baggs32

That still doesn't justify having two transmissions on the same engine. Pretty much all other mfrs do something to the motor to boost performance. It's OK when the company most known for its engines uses an extra gear in the tranny to boost performance? I don't think so. I also took note of their (Honda's) comment about AWD not being offered. Seeing that minivan sales have been on the decline for quite some time now while crossover sales are on the incline wouldn't it make sense to try and woo some of the CUV buyers over by offering AWD?

I know the motor looks like a small disc about the size of a fan inside a PC tower if you've ever seen one. The one of the driver's side was easy to get to (I watched them take it out) but the one on the passenger side required removing the air bag and glove box. If your passenger side motor is bad (mine wasn't, yet, but they replaced it anyway) then I'd be hesitant to fiddle around with the air bag. I recall the parts being reasonably priced on the invoice but I'm sure they'll get you with labor. And no, I don't think they'll buy your argument. At least not any dealer I've ever dealt with anyway.

Odyssey First Drive Why on earth isn't the 6-speed tranny standard on all trims when the motor is no different? That is one of the stupidest things I've ever heard.

Not sure what you were doing to manage such a low mpg. We just got back from a trip to the VA coast from Western PA and I averaged 23.3 mpg for the nearly 1000 mile round trip in our '09 Flex Limited AWD. I didn't go over 70 mph though but the route goes through a lot of mountains and there were 4 of us in the Flex with the cargo area filled with luggage and beach gear, A/C on the whole way, and cruise control used as much as possible.

So what are we looking at for a price difference between the 3.7L and the 5.0L? It's hard to tell in the Mustang with the way the base cars are configured but I'm thinking somewhere between $1000 to $2000 more for the 5.0L over the 3.7L in the F-150 right?

The rotors are warped for sure. They pulsate pretty bad when hot and going down a big hill. I thought it was a little premature for them to need replaced now too but I ran my finger up and down them and there is a pretty deep groove worn in them already where the pad touches. The original depth is still at the innermost and outermost edge of the rotor and there's a noticeable difference in thickness there. The dealer said because it's not driven much, less than 15k in 2+ years, the rotors sit longer and rust more causing more material to be worn off when we do drive it. Plus my wife is hard on brakes so I'm just going to replace them rather than deal with the bull. It's a lease so I'm not going to be bothered with fighting with them or analyzing it. I just want some cheap rotors and pads to get me through the next year then it'll be someone else's problem. Thanks for the advice akirby. That's pretty much what everything I've seen said to do too. There's a handy video that shows how to do it on an '06 but it's pretty much identical to the '08+ brakes too.

So we had our annual state inspection done a couple of weeks back and the dealer claims we need new brake pads and rotors on the front of our '08 Limited V6 very soon. They passed, but not by a whole lot. They want $430+ to do it but I can do it for about $120 myself. I've never changed the brakes myself before and, through research, have discovered that it's a pretty quick and simple process on the Escape. Has anyone else had to replace their rotors and pads yet and if so, what rotors and pads did you use and do you like them?

This TSB is from 2009 so I don't know if it's been updated to include the 2010 Taurus. Worth a look though. 09-11-3 6F50 TRANSMISSION WITH A MOAN OR BUZZ TYPE NOISE ON FORD: 2009 Taurus X, Taurus, Flex LINCOLN: 2009 MKS MERCURY: 2009 Sable ISSUE: Some 2009 Taurus, Taurus X, Sable, Flex, MKS vehicles equipped with a 6F50 automatic transmission may have a moan or buzz type noise during the 4-5 upshift and/or 5-6 upshift. This may be due to the cooler lines grounding out on the vehicle body. ACTION: Follow the Service Procedure steps to correct the condition. SERVICE PROCEDURE Replace the cooler line assembly following Workshop Manual, Section 307-02. The new assembly will not attach to the vehicle body bracket. The alignment marks on the rubber hoses are installed at the 9 o'clock position at the cooler tubes. Verify the cooler lines do not contact the hood release cable or vehicle wiring harness. PART NUMBER PART NAME AG1Z-7R081-A Cooler Lines (Taurus / Taurus X / Sable) AG1Z-7R081-C Cooler Lines (MKS / Flex) WARRANTY STATUS: Eligible Under Provisions Of New Vehicle Limited Warranty Coverage IMPORTANT: Warranty coverage limits/policies are not altered by a TSB. Warranty coverage limits are determined by the identified causal part. OPERATION DESCRIPTION TIME 091103A 2009 Taurus, TaurusX, Flex, MKS, Sable: Replace Transmission Cooler Lines (Do Not Use With 9600A, 10732A) 1.3 Hrs. DEALER CODING BASIC PART NO. CONDITION CODE 7R081 07

I"m not seeing the tab below the wiper. What I see there is a bubble from the black tinting sheet they put on the window which is catching the sun on the right side of the wiper's round seal. So unless part of the panel below the glass opens like the pre-2006 Explorer's separate glass, I don't see this new model having that feature unfortunately. I also don't see the black rubber covered button for the glass anywhere near the backup camera which is where it should be. I can't imagine they would put that button in the lower handle cutout with the power hatch button. They would be too close together in there. I'm wondering what the keyfob will be like for this. If it does have the separate glass somehow they will have to change the keyfob from the current one uses (see the Flex/Escape/Fusion/etc fobs) to accomodate a button to open the separate glass remotely too. The keyfob for our Escape uses the "2X" button to open the separate glass and the same button on the Flex opens the power hatch. Funny, I thought one of these testers was painted red. Now I see that the red is actually some tape! Ha!

I have to disagree that it's moot. Our Escape has the separate glass but our Flex does not with the latter having a power hatch. I would have paid extra to have the separate lift-glass on the Flex even with the power hatch because it makes it sooo much easier to get something in the cargo area quickly. The power hatch takes somewhere between 10 and 20 seconds (closer to 20 I'd guess but never really counted) to open or close. By comparison I can pop the glass on the Escape, toss something in, then close the glass in probably less than 5-10 seconds. Much easier and more convenient. There's also the garage issue. Most garages will not accomodate a Flex with an open hatch while the garage door is closed, mine included. Therefore I have to leave the garage door open anytime I want to get something in or out of the Flex's cargo area. The Escape's hatch actually opens all the way with our garage door closed but having the separate glass in the Flex would certainly help in that area, especially when it's cold out. The Explorer which the Flex replaced allowed us to close the garage door and still access the cargo area with the garage door shut and opening its hatch required the garage door to be fully open too. I find it disturbing and saddening at the same time when I see all these new SUV and CUVs coming to market with no separate glass feature. It was a great idea that should live on for a long time to come IMO.

I was behind one the other day and couldn't help but notice how poorly the dual exhaust tips were done. There is a plain old black steel exhaust tip hiding behind some oversized chromed tip and, get this, they don't line up on either side! I could see air betwen the real exhaust tip and the fake one. Literally could see a couple of inches of the street through the gaps. It was absolutely stunning to see such poor attention to detail on a supposed luxury vehicle. Other mfrs do the same thing (Mazda CX-9, Buick Lucerne, Acura TL/RL to name a few) but their execution is much better and they cover the real tip with the fake one so it at least looks right from afar. I was literally several car lengths behind the SRX when I noticed the gap and then couldn't take my eyes off of it when I pulled in behind it at a stoplight. Simply pathetic, GM.

It also opens that way for third row passengers to have access to the fridge without having to unlatch their seatbelt and reach over the second row to get in there. Pretty smart if you ask me. IIRC the non-fridge console opens from the front, no?

That is exactly what Dan Edmunds did and the mats in their Fusion still ended up being stacked by someone else. I keep mine in the basement of my house so no one else can mess with them.

The USAToday version states that their fleet sales were 40% of their total sales for Q1 2010. That's up more than 20% from a year ago. How is this new and better?

Since they had to certify the auto tranny anyway they could have made the manumatic the standard auto tranny and just certified it instead. I don't see how that would have to be done separate.

Well, the saga continues. Still may be a '12 model after all. I still think not but nothing official yet either. 2011 or 2012 Explorer?

"But with the Toyota R&D team's greater focus (than initially planned) on minimizing fuel consumption figures and producing the cleanest engine possible (Subaru's boxer engines are traditionally not considered to be that clean or fuel efficient), the base price is now expected to hover around $23,000, with the fully optioned model clearing $26,000. Read more: http://www.motortrend.com/features/auto_news/2010/1004_toyota_ft_86_getting_more_expensive/index.html#ixzz0n4hbHGRU " Yeah, right. Who wants to bet the increased costs are due to Toyota's newfound need to do safety testing?

I believe that's exactly what they said in the article.

Fiesta full test

Healy test drives the Fiesta

2009 was the first year SYNC was offered in the Escape. You just get a standard AUX jack in the '08 which is nearly useless. We haven't touched ours in the nearly 2 years we've owned our '08.

Why does everyone keep saying the hill descent control come from the pickups? Is it not the same hill descent control I have in my '09 Flex? Which works surprisingly well I might add.

I can see that too. I've always wanted a SportTrac but thought they were priced too high when optioned out the way I wanted. I can see what Honda wanted to do but they just executed it poorly IMO, mostly in the styling and lack of real 4WD. I also would have been afraid to put a bunch of stones, wood, building supplies, etc in its bed due to it's donor platforms.

Why isn't it Ford's problem though? Your '08 carries a 5 year/60k mile powertrain warranty and the tranny is part of the powertrain. Are you over those ceilings? The tranny cooler is considered to be part of the HVAC system and is therefore not covered by the extended powertrain warranty. Since they are only offering to replace your tranny then I assume the cooler is fine? If it's not fine then they should be replacing the cooler and your tranny for free given the problems they have recently owned up to regarding the cooler. If the cooler had nothing to do with it and it was a straight tranny failure then they should be replacing that for free too. Either way I don't see why they want to charge you for it.

How did I get that right when I never said that "most cases of SUA are elderly drivers"? I believe you have said that several times though so please be accurate when referring to what I am saying too.