Help me to escape this stupidity loop - SYNC 2 Nav problem

[kapiteinlangzaam]

Hey all.

Im reaching the point of (relative) despair with the Nav in my car.

Its a March '16 build GT with SYNC2 and Nav.

It worked fine for about a year and then started playing up about 9m ago.

Problem: Nav screen/map stays black/blank. Still have the menu button in top right corner, but the screen itself is blank and you dont get the legal warning popup and 'bong' through the speakers. You can program a route and it WILL navigate for you with the voice prompts etc, albeit with no visual help.

So the nav calculation part is working OK, its just not presenting the info to the screen.

This happens around 7/10 times I start the car.

*Sometimes* you can trick the the system in to working by starting the audio system, and then going back in to Nav. This doesn't always work.

Also, about once per week ill get a separate message that the Nav card is invalid and to insert a new one. Removing/reinserting card makes no difference, usually fixes itself after a few power cycles.

I have now been to the dealer 6! times with this problem. They acknowledge 100% that there is a problem, but they are struggling to help me because despite the fault being active and 'on screen', it isnt producing any DTC error codes that can be read by the code machine.

The car is still in manufacturer warranty, but because there are no fault codes, Ford will NOT action any kind of replacement components.

The car has had new software/firmware loaded in 4 times (latest loaded this week), none of which have made any difference.

I have tried 3x different SD cards (F4/F5/F6), all OEM original bought from the dealer..... none of which have made any difference.

Im stuck in a loop and all the dealer wants to do is load 'new software' and send me away. Im now on my 3rd dealer with the problem after the previous one refused to help me further (no DTCs = no warranty payment from Ford for man hours).

Its incredible!

My gut feeling is that I have a faulty SD card reader, but in any-case some physical component needs to be replaced. Sync computer, or SD reader or..... something!

Anyone had this problem? Anyone heard of this problem? I cant believe Ford honestly look me in the eye, accept there a clear and serious problem, but then refuse to help me.

Latest software on the car is:



and this is what the screen looks like when its playing up:

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[moreause]

What is that logic no DTC

the nav system doesn't give DTC ... maybe a system ok

with the same logic you differential is blown off ... and no DTC ..sorry we won't fix it

I would say take a video on it when its happening ... dealer can get LOTS of false issue from poeple that don't know how to read a car manual . So if they can reproduce it in the shop they just say sorry ...we can't see the issue

and write all the info in on paper ..like an e-mail , date ..what is happening a print it

to demonstrate your seriouness

 

[kapiteinlangzaam]

Done the video thing..... Ford in Europe won't accept customer videos or photos in warranty claims.

The dealer don't dispute there's a problem, they have sat in the car with the problem on the screen..... But the official line is NO DTC, NO HELP. That's from Ford EU HQ.

So I'm stuck.

 

[moreause]

yeah EU treatement of the customer seem to be different from our side of the atlantic

i have seen that on other aspect of life to... like credit card fraud and other stuff

where over here the issue fall on the company and in Europe the issue false on the card owner

Maybe somebody is going to know how to fix it then ..good luck

ps..just for fun did you try forscan and check the system status

some status will not give a dtc and the dealer could try to fuck you up

i had an issue this winter ..no dtc but a had a wrench show up .... 3 module had issue

i reset the system and everything was good after that


did you try the easy one just unplug the battery ..to do a REAL reset of everything

 

[Manders Mustang]

Never have i had this, or seen this issue. It could be down to the GPS unit on the car, or a loose connection. I know it sounds a long shot, and dealers are generally less caring than we are with our cars but try removing the arm rest usb unit and checking the connector, maybe do the old "Blow" check (like we used to do on old games lol!) and, then if it doesn't fix it, remove the SYNC 2 unit and give it a go.

 

[hinch]

maps card corrupted ? have you tried a different map card just to rule it out?

 

[kapiteinlangzaam]

maps card corrupted ? have you tried a different map card just to rule it out?

Hi

As per original post. 3x cards, F4-6 all new OEM. No difference.

Anyone know the part number for the SD reader?

 

[AstroKeith]

The display is showing that the unit has been able to read the map data from the SD card, otherwise it couldn't have worked out the route, and display distance to next junction etc.

So I wouldn't at first suspect the SD card or its connections.

They've reloaded the operating system, so that should have removed software as the problem. So it looks like hardware in the Sync unit.

Their stance is unsustainable. If you went in with a worn ball joint for instance, there would be no fault codes. Yet they replace these under warranty.

In the UK we have local trading standards officers who would in my experience be very interested in a dealer shirking its responsibilities. It also seems as though Ford UK HQ are quite supportive. Is there any equivalents for you?

 

[stevec]

I had a similar problem ages ago. Dealer did some sort of software upgrade and its never happened since, so yours may be a different issue.

 

[kapiteinlangzaam]

Thanks folks.

I absolutely agree the stance makes no sense at all, but it's how to break through the deadlock.

I'm now on my 3rd software update and umpteenth software reset, so I definitely think it's hardware related.

The car is going back for the puddle light replacement soon, so they can look at it again then. Spent the whole of yesterday with no Navi, even resetting the system made no difference.

 

[Manders Mustang]

Thanks folks.

I absolutely agree the stance makes no sense at all, but it's how to break through the deadlock.

I'm now on my 3rd software update and umpteenth software reset, so I definitely think it's hardware related.

The car is going back for the puddle light replacement soon, so they can look at it again then. Spent the whole of yesterday with no Navi, even resetting the system made no difference.

Odd one, have you tried going 'backwards' in software revisions before going 'forwards' used to be an old trick with dodgey patches on certain PC games you'd run it unpatched for a month or so before going back to the latest patch.

 

[Stark]

I know Ford have done software and firmware updates but have they OR you tried a SYNC master reset? It erases all stored data on the system to a fresh state. It may be a file that's common to all updates, that doesn't get updated and sits corrupt on the sync system.
If all the other displays work, i.e. music, a/c when in full screen mode, then surely it's not a hardware issue?

 

[kapiteinlangzaam]

Yes, full master resets done multiple times.

No effect :(

 

[kapiteinlangzaam]

It looks like this is *hopefully* finally solved.

About 3 weeks ago I chanced upon the fact that when nothing was plugged in to the accessory USB socket in the arm rest, the nav seemed to be much happier with itself.

Up until that point, I always had something plugged in to the USB, either charging a device or playing music etc.

So after nearly 3 weeks of no USB device, it only 'failed' on me once.... I booked it back in to the dealer and they agreed to change the media hub, which is apparently the complete SD card reader and USB port etc found in the arm rest.

This seems to have fixed it. I can now use the USB port and still have a working map interface.

So in the end this took 7 separate dealer appointments, much arguing, nearly a year without properly working nav, and in the end the fix was exactly what I told them it would be on my first visit (i.e. the SD card reader).

I suppose it comes down to a complete lack of willingness to investigate or think outside the box.

Ford should be ashamed of themselves. But at least it seems to be sorted.

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