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Comments
If I ever get this figured out, I'll let you know."
Well, there is the old, obvious low-tech solution. Either tape the switch down (if it protrudes), or trace the wiring down the side of the car and install a switch on the hot wire, assuming the wiring for such a switch could be routed to a $2 toggle switch set into the plastic at the rear of the vehicle, or something.
I brought it to my Ford dealer soon after posting that message and the technicians had no idea what it was. They were talking about me dropping it off for the day and they would replace the patch with a new one on. They also said that it would need to be painted to match and blah, blah, blah.
I kept insisting that it looked to me like a simple stick-on patch and said it should be as simple as peeling this one off and putting on a new one. They replied with "oh, no....this is special from the factory and it needs to be done the right way or it will not look right.
The patch does appear to be color coded to my gray paint but I would think that Ford would carry these in stock for the different body colors.
At this point It's not that big of a deal and I'll probably just leave it. I'm certainly not going to leave my car for a day or two at a dealer because of it.
I definately will look into just replacing it with some clear 3m plastic as you suggested.
thanks
I put some sheepskin seatcovers on and I would like to make a cut out or a slice in the cover to allow the bag to deploy. I've gotten several different answers from dealers and seatcover people so I'm not sure what to do. Any advice? Thanks.
Has anyone else noticed this? Should we have it checked by the dealership?
Thanks for any information on this.
--Gary
Don't sweat it. It's fine.
I am also wondering if this airflow is a "passive" feature as nitromax mentioned -- I think our old Honda Accord (1990) did this as well. I'd just like to know for sure if that's what's going on as we're planning to take the vehicle for its first big trip in a few weeks.
Thanks for the replies!
--Gary
And actually I have a question of my own. The manual says that the climate control or AC should never be turned off to prevent the build up of humidity inside the vehicle. I assume that it's ok to have it off when riding with the windows opened.
My question is - should I manually turn off the AC when I want heat? I noticed that if I set the temperature to let's say 80 degrees, the heat comes in, but also the AC stays on. Don't the heat and AC conflict with each other?
Deb
I guess if anyone else has had this problem I'd have gotten a response by now. Hopefully one more usefull than that posted by dgulino.
Thanks
Do both of you have AWD? I wonder if the traction control is improperly detecting slippage on the left rear tire and is using the left rear brake to send power to the other three tires causing excessive wear.
To check this theory, you can clean the rim and determine how long it takes for break dust to accumulate. Then disable traction control and see if the dust accumulates at the same rate.
But then again, if the same traction control system is shared between AWD and FWD it may still try to correct any erroneously detected slippage on the rear wheel.
So far - I've had a windshield leak, which the dealership farmed out to a local company to fix. The fix was to pry up the windshield along the top and add more glue. Needless to say, that didn't work. So the dealership opted to replace the entire windshield by the same local company (I found this out afterwards). So far, it seems ok.
I have been hearing an intermittent "clunk" coming from the front end, especially if I'm on an incline and I accelerate from a stop. Has anyone else heard this kind of a clunk? :confuse:
However, after a week of driving, I have noticed an occasional noise coming from the rear of the car when making a turn from an uneven surface onto another surface. To me it sounds like something has bound up then suddenly releases in a thud. It happened about 4 times. I took Issy to the dealership to have it checked out. On the way, I tried to find a location where the noise would happen every time but couldn't. I let them take it for a drive and thankfully they heard the noise. They checked a few things out but they said they had to tear down the rear suspension. I went over and told Issy the news. I stroked the dashboard and assured that everthing was going to be OK that the nice technician was going to fix him. :sick:
DAY 1. The next morning I get a call from the technician. They tore down the suspension and didn't find anything. Took it for run and still heard the noise. They took two other FS for a test and did'nt hear the noise. Call again tomorrow.
Day 2. They got on the phone with the engineers for help. The engineers gave them a list of things to chech out, still the noise occures. Call again tomorrow.
Day 3. Still doing diagnostics with the engineers. Everything they try doesn't get rid of the noise. Call again tomorrow.
Day 4. Putting microphones in and around the rear. So the egineers can can listen to the noise. Call Monday.
Has anyone had a similiar noise? I MISS ISSY !! ">
On another note, just got back from a 3,000 mile trip and the Freestyle was flawless. Great ride and the versatile interior came in very handy - from hauling 6 adults to all sorts of cargo. Averaged 23.6 mpg on mostly highway driving with a little city driving mixed in.
LOL
What type of noise is it?
creak? click? pop? thud?
I'm about to order a Freestyle today and this makes me a little worried.
This may be a chronic problem with Freestyles.
Have you tried imitating the noise by swerving back and forth? (try to do this in an unpopulated area)
:-)
Just wondering if the thud could be the muffler bumping up against something.
I would think the brakes would make more of a click or snapping sound if they are binding. (more metallic sounding)
The technician has been able to duplicate the noise on every test run. He may be driving more erratically than I dare to. This is a relief. Now he knows there is a problem and is trying to solve it.
I probably could live with the occasional noise but I didn't want a minor repair under warranty progressing into a major one out of warranty.
I miss my Issy.
I went ahead and ordered last night anyway (FWD Limited). I have been researching a driving the car er um crossover vehicle and I love the versatility, space and gas mileage of the vehicle. I was dead set on the Highlander Hybrid but after driving it I was very disappointed in the size of the third row. By going with the Freestyle I saved about $5K, lost a little MPG (but not much) and gained a whole lot of usable space.
This whole 'what do we call this vehicle' bit that I keep reading in articles about the car seems silly, as does these same people complaining that it's a wannabe SUV and should have more towing capacity. They all seem to miss that a ton of us who want the interior of an SUV don't have towing needs, or have another car already dedicated to that. This is a peoplemover, with tons of safety, comfort, cubbies and cupholders, and elbowroom and legroom for all.
Vehicles with this hip-height entry are bound to be extremely popular when the baby boom generation ages. Sedans are so low it's sometimes hard to get up, and you mostly have to fall into your seat. SUV's are too high for older people to climb into. The Freestyle is just right
Also brakes - noisy at low speeds before stopping and when leaving from stand still (like you can leave from being in motion!!!). It't like a Hhrrrr.
And when driving at low speeds I can hear a hiss that changes with speed. Shifting into N did not change the noise. Could my brakes be dragging????? No break dust.
Getting to the noise- it was mentioned to me by a mechanic at my dealer that I should watch for (listen) any "noise" the frame as the frame is basically a Volvo and they have lots ot rubber bushings that could rub and move and make noise. Have your guy check them out.
Good luck.
:-)
A slight hissing noise is normal from the brakes. When there is no hydraulic force squeezing the brake pads against the rotors, the pads are basically riding right along the surface of the rotor and may make a slight hissing noise.
As long as you don't see an abundance of brake dust there shouldn't be a problem.
I'm glad to here there is a TSB on it. Do you know the TSB number?
The manual shows a slide off battery cover, and these have covers that have a narrower cover and are locked with a screw. The screw doesn't come out, but I can feel that it's unscrewed as far as it will go, and it rattles when held upside down and just spins around loose. Go to slide the cover off, and it catches on the end of the screw and won't come off.
I didn't even want the DVD player, but now I love it and want to try out the headphones (which btw they forgot to give me and I had to drive down and pick them up, apparently they're programmed to work with just one car).