Ford Fusion/Mercury Milan Maintenance & Repair

mschmal

Anyone have anything to say in here?

explorerx4

Bueller? Bueller?

07milan

My 2007 Milans' rear speakers pop when I apply the breaks. It is loud enough that I have had to disconnect them. The dealer says the factory knows about the problem, but does not know the cause. Anyone else have or know about this problem?

akirby

First I've heard of it. Sounds like a wiring problem with the BRAKE lights. Is it the rear door speakers or the rear deck subwoofers?

07milan

The rear deck speckers. Because they are so close to the third brake light I tried disconnecting it, but no help. ...And again, my dealer says the factory knows about it and is working on a fix.

thebigfoist

Does anyone know of a good wheel lacquer to match my Ford Fusion rims? With nice weather hopefully approaching soon I am looking to repair a few scratches I obtained over the long winter.

(also posted in the general forum)

depalma

Does the I-4 engine have a spin on oil filter or the old fashioned cartridge filter like the Mazda6i?

akirby

Yes.

According to the OM it could be either one. I know that some come with the cartridge filter as it's been the subject of other debates. Not sure if some also come with the regular type or if it's just in the OM as a future possibility.

tiredofpop

My 2007 Milan does the same. I've had a speaker replaced, a brake piece replaced and now the factory is saying no more replacement pieces until Ford figures it out. It's very annoying, and very disappointing considering it's a brand new car. Love everything else about it, but this is frustrating! Come on Ford, figure it out!

07milan

My Sonoma Ca. dealer fixed the popping problem yesterday. I believe a factory TSP has just been issued. I'm not real sure what was done, but it sounded like a wire or connection had some extra insulation put around it.

kmaurer

I have 3,000 miles on my Fusion. Lately, with things starting to get warmer in my part of the country, the car will occasionally say "Driver Door Ajar" when the driver's side door is shut tightly. My question is: where is the sensor that tells the car the door's shut? All I can guess is that it is located in the door latch. Since it is happening intermittently, I can't take it into the dealership until it is actually doing it. I first want to see if anything is "stuck" and just needs to be lubricated.

akirby

It's in the door latch. Spray it with WD-40 and see if that fixes it.

scape2

Actually a silicon based lubricant would be better...

cldfuzn25

Is anyone noticing that the lights that are lighting up the back license plate getting very hot? I noticed what looked like to very evenly spaced dents back by there and was confused by how they got there till i took some stuff out of the trunk last night and the back was very very hot by the lights and kinda thought maybe my car was melting there... has anyone noticed that?

tommyshoegirl

I own a 2006 SEL. Has anyone had any problems with the external temperature reading 20 degrees too high when the car is started? It takes anywhere from 5 to 10 minutes to get to the correct outside temp. My dealer is telling me there isn't anything wrong with my car, am I crazy?

akirby

Yes, that's normal. The sensor is near the front grille and can get very hot in the sun or with a hot engine. Apparently the external temp software doesn't have the same logic that the Lincoln LS used. It would ignore the temp sensor until the vehicle was moving and the sensor had time to adjust to the ambient air temp. They just don't have the software in the Fusion to do the same thing.

keithm1

I noticed one of the license plate lights go out. Upon replacing(it was not burned out)I noticed the terminal? had corroded. Anyone else have this issue? It will be fixed under warranty. :confuse:

cldfuzn25

I have been having issues shifting my car (which is a manual trans) into reverse. It locks and then i have to roll my car forward or backwards (thats if i am lucky and on a incline of sort) just to get it to slide into gear. The gears are very notchy, and sometimes very hard to get into gear.. i have driven stick shifts all my life and i have never come across this. I took it to the dealer and all they did was lube it up... which didnt help... they said they cant find the problem... any suggestions?

alc10

While backing up, a tree branch caught the antenna and snapped it off. The mast is OK. What broke is a small nut that the mast screws into. One side is threaded for the mast and the other has a screw thread that goes into another fitting. The break is at the top of the threads on the middle fitting. Anyone know how to disassemble the black plastic mount on the roof to get at the rest of the parts, or any advice on how to proceed? :sick:

joelamp

I have a new 07 Milan Premier V6 AWD and have been familiarizing myself with the maintenance schedule, but I cannot find anything in the maintenance schedule pertaining to the AWD system. If this car is based on the Mazda6, then does it have the same AWD system as the Escape/Mariner/Tribute and should the same maintenance schedule be followed?

mschmal

I have owned 4 different man trans cars. a 1997 Escort Wagon(parents hand me down ) 1998 Escort ZX2, an 02 Protege5 and an 07 Mustang.

All of those cars occasionally required me to put the car in first then let up on the clutch a smidgen before they would shift into reverse. The Mustang requires this the least and I think it has something to do with the design of the trans and the synchros.

And if you are observant, you will have noticed that all the cars I listed but for the Mustang had Mazda designed Manual Trans. So it might just be a Mazda thing.

Mark.

ajever1

I have an '06 Fusion...The entire light ensemble had to be replaced as it was burnt out...I was told that it had been re-designed due to this. Good luck!

cldfuzn25

Wow.. well thats something to look out for. Thanks!

keithm1

Yeah, I had the same problem. It was fixed under warranty. Outside of that, my car has been absolutely outstanding.

scape2

Yes, mine does this too. At one point it read 107 in my garage and it was 85 outside! Took about 5 minutes for the sensor to adjust to the outside temp once I got going..

sailortoo2

I have lost a couple items that slipped between the cover of the center console/cup holder while it was closed then opened; does anyone know how to get inside the center console?

jboman

Has anyone answered #26?

I have lost my cell phone that slipped between the cover of the center console/cup holder while it was closed then opened; how do you dismantle the center console to get inside?

pepper4

I have a 2007 Milan and the head light adjustment is broke . What do you have to remove to replace the headlight housing.

Thank You

jh1701

I have a sel 2006 v-4. there is a popping sound coming from the right hand side of the dash bored. also on the right hand side airbag there is a discolor around it. anyone have this problem??? please help.

celticbloodlin

2006 Fusion (40,000 miles) is making a clanking noise the first time I press the brake pedal after changing directions. After the first brake pedal application, no more noise. Did some research and came up with some similar issues on other cars, seems like noise is caused by brake pad clips not holding brake pad firmly and the noise is the pad moving.

Took it to local dealer and dealer says the problem is after market brake pads. The problem is that I've never had the brakes serviced. Advisor says he looked at the pads and they are practically brand new...asks me if perhaps someone else drives the car that could have had new pads put on. Says only way to fix is do a complete brake job on front...new pads, turn rotors.

Has anyone else had this issue with the clanking noise, and is there any safety issue, or just an annoyance? Why the dealer can't just replace the pad clips, I don't know. Well, yes I do, that service would not generate much of a fee.

Look forward to thoughts.

akirby

Did you look at the pads and are they brand new? That would be a dead giveaway. But I've never agreed with the logic that you always replace the pads and turn the rotors every time. I've replaced pads only with no problems assuming the rotors aren't damaged and aren't vibrating when applying the brakes.

cjones6

at 4800 miles had trans, flywheel and clutch replaced. the alignment pins from the flywheel had broken off and went through the trans, caused a nice oil leak on my friends driveway. (actually clutch fluid). talked with some ford engineers and said there had been only a few other cases of this happening with early fusions and that the cause was improper installation.

also noticed that the side airbags in the seat where not that great of fit, I can see the airbag itself

other than that the car is great, good quality, the body lines are good,

mschmal

Dealers have to follow the service requirements from Ford. Ford says to turn the rotors when pads are replaced, dealers have to do so.

I was told that the rotors have to be turned so that they wear in the pad right?

Mark

cjones6

well yes you turn a rotor to fix the out of round condition and the parallelism, plus it does help a new pad wear, and makes the rotor all smooth and a non-directional finish.

also its one of those things that if your doing pads then you should do rotors at the same time

Chris

jimboy1

Is it hard to remove the console?

chenlpu

This is a brand new Fusion 08 SE and engine service and transmission service lights are on. We took car back to dealer and they said that some rodent just bite wires under the hood. Such thing is not covered by warranty and we have to pay it.

It is interesting that our neighbor's Fusion was attacked by squirrels too (told by the same dealer). I am wondering whether this is a design problem from Ford or not ?

3x

blumstein

Yes, it is. Ford didn't realize at the time of the car's creation that the word "fusion" just happens to mean "diner" in rodent language.

You'll notice that there are no complaints from Milan owners on this problem.

Paul

{PS: This is an early April Fool's Day post}

elkein

I just bought a fusion SEL AWD, in the manual it state that the AWD system is zero maintenance and sealed. I take that to mean it should last to 250K or so without changing the oil. I'd only worry about it if it pee's on the driveway someday, or develops noise.

1lowmilan

Take your vehicle to the dealer they have an advisory concerning this problem and it will be fixed for free. It takes about 40 minutes...

vvbusymom

Our 2007 Fusion with 23000 miles on it has just burnt up it's clutch. The dealer says it is not covered by the warranty and wants $1300 to fix it. Has anyone had any similar problems? We are not new to manual transmissions and find it hard to believe we did anything to cause this.

dansk713

Can anyone recommend how to remove the drivers side door panel? I need to remove it to replace a busted side view mirror.

Thanks

akirby

Take out the screws around the perimeter (2 or 3 I think) and the one inside the door pull hole, then gently pry the panel off (on second thought I don't think you can be too gentle - those clips are pretty strong). I think one or more of the screws require torx bits.

dansk713

Thanks for the quick response. I purchased what I believe is an aftermarket replacement mirror. Do you think the back cover will switch out easily from my old mirror to my new. Do you see a downside with purchasing the aftermarket mirror.

Thanks

akirby

No idea. Sorry.

Mountainman80

Hey there vvbusymom,

We had our clutch go at around 20,000 miles also, it was around $1,500 to replace. The car now has 44,000 miles on it, and the darn clutch is gone again!
Both my wife and I have had manual transmission cars all our life, and we have never had to replace any clutch in any car we ever had.

Plus, it's not like we are teaching teenagers to drive on it. We know how to drive a stick the right way. No racing, riding the clutch, etc.....

There is obviously a problem with the Fusion's Clutch. I am trying to resolve this with Ford now. I will keep you posted as to the outcome. I am going to try and "get back" the $1,500 I already paid, and obviously, the current repair as well.

Just a word of advice - the clutch WILL die on you again.......

:mad:

blumstein

There could be several reasons for early wear, the clutch material being a likely culprit. If that is the case, perhaps using an aftermarket replacement may yield longer life.

Mountainman80

Thanks for the advice. Just got off the dreaded phonecall with Ford - of course they say that we wore the clutch out (again). This is truly ridiculous.

My wife is furious, and calling the dealer right now. I would hate to be them right now :P

The only other thing I can do is go the BBB route (Lemon Law is no good because I bought it used with 6,000 miles). My experience in the past with the BBB is not giving me warm fuzzies though. I'm afraid we are going to eat the $1,400 or so to fix it, though we will continue to fight the good fight until we are out of options. I will update this post as things progress, or don't progress; either way.

One thing that is certain though - we are not going to keep a car that needs a new clutch every 20,000 miles. I will literally drive it off the Ford lot and straight into the Toyota Dealer down the road. Hopefully I don't burn the clutch out on the way there.

akirby

Have you gotten other quotes? That seems really high for just a clutch replacement. 20,000 is too soon but from Ford's standpoint unless a defect can be identified in the clutch material or clutch engagement then it's just normal wear. It doesn't take much abuse to wear out a clutch in 20,000 miles. Not saying you are abusing it but that's not out of the ordinary.

I would have the clutch engagement and material checked by an independent shop. If you can find a defect take it back to Ford. You could also try a heavier duty clutch material.

torquelover

I had the exact same thing happen. You're lucky they replaced the clutch for you. Ford refused to do this for me, even after talking to Ford Customer Service. It's not a great idea to put a used, fluid-soaked clutch in a car receiving a new flywheel and transmission.

jusrelax

I just had this TSB (transmission fix/replace) done on my 2006 Mercury Milan Premier V6, 1.5 weeks prior to warranty end. The dealer service wouldn't do it until the car hit 20K as per TSB. I didn't know it was transmission related until now. When I brought it in a few weeks ago I only had 19800 and they just reset the computer and said bring back after 20K. Problem started happening when cruise control engaged, going around 60+ mph, accelerating with foot or Set +/-, then decelerating with Set +/-, car would thump, bang, RPM's go to 3-4+, sounded like it was going to blow. Then it kept happening after turning cruise control off. Had to accelerate gradually. This went on for months. Now wondering if engine is damaged. Service said they "opened up" transmission. TSB says transmission control assembly replaced. Also, last week, yellow check engine light came on, service says it was gas cap leak evaporation but not related to this TSB.

This is a lease and both it and warranty expires Fri 1/16/09. My buyout price is $13000 and I will have to buy an extended warranty. (I paid in $12K already). If I buy and trade in, only get $11K. To buy equivalent car/mileage - $14500 so once I give up this car couldn't buy similar for $13K. Now car rides great on highway, never sounded and felt so good, but only tested a few days. Gas mileage can go 30 on highway but usually 12-16 around local S. Florida.

While gas is cheap now, it already is moving higher. This car gets worse city mpg than my previous Mercury's though replacing 2 OEM Pilot tires with high performance Michelin ones helped a few mpgs at 10K miles.

I don't want to lease or buy new. I was thinking of getting a used Hyundai Elantra just for the much better mileage, but for $13000 I'd be getting a 2007 with 20K+ miles but at least would have some warranty left. I can extend the lease a month or two but would only make sense if I was to buy this car. I haven't bought used in years so kinda leery.

Is this car now worth buying for $13K? Or is this car tainted & now prone to have more problems with the transmission? :lemon: According to this, http://answers.yahoo.com/question/?qid=20081230095641AAz9e5z , this problem can damage the whole transmission, but Ford makes you wait until 20K miles to fix it! I have no idea how bad the tranmission might really be, service isn't saying. Ford warranties this repair for 12 months/12K miles but not sure if that includes the whole transmission they looked at or what parts.

Since I'm a first year owner, no prior history avail so don't know what other problems await for this car. This 2006 just missed when Ford lengthened the powertrain warranty later that year.

Any opinions appreciated. I noticed in Consumer Reports that 2007-8 Milans don't show this problem as much, or maybe it doesn't show up until later.

Thanks!

berri

I think your buyout is way too high for an 06 Ford product (they depreciate pretty quickly). You may be able to negotiate something more realistic (under $10K). However, my experience with Ford vehicles is that the ones that started with problems didn't get better with time and all of them started having problems around 50-60K. I think I'd move on. I've seen ads for new 09 Camry's well equiped at $18,900 and I understand Toyota is about to improve the incentive. I think you can get a new 09 Ford Fusion for less than $15K well equipped where they have to make room for the new improved 10's coming in shortly.