bedowyn

Good morning Mustang fans.

I am moving into a new Mustang soon, and am considering my options. 2012 vs. 2013, pros and cons. Premi vs. Base. Etc.

One of the questions that I have come across is the idea of having Synch vs. doing without it and using a replacement Pioneer head unit instead, which would include Blue Tooth.

To be clear, I want to be able to stream BT music and make and receive phone calls. My question is that if I were to get a head unit with these features, does Synch at this point become obsolete? Or are there other things that come with the Synch that I really want to keep? That it does better?

Thanks in advance for your knowledgeable answers and opinions. I apologize if this question is redundant; I was not finding my question by searching.

12blackGT

FYI It's SYNC, not Synch. IMO there is nothing aftermarket that will look as good as factory. I have the navi in my car and SYNC is 100% intergrated. SYNC controls most everything by voice commands. Or if you prefer old school the hard switches/buttons are there as well. Admitedly I don't use the trip planning aspect of the navi that much, but it's nice to have the capability there when I need it. Plus it just looks cool having the navi display my up to the second exact position on the 8 inch screen as the car moves along. The SYNC navi version also plays DVDs if the car is parked. With an easy hack all the factory blokced "in mnotion" features can be defeated. IMO well worth the money for a 2012 car.

dmhines

By the time you buy the expensive Bezel (metra or Scosche) + the required Harness + steering wheel control adapter + Sync Adapter if you want keep SYnc + the Navigation Head unit itself .... why bother? The factory Electronics package is great and would end up being only a few Hundred $$ more than all the aftermarket stuff that will never look as good as factory. Plus you have a full warranty on the factory stuff and it gets rolled into your car loan.

GTjoe49

SYNC allows BT connection to my phone and Ipod. I just have to have both devices in my pocket when I get in and the system connects my phone and stars playing the sounds from my iPod.

The various possibilities to listen to music is unlimited.

Great system.

Chromeshadow

I really dislike sync. I have a Android/Galaxy phone with all of the latest updates, when I get in the car sometimes it syncs to my phone, sometimes it does not. Sometimes it drops out at random. When syncing, it has to babble "sync is connecting to your phone and is reminding you that 911 assist is turned to off", Instead of giving a beep and letting you use your phone. The noise rejection is so poor I can only use it when I'm stopped. None of the text features work and many of the features that do work, like the phone book, are disabled while driving. There is nothing sync does that a $35.00 blue tooth headset cannot do better. btw, any blue tooth headset will work with the "voice recognition" capability in my Galaxy phone. I'm still debating if it is worthwhile to have Ford look at it, or just turn it off.

BTW, here is the privacy policy in my sync manual:

Vehicle Health Report Privacy Notice:

....Ford may collect your cell number ...and may also collect additional vehicle information. Ford may use this information for any purpose. (Including voiding your warranty?) If you do not want to disclose your cell phone number or other vehicle information, do not run this feature or set up your vehicle health report profile at syncmyride.com.
sync is a Microsoft product, giving them your cell # and driving habits is not on my list of stuff to go along with.

flash gordon

I read some time back. They can track you where you visited, what time, etc. Even though Microsoft denied that they will used these information, you know how that goes!

12blackGT

It's true. Prior to my 2012 Mustang GT I was given a loaner 2010 F250 Super Duty Lariat to take a trip to Tenessee. The truck had SYNC as well as the navi. For the 5 days I had the truck I fully utilized it. I added phone numbers, planned destinations though the navi, etc. Before I retured the truck I wiped the system of all the data I had added and then double checked to make sure it was all gone. A couple of months later I happened to see the salesman and he told me they got a kick out of all the false names I had given to my phone book entries as well as my destinations. Turns out a couple of weeks after I gave the truck back someone from Ford came down to train the techs on servicing the SYNC system. Even though I had deleted everything and double checked it, it was all still there in logs that the system had created. Scary!

bedowyn

Hmmm... so consensus seems to be that maybe I should pony (pun) up the money for the electronics package, or go with a Blue Tooth capable head unit that does do its own Blue Tooth; it might play better with my Android phone.

Might be worth the extra $50?

As it stands, I have the dealer installing a Pioneer head unit, with the Metra bezel and all relative harnesses, including a Sat radio module and Pioneer rear view camera, all for 1200. that is about half of the electronics package and rear camera invoice.

MadStang40

Man, hearing great things about SYNC, but there is a point to be said for someone being able to track your every move, phone call, and phone information. Call me paranoid but I take out big chunks of change when I'm leaving town so I can pay in cash and no one can track my movements trough debit purchases. I don't like the possibility of anyone I don't know having the knowledge of my main contacts, location, buying habits, etc. And that little exerpt from the manual (if factual) would be enough for me to avoid it. But that's just my $0.02

12blackGT

I'm not sure how much longer you'll be able to do that. Without a doubt we are moving towards a cashless world. I recently received a cash payment of $40k. When I say cash I mean just that. $40k in $100 bills. $100 bills because according to my buyer that's the largest denomination someone outside of the USA can get. It was and remains a pain. According to my bank manager the feds are notified when anyone at any bank makes a deposit over $4k. $3,999.99 and you're good, but over 4k they know about it. Based on what I was told I rented a safety deposit box and am making deposits into the bank of $3k a week. Well under the limit.