windguy

Saw this interesting article in Yahoo Finance this week. Titled "Minivan sales surge 21% in 2025 as millennial dads lead demand for cars offering the 'best bang for your buck'" Honda, Toyota, Kia and Chrysler are leading the pack. Figures that Ford missed this opportunity sheit canning the Transit Connect. Reactive rather than proactive and predicting the market and learning from the European Market. Anyone that owns a minivan understands the utility can't be beat. The heck with the optics that it's a soccer mom vehicle with no swagger. Ford had enough time to find a permanent solution to avoid tariffs (chicken tax). We'll see what their next move will be. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/minivan-sales-surge-21-in-2025-as-millennial-dads-lead-demand-for-cars-offering-the-best-bang-for-your-buck-143022892.html?err=1

Thanks for mentioning this as I hadn't heard about this virtual vehicle. I would agree, it's very speculative at this point. Asking how the forum will handle this new Maverick van is putting the proverbial cart before the horse or forum before the van. We'll have to wait to see how this plays out. I remain skeptical since the Transit Connect sales in the US were supposed to be anemic. I did notice the other day that Kia plans to introduce its version of the VW ID.Buzz electric van, with several different cargo and passenger versions. Interesting designs. https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a46318864/kia-modular-electric-van-2025-ces/ https://electrek.co/2025/05/22/kias-electric-van-going-full-camper-mode-first-look/

The door jam placard on my 2015 Cargo must be different than yours.

73K miles on tires is pretty decent. I never even come close to getting that since most of my mileage is on twisty windy canyon roads that eats up tires like crazy. What tire pressure do you use? I use 44/48. I would agree that the van noise is mostly road and not tires. I'm guessing that all these passenger car tires are equal when it comes to tire noise. You being in the Northeast, traction for snow and rain would be a primary consideration along with tread life since you drive a lot. I replaced the original Conti's on my 2015 cargo with Pirelli Cinturato Strada AS, which are now Cinturato P7 AS. Size 215/55 R16 97H 70,000 miles warranty Treadwear = 700, Traction=A, Temperature=A I didn't notice any change in noise. Not sure I'd use that spare tire. You might want to check into doing that. The rubber does age, dry out and not sure it's worth saving the money. Does the spare have a TPMS sensor on it? That's another consideration. Side note, we get tires for our cars at America's Tire (Discount Tire outside CA). They have a shop in town and I like their service. They will price match to Costco so you can save money by doing that if it's an option for you. Good luck and keep us posted!

Okay. I agree, worth trying wherever you can. I hope you get your questions answered. I think it is. We've had a few high mileage users reporting on this forum but I'd guess that's well above the average. Years ago 200+K would seem extremely high for a 2015, but it's 10 years old now. 20,000 miles a year is not as crazy high as it seems. I only have 36,000 on my 2015 so for me it's a lot. I realize I'm on the low end. Curious on your maintenance: How often do you change oil? Trans flush? Original Engine and Trans? Other repairs? Thanks!

Nice job in maintaining a TC with 200K miles. Impressive. As you know, this forum is mainly for Transit Connects, not full size Transits. You're not going to get the type of response you're looking for here. If you haven't done so yet, I suggest repeating your post on a Transit specific forum. Good luck!

I don't think the OP means the steering wheel is off center in rotation or alignment with the wheels, but fore/aft tilted. The right side is closer than the left side as if the steering wheel was not seated correctly when installed, so it's not plumb so to speak. I think that's what he means???

Sorry, your translation to English was a bit choppy. Thought you meant tire/wheel, not steering wheel. Tire alignment not relevant to your problem but still a good idea to do.

I would get a wheel alignment. For my 2015, I was told it's a two wheel front alignment only, no alignment for rear. Good luck!

There are some skilled mechanic guys on this forum. Hopefully they will chime in with some thoughts. The forum traffic has been slow for a while now so it make take some time before you get a response.

The ladder rack suggestion was for humor, as offered by other forumite in another post re van interior noise. Sounds like you've done more extensive testing than originally offered. Eg. testing on a lift at speed. That's a really good idea and I'm surprised you couldn't pinpoint the source better. This reminds me of a problem I had with an 1988 GMC S15 pickup. Midyear GMC added a new 4.3L engine. The truck would have a resonance sound that started at around 45-50mph as I recall. GMC issued a workaround by drilling some holes in the engine cowling, which the dealer did. It solved the noise problem. Perhaps your problem is something similar. Motor mounts okay? Any other bushings used for isolating noise and vibration? Good luck!

Sorry to hear about your noise issues. Must be frustrating. We certainly don't want you to turn into an Advil junkie for your kidney's sake. I have no idea but can certainly ask some questions that come to mind. BTW, If you take @JackGrimshaw advice for noise abatement, put a ladder rack on the roof and the echoing noise will be solved 😜 I too have a 2015 Cargo but relatively low miles to yours I'm sure, only 36,000. If you let off the gas at 60+ when you hear the hum noise, does it continue to hum until you drop below 60? Before the new tires, no hum noise? If true, then why are you eliminating the tires as a noise source? What tires did you put on vs what did you have before? What tire pressure are you running? Have you tried varying the tire pressure to eliminate that issue?

Sad to report that adding the BINDING POST and screw didn't work for my visor. Rats! @AdanA's visor is on a 2019. Not sure about Mculbert's model year. My van is a 2015. Maybe Ford changed the visor on the refresh of the Gen 2? At first I thought the screw wasn't clamping down enough so I removed the visor and used a small C-clamp where I drilled the hole. You don't need to mount it to test it. Holding the mounting part in my hand the visor just flops, no tension. The clamping doesn't do anything in that particular location. 3" over and 1.25" in from the edge. Maybe I'm just missing the sweet spot? I'd have to remove the visor and try the c-clamp in other locations to test. Will do that. In fact, I'd strongly recommend doing that before drilling any holes in your visor so you don't cheese it up (swiss cheese in this case). I'm back to using an old shoe lace to tie it closed around the storage shelf. Good temp fix. Below are a few video links of interest on ytube. One video shows the exact same fix as AdanA suggested doing. It's eight years old. The second video has a fix using some velcro to beef up the rod. That fix might work. I'd consider giving that a try as a possible solution. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vuhOeqUnBI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8jcoSgdjO4

Good post. I agree. I too did a lot of sound proofing when I got my 2015 cargo van but I consider it was a marginal improvement. I too have the footwell area for the second row seats filled with stuff as a storage compartment. Again better, but marginal. You still get a significant amount of road noise.

Wouldn't it make more sense to add a house battery for your solar system and extra power usage and keep it isolated from the van's main electrical system? That's the way I'd do it for a camper conversion as they do with the bigger size vans like a Sprinter or Transit. The footwell area for the second row seating is a great place to stash a house battery. The only downside is having a battery in close proximity to your sleeping area. Something to research for safety concerns. Good luck!