Tugrik

I rode Highway 50 from its start in Sacramento all the way to Wichita, KS... then the 54 to my target location in mid-Missouri. The van handled snow in Colorado (over the Monarch pass) and in Ely, NV wonderfully. It's a great road-trip vehicle. I averaged 27.1mpg over the whole trip with speed limits between 55 and 65 the whole way (with short spats at 70). I usually drove 2 to 5mph over the limit. The Transit does NOT like going 72+; it's really not geared well for it. Any hills at that speed and you're hurtin'. The rest of the time down in the 60s was no-problem. My best mpg was coming down from Monarch pass all the way in to Pueblo, CO: 30.2mpg. My worst was 23.9 going through the rolling hills of Missouri. In a week or two I'll head back, most likely taking the 66.

Once you remove the stereo (with the four unlock keys) the panel with the buttons comes off easily. All three have simple cable plugs that pop right off and then you can remove the panel.

Greetings! I own a blue XLT wagon here in San Jose, CA. I too ordered mine as soon as orders were being taken. However, due to some personnel changes and other oddities at the dealership I used, I didn't take delivery until early September. While my TC will definitely see some use in my large-format-printing and laser-engraving side business. for the most part it's my personal commuter vehicle. I'm a very large person so I enjoy vans. Previously I've had a custom GMC van (starcrafter style), a few minivans and then finally a Honda Element as I kept wanting gas milage over space. The TC is the first time I've been able to go up in space while also going up in MPG -- from 21 to 25! It feels so nice to be back in a proper van again. I've been hoping for years that the various eurovan styles would finally get brought over to the states, and I'm glad Ford did it. In my spare time I'm a metalworker and motorcyclist, so I'm all about modifying my vehicles. Currently I've done a custom interior door panel on the driver's side so that my larger size fits better in the driver's seat (the stock door panel has a hugely oversized arm-rest; I slimmed it by half and it's much better). I also flipped the shifter knob over to the other side (easily done as there's a predrilled hole in the shaft for other-side-drive versions of the TC) to give myself more leg clearance. It's now the roomiest drivers'-cockpit I've ever had the pleasure of owning. Currently I've upgraded the stereo to an Alpine system and parrot bluetooth by buying some parts from overseas vendors (as no car stereo shops here in the US seem to understand the Transit's odd mix of wiring and dash styles just yet). As the primary day job is as a network engineer, I've rigged the van up with a mobile 3G hotspot and a secondary battery. In spring of 2010 I'll be putting a solar roof on it (thinfilm laminate CIGS cells) to hook into the battery/radio systems for always-on use, like I did to the Honda Element that used to be my primary vehicle. I have two questions so far that I hope you can help me with, but if not, no worries. 1 - the stock Ford seat-belt extenders for us big folk don't work in the TC, due to a slightly different (barely thicker and about 1/4" shorter) seat belt buckle format. I had to modify the extender to get it to work, which means I'm not 100% assured of its safety. My local dealer threw up their hands and doesn't know how to solve this. Is it possible to order *correct* seatbelt extenders for the TC from any of Ford's overseas dealers? 2 - That little removable 'plug' on the driver's-side rear cargo door... the one just below the 3rd taillight -- what's it for? As it has wingnuts it's super-easy to take out, but the manual makes no mention of it. Are there premade back-up cameras that go in that slot, sold in the EU perhaps? Or is it for some other nefarious purpose? : ) Thanks for joining the forum and listening to me ramble on! --T

I haven't finalized on an amp yet, but I'm leaning heavily towards the Alpine PDX-5. That'll drive four speakers and a sub just fine without going too far into 'thump' territory, and it's tiny (and well thermal managed) enough to go under the passenger seat, safe and out of the way. The door panels couldn't be easier. It's cargo van! For the driver's and passenger's doors: Use a phillips screwdriver and undo the 9 screws on the sides and the bottom of the door. Very carefully pop off the long plastic 'cap' (the textured part) off the front of the pull handle using a putty knife or other thin-thin blade. Be gentle or you'll marr the plastic up a bit. Inside the now-open handle you'll find two Torx T-20 bolts; remove those. Inside the door-latch you'll see a tiny round circle with a screwdriver blade slot. Use a tiny flatblade to pop the circle out; it's a simple push-cap atop one last torx T-20 screw. Then slide the 'cup' off the door-latch to free it up. Now all you have to do is pull the bottom of the door outward and lift the whole thing up. Note: on the driver's side, if you have the power mirror option you'll have to reach up under and un-clip the cable plug connected to the power mirror controls once the door is free. For the rear cargo doors: use a putty knife under each of those huge back 'plugs'. They will pop right out; they're just plastic bosses. It will take some pretty serious elbow grease but they'll come out just fine. Then the two far-too-thin-to-be-useful MDF panels will be free and you can get inside the doors. Make new ones with a router or jigsaw out of 1/2" MDF (or thicker), put a little dynamat on the inside against the metal and mount 6x9 speakers. Route the cables through the flexi-hoses that connect the doors to the main body and then along the base rails up to your amp (or radio head unit). Backup camera: See those two knobs up high on the inside driver's-side rear door? They're wingnuts meant to be undone by hand. Undo those and that odd rectangular 'plug' comes right out of the back. Mount your camera to that plug (or *in* it if you want to be creative) and run the wiring down inside the door. Then remove the lower MDF panel as before and route the wire the same as you did for the rear speaker. The way this little plug is shaped I'm sure someone overseas has a ready-made backup camera that plugs right in there. I can't see any other real use for it! If you respond to this I may not be able to get back to you for a few days. Tomorrow morning I head out on a 2500mi cross-country trip in the TC. I'm taking Highway 50 (the Lonliest Highway) from California right across the nation to go visit some family. Back in a bit! --T

Hi, Wagon XLT (blue, w/normal stereo + nokia bluetooth) owner here. Have had my van for a few weeks now. I've removed the stock stereo and replaced it with an Alpine IXA-W404 + Parrot bluetooth system. To do this I had to order about $90 of parts overseas from a company called Nexxus UK. The three parts I ordered were a Transit Connect/C-Max Fascia Plate (plastic socket that converts the TC's dash to a normal double-DIN), Connect2Car cable (converts the TC's funky Volkswagon/german style wiring harness to ISO harnesses and has a steering wheel remote breakout box) and Alpine adapter (connects said steering wheel remote breakout box to the remote-in jack of the Alpine). Removal of the stereo requires a set of four keys that you can get at most stereo installer shops or Pep Boys. They cost about $7. The stereo comes out easier than any other car stereo I've worked on before. Plug in the four keys, give a light tug, pop off the one big wiring harness and the antenna jack. Done. From there you just cut the ISO pins off the Connect2Car harness and replace them with the harness to your double-DIN aftermarket stereo. Oh, and depending on your stereo you may need a $10 antenna plug adapter to go from the funky euro-plug to the normal US-style antenna plug. I had to use one, myself. Here's the only tough part: there's both a plastic and a metal support "T" bar behind the stereo that can make tucking a big wiring harness adapter (especially if it has those little plastic boxes on it like the steering wheel remote breakout or a fuse holder) into the dash a big chore. You can reach it easier from behind by taking out the glove compartment temporarily (which requires no tools to do). If, like me, you got the Nokia bluetooth kit and are replacing it with an aftermarket one, you can use the factory-installed microphone by tapping into the cables off the wiring harness. The front speakers are 5.25" coaxials with decently deep mounting areas; I was able to replace them with much better sounding Pioneer 3-way 5.25"s. No door modifications were required. When you're all done it looks pretty factory stock and no factory harnesses/wiring were damaged. Going back to the factory radio would take all of 10 minutes, tops, leaving resale value intact. I'm going on a cross-country trip with my TC for all of October, but once I'm back home in California again I'll finish the stereo mods: a slimline subwoofer mounted on the upper back corner (where there's no window) using a custom box, a set of 6x9s in the back doors (replacing the thin 1/8" MDF there) and a 4+1 channel amp under the front passenger seat. It should sound wonderful without sacrificing any cargo space or looks. I can post photos if folks like. As this is the first state-side TC forum I've found, this is the first time I've found a place to chat about this. Sorry for the cruddy iPhone pic. When I'm back from vacation I'll take better photos.