Cobra348

Most cars I've had experience on have a timing chain inside the front engine cover that allows the crankshaft and camshaft to be in sync. These have timing marks on them for when they are replaced - to insure proper synch. Any belts seen external are usually accessory drive belts - power steering, alternator, etc. Maybe that's what you're thinking of?

The first few tanks are usually lousy. I would track mileage using gas receipts and not the computer. I have found a variance of as much as 3.5 MPG on a tank between receipt and car computer. It is my contention they did change the way the ICE and HVB interplay - sometime in the '17 model area. I've found that the ICE seems to stay on longer than it should even on even ground. Typically I jiggle the cruise down and up a couple MPH to get the handoff to happen. As for ECO vs non ... I use ECO mode all the time. It seems to help. Not having the HVB charge display for a guide to charge doesn't help either. Am I getting EPA numbers? Close but no cigar. I'm barely hitting 40 combined over 25K miles on a '20. I did better than that in my '15 and '17 models. I am not a hypermiler by any stretch but I do believe they diddled with something. When a '15 can get 52 MPG on a tank and a '20 (or '17) struggles to get 45, there is something wrong. And before anyone asks ... I use OEM Michelin LRR tires in non-Winter months, am within 5 MPH of posted speed and try my best to use gentle braking and electric startup whenever I can. I monitor tire pressure regularly. During the Winter I know all bets are off and I'm okay with that.

Okay. All that checking and stuff showed I had some different filenames for the same song and that one should be deleted. I did all that and double-checked things as best as I could. End result is Windows logs 2289 MP3 files. I also changed how I refresh the thumb drive. I have been simply deleting all the MP3 and copying to the thumb. My thought was "what if a hidden index is there that ignores any new items?" End result, thumb reports 2269 total MP3s. By default the USB Browse button displays in alphabetical order. Lo and behold, any tune with a parenthetical or numeric beginning are ignored. Some examples - Chicago - 25 or 6 to 4, Beach Boys - 409, Gene McDaniels and Dorsey Burnette - (There Was a) Tall Oak Tree. So Sync is incorrect in not only retrieving correct artist info for an MP3, but also in actually indexing MP3s. I guess it's time I dropped a note to Ford (Engineering??) and explained how to a) properly retrieve data in a search and b) that there are some abnormal files that are not handled. I love rattling cages ... especially on the search because I can supply the correct pseudo-code they can implement. Forty years IT does that to ya.

Waldo ... he's gonna do nothing but bash the very auto he bought. He obviously did absolutely no research beforehand or he would know that many new vehicles - hybrid or not - do not carry spares any more. He would also be able to use his head to dope out what you needed to point out. Dunno what was said as I have him on ignore because of the stupidity and disinformation in many of his postings.

I'll be the first to admit I have no idea how Sync goes about indexing MP3s, but I would like to know why the total number of MP3s on my thumb drive is not correct. Here's the background ... I have a 64GB thumb drive that I use for MP3 tunes on long runs. The total count of files on it is 2290. When it is inserted into the socket, everything goes fine and it is accessible under Sources ==> USB Disk via the large screen on the center stack. BUT ... the total number of indexed items is only 2275. Where are the other 15 items? I do have same-title tunes but the filename is different. Example is Guitar Boogie Shuffle. File formats are Guitar Boogie Shuffle_<artist>.mp3 where artist is Weedon, Virtues, Ventures, RCACamden. Another is Grazing In The Grass_<artist>.mp3 where artist is Friends (Friends of Distinction) or Masekele (Hugh Masekele). Is it possible that only 1 occurance of the title is registered when the items are indexed? I would think title/artist or filename indexing would be better. I'm going to go through the duplicate titles and count them to see if that does account for the difference but I do believe I have more than 20 titles where multiple versions exist. I'll come back and edit this thing tomorrow after I've had some sleep. Insight would be helpful. ADDED: What I did based on the assumption that Titles only are indexed by Sync ... 1. Using the MP3 tag editor I have (MP3Tag), pulled and saved a CSV list of all MP3s. In Access: 2. Import the CSV file into an Access database - using only Artist, Title and Filename fields. No primary key so not indexed. 3. Developed a Query to select all records by Title so duplicates would be right next to each other. 4. Tagged any NON-duplicated record and then deleted that data row. I only want multiples of the same title. 5. End result was 222 records that were titles with 2 or more MP3s but with different artists. See ref to Guitar Boogie Shuffle above. 6. Using the same query used in #3 above, I tagged additional records, leaving only 1 of a set. 7. Deleted all the tagged data rows and got a result of 107 titles that have more than one artist who did the tune. Summary: I think indexing is NOT title only, but I really can't figure out what it is. 2290 on file in Windows 222 MP3s with more than 1 version of the tune; 107 after extras were culled out 2290 - 107 = 2183 2275 indexed in Sync. This does not equal the expected 2183 if title only is indexing factor. The numbers don't add up - or come anywhere close. Any clues?

There are others here who have experience with FORScan, but as I understand it, it does allow for some things. It might be what you'd need.

I agree on all those points. I dread Winter because my mileage tanks. My brother has since traded the '13 for an '18 and he has kept the OEM tread mounted. Gets great mileage. Keep the tires inflated, tho! That has a large effect on efficiency.

I am SO tickled this is still grinding on. Coming home from the restaurant I had to dodge a bit of mayhem on the road. Seems 3 vehicles were in a rear-ender. According to a witness, the first car hit did not have brake lights. You would think the vehicle hitting them would get ticketed, right? Nope. The car with no brake lights was ticketed as causing the accident since the approaching driver had no knowledge of their stopped condition. This no-light situation CAN cause grief. In essence, this quoted snippet above holds true in NY - Drivers Ed. and Defensive Driving courses. Obviously it also holds true in accident situations locally at least. Sometimes the cops around here are really, really on the ball. Which brings me to MY pet peeve - stopping distances. Do you come to a stop nice and close to the vehicle in front or do you sit back a decent space? If the former, incidents like a rear-ender that involve you have a good chance of shoving you into the rear of the vehicle in front. Defensive Driving course I've taken advise stopping far enough back to see the contact patch of the rear tires of the vehicle in front. With your foot on the brake, should you get hit in the back, you have a damn good chance of NOT getting shoved into the trunk or pickup bed ahead of you. There ... now I've given y'all another "let's avoid common sense and courtesy" topic! Aren't I nice?

Yeah. I think these days you have to actually look at the wear or go by the brake fluid level. Altho I place little credence in the fluid thingy ... if it drops, it signifies wear? <shakes head> Doubt that.

Thanks guys. That's why I asked because I know they should last a good while longer than 24K miles. Could be an attempt at an upsell by the mechanic as well. <shrug>

I hit screw and natch popped a leak. Ennyhoo, when getting it fixed, it was noted that rear pads are worn and rotors are grooved. I realize these do more work than the front, but at 24.5K miles is this natural? I plan on having dealer look at them when I go for 30K service as wel.

I forgot about that! Good catch.

US cars have the ability to toggle DRL on/off. They're hardwired on Canadian units.

I do not believe the OEM Michelins are run-flats. My experience with a flat did not allow me to run on the tire - and it was not sidewall. They are LRR (Low Rolling Resistance) but that is to add to better MPG.

Any salvage yard purchase of a 2013+ gas model Fusion 16" compact spare (and jack, etc) will work with the FFH. There is a thread in here somewhere that outlines the OEM part numbers for the same stuff AND what you need for tread to complete the setup. Compact spare will fit into the well easily for at least a 2015 - 2018 FFH that I know of. Can't say on 2019 but I can state that a '20 needs some screw/bolt removal before it fits. Your '14 should also be a drop-in (like the '15).

Oh yeah ... run very fast and very far away. Get the original car back and scoot out of there. If she is set on an Energi, perhaps another Ford dealer will treat ya all better.

Spare tire info: This thread addresses getting a compact spare (new parts) via Ford. This can be expensive (> $500). If going the salvage yard method and Fusion 2013+ compact spare will work. Make sure you get the assembly box, wrench and jack!

And let us not forget the hit on mileage when swapping out the OEM Michelins. I experience it after getting the snows put on, my brother ('18 FFH) got it when he changed to a different tire. A couple other posters are in another thread and have experienced the same MPG drop when leaving the OEM tread. While I don't like saying "keep it stock" I think in the case of the tires that's the way to go.

The OEM tires will perform better when it comes to mileage than anything else. My brother did what you guys did - replaced the Michelins - on his '13 and immediately noticed a drop in MPG. I see a drastic drop when I switch to snow tires.

I see circular frames around the foglight/road light. The black surround is somewhat trapezoid. I'm wondering if we are getting different pics. I'll clear browser history and try again. In the link referencing mondeo-hatchback-pictures There are several pics of a Mondeo. About half way are 2 or 3 with trapezoid lights. The rest are the circular '13-'16 type lights.

older style circular fog lights. Gear shift and not the dial we have now. Gotta admit a lot of space in the hatch ... BUT ... We won't see the diesel options We won't see a manual tranny (altho it would bring in some sales) Where are they gonna stuff the HVB in the hybrid form? In the '19 model year, Ford chopped trim lines and option packages to get away from a boatload of varieties. I think that will happen here ... things will be combined. I like the styling and in particular the stance. THIS has me interested in a Fusion once again. I'll wait.

Model of car: Sorry, should have stated ... sedans. Never have had a hatch. Screw: I've debated the removal and might try it. But the shallower well depth might roach things for me anyway. <shrug> I get past some medical issues, I'll try it. Why trade ups?: I put 38K+ on the '15 in just 16 months. B2B warranty gone and 1) didn't wanna spring for ESP and 2) didn't wanna start paying for a lot of repairs. At the time I had no feel for the ability of the FFH to actually NOT have many issues. With the '17, I figured I'd get one more FFH since Ford had announced the end of Fusion in 2020. So in Sep 2019 I got it delivered. Mileage: Am in total agreement with you on the MPG. The '15 was my best one and sometimes got over 50 MPG with normal driving. My brother had a '13 FFH and traded for an '18. To say he's disappointed in the mileage is pretty accurate. TBH, I now have major buyers remorse in trading the '15. It handled well, got really good mileage, looked sharp (Tux Black, Terracotta interior, black rims and blacked out grille). But my own refusal to pay for ESP "just in case" was its end. I filed that under the REGRET category of memories.

Fiesta trunk has no HVB bump in it, so more inherent floorspace is available. Also I do think the trunk depth is more than the FFH. I might have to measure things against the sons '14 Fiesta. As for the spare, I can't use it in the '20 due to a couple factors. First, there is a sheet-metal self-tapping screw for the HVB cover that projects into the well. I am not sure it removing it would be safe or not (cover loosening?) and this stops the tread from properly seating in the well. BUT ... second is that the damn well itself is just a bit shallower than the '17 I had (or the '15). That makes for a lifted well cover and not good.

NOW I see where you're coming from on the remarks. Thank you for clarifying. Paint ... you have a '19 - I have a '20. The red is Rapid Red (I believe). Definitely not the Ruby Red of prior years. That was a nicer red IMO. I wanted the copper color that '19 had and found out it was a 1-year one, so I settled on red. Trunk ... you had to muck around on the Fiesta to get 2 large suitcases into the trunk. Well, altho it's somewhat different shape, the cubic footage of the FFH trunk is very close to that of a Fiesta. I believe that's around 13 - 13.5 cubic feet. Disagree that trunks should be scaled for "x" format/size cartage. I doubt trunks are foremost on an engineers mind when designing a car. Since you carry a lot of stuff, an SUV might have served you better. More space and all that. I dunno. All I know is that I can fit 3 17" tires (no rims AND you need to get it "just so") into the trunk area and the 4th will be on top of a folded down seat ... and that's how I haul them to the shop when I swap tread for weather changes. <shrug> Again, thanks for the clarification as to the why of your remarks. Unfortunately many of the items will probably not be addressed since Ford ditched all passenger cars in the US. <sigh>

I can't hold back any longer ... You bought this car used as I recall. You KNEW what you were going to use it for I'm betting. Now, here's my real question(s) ... as a used car buyer, did you take a drive in it of any distance or duration? Did you look in the trunk area to ensure it could hold what you wanted/needed? Did you look at the color of the vehicle - as I recall you stating you dislike the red. See, I shopped ahead of purchase. I asked questions, looked at reviews, tried things on for size as well as I could. This was 2015 when I purchased my first FFH. I KNEW what I was getting and the shortfalls. But coming from a Fiesta to a Fusion, the added comfort, relatively same mileage and IMO better controls for defrost, etc sold me on it. I improved the handling a bit with the addition of some Steeda parts. I added a compact spare - as has Waldo - and did some other personalizations. End thought: if I spent as much time bashing and putting down technology I knowingly bought into, I wouldn't be able to enjoy the nice car that I have.