It's been a LONGGGG time since I posted on here. As in several years! Traded my 2022 Carbonized gray Ford Explorer ST this last weekend.....for....another......2026 Carbonized gray Ford Explorer ST. Yep, liked the car SOOOO much, I just bought the same thing.....or as close as I could get to it...so my Explorer ST went back to ZERO miles!
As no doubt just about everyone knows...there were a few minor changes....
1. Foot operated lift for tailgate is no longer available (won't miss that, I couldn't get it to work half the time)
2. Moonroof no longer opens ....it's stationary and just for viewing (I'm ok with that too....I opened mine exactly TWO times in 4 years! Won't miss it opening....but glad the shade still opens....I like that)
3. Got RWD instead of 4WD this time. Won't miss that, NEVER once used the 4WD feature on the old one...
4. Wheels....I liked my black ones better on the 22' than I like the body colored ones on the 26'. Maybe it will grow on me.........
5. Like the bigger grill up front....and the added LED lights in the back....etc.
6. And probably a few other things have changed that escape me at the moment........
And then of course (getting on topic with THIS particular thread), they've changed quite a bit on the infotainment system. SOME of the changes....I like. Some of them, I don't. The "hey google" as the main voice activation method (no more Sync), does kind of bother me. At first, I thought that was cool. And I do like having Google maps for Navigation and having apps stored right on the car (like Waze, Weather radar, etc.). But what I really DO NOT like....and I've seen it mentioned on here and other sites....is like this thread sort of talked about, issues with the voice activation using "hey google"....especially concerning USB media.
From my research I saw this - "... early reports and user discussions indicate potential issues playing music from a USB drive via voice activation in 2025-2026 Ford Explorers equipped with the Ford Digital Experience/Google built-in system. Users have reported that voice commands often fail to recognize or select music from USB drives, sometimes defaulting to apps like Spotify or SiriusXM instead."
That's exactly what I'm seeing. It can't find or play songs or artists on the USB drive using voice commands (where as Sync would do that on my 22 Explorer). And instead, it wants to randomly go to Amazon Music (that I loaded on the car system) or Pandora or Spotify....etc. And of course....I learned from other research and watching some more videos....indeed, there is no more sync for voice activation. Just quick press for Google or long press for the Android Auto system (or Apple if you are so inclined)....ie Gemini. Or...you can of course say "Hey Google". I even tried reformatting the USB with different formats (it's supposed to want FAT32, but I tried two others just in case) and I made sure all the metadata for the mp3 files is there. Still no joy. Kind of a bummer...as I have a USB drive with about 300 songs from my favorite Playlists when I used to DJ at motorcycle rallies. So I much prefer listening to a USB drive....and I like to say something like "play Phil Collins"....and then get to listen to a bunch of Phil Collins songs right in a row....like listening to an album. YES, you can of course MANUALLY (no voice command) forward thru your songs. Or MANUALLY go into the menu system....and pick a folder/album of songs by an artist...and play those. But NOT hands free with voice commands, like you could with Sync in my 22 Explorer. I'm going to REALLY miss that! Digging thru 300 songs manually...instead of by voice....is both a bit dangerous (while driving) and definitely annoying! Instead of fumbling around menus and taking my eyes off the road....I loved in Sync just saying "play In the Air Tonight"....and it would....hands free. Can't do that currently on a USB with "hey Google". I of course did do it on Amazon Music...and I'm sure you can do it on Spotify and other sources. But again, the issue seems to be JUST USB voice commands that are "broke".
The "Hey Google" seems to work for everything else I've checked on so far....like navigation....weather/temp.....what time is it....making calls....etc. I of course have not checked EVERY other possible scenario (only had the car so far 5 days!)....and sometimes I can't get it to tune to an FM freq or Sirius channel....unless I'm first using that application/mode. Ie, it seems if I'm listening to FM...and say "Hey Google, tune to Sirius Y2K" or something like that, it doesn't work....UNTIL....I'm already in the Sirius app.
Anyway, just sharing information I've seen as a longtime Explorer ST owner (got my 22 in May of 22). REALLY hope they fix this USB voice command "glitch" in some future date...maybe a firmware upgrade to the system????
