Tl;dr: Ford Flex never offered lanekeeping or auto highbeams because the windshield is more vertical than any other model. The entirety of the system is built into the rearview mirror, so I designed an adapter to fit a Lincoln mirror. I started with a mirror from a 2016 Lincoln MKT.
I tried many many different designs for the adapter because I was also learning 3d modeling and printing at the same time. At one point my mirror refused to calibrate, so I bought a second one from a 2013 MKT. Figured it out though and kept it as a spare, then damaged the camera ribbon in it like a schmuck.
Well the other week I was working on the girl next door's transmission and thought it was weird that a Titanium trim didn't have an autodimming rearview mirror. Doing a quick eBay search, came across another lanekeeping mirror for $20. It said it was for a Focus but i knew that was wrong. It was the correct shape for mine, but came out of a Lincoln MKZ.
Now, we need discuss network architecture a little bit. Most Fords/Lincolns were CGEA 1.3 starting in 2013. Flex, Taurus, MKS, MKT, and Continental never got that upgrade; they were all CGEA 1.2 right up to the end.
Some modules are compatible with both networks and there's a configuration bit you change to specify which network it's on. Some modules are hardcoded for a specific network. These mirrors are hardcoded.
In preparation for updating my "how to install lanekeeping in a Flex" guide, I wanted to see if there was any way to get that MKZ/1.3 mirror to work. There's certainly a better supply of Fusion/MKZ parts than Taurus/MKS on eBay.
Right off the bat I could tell there were compatibility issues. When I connected the mirror, I was given "lanekeeping fault", "keep hands on steering wheel", and the lanemarkings showed green / red. All this despite being in park.
I decided to try a firmware update. I was able to pull compatible firmware for the known-good 2016MKT mirror I've been using for years, plus the firmware for the 2013MKZ mirror. I tried flashing the 16!MKT to the 13!MKZ and it kept faulting out, bricking the mirror.
At this moment, I'm not sure if the issue is that I'm putting 1.2 firmware on a 1.3 mirror, or 2016 firmware on a 2013 mirror. The camera itself is slightly different between the two years.
I could try flashing the 16!MKT firmware to the 13!MKT mirror, but I couldn't get compatible firmware for the 13 and would have no way to recover it in the case of failure. The mirror itself is useless in a car -- missing ribbon cable and I drilled a couple test holes in it -- but I still use it as a benchtop CANBUS generator for testing modules I build.
It's frustrating doubly because apparently the mirrors are the hardest thing to update firmware on, but any threads in the forscan forum are by disgusting illiterate euros so there's no useful information. The forum/software itself claims to be American and only accepts support tickets in English, despite clearly being Russian.
So all this was to avoid doing my actual job and i wanted an excuse to post this video. The module reflash process scared the shit out of me the first time it ran. I was most confused by the crash alert -- according to every wiring diagram, those LEDs are wired in series and not addressable. It shouldn't be possible to only light up the middle few. Idk. I'm bored and sick of everything.
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Not related to mirrors but related to firmware...
Top trim 2013-14 Fusion had side parking sensors in the rear bumper. These weren't connected to anything. In 2015 they removed the sensors, then 2017 brought them back with the introduction of automatic reverse perpendicular parking.
2013/2014 owners could connect those sensors and flash the 2017 firmware to their parking module to enable RPP, Park-Out Assist, and flank guard.
For whatever reason, Ford started integrating the Parking Aid Module (PAM) into the Body module. It still had it's own wiring and network identification, but physically assembled onto the body module PCB. Flex always had a standalone PAM so no hope of me ever getting reverse perpendicular parking, I'm stuck with normal automatic parallel parking.
Weirder yet, earlier Fords had dedicated Ambient Lighting Modules for the footwell/cupholder lights with a physical button to control them. Starting in 2013 the controls moved to the touchscreen and the ambient lighting driver moved to... the hvac module? To this day, your cupholder and footwell RGB lighting is being driven by the hvac controller.
On Fords with that fancy little "kick under the bumper to open the liftgate", that input is called the Open Sesame input.
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K
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Impressive.
Always thought the Flex was slept on and sad to see it discontinued.
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The last couple years were the saddest. It was an objectively bad value because you were paying 2019 Explorer prices for 2013 technology and 2009 interior design.
Literally the only difference between a 13 and 19 Flex is paint colors, Sync 3, and heated steering wheel. It didn't have stop-and-go cruise, emergency braking, pedestrian detection, active nibble control, reverse perpendicular parking, 360° camera, awd lock, fordpass support, or any of the other convenience features that CGEA 1.3 vehicles gained. The windshield difference meant it couldn't even get basic b-word auto-highbeams because they didn't sell enough to justify a unique mirror assembly.
I never get to drive mine but when I do, I love it. Spent the extra on the Ecoboost engine, 91 octane tune, and retrofitted the seat massagers from a Lincoln. As much fun as the Bronco is to drive, I still prefer my stretched 3-row crossover with a second-row freezer that'll do 0-60 in under 6 seconds.
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I don't want any of those “convenience” features. I just want boxy power.
But regarding preferring the older car to the new one, I'm getting rid of my M440i because I just enjoy driving the Porsche so much more. I'll definitely regret it in the winter but I also need to pay for tooth implants lol.
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Oh boy. Both my canine teeth are implants. $9,000 and it hurt like HECK when he had to tighten one of the studs.
But definitely worth it and I regret not doing it sooner.
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I've been in love with the Flex since I was in middle school and saw a black one in the neighbor's driveway.
I think they were the last good looking American crossovers, although the MKC is nice too.
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It's hard to write a guide on what mirror to buy because the scrapyards have no idea either.
This is definitely not an MKT mirror. The gap between the camera and mount is too large and the centering notch is in the middle of the casting. This came out of a Fusion or Escape or similar.
This is the correct shape for an MKT. Smaller gap and an L-shaped notch off-center.
Note the ridiculous gap between the camera lens and the plastic shroud. This is because Ford uses the same shroud on the cheaper highbeam-only mirrors (see below).
Also that slightly art-deco design on the camera suggests it's an earlier 2013-2015 version. 2016+ doesn't have those extra dimples in the top corners.
This is not a lane assist mirror. That module on the front is a light sensor and can only perform auto-highbeams (poorly).
As mentioned before, they used the same shroud for both highbean-only and lanekeeping mirrors. It looks stupid on the lane mirrors, especially since the gap is visible through the windshield.
Speaking of sharing parts, top-trim Focus gets windshields with all these extra trapezoids and shit. Just a whole lotta business happening here. Save for a single lanekeeping camera, the rest are unused and capped off. In Europe they're used for extra ADAS systems, but America didn't get those features and they didn't bother to design a different windshield.
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i made the ecu on my motorcycle permanently r-slurred once so i dont frick with electronics on vehicles shit might as well be witchcraft
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What do you think of the Escape and Edge? Would recommend any firmware or other upgrades for 10-year-old models?
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The Escape/Focus/Fiesta is kind of an oddball amongst the lineup, architecturally. They use more of a European network called CCC or something.
Forscan can technically interface with it to make changes but I know there's extra steps involved.
Annoyingly the Forscan forums are overflowing with foreigners who HI I HAVE MK3.5 FOCUS PLEASE HOW TO ENABLING TSR all over the place. The Focus was way more popular overseas. Also my work wi-fi blocks the forscan forum.
The 2011-2014 Edge is similar to the 2011-2015 Explorer, so you can probably get an idea from this spreadsheet though it's not going to tell you much about retrofits. I had to compare my AsBuilts to an MKT to determine what bits enable lanekeeping. Massaging seats were actually the easiest -- a single well-known bit in the radio to enable the page.
Generally if it was available on your year/model or similar models, it can usually be added but not always. So you could add most Lincoln MKC features because it's the same basic car. But if you have an F150 XLT, it's hard to add reverse parking sensors because the main Body module would have to be changed to a higher trim version. Technically possible but cost-prohibitive.
The most common things people do that don't require new hardware are
Disable the "engine running" double honk on pushbutton-start models
Enable navigation on Sync2
Disable hyperflash when using LED turn signals
Enable keyboard/texting in motion (you'll lose 911 Assist though)
Change daytime running lights
Change how long powerpoints run
Speedometer correction with aftermarket wheels
And with extra hardware...
Replace Sync2 with Sync3
Enable reverse camera
Add power running boards
Add heated seats / steering wheel
On my Bronco I was also able to enable global window closing, changed the DRL turn signals to amber, disable double-honk, etc. F150 Lighting, changed lightbar brightness and enabled the Matrix highbeam lighting from higher trims.
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Thanks! I might just stick with the stock features. If I had a model that was capable of heated seats /steering I would try to get that. Maybe one day we'll be able to do some crazy shit like flash custom operating systems or something
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Well your model is likely capable of seats/steering, just need the parts.
It'd be nice to tighten up the graphics a bit in my cars. I hate how laggy the UI animations are compared to my Chevy.
Everything else about the truck sucks, but i like the smooth animations
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Oh shit you're right. Just looked it up and even my older model has them.
Yeah if there was the ability to upload custom firmware then potentially everything could be changed at a whim, including graphical interfaces
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The problem is that it's a Ford (fix or repair daily)
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I'd also like to point out that everything I wrote here was on mobile because there's no way I'm accessing this site on my work laptop. I'm just that blah and willing to avoid doing my job.
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Forden er i orden når den står i gården.
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Just a word play stating that your ford remains functional as long as it never leaves your garage.
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Interesting read
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Update:
I did the firmware update on a bench. I forgot I could do that as long as I add a terminating resistor.
As a bonus, this allowed me to run it at high speed. Firmware update took just 30 minutes instead of 5 hours.
During a later assembly, noticed the MKZ camera aims slightly downward. Just enough to make it fail calibration. Swapped the straight camera from the MKT and it calibrated almost immediately. Designed a slightly different mount to cancel out that 6° variance and it worked completely.
Curiously, ONLY the MKZ uses that angled camera. There's two major shapes to the assembly; a long neck used on sedans, and short neck on SUVs where the rain sensor is under the mount. The Fusion uses longneck, MKZ uses short. Both are built on the same midsize platform.
Now I'm redesigning ALL the 3d models from scratch using the originals as reference. The project file had gotten very convoluted and impossible to modify without downstream issues and I never liked how shitty the cover pieces attached.
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Sure bud, I'm triggered that you want to frick cartoon horses. Have a nice day
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