I started at 2.10 and my experiences are quite different than yours (3.5.1 has been extremely stable).
Do you have any ideas/theories about the large descrepency in MFT user experiences? For example, you said that 3.0.2 destroyed your car for 9 mos whereas I didn't have any major issues with it.
Not really other than the "just plain back luck" idea. This is based on both my personal experience and a lot of what I have read on here. I joined here just after I ordered my car and since I ordered my car and had some waiting time, I followed a lot of threads, especially those related to MFT, in order to gain some knowledge/tips and tricks before getting the car.
When I joined, a lot of you that got your cars before me were undergoing the transition from 2.10 to 2.11. Reading through those threads back then I remember several instances where some were experiencing certain quirks/bugs after the 2.11 update and others were not. Seemed odd that the same update applied to the same car with what should be the same hardware would vary so much by user but some seemed stuck with performance problems while others were reporting that it all went smooth. While my 2.11 had its quirks, it rebooted now and then (but not nearly as often as 3.5.1), it was my most stable experience. It was also what my car was built with so I could argue it was my only true clean install.
With 3.0.2 I got the "wind tunnel". BT calling was useless and it affected voice commands as well. Over at SMR threads started popping up about this issue. A lot of people across a lot of models got this one but certainly not everyone. Dealership tried reinstalling 3.0.2/replaced the APIM but none of it helped. A lot of time in a loaner for me and I was still stuck with the inability to make phone calls and use voice commands for music. Sitting in my driveway in ACC mode and I could get it to work but the slightest road noise, even backing out of my driveway at 5mph, killed it. I could hear the swirling noise in the background when I tried to initiate a voice command. With 3.5.1 it is better now. Still not the clarity and accuracy of 2.11 but at least usable.
In other areas I appear to have gotten luckier than some. I don't have the BT connectivity problems that some experience. Mine connects pretty reliably every time, sans the very rare hiccup. Sirius traffic/travel link remains as unreliable as it was with 3.0.2 for me (though it was never an issue with 2.11). I got the "often needing to reindex" issue with 3.5.1 that some others are experiencing while again some are not.
The 3.5.1 issues, while annoying, are certainly not debilitating like the voice command/BT calling one was w/3.0.2. While inconvenient, I can certainly either work around the issue (cycle through the map views because it decided to zoom the map out on its own for example), just wait until it gets past the issue (just let it index again even though it is already indexed for example), or run a reboot as a temporarily fix it until the issue comes back (what do you know? Sirius traffic is back after the reboot for example). Still though, didn't have to do any of the aforementioned w/2.11.
Like I said 2.11 had its quirks and not trying to sound like it wasn't without them but in my personal experience it was the least aggravating of the 3 versions. The only thing that I can recall experiencing with 2.11 that I have not experienced in subsequent versions was the "volume turning itself up on its own" bug. Fortunately that only happened to me 3-4 times over the course of 6 mos. with 2.11. Has never happened with the latter versions.
All I can think of is that it is the result of the installation process. Again, 2.11 being the best I experienced was my only install I knew was truly clean. I still have a gut feeling that the installation process goes better for some than others. I have nothing to back it up which is why it is just a gut feeling but the fact that even master resets are inconsistent makes me wonder. Sometimes a master reset wipes out all of my info. Sometimes it wipes some, such as radio presets, but leaves others, such as my phone and wallpaper. Just makes me wonder if the install process does the same. Really gets rid of the previous version for some before installing the new whereas some remnants may be left behind for others and interfere with performance once the new is installed.
And you? Any thoughts/gut feelings on your end? The biggest frustration of all is experiencing effect without knowing cause. At least when cause is known, there is a starting point to begin figuring it out.
