Ford BlueCruise is a hands-free driver assistance feature designed to make highway driving easier, more enjoyable, and less stressful. Available on select Ford and Lincoln vehicles, BlueCruise enables true hands-free driving on over 130,000 miles of prequalified highways across the U.S. and Canada, known as Hands-Free Blue Zones.
What is Ford BlueCruise?
Ford BlueCruise is an advanced driver assistance system that allows drivers to remove their hands from the wheel in designated Hands-Free Blue Zones. Key features include:
- Hands-Free Highway Driving: Operates on divided highways prequalified for hands-free driving.
- Visual Indicators: Blue lighting on the instrument cluster shows when the vehicle is in a hands-free zone.
- Driver Monitoring: A driver-facing camera ensures the driver keeps their eyes on the road for safety.
How BlueCruise Works
BlueCruise revolutionizes driving with its advanced hands-free technology, seamlessly guiding you through prequalified highway sections known as Blue Zones. Here’s how it works:
Step 1: Enter the Blue Zone
When your vehicle detects that it has entered a Blue Zone, you’ll receive a notification on your instrument cluster indicating that BlueCruise is ready to activate. These designated highway stretches are pre-mapped to ensure optimal hands-free functionality, offering you an effortless driving experience.
Step 2: Activate BlueCruise
Engaging BlueCruise is as simple as pressing the Adaptive Cruise Control button on your steering wheel. Once activated, the system takes over critical functions like lane centering, speed adjustments, and steering—all while keeping you in full control, with the ability to manually override at any time.
Step 3: Hands-Free Driving Made Easy
With BlueCruise engaged, you can experience the convenience of hands-free driving. The system supports features like Lane Change Assist, enabling smooth lane shifts with just a tap of the turn signal, and In-Lane Repositioning, which adjusts your vehicle’s position to create more space from nearby vehicles. You can relax and focus on the journey while BlueCruise manages the technical details of staying safe on the road.
BlueCruise Key Innovations
Ford BlueCruise is an advanced driver assistance system that allows drivers to remove their hands from the wheel in designated Hands-Free Blue Zones. Key features include:
- 360° Awareness: Equipped with external sensors, the system constantly monitors your surroundings, keeping your vehicle centered and ensuring a safe distance from others on the road.
- Dynamic Mapping: Advanced connected maps guide your vehicle through Blue Zones, ensuring accurate and reliable navigation.
- Driver Monitoring Technology: A specialized camera tracks your eye movement and head position, ensuring you stay attentive and engaged while BlueCruise handles the driving.
Key Features of BlueCruise 1.4
The latest version of BlueCruise, BlueCruise 1.4, brings transformative updates to enhance hands-free driving. Each feature is designed to provide a safer, smoother, and more intuitive driving experience:
Enhanced Curve Handling:
Navigating sharp curves has never been easier. BlueCruise 1.4 intelligently adjusts your vehicle’s speed to maintain stability and control, ensuring a smoother transition through tight bends. This feature reduces the need for manual intervention, allowing for seamless navigation even on winding roads.
Greater Lane Stability:
BlueCruise minimizes the “side-to-side” swaying often experienced during long drives or on uneven roads. This feature ensures that your vehicle stays centered in the lane with pinpoint accuracy, resulting in a steady ride that enhances both comfort and confidence, especially on highways.
Improved All-Weather Performance:
Weather conditions can significantly impact driving, but BlueCruise 1.4 is built to handle them with ease. Whether it’s pouring rain, glaring sunlight, or foggy mornings, the system maintains hands-free mode longer than ever before. This enhancement improves reliability, allowing you to stay focused on your journey while BlueCruise adapts to the environment.
Lane Change Assist
Changing lanes is effortless with Lane Change Assist. With a simple tap of the turn signal, the system scans the road for clearance and smoothly shifts your vehicle into the next lane. This feature reduces driver effort and increases safety, particularly in busy traffic situations.
In-Lane Repositioning
BlueCruise goes beyond lane centering by offering subtle, intelligent adjustments to your vehicle’s position within the lane. For example, if another vehicle is driving too close to the lane line, BlueCruise can create extra space by slightly repositioning your car. This added flexibility enhances safety and reduces stress, particularly in crowded or narrow lanes.
Availability & Updates
BlueCruise is accessible across a wide range of Ford and Lincoln vehicles, ensuring hands-free driving technology is within reach for many drivers.
Ford Models with BlueCruise
BlueCruise is available on popular Ford vehicles, including:
- F-150
- F-150 Lightning
- Expedition
- Explorer
- Mustang Mach-E
Lincoln Models with BlueCruise
The entire Lincoln lineup, with model years dating back to 2021, also supports BlueCruise, offering luxury drivers a seamless integration of hands-free driving technology.
BlueCruise 1.4 Rollout
The latest version, BlueCruise 1.4, comes pre-installed on select 2025 models, such as the Ford F-150 and Lincoln Navigator. For existing vehicles, this advanced hands-free system will be introduced through software updates, allowing owners to experience the enhanced features without needing to upgrade their vehicle.
This expansive availability and commitment to updates make BlueCruise a standout in autonomous driving technology, bringing convenience and innovation to drivers across the Ford and Lincoln brands.
Cost of BlueCruise
Consumers can choose between subscription or one-time purchase options. Pricing varies by model year:
- 2025 Model Year
- $495/year: Annual subscription.
- $2,495 one-time purchase: Covers a minimum of seven years. (Save 28% vs. annual renewal over seven years.)
- 2024 Model Year
- $700/year: Annual subscription.
- $2,100 for 3 years: Available at purchase (up to $615 savings with bonus cash).
- Post-Trial Pricing
- $49.99/month: After the complimentary 90-day trial.
- $495/year: Annual renewal option.
BlueCruise vs. Ford Co-Pilot360
Ford Co-Pilot360 is a suite of driver-assist technologies, including Adaptive Cruise Control and
Lane Keeping. BlueCruise builds upon these features, adding hands-free highway driving
capabilities for a more advanced driving experience.
Enhancing the Hands-Free Highway Driving Experience with BlueCruise 1.4
With the latest update to BlueCruise—version 1.4—Ford has achieved a significant leap forward in hands-free highway driving. This update ensures that drivers can spend more time in hands-free mode with fewer interruptions, allowing for a smoother and more reliable journey.
Exceptional Hands-Free Performance
Internal testing highlights that BlueCruise 1.4 delivers impressive improvements over previous versions, staying engaged in hands-free mode:
- 8x longer compared to BlueCruise 1.0
- 5x longer compared to BlueCruise 1.2
This milestone ensures extended periods of uninterrupted hands-free driving, making it easier than ever to enjoy long-distance travel.
Longer Average Distance in Hands-Free Mode
BlueCruise 1.4 stands out in its ability to maintain hands-free engagement over longer distances. As shown in the chart, it outperforms earlier versions, including BlueCruise 1.0, 1.2, and 1.3, ensuring drivers can cover more miles without the need for manual intervention.
Greater In-Lane Stability
Beyond increasing hands-free engagement time, BlueCruise 1.4 has also significantly enhanced in-lane stability. Compared to earlier iterations, the latest version reduces in-lane deviations, ensuring precise vehicle positioning and a more seamless driving experience. This improvement underscores Ford’s dedication to advancing highway safety and convenience.
FAQS
- Consumer Reports’ Top-Rated System: BlueCruise is recognized for its reliability and
performance. - Available Across Multiple Vehicles: From gas-powered to hybrid and electric models, BlueCruise
fits various lifestyles and needs. - Ongoing Improvements: Continuous updates ensure the best driving experience.
- For more information or to add BlueCruise to your vehicle, consult your local Ford dealer or visit
ford.com/bluecruise.
- At vehicle purchase, customers have the option to buy a 1-year plan for $495 or a One-Time
Purchase for $2,495. At the end of the initial complimentary trial or included plan duration,
customers can choose to purchase a monthly subscription for $49.99 or an annual subscription
for $495. - For 2024 model year vehicles configured with a 3-year option, and 2025 model year Explorers
ordered before September 30th, 2024, incentives are available to reflect the latest pricing –
discuss with your local dealer. - Pricing is subject to change.
- The BlueCruise One-Time Purchase option enables customers to make a single upfront payment for a minimum of 7 years of BlueCruise service, with no additional payments required to maintain access. If BlueCruise is technically available beyond 7 years, no additional cost will be required.
- Please note that BlueCruise is tied to your vehicle’s VIN and cannot be transferred to another VIN. If you sell your Ford, the new owner will benefit from the BlueCruise service as well.
No. Only select new 2024 and 2025 BlueCruise equipped vehicles are available for a one-time purchase option. It is available at vehicle order starting on select 2025 vehicle lines. Customers who purchase a new 2024 or 2025 BlueCruise equipped vehicle at their local dealer will be eligible to upgrade to the one-time purchase option.
- Watch the ‘how to’ video here
- One-time setup:
- Download the FordPass® App and add your VIN
- Activate your FordPass Connect modem on your vehicle’s center screen display
- In the vehicle’s center screen display, turn on Lane Centering with Hands-Free, Select settings icon Drive Assistance > Adaptive Cruise Control > Lane Centering with Hands-Free
- Once you’re on the road:
- Select the Adaptive Cruise Control button on your steering wheel
- Make sure your Lane-Keeping System is activated. If it isn’t, press the button on your steering wheel.
- Your instrument panel will turn blue and the hands-free Icon will appear when you enter a hands-DD
- Drive hands-free with your eyes on the road
- To confirm you’ve got the newest features active, check your in-vehicle settings:
- In the vehicle’s center-screen display, turn on Lane Centering with Hands-free, select Settings icon > Driver Assistance > Adaptive Cruise Control > Lane Centering with Hands-Free*
*Don’t drive while distracted or while using handheld devices. Use voice-operated systems when possible. Some features may be locked out while the vehicle is in gear. Not all features are compatible with all phones.
- You can verify your vehicle’s Ford BlueCruise availability and status on your Ford Account under the Connected Services tile. If your vehicle has Ford BlueCruise capabilities, it will appear here and include your status, as well as the date your service began.
- BlueCruise 1.0 – Builds on available Adaptive Cruise Control and Lane Centering to add hands-free driving capabilities on prequalified sections of divided highways called hands-free Blue Zones.
- BlueCruise 1.2 – Adds new features including In-Lane Repositioning (which can give you more space by subtly shifting away from vehicles in adjacent lanes) and Lane Change Assist (tapping your turn signal to initiate a hands-free lane change).
- BlueCruise 1.3 – Helps you stay engaged longer in hands-free mode by improving performance, with greater ability to navigate narrow lanes and curves.
- BlueCruise 1.4 – Delivers greater in-lane stability, while automatically and smoothly adjusting the vehicle’s speed in even more curves, allowing for more hands-free time and a more continuous drive.
- BlueCruise 1.5 – Adds new Automatic Lane Change feature, which enhances the hands-free highway driving experience by smoothly and seamlessly initiating an automatic lane change to help keep you moving at the speed of traffic.
Yes. With Lane Change Assist (introduced in BlueCruise 1.2), you can change lanes hands-free by tapping your turn signal. The latest BlueCruise 1.5 adds Automatic Lane Change, which initiates seamless lane changes to match traffic flow.
Ford BlueCruise is a hands-free highway driving system available in prequalified Hands-Free Blue Zones. It enhances driver comfort and safety by combining technologies like Intelligent Adaptive Cruise Control and Lane Centering.
BlueCruise uses cameras and sensors to monitor the road, maintaining your lane position and adjusting speed automatically. A driver-facing camera ensures you stay attentive while the system operates hands-free in designated Hands-Free Blue Zones.
BlueCruise is available on nine vehicle lines, including:
- Ford: F-150, F-150 Lightning, Expedition, Explorer, Mustang Mach-E.
- Lincoln: Full lineup dating back to 2021.