When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
I love my 2015 truck. It really did exceed my expectations. There is one problem that I see every time that I drive is that the compass displays backwards on the Navigation/Home screen. If the truck is pointing South, the main direction in the compass display is "South" like it should be HOWEVER, the smaller symbols to the left and right of "South" are backwards. East is to the right and West is to the left.
The secondary indicators are simply wrong.
I actually use my compass in the backwoods of Minnesota and I find it very annoying that this isn't accurate. If I am going to turn towards the East or West, my truck compass would be leading me the wrong direction. Once I actually make the turn and face East, the "East" is correctly displayed in the center of the compass but North is now on the right and South is to the left - the wrong way.
I took the truck back to the dealer and they said it was "normal" and that is how Ford compasses work. I still think it is wrong to have the display incorrect. It seems like a problem a software upgrade could fix. Has anybody else noticed this defect?
my explorer and my f150 have the same compass problem. I emailed ford and was given an answer that I really did not understand. Something about the compass is ball and you are on the back side of the ball looking forward. Like the old water filled that were sold years ago, that stuck on the dash. I find the compass in my vehicles totally useless and just don't look at or use them. ?????
The dealer tried the "Like the old water filled that were sold years ago, that stuck on the dash" answer on me too. Totally inaccurate!
The problem is that the answer is silly. The ball on the dash compass did NOT show the wrong direction to the left and right of the main direction shown on the ball in all directions as the dealer/Ford has tried to claim. The point they TRIED to make is that the indicators on the ball were "absolute" and that they always pointed N,S,E and W regardless of the direction the car was moving. That is true and consistent with physics. With the "ball" approach, if the car was facing North, the side of the ball on the dash pointed towards the driver showed South because the South side of the ball was still pointed South. The East indicator on the ball ALWAYS pointed East, etc. If I wanted to make a turn towards the east, I would turn towards the East shown on the ball.
That does not happen with the Ford compass. If I attempt to make a turn towards the East, Ford's compass sends me West (until I complete the turn and the compass main direction resets).
This is proper representation of a ball compass. Check out this picture:
On MyFord Touch, whichever direction you're going will appear front and center on your screen. In this picture, we'd be going North. This is how it was explained to me in scouts: If you take a flat compass and make it into a half circle then face North towards you, East will then be on the left and West would be on the right like the above picture.
I can't see any reason why the compass has to be made to look like something my granddad would use.
If it's confusing, then change the design. It looks to me like you're trying to get rid of all the skeuomorphism in Sync 3 anyway.
Because changing it now would be like suddenly making the left turn signal be 'up' on the stalk and the right turn signal would be 'down.' Why change something that has been that way for 100 years for no other reason than a few people don't understand it while the majority understands how it works?
That's kind of like saying that steering wheels should work like horse reins because that worked just fine for 5,000 years.
What may be intuitive for a physical 3 dimensional object doesn't necessarily translate to a 2D representation of that object. And what may be intuitive for someone who's 70 and once owned one of those old compasses might be completely unfamiliar to someone who's 30 and has never seen one. Besides there are plenty of other compass designs that people are familiar with that aren't those goofy globes. It could also be that the design was just bad to begin with, but was the only thing that would work at the time. I mean, if you think of how to make a physical compass that you don't have to look down on to see, the only way to make it work would be to reverse the markings, which if you think about it isn't intuitive in the least.
That's kind of like saying that steering wheels should work like horse reins because that worked just fine for 5,000 years.
What may be intuitive for a physical 3 dimensional object doesn't necessarily translate to a 2D representation of that object. And what may be intuitive for someone who's 70 and once owned one of those old compasses might be completely unfamiliar to someone who's 30 and has never seen one. Besides there are plenty of other compass designs that people are familiar with that aren't those goofy globes. It could also be that the design was just bad to begin with, but was the best that would work at the time.
Horse reins != steering wheels (apples vs. oranges)
compass = compass (apples vs. apples)
I don't know anything about the newer f150's as I own an 05 with the dash display...butt there is a procedure for calibrating it...is there one for the newer models? Also, I believe my garmin gps gives the option for the maps always facing north or direction of travel (I think that is what the options are)...seems like there are so many options in the factory head units...
not only is my compass spinning, but my head is too. After reading all the replies, I am more confused than ever. Maybe a piece of black electrical tape over the compass would be the best solution for me.
I don't really use the compass but because of this thread I looked at it today. It is indeed annoying! I guess you will just have to remember that it's opposite of what it's suppose to be.
See, even you're confused. It's actually the opposite. If you were looking down on it and heading north, the N would be at the bottom, and W on the right.
This discussion might be all for naught, though - I can't find any photos of the compass in Sync 3, so it may be gone.
If you are going N, the N will be on your screen with E to the left and W to the right, correct? Just like the compass pictured in FordIVTeam's post above?
Maybe I am confused. My 'old' '08 just tells me the direction I'm headed and nothing more.
10-06-2015, 05:50 PM
