn't look like you can control the blower speed (which was useful when I had my 2012 Focus Titanium X)

Thanks I tried some of these the other day and none worked so I assumed I hadn't got the function. Looking back through the brochure though I can't see any mention of it for the titanium x or vignale models which are surely the only two that trump the st line x!

[Eric Bloodaxe]

2 hours ago, superwasak83 said:

Thanks I tried some of these the other day and none worked so I assumed I hadn't got the function. Looking back through the brochure though I can't see any mention of it for the titanium x or vignale models which are surely the only two that trump the st line x!

Not present on mine either and wondering why it's in the handbook if no models seem to have it! I did have this on a Mk 7 Titanium but bought that nearly new so don't know if it was standard.

[ThaiFiesta]

If it’s in the handbook you might be able to enable it with Forscan. 

[Gigabit]

Surely this doesn't work because the climate control functionality is entirely separate to the infotainment system and hence the infotainment system isn't even aware of it?

[Mavroz]

Can't remember but doesn't the temperature setting show on the screen. Sure ours shows LO etc on the top of the screen as to what the climate control is set to, so the info system must be connected to the climate control some way.

[lst]

Yeah, it does show the temperature setting on the screen, I've just tried the voice command in my Vignale and it doesn't do temperature voice command 😞

[Gigabit]

Ah I was quite wrong then!

[Dan140]

So still loving the little Fiesta, and starting to push it a little bit harder. All I can say is, what a well sorted chassis - it just grips and grips and grips; the new ST with the quaife diff must be awesome. Case in point: I was on a slip road that was two lanes on a tight left hand bend which merge into one before joining the dual carriageway. I was in the inside lane accelerating gently in 2nd gear when I saw a BMW coming relatively quickly in the outside lane. Wanting to avoid us both trying to merge at the same time into the single lane (and taking the view that being a BMW driver he probably hadn't noticed the signage), I decided to floor it and get there ahead of him. Well off I went, pulling some quite amusing lateral g without even coming close to overwhelming the front tyres. I saw the Bimmer give a little tail wag so presume he booted it as well but had to get out of it as I went off like I was on rails. Once onto the carriageway, he came flying past me which is when I realised the little ecoboost had managed to (briefly) show a clean pair of heels to an E92 M3. :D

[Mavroz]

We are still liking the car other than the bothersome Sat nav.

[Eric Bloodaxe]

Popped into my dealer at the beginning of the week for a complimentary 1500 mile check - as an added bonus also got a very good jetwash which removed a heavy layer of insect squash (are they attracted to bright red cars??). 

Anyway, no issues to raise apart from GPS signal - as I've mentioned in the Synch 3 thread, I get the "no GPS" symbol in certain locations (upper Yorkshire Dales and South Lakes so far), but other than on one occasion, the nav direction arrow keeps following the road and (more important to me) the traffic sign information still works.

Dealer asked if I lost DAB signal at the same time, suggesting it may be a reception issue. So I checked this week and found I do, it goes onto FM automatically so I hadn't noticed. My previous car (Seat Leon) did the same thing with DAB in the same area, never noticed the GPS on that as I have no reason to use sat nav in a familiar area and the Leon didn't have sign recognition or a map permanently displayed on the home screen as with the Fiesta.

In respect of software updates, dealer said as far as they were aware Synch 3 should update automatically as long as the feature was switched on (mine is certainly performing regular searches for updates when it picks up a wi-fi signal).

So, no particular worries other than my underlying problem with the seat. I was wondering if the Recaros in the full fat ST might be better, but in the first couple of video reviews I've seen, one said he got lower back pain, the other said he lost feeling in his legs! Looks like a no go, then!😀

 

[Mavroz]

Our Gps issue is firmly in the hands of Ford now, they have taken over and are looking to replace components. It appears they are changing GPS modules and Antennae on affected vehicles which allegedly is showing positive results across a range of vehicles. If this is the fix, they will ask us to book the car into the dealership to have said fixes made..... With goodwill gestures a plenty of course. 👍

Have asked the question about the auto updates and was told it will only update the software over Wifi if the engine is turned on at the Wifi location...... Doing this while engine off is a huge drain on the battery, so the car will not perform the updates.

[Eric Bloodaxe]

Mavroz, just out of interest, I get the impression that you are losing GPS more often than me and in a variety of locations, whereas mine seems to be confined to one area with known reception issues - would that be correct? I was up at our caravan in the Dales this last week and as well as the "no GPS" icon (though things still seemed to be working, as I mentioned) I had no mobile signal, no internet connection and most of the tv channels were unavailable, so a real black spot!

I understand that GPS is actually operated by the US Department of Defense (sic) so you would think the system should be reliable - but then, they can't even spell "defence" properly, so maybe not! As I mentioned on the Synch thread, I have had numerous encounters over the years with other walkers whose GPS devices have lost signal around the Dales and Lakes so there does seem to be a long standing issue in that sort of area.

I should be taking the car further in other directions over the next few months which should show if it is just a local reception problem (which I can live with), or a wider issue in which case I'll pursue matters further. I assume changing antenna and modules would involve messing with the interior which I'd rather avoid if possible!

 

[Gigabit]

@Eric Bloodaxe A good test might be to mount your phone on the windscreen and compare the GPS reception between the phone and the car.

[Mavroz]

I think we are all past the point of directing the issue towards loss or lack of signal from the GPS satellite.

At the dealership, the principal has a Focus and his loses the GPS lock also. He has said have had many issues with this from customers of the latest models.

Ford themselves have admitted there is an issue they dont have a fix for at this time but they are now looking into changing the GPS modules and Antennae.

They have rolled out these changes to several cars at our dealership (I guess at many others too). We are told the dealership is giving the new modules 4 to 6 weeks to see if this fixes the issue before it will be rolled out to other cars.

If this is the fix and owners wish to have the fix on their cars then there will be no option other than to mess with the interior. I am again told the antenna replacement is pretty simple and again the module in question is just behind the screen.

I don't see an option other to get the fix done whilst under warranty as the resale value of the cars (in my opinion) will take a massive hit in the future if the upgrade has not been done on the car and the Sat nav doesn't function correctly. Not sure if ultimately there will be a service recall as this may not be a safety issue.

Time will tell on this i think.

 

[Eric Bloodaxe]

Mavroz, many thanks for that. The hardware replacement doesn't sound quite as scary as I imagined!

Not sure about the effect on  resale values unless the issue becomes very widely publicised - in my recent experience of trade-ins, as long as the paperwork is in order and there is no obvious interior/exterior damage they don't seem particularly interested in whether things work or not.

I guess Ford won't be rushing to roll out component changes through the wider dealership chain until they are sure they have a workable fix, by which time I should know whether my car's issues are just in the one area or not.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Eric Bloodaxe]

13 hours ago, Gigabit said:

@Eric Bloodaxe A good test might be to mount your phone on the windscreen and compare the GPS reception between the phone and the car.

Good idea - unfortunately I can't see what's on my mobile without reading glasses 😀 so I won't try this while driving! Will check the phone while parked up in the suspect area and the car shows "no GPS" to see if it is a localised reception problem or just an issue with the car, as is looking likely.

[Eric Bloodaxe]

Following @Gigabit's suggestion I remembered we had a detachable Garmin satnav/media unit which came with my Mrs's SEAT Mii and she has never used. This has a function to test GPS signal in terms of measuring number of satellites it is getting a signal from. According to info on the internet, you need to pick up from at least 4 to get a decent signal. So have kept this in the car, to check what happens when the Fiesta loses GPS.

Naturally, in accordance with sod's law, the Fiesta GPS has worked perfectly since my  last post, and the Garmin has shown anything up to 15 satellites in various locations where I have tested the signal.

However, this morning the "no GPS" symbol came up (although the direction arrow and traffic sign recognition still functioned) and when I checked the Garmin it was only picking up 6 satellites, although it  was showing my location with no problem. Later the "no GPS" symbol in the Fiesta disappeared and at that point the Garmin was picking up from 9 satellites.

So, my thoughts are that @Mavroz is on the right track with an antenna etc issue - it seems the antenna/hardware in the car works ok in very strong signal conditions, but can't cope with a signal which is not as good, even though that signal is still perfectly adequate for a free standing unit which is relying on an internal antenna only!

 

 

[Mavroz]

After a few more weeks of emails tooing and froing with Ford basically getting nothing done, we have now been told to book the car into the dealership again for Ford Technical to attempt another fix.

Still awaiting a reply as to what they are going to try as the dealership have stated that the change of GPS modules and Antennae on other vehicles has been a failure and has not fixed the erratic GPS issued have over some vehicles.

[Eric Bloodaxe]

6 hours ago, Mavroz said:

After a few more weeks of emails tooing and froing with Ford basically getting nothing done, we have now been told to book the car into the dealership again for Ford Technical to attempt another fix.

Still awaiting a reply as to what they are going to try as the dealership have stated that the change of GPS modules and Antennae on other vehicles has been a failure and has not fixed the erratic GPS issued have over some vehicles.

That's disappointing news. Wonder if we should try the old standby and replace the antenna with a bent coathanger?😀

[Mavroz]

We have rang the dealer and they are seemingly clueless as to why Ford Technical have requested the car be booked back in for a full day nor what they are going to try to attempt.

Bizarrely the dealer did mention if they were to order us a new car then there still wasn't any guarantee the issue wouldn't be on that one.... not sure where that came from  but maybe the next step is new car ?????

[Mavroz]

Ok, cut a long story short.

Dealership have once again rang back, they have contacted Ford Technical who haven't got a clue why we have been told to book the car in by Customer service.

Back to square one.

We have told the dealership we want a fix within 28 days or the deposit,payments made + interest returning and they can have the car back, a brand new car that is working as it should or something along those lines that we have requested.

They say that a new car may have the same problems as we are having and cannot guarantee we would get one that didn't have the issues.

This reply begs the question ... Are Ford (dealerships) Still Taking Orders From New Customers Who Are Ordering Cars From Across The Ranges That Have These Potential Problems WITHOUT Informing Them ???

Now i am sure this would be the wrong thing to do...... Wouldn't it?

The case is building to take to the Ombudsman & Trading Standards i feel.