windguy

Can anyone confirm the mileage rating on the OEM tires, Conti Pro Contact Extra Load? My notes when I bought the van in 2015 are showing 80,000 miles, but I'm not seeing that online now. The reason I'm asking is that on my last oil change at 15,000 miles when tires were rotated (done very 5,000 miles), the service advisor told me the tread is down to 30% and I should replace the tires. I'm not surprised because the tire wear on my last vehicle, Volvo 850 wagon, was terrible, usually 15,000 or less. Most of my miles are on a very windy and mountainous canyon road en route to the beach and I'm usually hustling to get there and back home. With the Volvo wagon, an alignment tech once took a look at my tire wear and asked me if I drive around in circles. I laughed and explained my driving pattern. He compensated the alignment to help that. I ended up getting tires that had a good proration policy so help absorb the replacement cost, even though I was still shelling out money for mounting fees and damage coverage. I thought part of the problem was the vehicle so I was hoping the TC would do better with this issue, but it looks like I'm having the same issues. Has anyone else had poor wear on their OEM tires and if so did they try to get a proration discount on them when replacing? Tire warranty guide posted below. I asked the dealer if they will prorate the cost of the tire and he gave me this blank stare. He said he didn't know about doing that and didn't seem to care about finding out if they could. It seems when they can't make top dollar on something their enthusiasm of helping you quickly goes away. Par for the course at a dealership. And then the question goes out if I can get them prorated at a local tire shop, should I stick with the OEM tire or a Conti equivalent or jump to a different brand and skip the proration? I would try another brand if I found a tire that would give me more tread miles based on my heavy usage. Thanks for the help! 2015-Tire-Warranty-Guide-version-4_tirtw_EN-US_02-2014.pdf

What a crazy story. Rat (mouse) bastards. Glad you could remedy the situation with some resourceful ingenuity.

Nice job painting those panels. That came out really nice. I did mine recently and also considered doing a textured finish but choose semi-gloss paint instead for ease of cleanup. I only finished the front surface and edges, not the back. Probably will go back and do the back if I see moisture getting picked up there. I also sanded the surface first with 150 grit and then rolled on BIN primer (water based) like you did and sprayed just the fronts using the same 2X paint. The small rear panels came out okay, but the larger slider panels looked crappy. It's hard to spray a non-flat finish and getting a consistent finish over a large area. I ended up rolling on semi-gloss paint instead using a sponge roller. Came out much better with a more consistent finish. I'll pass along that this Rust-oleum painter's touch paint is crap. https://www.homedepot.com/p/Rust-Oleum-Painter-s-Touch-32-oz-Ultra-Cover-Semi-Gloss-Black-General-Purpose-Paint-1974502/100208855 I bought it at a local hardware store and when I got home read the reviews at Home Depot, which were terrible. I figured the negative reviews were all by hacks and used the paint anyway. They were right and I was sorry I didn't heed the warning. The paint works better with a brush but with a roller it pulls up and bubbles leaving a pitted surface. Not good. I'll leave it for now but down the road will refinish it using a better quality enamel paint.

Sorry to hear about your accident and loss of your TC. That's a bummer. Glad you weren't hurt - most important. I hope you still stick around the forum as an honorary TC owner. Would hate to lose you.

Me too! I have no issues with my latches so I'm reluctant to have the dealer make the situation worse. I keep telling them I'll do the recall later on since I don't think there's a time limit on it. @dons - sorry to hear about your woes with this repair. Hopefully in the end you will be satisfied with the outcome.

Fun fishing videos, thanks for sharing. I'm waiting for the one that shows the tail fin sticking out the back of the van where you can't close the barn doors. The one where you declare as you're reeling it in "we're going to need a bigger van"

That looks very nice Don - great job, worth the long wait. I think the reflectors look better on the wagon model with the painted bumpers, side molding, door handles. There isn't black molding to compliment the black trim piece. On my XLT van, I have black in those areas and I'm on the fence towards my preference for changing that.

Understand. But wouldn't it also be prudent to search for a solution at the same time on other forums. I doubt anything with the BBB or other agencies are going to move very fast and might not give you the results you're looking for unless you want to try to lemon law the van back to Ford, if that qualifies. Go back to the dealer and raise hell. Arrange a meeting with the service manager or general manager of the dealership and don't leave their office until they get on the phone and call up their district Ford reps and run this issue up the ladder.

@timbo - The keypad is great. I use it all the time because I surf and windsurf in the ocean and don't want to stash my fob or carry it in a waterproof pouch. If I lose my fob for some reason, I always have a way to get inside the van where I have a spare key stashed. As you can see from the pic below, I mounted mine on the rear door because that's what I mostly use for getting gear in/out and the location is most accessible. You first program the keypad like a normal keyfob and then mount it anywhere with adhesive. Don't think it will come off on it's own. Battery is supposed to last 5+ years, I think. There is another thread about setting up the keypad (see link below). Very easy process. http://fordtransitconnectforum.com/topic/2991-keyless-entry-keypad/?tab=comments#comment-8793

I tried to get a 'dumb key' after I got the van but had no luck locally. The dealer said they could order the key blank but didn't have the laser machine to cut it and said the cost is very expensive and the tooling doesn't last very long, adding to the expense. They said they use another car dealer (?Mazda) that had the machine to make the keys. The whole process seems ludicrous for a simple key. I ended up adding a keypad, which I was going to do anyway. So between that and the extra fobs I had ordered with the van it was good enough.

Sorry to hear you're getting the run-around. Contacting someone at Ford yourself seems impossible, unfortunately. One option is to go back to your dealer and hold the service manager hostage until you get results, but that might have some repercussions. I have another idea that won't result in incarceration. Since your 1.6L EcoBoost engine is used in other vehicles, per the recall, perhaps you can seek help that way. Assuming that others are in the same position as you when their IPC was reprogammed. The EcoBoost may not be as popular on this TC forum for that production time span, but maybe there's a Fusion forum that you can search for where others have been working this issue. Also check for forums for the Escape and Fiesta St. Something has to turn up and perhaps you can catch the eye of someone that works at Ford engineering that frequents other forum. Per the Recall Notice: Certain 2013-2014 Fusion, 2013-2015 Transit Connect, 2014 Escape, and 2014-2015 Fiesta ST Vehicles Equipped with a 1.6L EcoBoost Engine

Thanks Don for finding that out. Appreciate the help. I do remember reading that and I tried the button but was rushed in my attempt. I'll give it another try and go direct to the light this time. I'll report back on my results.

@camber - Welcome to the forum and congrats on your TC. Did you just get it? We'd all love to see pics of your van and to hear about how your use it. Thanks!

@Mike Chell - another great video. Thanks for sharing. I have great admiration for your ability to figure out how to adapt your van to your specific needs and then get the job done. Job well done! After seeing what you did with the carpeting, you inspired me to carpet the rear wheel wells rather than seeing the painted body. I'm not mad at you for making more work for me but perhaps my wife might be cause I'm spending more time working on the van instead of doing house chores Have fun fishing and I will miss your mods videos. Perhaps a few of your fishing escapades will help. Enjoy!

@boondockinDave - Welcome to the forum and congrats on your new van. We love to see pics of new vans all nice and shiny! There are numerous write-ups here on this forum for most of the mods you want to do. Someone else installed a fan and provided some nice pics of that install. Use the search tool to locate. Please keep us posted.

Getting back to battery jump starters, I got the GB40 and it looks like a decent unit. Well packaged and the actual brick isn't too big. The cables seem beefy enough. I'm a bit confused about the 12V output port though. I also got an EC5 to cig adapter socket (link below) with the intent of being able to using the battery pack to run a tire inflator or other 12v devices remotely. I thought the EC5 connector was a standard on these jump starters. I was wrong. The adapter doesn't mate with the GB40. Anyone know what type of connector that is? https://www.amazon.com/LOTUS-POWER-Cigarette-Lighter-Adaptor/dp/B019IFHLAE Second question is can you even connect a 12V load, other than a battery, to this jump starter? I tried to connect a new LED light to test the intensity using the jump cables and it didn't work. Maybe I was doing something wrong or this jump starter has some sensing technology that prevents you from doing something like that. I had some other wiring between the LED and the jump starter so that could have been the problem. Didn't try it direct yet but scratching my head. Thanks!

@gwbasley - Great pic! Thanks for sharing. Enjoy your new van.

George - Welcome to the forum and congrats on your new to you TC. We'd all love to see pics of your new van. Wagon or Cargo model? There are a few other musicians on this forum. One posted recently but can't remember who it was. The load height on the TC is great. Also for sitting on the back tailgating or in my case changing into a wetsuit. Sure beats scrambling up on a pick-up tailgate. Enjoy!

Thanks Fifty150 - that's a good testimonial for Noco products. I decided to order a Noco GB40 with 1,000 amps, bumping up from the the GB20 with 400 amps, so I have extra power just in case. $100 at Amazon. PDF Spec sheet attached. I'll pick up a second one for my wife's car if this first one works out okay. The Noco GB40 does not come with a wall charger, only uses USB or 12VDC from the car battery. At first I really wanted to have a wall charger, but maybe that's just another part to fail, so I'm okay with using my phone's wall to USB adapter instead and a USB cable. Supposed to charge the battery pack in 2-4 hours with the Samsung charger. I'll report back after I get the unit. Appreciate everyone's input! Noco Genius GB40.pdf

Thanks GBL - appreciate your sage advise, as always.

@mike - great video, thanks for sharing. You're making good progress. What's next?

@fifty150 - thanks for all the info. Very helpful. Both car and van are 4-cylinder vehicles so I don't think I need a super heavy duty starter. A light-duty model should do the job. The Jump-N-Carry starters from Clore Industries look like decent products. They caught my eye earlier when searching around. I think the JNC311 model (500amp) will be robust enough for my needs. It's still beefier in size compared to smaller foot print models like the DBPower 600A starter but closer to the Noco Genius Boost line (400amp). Also has longer cables at 17" compared to 4-6" for the other models. Noco has 14" cables. Regarding questionable reviews on Amazon, when I can remember, I'll go to Fakespot.com to sniff out product reviews on Amazon. A few starter models got F grades, but most got B grades and a few got A grades, like the Jump-N-Carry and Noco Genius Boost models. Fakespot also shows you how many reviews were deleted by Amazon, which is very interesting in how they manipulate the perception of the product. Thanks!

Thanks Jiquay, good to know. My van use is in pretty mild climates. No sub freezing temps.

Anyone have a favorite battery jump starter they like? I have no experience in using something like this so I'm buying one blind. I'd like to get one for each car in case of a dead battery, more so if I'm in a remote location away from AAA type service or don't want to wait around for them for just a jumpstart. For the van it would be convenient to have a portable 12v source. I like the concept of having this available but at the same time it's got to work when I need it. I checked Amazon's offerings and it seems the Antigravity models (AG-XP-10 is $180) are pitched as being one of the original sources of these. Others are knock-offs and much less expensive, less than half that amount. None of them got stellar reviews. Battery cable clamp failures seem to be a common fault or just not working at all. The DBPower 600A model at $70 seems okay. Nice and compact. There are a bunch of other ones at the $70 price point with similar specs and ratings. Another poster recently showed a pic of a Noco Genius Boost GB40 and that's $100 and about twice the depth and weight of the DBPower model with a higher amp rating at 1,000 vs 600-800. Thanks!

Thanks Don. I searched on your part number and it's hard to find. The adhesive on the rear door plastic covers is clear and it seems very similar to some two sided tape I've worked with recently. High-tack but removable.