carlb28

So I have set up an appointment with my local ford dealership to begin to get the items in the Ugly section looked at. My cabin light question I also posted to Twitter directed at the ford service alias, but they were unable to get an answer until their expert returns on the fifth. In my correspondence on Twitter, I mentioned other issues that I was taking the vehicle to the dealer for, and they asked what the other issues were. I shared this post, which made them immediately ask for contact and vehicle information so they could pass it along to a regional customer service DM. We shall see how this goes. I also engaged my salesman and the general manager after I scheduled my appointment.

As long as the dealership pays for said temporary work around. Did yours have the heated seats? Mine does and versus my flex, which had fewer "settings", the heaters are much less powerful in the new van. I so wanted to like this van as my family hauler that would get better mileage and be easily towed by our RV, but the wait soured me and now all these issues.

As I live in Florida I have yet to need to use the heater for heavy use yet. Maybe we should post some videos on YouTube about the issues, showing the lack of expected performance in some areas. The other night I did turn it on with your postings in mind and was not impressed with what I felt coming out to the vents. I think that the transit connect in Europe is mostly used as a work van thus the heater/AC is likely an addition they put on at the port for the wagon versions. I also have another thing that I have found to be a huge safety issue. The folding mirrors will sometimes not unfold and allow you to drive off with the side mirrors In an unusable position. The roof rack with crossbar option is only $195 on my vehicle when purchased with the original vehicle. Your dealership must have sourced Yakima or Thule crossbars as they cost that much.

UGH! and have you noticed that the third row vents don't fully close either?! air goes right through the hinge portion meant to close the thing. It then hits my daughter right in the forehead. It is odd that a van designed for use in Europe where they have winters is performing so poorly.

We just traded a Ford Flex for the TC Titanium. Main reasons for the trade were we needed seating, but didn't need the towing capabilities of the Flex. We also wanted something that gets better gas mileage. Knowing this here is a billeted list of what we have noticed thus far: Edited 1/1/2015 - added a few elements to the ugly section. Good Auto up and auto down windows Awesome overhang with rear lift gate Second row seating room Overhead storage Third row slides forward and back Auto headlamps Auto windshield wipers Turning lights(when foglights are off) Wind buffeting is minimal with all 4 windows down Visibility Ford cross bars are easy to get set up and inexpensive Rear camera Parking sensors front and rear Bad Cannot disable DRL Adjusting rear AC is not possible from main dash. Very firm seats No power option for rear lift gate UGLY Navigation system cost more than my Garmin 760 and is less usable Headliner gap between driver cabin and cargo area. Vehicle was delivered with a mySync system that was not updated (expect a correction) Cannot turn cabin lights on (expect a correction) Third row air vents do not fully close(expect a correction) Gas mileage avg <= 19mpg (expect a correction) Folding mirrors do not always unfold allowing vehicle to operate with mirrors that are not working. (expect a correction) Heating system for rear passengers is inadequate. (expect a correction) Anyone else got anything to add or tips on how to better use/understand my new vehicle?

Mine is a titanium wagon, not a cargo version. The second and third rows have a light with three way switch above them. The forward cabin has that plus reading lights for driver and passenger. I have taken to Twitter on this matter, and the folks there tried to point me to the manual. Been there done that, no joy. Nearly every passenger vehicle has the ability to turn on the cabin lights without opening a door. Essentially a button that could also open the same circuit that is tripped by the door switch would be all that is needed.

Ok I just went through a few scenarios and the only light I control from any switching gear is the one up front. If I open the door, then the lights all come on. This is a problem, and a flaw IMHO.

So on my Flex, the dimmer switch was used to turn on the overhead lamp when you dialed in max brightness and went past a detent. I don't think I tried the front switch to control the two rear lights. The odd thing is that this isn't called out in the manual is a flaw. CarlB

No the light switches are three way, but if I am driving and want cabin lighting, I can only turn on what I can reach. Seeing anything in the back is not possible.

So looking at the pictures of the FB vehicles, the reflectors in the lower bumper skin would satisfy the FMVSS, making the upper reflectors just a nice to have from an aesthetic standpoint versus the black caps. ONLY reason I have any inkling of the FMVSS is that I also own a Jeep and need to make sure I don't fly afoul of the regs. In FL they are rather lenient, but other places they can be real sticklers. CarlB

Could also be FMVSS standards that require a reflector on passenger vehicles rear panels somewhere. Maybe the "working" tucks don't fall under the same guidelines.

2015 transit connect titanium with my sync. If I want to check the status of my second and third row guests, when they go quiet and I expect them to be sleeping, I want to turn the cab lights on quickly to see them asleep or not. For the life of me I cannot figure this out, and yes I have combed the manual to no avail. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks, CarlB

when we use the little wheel to stop air flowing through vent, It merely slows the flow rather than sealing it as one would expect. Has anyone else noticed this?

We have only experimented with a couple locations, and frankly some of the issues that the cleaners reports at the dealership could have been related to the cross bars not being tight on both sides. After taking this, they are now above the leading pillar of the last window and all the way at the end. At some point I may see how they handle my canoe. Positioning the racks is not too bad, once you read the manual.

Got a call earlier this week stating that the Transit Connect was at the dealership. We took delivery today. Our salesman had to remind the people that the trade allowance needed to stay the same as it was 6 months ago. Still figuring a few things out with the whole my touch sync or whatever it is called. We got the crossbars moved into a spot that didn't make noise while driving. If I can figure it out I will upload a picture we took before dinner tonight. CarlB

Is it the Recall that is stopping the vehicle from being shipped? did they put a ship hold on all in transit vehicles ? Ford is also recalling 27,597 2014 Ford Transit Connect vehicles for a fuel-line problem that could cause a fuel leak. "A fuel leak in the presence of an ignition source may result in a fire," Ford said. Ford said it is not aware of any accidents or injuries related to this problem. Ford dealers will inspect the fuel lines and reroute and replace them, if necessary. The recall begins the week of November 17.

So back in June I ordered a Blue Titanium Transit Connect, which as we know by now was after the cutoff for the 2014's. Luckily the van hasn't changed much since introduced in 2013 in Europe. Bad part was that I had to tell the dealer the info I gleaned on this forum about the order dates and start date of manufacturing. I got a build date, got a VIN, It has been built and shipped across the ocean. Now it appears to be stuck in Maryland since the 27th of October. It is listed as being "In transit", for nearly a month now. Is there any work that they need to do in Maryland to the vans? I know the commercial vans have some rework due to the chicken tax stuff, but what is the hold up in Maryland? Ford Customer service and the dealership all have no idea why it is still there and no one can tell me when it might arrive. Can anyone explain the process before I just cancel the order and use the cash to pay off all the vehicles in my driveway? Thanks, CarlB

So I am now able to get a window sticker. can someone help decipher the tealeaves/codes on this thing? TOP Left 4-000782 fl 0-NORMAL,NB,300782,EK133 12163 BOTTOM under the Special order box EK133 N RB42X 515 000782 10 13 14 Thanks, CarlB

Plus have you looked at crash data on any of the existing fiats? I will take the ford TV any day....

IMHO, the parent vehicle, the fiat doblo is one ugly beast. Fortunately, they upgraded the nose for the dodge brand.

The answer is two fold, we bought the flex for the seating and towing capacity(we no longer have the ~4000lb popup trailer), and we want something lighter that we can easily tow behind our class C RV. The weight of an empty flex is too close to the 5000 lb towing capacity and the fuel economy is truck like, so getting something with better mileage will help reduce our operating costs. We did go with a Titanium, with most of the options except the ginormous sunroof. I live too far south to enjoy a sunroof. In Florida, that would cause it to be even hotter inside. My dealer has proven inept thus far in most things related to this. Info here led me to the understanding that I would really be getting a 2015. They were painfully ignorant of the info around this vehicle and were confusing this with its big brother when they talked about them. My sales guy is an older gentleman and this whole internet thing is a strange new beast for him. Thanks, Carl B

Oh my the trouble I could cause with this option.... hehehe.