Ford Fusion/Mercury Milan

pcguys · September 2010

Thank you so much.

Your answer was particularly helpful and reassuring.

In my own little brain, I had assumed I needed a hatchback or SUV form factor to be wheelchair friendly.

It wasn't until I fell in love with Ford Sync (and ruled out the EDGE because of its poor crash test results), that I really wanted to verify that assumption.

Regards,
Mike

dmathews3 · September 2010

Again like cars I bet no two wheelchairs are the same. So I too suggest you take the actual wheelchair to a Ford dealer and try it out in the Fusion of your choice. For example one may or may not fit in the Fusion Hybrid do to the fact the rear seats do NOT fold down like the regular Fusion does.

explorerx4 · September 2010

I have an '07 AWD Fusion. I don't think the ground clearance is any different than a FWD model.
It does just fine in way more the 4 inches of snow.
The AWD can help is wet conditions, too.
It probably uses more gas than the FWD model.

explorerx4 · September 2010

My wife drives an '09 Escape with Nav. It is DVD based. We just got an offer in the mail to buy the most up to date version for $200.

explorerx4 · September 2010

I'm on a roll.

If you put the wheel chair in the trunk of a Fusion, you will have to lift it out.
Not sure if this is a problem for you.

xmech · September 2010

"Take a test drive that includes putting a wheelchair in it, perhaps. The dealer won't have a problem with it; they want the sale. It's like putting in a car seat or your bag of golf clubs; people buy a car to meet needs, you should test how well it meets the needs before purchase."

LOL! I brought the car to my house to see if my RC planes would fit! They did.

dmathews3 · September 2010

Since they had to lift it to get it in, why would having to lift it to get it out be a problem? :confuse:

explorerx4 · September 2010

It has to do with the angle of your back when lifting and you age. Trust me, dropping is a whole lot easier.

igozoomzoom · September 2010

Just for the record on the 2010 Fusion AWD models-

AWD is available on the SEL V6 and Sport models for $1850.
The AWD system adds about 300lbs to the car's weight, which impacts acceleration and fuel economy somewhat. The SEL V6 FWD will do 0-60mph in 7.8 seconds, while the AWD version take 8.6 seconds. Fuel economy is reduced by 2mpg for both the city and highway figures. The 2011 Fusion SEL AWD has EPA ratings of 17mpg city and 24mpg highway for a combined rating of 19mpg.

The ground clearance of both the FWD and AWD models is the same. A small oddity- the fuel capacity on AWD models is one gallon less than the FWD.

dmathews3 · September 2010

My guess on the oddity is the drive shaft and the rearend must take up a tad bit of the room the gas tank uses. Hence, one gallon less space.

explorerx4 · September 2010

Interesting, I just checked the manual for my '07 and there is only 1 capacity listed for fuel; 17.5 gallons.
Overall, I am averaging 22 mpg.
My wife has an '09 Escape AWD with the same drive train as the current Fusion.
She also averages 22 mpg and has about 20 more horsepower.

pod · October 2010

I have a new Milan with "sync" but I do not have a cellphone (hate them). Can I use the music sorting and playing features without a phone. I can download music to a flash drive and stick it in the console compartment, will that allow me the music sorting by voice using the car's microphone pickup and the flash drive or do I need a cellphone in the circuit somehow? Great car. I have Sirius but it is like cable TV: tons of channels that I have no interest in. I am a child of the fifties and have a different definition of music, no interest in Stern or the weather or traffic in other cities, etc. Nice reception but no content of interest to me. Methinks I'll need my own music library. Would some sync savvy person educate this luddite?

brucelinc · October 2010

Yes, the flashdrive is a good way to store the music you like and you can use the sync voice commands. A cell phone is not a requirement for what you want to do.

akirby · October 2010

Correct. The USB music interface and the bluetooth cell phone interface are totally separate. You can use a usb drive but you may have to do extra things to get the voice control to work including playlists and meta data (artist, song name, etc.).

You can also get an old ipod and use itunes to manage the music and playlists, etc.

If you have protected content (older itunes songs e.g.) you'll need an ipod or other mp3 player to play them - they won't play directly off USB unless you convert them to mp3.

dmathews3 · October 2010

I have one flash drive with over 200 songs on it in no order, just the way they went on which was A first B, C. and so on. I can go to the drive and just tell it to play Neil Diamond and it will find each ND song and play them over and over till you tell it something different.

pod · October 2010

Thank you all. I look forward to using the sync. I will acquire an old iPOD and start to educate myself about mp3 format, etc. In the meantime I'll work the single disc cd player from a stock I'll keep in the car. I appreciate the help.

dmathews3 · October 2010

Put the CD's in to play but save them to the hard drive in the car and then you won't need to carry the CD's. Nice thing this way you can either save the whole CD or just the songs you like cause we all know that at least half the songs on a CD aren't that great.

pod · October 2010

Thank you for you continued interest and advice. I don't want to turn this into my personal audio education forum but there are probably other Milan and Fusion owners who wonder about this stuff.
Re: the CD save feature. If I put a CD in and use the "save" instruction will it save the music in mp3 format? Will artists names and song titles be decoded and recorded on the hard drive or flash memory so that I can speak the magic words and the song will come up? My CD are not new (at least five years old).
A few other questions. I presume that to use the step-by-step navigational instruction you do need a cell phone. Are minutes charged to the cell phone accoung all the time you are using the direction link?
Does the 911 alert if airbags go off require a cellphone be connected and turned on?
I'm debating getting a tracfone or other prepaid phone to have in the car? I prefer not to, but these features may justify the small cost of some of the prepaid plans.
Finally are there other synch features that can be used without a cellphone?

Thank you very much. I can't believe that Dave Matthews is taking time from his busy concert schedule to answer my questions. Thanks dmatthews3.

subearu · October 2010

The system has an internal Gracenote database for lookups, so those titles from 5 years ago and older should certainly be on there.

I'm not certain, but since it is a Microsoft system, I am guessing it is stored encrypted (and probably copy protected) on the internal hard drive as the WMA format.

The nav system does not use the cell phone, it is all satellite and internal storage for POIs, like a handheld Garmin or TomTom.

The 911 alert does require a cellphone to be paired with the system in order to work. The car has no built-in cell service.

-Brian

dmathews3 · October 2010

Relook that spelling. The difference between being rich and poor is one T. I'm poor so only have one T in my last name :-((
Now for clairification we have the Nav setup in our Fusion Hybrid so speaking for it when you put in the CD it saves the music to the hard drive if you tell it to. Doesn't put it in mp3 format as you can NOT save mp3 to the HD thats why I believe they also have it set up so you can put your mp3's on the flash drive and plug it into the usb port. On a lot of my CD's I saved it did also have the names and song titles also like mp3's do but not for all my songs as some of them are older CD's of just Greatest hits by many singers but on all the CD's from name brand companies it did. Don't know how it does this so I'll leave that for someone else. The sync seems to be quite smart so it would benifit you to take some time and sit down and learn, figure out, experment or whatever it takes to learn it. Good luck, got to go, as I go on stage in just a few minutes :-) :shades:

acdii · November 2010

If you get the non nav Fusion, the turn by turn directions use your cell to retrieve the instructions, but once loaded, they are stored internally, so its only a few minutes worth of air time. The vehicle health report also uses the cell phone to send the report. You could get a cheap phone, leave it plugged in all the time and have it syncd with the system all the time and its there is you need it. As long as it has bluetooth, any phone will work.

pod · November 2010

That's good news and it becomes more and more tempting to get a tracfone or such (tracfone=$90/yr for 1000 minutes. Expires at end of year but they call to remind. T-Mobile has a 1 yr/1000minutes prepaid plan as well. Why just a few "apps" would justify that investment (acting like I know the jargon which I don't except the most basic words).
Finally how does the call to 911 work. if you deploy airbags and don't hit abort switch within a prespecified short interval a call goes out to 911 and gives your location. Will this work if your cell phone is turned off. Does sych have the smarts to turn it on somehow. How is the location determined (GPS-phone) (GPS-car??) (other?).
Thank you. This forum is very helpful on this subject and, even though I am quite dull, it will likely help others with Milans or Fusions, or any one with "sync" who didn't have time to ask and couldn't find it in manual.

akirby · November 2010

The phone must be on. I assume it uses the vehicle GPS - I don't think it would have access to the phone's GPS location through a bluetooth connection.

explorerx4 · November 2010

there is a 'time' function built into the trip/avg mph/dte/mpg computer.
i had never used it before, but found out it basically measures how long the engine has been running, like a lot of commercial/industrial machines.
this weekend 1630 miles/26.5 hours. 58.5 mph average.

cannon3 · January 2011

I reached over the 68,000 mile mark on my 06 Fusion SEL V6. Looks like I am going to have to put my second set of new tires on this car this spring sometime. Tires are spendy for this vehicle. The car runs fine. I have developed a slight squeak in the passenger area of the vehicle. Happens when I hit a pretty good bump in the road. Windsheild does have slight wind noise above 65MPH. Other than these 2 items the car is solid. I would put the Fusion up against any 06 Accord/Camry any day for reliability/quality/fit/finish.

acdii · January 2011

Could be worse, you could have an 10 Sport. Decent tires for that are nearly $1000.

urnews · January 2011

We have a 2007 SEL AWD Fusion with 23,000 miles on it and the tires still look good. They are Michelins and the replace price is $250 each. I think I will opt out for some less expensive Goodyears when replacement time comes. I can't justify spending $1,000 for a set of four tires. No way Jose.
Boz

mz6greyghost · January 2011

Spending $250 PER TIRE is quite possibly the dumbest thing anyone can do (that is, unless you own a Ferrari, then $250 is nearly a drop in a bucket

).

Check out Tirerack.com. I've found some excellent tires on that site for half the price. In fact, instead of dropping $200 per tire on OEM Michelins for my previous Mazda6 (Tirerack's price, it would've been even more locally), I spent $110 per tire on a set of Yokohama's. Wet and dry traction was vastly superior to the Michelins. The ride was smoother and quieter, and cutting apexes was an absolute joy, without the incessant squealing the Michelins made all the time. They actually lasted about 5K miles MORE than the Michelins, and still had plenty of tread when I sold the car.

Sorry, but OEM replacement tires are simply a rip-off on most vehicles.

pod · January 2011

Winter question: Is it possible on the 2010 Fusion/Milan to have the fan on circulating hot air without the air conditioner being activated? I realize that when the circulation is closed to the outside that water vapor tends to accumulate (from breathing or wet clothes) and cause fogging and that the AC will prevent this by wringing out the water. Does the AC load the car as in summer and represent a source of energy loss while it is on in the winter as a dehumidifier?

savetheland · January 2011

Agree, Yoko Avid are good value. They are unidirectional and performance on wet surface is pretty good. Do not know why people waste money on Michelins - it is all hype.

acdii · January 2011

Price out 225 45R16 tires, review the less expensive ones, and you will quickly see, there isnt much choice in tires for a Sport. Also Unless you also purchase wheels and have Tire rack mount and balance, the tires you purchase still have to be mounted and balanced, and that can add up $50 depending on who will mount them for you. Second, if you have a warranty issue, you wont get any service from a local tire dealer, nor the place that mounted then for you. You have to deal with Tirerack.

Yes the prices are good, provided you are buying the wheels too.

jeffyscott · January 2011

I took up your challenge and after sorting the 59 choices at tire rack by price and concentrating on the all-season tires, found a Dunlop SP Sport Signature (W&Y) not too far down the list at $134 plus a $40 rebate on 4. Tire rack test conclusion was "An established tire that competes with some of the best".

Also at $142 there is the Continental ExtremeContact DWS at $142. This tire is highly rated by both tire rack and CR.

mz6greyghost · January 2011

I assume you mean 225/45-18s, since that's the size Tirerack has for a Sport.

Besides the Dunlops mentioned above, I'd add the Yokohama Avids and Continental Extremecontact DWS as two excellent choices for a lower price.

Let me also recommend shopping around at different tire stores as well. There are local tire shops that will MATCH Tireracks prices per tire (including the shop I've done business with for a decade now...), plus they only charge $9.95 per tire to mount/balance them as well. They also honor the warranties since you purchased them from the tire shop.

Again, when it's all said and done, spending $200-250 per tire with everything included is simply insane.

acdii · January 2011

yes, the 18's. I priced out Cooper Zeon tires. Very good tires, excellent traction in all weather, rain and snow, and they also have low rolling resistance and high tread life. The $900 was from Farm & Fleet, and is a wee bit high, I just found the tires at sears, $797 + tax for all 4 wheels total.

I have always had excellent results with Cooper, never had any experience with the other brands, and I tend to stick with what I know.

I checked around, the Continentals, installed, $871.

All the local stores that would mount YOUR tires that you brought in and did not purchase from will charge minimum $45 per tire, to mount and balance, and that does not include the TPMS hardware if needed. If they have to replace the valve stem they have to rebuild the TPMS, and that is an additional $13 per wheel.

No matter what you do, these tires are going to cost up to $200 per wheel once all is said and done.

xmech · January 2011

Do you mean just the fan on in defrost mode? No, if you have the front window defrost on, the compressor will work. And the compressor, unless there's something new and fancy in this one, is either an on or off affair. So the only energy difference in how much power it uses between A/C mode and defrost mode would be the cycle time, if there's any difference.

I kind of miss my wife's 1984 Tercel's cabin controls. Easy to operate and find, and you turned on the compressor yourself if you wanted it.

Oh, and I don't know about the auto temp controls since I don't have one. Never had one on any vehicle I owned. I assume it would be similar, being automatic.

jeffyscott · January 2011

No matter what you do, these tires are going to cost up to $200 per wheel once all is said and done.

I'd thought that the figure of $250 was given and I had assumed that was referring to just the cost of the tire. But if you had a more normal size tire on the Fusion, like the 17 inchers, it looks you'd only be paying about $20 or so less per tire for the same model tires.

lilengineerboy · January 2011

Also Unless you also purchase wheels and have Tire rack mount and balance, the tires you purchase still have to be mounted and balanced, and that can add up $50 depending on who will mount them for you.

I paid $80 to have my snow tires mounted on rims and balanced. That was comparable (and even less expensive) than the quote I received from Belle Tire and Discount Tire locally. The killer for me was neither place had the tire in stock and both wanted to charge shipping to get that tire.

Second, if you have a warranty issue, you wont get any service from a local tire dealer, nor the place that mounted then for you. You have to deal with Tirerack.

That isn't the case either. The warranty on a tire is good at any authorized reseller (allowing they were purchased from an authorized reseller).

Ordering from TireRack, including mounting, balancing, and shipping, was $125-150 (not including the local places *shipping* charge) less than buying 4 Dunlop SP WinterSport 3D tires locally. And the place that did the mounting and balancing washed and vacuumed the car for free.

acdii · January 2011

Then you got lucky. The local places by me will not warranty a tire purchased from Tire rack even if they mounted it. They will take it off the rim for you, but you have to send it back to Tirerack to get it replaced. It all depends on finding a tire store that will do that for you. There are dealers who will accept tires shipped direct to them from Tire rack and deal with the customers when a tire needs warranty, but there aren't as many as one would think, once you find one, stick with them.

I used to deal with tires for years, sold Coopers, and we would warranty a Cooper sold by someone else, but the customer still paid for mounting and balancing, but a customer who bought the tire from us and we installed them, would get full warranty, which included mounting and balancing. If someone brought in tires for us to mount and balance, we would, but they would be on their own for warranty, since we would not warranty them.

I guess what I'm saying is if the tire dealer who is doing the mounting and balancing does not deal with the brand of tire that you purchased, you wont get warranty work from them, so buyer beware on the tire brand.

mz6greyghost · January 2011

I guess what I'm saying is if the tire dealer who is doing the mounting and balancing does not deal with the brand of tire that you purchased, you wont get warranty work from them, so buyer beware on the tire brand.

That's also not true. I bought Yokos through the local Gemini tire shop (which sells Goodyear, Dunlop, and Kelly), in which they got through Tirerack (and matched their price), and two weeks later, a sidewall blew on one of them due to a piece of construction debris. The tire shop replaced it under their treadwear/road hazard warranty, no cost.

Not for nothing, but it seems the local tire shops around you just don't give a @#$% about customer service.

jeffyscott · January 2011

My kid ordered tires from tire rack, had them delivered to our house, hauled them to Walmart for super cheap mounting and balancing. When the tires wore out prematurely (in only 6000 miles :surprise:) he got warranty replacements at sears with no problem at all.

My understanding is tire manufacturer warranty does not cover mounting and balancing, I'm not aware of any shops that throw that in...so never considered that as a possibility.

That said, for a number of reasons, I'd not do things the way my kid did, I strongly prefer to just get my tires from an independent shop about a mile from my house. With mounting, balancing, and delivery considered he costs about the same as using tire rack and I trust him to take care of me if there is a problem. (My kid may have done the same had he known, we only discovered what a bargain the local guy was on tires after his tirerack/walmart gambit)

lilengineerboy · January 2011

With mounting, balancing, and delivery considered he costs about the same as using tire rack and I trust him to take care of me if there is a problem. (My kid may have done the same had he known, we only discovered what a bargain the local guy was on tires after his tirerack/walmart gambit)

Yeah, I had "that guy" back home in Cali. He would beat deals, get me the tires I wanted, etc. I also had a suspension guy I liked. In SE MI I can't find a decent independent that carries any brands. Even "local" regional chains didn't seem to interested. I could have had Tire Rack drop ship the tires but had them come to my place instead. I really like supporting local businesses when I can, but I couldn't bring myself to pay a $150 extra for no better service. If you can't compete on price/service then you need to change your business model. Oh and I ordered the tires on Wed night and they were delivered Friday morning.

vehicula · January 2011

I recognize the many conveniences of using a number pad to unlock your car, but there's also a dark side: It's not too hard for somebody else to watch while you enter your code. The chances increase if you tend to park in the same place regularly, like a parking garage at work. Doesn't this bother any one else? :confuse:

acdii · January 2011

it is rather easy to hide what you are doing when you punch it in, but for the most part it is used to lock the doors, or unlock the car if you leave the keys inside. It is a feature I would much rather have on the car than not. Besides, if someone really wants your car, or something in it, not knowing the code wont stop them. I would much rather they got in through the code rather than bust a window as I would only be out whatever they took, rather than what they took + a window.

To combat theft, I don't leave anything in worth stealing.

pod · January 2011

I think you have been watching too many Matt Damon movies. Keycodes for ATM, doorlocks, combination locks, laboratory entrance, realtors stow a key, etc. Stand in front of the array and shield all views (including the ones in the helicopters). I rather doubt anyone is going to spy on you for days to infer your code when BMW (break my window) is the American way. No, not worried.

vehicula · February 2011

Why bother breaking a window when all you need to do is press 5 numbers?

Good luck filing an insurance claim when the police report says 'no signs of forced entry'.

I really like the Fusion, but this is one feature I would not want to use.

acdii · February 2011

Who says you have to use it? Would you rather have Onstar with an additional monthly fee, and separate phone line that you have to pay for, just in case you happen to lock your keys in the car? Or would you rather have some other make of car where if you happen to lock the keys in, you have to call the locksmith, or would you rather have this keypad handy in the event you happened to drop your keys while getting out and couldn't catch the door in time? I rarely use it to gain entry, and am pretty sure I hide the keys when I do, and am so glad I have it for those rare times where the keys stay in the car.

What you probably don't know about it, since you are so against it is, you can program a second code into it, and use that for gaining access, and change it randomly. That is exactly what I do, change it every so often, especially if I used it where people were watching. It takes all of 30 seconds to change the code.

akirby · February 2011

Ford has been using these keypads for at least 15 years and I've never heard anyone who had a break-in using the keypad. It just doesn't happen in real life.

vehicula · February 2011

From what I've read so far, SecuriCode is not necessarily intended for daily use, although you certainly could do that. It seems to be more of a convenience - you're on a bike ride and don't want to take your keys with you - or a backup - if you lock yourself out. I can certainly see taking advantage of SecuriCode in that way. I just wouldn't want to use it on a daily basis.

"Chacqu'un a son gout."

akirby · February 2011

Correct - you don't use it when you have the keys (which is most of the time). It's used by others or when you don't want to keep the keys in your pocket. Once you've had it and used it you don't want to give it up.

pod · February 2011

6 months and 7k miles and I continue to like the car very much. Averaging >30 mph mixed driving. My impression is that the car gets about 35 mpg on flat highway at 70 mph and about 25 mpg in residential situations. I don't do a lot of stop and go except commuting but mpg falls off to low twenties in that situation. Did well on snow (i.e. plowed but not clear streets). No major complaints, or for that matter, even minor complaints. I felt uncomfortable in the seats the first few days but there are sufficient adjusments so that I am very comfortable now. I assume that whatever is said about the Milan applies to the Fusion. For 20K (taxes and fees included) out the door I feel that I couldn't do much better. It doesn't at all feel like an econocar. Cancelled Sirius at the expiration of the free service; most of the channels were not of interest to me. Gave in and got a tracfone to use the synch features, for emergencies and for pizza orders on the way home from work.

Ford Fusion/Mercury Milan

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