89-Pony

Mostly the same here. Almost trouble-free at 25,000 miles in just 13 months. I did have a coil pack on the #4 cylinder go bad, but the dealer quickly fixed it under warranty. And it's still tight as a drum - No rattles, squeaks, etc. The only things I'd change are design issues as opposed to any reliability or quality concerns. I'd have preferred a spoiler-delete option. I hate the headrests poking into the back of my head. And true paddle shifters would have been a real treat. I still recommend this car highly. I like it so much I still haven't driven the 1989 5.0 hardly at all since I got the Fusion Sport AWD. Can't wait for a turbo-4 in the next iteration.

I have the black also. You're right, it's a looker. What ever happened with that coolant leak? Did they have to tighten or replace something? And just for amusement, check the oil level. I don't know if OHC engines are the same way, but a couple beaters I had back in the college days burned oil or leaked oil, and when the oil got low they would knock, especially when cold. I don't expect that you have an oil leak or are burning any, but you never know.

I apologize if I misread your intent. I disagree that I said anything, or used any tone, that was worthy of reporting, but doing so is your right. I agree that this was a misunderstanding and/or miscommunication. It is water under the bridge, and I look forward to future conversations. Freddy: My apologies to you if I caused distraction from your request for info & help. I have never experienced this kind of ticking in my 3.5. If you are uncomfortable with it or with the dealer's response, by all means get a second opinion.

Where do I begin with this? I thought your original response to me was very condescending, and I think arrogant. At least that's how it came across. But I didn't report you to anybody. You discounted my OPINION that I didn't think this kind of ticking should be accepted as normal. You clearly disagree and spent several paragraphs saying so. Brave in my anonymity? I don't see your actual name on your post either! If you want to tattle to the moderator police because you think I don't play nice, that's fine. I'll let you know when I start losing sleep over that. I don't think my tone to you was any different than your tone to me. By the way -- I'm done talking about this.

Wow. You have way too much time on your hands. You feel better now that you got all of that off of your chest.? So let me put it this way, just to clear up any confusion: You CAN consider that I've never had that problem on my particular car.

I disagree about it being normal. I have a 2010 Sport AWD with almost 19,000 miles. It sites outside , including last February in the brutal cold of Western PA. I've never noticed ticking!

I don't care for it, at least not as standard. I'd wish it would just be an option.

So the Comfort Package (heated seats, ambient lighting, etc) is STILL only available with the 402A package for an additional $2,995. Unbelievable that you have to get a moonroof and navigation just to get these simple options on the Sport, while they come standard on the SEL. Hey Ford: Why can't we get these simple options on the Sport without ponying up another $2,995? And you can't get Bordeuax Red on the Sport. Unbelievable. Still a 9/10 effort.

Thanks, I appreciate it. Yep, I've put about 130 miles on since the fix and it's running as strong as ever.

OK, I see the problem. Ford's web site still only has the 2010 build configurator up, not 2011. I'd like to see the Sport in the white. I agree about the color choices. I may have been tempted by the white if it had been available when I ordered my 2010, as it sits out all the time. I got Tuxedo Black. Not as bad to care for as people warned me. As nice as the Tuxedo Black is, the dark color really hides what I think are beautiful lines in the sheetmetal design. Ford needs to spend just a little effort to bring the Fusion Sport into "maturity" -- allow a spoiler-delete option (it looks so 1980's). Have some grownup and modern colors. I like the idea of Kona Blue. That is one of the best colors Ford has released in a while. The silver is so bland -- what ever happened to Silver Birch? And remember the Mineral Grey on the 2005 Mustangs? They also had a burgundy-looking red on the Fusions for a year or two. That is still my favorite. And the Steel Blue on the Escape and Taurus is so gorgeous. Why can't we get that on the Fusion too? Ford really is letting the Fusion line down with the color choices. Lastly, IMHO, they should not offer the red or blue inserts for the interior. That really cheapens the line. Looks comical. With all due respect to those who have it and like it. Matter of taste. I absolutely love my Sport and would get it again in a minute, but it's still a 9/10 effort. Paddle shifters anyone?

Sport White? I don't see that on their build configurator. And do you mean a white Sport model, because they don't offer the Sport in white.

Interesting. Friend of mine has Hankooks on his Civic Si. He hates them. When I ride in his Si, his Hankooks are as loud as the tires on another buddy's 1982 heavy-duty Dodge truck he uses to tow his race car.

Nah. Read it again. I was 6,000 rpm max. Redline is way above that. (6750?) No matter. PROBLEM SOLVED :hyper: The dealer said the tranny was fine. But the # 4 cylinder was dropping at random. They isolated it to a bad coil pack on # 4. They ordered a new one. It took 24 hours to come in, but they replaced it, retested, and sent me on my way. Drove about 50 miles home tonight with absolutely no signs of stumble. Smooth power & shifting again just like when new (a whopping 18,000 miles ago). Bothersome that this even happened, but let's hope it's a fluke and everything is fine again for a long long time. So nice to have my car back. But I will be very alert to this cropping up again. And hats off to Shults Ford in Wexford PA. They treated me like gold again, shuttle rides, Enterprise rental car, returned my car to me with a fresh wash. I highly recommend them to anyone in the Pgh PA area. [Now let's talk about that rental car... It was a Focus. I never drove one but was curious. It was a base strippo model. Handled really well. Got 30mpg. Engine didn't exhibit any weakness I expected from a 4-cyl, even with the A/C on max the whole time (93 degrees here). But tire noise was unbearable! Forgot to check the make of tires. And back seat too small for any normal sized adult, even with 4 doors.]

Had another significant episode this AM. (The problem happens every day many times, but I'm only pointing out the significant episodes here.) Pulled out of a nearly-blind stop sign this morning. The road goes downhill so the car quickly went from 1st into 2nd (or even 3rd) as expected. I saw in my mirror another car flew over the rise behind me, so I floored it. It hesitated to downshift, stumbled, then went harshly into 1st. It only revved up to 5,750 or 6,000 RPM, but then the engine light started flashing and it stumbled badly in every gear for about 1/2 mile. Ran another Vehicle Health Report, but this one, like the one last Friday, came up that everything was fine. B.S. How the hell can it be "OK" when the engine light is flashing? Thankfully it's in being looked at now.

Thankfully I have an appt with the dealer this Wed 7/17. It's getting significantly worse. It often struggles to downshift, especially 6-5 or 5-4. Usually sliding it into manumatic and downshifting myself does the trick. But on one instance this Friday night 7/2, even that didn't help. It seemed like it was going to stall, and the engine light came on and flashed for 1/2 mile, then went off again. I immediately went into the Sync menu and submitted a vehicle health report. I don't know what that will tell us, if anything. But it made it home OK after that. This is very troubling, as I drive through 2 very narrow, very dangerous portions of the PA Turnpike everyday. There are tight Jersey barriers on either side with asolutely no berm to pull over, and heavy speeding truck traffic. If it should stall in one of these construction zones, it's gonna get ugly. I may go a different way to work until this is fixed, though that will add 1/2 hour to my AM commute and another 1/2 hour to my PM commute.