Very interesting, thanks for the link.

I couldn't get the site to load with ie11 but Chrome worked OK. The required download file took a few tries to get but it finally worked and passed my virus scanner OK. Then using the URL in that file also took a few tries to get the required 'license' from ETIS.

FWIW I have used the latest FORscan (2.3.0 beta) with my cheap ELM327 modified with the 'MS-CAN' switch to edit my ACM programming successfully, the same procedure described in the forum you link for adding NAV by APIM reprogramming. I've done that enough now to have confidence that the OEM program can be restored if you work yourself into a corner.

The, as I'm understanding it, required separate upload to the APIM (essentially a 'custom hacked' SYNC update as I'm reading it) for the NAV 'license' is a bit scarier for me though ..... not ready myself to roll-the-dice on that part as I'm not quite confident about restoring the original previous SYNC update if there's a problem with that step.

We know that there's folks offering the service of reprogramming any 8"MFT APIM to add NAV ... it's clearly possible and done successfully, just not sure about trying it as a DIY myself without a real confident understanding of how to do it.

Would be interested to know if anyone on this forum follows-through and can report back on their procedure and results.

 

From reading a bit on that thread - seems like the license update is "optional". As long as you change the bits on your APIM programing using FORSCAN then you are golden!

The license update is for the navigation but seems like all units already have it on as long as the bit is updated. I'll be trying this out later this week and will report back.

 

The folks at XDA are a great bunch. Like any web site, everything is a grain of salt, but this site is one of the more respected, and they have been working through the MFT Nav for a long time. I have used them for an Android tablet through 2 unsupported ports, several Linux issues, and with my '06 Chrysler Nav.

 

@rdhar2015 - FYI had some 'play time' this afternoon so ...

1. Updated to 2.3.1 beta FORscan to get the APIM configuraton capability
2. Edited 7D0-01-02:
....from as-built 0008 2300 0409
....to 0408 2300 040D (I edited the first bit, FORscan changed the last bit which I assume is the checksum)
3. Key off/on, watched SYNC run 'System Maintenance' on the MFT

At that point I still have "information" in the upper-right corner of MFT, no 'demand' to insert NAV SD card. So, per further reading in the XDA thread I may still need to run the license upload and maybe even all of the update files .... I'll hold-off pending your report.

According to the Ford Owner website I am at the latest SYNC update for my FE, installed last October (SYNC2-V3.8; EA5T-14D544-AD).

 

Success! Yep the license was needed - NAV is working for me now!

So once you have the zip file (license) - ignore the instruction to edit autoinstall.lst -> By default the autoinstall.lst will install all zip and cab files.

Copy all files to a USB drive and plug it in.

Once everything is installed "Information" will change to "Insert NAV SD Card"

 

Wow thanks for the info, maybe you can do a more detailed how to with some screenshots for those wanting to do this, it is a little to late for me I got the navigation by way of changing the apim but it is good to know.

 

Hmm - per this post on XDA looks like I might have to flash another bit in the IPC to get directions in the instrument panel cluster

So I finally was able to get my hands dirty with a 2014 Explorer Sport today (my 2013 already had NAVI but I wanted to go through the full process, you learn better this way).

Here is how it went:

First off the 2014 Explorer had never had a update since factory build.

I ran the sync checker app and retrieved the xml file.
Loaded all values to the spreadsheet except for the iswfpn (left it the default EA5T-14F657-AD). Posted link in chrome and got HTTP 500.
So I change everything back to default and just used esn number change and it finally downloaded.
Put it on usb and tried to install and it gave a bad update error.
Downloaded latest sync update and installed it.
While I was waiting on the download (I think it was 540 MB) I went ahead and change the ABD in the APIM, ACM, and IPC.
No changes except IPC went form "COMPASS" to "NAVIGATION."
After update the url generated file finally installed.
I left the autoinstall file alone and let it run everything.
After install INFORMATION changed to Insert SD Card.
Inserted card and success.


*******************************
Only thing I can see that is not perfect is when I select Navigation and then hit OK on the cluster I don't see the screen saying HOME, Favorites, Nearby POI, etc like my 2013. (I know Ford changed the instrument cluster slightly in 2014 wonder if this was a change).
Anybody else see this menu on theirs?

-----

 

OK, now 'vested' in this experiment to the tune of $90 for an A7 card .... won't be able to tell much about how it all works 'till that arrives in a few days. While this is an interesting diversion (pardon the pun) something tells me I'm going to be continuing to prefer my Garmin for hard core navigation (just loaded my second free map updates for this year and the 'traffic' info just 'happens' without any 3rd party coordination or service fee).... I sure do like that it is in my 'line of sight' when driving even with the audible voice prompts it provides.

Not having any experience with what the genuine OEM Escape NAV provides, I may not even know what is/isn't missing with this 'hacked' solution (like IPC features) so I'll just have to follow-along here to see what y'all report.

Some Q's about the OEM system ....
Are there folks using NAV without the Sirius traffic subscription but with SYNC Services?
What benefit do you get from the SYNC services?
Are you still able to accept incoming calls with a single push of the 'accept call' button on the steering wheel (iPhone) when connected to SYNC Services?
Do you get audible turn-by-turn directions without use of either Sirius or SYNC Services?

 

This is excellent! Will this mod affect our factory warranties?

 

..... Will this mod affect our factory warranties?

Same as with any USA vehicle mod (the short form): If Ford can show that your otherwise 'warrantable' specific problem is caused by your mod, then they don't have to fix that specific problem under warranty (US Federal Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act; google is your friend).

In this case, the Ford diagnostics tools will reveal the fact that the APIM has been reprogrammed to a non-OEM configuration and even the date and time that was done. That includes any 'roll-back' reprogramming you do to restore to the as-built condition in an attempt to 'hide' the mod - every reprogramming upload has a date/time/program identifier 'stamp' attached to it. I do not know if Ford can detect the complete history of uploads but they can certainly detect the latest.

An APIM warranty extension has been applied to many Escapes (clipped from the notifications section of my VIN-specific Ford Owner Webpage):
VIN: 1FMxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
FSA Title: SYNC WITH MYFORD/MYLINCOLN TOUCH - WARRANTY EXTENSION COVERING ACCESSORY PROTOCOL INTERFACE MODULE (APIM)
Field Service Action Number: 12M02

IMHO no one can know in advance if a future APIM problem would be denied coverage by this mod (the case-specific 'problem' vs 'cause' question) but if you're concerned about such, the conservative assumption would be "yes, the APIM warranty may be jeopardized" and you should not do the mod if that's important to you. The only way to get NAV with zero warranty risk is to buy a car with it from the factory.

And of course, but I suspect you already understand this, the 'bootleg' NAV itself has no warranty at all.

 

Update: A7 card now installed, I have no "navigation info" menu choice in IPC but everything else seems to work fine.

My own question answered .... yes, I get T-B-T directions (voice prompts) without Sirius or SYNC services.

Can't (won't) complain about a free upgrade to NAV

>

 

I have the elm 327 usb to odb2 and forscan for windows...did anyone need anything read by my stock nav unit?

 

If you are able to access the hex configuration strings for IPC 720-01-01 and IPC 720-18-01 I'd be interested to compare those to mine.

Is your ELM modified for MS-CAN (and FORscan recognizes it / prompts for switching between HS /MS to collect vehicle data)? I don't remember if you need the extended FORscan license to read that data, I know you do to configure it so that's what I'm running.

@rahrena , one of the leaders in the APIM-swap-for-NAV approach just advised me that his setup (2013 SEL w/swapped APIM from a NAV vehicle) also does not show the IPC "navigation info" menu item .... that fits with the suggestion that IPC programming distinct from APIM programming is the key to that.

The folks over at XDA continue to flog this, too .... I suspect if anyone finds the answer it'll be that bunch.

 

.....The folks over at XDA continue to flog this, too .... I suspect if anyone finds the answer it'll be that bunch.

Those folks are good ... per suggestion posted on XDA ....

1. Using the Focccus* application (I'm running v0.8.6) with the ELM327, go to Central Config tab, do a "read from BCM" then scroll down to item "#172 Touchscreen"
2. Mine showed "not set", yours might be different
3. Choose "With Display - No Touchscreen, Colour-TFT, DM8 with Navi"
4. Write to BCM

I now have the "Navigation Info" choice in "Settings>Display" on my IPC menu (access with left steering wheel buttons); checked the box and I now have the T-B-T directions displayed in my IPC screen.

Done, full OEM NAV functionality, both MFT and IPC screens. Total cost ... the price of a Ford A7 NAV SD card (google/ebay is your friend)



tag for @rahrena8690 .... I'll bet this will work on your swapped-APIM-NAV, too

*Focccus download here http://ford.xtlt.ru/FoCCCus/ ....

 

ALL credit belongs to the OP for the 'pointer' to the XDA forum and the smart folks over there (I'm thinking the OP is one of them under a different screen-name).

 

Freaking sweet!

I forgot about foccus app. I think I could enable global window while I borrow this elm.....

 

Yes you can.

 

Well, gee that was 'fun' ....

Wanting to give this new NAV the best shot in the 'comparison', I decided to load all the 'saved places' I have on my beloved Garmin. I started by sitting in the car and 'typing' on the screen and saving to favorites which was, as expected, tedious to say the least.

So then I went in the house and entered them into online SYNC Services 'saved destinations', then went back to the car and called each up via SYNC Services and 'saved as favorite'. Only slightly less tedious, interesting that the "Name" entered in SYNC Services isn't retained when 'saved as favorite' .... only the raw address .... and the 'voice tag' has to be done individually for each. But with several passes between Services on the desktop and the car that's how I finished the job (25 max points on SYNC services so had to delete them to make room to get them all entered that way).

So, now that I've 'forced through this' ... can anyone give me a tip for a better method to 'pre-trip' enter a batch of 'destination favorites' you want to be able to call-up by voice command?

I must admit that playing with this running errands around Austin the last couple of days, I can see that this well could break me of the 'Garmin habit' .... the built-in aspect is nice and with the automatic music-muting T-B-T directions the fact that the main screen is not in my 'driving sight line' seems less troubling than I thought it would be. I'll have a good test next week as I have a 1200 mile RT to a race in the Tulsa area.

Is there a better 'general SYNC2 NAV usage tips' thread that this post can/should be moved to? If yes, mods please 'do your thing', and thanks!

 

Well, my off topic post was just three words. > You, Sir, have bested me hands down.

 

which elm327 devices are you using?

My coworker let me borrow his, but his was that knock off chinese one without the right/real elm chip. I'm looking at scantool now. I like wired, but man is BT nice for being able to do gauges to tablets or phone and not haul a laptop

https://www.scantool.net/scan-tools/pc-based/obdlink-mxbt/

 

I've used both Scantool BT & Wifi devices and they work really well with my escape.

 

Mine is a knock-off USB ELM without a genuine chip. One of the $20 models off EBay quite a while ago.

Modified for MS-CAN per directions here ELMConfig - Enable/Disable Ford ECU Functions - James Simpson

Note that the driver installed by MS WIN10 will not work with clone chips ... try the one described here (this worked for me) Family Software Drag Racing - Newsletter#37, Prolific PL-2303 Driver Solution for Code 10

Not all 'knock-offs' will work so YMMV but I guess I got lucky and mine did the trick.

 

I put back the original non nav apim and successfully updated to nav plus nav information on the ipc and also enabled the global open/close feature, I used this obd reader: ScanTool 426101 OBDLink MX Bluetooth, it work flawless connects fast and writes fast, no second retries at all, used it with my windows 10 laptop via bt, I highly recommend it, now lets see what forscan can do for my explorer , also now I will be putting the unneeded nav enable apim for sale I guess, fun fun fun

 

@Frankg77

Have you been through all of the XDA forum thread? Lots of continuing posts there since I stopped following, maybe they've come up with a FORScan-based solution for the IPC T-by-T display.

I'll try to remember to get those after-mod IPC settings for you next time I'm in the car with the computer.

My pre-mod values for the IPC are

720-01-01: 0000 0142 6C
720-18-01: 09BF FFFF 06

do those match your current values?

edit - One other thought about your ELM327 issue .... have you tried changing the Focccus port speed setting to see if that allows the process that's hanging to complete?

 

I just have 720-01-01 and yes its the same as yours.
But I think I won't be able to enable PC T-by-T display by modifying those bits.

I opened focccus app in offline mode and loaded my AB file with as-built data downloaded from https://www.motorcraftservice.com/AsBuilt then did the suggested mod changing item #172 to "With Display - No Touchscreen, Colour-TFT, DM8 with Navi" and after that I saved the configuration in a new AB file,.

After comparing the to AB files to see what changed, all modules had the exact same values except CCC Data which had 3 characters changed.

I guess I'll have to get another OBD2 adapter or wait until Forscan support writing CCC to the Ford Escape. I did played with port speed without success...

Thanks

 

Looks like Ford has shut the loophole down. I get this message when I try to download the license:

HTTP Status 403 -

type Status report

message

description Access to the specified resource () has been forbidden.

JBoss Web/2.1.3.GA

Anyone able to get there? I tried with both the original VIN in the document and mine, updating the EMSN with the serial number out of MFT.

 

Reading some more and I may have an incorrect EMSN. Going to retry tonight.

 

The URL is now blocked. Buried in the XDA thread. Hopefully someone will find a workaround - bought a nav SD card today!

 

Darn it! I've been away from this forum for a long time; came back to see this thread. This is an AMAZING find; but is it true I missed out!? UGH! I would've jumped on this immediately if it was working still.

 

Reviving this thread with an update .....

1. This is only for SYNC 2 with MFT users ('13 - '15 Escape, maybe some '16 w/SYNC 2)

2. Read this entire thread from the top

3. There now seems to be an new source for the license file that is mentioned as a 'closed URL' in this thread.

4. The new file-source info is buried in the (now very long) thread on the XDA forum linked above. Sorry, I don't have a specific post link there, you'll have to dig for that, I've not followed the XDA thread since successfully completing my NAV-enable using the old 'closed URL' method.

Info 3 & 4 based on PM's I've received through the XDA forum from '13 and '14 Escape owners that have recently software-enabled NAV on MFT using the 'new' license file source and have PM'd me from that forum for clarification about the IPC part of the enable.

FWIW my 'software enabled MFT and IPC NAV continues to work just fine (well, at least the same as any OEM SYNC 2 NAV ;-)

Just sharing this update FYI for anyone tripping on this thread that concludes the opportunity is lost - that apparently is no longer the case as of the date of this post.

 

What values did you put into ipc section for IPC NAV, I didn't see confirmed data for 2014 escape. Or did you use foccius?

 

Please see this post The IPC part of the NAV software upgrade using Focccus

I did this using an ancient clone USB ELM327.

FYI I've had several PM's on XDA about this - one person there reported to me that he could not make this work with his Bluetooth ELM327 but had success using Focccus to complete this modification with this specific currently offered USB ELM327 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01F0GVBWY/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I have NOT used that ELM myself, YMMV, hope that helps.

Oh, and welcome to the forum!

 

Is the above link correct? Brings me to a 2013 video.

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

 

Link to post 23 in this thread works for me (not using Tapatalk).