2008 Ford Focus Coupe: Let Go of My iPod

robs beat me to it- thats the best way to solve it, and might even help prevent it from happening again.

You sure? I tried that, but when the iPod is synched (or thinks it is, apparently) none of the buttons on the face do anything. But I do promise to try once more when/if it happens again.

Ooh, the glitches I've had with my 3rd gen ipod... Man those things weren't built to last.

You should update your ipod firmware.

Most likely it's the Sync module at fault though.
You can try resetting Sync and/or updating it's firmware.

Do your USB ports work? If not it could be a hardware issue.

Is this guy's situation similar to yours?

http://www.f150online.com/forums/2009-2010-f-150/379832-sync-ipod-problems.html

http://getsatisfaction.com/ford/topics/ipod_connection_to_ford_sync_system_disconnects_itself

The symptoms you and Donna described today lead me to believe that it is.

Apparently it's a common problem with Sync.

@Dan: I had a similar issue during my road trip in the 2010 Taurus with my iPod Nano (which, at 18 mos old, is probably at least middle-aged by Apple standards). After being "synced" all day, it froze up just like this. Well, except that it was still hooked up to the Taurus -- it just cut off the tunes somewhere in West Texas. My only recourse was to let the battery run down overnight and then it allowed a recharge.

I've never had this happen in any other car, so after seeing this, I do suspect it's a Sync issue. At the same time, shame on Apple for making it so difficult to do a hard reboot. -- Erin Riches

The speed at which sw changes on iPod and requires manufacturers to respond to resulting bugs is a challenge for any iPod- supported product. Apple is also notorious for making changes to sw/hw without letting their 3rd parties know. I've lived that nightmare first hand.

I'd blame the iPod. :-) But that's just me.

99% sure it's an Ipod issue. It happens all the time on them. I'm surprised that this is the first time you've had to deal with a freeze on yours quite frankly.

"99% sure it's an Ipod issue. It happens all the time on them. I'm surprised that this is the first time you've had to deal with a freeze on yours quite frankly."

+1, mine has frozen a lot on me. The middle+top button method usually works, though once I had to keep plugging it into my computer until it recognized it.

Wow. Your iPod is identical to mine. Case an everything...

Definately the iPod, and you need to reset it when that happens. Follow dougtheeng's comment on how to reset it.

This has happened to me before with my Civic. It's a firmware glitch. Every time it's happened, the Center+Menu button reboot worked like a charm.

Apple has also told me over the phone that plugging it in to the wall charger while rebooting might occasionally be necessary, but i've never had to.

@Erin Riches:

Have you tried this method before? It should work just as well as letting the battery drain, but takes infinitely less time.

Definitely the ipod. My second gen had this same problem when disconnecting from my computer, as well as many, many other problems. I had to use the "middle button and menu button" reset, as well as the reset accessed through itunes, more often than Ctrl-alt-del on my PC. Take that, Apple fanboys.

@actualsize/Dan:

It doesn't seem to respond until it will suddenly reboot after a few moments of pressing the button. Sometimes it won't work on the first try either.

Sometimes the menu/center button press will take a few seconds (upwards of 10 occasionally) to reboot. I never have this problem with my MB, but on my old 4x4 I have a Pioneer aftermarket iPod stereo, and sometimes it will lockup and give me an error message. The reset works unfailingly.

I've had similar problems on my 135. When it happens, it always happens at startup. One time the iPod was hung as if you were mid-scroll and the reset, battery drain and the other usual tricks did nothing to resurrect it -- Apple replaced it no questions asked. The second time, the iPod was hung and would not reset. After ~24 hours of letting the battery drain, I plugged it back in and all was well.

The procedure is slightly different depending upon which model ipod you have.

Take a look at the Apple Support Document

iPods:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1320

iPod Touch / iPhone:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1430

I have actually had almost every model iPod from the 1st gen 5gb model in 2001 to the latest iPhone 3gs. I got an ipod connector in my Infiniti FX45 about 3 years ago and have never had a problem of the iPod locking up.

Focus UPDATE: The above hang-up happens EVERY time I hook to the Focus--I've been running errands all day and it has done it each time without fail.

The Menu-Center reset procedure works like a charm, though it's annoying that this amounts to standard operating procedure. When I go back inside the house after disconnecting in the middle of an hour-long podcast, for example, the reset procedure wipes out any memory of where I was, so I have to start the podcast over and scroll forward. Very annoying.

I'm going to classify this as a SYNC software problem, because 1) an iPod is an iPod. If you're going to supoort it, then support it. Sure, there are several versions, but others seem to manage it, and this one is the Classic, so it's been around awhile 2) I've connected this very iPod to dozens of other cars, representing just about every brand of car, and this has never happened with them. The only slightly similar incident happened in our Ford Flex, another SYNC machine.

If this is the way it has to go down, then I'm going to go old-school and use the AUX jack in order to bypass SYNC altogether.

@msdaisy: nope, not the same deal at all.