rcbaird75

Thanks, Paul. I feel I've been taken for a ride by the dealership, and I don't like Ford's design as a result. I don't plan to keep this car much longer. We'll see how long the CEL remains off. I'll follow up with a post here later.

Thank you for the additional information, Waldo. I get it. For now, the dealership reinstalled everything and left the AGSA unplugged, at my request. They say the CEL has gone away and might or might not reappear. I paid around $500 for this result (removal of front bumper, etc. to get at the part that they said needed to be replaced to the tune of a $600 part, which I chose not to have installed). We'll see what the long-term result is. As long as the CEL stays off long enough for me to get the car inspected before 10/31, then I'll try to find a way to justify the expense in my mind. This has left me with a bad taste for the dealership and the car, I'm sorry to say. I understand Ford needing to shave off miles in order to meet the EPA standards, but to do it in a way that the owner must pay this much to deal with what is basically a non-essential part is just not right in my book. The car just is 2 years old. Had I not voiced my complaint to the service manager, I'd have paid $1200 to fix this with the installation of a new AGSA.

No, Murphy, I didn't check that, but I'll ask if that was part of what the dealership mechanic checked prior to removing the bumper. Thanks for the advice. Bob

I do plan to have a different shop look at the problem if the CEL is still there when I get the car back. Thank you for the advice, Paul. Bob

I agree, Paul, it is very suspicious. In fact, I made this same point with the service manager, and he had no comment. I honestly think the CEL is being caused by something else, and I plan to get more details when I talk with him Monday morning. There was no CEL for two years, then one day all the instruments on my cluster flash when I start the car, and it's like all the setting (Lane Assistance, which I leave turned off because I don't like), rain-sensitive washers, etc. act as though they were reset to the default. Then a few days later the CEL appears but goes away the next time I start the car. Then finally it comes on and stays on two weeks ago. Is there an error code that the shutters themselves would throw up? I've not found any reference to that. The manager did confirm that they had defaulted to the full open position, which they are designed to do when there's a fault in the system. So basically, the shutters were doing what front-end grills have done for nearly a century: remain full open, as if they weren't there, and allow air to flow to the radiator. What's wrong with that? What I want--and what I think they could do--is to remove the assembly altogether. It's hard for me to imagine that the Ford engineers who designed a sophisticated system like the Fusion hybrid wouldn't have made allowances for bypassing a component that serves no real purpose other than to improve fuel efficiency a small bit and make the engine warm up faster in cold weather (I live in North Carolina, so continuous cold weather is not a concern). A CEL light for this seems like overkill, and I don't know why they had to remove the bumper just to trace the problem to the shutters. I owe the dealership $450 just to diagnose the issue? That's ridiculous, but in my ignorance I authorized it. Live and learn. Bob

No, unfortunately, since something on the road struck them.

I realize this is an older topic, but I'm hoping the people who posted on this thread will be able to help me. Recently, my CEL came on and I took it into a local dealership in Wake Forest, NC. They informed me that they traced the problem (using OBD codes) to the active shutter assembly, and that to get at the problem they would need to remove the bumper, disassemble the headlights, etc. to the tune of around $400-$500. I authorized the work, and they later informed me that the assembly had failed, due to being struck from undeneath in an incident two years previous to this. The part would cost an addditional $600. I knew nothing about this assembly at the time; but when they told me the shutters had defaulted to an open position--since I was asking for details--and that if I didn't replace it I could be reducing the lifetime of the car (or something to that effect). I asked if it couldn't simply be removed or disengaged without harm and to remove the CEL display on the panel. They said no. It all sounded vague and a bit suspect to me, but I authorized them to order the part. That night I did some research--including what I found on this forum--and when I learned that the shutter assembly was a non-essential part whose primary purpose was to reduce drag when traveling at high speed, and thus save a few miles per gallon in those circumstances--I was irritated to say the least. Today I called and left a message for the service rep (they were closed) and told him I'd decided not to have the work done. I'll be talking with him Monday morning. My question is this: is there a way to disengage or remove the assembly and prevent the CEL from being displayed as a result? I hope someone can give me information that will assist me when I talk with the service rep on Monday morning. Thanks! Bob