Buying TC - avoid backup sensors for bike rack?

[JustinVP]

Hi all,  I'll be purchasing a LWB wagon, 2014 or newer, when the right used one comes up. It'll be a combo personal + business vehicle for my mountain bike apparel company. I only care about two features, 2nd row captains chairs and it needs to have the liftgate.  I'll have a tall hitch-mount bike rack on it 90% of the time from these guys (best racks in the biz).  http://recon-racks.com/new-products/r5-5bike-shuttle-rack.

 

Do I need to avoid the backup sensor option due to bikes on back?  Will it constantly be going off with bikes on back and annoy me?

 

The other thing I'll need to figure out eventually is how to cover all of the carpet with rubber or vinyl, even under the rear seats.  I'll have the 3rd row seats out except for rare exceptions when we need to haul 5 or 6 people to a ride day. WeatherTech has one that goes on top of the folded seats, but that's not what I'm looking for.  I'll probably just get a big sheet of rubber and cut it to fit.  Vinyl factory flooring would be ideal, but probably not easy to find that to go with captains chairs.

[PhotoAl]

A bit long and rambling but hope my experience will help you.

 

There is a switch to turn the parking assist off.  I haven't used mine but have rear parking sensors and the factory towing package.  When looking for mine most of the Titanium versions have the middle row captains chairs while most of the XLT's have the three seat configuration.  I found several XLT's with captains chairs but had to look at the photos to make sure.  It is possible to get three seats in leather on the Titanium so have to always check. I have the floor matts from weather tech and they are good.  Didn't get the ones for the third row but will probably get it soon.  Plan on taking the third row seats out in the spring and putting one of my scooters back there.  Looks like the weatherTech mat will go in with the rear seats out.  I will probably go the route of cutting a piece of rubber as depending on where I'm going and what I'm doing will have some or all of the seats out.   I have the rubber mat from WeatherTech that goes in the back with all of the seats folded.  I used it once so far and it was nice to have.  The seats have panels which go over them when folded but there is a bit of an unsupported area between the middle seats and this helps give it a bit more strength.

 

If you can get the roof racks that is nice as they are expensive when buying from the dealer.  The towing package is nice but you could easily add a hitch.  Between the 2014 and 2018's there are not many changes.  One of the biggest is in 2017 the high end radio went to Sync 3 which is reportedly a much nicer interface.  My 2016 has the Ford MyTouch with navigation and I don't have any complaints, radio works, I can make phone calls using voice commands and the navigation works well enough.  I bought a new 2016 Titanium in late November after looking for several months.  Don't know about the west coast but here in the south there were several new '16s available.  I got mine for not much more that the price of a very nice used one.  Very few in Alabama but several in central and eastern Tennessee along with Georgia and Florida.  Interestingly there were none in the Memphis area or a bit further west.  Hopefully my TC will make it to the west coast this year as we have a son in San Jose who is moving to  Portland.

 

[JustinVP]

Good stuff, thanks for the info. Glad the parking beeper can turn off, but a bit of a bummer that the captains chairs are harder to find on the XLT. I'm hoping to find a cheap one with 50k+ miles that's maybe had the interior abused a bit so when I drop a mud bomb on it or rally it on braking bump covered logging roads I don't kill all the value of a perfect van.  My vehicles tend to get, shall we say "well used", but I'm religious about maintenance of the important bits.

 

[doitdub]

Hey Justin, I normally have my bike rack hooked up so I was getting annoyed by the back up sensor yelling at me every time I went in reverse. I haven't found a way to permanently disable it but on my '14 XLT Titanium, there's a button on the center counsel I just remember to hit everytime you first turn on the car which will stay on the duration of your trip, until the next time you turn off the car.  Also, for what it's worth we have bench seats in the second row.

 

Regarding the rubberized mat... if you can't find anything online with a specific fit, you may try Tractor Supply as I believe they sell large rubberized barn mats that could be trimmed to fit. We used to have a Honda Element and that was one of our favorite features, the rubberized carpet... now having two young kids and two big dogs, I'd love to replace our carpet with rubber in the Connect :D  Love to see what you figure out here.

 

Good luck on your search!

[PhotoAl]

Another note on buying a used TC, apparently some of the earlier Gen 2 automatics have had some issues.  At some point Ford made some minor changes to the seals and gaskets.  There are some discussion on the board about changing transmission fluid.  I wouldn't not buy one with higher miles, but would change the transmission fluid.  I'm to sure if mine has the changes but irregardless I plan on changing fluid in the 50,000 mile range.  VW had a similar issue around 2008 with their Aisin Warner transmission, said it was sealed for life but fluid needed to be changed at 70,000 to 80,000 miles with full synthetic being the best fluid.   About the only fluid Ive seen that is really lifetime is coolant.  Did extensive research a couple of years ago and in a clean system, the high quality European coolants last very well.  

[Don Ridley]

I mentioned this on another thread: the backup sensors are disabled when you have a trailer connected. You should be able to connect a dummy load on the trailer plug to permanently disable the sensors. But this will require some wiring and testing to determine how much load (resistor size) is needed. You will also have to simulate all lights and  and turn signals to avoid a burned out bulb message.

 

This is may be too complicated, but it will work.

 

[TransitCamper2015]

On 2/16/2018 at 5:33 AM, doitdub said:

"I haven't found a way to permanently disable it but on my '14 XLT Titanium, there's a button on the center counsel I just remember to hit everytime..."

 

You remember what the button looks like to disable the beeping?  Was it a feature on the Touch Screen or an actual button?

 

I picked up a Rola Hitch Cargo Box and it's lighting up the sensors as soon as it's put into reverse.

[TransitCamper2015]

nevermind...  i see it in the bottom right corner of the instrument cluster.  the shift knob had been blocking my view from the driver's seat.

[windguy]

4 hours ago, TransitCamper2015 said:

 

You remember what the button looks like to disable the beeping?  Was it a feature on the Touch Screen or an actual button?

 

I picked up a Rola Hitch Cargo Box and it's lighting up the sensors as soon as it's put into reverse.

 

 

I see you have an emergency tool in the glove box. Very cool. I just got a pair recently for both cars and I'm storing it in the center console. Doesn't fit that great because I chose a longer model for easier grip, but I think it's more accessible in the center console than the glove box. If your seat belt retractor is jammed and you're alone, there's no way you'll be able to reach that tool in the glove box to cut your way out. Something to think about.

 

[mrtn]

On 2/16/2018 at 6:18 PM, Don Ridley said:

I mentioned this on another thread: the backup sensors are disabled when you have a trailer connected. You should be able to connect a dummy load on the trailer plug to permanently disable the sensors.

 

EU requires aux tail lights and number plate holder for the bike rack which are then plugged into the trailer socket so it can be solved in this way. Just buy a pair of generic trailer lights and a plug with a cable and you’re good. Extra safety in case of something blocking your lights as well.

[Don Ridley]

Mrtn is correct, if the TC has the factory trailer package. Your trailer lights must have running lights and turn signals or you will get bulb failure messages.