Cary28

I bought a fully loaded 2010 FFH after extensive research and test driving every other available Hybrid except the MB S class(tempting but not in my price range). I was looking for a family sedan for my wife, as she drove a Chrysler Town & Country before. This is the first Ford I bought, as I had bad impressions of GM from owning 80's era Cadillac and Corvettes. It was cleary the best car for my requirements, as its a real sedan which drives well for a Hybrid. Its also an expensive Hybrid sedan, but pocesses the luxury features and performance to match the price. It has similar design quality as an 98 Accord EX V6 I once owned, and the interior is approaching the MB R350 I was driving. I now drive this and my Corvette to work, and my wife will take over when she returns in June. I just fill up the tank every 4 - 6 weeks, and the car is a lot of fun to drive. I am impressed with the design and build quality of this car, and a testament to what Ford has done to revive the company. If there is one complaint I have, it is the disabled feature for Navigation when the car is moving. The Sync feature is somewhat tedious and difficult to use when you are trying to find POI for navigation. Maybe I haven't learned all the shortcuts, but I find being able to use the screen much easier as I had that capability on my MB R350. I know its a safety feature, but I would appreciate being able to enable that mode.

I think it was just a matter of time, as its all on the same platform. Glad to see the Fusion sales record as the catalyst for this launch. I would have bought the MKZ if it was available as a Hybrid, as I like their features like HID, LED tail lights, maybe memory seats, and more plush interior. However, the Fusion inteiror is pretty good, as I get lots of positive comments comparing it to European designs, and way better than what you find in most Japanese interiors in terms of design and quality of material.

Its funny this came up, as the exact thing happend to me on a drive with my wife shortly after we picked up our new FFH last November. The rattling noise was more noticeable due to the quiet cabin of the FFH. We thought it was the glove box first, but isolated it to the visor mount, and the quiet bliss was retored once she latch the visor properly. I've also noticed another area of rattle around the door of the passenger seat. Its a rattle sound which gets started when going over bumps or uneven pavements, but is not consistent. I only notice it when I'm driving alone, and I was going to bring it into the dealer when I accidentally discovered the cause. It was the seat belt buckle rattling against the plastic piece on the right side of the passenger seatback. I would never have found it seating in the passenger seat, as the seat belt would be buckled. And a driver vantage point would not be able to see between the seat back and the door. So it was purely luck that I was able to isolate this one, when I was driving while rocking the passenger seat and hitting different areas to try to discover the noise, all this while driving carefully to avoid hitting anything on a quiet road. :shift: I don't know if anyone else have noticed this, but that was the culprit!

As explained to me by my installer, the FFH electrical system design is similar to the ones used by European cars, which means the working voltage varies considerably depending on the electrical load. The flicker you see is caused by insufficient voltage reaching the ballast, so they will eventually shutdown to protect the circuit. There is a harness or BOW jumper which will act as a giant capacitor to ensure the ballast is always getting 12VDC, or some threshold to avoid the flicker. I think some of the newer digital ballast has that build in, but the jumper only cost $20, so it may be an easier option for you. Good luck :shift:

I actually had a choice of 4500K or 6000K, and I was leaning toward the 4500k for higher lumens and more light output. However, the installer recommended the 6000K since that was a "whiter" light with a slight bluish tint, so I went with that. To be honest, the 6000K was very bright, and the effect through the projector lens is fine. I drove throught some heavy rain at night, and the visibility was incredible when compared to the stock halogens. I highly recommend the HID upgrade, and Ford should include it with their premium 502 packages.

That example looks quite applicable to placing an order and taking delivery in a few months, while using the original order date as the date of purchase. This will hopefully establish precedence for the IRS filing this year. Thanks for digging this one out.

That sounds very reasonable, and is the assumption many owners have on the process. However, it would be more comforting to have some IRS publications or online update to confirm that. I know my accountant had some concerns when I bought the car before the Oct 1st cutoff, and asked her about the filing process. :banghead:

I shopped around and finally got my new HID upgrade. It was a big difference in light output and color(6000K) as compared to the stock OEM halogen low beams. I learned some interesting things along the way, so thought I would share this info. (Maybe this was brought up on another post, so please excuse me if I'm stating the obvious) :finger: The 2010 Fusion electrical system uses the European wiring system, which means the voltage varies widely as the car operates (maybe more so for the FFH than the ICE engine versions). This is why many HID upgrade kits will flicker and actually turn off after awhile due to insufficient voltage. Some digital ballast have an integrated circuit which acts as a giant capacitor to stablize the voltage to 12V(or some minimum threshold), which ensures the system is able to maintain its working voltage. Degradation of the voltage beyond a certain level will cause the flickers, and eventually system shutdown to protect itself. This happend initially in my installation, so they had to install an adapter harness inline to provide that capacitor circuit which fixed everything. This was quite a tedious install, as others have experienced. They did the passenger side first through the front wheel well cover. The drivers' side was easier and could be done from the top. They had to snap open the wheel well covers anyway for both sides to reach the fog lights, so lots of crawling around and removing some hoses to get to everything. As others have said, once you have HID, you will never go back to OEM halogen lights. I was somewhat spoiled by the factory HID system on my Mercedes R350(which also had the auto turning headlights when you steer), so upgrading my stock FFH halogens to these HIDs really put the finishing touches on this fantatic car. :happy feet: I also upgraded the fog lights to Nokya Artic White stage 2 Halogens to match the color of the HIDs. These are 70W vs the factory 55W, so I'm hoping the wiring harness will be able to handle them. Anyone knows if the extra current (5.83A vs 4.58A) is within the guardband of the factory harness spec? Unfortunately, the upgraded fogs didn't seem to make much of a difference. This is probably due to the fog being aimed very low to the ground. I live in an area where there is little fog, so I was hoping to use the fog as a cornering and/or driving lamp. I may ask the dealer to help adjust the angle about an inch higher as others have suggested to achieve that effect without blinding oncoming traffic. The nice thing about the projector low beam and fog light is very nice focus of the beams, and a sharp cutoff on the left side to minimize distraction to oncoming drivers. I've been using these lights for almost a week and have not had anyone flash their lights at me. I've noticed a very bright white light that extends coverage to the right side of the vehicle, which lights up road signs, house numbers, and pedestrians walking their dogs which would be more difficult to see if using the OEM halogen lights. I've also tested these HIDs on the freeways and streets w/o any street lights. They are a major improvement over the stock halogen lights, and really help in lighting up the entire highway. I was going to upgrade the high beams to match the color of the HIDs, but the installer didn't think he could get access to them due to the tight space. My next step is to try to find those pearlescent bulb for the turn signal which looks really cool in its housing, but has the amber color when turned on. I think Silverstar makes them but they are quite expensive. BTW, I also had the windows tinted at the same place, and they gave me a discount for the whole job. Total was $280 for the tint, HID, and fog lights. The entire job took around 3 hrs, since there were others ahead of me for the tinting. Not too bad for a professional job! :shift:

Has anyone found a HID kit which works well with the 2010 FFH, and W/O any modifications, like special harness, BOW bypass, or relays? How about comparison of the light output between an HID and a PIAA Superwhite halogen bulb? I am not satisfied with the stock low beams, and want to upgrade. I wanted to consider both HID as well as the PIAA or even the Sylvania Silverstar Ultras as options. The problem with HID kits is knowing which is a good brand, and which model will work well with the FFH. Thanks for your help.

I took delivery about a month ago, and have around 1500 miles on the FFH. The long term average MPG is around 34MPG, with about 700 miles+ accured during an extended trip from N. California to LA over the Thanksgiving holidays. I was getting a long term 35MPG just after that trip, but we were driving at 70MPH+ on the I5 at times. I calculated around 33MPG by using actual fill-up data for the 2 times I've filled the tank. I've tried to be in EV mode as much as possible around town, w/o being too slow to aggravate other drivers. I must admit I don't know enough about the techniques to achieve optimal mileage, so was just using the gauges and some common sense, along with reading about what others are doing to get a balance of high mileage and reasonable driver etique. I have experienced some short trips which can exceed 60MPG+, primarily in town with little traffic so I can maximize the EV mode. I hear the mileage will get better after 5K miles, and I'm sure I'll learn some techniques to help achieve better mileage in the next few months. In the mean time, its been a lot of fun driving this new video game on wheels.

I noticed all the fingerprints on the Nav screen just after 2 weeks. I saw some PEV screen protectors for 8.9" netbooks for around $5 online, so will measure the screen to find one with a close fit, then cut it to size and see if it will work.

I feel for you man, its been an agonizing wait for you! My dealer just sent me an email saying "your beautiful car is here, and we are ready to prep it tomorrow". :happy feet: What a pleasant surprise :headspin: FCC told me it was scheduled for 11/9 when I talked with them last Friday, even thought my dealer did say it was suppose to arrive sometime this week. Wow, that was very nice! Unfortunatley, I'm not around to pick it up this week, so it will have to wait until I get back next Friday (I'm dreading the wait now until I can take delivery) :shift: A pretty fast delivery of 6-7 weeks from an order date of 9/18, confirmation date of 9/24, to a built date of 10/19, and a delivery of 11/2. Maybe they've got into the groove and worked out all the logistic kinks, so these FFH are coming out like clockwork !

The front lines look so much better w/o the distraction of a license plate. I've not had a front plate on my Corvette since I first bought it more than 20 yrs ago, and never had a problem. But I understand the fix-it tickets are now more expensive, to the tune of $25. Some cities like Fremont are using speed cameras which requires the front license so they can take a picture. I'll check with the dealer when the car arrives to see what are my options, if any.

I certainly don't want to abuse the FCC, but I've only talked with them twice in the last 3 weeks, and they have been able to provide more detailed information than the dealer. In this case, the FCC's update indicated a delivery of 11/10 last Friday, but the dealer email today said its arriving next week. Either case would be fine with me, since I plan on picking up the car in 2 weeks. My state does require a front license plate, but I want to avoid drilling holes into the front bumper if I can. Perhaps a bit risky?

Just recevied a note from the dealer that my car is coming in next week :headspin: WOW! Car was released last Friday so they may have found a spot on a quick train. I'm going to call FCC tomorrow to track the train and confirm actual arrival, as its 1 week earlier than expected. In any case, I'm out of town until mid Nov, so no real impact to picking up this new toy :shift: I need to remind myself to write to the dealer so they won't install the front license bracket... :finger: