Eilif

I like it. I like my TC plenty, but if the proace city is available in the US when it comes time to replace it, I'd definitely consider it. My last car was a Prius and I had very good experiences with Toyota's Customer Service and Warranty work. From what I've read, a 3 seat front bench is an option and that's very appealing. Anyone know if a third row is an option? For at least the next decade a third row will be a necessity for hauling kids and their friends.

So, here's the coda to my experience. A bit of a 180 from where I was previously. After installing the new Radio, Harness, Steering Wheel Control kit and Mounting/Facia kit... Part 1. The Problems. -Even after maxing the brightness the Sony screen was nearly impossible to see in any kind of daylight. The angle from the Metra kit is just plain wrong for a traditional lcd display. I assume a modern video lcd screen would be better but who knows.. -Never was able to get the steering wheel controls to work. Returned that wiring unit to Crutchfield for a full refund. -Never was able to have both my rear view camera and a functioning airbag indicator at the same time. -Something about the radio kept draining my battery. Local electronics specialist couldn't figure it out but it would stop happening when I unplugged the Sony. Happened so often (every other day nearly) I bought an emergency battery charger. Thought for a couple months about hard wiring in a power cut switch but didn't seem worth it. I didn't want to lose my radio presets every time I turned it off, didn't want to modify the facia kit and I missed having steering wheel control. Part 2. My Solution. I pulled the radio and mulled it over in my head for a long time... -After a few months of cell phone radio and general indecision I bought a head unit (called "reciever" on eBay) from a junkyard seller on eBay with a return policy. Cost about 80 bucks shipped. -Was VERY careful to buy from a listing of the same year that pictured the exact same control panel. Only a couple were like mine with the Backup camera lcd display on top and no mini lcd readout in the middle of the controls. -Took me about 10 minutes to put everything back stock and it all worked with the first power up. Part 3 Now. -I've got back full functionality and my wife is especially glad to have the steering wheel controls back. It's 2 weeks after install and there is no battery drainage. Also, the Backup Camera and Airbag indicator work flawlessly. -I contacted Crutchfield. Seems like they've had similar problems with this combo and they've agreed to take it all back. I don't know what the restocking fee will be or if they'll accept everything in the condition I shipped it, but if I get a good portion of my $ back, I'll be pleased. I'm already pleased with their willingness to work with me, earlier easy return of the steering wheel control kit and the help they offered earlier. Part 4. Alternate options. Though all this I've come across various ways folks have dealt with this problem., I'll list them here for future reference in order of increasing expense. -There is a gentleman here: https://www.focusfanatics.com/threads/stereo-issues-loud-popping-crackling-white-noise-help.546682/page-5 (he includes pictures, scroll most of the way down) who has found that if you open the radio up and apply thermal paste on two hot parts the random static goes away. Only $8 but you have to open up the radio. -Buy an used radio. I found DIY installation is pretty easy if you buy one from a car with the same configuration. $80-100 -NEW OEM unit NOT from Ford. A person at the same topic linked above says "a company out of Virginia called 1 Factory Radio (804-658-5978) they sell the whole radio for $240ish and is very easy to replace" -Buy an aftermarket radio, harness, and mounting/facia, etc. if you can deal with trying to get it to interface with the vehicle. $300-450 or more if DIY, even more if profesionally installed). -Buy a head unit from Ford. I was quoted $350 without installation for a refurb unit. Others have been quoted MUCH more for a new unit installed. Part 5. Conclusions Anyway, make of all this what you will. I'm happy with the end result with my junkyard radio. What it comes down to is that in the end I wasn't willing to sacrifice the original functionality (Camera, wheel control, etc) for an increase in music quality and I was also unwilling to invest hundreds more for a professional install. I would generally recommend a used head for someone who wants the cheapest, lowest hassle solution to this problem but of course YMMV. If the problem comes back, I'll probably try the thermal paste solution, or -as long as it's lasted a couple years- just buy another junkyard radio. I'll report back one last time when I see how much Crutchfield refunds me. I hope this is useful to someone in the future. Good luck folks.

Got a jump from a neighbor. Didn't help and now the instruments don't light up so it's looks like it's drained. Calling my guy. I guess it's tow time.

My wagon doesn't want to start today. I'm getting clicking but no turnover. Lights and displays come on including dash, radio, etc. Does that indicate that it's probably something wrong with the starter? Going to try and get a jump from a friend but at this point I'm not hopeful, especially since I put in a new battery this year.

Thanks, Been a bit busy and haven't checked in. Still haven't had time to try and get the Steering control working though I contacted Crutchfield to see if they have any ideas before I send it back. No issues with the Metra dash kit and vents. Seems to be working well. The angle of the radio is set by the way it rests in it's cradle with two pegs at the back and it doesn't seem like it can be tilted level. Your experience is very encouraging. What model year do you have? I'll ask the Crutchfield guy about the Maestro if we can't get the Axxess working. If you've got any advice regarding the airbag I'd love to hear it.

Had my 2015 TC Connect Wagon LWB for 2 years now. Purchased it from a dealer, At the time it was 2 years old and had around 30k on it. Now it's over 60k. It's our only vehicle. Bought it because I realized we needed more space for family and friends and I was not going to drive a traditional minivan. I wanted and it delivered: -7 Passenger seating -Flat folding surface for hauling big stuff. I wanted to be able to haul -if necessary- my wife, 2 kids, music gear and luggage. -Cheap -Didn't look like a regular minivan. -Plenty of Headroom. I'm over 6 feet and am tired of my hair (or head for that matter!) hitting the ceiling. -Affordable maintenance. So far so good. Sharing most parts with Focus has proved to be a good thing. I had to go to Indiana from Chicago to get one that had the features I wanted and I saved about $4k doing so versus the ones that were for sale here. All the statements above from 5150 about the spartan finishes and utilitarian features are completely true. It's actually part of what attracted me to the vehicle. Also-as-mentioned, it's not the quietest vehicle or the smoothest riding, but I guess we have low standards as my wife and I have found it very comfortable on quite a few trips including Chicago-to-Denver. Being able to sit straight up for long distances has been a welcome change from our previous vehicle, a 2009 Prius. I don't know if it pertains to you, but this is a fantastic city vehicle. The all-around beepers, rear-view cam and narrow width have gotten me into some really small parking spots and enabled me to slip through some very tight traffic. I wasn't aware that this vehicle might have transmission issues until reading about it recently. I haven't had any issues with mine but I'll look into having the transmission fluid flushed now. The only issues I've come into are these three: -A radio that would randomly attack me with FULL VOLUME static, even when turned off. An aftermarket radio has fixed this (a used OEM probably would have too...) Doesn't seem like this is a super-common problem, but I have seen various references to it on the internet. -Replacing the battery is quite an operation due to it's location. Thank goodness it was my repair guy and not me having to do this. -The plastic housing around the rear liftdoor release is getting loose. Had the same problem on my Prius. I fully expect to have to install a couple of toggle bolts to keep it in place soon. Annoying but an easy fix.

So, my OEM radio was periodically attacking me with full-volume static, even when turned off! I'm anticipating needing some guidance so I'll record the whole process here. |I'm working with a 2015 TC Connect Wagon LWB -Has Backup camera and 4.2" screen -No Nav or satellite radio. -Steering wheel controls The goals are: -Better Radio that doesn't assault me with static. -Retain steering wheel controls -CD player -USB power and input. -Retain stock rear view camera and 4.2" screen Not looking to add Nav, DVD, Video, or a touch screen. I bought the whole kit and caboodle from Crutchfield. For anyone looking at this as an option, here's what they sold me for a 2015 Transit Connect wagon that already had a back-up Camera and 4.2" display Sony WX-920BT Radio $118.00 Metra 40-EU10 Antenna Adapter $11.69 Metra 99-5831 Dash Kit Painted Black $77.96 Axxess ASWC-1 Steering Wheel Control Adapter $46.74 Metra ISOPK Screw Pack $1.55 Axxess XSVI-5524-NAV Wiring Interface $38.97 Subtotal $294.91 Shipping FREE Sales Tax $18.44 Total $313.35 Could possibly have saved a couple bucks buying some of the parts on amazon, but the pricing was pretty competitive. I skipped the usual crimp connectors and bought a pack of 50 WAGO lever nut wire connectors at Menards for around 12 bucks. Dang these things are easy to use. You still have to strip your own wire, but connection/de-connection/reconnection is flawless! So far the instructions Crutchfield emailed me are moderately useful mostly, though I just compared the wire lists from the radio and from the wiring kit and matched them up. So far so good. 1) Radio is hooked up and dash facia installed. Looks pretty good. Black Facia looks good, and seems to match the color of the HVAC control panel below all seems to fit quite well. The finish called "Painted Black" but it looks like it's a rubberized paint which isn't fooling anyone as far as originality but at least looks a bit better than flat black paint and doesn't draw attention to itself. 2)Radio works and looks nice. Sounds better than stock but I assume it's performance is still being held back by the stock speakers. 3)Backup camera works! And now the not so good. Any suggestions for dealing with 1,2 below would be appreciated! 1) Radio display is hard to read. It's clear enough viewed strait on, but with the way the TC angles the radio upward, it looks much dimmer and seems to get more reflection. Very annoying. Might try to rig up a shade, but I'm not a fan of such tackiness... 2)In an odd bit of un-functionality, the stock backup camera screen doesn't work when the plug going to the airbag indicator is attached. At this point I'm just leaving that unplugged as it doesn't affect my daily functionality. 3) The rubberized surface of the facia is a fingerprint magnet! Wipes away easily, but have a napkin handy. So that's where I'm at now. Will update as things progress. So far, I'm reasonably pleased. I'm in about $325 total at this point. If I skipped the steering wheel kit, I could have easily kept this at $280. Next up Installing the Axxess ASWC-1 Steering Wheel Control Adapter. Wish me luck. Attached Thumbnails

Quick unrelated question about that radio. I just installed the lesser WX920BT in my car but it looks to have the same front end and display. Do you have any problems reading the display in sunlight? Mine is hard to read. It reads fine when I put my head in roughly the same place it would be in relationship to the display on any other car, but on the Transit connect, it's mounted at an upward angle and it makes the display appear dim. Not sure whether this is a flaw in mine, something I just have to live with or if I should try another radio.

Good to know. I'm reading over the directions and it tells me which wires to splice so I think I'll be OK, but I'll let you all know. Here's the instructions I'll be following. https://metradealer.com/files/aswc/ASWC-1_INST_254.pdf If it doesn't work I'll return the SWC kit to Crutchfield as they sold it as being compatible with the 4.2" Screen option.

Weird that they couldn't tell you. I used their website and it had options for use with 4.2 screen. This is what it looks like now. Still working out a couple kinks (will start a separate topic) but the radio and the rear camera work. I compared the options the website gave me for with and without steering controls and they appear near identical except that if you don't want steering wheel controls, you just leave off the 46 buck steering control module.

I'm going through a slightly different process now as my stock radio just died. My objective was to keep it as cheap as possible without buying another FORD Radio. I wanted to keep the 4.2 for my backup camera and I do all my nav with my phone anyway. I got the Metra kit for this configuration and I'm installing a DoubleDIN Sony radio. Haven't got the steering wheel controls working yet, but the Radio works and facia kit isn't amazing but looks good enough. All that said, my suspicion is that there is a way to splice the existing camera into the harness of almost any radio, if you can just identify the right wires.