metroplex
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Posts posted by metroplex
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The Explorer forum had a lot of complaints about the brakes. Someone said if they vary the level of brake pedal pressure when starting/shifting, it wouldn't cause the issue (light pressure). If they applied heavy pressure when starting/shifting, it would cause the problem. These issues make me hesitant to buy the 2021 Explorer ST...
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2019 Fusion (LEDs are same for ENergi Titanium and Sport):
https://www.iihs.org/ratings/vehicle/ford/fusion-4-door-sedan/2019#headlights
2016-2019 Explorer:
https://www.iihs.org/ratings/vehicle/ford/explorer-4-door-suv/2018#headlights
2013-2019 Taurus (SHO HID's):
https://www.iihs.org/ratings/vehicle/Ford/taurus-4-door-sedan/2019#headlights
Then the 2020 Explorer headlights (scroll down for the XLT/ST):
https://www.iihs.org/ratings/vehicle/Ford/explorer-4-door-suv/2020#headlights
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My Fusion Sport should have the same LEDs as your Energi Titanium. They're what I'd consider OK but they have a hard time illuminating far enough on the road especially in the dark with rain, ice, slush, and water-logged potholes. My 2014 SHO had factory HIDs that I always thought were garbage but couldn't fathom how HIDs could be so bad... until I pulled up the IIHS data for the SHO and sho'nuff, the headlights are garbage. I have no problems driving in the dark with my 18 Explorer LED headlights, and I do a lot of driving in the dark especially in bad weather. However, I'm not very confident with the Fusion headlight LEDs in bad weather conditions. The Fusion LED DRL/turn signals are nifty like you described. I've also had ice build up on my LED headlight lenses because they don't emit heat/IR at the lens like HIDs and halogens. Thanks to FMVSS, the US doesn't have a requirement for headlight washers like UNECE.
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Aside from: engine oil pan leaks, sunroof glass flying off, 2 busted tires (1 bent rim) from potholes, driver/passenger door modules needing an update for the windows rolling down, driver's tweeter needing a good smack every morning to make it work, it's been a great car. The fitment is very good, only minor panel alignment issues. The doors close very very smoothly, smoothest I've had in any Ford. The electronic shocks and active noise cancellation make for a very quiet ride. The LED headlights need more light output though, and the LED foglights are worthless.
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How do you like the Edge ST?
I've been eyeing them as a next vehicle, but I did the math and even with that 2.7 fully tuned, the weight is too close to an Explorer and won't produce as much power as the Explorer ST's 3.0 with a tune. It'd be somewhat close.
Yes the aluminum hoods on the 11-19 Explorers are prone to corrosion. There's a bunch of bubbling and aluminum oxide on the leading edge of my hood. The rear brakes are dragging so badly that my garage is filled with the smell of burning metal and the rear rotors/calipers are changing colors due to the heat. Apparently both are known issues with the 11-19 Explorers but I also live in Michigan with the extensive use of road salt during the winter.
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I have the 401A on my Fusion Sport but the tail lights are still the SE style. it was just something Ford did by using the SE tail lights on the Sport (cost savings??). There have been some ingenious Sport owners that retrofitted the Titanium/Mondeo trunk lights and did some changes in FORScan. I hear the 2019-up Fords now come with LED puddle lights, and I was curious if the Ford versions would retrofit. Everyone seems to make them now (even Dorman).
I am planning to turn in my Explorer at the end of the lease because the hood is already rusting and the rear brakes are rusted so badly that they drag. My garage gets filled with the smell of burning metal but i'm sure others might want to install those LED turn signal bulbs!
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I agree! My 2017 Fusion Sport has the SE tail light config, so the trunk doesn't have the full set of lights that your Titanium would have. Ford does some weird stuff with LED choices... like how the Focus had LED license plate lights but the SHO, Fusion Sport, and other much more expensive Fords have incandescent plate lights.
I put in white LED backup lights on the Fusion Sport and 2018 Explorer, so the backup camera has more illumination in the dark. -
LED turn signals generally require another part for the signal to sync properly. So it is cheaper/easier to just use incandescents. If you watch the documentary a Faster Horse, the chief cost cutter has to shave pennies off each item to ensure everything stays in cost. An extra $5-$10 relay to make LEDs work is going to add a lot to the cost. Also consider this, these newer LED tail lights and LED headlights cost $500-$1000 EACH to replace. So those are already adding a lot to the cost of the vehicle.
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Unfortunately just because they are LED doesn't mean they are good. IIHS is now testing headlight performance on a lot of newer vehicles. My 2017 Ford Fusion Sport has LED low and high beams, my 2018 Explorer XLT has LED low / H7 high, and the 2020 Explorer has LED low/high, and F-150 Lariat w/ 502A and higher trims have LEDs as well. 2020 Escape Titanium has LEDs as well. Out of these, the Escape Titanium has the most lighting performance for low and high beams. The Fusion Sport and Explorer are inadequate in many of the test criteria, and the F-150 isn't that great either. However the 2016-2019 Explorer low beams are very good. I can attest that the first day I drove off the lot with my 2018 XLT, the low beams lit up everything. I never felt the need for more lighting, and my 2018 does not have fog lights (the LED foglights are worthless on my Fusion Sport). So using the Fusion Sport and 2018 Explorer IIHS data as baselines, I'd say the 2020 Explorer and F-150 LED headlights aren't going to be as good as the 16-19 LED low beams. But the 2020 Escape Titanium should have really good LED light output.
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Interesting! We've done 3 cross-country trips and usually stay at the speed limit or slightly over, so about 70 mph up to 80-85 mph depending on the speed limit. How much would the MPGs drop on the F-150 at those speeds?
My 2018 Explorer XLT (3.5 N/A) gets really good mpg at 45-50 mph (like 30+ mpg) but as soon as I get on the freeway doing 70 mph, it drops a lot!
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I was curious if anyone has done pure highway driving (e.g. cross-country road trips) with their F-150 4WD's and the various engines?
The 36 gal fuel tank option is making them look very attractive to me. My girlfriend and I are big into road trip vacations and her 2015 Malibu with the 2.0L GTDI LTG engine gets 32 mpg highway and has a 18 gal tank so we can easily squeeze out nearly 500 miles between fill-ups. My leases for the 2018 Explorer XLT AWD and 2017 Fusion Sport are coming up, and I was thinking of buying a F-150 SCAB or SCREW 4WD, but wanted to know if the 2.7, 3.5 and 5.0 get considerably different MPGs in pure highway driving?
Car and Driver said the 2018-up Traverse had a 25 mpg EPA rating for highway but they actually observed 27 mpg. With a 22 gal tank, that makes the Traverse a vehicle I'd consider if the F-150s are not getting anywhere close to their EPA highway ratings.
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So I used an aftermarket J2534 passthru device and was able to use FJDS to try and program modules on the MS-CAN bus. It seems to work fine. On the plus side, the J2534 device seems to work faster than OBDLink MX in FORScan.
Anyhow, I was trying to push a newer calibration onto the GSM (Gearshift module) but it keeps reverting to the original calibration. Is there a way to force a newer strategy/calibration file?
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Is there a way to push a newer calibration onto a module? The Gear shift module (GSM) on the Fusion has an older calibration (-AK revision), but the hardware part number is the same as the one on a newer Fusion that has a newer calibration for the GSM (-AM revision). But when I ran IDS for module reprogramming, it said there was a problem getting the part number. I was able to download newer calibrations directly from Motorcraft.
Since the IDS license is $150 for 2-days, and the GSM is on the HS2-CAN bus, I was thinking of trying FJDS to reprogram the GSM with the newer calibration. Any ideas?
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It was my mistake. I had to delete my old FORScan profiles and let it scan the car again from the start. Now it picks up on the new calibration/strategies.
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On 7/19/2019 at 1:52 PM, YT90SC said:
I just don't know. I have never been forced to use it. FDRS is the replacement for IDS going forward as models get refreshed. IDS has never been perfect, but FDRS is a total piece of shit.
I used IDS 114.03 to update a bunch of modules on both my 2017 Fusion Sport and my dad's 2017 Fusion Sport. I used FORscan to run a comparison of the modules and noticed everything updated, except mine still shows the old/original filename/calibration for the PDM, DDM, and ACM. I looked at the IDS logs and they show Module Update for those modules with the latest calibrations. Have you heard of IDS not being able to update those modules without giving a warning message?
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I found out FJDS is the replacement for FMP. Do you ever recall if FMP could program on MS-CAN modules using VCM2 or any of the J2534 devices? I read an article that said FJDS is Ford's answer to Right to Repair as of January 2018, but FJDS has limitations like diagnostics for only 2018 and newer and programmability for pre-2018 (or something quirky like that). But then again the article said FDRS is the replacement for IDS...
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Indeed the ACM would be for parasitic draw, and the door modules are for bounce back. Ford/Motorcraft shows that FJDS is compatible with VCM2, which had me curious about whether FJDS can program MS-CAN with VCM2. I've read reports of others using aftermarket J2534 pass-thru (e.g. VCX Nano) using FJDS licenses to program HS-CAN modules (transmission).
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3 minutes ago, YT90SC said:
Do you mean FDRS? The first vehicles to use FDRS are the Ecosport and the new body Expedition for 2018. FDRS is NOT backwards compatible.
What are you working on and/or trying to do? There may be some Forscan coverage for what you like.
I was asking about FJDS. I need to update the DDM, PDM, and ACM on a 2017 Fusion. Both are on MS CAN.
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I've heard that Ford doesn't allow aftermarket J2534 pass-thru devices to program on the MS-CAN bus when used with FJDS.
However, can we use a genuine VCMII with FJDS to program modules on MS-CAN bus on a 2017 Ford? The reason I ask is that the 2-day license for IDS is $150 while the 2-day license for FJDS is $50. Thanks in advance
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Our Explorer Sport has 64K miles on it, with no issue. However, as I do believe in preventative maintenance, we will change the lube on our next service. We may do it ourselves, and use Redline or Amsoil.
BTW, our tires have always been rotated every 5K miles and have always had even wear. We now have new tires, and it is the same.
I rotated my tires every 5k-6k miles and check tire pressure on a monthly basis, etc... At 20k miles, the PTU oil was sludge with a huge bulb of metal shavings attached to the filler plug, with a lot of metal shavings mixed in with the black thick oil. It may be "ok", but it resembled gear oil out of a rear differential that saw 100k+ miles.
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I know gear lube turns black and has that nasty odor (resembles onions to me) but usually after 100k+ miles on a rear differential. But the gear lube that came out of my PTU at 20k miles looked worse with a lot of metal filings and particles in the gear lube, completely black in color and extremely thick compared to fresh 75W-140. The smell was about the same for gear oil.
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Kev-Mo:
How does the Lubegard and Amsoil fare in the Ford PTU's? I've been trying to find after action reports of those who have changed the PTU oil with something like Amsoil or Redline to find out how those oils lasted after 20k miles. I also used some Lubegard Gear supplement with Redline 75W-140 in my PTU.
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Wow, I rotate my tires every oil change and the PTU oil was still toast at 20k miles.
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The clutches are by the RDU, not the PTU. And yes I do see the rear wheels getting power in varying degrees at all times, but it seems to be a different case than the torque on demand 4x4 transfer cases on the trucks.I don't disagree that a service interval plus accessible drain and fill ports are needed. I'm just voicing what I have seen in repairs. Also, all Ford on demand 4x4 systems apply clutches Everytime you accelerate from a stop. Not always 100 percent, but some Everytime.
FYI Some of the PTUs have coolant hoses to try and cool it down.
If you don't believe me that tire circumstances don't effect on demand systems, take a older explorer and get tires with over 3/4 in difference front to rear and take it for a spin. It shudders at 45mph. The module is trying to maintain wheel speed at all 4 corners.
The PTU with coolant hoses are found on the police vehicles, performance package, and hot climate vehicles... but supposedly the police vehicle PTU are still failing at 30k miles?
The Fusion and Escape seem to use the same type of transfer case that is different from the D3 PTU units, and it has a proper drain plug and fill plug. Still uses 75W-140 though.
2020 Explorer headlights
in Explorer, Mountaineer, Sport Trac Forum
Posted
How about compared with the 16-19 Explorer low beams?