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This past Friday, a field engineer from Dearborn came in to evaluate the car and after hours of testing, determined that a wire was broken. Unfortunately, I do not know which one was broken but now everything works just fine. :shades:
Overall, the car is very comfortable and economical. The four cylinder engine is perky and smooth and going back and forth to work in metro D.C. traffic has yielded fuel economy of 26 - 30 mpg (calculated).
In July, trip to NYC is planned and we will be taking the Milan to see how it does on pure highway driving.
These days, I'm afraid to touch a car, to add a radio, or trailer hookup, or anything that touches the electrical system, since putting in the wrong load, or resistance can blow up a module, or worse yet, the main computer.
I have a 2010 Flex EB SEL that I am installing the factory hitch on, they have a kit for the trailer wiring, but does not include the connections for the 7 pin socket that includes the brake wiring, YET, under the dash is the connector for adding the brake controller. I need to obtain the wiring diagram so I can tap into that connection properly to use it, without breaking anything. At least they use color coded wires, imagine working on something where all the wiring is made with white wires.
As to electrical issues, I have owned cars for many years and have had exceedingly few problems in that department. One I do remember was way back in the late 70's where a wire to the left rear brake light got pinched by a bolt causing a fault. I blew three or four fuses and then went to the dealer who found the problem in about twenty minutes.
As to diagnosing issues, the use of computers to control most everything is both interesting and scary. If the computer fails, you are basically screwed. With the mandating of OBD, that has made fixing a problem harder. I also have a Jeep Liberty (2005) Limited CRD (diesel). If you cycle the ignition four times, the OBD codes show up at the odometer. The issue here is that the codes are wrong 90% of the time and you need a sophisticated scan tool connected to the OBD port to get the correct answer. Now tell me that isn't nuts!!!
This is my first FoMoCo product in over thirty years and except for this issue, the car is really decent. Now let us see if it stays this way.
My 2006 Fusion SEL V6 has been a great vehicle. Just keep the maintenance up on yours and it should take you many miles.
Aside from those two little things, the car has been great the past 34000 miles.
While I was there, I thought I would check out the new Explorer. Well it is nice, and for $47k it had damn well better be. Would I trade my Flex for one? No Definitely NO.
The four banger is smooth and quiet but lacks any low end grunt at highway speed.
I believe either Toyota or Volkswagon has a design where the flywheel spins with the engine off, and when you press the pedal it runs up the engine, so no starter motor is needed. Of course it will only spin for a short period of time, so long lights would see the engine spin up at least once while sitting. I think it is electromagnetic in design, similar to the clutch on the AC compressor. When stopped the clutch is off, when engaged, it powers on to spin up the motor.
The other way they can do it is with the hybrid system, where the starter motor is also a drive motor. Instead of a flywheel, its an electric motor/generator. Instead of a large bank of batteries like in the hybrid though, it may only have a few cells to provide power to spin up the motor but not to provide traction, after the motor is running it switches to recharge.
Those are two ways they can do it, whether or not they do is another matter.
Diesel Hybrid
On this particular car, the Hybrid system is not the same as the Synergy drive or Ford, or Hyundai systems. This one has 2 different drive trains, the diesel direct drive in the front, and the electric motor in the rear. It uses a high voltage starter/generator for starting the engine. So basically just as I had described, Peugeot is doing. Pretty neat.
The term is Auto-start-stop (you can figure out the acronym on your own) or Micro-hybrid. Minis in Europe have this feature, as does the European Ford Focus. I believe Range Rovers do as well.
Ford is planning to introduce this feature to all it's vehicles, since idling gets you 0 mpg.
I don't know that much about the system but wonder if someone who does would address the issue of whether it would harm the battery and starting motor which weren't designed for so many repetitive cycles.
Yup, it would, so the micro-hybrids use a more robust starter and flywheel gear. Also, some systems use sensors to track the position of each piston and what cycle its on so it can use that information to make "lite-off" faster. My understanding is the battery is still conventional.
Am I missing something?
I AM EXTREMELY ANAL about squeaks, rattles, etc. I have an 07 Mustang GT convertible and it's not a quiet car but I don't expect it to be. For my everyday car I need peace.
Will Fusion fit the bill? Thanks.
I do however recommend you go with a 2.5 4cyl Fusion, rather than the 2.3 4cyl. I believe the 2.5 became available in 2009/10 model year. You get a bit more HP and better MPG.
The 2011 models have even better ratings at 23/33 for the 2.5L/6AT, unless it has one of the two "Appearance Package" options. They add the SelectShift manual shifting feature and are programmed with a slightly more aggressive shift pattern. They are rated at 22/30mpg.
I hope this helps somebody, because I learned the hard way. Otherwise, Ford and Mazda made a pretty good Mercury, that we hope to enjoy for a few more years.
I'll trade your rear rotors on the Merc for the rears on my dually!
Some interesting reading if interested. Rotor warpage myth
I purchased some high performance rotors that were cross drilled and slotted along with Hawk pads. The price of these parts turned out to be cheaper than OEM parts at the dealer. Stopping performance was significantly better and at 33K miles I had more pad left than the OEM pads had at the same mileage. Also, the rotors did not warp.
When the OEM rotors and pads wear out, I will install similar rotors and pads on this car as I had on the Jeep.
OK, truly minor. Have I set it up well enough? I love the car and have no substantive criticisms. It may be the best engineered and coordinated car I ever owned.
When I drive in light or moderate rain at either highway or residential speed if I keep the driver's window open 2-3-4inches (as I am wont to do), a significant drippage begins top of the wilndow line into the car onto the armrest and (this is the reason I am curious) onto the switchgear for the door and windows on the armrest. Since there is no abnormality on examination of the door gasket or seal or alignment, I assume that it is related to the roof design (with or without a ridge, etc.) which choice likely is most determined by aerodynamic considerations regarding wind resistance and lift. Nonetheless it appears that this roof design allows water to run off the roof and fall into the car from the top of the window opening.
Have others found this true? There are many simple solutions but first I want to know if "everybody has this" as would be expected if it were intrinsic to the design of the roof and door housing. If nobody has this, I will have to try harder to find a defect in my particular car which is not intrinsic to all 2010 Milans and Fusions. I'm interested.
I disconnected the battery ground cable to reset the radio but still won't work.
Any suggestions ?
Since you already removed the ground, provided you left it disconnected for a few minutes, the next step is bring it in. There are no repairs for radios, just replacements.
Cheap to make it seems to me but not available. Either that or a bilge pump. A friend's S2000 was filled to the seat bottoms after a quick storm since he left the top down. Yes? No?
I rather this than mytouch. Call it myumbrella. I always wonder about damage to the switch gear in the doorsides when the rain comes in.
Believe it or not some days you do not want to leave the car locked up when the sun is blistering hot and there is not shade. A little ventilation and a reflective windshield shield go a long way to keeping the inside temperature down.
You had earlier commented that the solution to the rain dripping in an open window as happens in the Fusion is to close the window. Again I guess you are not a fan of outside air.
To each their own. I would place you in the minority. Walk around a business parking lot on a hot day and see how many cars are with a cracked windows and tilted roof. I guess, being a reductionist, you must be puzzled why the windows open at all. Fixed windows and no sun roof would keep the costs down and reduce the drag coefficients. Your AC must get a workout in the summer.
Incidentally, for those who do crack their windows when driving, the drip in the fusion is from the windshield wiper toss. There is no drip on the passenger side. That makes it easier to fix without using the vent shields that were recommended logically by many.
Akirby you know an awful lot about fords of all types but your views on ventilation seem a bit eccentric. I expect your tongue is in your cheek; otherwise it must hang out like a St. Bernard's in the summer.
I do enjoy all your posts most of which are very informative; all of them provoke reactions. You keep this forum entertaining. Stay dry.
I park my car outside all summer long in 95 degree heat and unless I know it's not going to rain I leave my windows closed. It's hot for a few minutes but then it's fine.
It would be more appropriate for cases where you forgot to roll up the windows or close the sunroof.
I cannot find similar measurements for a situation where the windows are partially open and the roof tilted but my experience suggests there is a huge difference.
Most electronic components are rated only to 120 degrees.
Surface temperatures to that degree cannot be good for any material and most dark surfaces, especially metallic ones, will be hotter than the air, i.e. hotter than 150 degrees.
These facts, and my comfort when I do return to the car (look out if you're wearing shorts on leather seats) are the reasons that I, and most people, choose to let some ventilation occur when parking a car in open sun.
To each their own but these strike me as valid and logical arguments for the majority who ventilate. When you golf the car may sit in the daytime sun for 6 hours. When you work and the parking lot is shadeless, 6-7 hours of hot sun exposure.
That choice is what exposes me to the rain issue. Your choice eliminates the concern about rain at least. I suspect many would find a "rain mode closure device" a welcomed and useful design feature. It should be an optional accessory, of course, and would be damn site more useful than the self parking feature or mytouch. In fact if I directed my touch to a hot dash under such circumstances I would use my mouth to cry out from my pain.
Reasonable men differ. Not uncommon.