Consumer complaints about Ford’s new infotainment system, MyFord Touch, are not going unnoticed, as Ford prepares to send customers a free upgrade to make their system more user friendly. When the digital control system was launched last year, Ford said that it would combine modern consumer electronic screens and controls that will eventually become the industry standard. Instead, the new technology resulted in Ford dropping considerably in quality by both Consumer Reports and JD Power & Associates annual quality rankings.

Fortunately for Ford, the digital technology also makes it easy and affordable for Ford to improve the usability of the system. According to Ford’s director of electronics engineering, Graydon Reitz, the new system will be less cluttered and easier to use, with virtual buttons and voice recognition responding more rapidly in the new version. Customers with an earlier version of MyFord Touch systems will be able upgrade the systems themselves through a USB port in the car.