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No there aren't many at all. In fact he's the only one within 50 miles. He says he doesn't do many private installs. The dealer sends him the car, he does what the customer wants and then the dealers jack up the price. All parts are ford branded and it's covered under the vehicles 3/36 warranty because it is technically ford installed. He was in the yellow pages with the ford logo and everything and listed as "authorized."
The changer's warranty is only 1 year but since it's installed by "ford" it's 3/36 and if I have any trouble I still go to the dealer and he'll end up sending it to this guy.
He said he charged the public the same price he charges the dealer.
If you use the AVC and select a high setting like +6 or +7, you should notice a dramatic change in volume as you speed up to highway speeds, then exit the freeway and slow down.
Of COURSE he swapped out your CD head unit with a cassette unit at "no cost"... Because he made money on the deal, that's why! If you are happier in the end, splendid, but don't for a moment think he did it for any altruistic reasons... He can now charge someone who has a cassette head unit to swap into a CD head unit.
SHOV6
road salt is a killer on paint surface. i do not
like car wash systems that utilize brushes.
there are good spray only systems that do a
fairly decent job. some are automatics that
are completely brushless.
It's happened to me a couple of times very recently, where suddenly the volume will crank up dramatically.
Apparently, according to some of the service bulletins, it's restricted only to the automatic cars, where you've got the AVC fundtion of the radio/CD player turned on : something to do with the speed sensor signal being received by the radio. Anyhoo, it seems to happen when I'm impatient and quickly moving from park to reverse, and then quickly from reverse to drive.
(You know what it's like first thing in the morning and you're late for work....)
I'll see if it stops happening when I take it easy with the shifter.
The Antenna DOES screw off. I tried this myself to see, but I don't go to car washes. In my opinion, I'd rather it stay dirty than run through a car wash with dirt and salt from everyone elses car rubbing against mine. If you do go, make sure they tape down the rear wiper.
The AVC works great and you hardly even notice it woking. I have mine set to +4. You might need to experiment.
Jimmyzx3: Where did you find:
bright yellow fog bulbs
Euro style tail lamps
Or are you still searching??
I have a Kona Focus with the 16 inch wheels and I live in Minnesota. We've had a snowy winter so far and unfortunately my Focus has performed rather poorly. I guess it's because of the lightweight and big, wide wheels. There have been times when I've lost total control at less than 20 mph. I looked for agressive snow tires and, although they're out there, they are pretty pricey.
My advice is to drive slow and carefully. This isn't a good winter car--at least with the 16 inch wheel and tire combo.
I really like hatchback cars but i dont know whether it is useful to go for them and secondly
which makes are good to go for.
Also hatchback and coupes are they same?
Please advice..
I also went to the dealer, and I asked the foreman of the auto shop, he said if I messed with the sensors in the exhaust my warranty would be voided! He said I could only install a muffler? I want the rumble of an exhaust, I just dont know who is screwing with me, and I dont want to take any chances! Yellow fog bulbs? Sweet!!! I was thinking of changing them to hyper whites from PIAA, but yellow is a much nicer touch!! I ordered my brake pedals today from KKM, and a MOMO shift nob.
I forgot, FOrd Motorsports emailed me, and stated that they would not be held responsible for warranty coverage. Sounds like we are getting different stories here buddy. If I got miss lead, then now I am in a spot where I didnt want to be. Who do I trust????
Anyways I love the car!!! Fun and more fun to drive!!! Sluggish, I dont think so!!! It could use more juice, but that could be easly fixed. So many aftermarket parts, so little time and money!!! The Sentra, well the styling is butt ugly, but then again beauty is in the eye of the beholder!! performance wise, I now the Focus numbers, but I am in the dark with Sentra! Handling and steering hands down go to the Focus!! No questions asked!! Even the Honda doesnt match up to the Focus. It is the best front wheel drive car in America or the price paid. I test drove the Civic, can you say boring!! The styling is, well, look at it, you tell me!!
True the Focus has problems, some that I wish I never encounter!! Ford has to see the potential of this vechicle and its owers!! Treat us with excellent service, and improve realiblity, and ooh my it would be a perfect car!! Well wait and see, this could be the begining of a great car, or just of another Ford ( remember the Festiva).
Any how love the car so far, cant complain, I am impressed by it!!
carlady
Host
News & Views and Hatchbacks Message Boards
Thanks for the warning on snow performance. So far the car has performed well (traction wise)
on wet and slightly slippery roads where there wasn't enough snow accum. to cover the blacktop completely. I'm currently putting the squeeze on the dealer to swap some original 15
inch wheels and tires for the 16 inchers the car came with. I guess I knew not to expect good
snow performance out of the 16 inchers but the car was in stock and I couldn't pass up the price. Ordering the same vehicle would have taken 8 weeks (so they say, more like 15 weeks
I bet) and the new orders seem to reflect an increase in invoice price as well. I think the zx3 is
probably going to be a hard to get item, especially in out of the way places with small dealers.
I guess we will just run the 4 wheel and all wheel drives when the weather is bad and put the
miles on the zx3 the rest of the year. Who knows maybe I'll end up with 15 inchers and be
happy with them. The zx3 was mainly bought to be a disposable car anyway but it seems a
little too nice and a little too much fun to drive to be called a disposable car.
leak.i know silver bullet and others have reported this problem. i did notice that some fluid was seeping out of filler neck when pouring in.possible
cracks in system? new problem for my growing list.
as far as snow traction goes,the stock 15 goodyear
eagle ga does a fine job for me. despite the new
problem, the car drives fine.
Synthetic lubes - I run Mobil 1 5W-30 in the engine, and Redline MT-90 in the 5-speed transaxle. Swapped to synthetics at about 1K miles. 5W-30 is recommended in the manual, so I've stuck with that recommendation, and I've stayed with the Motorcraft FL-2005 filter as well. No problems, gas mileage in the mid to upper 20's with mostly city driving.
As for synthetic oil: save your money. There is no conclusive evidence that synthetic oil is any benefit to consumer level vehicles. Consumer Reports doesn't think it's worth it either. It's like putting 93 octane gas when 87 is all anyone needs (except certain luxury/performance models). The best thing you can do is to follow the maint. schedule.
Also, NEVER...EVER... use oil additives. They're useless and can be damanging.
Here's some quotes from CR: "Advertising touts big differences in performance among motor oils, but when we tested name-brand oils in taxicabs four years ago, driving each cab 60,000 miles, all the brands worked about the same--very well. We've also found no advantage in using oil additives such as STP or Slick 50."
"Some synthetic oils, including Mobil 1 and Pennzoil Performax, are pricier than most and didn't give a performance edge in our taxi tests. In our lab tests, however, they flowed particularly well at very low temperatures yet maintained their viscosity at very high temperatures. Such oils may be a good choice if you drive hard in very hot or cold weather, or if you often tow heavy loads."
"Roughly half of our survey respondents had their car's oil changed at a car dealer, one-quarter used an independent garage, and one-quarter used an oil-change chain.
All shops left most readers at least very satisfied. Still, some did better than others. Lexus, Saturn, and Cadillac dealers garnered top marks; independent garages and a number of other dealers did nearly as well. The chains were lower in the Ratings.
You needn't use your car-dealer's shop to keep your new-car warranty intact. Should a problem arise, you normally have only to prove the work was done at the recommended interval--something you can do with an itemized receipt from any garage.
Bottom line: For a routine oil change, try a trusted local garage, and keep the receipt"
fdanna, good info about synthetics, but CU's own words tell the story - "... if you drive hard in very hot or cold weather...". Synthetics are worth it, IMHO, especially when I push my car hard during the summer when the ambient air temp is often over 100 degrees F. Small four cylinder engines are almost always working hard, and need all the extra protection they can get.
Anyone have any experience with or advice for using the lemon laws?
I'm waiting for my third B pillar trim replacement. The clip on the passenger trim was missing, so I thought I would purchase a clip and pop it in. I discovered that I couldn't buy just the clip. It comes with the complete B pillar trim. So I asked the dealer to do a warranty repair during one of the recalls. After the repair was done, the seat belt wouldn't move. The height adjuster on the trim jammed the belt, and the adjuster broke. I took it back for another replacement. Again, when I picked up the car, the passenger seat belt was jammed by the height adjuster. I noticed that the driver belt had been moved, and I discovered that the driver's belt was now jammed. To drive the car, I had to break the trim to get the seat belt to move. Now I'm waiting for a new set of B pillar trim. It appears to me that the height adjuster is flimsy and easily broken.
a new brake pad for the focus. this is in response to the extraordinary number of complaints concerning the squealing and excessive dust. silver bullet ,the ebc pads that you are fond of, are well-known in this area
and come highly-recommended by many.
usually only carried by import or exotic car
shops here.the new ebc rotors are good news
as well. would you mind posting again the info
on the pirelli tires you had purchased and your
thoughts on the performance of same. my first
upgrades will be planned for early spring will be the new ebc pads and rotors as well as tires. im keeping the stock wheels.i have visited the tire rack site you have mentioned previously.its very impressive. they will even drop ship to the installer. seems like a good place to do business.
It happened when my gage was reading almost empty, and I decided to fill the tank up, but when I turned the ignition to on, the fuel gage marked the same spot, almost empty!!! I know I filled the tank to full, wierd? I left the instrument panel on, meaning tach on, but that shouldnt matter. I think i have a faulty gas sensor, Humm, ohh well it is not a bid concern though!! I will take the car to the dealers shop, and see how friendly the customer service is?
I will get back to you with my findings? Hopefully all goes well!! Drive safely, and have fun people!!!
KONA
1. Pirelli P6000 tires, size 195/60VR-15, mounted on stock alloys. The factory 15" alloys are hard to beat as far as light weight is concerned. I actually purchased a set of take-off alloys on Ebay, shipped them to the Tire Rack, and had them mount and balance the Pirellis. I've dealt with the Tire Rack for almost 15 years and can't say enough good things about their workmanship. The tires have been terrific, and make quite a difference in how the car handles and brakes.
2. EBC Green Stuff Kevlar pads - another worthwhile mod. Quiet, clean, solid brake performance. I'd do the rotors at the same time for the full effect - rotors weren't available when I installed my pads.
The question/problem I have is 1) I hear a rattling (plastic pieces) in the front of the car. It only happens when I drove over 55. Not sure what it is. One thiung I do know is that if I take the car in they "won't be able to reproduce sound". Anyone else?
2) My door creak when they close or open. Will ubing help/correct it? I'm hoping so.
Thanks !
I have ~7500 miles on my zx3 and the only problem I've noticed is the difficulty in shifting into first and second when it's cold out. I'm also averaging around 30 mpg with 80% highway. I am very satisfied with this car, it's much, much better than the '90 Grand Am I had.
People will really notice a difference with the P6000's, very nice but they seem to wear fairly quickly in hard driving.
My car with the 5spd now averages 33/34mpg on the freeway and 25mpg in mostly in town driving. I also have the advance-trac, which is great in snow and ice (a little noisy but it really works).
I have not had an opportunity to slolam in the dry yet so I still can't report on that yet.
I have had problems shifting into second gear when the car is cold but that is the only problem so far. Marbe they finally have got it right.
I decided to change my transaxle lube to RedLine one. What is the exact type of that thing? (Where to buy?)
I could only find RedLine D4 ATF at http://www.focussport.com/pfluids.htm. Is that the correct one? Moreover could this change impact my warranty somehow?
What is the decent quality engine oil and oil filter model?
Thanks.
Robert
Where to buy back door/hatch mounted mountain bike carrier? How much that thing costs? Is it possible to buy it online? Is it much worse that roof mounted?
Thanks
Robert
rmitos- www.redlineoil.com
Rob Fruth - Houston, Tx
http://freeweb.pdq.net/rfruth
1981 Raleigh for commuting, errands & fun
1997 Trek 2300 for real fun !
2000 Civic hatchback (almost a ZX3)
Redline MLT
Redline MT-90
Redline D4 ATF
What happens if I use MT-90 in my manualT ZX3?
Thanks.
Robert
and the 4 cylinder Cougar? Thanks much.
Doing aftermarket work on the car only voids the warranty on the specific parts and possibly some relationship parts. (ie: put on exhaust system, and a valve burns up, possible connection there). Like I said it is a case-by-case issue. This is what my service dept. told me. It may vary from dealer to dealer. I hope this clears this up! But I would stick to what your dealer has told you.
Most others: Regarding gas mileage!! IF (notice big if) you shift at precisely the proper time indicated in the owners manual, NEVER downshift to slow down, ALWAYS stay at 55 mph on the highway, have your tires ALL perfectly inflated, you weigh a certain amount (I don't know, so don't ask) and drive when there is no wind, then, yes you may get the 33 (or so) MPG Ford claims. But, I assume most people don't drive this way.
All the factors listed above (and more) play a huge part in a vehicles gas mileage. I could care less about this (for lack of a better word) issue. I love the car, its fun to drive, its quick and its easy on the eyes!!! This car is TOO MUCH fun to drive to be concerned with 5 to 8 (average complaint I've seen) miles per tankful of lost mileage.
Enjoy the car!!!!!, most other "fuel efficient" cars are ugly, unresponsive and can put you to sleep faster the past presidential debates. Have some fun for pete-sake!!!!!
Did anybody try this voodoo shift knob? Does it fit ok or does it need adjustments on ZX3?
http://store.yahoo.com/dealeralternative/satspunfi
nvo.html
Is it possible to buy Puma's shift knob here in USA?
Thanks
Robert
If you do all the things you mentioned, you won't meet the 33mpg rating on the sticker, you will likely exceed it by a noticeable amount. I am doing over 30mpg on the highway running at 70mph, haven't checked my tire pressures since I drove the car off the lot, and so on and so forth. It's not hard to equal the rated mileage, since the process by which they arrive at the number involves a test driver doing a certain cycle, taking the actual mileage s/he received, and then SUBTRACTING a certain amount, which I believe is 15%. You should be able to get over 35 if you baby it like you suggested.
Case in point? My dear, departed '92 Taurus SHO. The sticker said it should do 26mpg on the highway. Even up to the point I traded it in, after 8 years, 144k miles, no tuneup in two years, blowing oil past the valve guides, no alignment in over a year... Routinely, on my 280mi trip back and forth from upstate NY to suburban NYC, it would do 28mpg, on hilly terrain at an average of 70mph. In mixed driving, 23mpg was typical. The best I ever did with that car was 33mpg on a longer highway trip on flat land, nearly 600 miles on one tank. For the record, 33mpg (7 more than the EPA rating) is 27% better than the rating on the sticker, and THAT trip was done at 75mph average (whilst moving), with 60 minutes sitting idling in traffic in Atlanta... So the mileage would have been even BETTER if I'd simply been able to roll the whole time. Let's not even think how my posterior felt after not getting out of the driver's seat for over 8 hours!
Keep in mind that I am still mystified why my mileage with that 220hp, 3300-lb car was almost identical to that I get in my 2550-lb, 130hp car. Is this what technology gets us?
SHOV6
I wasn't getting technical, I wasn't offering ideas on how to get the best mileage or tossing out a bunch of useless comparison figures that no one cares to read anyway. And the LAST thing I want to do is think about your posterior!!!
:>)
I was just throwing in my feelings on the mileage subject. There are more important things to worry about, thats all!!!!
Ed.
When I bought the key,($23)one of the mechanics over heard, snickered and said "it won't work". He explained how to program it,which was exactly what I had read in the owners manual. Well, he was right! He added that in order for it to work, he would have to program it for an additional $50.
What are your experiences?
All comments welcome.
first put in first key turn on but not start
put second key in do same
put new key and start car
it should work
you need two keys to get third key to work
Thanks again! Hope this info can help others!!
Actually, it's not funny at all.
In any event, the one defect my car had upon delivery was a bum windshield wiper. I got one from the dealer's service department, but they wouldn't let ME put it on the car... it had to be done by a mechanic, or it couldn't be covered as a warranty repair!! Jeez.
SHOV6
It is still a very cool car to drive, and still impresses me with its road manners. Interestingly, my fiancee decided she likes my truck better than the ZX3, so the "Silver Bullet" is back home with me