callawassie

It's hard to review the entire board for possible answers, but I did a post in August of last year on regenerative braking. Put the word "Paradigm" into the search box, and you will see the post and several good replies.

One of the better posts on this forum, thanks. Here is my list, hopefully Ford is watching? Also, this is a 'real world' list, no far out ideas here. 1. Garage door openers (3) bult into the sun visor. 2. Memory seats! 3. Flip key - current one cuts holes in my pockets. 4. Trunk storage nets - to handle the grocery bags. 5. Cruise control disengage...nof OFF, just disengage, I hate having to hit the brakes to do this! 6. Folding mirrors...OK, but getting down on my list here. 7. Larger display of all functions in center counsole...showing my age maybe?

OK, to close the loop here, Welly from Taiwan is a man of his word. Sent me a new transponder at no charge. I placed it in the flip key, reprogrammed it in five seconds, and I'm a happy chappy!

OK, confession is good for the soul, but boy do I feel stupid! I had an email exchange with "Welly" - the guy in Taiwan that sells these on eBay. He suggested that when I disassembled and reassembled the key, I might have overlooked the tiny little transponder. He even sent a picture to help me. Truth be told, this miniscule piece of plastic sorta fell out of the housing. I thought it was a broken off piece - could not see where it fit, so threw it away! Yes, it was the transponder. Welly is sending me a replacement - so my compliments to him in this mess of mine!

OK, first the hint to those of you with a flip key (probably bought on eBay). If you have not done so, fold the key half-way shut to where you can see the two small screws that attach the key. Then get some loc-tite or similar product and put on the threads to keep the screws from backing out. I had simply been tightening them when needed, and finally they prevented me from closing the key. That then forced me to open up the entire assembly. The one black screw that gives you access to the battery and circuit board, then I had to pop the Ford emblem off, to remove two more screws in order to get the case off of the key. I then did the loc-tite application, even covered the top of the screw with a dab of crazy glue and after drying, reassembled it. Now the problem.....I hit the door unlock/lock buttons to check it, and everything worked fine. Then when the wife and I were going out to dinner, no luck. The transponder would not work, and I got the red flashing key symbol. Switched to the factory issued key for the evening. Today I tried reprogramming the transponder, following both the instructions in the owner's manual, as well as the instructions that came with the flip key when I bought it six months ago. Basically using the two factory keys in the ignition, followed by the flip key. Any ideas? I am confused as to why the remote lock/unlock works, but the transponder will not set up? Thanks.....

OK, we have about beaten this to death. Yes, FFH first maintenance is at 5K, simple tire rotation and inspection. Maybe $20 or so. Now onto a more important point....tire service plans. When I bought my FFH about six months ago, the finance guy tried to sell me every add-on known to man, including the tire service plan (can't remember the official name for it). Anyhow, I declined. A couple of weeks ago, coming out of the grocery store, I noticed a nail head sticking out of the tire! OK, choice was to go home, grab the pliers, and pull that sucker out. Then I thought of the hissing sound, and the "Oh S--t" reaction on my part. So took it into my Ford dealer, only to have him tell me that because a patch would be partway on the sidewall, they could not repair it...only replace the tire. So, with my Ford bonus bucks or something like that, it ONLY cost me $257....for ONE tire!!! So maybe you all should consider buying tire protection from wherever you get the best deal...

Howie, the direct answer to your question is Yes, there is more fuel left than you think. My son borrowed the car for a weekend trip. He came home with it showing 0 miles to empty. The next morning it took 16.155 gallons, so almost a full gallon of gas remaining. I agree with other posts that this is NOT something you need to practice....just fill up when low.

Bill, I've had my FFH since June, now have about 8K miles on it. First of all, you mpg reading was probably correct, and I think the sales guy was blowing smoke. You were not running in battery mode, so at that speed, using ICE, the mileage would be about right. My experience is that highway runs 35-37 mpg, depending on your speed and if the A/C is running or not. We don't really live in a town, but the suburbs where most trips are at a 55 mph speed limit. Anyhow, depending on how I drive, it ranges from 40 to 43 mph. If you really lived in a city where you had a lot of stop and go, you might do better. Trunk space - OK, it looks small. However, we recently had a road trip where we put both our full size suitcases in (barely), and then could put things on top of them. I think they are 25" suitcases. And just last week, the wife and mother in law took the golf cart, so I put my clubs in the trunk with no problem. Did not even have to take the driver out of the bag to make it all fit. Spacious it is not, but adequate is my view. We are retired, so someone with two kids taking an extended road trip might have a different view on trunk space. As you can tell, we like the car!

My Ford dealer cut the key for free, I programmed it following the instructions. HOWEVER, make sure the screws are tight! I went for weeks thinking my flip key was defective, or the dealer had damaged it, because the key would sometimes jam instead of flipping open. My son, who has much better vision than I do, pointed out that the screws were not in tight, causing the jam. A minute with my eyeglasses repair screwdriver, and I was back in business!

This on Edmunds.com is a good place to read what owners like/dislike on the Fusion/Milan. http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/direct/view/.f1bde29/387

Jon, Thanks, but nope, not the ICE starting up. It is on ICE when this happens. Also does it and is easier to hear when A/C is off, so nothing related there. Think I'll pop the hood and feel around to see if I can find any part that is less than secure.

When accelerating slowly from 20-30 mph, I regularly get a short shudder or vibration coming from the engine area. Lasts only 1-2 seconds. I'm no mechanic, but if there was some sort of cowling or similar metal cover over some part, I would suspect it. Took it to the dealer today to have it checked out along with my A/C freezing up issue (previous post), and they could find nothing wrong with the A/C, and could not detect any abnormal engine noise. Anybody experience the engine noise/shudder/vibration as I have?

I remember my days of being employed, when the term "paradigm shift" was the "in" phrase. OK, something similar with the FFH. All my years, I have been told to not ride the brakes, i.e., have your foot on the brake pedal as you were coasting to a stop. Wear out the brake pads, decrease mileage, etc, etc. Here comes the paradigm shift: Where I live, there are many secondary roads, meaning speed limit is 45 or 55 mph, with a stop light every mile or more. Old habits said when you saw the light up ahead was red, foot off the gas and coast on in, saving gas, right? New habit: foot off the gas, see that car has gone into EV mode, so engine is not running. Apply light brake pressure to contine to decelerate, and use the regenerative braking to charge up the battery! Then, depending upon traffic and speed, you can take off again, maybe turning into the grocery store, using only the battery!

My 2010 FFH has under 2,000 miles on it. Coming back home from first road trip yesterday when the A/C quit working. I live in the South, so it was hot, maybe 94 degrees, and I had been on the interstate for over 3 hours. The wife and I noticed that the cabin was getting warmer, and I kept trying to increase the airflow, the temp, but nothing worked. Almost no air coming out of the vents at all, and certainly not cold air. We were forced to open the windows. I shut the A/C off, and drove for about 15-20 minutes, then when I turned it back on, it seemed to work OK for the rest of the trip. Of course we then drove into an afternoon thunderstorm, so the temp dropped from 94 to 74! Back in the "old days", we would just say that the A/C froze up - does that still happen now? Thing I'll ask the dealer to check it over, but wanted to check with forum readers as well. Thanks for any input or suggestions.

I agree with garage door opener (Homelink) and driver seat memory settings. Folding mirrors nice, but no big deal IMHO. Flip key would be a big plus, keyless go (just have it in your pocket when you push the start button) would be even better. Cut cost by removing the door mounted keypad...a relic from the past. I'd like the ability to temporarily cancel the cruise control without hitting the brake. And while I'm at it, a digital readout of what your cruise control is set at would be great. Then, going way forward, how about adaptive cruise control?