ackbar

I would be VERY interested to know if you get this to work .

The IAH keyhole cap part number is CV6Z3E745AA. It's listed for $3.59 on fordparts.com but the dealer should provide it.

I'd say the Focus is a little quicker from a stop. Sometimes on the FFH there's a slight delay between when you hit the gas peddle and when the gas engine kicks in -- this is just part of the start-stop technology in a hybrid. In the Focus (the U.S. version at least), the engine is always running, so it's a more immediate response, but of course the downside is you're using fuel even when stopped at a traffic light. In the FFH, the ICE will shut off when stopped at a light or when driving at low speeds (once the engine is warmed up).

My 2010 was in good shape, with about 35K miles. I was rear-ended at a stop sign once, but only the bumper was affected and it was repaired and not noticeable. I got an OK deal for trade-in, but I went that route because in Texas you don't pay sales tax on the trade-in value when buying a new vehicle. The dealer turned around and listed it for $28K after detailing it, and I believe they sold it in a week, if that gives you any idea. They seemed pretty happy to have a FFH to be able to sell.

I traded my 2010 FFH for a 2012 Focus Titanium Hatchback. I posted some of my comparisons in this thread: http://www.blueovalforums.com/forums/index.php?/topic/46098-im-really-trying but here are more of my thoughts: Driving - The biggest reason I traded it for the Focus was to get something more nimble and fun to drive. The FFH is a great car, no doubt, but like all hybrids it's heavier and so it doesn't handle as well as the Focus. I find that the Focus is more responsive both in acceleration and in braking, but most noticeably the handling around corners and lane changing is more precise. It feels more firmly planted on the road and is just a lot of fun to drive. On the other hand, the FFH felt like it had more low-end torque, probably due to the addition of the electric motor, and of course you can drive at low speeds as well as stop at a traffic light while using no gas at all. Over highways and on long-distance, the FFH is smoother and more serene, and is great for road trips, but the Focus is not bad here either. In the city, I much prefer driving the Focus. Appearances - This is purely subjective, but I think the Focus is just more attractive than the Fusion. The Fusion looks nice from certain angles, but the side profile and front overhang never looked great to me. My biggest gripe is with the large chrome grille, which acts as a bug catcher and needs regular cleaning to look good. Some people have painted theirs, but I really hope Ford moves away from using large chrome grilles. I'm still getting used to the rear lights on my Focus Hatchback, but overall think the Focus looks great, both inside and out. The inside looks and feels phenomenal for a car in this class. Little touches, like hiding the fuel door on the hatchback show attention to design detail. I think the designers stepped up their game on this car. Utility - The Fusion Hybrid is roomier on the inside for passengers, but the Focus has more utility since the rear seats fold flat and the hatch opening is large. I can fit my mountain bike in the back of my hatchback. Note that the FFH rear seats do not fold down and the trunk is reduced by the battery. So, it's roomy for passengers, but it can't carry large items as can the Focus Hatchback or even the Focus sedan with folded rear seats. One utility advantage to the FFH - it includes a standard power outlet behind the rear console to charge a cell phone, laptop, etc. The FFH center console also has a dual lid (top lid for change, mints, etc. and larger bottom area) whereas the Focus has just one bottom area. As you might expect, there isn't as much storage space in the front of the Focus since it's a smaller car. Fuel Economy - When I bought the FFH, it was primarily for fuel economy. I averaged about 38 MPG overall over several years, although my highest ever was 80 MPG driving in town at night. On the Focus, I'm averaging about 32 MPG. That said, I'm only at about 2000 miles and have driven primarily in the city. On the freeway, I have gotten over 40 MPG, and I hope to see better results as I break in the engine, especially when the weather cools down. If I can get about 35 MPG average, I figure it's close enough. Infotainment - The FFH has the smartgauge which I miss. Being a hybrid, it displays much more detail regarding fuel economy, and with the Nav screen there are some really cool display screens. But My Ford Touch on the Focus is a newer generation system over the SYNC/Nav system in the current FFH. There are some reliability problems with MFT though, which should get ironed out in the next update. The MFT display seems to be higher-resolution, and there are advancements in some areas (like seeing cover art when playing from an MP3 player or playing video from an iPod). Eventually, MFT should also be able to run apps like Pandora, which is already on the Fiesta. As far as sound quality, I think the FFH with the 12 speakers system sounded a little better, but the Focus 10 speaker system is still pretty good for a factory system. So I hope that helps...both are great cars, but if I had to summarize, I'd say the Focus is definitely more of a compact and fun driver's car whereas the FFH is more of an efficient people hauler.

I traded a 2010 Fusion for a 2012 Focus Titanium as well. I did find that I missed a few things at first, mainly the backup camera (I didn't get the parking option) and the lower-end torque when accelerating to highway speed. Sync/Navigation on the Fusion was also a lot more reliable and a little snappier, although the graphics and some features are not as advanced as compared to MFT. And of course, being 6' tall, the ability to put the seat way back on the Fusion gave me a lot more leg room - it took me awhile to get used to being so much closer to the dash with the smaller Focus. Now that it's been well over a month, I've mostly gotten used to the changes and I really like how the Focus handles, especially in the city. The acceleration is decent in S mode, but it does require getting the RPMs up there. It's definitely easier to park, and since I have the hatch, I actually have more cargo room for larger items that wouldn't fit in a trunk. I did have some instances where the transmission was jerky early on, but it's smoothed out a lot over the last 3 or so weeks. Overall, I'm happy with the change and find this is a more livable vehicle since I drive primarily in the city. Good luck with yours, hopefully with the MFT update and further break of the transmission it will get much better for you.

Good to know, I will ask my dealer next time I go in.

I remember reading something about this in the manual. Like you said, it must be a MyKey feature, otherwise putting the key in the ignition should allow you to drive without restarting, as in the Fusion. No, but it does add wear and tear on the engine to start it twice every time, not to mention the AC and MFT turning off and back on again and going through their startup cycles. It would be nice just to hop in the car, shift into gear and go. If it's for security, it's one of those things that honestly should be left to the driver/owner's discretion. You're typically going to be within visual range of the vehicle to initiate a remote start, and the system requires that the doors are locked in order to start. And of course you can't shift into gear unless the IA is in the car anyway, so there seems to be little to no security issue. It is an annoyance though, as I'd rather not double the number of times I have to start the engine up. So out of care for the engine, I don't see using it very often unless I find a way to change it. I did check all the settings, but doesn't appear to be something the owner can change.

You do not need the IA key to be inside the car for remote start to work. As emerrill said, your dealer must have installed it incorrectly. However, there is one thing I do find annoying about remote start in conjunction with the push-button start: when you are ready to drive the car after having used remote start, you have to turn off the engine and then turn it back on. There is no way to just leave the engine running if you have push-button start. Whether you tap the brake or touch the start button, the engine will shut off. This drives me nuts, and I pretty much never use the feature as a result (wish I hadn't gotten it). It's a big oversight in my opinion. The Foci with the regular (non-IA) key don't have this problem. They can turn the key in the ignition, and this leaves the engine running seamlessly and allows them to shift into gear and go.

Yes, it's normal. The battery reconditioning process requires that the ICE remain on. It frustrated me the first time I noticed this happen (because I always try to get the ICE to shut off as much as possible) but everything I've heard is that it's the normal process to keep the battery healthy and prolong its life.

Mine rate is actually fairly comparable to the 7 year old car I sold for the FFH. My old car was a little sportier, but I'm still surprised (and happy) at how low the insurance premium is for the FFH. I can only figure that all the safety features and high safety rankings plus the fact that it's a traditional sedan vs. a sporty car help keep the premium down.

Sort of. I had a short trip about three weeks ago where there simply was no SYNC voice command. The system was otherwise functional, there just weren't any voice prompts where there normally were. I tried adjusting the volume at the point where SYNC would be talking, but to no avail. After I shut off and restarted the vehicle it worked fine again. Since it's only happened once I didn't think much of it, but I'll report it to the dealer if it happens again.

I agree with most of your points. However, I feel it's premature to declare the Prius a winner in terms of reliability. The Ford Fusion has been a perennial top pick for reliability since it's introduction, and there's no indication that the hybrid version is any different. We'll have a better idea following a few years of service, but based on my experience with my FFH it looks very promising and I would at a minimum declare the two vehicles a tie in terms of reliability until more data is available.

Just to add my 2 cents, I bought the DentCare package for $395 (5 years coverage) and the ESP for 84 Months/75K miles for $1730.00. I figure the dent care will pay for itself. Both are transferable from my understanding, so if I ever decide to sell my FFH sooner, it would be a selling advantage even if I never use the services.

I have about 7000 songs on my 80GB iPod. If I remember correctly it took about five to seven minutes to index. It wasn't really that bad. It only indexes when you add a new device or modify the songs on the existing device. Otherwise, it plays more or less instantly and doesn't need to index.