APIM Issues

[Stickman]

@menikmati
Thank you for posting! Best of luck. I’m sure things will go great. I don’t think that the Bronco or Ford are my issue. I really think that it’s my local Ford dealer and their service department. Although, Ford really needs to figure this APIM thing out, don’t they?
As far as an update on my situation: Big, fat NOTHING!
The last interaction that I had with my service advisor (if you can call it an interaction) was two days after getting my vehicle back from them putting the old module back in to the vehicle to await a replacement.
I sent him a text letting him know that the passenger window was leaking because the frameless windows didn’t auto recede when the handle was unlatched. He didn’t respond to my text. Now, I’m waiting to hear for my “expedited” module to arrive. He told me that it should ship in two days because Ford makes it a level 1 priority. That was on the 23rd (16 days ago).
I’m sure that they are upset with me because I documented all of the rigmarole with Ford proper. As if I wouldn’t. We’re paying a ridiculous mark up for these vehicles because we’re passionate about them. The least they can do is take care of them when warrantee issues arise. Am I wrong?

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[Dude1967]

@menikmati
Thank you for posting! Best of luck. I’m sure things will go great. I don’t think that the Bronco or Ford are my issue. I really think that it’s my local Ford dealer and their service department. Although, Ford really needs to figure this APIM thing out, don’t they?
As far as an update on my situation: Big, fat NOTHING!
The last interaction that I had with my service advisor (if you can call it an interaction) was two days after getting my vehicle back from them putting the old module back in to the vehicle to await a replacement.
I sent him a text letting him know that the passenger window was leaking because the frameless windows didn’t auto recede when the handle was unlatched. He didn’t respond to my text. Now, I’m waiting to hear for my “expedited” module to arrive. He told me that it should ship in two days because Ford makes it a level 1 priority. That was on the 23rd (16 days ago).
I’m sure that they are upset with me because I documented all of the rigmarole with Ford proper. As if I wouldn’t. We’re paying a ridiculous mark up for these vehicles because we’re passionate about them. The least they can do is take care of them when warrantee issues arise. Am I wrong?

Nope. You are not wrong.

 

[Ford Motor Company]

Hi 6G peeps

I just wanted to share my recent experience with you all. I’m not sure if I’m looking for similar stories or just want some encouragement that my issues will be resolved. This is a long, ridiculous story with my local service department, but I’m not going to get off into the weeds too much and just tell you what I’m up against. Here it goes:

In September I purchased a new, 2023 2.7l Bronco Badlands with the Sasquatch package. The experience was initially great other than the mild inconvenience of the Sync system having some minor hiccups. (When I say minor, what I mean is that the issues didn’t feel catastrophic, but rather minor nuisances) The built-in Ford Navigation was glitchy and the speaker phone would make digital feedback noises over the speakers if I changed anything on the touchscreen or the transmission lever. The microphone in the cab would also stop working mid-telephone conversation. In reality, these things aren’t really minor considering what we pay for these rigs, but our other vehicles are several years older and all have entertainment system quirks. As I said, it was a minor inconvenience, but there was definitely something wrong.

I took the Bronco in to my local Ford service department, it only took them a couple of hours to diagnose the vehicle with a faulty Accessory Protocol Interface Module or APIM. I had a pretty good idea that this would be the problem due, in part, to the wonderful Bronco6G forum!!

The resolution was for Ford to build me a new APIM (Ford has to custom build these modules because they are associated with navigation and are VIN specific) and the local service team would install it when it arrives. I was told that it could take anywhere from a week to two months.

The most positive experience that I’ve had with this ordeal is that Ford had my module built and back to my service department in less than two weeks. It was truly a fantastic turnaround and I felt that they made it a priority. Now… on to some frustrations. (And, remember, I’m only going into the frustrations that are relevant to the story. This isn’t even a complete picture of the complete lack of communication, disregard to (their own) schedule agreements and unbelievable arrogance that I’ve dealt with during this process.

The service department received the vehicle on a Friday for an appointment that was blocked out for 4 hours, 0900 to 1300. I dropped the rig off at 0630 before heading off to work. By 1630, I still hadn’t heard from my advisor so I called to inquire about the progress. I didn’t initially reach him, so he returned my call at about 1645. It seems that they had the new module installed, but they had just started the software install and the download time kicked back. Because the techs leave at 1700, they job would have to be finalized the following morning. This process didn’t go the way it was communicated and I ended up with a loaner vehicle on Saturday evening having never spoke to the tech working the weekend.

The following Monday at the days end, I put in a message to my advisor who had to return the call. He told me that the APIM wouldn’t communicate with the Body Control Module, so they created an event that involves a Ford consultant assisting remotely to troubleshoot the install. He said that Ford takes this very seriously, so it would be priority one. I would receive news by lunchtime the following day which would have been Tuesday.

On Tuesday, I hadn’t received word on the progress and was getting pretty nervous. I called mid-afternoon to see what I could find out. The advisor again returned my call at about 1645. He basically gave me the same story as the day before mentioning nothing of any progress of the current day. So I don’t know if they were just waiting for the Ford engineer to contact them back or if they hadn’t started the event the previous day as they said and were only just starting the process.

On Wednesday, I received a call closer to noon with my advisor stating that he had good and bad news. According to him, the APIM that Ford sent them was also faulty and they would have to build a new one. The good news is that they finally knew what was going on and the build would be expedited to possibly as little as 2 days (fat chance of that). He told me that they were putting in the old module and to come pick up my Bronco the following day. He said that it would be done by noon. I had to be out of town that day, so we agreed that I would bring the loaner car back closer to 1500. The time that I got the loaner back was very concerning to them for some reason. It was the day before Thanksgiving, so I think that they wanted to get it back and checked in before taking the following day off. I thought this was a little inconsiderate considering that they had my vehicle for a week for a service appointment that was supposed to be 4 hours. It’s worth noting that I made my 350mi. round trip very quickly because I didn’t want to miss the opportunity to get my rig back before Thanksgiving.

Almost back home the following day, I received a telephone call from my advisor in the service department. He asked how I felt about getting the Bronco back on Friday instead of the current day as he had previously stated. Because of his enthusiasm, I thought that he was telling me that they could have the entire issue resolved by Friday. I said, “Of course!” That if they could get it done by Friday, I wanted them to just keep it. He was silent for a few seconds. He then said sheepishly, “No. I mean Friday to get your old APIM back in the Bronco.” You can imagine how I reacted. This guy was just taking advantage of my patience at this point, right?

Anyway, that’s where I’m at. Friday I finally got my Bronco and I haven’t heard anything from them since. The vehicle now has entire systems that no longer function and a frameless window that leaks. The cameras don’t work and the side markers on the mirrors don’t blink. I’ve informed the advisor via text with no response. Ironically, my telephone calls work great in the cab and I haven’t heard any feedback over the speakers. However, the os software that they used as a patch must be a generic Ford software, because the graphics aren’t the original and the features don’t fit the 12” screen.

By the way, I love my Bronco. I’m just at my wits end. If this ends up being a lemon, unfortunately, I’m not sure if I’ll do it again. Any advice?

Hey there! If you send over a DM with your VIN and Ford dealer info, I can look into your concerns on my end.

 

[Fly by Nite]

I've been waiting for my APIM module to come in for over 3 weeks now. Dealer said they are waiting on several to come in.
My issue is the Sync 4 screen went black.
At first the screen blackouts were intermittent.... it went permanently black on Nov 9 and hasn't recovered. At least my stereo still works.
Hope they can fix it without the ordeal you are going thru, good luck.

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