windguy

51 psi seems pretty high compared to the recommended 44 front / 48 rear. You would think higher pressure would make the ride harsher with increased road noise. I check the tire pressure monthly and the spare twice a year. The OEM tires hold pressure very well for my usage, but that's low mileage.

Thanks Fifty150 for the info and pics of your tires. Your tires appear to have more tread than mine and you have 13% more mileage on them than mine. I have seen Conti tires with an 80,000 mile rating. See screen shot below from America's Tire website (Discount Tire outside CA). Perhaps that's where I originally got the 80,000 mileage rating not noticing that this tire isn't the exactly the same as the OEM tire. The OEM tire with a similar name shows 60,000 on the same website. With a replacement tire I'd be willing to give up mileage life if I could have a quieter tire. That's most important for me with handling being a low priority. The reality might be that my driving habits will prematurely destroy any tire out there so might as well get the benefit of a quieter tire.

Thanks for the replies GBL and Fifty150 Tread depth on the spare is 5/16 and on the other tires is 1/16". Crudely measured using a carpenter's combo t-square. Not very precise. No snow in my parts and I avoid driving when it's raining. Biggest road hazard to the tires would be sharp rocks fallen onto the road when crossing the canyon roads. I'll stop by a tire place and have them check it out and see what type of proration they can offer me. It might be more prorateable before the tires go to no tread. Will update.

Your van is the same as mine. The sliders have this white thin foam covering, as pictured below, and the back doors a plastic film only on 3 doors. I ended up making a covering out of a thin plastic cutting board and using contact cement to hold it in place. Probably not as water tight as the other 3 covers but good enough. I think you might be on to something with the slider panels being a noise source and I like the idea of adding a buffer to the inside face. After doing the sound deadening, I tried to add plastic bags of wall insulation but ended up removing it as I didn't like how it bowed out the foam covering when it expanded. I couldn't get it to fit like I wanted it to so abandoned that idea. But if I tap around the slider panel it sure does have a rattling noise that increases away from the edges. I hear this type of noise when driving on rough pavement and it sounds like a low level popcorn machine going off. Hard to describe. Hard to determine the source of the noise when you're driving but it could be those slider panels. I should remove them and see if the noise abates. The one advantage of sound proofing the van is it lets you pinpoint sources of road noise easier because the overall noise level of the van has been reduced. I'll add that to my van todo list for when the weather cools down.

Thanks for the input guys. I would agree that having Road Hazard insurance is worth the added expense, especially since tires for me are like magnets for screws. So far the TC has been good to me for that but I've run into some bad luck over the years. In some cases the tire can be plugged, but in others it has to be replaced if the hole is near the sidewall. After reading the warranty guide I got the feeling that there are two warranties, one from Ford and one from Continental. I need to stop by a local tire shop and discuss my options with them. We have every major chain tire store on the west coast in town but through years of elimination from bad experiences I've found America's Tire (in CA and Discount Tire in other states) to provide the best service and competitive pricing. Attached are snaps of each tire. The tire wear seems to be fairly even across each tire and among the set of tires. My crude measurement shows about 1/16" of tread left at best. Tough to tell who is going balder faster, my tires or my head ? I've been inflating tires per the spec at 44 fronts and 48 rears. Tires hold air very well on monthly checks but with low mileage between checks.

Thanks desert_connect. Interesting about those panels being a noise source when painted. I can see that happening. Underneath them is some material that you'd think would buffer any resonance. I sound proofed all the doors and I think it's helped out a lot. Something to consider down the road.

My 2015 Gen 2 cargo model has all the mounting holes for belts and seats. There is also evidence that some of those mounting holes (seat belt mounting on both sides) were used and then brush painted kind of crudely to hide the scratches. Believe what you want but I'm assuming this van was imported as a wagon model and changed to a cargo model to avoid the tariff. On a side note, given the current troubles in Turkey, I'm sure Ford is very happy they moved production from Turkey to Spain for the Gen2 models. It would be cool if these vans were made in the US to reduce the lead time for custom orders. Current tariff policies might force that decision for Ford.

Glad to hear you'll be around at least until your mom tries to thin out the herd. I've had a few close encounters with the common mule deer in my area darting across a canyon road at night right in front of me. Scares the bejesus out of you as they come from nowhere and you're at the mercy of which path they choose. I try to drive slower at night knowing they are waiting to play frogger with my van.

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.