fuss

Today my wife managed to run over a really huge screw or something like that who found a new home in my tire. I really hope they can plug it because dang.....

ya it is there, just did not catch the light I guess lol.

Took my baby out for a wash today lol Untitled by PadresFan619, on Flickr

LOL - funny thing is I had just ordered one from Amazon in the same grey to match my car, the one they gave me was white and that is all they had. It was the same thing, just in a 'Ford' box. It is made by Greenlight, just do a search on Amazon. For example this is the one I got: http://www.amazon.com/Greenlight-Sterling-Metallic-Die-Cast-Vehicle/dp/B008FXRG2Y/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1369436289&sr=8-1&keywords=2013+ford+fusion+greenlight I tink it is set in place inside of the box, I have not really messed with it but it appears to be snapped into place pretty good. I would love to join - which forums are they? lol, I see more than a few links out there in the wild.

Ok - sorry for taking so long to get back here, but I had a great time at the event. The first thing that caught my eye when I pulled in that there were about 40 Fusions already there. It was just kinda cool to see so many of them, saw the gas and hybrid versions only. I was invited to the event because I filled out survey that was linked to from a letter I got in the mail. I guess I provided enough feedback in the areas they were looking for and got the invite. And as I said the engineers of the car were there, tons of them all straight from Michigan. They had teams for every aspect of the car - I was amazed at some of the specialties they had - for example there was a team in control of buttons lol. They had me park my car and after I signed in I would stand by my car and the different teams would come along and ask me questions. They had a printout of the survey I took and would ask me for feedback why I answered what I had, and if I had any other questions, comments or they would ask me questions they were looking for direct feedback for. I went over my list above, and yes Bailey151, even my key that would not program even after a good amount of trying previous to this event. They asked me about every possible aspect of the car. Some of the more (at least I think) random questions I got were: - If I liked the key fob. If the shape fit good in my hand, if I liked how it looked and if I could add a button to it what that button would be. I could not think of any buttons on it I currently do not have and I really love the fob the way it was. I also learned if you hold down either the lock or unlock button for 3 seconds after you lock/unlock all 4 windows will either go up/down at once depending on if you are locking/unlocking the car... this really blew my mind lol. I really think this is cool because it will help to get the car cooled off a few more seconds before I get in the car... in the hopes the blast of hot air will already be out of the car by the time I get to the door in the summer. - The tray in the armrest has a space for coins, they asked me if I liked that and if I could change it from a coin holder to a tray if I would, and if I would like that slot to have one, two or three compartments. The guy even had a prototype of a two container holder. I told them I am ok with the coins, and rather have it the way it is and if I had smaller items to hold the other area of the tray could hold it. They also asked me about the trunk, I know this is a big issue for some people here so I will talk about that. They asked me if I was happy with how high the trunk went when I pressed the button to open it. They asked me if I was happy with how far, and the angle of the trunk was when it was fully opened, and the overall space the trunk has. I told them I am ok with how much it opens when you press the button, but it would be nice if it went all the way up if you had your hands full. I also told them I am ok with the position it is in when fully opened and it could use more space for example by lowering the batteries deeper in the car. They did ask me about a hatchback option, and if I had eve had a hatchback before and would be happy with that option and the space it would provide. And yes, I did go over the lights with the exterior team. And yes, I told them I am considering buying the LED lights that did not come with my SE and even how cool I thought the overseas version of the headlights were. My main argument is this - the car looks great and stands out during the day, as it is supposed to. But at night when all you can see is the lights there is nothing that makes my car stand out. When you see the Jordi Laforge Dodge tail lights, or Audi tail lights they stand out - and you notice them from far away and you either say 'oh look, there is that new Dodge' or 'Oh look at those lights, I wonder what type of car that is' and you go and try to figure it out. And that is something that sticks out to you - and despite if you like them, don't care about them, or love them you still know that is a Dodge and that sticks out in your mind and that brand recognition is something advertisers would love to have. And YES the tail lights on the Titanium version. But on the SE it looks like any other no-frills car and at least to me does not look like a new car in the dark. You need to make the car stand out in both the day time and in the night time. And If I had the option to buy these lights when I got my car I would have spent more money of it. And they were very receptive to my feedback and seemed to agree with me, and I am happy with that. Also talked about wheels/tires - said I was very happy to have the good tires but was not happy with the very limited selection of wheels. And I desperately want to replace my wheels with something better but am worried about the downside it would give me with my MPG. Speaking of MPG, we talked about that also. I got the feeling they just wanted to hear what I had to say about it. My current MPG is 40.7. And I think there is a big difference between 47 and 40.7. And for the average to be 47 that means there should be people well above 47 and people well below 47, and I was not aware of many people with well above 47 MPG. And I told them to be honest I was not too upset over 40.7 because for me and the cars I have had in the past 40 is pretty darn good, and the 47 was not THE deciding factor for me buying the car - and I try my best to get the best possible MPG on my car and would love to have more. And the gas tank. They asked me if I felt if I filled up too often and if I was happy with the size of the tank. I told them it would be nice to have a bigger tank but I know that would add more weight to the car and that would effect the MPG. But I would love to be able to fit another 2 or 3 gallons in the tank and the benefit of a larger tank would outweigh the downsides of a bigger tank. When I was talking to the team in charge of the engine they saw I had a complaint on the electric/gas part of the car and why it would pick one over the other in certain situations. I am *fully* aware of why the gas kicks in when the battery is less than half full, why it kicks in on a hill, why it kicks in when I speed up too fast (or at all lol), and that weight (passengers and cargo) play a role in how the car drives. I fully understand that - what I do not understand is why when I am on cruise, on a flat road with the battery more than half full the car kicks itself into gas mode. The answer I got is that the car's computer is always trying to figure out the best and most economical driving condition at all times, and when it kicks into gas the computer has decided that is the best way to go at that point in time - even if on a flat road, on cruise at 55 and with a battery more than half full with no other passengers in the car and nothing in the trunk. My response is I would think in a situation like that I would assume the most economical would be electric and I still do not feel I got a good answer from that aspect of the interview. As far as the buttons go I told them I felt the window buttons were a tad too far forward, and it seemed like that was a common response because they were saying what I was going to say before I could say it. I just feel I have to reach a tad too far to roll down the front windows and often roll down the rear windows by mistake far more often than I would like. And both my wife, who is much shorter than I am and I have this issue. They had me sit in the car and show them the reach and were receptive for that feedback. I also told them I am not a fan of the location of the heated seat buttons, and I sometimes hit the button when changing the volume for the radio with the knob. I feel putting a button that would not be used all that often, even by people in cold climates, so close to a knob that would be used often was bad placement - seemed like they heard that one before also. And they were happy I knew of the button to open the trunk that is above the license plate... I guess many people do not know about it. And I talked the Sync team, I take it this feedback was very important because the put a mic on me and filmed my entire interview. We sat in the car and the camera guy was in the backseat. We talked about the options, the screen layout, what was on every screen, what I could do and say, how I got it to do this and that. I told them I was not a fan of the turn by turn (I do not have maps in my car) and use my phone for navigation and not Sync. I told them I would like to have the options to customize the screen display. I have a problem with the text alert not popping up on my dash for all of the texts I get is an issue. I would also like to have my favorite radio stations all in one screen - am, fm, xm, etc all in one screen. All the issues I had they said they were already aware of, they told me how to update my software when it needed it and they have an update in the works. We spent a good amount of time talking - not sure how much time but I know it was pretty long. I also talked to a person in customer service based on the some of the feedback I gave, mainly the clicking the car makes when coming to a full stop or starting from a full stop. I know this is a known issue here in the forums. And I was expecting a 'oh really, never heard that type of response but I actually got just the opposite. The person would not say what it was - other than they know what it is and what causes it and in no way is it a safety concern. I was about ready to be told I have to deal with it - but again, just the opposite. I was told they are working on getting a fix out to dealers and within 21 days a fix would be rolled out to dealers. I was told they will not be sending out letters about the problem/fix and it was up to me to take the car in the shop after 21 days and tell them something about 'oasis' not sure if they have to use a tool or run a test using oasis, or if this is the code word for the problem lol. Just mention oasis the dealer... after 21 days. This was news to me because I had not seen any mention of a fix about to be rolled out mentioned before this. There may be and I missed it... but I was happy to be hearing this directly from Ford. ***EDIT** I see Ford posted a fix a few days after I went to the event, this makes me happy. I was told it would take 2 hours, but I was there for almost 4 and I was ok with that. I had a great time, learned things and got a check for $150 and a little model of my car And I know some may agree with my feedback and some will not, and some will try to jump on me *cough*alreadybeendone*cough* but hey - thats why they have these things.

If you ordered the luxury package check your shifter knob. I got a Lester saying they gave me the cheap version by accident lol. Glad they told me, I would never had known.

I got the custom cut sunshade made by heat shield from Amazon. It is a pure pain to roll up (put away) but totally worth it. It is thick and keeps the car amazingly cool. Add that to my tinted windows and the car interior is well protected from sun and heat. It was not cheap compared to the $10 ones from target but it is worth the price.

Is anybody else going to the Fusion owners event on the 18th - 19th of this month in Irvine, CA? I got an invite and will be attending. From what a I can tell it is a 2 our survey type of event. It is to share your experiences and satisfaction to the engineering design team. I will also get a $150 check for my time. I am not sure if this is a group thing or one on one, there are appointment times set up. I do not have any major complaints about the car. The stuff that bugs me is minor-ish. - No full power control of the passengers seat. I want to have same controls on both front seats. - No real understanding of how to get the best mileage. Forums like this is filled with conflicting info and nothing seems to work great for me. I live in San Diego, lots of hills. But when I am on a flat road going 55 on cruise why does it boot me out of electric? And if I turn off cruise, then turn it right back on I go back to electric? - Lights. If you have been seeing my posts here you know I am not a fan of the front or back lights on my SE. Then car lights look pedestrian at best. If the low end other brands of cars can have fancy newer higher end looking lights there is no reason this car could not have them, or at least an option ( the titanium was not an option when I got my car) on every model. - Memory seats. I guess I do not have a smart key and I have to keep pressing 1 before I sit down so I have room. - memory a/c settings. I have a/c on low, turn it off then turn it on again and it is on high. - Sync. I do not need to say more about that lol.

In would love those lights on the car. I wonder if you could skip the electric mod that turns the lights when you turn to save some money... But if I do the front and swap out then tail lights I will prob be looking in the $3500+ range. Do I like the lights THAT much? They do give the car a sleeker look.

Same story here, gave the parts guy the vin to a titanium model that was on the lot and he gave me the prices. He did confirm these were the ones with the LEDs and he saw the other models that were less. I really wish I had him give me price quotes for both so I could see if the part numbers were different. It makes no sense if there are 2 different versions with the same part number. That would cause too many issues I would think. I will do a deeper dive into this on Monday. $1400 is a tad much, $800ish is something I would pull the trigger on real quick.

I can see why with how great these cars look. Congrats go out to Ford.

Congrats fellow owner!

Well I am OK with that because I have never been blinded by the passengers side. The drivers side is pretty handy.

Mine does not do this. I would ask them to replicate it on a few cars on the lot. Should be no issue for them if they all do it.

Where did you find these prices? I ask because I got my quote from my dealership parts dept. They even printed it out for me. If I can get the parts for that price that really changes things.