MountainLion

We got an extraordinary amount of snow here in VA this past winter. My one lane gravel mountain road is plowed by contract workers. My Fusion handled it very well - but I didn't leave if the tractor man hadn't pushed it down to snowpack. I have the small 17" SE wheels. Now that I don't have the stay at home option anymore I'm looking into a cheap 4x4 to get out when it gets deep.

I second the screw gun. I have a cordless drill that zips the screws out and in painlessly. I've changed the oil 3x so far (once in the winter at 20F) and the plastic tabs are pretty sturdy. Time will tell of course. I do 30k a year as well so I'm under there often. Its a pain in the butt but I guess its a compromise between cost and the extra MPG.

Thanks so much guys. The TSB describes my symptoms exactly. I'll have the dealer look at it and get it sorted!

This is a weird one for me. Hopefully I can get some insight: Sometimes I will get a clicking noise from the front left side when I let out the clutch and drive the car in forward or reverse. The most that I notice it is during the first drive of the day (it happens almost everytime - I park nose-in at my house and typically do a 3 point turn to drive out of my driveway forward). I can also get the clicking when backing up or going forward (such as the aforementioned turning around in my driveway or sometimes during parallel parking). I thought it was gravel in the treads (my driveway and road is gravel) but it is pretty regular - and I have checked for gravel in the treads. It is too regular for that. Despite my best efforts, I cannot reproduce it on command. I can go back and forth without it making noise. But then the next day it comes back, or randomly in town. I do not have it happen while changing directions (left to right - only front to back). Sometimes it is first gear, let off clutch, click click. Other times it is stop, select reverse, let out clutch, click click. It does not happen if I have been driving forward (say on a road) and stop at a light and then take off. It only happens when I change going from forward to backward, and even then not all the time. I've done a whole bunch of detective work on this. Releasing the parking brake manually, or automatically, does not matter. I'd like to take it in for this, but I'm afraid that because I can't reproduce it will mean that the dealer cannot reproduce it. Any advice would be appreciated.

If they dropped it then the business case just isn't there for it. Looks like I'll have to make mine last as long as possible!

Thanks. The system is functioning normally again.

What might push it over totaling is the airbag deployment. Unfortunately I have experience in this. My wife hit an elderly man (in a Ford Edge) broadside pulling out in front of her at 40 MPH in her 2011 Fiesta SE. She saw what was happening and braked heavily - no airbag deployment but she needed a new front clip, hood, and associated parts to the tune of $7,900 - but no airbag deployment at all. I thought that her car, with 52k on it would be totaled, but the insurance company paid it full and it has been rebuilt since then.

Just throwing a problem out for feedback that I had today for the first time. For background it is a 2013 Fusion SE 1.6 manual with MFT. Upon startup today the radio would not turn on, saying "entertainment unavailable." Then the 911 assist put up a warning saying "911 assist disabled contact dealer for service." I did not have my cell phone connected with the car as it was dead and charging inside the house. I restarted the car with the same result. All the right side steering wheel buttons were unresponsive, including the SYNC button. This continued the whole drive to town (5 miles) and I left it parked for ~40 minutes. After this when I started the car, everything worked the way that it should. The radio was back to life and I did not get the 911 warning. The system was not performing an update during this episode. Is it worth having the dealer check this issue out, or is it possible that it was a software issue that cured itself? I am at 30k on my warranty (with a B2B extension to 5year/50k). I drive ~30k/year and will hit 50k likely by the new year. Any input would be appreciated.

EB really does hammer fuel economy if you put your foot in it - I know this from trying it out for myself. My Fusion is rated 37 HWY. Where I drive is 98% wide open 2 lanes with no stoplights - but it is very hilly. My best fuel economy run home from work was 44 miles at 46.5 MPG - putting myself in the 'extreme grandma' driver setting - losing 10+ MPH on the hills. My average on that run is 34.5 - maintaining speed throughout and passing anyone going 5 under the limit.

Exactly. Metallurgy and tolerances have come a very long way. My MGB required replacing the gearbox fluid at 1,000 miles for break-in.

Mine took almost exactly 3 months. Ordered 1/11/13 Delivered 4/10/13. Had to order it because I wanted the stick shift, luxury package, MFT, navigation, and sunroof, without the sport package. It is probably 1 of 1 LOL. It could be worse - had an ordering fiasco with my 1999 Mustang. Ordered when the bank opened in September 1999 - V6, stick shift, every option. Delivered 11/23/99 missing 3 options (cruise control, power seat, and Mach 460 stereo). Re-ordered and received 2nd delivery 12/23/99. Built with all the correct options, but painted Dark Green Satin with tan interior, as opposed to Silver with black interior, like I had ordered. Dealership said they could order me a 3rd one ETA February, but I ended up taking the 1st one they built and an extra $500 on the hood for my 'troubles.'

I agree 100%. Oils today are light-years ahead of where they were in the bad old days of non-detergent straight 30 weight - even much better than those of just 15 years ago. They key is the quality of oil, filter, and above all, trip length. Lots short trips and city driving and that requires changes more often. Highway miles can lengthen the interval between changes greatly. Cheap oil and filters = wasted time and wasted $$$.

I did my first change at 7,500. The next when the light came on at 18,000. I'm doing my next one tomorrow because the light came on at 28,800. I drive 90% freeway. My wife's Fiesta is pretty consistent at tripping the light every 10,500 to 11,000 miles. She drives 90% freeway as well.

I had a 2007 GT 5-speed that I bought used in 2009 at 13,000 miles to when I traded it in in 2013 with 88,000 miles. I was putting 800 miles a week on it for a while. I had absolutely no mechanical issues whatsoever - I did go to the dealer on an electrical issue (detailed later). I changed my oil every 6k with Ford-branded 5w20 from WalMart. The brakes were still 40%+ when I traded it. Original battery, suspension, and brakes. I did put 2 sets of tires on it, $800 the first time at 30k for the originals, $1,100 the second at 65k miles. The negatives I had were electrical in nature. When I bought it, half the buttons on the stock radio did not work. I replaced it with a high-quality aftermarket with bluetooth. Every time it was snowing out the wrench light would come on. I took it to the dealer when it first happened at 50k and they could find no fault. I would restart when it happened everytime, and it would usually clear, except for a few times when it would also throw the check engine light. I would clear it with my handheld OBD-II scanner. But it did not cause a driveability issue. I'm thinking I bought a flood car. Got $8,500 for a trade. Didn't negotiate for more. Would I buy another? Heck yes!

I don't really mess with mine all the time. Climate set at 72 and forget it (click, click defrost on if its humid, click off). Navigation when I want it through voice commands. Radio through right steering controls. It reads me my text through right controls. I don't play with it much.

I know that the 2012 Fiesta has a "hard" low fuel level warning at 50 miles. I've never made it to the "red" warning in my Fusion.

My experience is the same. My other Fords chimed at 50 and 25 (07 Mustang, 12 Fiesta) but it is inconsistent with the 13 Fusion. I've had it chime and the gauge go yellow anywhere from 31 to 18 miles to empty. I agree it feels like a step backward.

No worries - I didn't take it poorly . Just trying to contribute constructively. Loooong time lurker here (12 years or so) that finally joined up. The tank problem sure is frustrating - my 2007 Mustang would click off prematurely (like every 2 seconds) all the time. I'd put the pump in upside down, seemed to help but may have been wishful thinking. Maybe its a restriction in the feed tube? A failure of the anti-siphon? A pair of vise-grips clamped down on the feed tube of my 88 Escort sure made filling up a 30 click journey of failure.

You're totally right. I didn't even consider that. I never top off so I guess I just think "off = full" which obviously it isn't. Pardon me while I eat my crow!

My last fill up was at 11 miles to empty and I put in 13.879 gallons at first click off. Build date 3/12/13. So that's 2.621 gallons left (theoretically) for 11 miles indicated. Definitely on the conservative side.

Filled up last night. 35.67 MPG. Best tank yet. My commute (90% of my driving) is 75 miles round trip with 3 lights each way on a 55mph back road. Your post made me look at mine. Now I wish I hadn't. Looks like garbage.

I'd have loved to have the push start, but unfortunately the manual gearbox and push button start are mutually exclusive options. Its a bit silly, because its an auto-crank anyways, turn the key to start, let go, and the engine cranks itself. Not a big deal really, and I've already lived with it in my Mustang for a long time before. I've been trying like mad to beat the highway mileage while driving normally but just can't seem to do it. I was able to average 43 MPG babying it by going 45-ish in 6th with the A/C off for about 50 miles. But driving 60-65 continuously back and forth to work, using the A/C, has brought that down to 36 as of today. By the time this tank finishes off I should be around 35 MPG. My best tank ever if this holds out (so far the best was 34.65, worst was 30.57) so I'm not really complaining as it is within the range of mileage, and a darn sight better than my Mustangs, but I'm used to meeting the highway mileage for my commute. However, my commute is quite hilly, I'm sure that is what is causing it, getting into the boost while going up the hills. No replacement for displacement kind of thing. I'm still learning the best way to drive it. I think a boost gauge would help out in that regard. I've done the same thing with the power windows - if I hit the switches randomly up when its already closed it tends to forget its memory. My Mustang did the same thing, I'm used to programming them when they don't move automatically.

My gripes after almost 5 months with my Fusion are some that have been said before. The gripes and praises from me in a SE 1.6 manual: Gripes: 1. The key position is stupidly low. I have to have a S-clasp on my housekeys to take them off so they don't rest on my leg (had the same issue in my 2007 Mustang). 2. The PW switches are too far forward, I have to consciously move my hand forward for the front windows. 3. The trunk opening is too small. I have the cargo net and it is a chore sometimes to put things in the trunk while fighting the cargo net. 4. The automatic mirror seems to forget its position. I have to adjust it everyday. 5. With the climate on AUTO 72 blows too cold, and 73 blows too warm. 6. The weather radar is super pixalated when you zoom in to any reasonable degree. 7. Its hard to hit the highway mileage without driving like a Grandma. In my 2007 Mustang GT I was able to average 24.7 MPG daily driving out of 25 highway consistently (and I drove it like I stole it) and even using the instant MPG graphs I average 33.7 MPG daily out of 37 on the same commute. My wife's Fiesta (with me driving) does 40.6 MPG on the 38 rating on the same commute. They could have made 6th gear longer, in my opinion, the power is there. 8. The piano black trim on the driver's door is already shabby from my wedding ring on the driver's door. Praises: 1. This car turns heads. Its a looker for a 4 door sedan. 2. I have no complaints with MFT. It works for me. The latest update fixed what I thought were the problems with it. 3. These are the highest quality seats in any Ford I've ever been in. The leather is light years ahead in quality of my 1999 Mustang. 4. The handling is fantastic for a front-drive sedan. It likes to be pushed hard. 5. I believe that the automatic wipers can read my mind. They work better if you Rain-X the windscreen. 6. The engine sure is a tourqey little beast. Spool up the turbo and off we go. 7. I feel like I got a good value for the money. For 30k in the midsized market there is little else that compares. 8. My dealer is awesome (not Fusion related, but it sure helps.)

Mine does that too. They glow weakly after the doors are locked by the remote. I think they are timed with the door lock lights as well. Manual says that the door lock lights stay lit for 10 minutes. I haven't timed the lights in the taillights, but its probably the same.

I had the dealer change mine at 7500 (first one free!) with 27% left according to the oil life monitor because I picked up a screw in my tire that I didn't feel like dealing with. I drive 80% at a constant speed every day. I broke it in by varying engine speed and load (my route is rather hilly) and by deliberately not upshifting to 6th every now and again. After that I've been driving normally. No oil consumption to speak of at all.