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My 2011 Ford Transit Connect has sporadic issue with starting after it sits. Have been able in past to start with a jump. replaced battery. Problem persists. 134k miles. I’m a total novice but would like help to pass on to mechanic. ( I have spent $$$ with 3 different shops trying to solve this). The car starts for them no problem so they say. But there it sits in my driveway. Immovable again.Advice much appreciated.

Greetings. New guy, here. I just bought a 2013, and, it must be freshest example in North America: 4900 miles. I bought from a dealer. I think the older folks that had it may have found it too lacking in luxury, and mostly kept it stored in a barn. Got 28.5 mph on the 230 mile trip home. I chose the Gen 1 for the extra inches of cargo head room. And, I like the looks. I have read a good bit of this forum over the past few months. Now, I have 3 questions, 2 of which are not well addressed in the owner manual: 1) My TC has SYNC, with the button pod below the turn signal control. The icons for phone and seek actions are unclear to me. It seems to indicate that the entire control pod can be flipped up or down, like a turn signal, or, maybe that the entire control can be moved forward and back, like a headlight dimmer. But, when I test these actions, it seems like too much force would be required, and would risk breaking something that may NOT be designed to move. What am I missing, here? 2) Locking the vehicle, to walk away... I can do this with the key remote. Or, I can do this with the key inserted in the lock. What I can not figure out, is how to flip the interior lock switch at the opener lever, to walk away. That lock switch seems to allow lock and unlock of all doors, while sitting in the van, only. If I'm standing outside the van and flip the lock switch, it just switches itself back to unlock position. What am I missing, here? 3) Knowing the transmissions are the weak point of the Gen 1, I will plan on doing regular fluid changes. Would like to buy a new transmission pan for $30, and have a petcock drain added to it, ready for an initial filter and fluid change. Petcock to allow easier container and measurement of fluid drained, over simply a drain plug. I think some here have done pan drains, so, what type of petcock drains have been added, and what location on the pan works best? I would not want to mod a pan, only to find out the drain is in an inappropriate position for something inside. Thanks a lot!

Hello and thanks for this forum. I recently purchased a 2011 XLT model with 106K miles on it. According to CarFax, it's an old State Farm mobile office vehicle. No back seats, a solid composite floor, and at one time had a desk and a chair for working with customers at remote sites. It has all the windows, which my wife likes for visibility purposes. It's in great shape, and runs well. Some things will need attention: The antenna is in the glove box (yes, I know it doesn't work as well as when it's on the roof). Need to find some replacement for that. The backup camera is VERY blurry. OEM unit runs about $250-400, so I may be looking at a retrofit of a cheaper unit. Check of normal maintenance items (fluids, tires, belts, etc). Other than that, the vehicle drives nicely, and should suit us well for its tasks: estate sales, light hauling, musical equipment, etc. Thanks again for having me, and I hope to chat with you all soon. LukeMay