Some Serious Discussion About How to Save on Sirius

[unplugged]

Read the last entry posted by me: Its free for 5 years starting with 2015 model year vehicles.

No. The subscription on FFE and Energi products has ALWAYS been a free 5 year subscription. I just checked my Sirius account and confirmed this:

Infotainment:
Complimentary 5-Year Trial – SiriusXM Travel Link®
Trial Ends: 05/27/2018

 

[hybridbear]

Read the last entry posted by me: Its free for 5 years starting with 2015 model year vehicles.

No. The subscription on FFE and Energi products has ALWAYS been a free 5 year subscription. I just checked my Sirius account and confirmed this:

Infotainment:
Complimentary 5-Year Trial – SiriusXM Travel Link®
Trial Ends: 05/27/2018

Exactly. But where is this published? I haven't read through the OM cover-to-cover yet or sorted through all the papers in the glovebox to find a document that I can use to prove to Sirius that I should have TravelLink.

 

[WattsUp]

I haven't read through the OM cover-to-cover yet or sorted through all the papers in the glovebox to find a document that I can use to prove to Sirius that I should have TravelLink.

As unplugged alluded, the 5-year trial is only for 2015 model year vehicles. Is yours a 2015? For earlier years, I think the trial period was 6 months.

 

[unplugged]

I haven't read through the OM cover-to-cover yet or sorted through all the papers in the glovebox to find a document that I can use to prove to Sirius that I should have TravelLink.

As unplugged alluded, the 5-year trial is only for 2015 model year vehicles. Is yours a 2015? For earlier years, I think the trial period was 6 months.

No, you missed my post above. (I think we were posting at the same time.) All FFEs of all years should have a 5 year Travel Link subscription. I'll search and see if I can find this in my brochure. (Other than my actual subscription info.)

 

[unplugged]

I haven't read through the OM cover-to-cover yet or sorted through all the papers in the glovebox to find a document that I can use to prove to Sirius that I should have TravelLink.

Here is a link to a dealer with the 2014 info stating: "MyFord Mobile - With 5 year Subscription from Date of Production and 5 year SIRIUS Travel Link Subscription from Date of Production" -- Although this is not quite true, it should be from date of first sale.
http://www.north-county-ford.com/Ford/Focus%20Electric/

I didn't find any reference to complimentary subscriptions in the FFE manual. Of course, there is no mention of the 5-year MyFord Mobile subscription either.

 

[jmueller065]

I didn't find any reference to complimentary subscriptions in the FFE manual. Of course, there is no mention of the 5-year MyFord Mobile subscription either.

This C-Max Energy brochure shows

MyFord Mobile application with 5-year data subscription

http://www.ford.com/services/assets/Brochure?make=Ford&model=C-MAX&year=2013

But can't find any reference to Travel Link...
And this Focus Electric brochure says:

A 6-month trial subscription to SiriusXM Satellite Radio, Traffic and
Travel Link is also standard.

http://www.ford.com/services/assets/Brochure?make=Ford&model=Focus%20Electric&year=2013&postalCode=90210
It also has a footnote of:

MyFord Mobile subscription complimentary for 5 years. Subscription fees apply after 5 years

Well look at that....sigh wrong again! A far to often occurrence these days (just ask my wife...wait don't go there )
Yup my account also says complementary 5 year Travel Link Sub.

Alas all of this discussion doesn't help hybridbear: We still haven't found any documentation that he can point to when talking with Sirius/XM.
What you could do is attempt to register on the Sirius/XM website and see what it does (if you don't type in a credit card # you can't be charged). Or take your best shot armed with your radio ID (hit the 'i' button on the main screen then hit the "subscription info" button and write the long number down) call them and be prepared for a long call...

 

[EVA]

Oh yeah, prepare for at least a half an hour phone call. During that call the price of a subscription will change 8 times even though you never asked to subscribe, you will be given the hard sell on signing up. You'll be put on hold two or three times and you'll hear people laughing in the background.

Have a pleasant afternoon dealing with them Hybridbear. Make sure you have a recreational beverage ready for the aftermath. And stay away from you spouse or partner until the beverage kicks in.

 

[hybridbear]

Oh yeah, prepare for at least a half an hour phone call. During that call the price of a subscription will change 8 times even though you never asked to subscribe, you will be given the hard sell on signing up. You'll be put on hold two or three times and you'll hear people laughing in the background.

Have a pleasant afternoon dealing with them Hybridbear. Make sure you have a recreational beverage ready for the aftermath. And stay away from you spouse or partner until the beverage kicks in.

I didn't find any reference to complimentary subscriptions in the FFE manual. Of course, there is no mention of the 5-year MyFord Mobile subscription either.

This C-Max Energy brochure shows

MyFord Mobile application with 5-year data subscription

http://www.ford.com/services/assets/Brochure?make=Ford&model=C-MAX&year=2013

But can't find any reference to Travel Link...
And this Focus Electric brochure says:

A 6-month trial subscription to SiriusXM Satellite Radio, Traffic and
Travel Link is also standard.

http://www.ford.com/services/assets/Brochure?make=Ford&model=Focus%20Electric&year=2013&postalCode=90210
It also has a footnote of:

MyFord Mobile subscription complimentary for 5 years. Subscription fees apply after 5 years

Well look at that....sigh wrong again! A far to often occurrence these days (just ask my wife...wait don't go there )
Yup my account also says complementary 5 year Travel Link Sub.

Alas all of this discussion doesn't help hybridbear: We still haven't found any documentation that he can point to when talking with Sirius/XM.
What you could do is attempt to register on the Sirius/XM website and see what it does (if you don't type in a credit card # you can't be charged). Or take your best shot armed with your radio ID (hit the 'i' button on the main screen then hit the "subscription info" button and write the long number down) call them and be prepared for a long call...

EVA - hahahaha they can be quite pushy

We're actually thinking of subscribing to the radio service in the FFE, the offer of $20 for 5 months is pretty good. Then, when the 5 months expires you call on the last day before they auto-renew to cancel and they'll renew your service at that same price for another 5 months. Once I'm ready to call them about that I will address the TravelLink issue at the same time. I will first try registering for an online account to view the vehicles and add this car to our account.

 

[unplugged]

Once I'm ready to call them about that I will address the TravelLink issue at the same time. I will first try registering for an online account to view the vehicles and add this car to our account.

I do find it more than irritating that I can't find documentation of the "complimentary" Travel Link anywhere else but on my own Sirius account page. What if Sirius knows this and decides to just cancel the subscription of all FFE owners?

I would think a call to Ford may confirm the Travel Link complimentary 5 years. After all, they SHOULD know what they negotiated with Sirius.

 

[unplugged]

Has anyone had any success in getting Sirius to negotiate a lower price on the "Traffic" charge? (This provides the little red, yellow and greeen lines on the map.)

I just renewed again on the music (Sirius Select) at half price (now $89) for the year. This time, he just offered it to me when I told him the renewal cost was too high. No negotiation necessary.

I dropped the Traffic part of the plan, and if I really miss it, I'll subscribe again. But I do think that $45 or so a year is a high cost for just traffic.

 

[hybridbear]

Since Sirius is free right now we've been listening lots. Today I pressed the "Subscription information" button that pops up on the screen and saw what's shown below.


It says that traffic, weather, etc are all subscribed, as they should be as part of the 5 year subscription. But we don't have access to them, as indicated by the fact that the "i" button is yellow.

I'm curious if others can take a look at their subscription info and post what they see. I'd be curious to hear from both owners who paid for Sirius radio & have working TravelLink and from owners who don't pay for Sirius radio but still have working TravelLink. And, if anyone else has had the issue of losing their free TravelLink like we have then you could also post that screen shot.

Thanks!

 

[hybridbear]

So...I just tried calling Sirius. I was on the phone for 35 minutes and we got nothing accomplished. They passed me on three times to a "supervisor". In the end I was told that the selling dealership only activated a 6 month subscription for TravelLink and that they must contact Sirius to rectify this.

 

[michael]

I signed up for audio when my trial period ended some months ago, but not for traffic.

Suddenly, a few weeks ago, the traffic started working. I was surprised. Anyone else see this?

 

[hybridbear]

I signed up for audio when my trial period ended some months ago, but not for traffic.

Suddenly, a few weeks ago, the traffic started working. I was surprised. Anyone else see this?

If you go to the subscription page on the MFT screen what does it show? Traffic should be included for 60 months as part of the TravelLink package, right?

 

[davideos]

I recently saw traffic added back too.

I got my FFE in DEC 2012 with a 2 year trial. A few weeks ago, everything disappeared. I figured perhaps the Sirius was activated prior to my purchase but ending early was no big deal...I hadn't planned to continue with it anyway. Last week, I saw that all the services were back but the audio was still off. I then got a letter indicating that my trial will end in a few weeks.

I'm not sure what is going on or what will happen. I like the travel services, but it isn't a must have. Google maps provides a better real-time traffic picture. I find Sirius traffic is a bit lagging. I usually just look on google maps before leaving in rush-hour traffic. It isn't like I'm going to go on a long trip. If travel link services will stay on for 36 more months, I'll be happy.

As for audio, I'm enjoying the preview that ends tomorrow. After that, although my trial subscription isn't officially over, I will go back to a streaming audio service that's free. The bluetooth audio connection works really good.

 

[dmen]

So...I just tried calling Sirius. I was on the phone for 35 minutes and we got nothing accomplished. They passed me on three times to a "supervisor". In the end I was told that the selling dealership only activated a 6 month subscription for TravelLink and that they must contact Sirius to rectify this.

When I purchased in 12/12, sirius free trial was for 6 months only and included travelink. Maybe you got a different deal? Myfordmobile is supposed to be a 60-mo deal; sync services is supposed to be a 36-mo deal.

I haven't really missed Sirius audio nor travelink since June 2013, though I have noticed seemingly random episodes lasting a few days when traffic would temporarily show up on my Nav map. I thought the same thing was happening this month til I saw someone mention a free trial here.

I find the map traffic info not very helpful. It doesn't modify travel time estimates from Nav, which is what I'd really want. It doesn't show traffic on most surface streets whereas apple map and google map do.

And Sirius radio is pretty bad in this urban area. Anywhere there are buildings over 3 or 4 stories or there are many underpasses, ie all of Chicago, the signal cuts out.

 

[unplugged]

UPDATE: I purchased the Sirius radio, but dropped the Traffic subscription. I have been patiently waiting for the Traffic portion of my Sirius to end. It has not. I do find the traffic info on the map to be useful in the LA area. I just have to remember that the reporting of the "yellow" portion is delayed slightly in the early afternoon and lasts longer in the later morning.

I'll let you guys know if the Traffic subscription ends.

 

[michael]

Mine is showing everything as green, subscribed, although I'm only paying for audio. Maybe that was temporarily thrown in free for the free audio trial. I'll soon find out.

My favorite apps for traffic are Waze and BeatTheTraffic. I find the popups on the dash unhelpful and a bit annoying.

 

[unplugged]

My favorite apps for traffic are Waze and ...

I find using Waze in the car thoroughly confusing and amazingly distracting. I can't make out the traffic flow beyond all the little map cars all over the traffic map. Is there a better way to view traffic and get rid of all those car icons?

 

[michael]

The good thing about Waze is that if you have it do your navigation, it will very effectively move you around bottlenecks. I once had it take me onto a truck ramp for a half mile to get around congestion on a freeway. Just the other day, a co-worker was saying what a great job it did for him a few days back in the Socal rain when there were a zillion accidents.