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!

Sorry for your woes. Can't help you diagnose that electrical snafu. Guys like Don R. might have some ideas. A wiring diagram might help to see where the positive side of that fuse comes from. Any other circuits affected (lights, horn, radio, etc). I must add, I think the stupid part (you said it, not me) wasn't touching the hot to the body, but not pulling the fuse for that circuit before working on it. That or the positive lead on the battery. If you were changing out an outlet in the house would you turn the circuit breaker off first? Lesson learned but I do hope you can figure this out without too much pain. Good luck, keep us posted!

Did you try salvage yards within the zone you're willing to drive to get them? If the seats are rare as you say, can you pivot and use seats from another vehicle and adapt them to your TC?

UPDATE: I reread @AdanApost a few times. He calls these fasteners a "BINDING BOLT". Internet also calls them "BINDING POST & SCREW" and "BINDING BARRELS & SCREW". The tee nut description from the other post threw me off a bit. Below are some screen grabs from Lowes and McMaster as an example. What's interesting is in the reviews of the Lowes option, someone used a pair of the fasteners to fix the visor in their Honda. @AdanA also mentions the size range of the bolt: 3/4" to start, ending at 5/8" when cinched. This gives me more info to source the hardware. Will report back.

Sadly, I finally joined the 'old man problem' club as well. Too much floppiness, not stiff enough. 😩 No amount of Viagra is going to fix this problem. My driver's side visor won't close properly. Started with a little floppiness to full blown in a short time span. I have an old shoe lace tying it up for driveability but that's only a temp fix. I remembered this thread and welcome the solutions. I like the magnet solution but the fastener option seems easier for me to implement. @AdanA your analysis is genius and very helpful. Thanks for thinking this through and providing a detailed write-up. @mculbert thanks for your input and testimonial that this solution works. I need some help please so I don't fubar the visor. Hole location: Want to confirm, 3" from the end of visor and 1.25" from the edge per @AdanAwrite-up. @mculbert is that where you drilled your hole too? Fastener: What size? I checked Home Depot online but they mostly have tee nuts with teeth. Lowes has an option from Hillman. Different Nut Heights and Nut widths. See screen shot below. Is this the type of tee nut I should use and what size? @AdanA use tee nuts that don't have the mounting holes but I realize he had these on hand at work for another application. @mculbert tee nut appears to have three holes but the pic isn't detailed enough for me to figure that out. Appreciate the input!

Welcome to the forum. I don't ever recall anyone adding a 3rd row seat to a cargo van. Just 2nd row. I don't think the holes exist. The reason the 2nd row holes were there plus seat belt provisions was the vans were imported with 2nd row seats to get around the chicken tax. Seats and belts, windows, etc were then stripped out to make it a cargo van. I too added sound proofing but I have a pic with the cargo mat removed if that helps. Good luck!

or maybe it's because nobody cared for the TIN MAN. Now if it was Dorothy, it would be another story. 🙄 It would be helpful to know what model year your TC is (Gen 1 or 2)? Which door(s)? There has been some discussion over the years regarding door sensors. Give the search option a try.

Thanks for sharing. What model dashcam did you install and where is it mounted?

@JackGrimshaw not sure what seats the Titanium offers vs the XLT package. I have an XLT Cargo with cloth seats. The XL may be vinyl. I think the added upgrades may be leather and button controls for position. Both my seats are manual. The shape of the seat may be the same for all seats, just a different covering. No idea. If you have a Ford dealer nearby, see what they are using for shuttling customers around. Just a thought. Maybe you'll get lucky and they have a used one on the lot. I reread your original post and sat in my van thinking about what you said. I get it. The sides of the seat really do keep you contained in one spot. I can see how that would cause some problems for some. My longest road trips are three hours max, but I'm squirming around even after two hours. I would think some type of seat cushion like you added would help. Costco sells some type of gel seat that's worth a look or something equivalent. I would go this route rather than trying to swap out seats, a last resort and more effort. On the upside, at least you won't fall asleep at the wheel with a real comfy seat. Re the forum, after the hosting folks kept the forum off and then on and off a few times, it really never bounced back. Kind of lost its momentum. It's been consistently up for many months now, maybe longer, but I agree there's less posting. You would think as these vans age we're going to have more maintenance and fix-it problems. But with no new vans in production we're not getting any reinforcements to the forum. Keep us posted in your quest for a more comfortable seat. Good luck!

Welcome back. We've missed you! There has been some discussion over the years about the seats being uncomfortable. One solution I recall is adding spacers to the seat mounts to raise the height of the seat. My only advice in doing this is don't use skateboard wheels as a spacer. Try the thread below for ideas. Good luck!

Try this recent thread for ideas. Perhaps you can PM poster THMTRX. Good luck!