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Comments
thanks. Its the new F150. Actually, its good to know there is nothing to lube. However, I'll bet our Freestyles might have slightly shorter joint lives, unless that grease stays put in there.
BTW... if most of your driving is city type stop-n-go stuff.. then 23k is not that bad.
My wife really loves the Freestyle, and I love taking trips in it, very comfy, good gas mileage..
Too other really minor problems, the speaker in the front sounds busted, and the rear liftgate won't go up on a cold morning. I've took it in for these, but dealer could not replicate. So I'll try again.
it is the SE It is very comfortable and the ride is fabulous!!! only has 6100 miles on it...
What are the brake issues that I should be concerned about?
I think the brakes pedal appear to be "soft and mushy" when I drove it home this evening?
Are replacements some kind of special Ford size or are they standard?
Your dealer is correct. There has never been a recall. There was a technical service bulletin issued in March 2005 regarding rear brakes that only applied to early build '05 models. Ask your dealer about TSB 05-4-7 Mar 05.
Your description of 0% brake life on the rear while having 95% on the front is extremely unusual. If your dealer is claiming "driver error", ask them to be more specific. Ask them just exactly how driving habits could account for this very unusual wear pattern. About the only thing I can think of to account for this would be if you or someone else drove around some with the parking brake partially set. That would indeed be "driver error".
Anyway, insist that your service tech take the car on a hill and put the brake on and then before he puts it in park, let off the brake pedal. That's the way they tell you to park a car. If it rolls, tell him to fix it under the 36/36 bumper to bumper. Tell him you don't care if he can't adjust the handle, to fix it whatever way he has to.
If that doesn't work, go through the steps in your owners guide. go to the service manager, then call ford, etc. And be nice, you'll catch more flies with honey.
Assuming you are setting the parking brake by pushing it to the floor (4 or 5 clicks for full benefit), the manual says to look for binding parking brake cables (under the Freestyle connected to the rear wheel brakes). If the PB pedal does not engage smoothly, you should also check the parking brake control attached to the pedal.
Though a common practice, I would never trust the single tooth of the transmission Park pawl to hold a 4000 pound vehicle on a steep hill. Good luck with the dealer and the parking brake. :shades:
Current Mileage: 30000 miles
Replace fuel filter
Inspect brake pads/shoes/rotors/drums, brake lines and hoses, and parking brake system
Inspect automatic transmission fluid level (if equipped with underhood dipstick)
Replace engine air filter
Inspect engine cooling system and hoses
Inspect wheel ends for end play and noise
Rotate tires for optimal tire life
Perform multi-point inspection
Inspect complete exhaust system and heat shields
Replace cabin air filter, if equipped
Inspect and lubricate steering linkage, ball joints, suspension, half shafts / drive shaft and u-joints
Change engine oil and replace oil filter (Up to 5 qts of motor oil)
You can get all maintenance schedules at www.fleet.ford.com
Mark
The CVT fluid needs changing every 60,000 miles. The maintenance schedule books are indeed vague. Here is a complete maintenance schedule, with comments:
Normal Maintenance Intervals
Every 5,000 miles:
• Change engine oil and replace oil filter.
• Rotate tires. --Comment: Not necessary if even wear is occuring, and, if even wear is not occuring, then get a front end alignment (camber, caster, toe may be wrong).
Every 15,000 miles:
• Inspect CVT fluid level. (Note: the CVT in the Freestyle does not have a transmission fluid dipstick. Ford notes that the CVT "does not consume fluid." Fluid level should only be checked if the CVT is not working properly, i.e. it slips, takes more than a couple of seconds to engage into Drive/Reverse or if there are signs of fluid leakage. If the transaxle's fluid is low enough to affect proper operation, drivers will notice a wrench icon illuminated on the instrument panel.)
• Inspect brakes.
• Inspect wheel ends.
• Inspect cooling system and hoses.
• Inspect steering linkage, ball joints, suspension, drive shaft and U-joints.--Comment: The only chassis lube needed is the steering column rotation mechanical stops, heavy grease spots needed there. Just inspect the structural integrity of the suspension joints and make sure the joints are not leaking grease.
• Replace cabin air filter.--Comment: My '05 SE model doesn't have a cabin air filter. Does anyone's?
Every 30,000 miles:
• Inspect exhaust system and heat shields.
• Replace engine air filter.
• Replace fuel filter.
Every 60,000 miles:
• Change CVT fluid and filter.
Every 100,000 miles:
• Inspect accessory drive belt.
• Replace spark plugs.
• Change coolant (and every three years or 50,000 miles afterward).
• Replace PCV valve.
Every 150,000 miles:
• Change coolant.
• Replace accessory drive belts.
• Change CVT filter.
When it comes to any maintenance procedure, of course it's always better to do it sooner, but that's why we look to the manufacture to tell us when the maintenance is recommended. And the maintenance interval does say for extreme conditions to do things sooner.
What bugs me is when the tech doesn't ask if I'm driving in extreme conditions, but still wants to conduct the maintenance earlier than recommended.
As far as foreign cars, I just bought a Honda Fit and it has an automatic maintenance reminder telling me when to bring it in based on usage, so that's pretty nice.
I've heard that fuel filters can also pick up metal shavings from gas nozzles, so it's not a bad idea to change. A few years ago, the filter on my chevy celebrity clogged and caused a engine light malfunction. So I realize the importance there. However, getting gas from a good station, say Costco, where they change their filters quite often, can protect your fuel system. One way to tell if the station is not changing filters regularly is how long the gas takes to pump. Slow pumping can indicate dirty fuel filters at your station.
One new question. IN the southwest mountain states, regular is 86 octane. The manual tells me not to use 86, regardless of where I purchase it, the manual says 87. However, at Costco, where I buy gas, it's 86 or premium, which is cheaper than plus at neighboring stations. But the manual says premium isn't always good. What should I do?
Your vehicle is designed to use
“Regular” unleaded gasoline with
pump (R+M)/2 octane rating of 87.
We do not recommend the use of
gasolines labeled as “Regular” that
are sold with octane ratings of 86 or lower in high altitude areas.
Do not be concerned if your engine sometimes knocks lightly. However, if
it knocks heavily under most driving conditions while you are using fuel
with the recommended octane rating, see your authorized dealer to
prevent any engine damage.
Fuel quality
If you are experiencing starting, rough idle or hesitation driveability
problems, try a different brand of unleaded gasoline. “Premium”
unleaded gasoline is not recommended for vehicles designed to use
“Regular” unleaded gasoline because it may cause these problems to
become more pronounced. If the problems persist, see your authorized
dealer.
I would say to use the premium unless you are experiencing "Starting, rough idle or hesitation problems"
If you do experience these problems, then I don't know what to say.
Its pretty clear that you should not use 86 though
Mark.
Mark
I think you meant to say he should use 87 octane unless the problems are encountered?
Mark.
However, Ford is quite specific about 87 in all areas.
Am I right about the oxygen thing? Because it seems like the refineries are going to a lot of trouble to refine 86 octane just for us in the southwest. :confuse:
http://www.drive.subaru.com/Fall03_QuickStops.htm
Jim Sinclair, Vice-President, Service for Subaru of America, Inc., replies that the recommended octane is 87, even at 6,800 feet. Using 86 octane may not cause any problems at that altitude or above, but if the customer drives in lower altitudes with 86 octane, there could be some performance problems and possible spark knock. If the customer cannot find 87, he should be careful with the use of 86 or continue to “mix” as he is doing.
And while this article is not official, it makes sense that refining to 86 octane is cheaper, since 87 is cheaper than 89, which is cheaper than 91. So maybe they sell 86 for the price of 87 and make that additional profit on 86. My guess is that if they tried to introduce 86 in the East, people would go to other gas stations, while in the southwest 86 is accepted enough that people buy it. So the oil companies get more profit not only from those buying 86 at the price of 87, but also profit from those buying premium gas because they don't want to buy 86, but these profits are probably less, since it costs more to refine the higher octanes.
http://www.dukecityfix.com/index.php?itemid=1763
These days the only value of lower octane gasoline is that it costs less for the oil companies to produce. Yet, right now, we’re paying more for 86-octane “regular” in New Mexico than we would for “regular” in 38 states, where it’s mostly 87.
Chad
Not to mention if he refilled it with engine oil instead of transmission fluid! :surprise:
I've also been getting miserable gas mileage (14-15 city), but I'll post that on the mileage thread.
Other than that I luv my car!!
Yes, it went off one day later, dropped by the dealership and they'reset' it.
Aggravating thing is that it was in today for the lock fix and, with three antsy kids with me, I didn't mention it. You'd think they'd notice when they drove it, huh?
One more question:
Is it after the 5K change I can go 5K between oil changes?
Keep in mind the oil indicator is not testing the oil itself, but rather using a computer to calculate all of your starts, stops, speed, temperature, etc. to determine when the oil is likely to need changing.
If you would like to extend your range a bit you can switch to full synthetic, but then the oil monitor will not be accurate since it is calibrated to the stock oil. If it says you can go 2,000 miles on the stock oil I'd feel safe going 3,000 on full synthetic.
FWIW, in our mix of city/highway we typically see about 4,000 mile intervals with our Freestyle.
- Chad