Speedometer auto-dim and other electrical oddities.

[Gabbo]

I have a brand new 2015 Fusion SE Hybrid and over the last month I have noticed some odd electrical quirks. I find that everytime I pass under an overpass, or go through a tunnel, the speedometer will auto-dim (this seems reasonable), however I am finding that it takes a LONG time sometimes for it to go back to normal brightness after driving back out into the light. It makes the speedometer pretty hard to read as it is totally dark. Sometimes I am at a stop right after going under an overpass and my speedometer lights will remain off until I start moving again.

 

Another issue is that about 3 times now, my seats and mirrors get reset back to default positions between trips. My radio presets have also reset a few times. The car is just about perfect if it weren't for these problems.

 

Anyone else have similar issues with their FFHs?

 

[corncobs]

You might wanna take look at the settings for the light dimming.

It almost sounds like the night light setting is very low / dimmed.

 

It definitely doesn't sound normal.

[mwr]

If your headlight switch is set to Auto, when outside light gets low enough the headlkights will come on and therefore the panel lights will dim to the night setting. I don't know about it taking so long to come back to daylight setting; I've never noticed that.

 

My seats and mirrors have never reset automatically. I'd say that's defnitely not right.

[Waldo]

The "day" setting and the "night" setting of the cluster have independent dimming "memories". So as corncobs states, the night setting might just be all the way to full dim, which is why you can't see it. The way to fix that is to get it in the night setting (you can always put a piece of paper over the light sensor if you wnat to do it while in a bright place) and adjust the dimmer. If you adjust the dimmer while the system is in day mode, it will not affect the night setting.

 

As for the seats, it could be that you're not familiar with the memory settings. Did you know that the seat memory can be tied not just to the memory buttons, but also to the individual keyfobs and to the numeric keypad codes that you set? Could be that you're using the fob that's tied to a different memory setting. The radio presets should never be reset though, but are you aware that there are 2 different AM and 3 different FM preset groups? Could be that you didn't realize you'd changed which group you have on the screen. Also I think there is an auto-preset function that sets the presets to the strongest local station, could be you accidentally triggered that somehow.

[Gabbo]

Wow thanks for the responses. Those are a lot of things to consider for sure. Where is the light sensor located? I thought it was the little plastic thing on the top/center of my dashboard, but covering that thing up does nothing.

 

The seats/mirror resets could have to do with seperate memory settings, but I have only used one FOB, but I have set a door code. I will have to correlate whether using the door code vs FOB results in the seats changing.

[corncobs]

Yes it's that little plastic square that sits on the top-middle of the dash. As long you have your light switch set to auto the headlights should turn on a few seconds after covering the sensor.

 

If that's not happening it sounds like a case of electric gremlins.

[Gabbo]

Waldo! You are the man. The seats and mirrors "reseting" is due to the 3 times I have locked my keys in the car and had to resort to unlocking the door via the door code. I tested it today and sure enough, the second I put in the code, I saw the seat and the mirrors reset. I just have to figure out how to get the door code and my FOB to be on the same profile I suppose.

 

The radio presets were indeed because there are freaking 3 of them! I never noticed this before, but now that I know how to switch between them, I found my missing presets.

 

I still have yet to find out how to adjust the dimming seperately but will mess with it more this weekend.

 

Thanks man, good to know my brand new car isn't already malfunctioning.

[hybridbear]

Wow thanks for the responses. Those are a lot of things to consider for sure. Where is the light sensor located? I thought it was the little plastic thing on the top/center of my dashboard, but covering that thing up does nothing.

 

The seats/mirror resets could have to do with seperate memory settings, but I have only used one FOB, but I have set a door code. I will have to correlate whether using the door code vs FOB results in the seats changing.

You can associate the custom door code you programmed with a memory seat setting as well.

 

The "day" setting and the "night" setting of the cluster have independent dimming "memories". So as corncobs states, the night setting might just be all the way to full dim, which is why you can't see it. The way to fix that is to get it in the night setting (you can always put a piece of paper over the light sensor if you want to do it while in a bright place) and adjust the dimmer. If you adjust the dimmer while the system is in day mode, it will not affect the night setting.

 

As for the seats, it could be that you're not familiar with the memory settings. Did you know that the seat memory can be tied not just to the memory buttons, but also to the individual keyfobs and to the numeric keypad codes that you set? Could be that you're using the fob that's tied to a different memory setting. The radio presets should never be reset though, but are you aware that there are 2 different AM and 3 different FM preset groups? Could be that you didn't realize you'd changed which group you have on the screen. Also I think there is an auto-preset function that sets the presets to the strongest local station, could be you accidentally triggered that somehow.

Excellent summation of possible causes.