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'Ford, Fix This': Woman Listens To Spotify. Then She Notices Something Strange About Her Ford Fusion Steering Wheel Controls

'I have major beef with my Ford Fusion right now.'

Woman Listens To Spotify

Photo by: Unsplash.com

Steve Ecker

By: Steve Ecker

Mar 26, at 11:00am ET

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A woman has technical issues with her Ford Fusion steering wheel when using Spotify on her drive home.

In a TikTok, Morgan Gary (@morgangary1) shows that her Ford Fusion steering wheel is no longer synced with the infotainment system when using Spotify. In a text overlay, Gary writes, "My Beef With My Ford Fusion."

Gary paints the picture by revealing the disconnection issue between the infotainment system and the steering wheel. While on a long drive home, Gary shares that she is listening to a podcast and has trouble skipping the ads with the steering wheel. She explains that she can do the 15-second skip on the infotainment screen but can’t do it on the steering wheel itself.

"I can skip through ads using this [infotainment system], but I cannot skip through ads using this [steering wheel]," she shares.

Here’s the kicker: She shares that the steering-wheel skip-forward works on other audio files outside the podcast. "This [steering wheel] allows me to skip ahead 15 seconds … on anything else but ads," Gary reveals.

As the steering wheel can be a simple, intuitive way to use the skip-ahead feature, Gary complains about the disconnection issue. "Why are you making me lean all the way up to that? That’s so dangerous," she shares, referring to having to lean forward to use the infotainment screen.

She then plays out a hypothetical in which she is smaller and imagines the struggles of skipping the ads as challenging. "Ford, fix this," she concludes.

Motor1 asked Gary if she had figured out this issue with her Ford Fusion. "No, I didn’t. I couldn’t skip forward during an ad with the buttons on the steering wheel," Gary says.

Commenters on the post reiterated concerns about Ford’s internal electronics, and one offered a suggestion to fix it.

"Ford speakers and radios suck my screen is black and won’t turn back on so I can’t adjust any settings," one TikTok commenter said.

"Unhook your battery for ten minutes and hook it back up. Should be a 10mm socket. It’ll reset the electronics. Otherwise it could be your wiring," another suggested.

Are You No Longer Allowed To Skip Spotify Podcast Ads While Driving?

Podcasters are able to earn income from Spotify when they are accepted into the Spotify Partner Program. When podcasts are part of this program, Spotify will automatically add ad breaks directly into the podcast episodes themselves. The podcast does not choose what ads are played during the episode, as Spotify handles the ad insertion.

Typically, for the Spotify listener, there is an option to skip ahead 15 seconds in the episode to move through. However, this feature may not be an option anymore, even with premium subscribers.

Turns out, Gary isn’t the only driver dealing with this same issue. Other drivers, including fellow Ford drivers, have shared on Reddit experiencing the exact same issue. The thread listed the following question: "Did Spotify disable the skip button for ads injected into podcasts for premium members?"

"I can't skip ads using the steering wheel buttons anymore. They must've done something...." one Reddit user commented.

"Happened to me too. Drive a Ford Escape. I can skip on the carplay screen but not on the steering wheel," another added.

"Yes, I am seeing the same thing. I am pretty sure it's a conscious decision by Spotify to increase revenue by ensuring ads are being listened to so advertisers are happy. This is definitely not a bug as its the same for all interfaces be it my Garmin Watch or AirPods," one speculated.

Additionally, one Spotify user said they contacted Spotify support, asking for clarification whether this is a new feature or just a bug.

"Every time I contacted support it was a copy-pasted answer about ‘thanks for the feedback!' or they just said one of the above; every time it was a different answer. It is absolutely crazy to me that support for a company cannot tell me, with confidence, which it is," they said.

The discourse between the commenters appears to agree that Spotify must have done something. This is especially frustrating for premium members, considering that they have opted into paying for the subscription to avoid listening to ads. By doing this, Spotify could lose subscribers.

"I am terminating my subscription. What a way to disrespect paying customers," one shared.

While there is no official word from Spotify addressing this, the general consensus is that Spotify implemented this to ensure advertisers are being fully listened to.

How Do You Troubleshoot This?

While it’s unofficial whether Spotify has installed this no-skip feature on podcasts itself, one thing Ford drivers can do is restart the infotainment system.

For Ford vehicles with SYNC, a system reset can be done by holding down the volume knob and the skip forward button at the same time for 10 seconds.

One thing to note is that by doing a factory reset, any previous settings will be wiped out. This includes Bluetooth-connected devices, music radio preferences, and navigation settings.

In addition to this, the battery can be unplugged for 10 minutes to reset the electronics.

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Another thing to note is that the steering wheel buttons may be faulty and no longer work properly. The spring clock within the steering wheel may need to be replaced.

Motor1 has contacted Ford via email. We've also contacted Spotify through a website submission form. We will update this story if either party responds.

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