By accessing this website, you acknowledge that Edmunds and its third party business partners may use cookies, pixels, and similar technologies to collect information about you and your interactions with the website as described in our
Privacy Statement, and you agree that your use of the website is subject to our
Visitor Agreement.
Comments
I can throw the little bike in the back no problem.
OK - so how do your kids like your new ride? How old, etc. The story....are they cruising around in Mustangs!
Our boys are 6&12 and in to scouting, biking, soccer and whatever else they can get in to....
by the way love hearing about these high mileage Fords!
anyway, had a 96 Volvo 850 Turbo. Bought it used. Spent a ton of money on it w/all kinds of repairs. The dumb ABS/Tracs light was always coming on - we even replaced the computer. Anyway, time sell it and a guy from Michigan bought it. over 100k miles on it.
Sent me a Christmas card and said how much he loved the car and had 0 problems. Maybe, it liked the cooler temps.
Maybe we have bad car karma.
I'm finding that a value between 1 and 3 (probably 2 will end up being best) seems to work pretty well.
Since the scale goes from 1 to 10 (not counting OFF), this means that the Freestyle is VERY quiet compared to the noise that the radio was designed to be able to compensate for.
What!? They don't go to 11?
:-)
(only Spinal Tap fans will laugh)
I've only seen two types before: a rotating dial, and a three-position switch (high, low, medium) . . well, 4-position if you count OFF.
I should try setting it to 10 just to see how loud it gets on the freeway!
Mine was not too bad up until about 85k. At that point, I made the mistake of doing a bit of "preventative maintenance" on it myself, replacing the water pump. Took me all weekend long, and I used a rebuilt water pump. About a week later, the engine seized up on me. Unbeknownst to me, the "idiot light" for the temperature sensor was out. The car had no actual temperature gage. When I opened the hood after the engine seized, I was met with lots of steam, and a hose that was as big around as a watermelon.
It never ran right after that, really. I had the engine rebuilt (twice . . first guys didn't go a very good job), the tranny rebuilt, and the car repainted. Finally sold it after 200k miles.
I also had an '89 Taurus (dark blue) and the clearcoat on it just "burned off" . . it looked like it had a bad case of sunburn or something, with white stuff peeling off of it. I had it repainted. Other than that (and the A/C compressor going) never had much problems with it. I think the water pump went out under warranty.
I've been quite happy with the Tauri. And for those who think that Japanese cars are better, my brother was driving Camry's the entire time I was driving Tauri, and he had about the same issues (and type) as I had.
I know one guy (via internet) who told me he's never had an issue with any used car (he buys them 1 - 3 years old), or any other car (except a Ford LOL). He must be one of the ones who make up for the rest of us that do have some issues. Either that, or he just forgets.
With the roof racks, you can then buy the accessory holders for bikes, kayaks, skis, etc. I'm not keen on putting bikes on the roof. My sons freeride bike is about 40lbs and tough for my wife or him to manouver on the roof without throwing your back out or hitting the roof. That's why I like the holders that fit into the reciever. ON the other hand, it then does become a bit of a pain to access the back without taking all the bikes off and dropping the rack.
I wish I could tell what exact message you're replying to. Am I missing the way to do that? Crazy message board!
Car's fine, though it appears there's not much chance of me getting both the customer loyalty rebate of $768 and the X-plan rebate of $750.
The 1-800 number at Ford was useless. Referred me back to the dealer and their regional manager.
So, I guess I'll have to call them one more time. Maybe try to get them to explain exactly why they think the rebates are "incompatable".
It won't do much good to make the irate, though, since they don't have to do anything for me at all, since I'm not within the time frame of the customer loyalty rebate.
Sigh. I think with both those rebates I would've matched your Z-plan pricing! Unless you also get some sort of rebate.
We are suppose to find out when they put in the VIN so I dunno....
or did you order thru the same dealer?"
No, this was at another dealer. I found this Freebie thru the inventory search on Fordvehicles.com and originally he told me it was sold. A couple of days later he emailed me that the deal fell through and I can have it, but not at the A Plan price (he mentioned someone about supply and demand). Obviously I didn't buy it from him and a week later my order showed up anyway. However, being that it was an AWD SEL w/ safety package (hard to find around here) it is probably already sold.
They drove it, then the service guy said that it wasn't a safety issue, but that if I wanted to have it aligned, Ford would give me one alignment in the first 12 months/12K miles. Perhaps it's just the service department at our local dealer, but they keep the car forever and it's either a) not fixed or b) worse than when we gave it them and filthy dirty to boot. So, I'm kind of afraid to hand my new baby over to them!!! The advice from the service department "hang onto the wheel more tightly when you take off from a dead stop." Uh, okaaaaaay......
You asked about my kids' cars: bought them each a new Escort upon their graduation from high school: the 1994 had to have the entire engine replaced one week after my daughter got it--the thing was blowing oil everywhere--what a mess. She now has a 1997 Contour and her husband has a Toyota Matrix. The Contour pretty much just sits--not a great car. My other daughter's Escort was okay until she totalled in by running in to a downed tree in Fort Ord (that's where she went to college). She got a 2001 Focus and that was totalled when an Expedition rear-ended her (she was pretty much unhurt both times, thank God). She now has a 2005 Corolla. My stepson has a 2002 diesel Excursion and my stepdaughter has a RAV 4 and my better half has a 2002 F-150 Lariat. Everyone is currently happy with their vehicles, especially me!
Not liking that hang on to the wheel tighter stuff! Seems like they (or another) dealer could fix the problem. Spend all that $$ and they tell you to hang on?
I had my Freestyle about 2 hours and had just driven it home and parked in our driveway for the first time. I still didn't have my stuff organized and I when I went to unlock all the doors, I inadvertently locked all the doors. The lock/unlock is exactly opposite from my Expedition (so is the gas filler). My keys and the keyless code card (which I had not looked at yet) were in the car as well. Well, I felt like a fool until I looked up at my husband who was laughing so hard I thought he would hurt himself (I was kinda hoping he would). He then pulled the spare key out of his pocket. Things like that keep you humble, ya know?
Moisture sensitive wipers? Sounds cool... I love Lincolns. Never had one--raising too many kids to afford a car like that. I did have a 1968 Cadillac for a short time (in 1978!) that was a total gas--kind of like driving the Queen Mary, or a sofa.
I've got it set at 2.
RE: slamming doors: I just can't make myself do it (unless I'm angry, which is hardly ever, and I wouldn't take it out on my car in any case :-0 I must have gotten in trouble for it as a kid or something.
And give Spinal Tap a try! Early Rob Reiner stuff--pretty funny.
I'm still debating 2 vs 1 right now.
"I must have gotten in trouble for it as a kid or something."
Our dad yelled at us all the time about it. LOL
"And give Spinal Tap a try! Early Rob Reiner stuff--pretty funny."
I guess I could put it in the DVD player . . . but then I couldn't watch it! LOL
I am aware of the quote, though.
In cold Canadian weather, sometimes I like to get car to keep running while I run inside. You can do this by pressing the "9/0" and "7/8" button on the keyless entry. This will lock all doors. Then, when you come back, put in your code to get back in. Nice security feature, except that the bad guys could break the window and then have your keys.
My Expedition was like that, so is my Freestyle.
Passing it on - by the way, the SE FWDs aren't selling here.
Not seeing anyones inventory move much at all....
It's quite flat where I live. And the only mileage estimate I have so far is from my commute to and from the park-n-ride. (about 25 miles round trip).
After my first fill-up, I reset the "MPG counter".
I'm getting about 20 - 21 mpg based on that. I'm gonna estimate that I will end up averaging about 20 mpg when it's all said and done.
In my Tauri, I got about 21 to 22 mpg.
So, I'd say that I'm getting about 10% less mpg in the type of mixed driving that I do on my daily commute. Not bad for a car that's 600 lbs heavier and has AWD, I'd say.
But when I was checking, I'd rarely see any AWD versions at all listed in the Houston area. Maybe one LTD or one SEL with AWD. And that one time it turned out it wasn't actually in stock.
I have a feeling that "loaded vehicles" are going to be selling much better (at least initially) than the "stripped down" versions.
Used the seat warmers for the first time this morning. Nice and toasty.
Other dealers have Ltds left but mostly Black on Black.
Maybe a Funeral Home will like that combo with the folding front passenger seat
Web inventories aren't changing either. I am seeing a few lame adverts on TV in the metro Boston area. It seems such a slam dunk make sense kinda vehicle but right now I'm beginning to have my doubts. Wonder if rebates are far behind and what that would do to residuals
Trying to actually drive a Limited AWD - supposing there isn't a difference in the drive from the SEL FWD ??
I had that concern as well (didn't want to drive 5 - 7 hours to pick up an AWD since I had only test-driven a FWD).
Couldn't tell a bit of difference. Granted, it runs in FWD mode almost all the time, so I wasn't really expecting any difference.
I do think the AWD is supposed to sit about an inch higher than the FWD. Can't say I noticed that, either, but I didn't test drive them back to back.
I do notice an "odd" sound when I'm backing up (car in reverse). Sounds sorta like I'm in an electric car or something. I'm assuming it's the CVT that I'm hearing.
I'm not worried about it, it's just a different sound than what I'm used to.
I'd actually consider that if I lived in a northern climate. But down here in the South, that just makes NO SENSE at all, to me.
Mainly the black leather part.
I think a lot of future potential Explorer and Freestar owners will end up owning the Freestyle instead. But I guess time will tell. If not, it will just prove what PT Barnum said again.
Makes me a bit nervous -
We actually ordered the black interior after hearing how dirty the pebble was getting (I think from lumber2) anyway, know it will be hot in the summer but my kiddos aren't the cleanest bunch.
Probably won't do so great at selling time either. Although I'm hoping that is a long way off.
Wow, that's odd. I don't think I've seen an LTD listed yet that had the bench seat in the second row.
As far as the DVD: just get it, and then get an iPod to justify it. LOL
I'm sitting here thinking how I could've saved $1700 by not getting the DVD or the moonroof. I guess I'd better at least try to use the moonroof a few times. LOL
Re: residual values. I don't worry much about how fast the car depreciates in the first few years, as I don't intend to ever sell one that quickly. I only sell after about 8 - 12 years, and by then the car is almost worthless.
The foreign cars seem to have better values at the end of that length of time, but then again, if they're worth 3k more at 8 years, they typically cost 3k more at 0 years, too.
They're supposed to get one in just like it, except with Titanium Green in another 3 or 4 weeks.
I have a friend in the business and he tells me that many of the late model used cars you see on dealers lots are "repos" from people who couldn't keep up with the payments.
Any time the engine gets really revved up (say above 4000 and certainly above 5000 rpm), it can start to sound pretty loud.
I don't think I've even revved mine up that high yet . . . starting to drive like a grandpa LOL. I always like to put around 500 miles on a car before I start revving it like that with any frequency. I'm already above 400 miles, so it shouldn't be long.
I doubt he's hearing the CVT. It's almost got to be the engine. Wind noise in this vehicle is much better than the Taurus, though at 70mph+ you can start to hear it fairly well. But nowhere near how loud the Taurus gets.
I think the engine is so quiet (at normal cruising rpms) and that the wind noise is so quiet that the main thing I hear on the freeway is just road noise. Of course, the radio covers that up quite nicely.
At any rate, it's hard to compare two different vehicles being driven by two different people at a different time in different circumstances.
That bothers me, as well. Just how well did somebody in that situation keep up with things like oil changes, etc?
I change my oil much more frequently than most do (try to do it every 2500 miles . . and I have sometimes done the first one at 500 miles just to be safe). I like to flush the tranmission (not just replace 1/3 of the fluid like most do) about every 20k miles (have even done it as frequently as 15k miles before).
Doing these things is very inexpensive, IMO. No matter how good they make the fluids (avoiding viscosity breakdown, etc), they still carry dirt in the system, and that dirt is to an engine/tranny just like what sandpaper is to wood.
The only cars available were AWD. I wanted a Silver/Shale SEL/FWD with just the second console. Nothing available in the northeast.
Base SEL had everything the wife wanted and I wasn't interested in jacking up the MSRP. Told the
salesman to keep an eye out. Never heard from him again.
Don't need a vehicle, so didn't bother pursuing
it. Maybe when the 06s' come out.
Our dealer did say all the AWDs were sent "North". Seems like they would have mixed it up a bit instead all one place and all the other.....
I have a silver/shale leather SEL FWD with all the climate control features, safety package, etc. I drive up and down 280 for my commute, about 40 miles each way and I'm getting about 21-23 on big, long hills that you need to maintain a speed of 70-80 MPH if you don't want to get run over. If you're going by the the MPG numbers in the message center, it's averaging over your last 500 miles. Mine started out at 12 and is slowly creeping up and now bounces around between 19-20. I've got 1,100 miles on my car. When I fill up with gas and reset the trip meter, then divide, I get 23-24 MPG. I'm thinking of doing it the old fashioned way with paper and pencil: keeping track of gas fill-ups and take the number off the gas pump and see if my "computer" is different than my Freestyle's. I'm not sure how exact the "miles to E" is, or "gallons used" is.
I was hoping to get closer to 25-26 MPG, but perhaps that's unrealistic in real-world driving. I'm heading down I-5 to LA tomorrow and it will be interesting to see what I get--of course, you have to drive between 80-90 MPH not to get run over, but it is horrifically flat.
In any case, it's a huge improvement over my Expedition, so I'm happy, but I'm really interested in a hybrid when they become more available and come down in price. If Ford can drop a hybrid engine in the Freestyle, I'd be REALLY happy. The Escape is just a little small for for my needs, and they made so few of them anyway. I guess they couldn't get enough batteries or something.
I'm not sure that's right. In the MPG mode, try hitting the "Reset" button.
I did that, and the MPG immediately went to a very low number (as I was basically sitting still when I pressed "Reset"). It then started to climb as I started moving.
Now (80 miles or so after hitting reset), I can see it slowly decrease as I accelerate or get into heavy traffic, and I'll see it slowly increase as I let off the gas to cruise or coast.
If it were an average of my last 500 miles (well, 400 as that's all I have on it), I don't see how it could vary as much and as quickly as it does.
Perhaps if you never hit reset it's always averaging the last 500 miles. But I think once you hit Reset, it starts averaging all over again.
The "gallons used" is somehow calculated by the computer. Either it directly measures the fuel flowing by a sensor, or it's estimating from the amount of air brought into the engine.
I'm not as sure about the "miles to E". Since I don't think "gallons used" gets automatically reset when you fill up (does it?), then "miles to E" is probably based on the current position of the gas gauge to estimate remaining fuel, and then dividing by the average MPG of the last x number of miles.
I've been told by a few sources that they could easily put a hybrid in the Freestyle . . . but that battery supplies are the real issue right now. That and consumer demand, I suppose.
Just so that you know, they can't sell you a car on the X-plan if it has over 300 miles on it. So, they can't go retrieve one from a dealership that's further away than that for you.
They can, however, for about $600 (maybe more depending on miles?) get one from a dealer and put it on a car carrier to be delivered.
Or you could simply have one ordered for you. That's supposed to take around 8 weeks, but I have no idea of the actual timing.
I don't know that I've seen many that are completely devoid of all options, but a dealer could run that search for you.
Would be neat if you can do that. If nobody has tried, I may have to try that soon.
I was going to use Ford Credit for the 1/6 purchase, but the dealer found a better rate elsewhere (a bank, citibank or another well-known one--escapes me).
Who qualifies for this rebate? Does it come in the mail, or should I inquire about it with my dealer? Thanks in advance.