Back in October 2019, the Bronco6G forum discovered the off-roader’s opening animation “buried deep in the latest SYNC 3.4 software update on an F-150.” According to forum member Husker, “it was located inside the backend service menus - alongside Lincoln, ST Performance, GT500, and GT350 animation screens.” The question is, why?
Why would the Blue Oval do such a thing when the all-new Bronco is getting SYNC 4 infotainment with different software and hardware? Even more curiously, the “glitch” or “hidden feature” is still exhibited by F-150 trucks for the 2020 model year with the SYNC 3 system.
An all-new Lariat FX4 features the Bronco startup animation in the following video, uploaded on YouTube two days ago. The truck doesn’t even have a license plate, and the protective film on the infotainment system is still there, meaning that this truck is from a dealer lot.
The animation starts with some rocks rolling on the ground, then levitating up into the air to form the Bronco logo we know from Ford’s website and teasers. The mountainous background then transitions to dark blue while the Bronco logo remains centered on the screen.
Another video, uploaded in February 2020, shows the same thing although the owner “changed to the new Bronco startup using FORScan software.” When confronted about it, “eleetoburrito” told a YouTube commenter what we already knew from the Bronco6G forum. “It’s hidden in the new F-150s but you need special software to change it.”
A software scanner designed for Ford products as well as Mazda models, FORScan received an update in May. However, a more comprehensive update is coming considering what hides under the skin of the all-new F-150.
The fourteenth generation “will be the first vehicle built on Ford’s new electrical architecture and will receive regular over-the-air updates to key modules” according to the Blue Oval. The F-150 will be revealed by “company leaders during a June 26 conference call with Citi Research.”
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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