Escapism

Took the air hose and blew out my interior today. Works really well as far as getting all the "stuff" out of the nooks and crannies. Anyway, the sun was just right and I noticed the drivers seat where I sit is starting to fray. car is exactly 1yr and 1 week old, 21500 miles. Is this something I should take in and have looked at? I mean, all I do is get in, drive, and get out of that seat. My last vehicle was a 2001 and the seats looked fine. Also, did they stop making the sport stitching seats in 2014? Just want to make sure as far as parts replacement.

The Kuga has what is called a pollen air filter. Same location. Same PITA.

I'm sure calling the engineer a jackass is a little harsh. Best thing to do is have the engineers work in the shop for about 5 years and have them perform the work. I started off as an apprentice and worked my way up through the ranks to journeyman cabinetmaker. i would like to think it makes me a better estimater, detailer and project manager due to my humble beginnings. At any rate, I also broke one of those little plastic clips (orange)that hold on the panel to the right of the glove box. No big deal, theres a bunch of them in there. ordered more from Ford Parts and I got a bag of four of them. the ones that came in are white, but same clip.

LOL.

Cheapest I could find. http://www.tascaparts.com/parts/index.cfm?searchText=DJ5Z-78115A00-AA&make=Ford&action=oePartSearch&siteid=213668

It didn't take that long and to me it was worth it. I guess that's whats important. Yours must be one of the good ones, I'm envious. And on a side note, I used to get the error message "rear hatch ajar" on my dashboard probably 30% of the time. Now that everythings adjusted haven't gotten one. And I open it at least 3 times a day. I guess that was just an added bonus. Its also quiter when closing, used to get a loud "clunk" feel throughout the car. Maybe I should send Ford a bill for 2 1/2 hrs labor. Hmmm, now what was that hourly rate?

Just got my accessory storage compartment in at the dealer. Its a nice little tray that sits on top of the center console just under the lid. On the package its called a "Bezel". Took forever to get it (1 month). Its for a 2014 but seems to fit just fine. They introduced this on the 2014 model, but seems to fit just fine.

We are talking about fit and finish here, not all the other recalls you hear about. Basic fit and finish on a 30K plus vehicle.

^ I hope you get one of the good ones. I even had to align the front passenger door. It was out at the bottom and when the light racked across that side it looked so bad that one of my neighbors asked me about it. Some people on here don't think 1/8" is a big deal. I guess their used to small things. Go look at a Honda or Toyota. That are all perfect. Even their lower trim levels.

Ah, makes even more sense. So basically don't do any stunt driving when carrying a load that high up. Makes you wonder how much weight it could take, I mean if your just going a couple clicks down the road from the hardware store. Of course when I went on vacation I had an additional 350 lbs down low(I didn't mention the very heavy trailer hitch mounted bike rack with 3 bikes) plus 3 other family members(not going to say the weight there,ha ha). I'm sure that helped offset the high load a little.

I have the Pano roof also. The manual says 100 lbs without roof and like 46 lbs with the roof. Well, when I went on vacation I used my hardtop clamshell cargo carrier up there and I had at least 100lbs up there. Maybe more. I think if the load is evenly distributed that goes a long way. And we all know the engineers build in a safety factor of at least 3. The rating in the manual has to account for worst case scenario like wind shear and stuff. So if I was bringing home plywood sheets from Home Depot 2 miles down the road on a calm day I might lay 3 sheets of 3/4 up there.

Really like the new Kuga Sport. The lower body colored trim is an especially nice touch. But we all know "sport" used to mean an upgraded engine, etc. They are offering the same engines as in the rest of the line up, so not much sport. The Capretto leather trim will be nice, as well as the power folding door mirrors. I'm hoping the larger rear spoiler will fit my Escape. I have someone over there that's going to check it out. That would be a nice addition. The UK parts person said they come in unpainted and its just 3M tape application.

Oh wow, that's no good I got mine off of eBay. Here they are, same seller. http://www.ebay.com/itm/2X-Error-Free-Canbus-T10-W5W-194-168-2825-2821-Car-White-4-SMD-5050-LED-Light-/400562954847?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item5d4369a25f

It wasn't totally clogged, but it was ready for the pasture. Took me like 45 minutes. This engineer should be in the movie "Jackass". Just sayin......

Changed mine today @ 20,400 miles. A before and after picture.

^. Man, I don't know how they do it. I looked at mine today and I can see why they take out the rear seat.

Basically got two of these.

Hmmm, something sounds fishy. When I looked at my service DVD about removing the headliner there is nothing about "bending" it to get it in. If done properly it should just install straight up with no flexing required. You have to remove the A,B, C, and D pillars and the rear view mirror and the 2 "OH SHIT" bars above the front doors and anything else that could hold it up like the lights, etc. Basically remove everything. Then it should just fall straight down. They are cutting corners somewhere. I imagine it is difficult to get it in and I'm sure all the seats need to be lowered as much as possible because it has to go in at an angle from the rear. But they have to load it at the factory at some point from the rear no doubt. I wonder if they load it thru the windsheild at the factory? That might be wider than the rear. I will have to look at that. Sorry about being off topic.

And then I had to add LED license plate lights.

Funny thing is, I have seen vehicles on the lot that are perfect and others worse than mine. That window of tolerances from one extreme to the other is just too much. Something is not right in the assembly process.

And the finished product. Also aligned my rear hatch since the lights might of made the bad factory/dealer alignment stand out.

Like I said, the photo's never tell the whole story. It is also twisted but the other set of bolts are only accessible by removing the headliner and that is too much. Because of the body and liftgate design of the lenses, if they are out of alignment by an 1/8" (which mine was, never put calipers on it) then it is very noticeable. The horizontal gap at the bottom in relation to the bumper was also very noticeable. Also, in the oasis message, if I recall, the time allotted to fix the hatch was like 2.6 hours. It took me about the same. Thanks for your reply. Its always so nice to hear from you.

Screw the dealer. They had 2 attempts and it still looked like crap, so I did it myself today and I'm very happy with the results. This operation was a GIANT PITA. Also, CAUTION, this DIY is not for the unskilled!!! The support arms are under tension so things can go south in a hurry!!! In one picture you will notice my passenger side needs to go up. It looks a lot worse in person than in the photo. I marked the location of the hinges and striker plate. You MUST remove the support arms in order to do this or they will just push your door backwards. And don't forget, you have to support your door first. I needed to move the door to the left 1/16" and the right side up a heavy 1/16"". This is what my marks looked like after movement. Then I tackled the striker. Mine was on with blue locktite and I swear I thought the T40 driver was going to break. I have never encountered a bolt on this tight. Again, using a sharpie I outlined the plate before starting. Moved it about 1/16" to the right. It is a great design for non movement because the bolt is an oval head and the plate has a conical countersunk recess. The PROBLEM is when you adjust it will just keep going back to the original factory location. So to overcome this I used washers to ride above. I put it on as frigging tight as I could and crushed the washer a little and I'm confident it won't move. But I may buy another striker plate and have my welder friend just fill in the countersunk holes. Then I can put it on the milling machine and make proper through holes and use grade 8 flanged bolts. Or I can use the plate I have and just drill through the plate in two other location and tap it using like a 10-32 and "lock" the plate in position.

Thank you and yes, this is how mine will look after this weekend(fingers crossed). And I can't say enough how jealous I am of the Kuga. DIESEL and MANUAL TRANSMISSION are options in Europe!! I am sooo envious. I noticed when you folks in Europe order a Kuga you wait much longer for it to be delivered. It was explained to me that the factory builds left hand drive for a few months, then switches to right hand drive assembly. I can see why it would take awhile to get your car.

Nope, been running around for 2 days and its fine. All functions are fine. Even locking and unlocking with remote and all that stuff. There is a bonus! I noticed before the mod when you open your hatch the running lights stay on which of course are originally on the body side top quadrant. When opening your hatch I also noticed my license plate lamps illuminate during the opening and closing operation. So when I'm finished the running lights on my hatch side will also illuminate during this cycle, which iwill be a cool and unique look