stratosurfer Posted November 2, 2019 Report Share Posted November 2, 2019 All, my Sync 2 APIM has been dying a slow death, Dealer would not replace under warranty/TSB, got it working again about a year ago. I began researching and found many providers offering a Sync 2 to Sync 3 upgrade ‘kit’ that provided everything one needs to upgrade Sync 2 to Sync 3 and includes a new APIM so I don’t have to screw with that old dying APIM issue and get to move up to Apple and Android CarPlay. My question is has anyone does this upgrade, I’m told it’s easy to do yourself. Also, the new APIM has to be registered to the car, a number of the providers program it for you before shipping out, the upgrade is about $900.00 parts. I’ve found some used ‘kits’ that require you to program the APIM yourself vis Forsync a freeware OBDII programmer that you only need to purchase the usb to OBDII cable. So going used and self programming saves about $450.00 and brings on the hassle of the programming yourself. Here is a link to what I’m talking about for sale:https://rover.ebay.com/https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F323945335865 So if anyone has done this upgrade I’d appreciate any tips as my Sync 2 radio has failed and I’m not going back to the dealer to jack around with them denying fixing it again. ThanksStratosurfer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
homestead Posted November 2, 2019 Report Share Posted November 2, 2019 Would Ford work on a converted car if it breaks in the future? Even if it is not a sync problem would they refuse to repair the car? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stratosurfer Posted November 2, 2019 Author Report Share Posted November 2, 2019 Would Ford work on a converted car if it breaks in the future? Even if it is not a sync problem would they refuse to repair the car?From my experience it is dealer by dealer on issues such as this. Seeing as the upgrade is a complete Sync 3 system and recognized by the ECU I would think their diagnostics would work, possibly with some questions to the tech. I can’t answer your question, but from experience one dealer might not and another may look at it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stratosurfer Posted November 5, 2019 Author Report Share Posted November 5, 2019 I'll keep posting here, in case anyone is following: I repaired (reset) my system with a fuse pull/replace and my sync2 system is now fully functional again, and I'm in no crisis to upgrade to Sync3. But I believe as I will keep the car at least 24 more months I will begin to source salvage yard parts to make the upgrade. I'll pass the car to one of my kids and it will have a longer life as an investment... I believe if you are careful and shop salvage yards you can get all the parts for under $300 from what I read other folks have done. The programming of the Sync3 APIM seems to be more complex, yet as I understand it, with no programming everything normally works short of the backup camera. Guys are doing the programming themselves with Forscan Lite, but I can't find what specifically needs to be changed, and I don't like it when folks talk in 'lines of code'. So this portio seems to be the most challenging of the upgrade. I hope to find a Sync3 C-Max with a system I can get all the parts out of, and who knows, maybe the system works 'out of the box' in this case. I'm following sync2 to sync3 swaps that are not necessarily same vehicle to same vehicle. I'll keep posting, if anyone has anything to add, please chime in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnowStorm Posted November 6, 2019 Report Share Posted November 6, 2019 With my dead SE radio I'm looking for solutions. A complete kit is available from Crutchfield for about $500 - dash trim, touchscreen radio, harnesses and interface to CAN bus, IIRC. Of course there would be many options for the radio. About a year or so ago I was told the kit was for the standard SE radio - they didn't have anything for the Sony and I didn't ask about any kit for an SEL. Now if there was any way to go from the SE setup to a Sync 3, I would consider that too - especially for $300. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stratosurfer Posted November 6, 2019 Author Report Share Posted November 6, 2019 With my dead SE radio I'm looking for solutions. A complete kit is available from Crutchfield for about $500 - dash trim, touchscreen radio, harnesses and interface to CAN bus, IIRC. Of course there would be many options for the radio. About a year or so ago I was told the kit was for the standard SE radio - they didn't have anything for the Sony and I didn't ask about any kit for an SEL. Now if there was any way to go from the SE setup to a Sync 3, I would consider that too - especially for $300.You've got commercial solutions that we Sync2 owners do not have. I would take that Crutchfield package in a second, if they can add apple carplay/android play even better. Sync2 owners have zero options except to fix Sync2 components or upgrade/mod to Sync3. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jestevens Posted February 26, 2020 Report Share Posted February 26, 2020 (edited) I just got to drive a 2020 Fusion Hybrid yesterday and I can say I actually like Sync 2 more than I like Sync 3 - I found that I needed to glance away from the road and look at the screen for many seconds while using Sync 3, Sync 2 has more intuitive controls. Apart from that the downhill regen braking button was also in a weird place that made me stare away from the road, and the throttle response is retarded - in more ways than one. The car is only about 100lbs heavier than the C-MAX but when I'm driving it is soo slow - seems like it weighs 5,000lbs?? ..and all of that just to get 34MPG.. Sad. Was bad enough to make me wonder if someone had put standard tires on rather than LRR tires. It's a fine car to drive, if you're not in a hurry. Oh, and then I found the ECO button - which was turned off - I can't imagine what it would have been like with it on. Sorry for the rant.. Edited February 26, 2020 by jestevens Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
takingittothemax Posted May 3, 2020 Report Share Posted May 3, 2020 On 11/5/2019 at 9:36 AM, stratosurfer said: I'll keep posting here, in case anyone is following: I repaired (reset) my system with a fuse pull/replace and my sync2 system is now fully functional again, and I'm in no crisis to upgrade to Sync3. But I believe as I will keep the car at least 24 more months I will begin to source salvage yard parts to make the upgrade. I'll pass the car to one of my kids and it will have a longer life as an investment... I believe if you are careful and shop salvage yards you can get all the parts for under $300 from what I read other folks have done. I'm considering doing this for my new used 2014 SEL with MFT. I think having Android Auto/Apple CarPlay would be a huge plus, especially as I have a backseat driver who has constant Spotify requests. How much did you end up spending on parts for the Sync 3 system? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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