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So that got me thinking. My Mountaineer has a sticker showing 14 MPG around town. If that drops to 12MPG on the sticker for the 2008, that will be the end of this vehicle.
14 is downright scary at $3 and climbing for gas, but 12 is almost like placing a banner on the vehicle saying "DON'T BUY ME, I AM A PIG".
I mean this post not to bash Ford or Explorer...both of which I like! But just wondering out loud if this new "EPA HONESTY" thing is going to be the final death blow to the American auto industry in general and to our beloved Explorers in particular. NO ONE is going to buy 12MPG vehicles (even though nothing really has changed except the "real world vs EPA estimate" joke is over)...oh and gas is now $3 instead of .99 as it was when I bot my prior Explorer.
See the new calculations for your old vehicle here.
Roughly 90-95% of our driving is in the city and we get 13 MPG exactly. I'm not unhappy with that but I can see why others would be.
The mileage hasn't actually changed, just the government rating. In the case of something like the Freestyle, it will go down but the old sticker showed a number that was pretty easy to get. For the majority of vehicles, the new number is likely to be closer to the truth.
MY POINT is that ratcheting down the already scary OLD numbers is going to hurt Explorer (and similar) sales much more than vehicles getting mpgs in the 20s. 15 sounds bad....13 sounds REAL bad.
Most people don't care about those two things so the CUVs are more attractive to most folks, myself included, and I think that and the slightly better fuel economy are definitely issues Ford has to address with the Explorer for the future.
Rumors in the big car mags have stated that the next Explorer will be a unibody and use the new Duratec35 motor which should give it more power and much better fuel economy. We'll see.
Considering what Ford will have on the lot when that is rumored to happen I totally agree with you. I'm just reporting what C&D and MT have written recently.
ARM idea, and maybe he'll nix it. I'm sure it's been done for CAFE reasons - and I suppose the Unibody would work as well as the Grand Cherokee does now, but I prefer the toughness of the Explorer frame for towing and rough service. In my mind, the Explorer has always been the gold standard of Mid-Sized SUVs and until recently, America agreed with me. I just don't see why it's so important that that be ruined.
You may not know MPG, but the HP and Tork should be a known amount...
I've also read a rumor that the D35 will be the V6 for the base F-150 as well and that power will be decreased somewhat to allow torque to be produced at a lower RPM. I can't speak to what the numbers would be for a truck version if they do that but the numbers above are what we know from the current version.
Future Lincoln models will get a 3.7L version of the D35 so who knows, that may be used for the trucks too.
As for MPG, the 4546 lb. 2007 Mazda AWD CX-9 is rated at 16/22 mpg using the Mazda version of the D35 engine. I believe that rating is with the new EPA system too but I could be wrong. Being that the Explorer is roughly the same size and weight you can see the slight fuel econ benefit that engine can deliver while being more refined and powerful to boot.
HP in the CX-9 is 263 @ 6250 RPM, torque is 249 @ 4500 RPM. Edmunds did 0-60 in 7.7 seconds in their FWD tester which was 200 lbs lighter FWIW.
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Once you start driving and get above something like 5 or 10 mph they will retract and stay there until you either open a door or go into the menu while stopped. I have never tried to deploy them while driving, but I would guess that the computer will stop you from doing that.
Thanks!
Would be nicer if it was tire specific, I agree. In that case though, you could never rotate your tires.
I didn't know you were looking to see if the message center displayed anything. There is a light too IIRC.
We have 2004 Expedition NBX with 5.4L and 2003 Ford Explorer XLT in 4wd 4.6L. The 4.6L in Explorer with 3.73 ratio for trailer tow is mostly a gas hog. Does have lots of power even with older 4.6L due to the 3.73 ratio.
We found a new 2007 Mountaineer Luxury (base in 07), AWD, V-6, dual auto air, upgraded leather seats, 3.73 TT package at a very good price. Build quality, all the new safety features, air bags, etc, seem to be a lot of vehicle for the discounted price. I prefer the V-8 per nvbanker's comments, but when you go to the V-8 in the Mountaineer the pricey Premier is mandatory. Found the 07 seats to be much better, brakes better, and rear handling much improved versus the 02-05 models.
There's a low, high, and auto setting in the Explorer just to make that clear. IIRC the AWD system in the Mountaineer is, like you said, the auto setting in the Explorer. We've had no problem in the snow, mud, loose gravel, etc with the auto setting but I do like the high setting on ice. It's not necessary for the ice, but nice to have. I plan to try the low setting when we drive on the beach this summer but haven't had any use for it yet. Therefore I'd say the AWD is probably all you'll ever need.
Thanks for the insight.
Just today Ford agreed to spring for the third rearend in our 2003 Explorer XLT, 4wd 4.6L, 3.73 with TT package, safety canopy. Hate to part with such nice vehicle due to all around performance. Modest to poor gas mileage is main negative. Like the 2007 Mountaineer AWD/Explorer 4wd due to new seats, brakes, rear handling, better NVH control. But, may just wear out the 4.6L in the 03 Explorer.
By the way traded 97 Ford T/B 4.6L on new red 2007 Camry LE V-6 for daughter who will be teaching at UGA in Athens next fall. Tried out Camry SE in V-6 that was great but bought the LE model. The T/B had 190,000 on 4.6L--not using hardly any oil and would have run on many more thousands. Belt and plugs and plug wires and factory recall on intake only replacement. Even alternator still the original. A/C still cold on vehicle built in August 1996. OEM Ford battery lasted 9 yrs. Tranny getting weak but still the original. Old T/B with Sport option, factory spoiler, rear l/s axle, 225/60/16 tires still fun to drive.
New V-6 in Camry with new six speed auto sweet,fast. Excellent EPA numbers for V-6 with 268 hp.
..again thanks for the replies..
You can but you have to stay below 25 mph.
From the manual of my '06 V6 XLT.
AdvanceTrac with RSC button and icon functionality
The AdvanceTrac with RSC system automatically turns on each time
the engine is started, even if it was turned off when the engine was last
shut down. The “sliding car” icon which is located with the warning
lights in the instrument cluster will illuminate during bulb check at initial
start-up and then go off. This tells you that the system is normal and
active. All functions of the AdvanceTrac with RSC (RSC, ESC, Engine
Traction Control, and Brake Traction Control) will be activated at start
up. When the system is left active, the “sliding car” icon will flash only
when any of the components of the system are affecting the vehicles
performance, otherwise the light will remain off. Consequently, the
“sliding car” icon will not be illuminated during most of your normal
driving.
The AdvanceTrac with RSC button,
located on the center stack of the
instrument panel, allows the driver
to control certain features of the
AdvanceTrac with RSC system
below 25 mph (40 km/h). If the
vehicle is below 25 mph (40 km/h), momentarily pressing the
AdvanceTrac with RSC button will disable RSC, ESC and Engine
Traction Control and steadily illuminate the “sliding car” icon. Pressing
and holding the AdvanceTrac with RSC button for more than five
seconds will further disable the brake portion of the Traction Control
feature and the “sliding car” icon will flash momentarily and then
illuminate steady.
If the vehicle is above 25 mph (40 km/h), momentarily pressing the
AdvanceTrac with RSC button will steadily illuminate the “sliding car”
icon, however, the AdvanceTrac with RSC system will remain enabled
until the vehicle speed drops below 25 mph. If the vehicle speed
decreases below 25 mph (40 km/h), the system will become deactivated,
but if the vehicle speed subsequently increases to above 25 mph (40
km/h), the system will again become active. In general, the system will
be active at all times the vehicle speed is above 25 mph (40 km/h).
In R (Reverse), ABS and the Traction Control feature will continue to
function, however ESC and RSC are disabled.
All these conditions are normal during AdvanceTrac with RSC
operation. Refer to the following table.
I'd ask about local conditions once I got there, and either take a compressor or figure out where the closest service station with air is so you can air back up when you get back on the tarmac.
That depends on what kind of sand you're driving on.
tidester, host
SUVs and Smart Shopper
I've actually not had the opportunity to take my 06 V8 Explorer to the sand. I've done plenty of sand driving with my old cars, including a VW Touareg and two Isuzu Troopers. Your comment about air pressure is right. Low pressure makes a big difference. I usually just fight it with highway air pressure in the tires, and let some out if the going gets tough. With the Touareg I could air up from the onboard pump.
I much prefer a simple 4wd in the sand. Wonder how the Land Rovers are with an actual program in the traction/stability control that accounts for sand.
If you go by the mags they are unstoppable!
where would I find the keypad passcode on a 2006 Mountaineer? I don't have the wallet card but I'm pretty sure the code is printed somewhere inside the car/engine compartment; I just can't seem to find it.
Also, would it be possible to replace the factory-installed halogen lamps with HID lamps?
Thank you.
I was just unsure how the traction control would work in sand. I didn't know if it would only provide power to one wheel until it spins and then to the next until all 4 wheels are stuck or if it would have the opposite effect by not letting any one wheel dig in before it transferred to additional wheels. I was just hoping someone else had driven their 06/07 Mountaineer in sand to lend 1st hand experience. I would rather not have to go through the learning curve and find out the hard way.
Thanks for all the info.
Wonder if any of this holds true in the sand?
Mark
Low range AWD is very useful when climbing or descending steep paved or unpaved roads. Some roads in Hawaii only legally allow AWD vehicles but what they really mean is AWD vehicles with a low range (if you don't want to destroy your brakes).
Mark
Hawaii also boasts the highest gas prices in the nation. That might change the equation.
tidester, host
SUVs and Smart Shopper
OTOH an AWD BMW station wagon handles snow just fine and gets about 28 mpg on the highway and 22 mpg in the city. The Subaru is probably similar. I am guessing that as gas prices continue to rise, Explorer sales will continue to fall and a higher percentage of Explorer buyers will actually need the truck features the Explorer provides. It wouldn't shock me if the Mercury clone was eventually discontinued. They don't sell very many of them right now. OTOH there is that rumor that the next Explorer will be more of a crossover than a traditional SUV.