lrymal

The Xtreme Power bulbs are rated at 55watts consumption, identical to the OEM units. All they've done is improve the shape of the light filament assembly in a re-shaped capsule.

H7 bulbs are listed in the FFH manual and H7 Xtreme Power bulbs at the Philips website. They just haven't updated their year chart. Might be a nice project to try.

I live in East Texas, hot humid East Texas (85% humidity at 100 degrees). I will happily trade 4 - 5 MPG to stay cool, if it is even that much. I think the FFH does a marvelous job at balancing this stuff and am happy to no longer be at the mercy of a belt-powered compressor clutch. I was surprised, though, when sitting in construction with this humidity/temperature, that the car's interior was very cool, and I was on battery for the entire stoppage. ICE never kicked in.

Having that Microsoft bump logo on my console is a bit unsettling......... ;(

Lucky you, hybrid speaking....with your flat land roads. Up here in East Texas with the hilly roads, optimal mileage won't ever be achieved. But, I'm pleased. I'm averaging 35 mpg in spite of city and highway driving with the hills as they are.

Great gasoline mileage!!!! Compare that to any mid-sized car, or another Fusion without the hybrid technology. Mixed driving for most mid-sized cars will give about 25 mpg. Also check your tire pressure while the tires are cold, or as cool as they can get in summer. This means, no summer sun shining on them. Your garage should be fine. Use the PSI on the door sill decal. Some enthusiats will inflate a couple of extra pounds PSI to the tires to try to get more gas mileage, but this will harshen the ride a bit if your road is not all that smooth.

Oh yes....Forums can really be a good resource. Definitely shows the power of the internet. I try to give back as much as I can to the forums where I belong.

Oh........ you are going to have fun with your mileage!!!!!! I am sure a lot of hypermilers here will be envying you.

Your normal commute is probably in a flat area of the region, right? I have one stretch that I will dread, which I don't even want to know what my mileage will be. It is a 45 mile area run with lots of hill, scenic roads, that rise from about 150' to 550', according to the GPS. Certainly, a good opportunity for playing, but it will be a challenge for good mileage, especially if one doesn't want to get into hypermiling. Ummmm, maybe minor hypermiling. ;>)

Stealth mode--- INDEED! That is certainly an apt term for it. Regarding the ride. I think it depends on your comfort level, as you mentioned, if you increase the PSI. In the three weeks I have had my FFH, I find the ride firm, but yet comfortable. But, I don't think I would want it any firmer.

And greetings from East Texas... I am about three weeks old with my FFH. Love the car. I haven't had so much fun in years with a car. You are right on target with your fuel mileage. What you are seeing with the gauge is typical as well. The idea of the amount of energy is far more complicated that I can explain, but the manual claims the goal of the battery gods is to keep the charge about half way on the battery. Gives lots of wiggle room on the charge and discharge, greatly extends the life of the battery. And that is about as far as I understand it. Older messages here claim to not judge the mileage under after about 1000 miles. One thing to be cautious about... if you do NOT have your air conditioning on, have a good charge on the battery, and are in a crowded parking lot with a lot of walking pedestrians, be aware they will not hear you. For all practical purposes, the FFH, on battery at low speeds, will sound like a motorless rolling car in neutral. I had a walker go right in front me and the experience scared both of us.

Hello everyone... I just received a set of these: http://www.steedafusion.com/store/p187/Ste...oduct_info.html The quality is really nice and I certainly haven't seen anything that is cheap or compromised. The finish is a chrome mirror-like finish, and that's the problem. I'm concerned that dirty shoe soles, etc., will scratch these up. Because of that, I haven't installed them, yet. Has anyone installed the Steeda stainless steel door sill plates and can comment? I haven't conquered the search engine here. Keeps listing several off-topic messages when I merely type in "door sill".

The problem with this is that we don't really get enough experience with it unless we force ourselves. But, it isn't just a Ford thing, either. My 2008 GM full-sized pickup had a similar system and really scared the bejeebers out of me, especially when you have air horns mounted on the truck and the truck is in an enclosed garage and you are trying to figure out how to stop the blasting of repeated noise.

I found it in the manual:

I have no idea, either. I also thought you were offering a solution. I'd take the car to the dealer for a warranty fix and be done with it.

EDIT: DOUBLE POSTED MESSAGE OF MINE. I HAVE NO IDEA WHY IT DID THAT.

Thanks for the replies, everyone... clears things up for me. I noticed the other day, while demonstrating to a pal at "idle", when the air conditioning was running, how the ICE behaves when you do a slow acceleration. That is when I noticed as the ICE was coming online that a charge was going into the high-voltage battery, just as was mentioned in Jon's message. I've skimmed in the user's manual about long-term storage. I need to read up on this to nail down what was said. Sorta wondered if solar cells integrated in the roof could keep a maintenance minimal charge on the battery pack, but I am quite certain this design has had the heck tested out of it. Regarding tech manuals... this might be the first vehicle in all the cars and pickups I have purchased in the past that I don't have a tech manual for. I'm almost afraid of getting one. This car is so solid-feeling and elegant that I'm afraid of messing with it. ;>)

This is just a question of curiosity.... If the 12 volt battery goes dead, which these sometimes do for "no reason", would the car still be able to start up, assuming the high-voltage battery is charged up? I speculate "no". Not quite sure of the 12 volt batteries purpose, other than power the electronics for system bootup, the radio, cluster, lights, etc. I know the reasons are exact, but I wonder why the 12 volt battery is really needed? Why didn't they have a voltage divider "or something" from the high-voltage battery for powering what the 12 volt battery does?

I have never really tried to interpret anything, just that if the power gauge goes up, then I know battery propulsion will begin to hand off more frequently to the gasoline motor. And, no, I'm not turning off the air conditioning in the car this summer. About the only thing different that I do is that I use the historical bar graph as opposed to the leaves. Had a comical experience this morning. A friend rode with me and was watching the economy read out. The little trip was about five miles long, from the town bank to the local Wal-Mart. I discovered only this weekend that this journey is only about a 1% decline on the road to the store. You really can't detect it while riding in the car. Well, so off we go. The economy graph was pegged, for the most part, at 60 mpg. About five stop signs on the way. Battery had ample charging opportunities. So, we arrive at the Wal-Mart parking lot. Traffic was a bit heavy, so I was driving under 30 MPH--all on battery. Found a spot to park and quit the system. We both looked at the average MPG. It said 90 MPG! HEH. I thought that was funny. Now going back was another story. Had to go UP the inclined road at about 35 MPG. Well, that's OK.

I have an installation question...... just occured to me. What do we reference the guard with when laying it out on the door. You don't reference to the ground because the car's rear end will be kicked up a bit, or there might be a full or empty tank, so the car's angle to the ground will be different. Do we reference to the bottom sculptured area of the door? Do we reference to an imaginary line drawn from the top of both wheel wells? Do we reference to an imaginary line drawn from door handle to door handle? By referencing, I don't mean the height of the door guard from the ground. I mean, what do we measure from, our reference point when getting the guard on the car, to make it straight? I don't have the "artistic" eye. Referencing to the wrong point will make the door guard appear crooked.

Likewise, I have the only 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid in my county. Indeed, I found it on the internet on a Sunday evening. It arrived the previous Friday. I called early Monday morning and was on the road with it during the afternoon. Most of the sales droids hadn't even had a chance to look at it and gave it a look over as the make-ready guy drove it up front. I have had more neighbors coming by, checking it out.

I have vowed for decades to not tolerate bugs on my latest new vehicle. I say that every time I purchase a vehicle. They etch the paint. The little critters bodies are full of acid. Now (summer 2009) is the time for big bugs, little bugs, love bugs. The squished innards dry fast on the car body, cooking in the heat coming from the road. This year is different--they will not etch the paint of my new 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid. This is war. I have used Bug and Tar Remover, Turtle Wax stuff, McQuire stuff, Ford bug remover stuff, GM bug remover stuff. Motorcyclists will drape a wet towel over the bug-encrusted windshield. The water hydrates the bug carcasses and are easy to come off. I have even tried that with an old bed spread on the car, but no real luck. I have even tried these solutions: http://www.stretcher.com/stories/990614c.cfm So, this is the year I am going to conquer the bugs. In the past--I have tried prevention--I have tried soaking the front end with WD-40 before long road trips. Helps, but messy, and the bugs still get through, sticking determinedly to the paint. Tried Rain-X. Some New Yorkers claim that will help. Apparently they don't know Texas bugs. Tried Pam, the cook spray. Sounded like a good idea, but didn't work. So, I think I have a two-part solution. I keep the front end well-waxed--that's part one. That does help. But, to really remove the bugs, I have found an easier way than my previous attempts. Part two: Using Stoners Invisible Glass Cleaner for Cars, and literally soaking it an auto detailer's rag (micro fibre), I can remove the bugs. I liberally spray the cleaner as I'm cleaning on the buggy area. So, if you have summer bug problems, and previous methods have never worked, give this a try.

Fantastic..... I was so impressed, I purchased a door guard, also a trunk lid bumper guard (might not install this one if I don't like it).

Thanks for sharing this. I've been trying to find a non-ricer site for this very thing! Mucho appreciate!

Actually, you do have a serpentine for the gasoline motor. An element of surprise: There are two coolant top-off tanks, one for the gasoline motor, and the other for the electronic power train. You'll see when you open the hood. Be amazed at the comfort of the car itself. This is a well-crafted sedan. This ain't your granny's Ford Fairlane 500, so be amazed when you drive it. I think it has been decades since I have enjoyed a vehicle as much as I have my FFH.