danglin Posted January 9, 2016 Share Posted January 9, 2016 My dad is looking at purchasing one of these vehicles if he finds one he likes for no more than $5,000.. He already found a 2007 Fusion (2.3L, 120K) he really likes, but cant get the dealer down to his price yet... Anyone aware of what issues he should be concerned with on these two cars? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted January 9, 2016 Share Posted January 9, 2016 They're pretty solid cars. My folks had an '08, just a few odd issues with the power seats and bubbling plastichrome on the taillight surround. Your Dad's price suggests 6-speed auto+FWD which is probably the most reliable powertrain combo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-150 Posted January 9, 2016 Share Posted January 9, 2016 Avoid the Five Hundred equipped with the CVT. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moosetang Posted January 9, 2016 Share Posted January 9, 2016 Friend in another forum had some real gripes with a first-gen Fusion build quality, nothing fatal but enough that I'd double check everything. The Five Hundred from what I can tell is quite solid, although the CVT is often a sore spot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danglin Posted January 9, 2016 Author Share Posted January 9, 2016 Thanks for the info. He did not want the CVT. So the fusion Tranny has been pretty solid? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvrsvt Posted January 10, 2016 Share Posted January 10, 2016 My parent had issues with the rear brakes on their 2008 Sable. They went at 25k or so...well before the fronts for some reason Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-150 Posted January 10, 2016 Share Posted January 10, 2016 My parent had issues with the rear brakes on their 2008 Sable. They went at 25k or so...well before the fronts for some reason That was s common failure on 500s and Freestyles. Ford extended the warranty on the rear brakes to cover the early wear out. IIRC, they were too small for the weight of the car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvrsvt Posted January 10, 2016 Share Posted January 10, 2016 That was s common failure on 500s and Freestyles. Ford extended the warranty on the rear brakes to cover the early wear out. IIRC, they were too small for the weight of the car. I'll have to pass that along to my dad...they replaced it with a 2013 Escape. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YT90SC Posted January 11, 2016 Share Posted January 11, 2016 That body style Fusion/Milan had the FNR5 with the four and the Aisin FW21 for the sixes. All pretty darn reliable. All not serviced by Ford because they bought them from Mazda (for the FNR5) and Aisin but did not buy the rights to service them. They were both stand ins till the 6F35 was ready in the facelifted car. They are solid performers and will last a long time with even somewhat regular maintainance. The early 6F35 had issues with the solenoid pressure control valve In the valvebody and the left case bushing. There are other issues but fewer and further between. As for the 500, the CVT in the AWD's and another Aisin were the choices. Both great as long as they remain issue free. The CVT was serviceable but parts are scarce now and no one serviced them properly, so they often had issues. The Aisin had the same issue as the Fusion version where Ford didn't buy the rights to service. But with the 500/Montego you will eventually put a compressor and roll restricter mount in. Taurus was pretty unchanged till the '08. In 08 they went to the 3.5/6f50 combo which is damn hard to beat. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fordtech1 Posted January 11, 2016 Share Posted January 11, 2016 (edited) I agree with yt90sc. I would personally prefer the 08-09 Taurus. The 500 is a good car but the powertrain update in 08 make a huge difference. My experience with CVTs has been its either going to break at 50k or will last until 150+. Doing the services on it seems to help a lot. However, its a pretty pricey job. My sister has a 06 freestyle with 160k on it. I've done the cvt service a few times and so far so good. Edited January 11, 2016 by fordtech1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fordmantpw Posted January 11, 2016 Share Posted January 11, 2016 My parent had issues with the rear brakes on their 2008 Sable. They went at 25k or so...well before the fronts for some reason We had the same on our Flex. I think they went around 45k or something like that (for a car that has mostly highway miles). The dealership said it was rather common on that platform. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liqudspine Posted January 13, 2016 Share Posted January 13, 2016 I have owned a Freestyle and Taurus 2008, the aluminum rims on both vehicles would leak air and I always had to have an air pump in the car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvrsvt Posted January 13, 2016 Share Posted January 13, 2016 That was s common failure on 500s and Freestyles. Ford extended the warranty on the rear brakes to cover the early wear out. IIRC, they were too small for the weight of the car. Can you post any info on the warrenty being extended? I was talking to my dad about this and they spent $400 getting the brakes done at the dealership while it was under warrenty. He said they had the brakes done twice in 50k. Think he did it the second time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-150 Posted January 13, 2016 Share Posted January 13, 2016 Can you post any info on the warrenty being extended? I was talking to my dad about this and they spent $400 getting the brakes done at the dealership while it was under warrenty. He said they had the brakes done twice in 50k. Think he did it the second time. This was around 2010 on my 2007 Freestyle. Dealer service advisor told me when vehicle was in for service and the rears needed early replacement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoonerLS Posted January 13, 2016 Share Posted January 13, 2016 My experience with CVTs has been its either going to break at 50k or will last until 150+. Doing the services on it seems to help a lot. However, its a pretty pricey job. My sister has a 06 freestyle with 160k on it. I've done the cvt service a few times and so far so good. My parents had an '05 Freestyle with the CVT, and it was still going strong when they traded it for a '12 Explorer. It had well north of 150K miles on the clock at that point, and was still running strong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WillSD Posted January 13, 2016 Share Posted January 13, 2016 Can you post any info on the warrenty being extended? I was talking to my dad about this and they spent $400 getting the brakes done at the dealership while it was under warrenty. He said they had the brakes done twice in 50k. Think he did it the second time. Field Service Action 07N10; http://www.fordtaurus.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=9554 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvrsvt Posted January 13, 2016 Share Posted January 13, 2016 Field Service Action 07N10; http://www.fordtaurus.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=9554 Ah they had a 2008 I think. Thanks for the info Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danglin Posted January 14, 2016 Author Share Posted January 14, 2016 (edited) My dad bought a 2006 Five Hundred SEL FWD with the six speed auto and 122K today. He picks it up tomorrow. Found in on Craigslist at a small used car dealer. Looked at the ad, and it appears to be in nice shape. Glad to see he went with a Five Hundred, I think my parents will appreciate the room and ease of exit and entry over a fusion. Edited January 14, 2016 by danglin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theoldwizard Posted January 14, 2016 Share Posted January 14, 2016 Avoid the Five Hundred equipped with the CVT.I SECOND THAT ! I have an '07 Milan (Fusion). One of the best cars I have ever owned. I have the 3.0L V6 but my brother-in-law had the 2.5L 4 cylinder. Better fuel economy and still reasonable performance. Both the Fusion and the Taurus have HUGE trunks ! I would buy a first gen Fusion in a heart beat !! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ANTAUS Posted January 16, 2016 Share Posted January 16, 2016 They are some of the larger ones in the segment, but what makes it difficult is the access. Specially on the Fusion where it looks like a mail slot then having to hop in to reach things that have fallen towards the back. But it's the styling which affects just about every vehicle that is designed with a swoopy back like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atomcat68 Posted January 18, 2016 Share Posted January 18, 2016 Had a 500 AWD company car with the CVT and it had 158,000 miles on it and still drove like a new car. Some of the employees had a hard time apparently parking it as all the head and tail light lenses were cracked. The office manager managed to put the shattered tail light back together with packing tape so well you could barely notice and it still got inspection stickers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
351cid Posted January 19, 2016 Share Posted January 19, 2016 My son has the Five Hundred we bought in '05. It has 207,000 miles. Still runs well; only thing it's had done is a motor mount repair and normal consumables. Rock solid cars, IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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