Oh no, how will we sell our subscriptions and data if our apps aren’t as good as Apple’s?
Millions of drivers use smartphone apps to help operate their vehicles every day, but not many are satisfied with them, and it’s hard to find independent evaluations of how they work.
That’s the bottom line on customer research by J.D. Power and my own new-vehicle tests.
J.D. Power reports 38% of owners used apps developed by the automaker on at least half of their drives last year. The figure has likely increased in 2022, as the features become more widely available and sophisticated.
The FordPass app can be used to pay for electric vehicle DC fast charging.
Despite that, app problems were the third-most-frequent problem in J.D. Power’s 2021 Initial Quality Survey.
The apps, which nearly every brand offers, allow drivers to do everything from scheduling service appointments to starting a vehicle remotely, planning trips and paying for charging electric vehicles. The apps also can offer simple diagnostics like checking tire pressure or to access “Hey Alexa” onboard digital assistants.
But they frequently fail, due to problems with connectivity, incorrect information and other issues.
Many users abandon the apps in frustration.
“Owners are looking for accurate real-time information about their vehicle, which many apps are currently not providing,” said Frank Hanley, senior director of global automotive consulting at J.D. Power. “While app speeds are improving, accuracy and stability are not in many cases. The apps are also lacking many of the features that owners want, causing many owners to say that the app is providing no real value.”
That makes the whole process a waste of everybody’s time — the customers who threw their hands up in frustration and the automakers that invested significant time and talent in the apps and the features they’re supposed to control.
Smart Hitch is designed to help customers easily load trailers and better practice safe towing. Smart Hitch measures the tongue weight of a trailer being connected, to help the customer distribute trailer weight correctly. After the trailer is set up in the center touch screen, Smart Hitch calculates its tongue weight and provides guidance on weight distribution or hitch overloading on the screen, on the FordPass™ app or within the smart taillamps. The truck also will indicate if the hitch weight is too high or low and can even guide owners through properly tensioning a weight redistributing hitch. (Preproduction screens shown are subject to change.)
The apps aren’t limited to luxury brands, or even expensive vehicles. Some cars and SUVs in the heart of the market offer advanced apps.
J.D. Power says owners of domestic brands are the biggest app users, with 50% of users saying they use the app on half their drives and 27% saying they use it every time.
Common complaints included connection speed and poor explanation of features. J.D. Power studied 32 brands for its survey.
The apps can be very convenient. A test vehicle’s key fob sat on my kitchen counter for days thanks to a feature that let my phone function as the key via an app. Another app allowed me to fast-charge an electric vehicle simply by plugging it into a commercial DC charger — saving considerable time and no little frustration compared with using several different charging companies’ proprietary apps.
Unfortunately, automakers’ apps are vastly more difficult to activate than the quick and easy apps smartphone users have come to expect.
Owners can use their smartphone with the Lincoln Way app. Features include lock and unlock the vehicle, open its trunk and, most important, start and drive it – no smart key fob necessary.
I need a human for WHAT?
When I scheduled a vehicle specifically to evaluate its app, it took an expert from the automaker more than half an hour working in my driveway to connect it to the company’s server. On top of that, I was told it might take days for its features to be available, because the app department works bankers’ hours.
Human intervention? What is this, 2006?
Automakers love to think their products are uniquely complicated and significant, but millions of people have safely activated smartphone apps for vital financial and medical transactions in seconds, at their convenience, not their supplier’s.
And I got off light. A company rep came to my house. Customers, who have just handed over thousands of dollars for a new vehicle, are told they have to do it at the dealership, sometimes by scheduling an additional visit.
If the App Store worked this way, nobody would ever have cared if the birds were angry.