By Sammy Omari, Executive Director Advanced Driver Assist System Technologies (ADAS), Ford Motor Company
We are introducing the latest version of Ford BlueCruise* software – BlueCruise 1.4 – our best, hands-free highway driving experience yet. It is designed to help deliver a more natural feeling drive and more time in hands-free mode compared to earlier versions.
We are on a journey to continue to improve the hands-free highway driving experience to keep customers engaged hands-free mode without interruptions, that would require the driver to put their hands on the wheel. BlueCruise 1.4 improves the hands-free highway drive time in a variety of driving conditions such as around a tight curve, in a narrow lane, during inclement weather or the reflection of the sun on the vehicle’s sensors.
Now, with BlueCruise 1.4 we have added:
- Enhancements that automatically and smoothly adjust the vehicle’s speed in curves, helping the driver to stay engaged in hands-free mode longer and experience a more continuous drive.
- Greater in-lane stability unlocked by an all-new motion controller, which controls the vehicle’s steering, helping reduce the ‘side-to-side’ movement within the lane.
- Longer hands-free engagement than prior versions when in diverse driving conditions due to inclement weather like rain or direct sun.
Imagine you are driving your Ford F-150 using BlueCruise on your daily commute and are coming up along a sharp curve on the highway. In prior versions, the system may have disengaged. BlueCruise 1.4 now helps adjust your truck’s speed to slow down along the curve while remaining engaged in hands-free mode. We found in our internal testing, BlueCruise 1.4 allows customers to stay engaged an average of at least eight times longer in hands-free mode compared to BlueCruise 1.0.
BlueCruise 1.4 also builds on previous versions of BlueCruise, which means users get the performance improvements plus features introduced in prior versions including Lane Change Assist allowing you to change lanes hands-free at the tap of a turn signal, and In-Lane Repositioning which helps provide more space by subtly shifting away from vehicles in adjacent lanes, giving you a little extra room.
BlueCruise 1.4 will be available on select BlueCruise-equipped 2025 Ford and Lincoln vehicles from the factory, including the 2025 Ford F-150 and 2025 Lincoln Navigator, and additional vehicles to follow. It will also roll out via a software update to select vehicle lines in the future.
Improving BlueCruise Across Vehicle Lines
With every new version of BlueCruise, our in-house Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) team is focused on improving the hands-free highway driving experience based on feedback we receive from customers and large-scale data from BlueCruise-equipped vehicles that customers have agreed to share with us.
To-date, there are 492,000 BlueCruise-equipped vehicles on the road globally and in North America, customers have driven more than 244 million hands-free highway miles across Ford and Lincoln. The more customers use BlueCruise, the more we’re able to learn and make meaningful improvements through the power of large-scale data through our Continuous Learning Loop process to deliver new versions of software.
We are delivering new versions of BlueCruise software via software updates, as well as on vehicles from the factory across a variety of vehicle lines and engine types from gas powered, to hybrid to all electric. BlueCruise is currently available across nine vehicle lines: the F-150®, F-150 Lightning ®, Expedition ®, Explorer ® and Mustang Mach-E ®, plus the entire Lincoln lineup with some model years dating back to 2021.
Every vehicle line and each model year within a vehicle line is unique and has a specific BlueCruise software package. When delivering software updates, it is not as simple as pushing a software update to your smart phone. This is highly complex and requires updates to multiple system modules and in-vehicle screens.
That is why our goal is to always deliver the best version of software that is available for each vehicle line as it is ready, whether it is from the factory or via a software update. We will continue to move quickly to learn, develop and iterate to elevate the hands-free highway driving experience for more customers across gas-powered engines to hybrid and electric vehicles.
*Available Feature. Equipped Ford vehicles come with either a complimentary trial period or an included duration, after which purchase of a BlueCruise subscription is required. Modem activation is required for subscription purchase and for initial activation of BlueCruise (for pre-2024 model year vehicles). See ford.com/bluecruise for details. BlueCruise is a driver-assist feature and does not replace safe driving or driver’s attention, judgment or need to control the vehicle. Only remove hands in a Hands-Free Blue Zone. Always watch the road and be prepared to resume control. See Owner’s Manual for details and limitations.
SOURCE: Ford
