bsondhi

small animals can be destructive. Check this news. You are not alone. http://www.examiner.com/article/video-bunnies-attacking-cars-car-wires-getting-chewed-at-denver-airport

Friends For Ford Fusion Hybrid>> 1. I do not find this useful. All it does is drain the battery way too far so when you start the car for next ride, ICE needs to come up immediately. At the end, it is pay me now or pay me later. It would be useful if I had a plugin. In that case, I could drain the battery and recharge it at home. 2. Also, in very few cases I have seen the battery get charged more than 50% by ICE. Do you guys see this? Thoughts? Thanks Bhupi

I have seen the following Keyless entry (touching the handle) works about 80% of the time. BT Audio is flaky. Requires twice to connect. Other than those do not have any of the issues mentioned. Thanks B

Here is an article on Honda's new Hybrid. It uses the two motor system. Not very technical but iMMD seems like Ford and Toyota's Hybrid eCVT. Honda's i-MMD is, in fact, a hybrid of a hybrid system. So long as there is sufficient juice in the battery (and typically at around-town speeds and moderate throttle demand) the Hybrid operates as a series hybrid, with the engine driving the generator that powers the e-motor and recharges the battery. As speeds increase—and, again, depending on a host of efficiency-minded powertrain algorithms—the car switches to more conventional parallel-hybrid power flow, with gas engine and e-motor contributing torque. The advantages are many, starting with packaging. Honda's system dispenses with a conventional continuously variable transmission (CVT), relying instead on fixed ratios between engine, e-motor and wheels. This power flow also avoids the slippage and incremental inefficiency of a CVT. http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303870704579296424164040790?mod=WeekendHeader_Right

Thanks Sled! We live in a hilly area though not extreme. I have also experienced what you mentioned for ECO when I am travelling 15 miles or more distance. Due to hills I cannot attain more than 45-47mpg. I will take the hills than being in -5 weather.

Hi Bud - What's your magic? We live in not so cold area and I am getting 44-45 range. Do you drive long range or short range? Our's is mostly driven for short distance of 5 miles or so.

Hi RWP I have a Lexus and Toyota prior to buying FFH (Most beautiful car on planet). Most of schedules are fairly similar. Looks like you have been burning too much money with Germans. - As acdii mentioned, most car comes with a second oil and do not require brake in any more. Lexus did not require any oil change till 7.5K. Even regular Fusion(non-hybrid) does not require before 10k. (My colleague has one and he has over 50K on the car with 10K interval.) - Brake Fluid: Most ICE based cars with friction brakes require 2 year bleed and fill. I agree the usage of brakes is much much lower. As a word of precaution, I would change it every 3 years. I follow the same rule on my Lexus and have no problems. - Most cars come with Engine Coolant good for 90K. I have not checked the color on FFH but Lexus uses pink color one. At 60K (Lexus) I did visual compare and did not see anything to worry on the coolant. I am going to change it once I reach 90K (lexus). - Tansmission Fluid - 150K looks fine considering the engine only runs 50% of the time. Even in Lexus it does not require before 105K. - Not sure what are they using in FFH but the ones in Lexus were Iridium which is rated over 120K. Even if you use Platinum Spark Plugs (most cars do) you do not need anything before 90K. - Also I am with you, I am using 91 Octane to be on safe side. I see the car has given me 44.9 MPG so far. At this rate, you can use the spare money for a nice weekend get away with your significant other. Enjoy the ride. peace B

Thanks Guys! - I took it in. The dealer took pictures and sent it to Ford. They called me back on Friday and they will replace it for no charge, FORD will cover it. Interestingly I also asked them to do DRL. They spent over an hour and could not figure out. At the end, I pulled up link from our FFH forum and showed it to them. They will do it along with grille change once I bring it back.

Friends I have 3 week old car. Washed it today and saw that the grille nickel plating is worn out at a spot. Has anyone else encountered something like this? Thanks B

I have a Lexus ES350 with 265HP and brought FFH (Not Energi). I can say for sure, Ford steering is very precise, the handling and suspension is better than Lexus, interior comes close. I do miss the power when driving on freeway but 47MPG v/s 25MPG is unbeatable. Enjoy your ride. Drive it like a cruiser.

Do these Ford ESP include maintenance? The one I was offered at the dealer was for maintenance but when I looked at the maintenance log there was not much to do. I usually go to my local shop, bring my own parts and have the car serviced there. Toyota and Honda's do not negate the warranty as long as I can show them the maintenance proof not sure how it is with FORD.

I agree it is a cosmetic bug. It retains the old name.

Hi Howie I did not plan on a fully loaded SE but happened as a scope creep. Anyway I ended up paying $28800 + Taxes for the following FUSION HYBRID SE NAVIGATION 502A WITH MFT LEATHER, heated seats, memory ETC BACKUP CAMERA PUSH START REAR SENSOR How do I measure up? Thanks Bhupi

Friends Earlier today, I used Voice Navigation and said "Call S...". Voila the call started. In a few minutes I saw that the name "S..." is displayed in MFT nicely however "IN-DASH" it says "Name" not found. Is there a website where bugs can be logged for Ford? Thanks B