luckyleo

Started having issues with my battery. It is about 3 years old and made in Mexico, like the car. I will not buy another made in Mexico vehicle or battery. Anyway.... I bought an AGM (Absorbed Glass Mat) battery at Sams Club for $90.85 ($98.36 after taxes and fees). The battery is 75DTAGM. MADE IN USA. I do not see it online, but I did find it in the club. It was on sale with $20 off. So now it is more like $110. I read in several posts that they needed to cut the battery tray to get an AGM battery to fit. This one fits without having to cut the battery tray. The battery posts are on a different side from the original battery. I just needed to undo the clip for the positive cable to give it a little more length and it was able to connect fine. No overflow tube, so it does not need to be reconnected. The top hold down strap fits snugly. I reversed the screw in bottom brace and it acted like a wedge and holds the battery nicely. A little bit of a hassle to remove the trim to get to the battery compartment. Some trim holders are screw off, some need a trim clip puller/remover.

I just bought a Powermax PM-91006. $66 at Home Depot. $29.99 on EBAY. 6000 mAh. This is small enough to keep in the storage area in the bottom of the trunk under the lid. Luckily the dreaded "12V battery is low" message always occurred when I was home and I could connect a charger. Seems the battery dies quickly after receiving that message. I bought this in case I was out and this happened. Did not take long before I got this message again. This little power pack did the trick to get the car started. I had to use the manual key to get in the car. I opened the trunk with the string I have connected to the emergency release in the trunk (I also have a metal coat hanger in case the string fails) . I read there is a way to charge the battery from under the hood. Crazy that you need these little tricks for a $40K+ car.

I tried to find the thread where people were hearing the empty CD player start and stop when they were just sitting in the car. This would drive me crazy, but the noise stopped. This happened because the CD player stopped working!!!! I put a CD in , but it will not accept it. It's a 2017, but I have 40K miles so it is past the warranty. I tried disconnecting the battery but that did not fix it. (after disconnecting the battery I closed the trunk which created a another problem. Had to lower the back seat and use a clothes hanger to reach the pull tab to open the trunk). Anyone else having this issue?

Lake Wales wiekert Ford has a FFE Platinum. $24k. White Platinum. Medium soft ceramic interior. Under 7k miles. I bought my Titanium there. Nice dealing with a small town dealer.

Yahoo has a picture of the UBER fleet of Ford Fusion Energi vehicles on their front page. Sadly it's with the story regarding the death of a woman due to an autonomous driving vehicle. When you read the article, it is actually a UBER Volvo involved in the fatality. Sad situation, but in the not too distant future, this technology will save lives. It will also allow an aging population to remain mobile.

I kept my 2003 Honda CRV for hauling the kayak/bikes and trailers. I did have some concerns about longer trips and trunk space. I put a hitch on my 2017 FFE Titanium. It installs with four bolts. Some trimming needed to the plastic under panel. Now I have the option of a hitch bike rack and maybe the Thule Transporter for additional space when needed without having to put anything on the roof. Also an ex-IT worker. I got tired of the outsourcing.

I have been having problems with MFM losing communication. MFM phone support said I needed the firmware to the modem updated to 1.4.4 and only the dealer could perform this. Took about an hour. I get home and still not working. Dealer says bring it in next week. MFM phone support says it is still 1.4.3. Dealer has it for two days and tries to say my iPhone software is not up to date. MFM support says the dealer is not a recognized EV dealer and to go elsewhere. I drive 25 miles to a dealer who “has an idea” of what needs to be done. An hour later they have no clue. Anyone experiencing this? Almost at the end of my warranty and getting worried what incompetent dealers may charge for software updates that take days to figure out. I was taking the car in for the steering wheel bolt replacement recall and the works oil change and decided to try yet another dealer for the embedded modem update. Big mistake. I told them I am using their dealership since it is an EV certified dealership. They said there is no such thing. I guess this was my clue to leave immediately. This is another incompetent service area that does not know what they are doing. I dropped the car off Thursday morning and may get it back on Monday. I was told that it was frozen and they are trying to get it back. They also told me, "We told you not to do this update". How difficult is it to perform a firmware update and why do they keep telling me it can take 5 hours and if it stops they have to start from scratch. So I finally got the firmware updated to 1.4.6 and also got the steering wheel bolt recall completed. As I went to drive away, the airbag fell into my lap. I really hate dealing with dealerships, just send me the parts and I will do it myself (I know Ford would not let that happen).

I bought a 2017 Titanium with 24000 miles for around $20K. It does have all the bells and whistles (adaptive cruise, maintain lane, moon/sun roof, upgraded rims/tires,etc). I do live in Florida which seems to be an excellent climate for electric/hybrid cars. As a hybrid I get low 40s cruising at 70 to 80 mph. When I plug in, I get 100+. It takes about 7 hours at 110V and 2 hours at 220V to fully charge the battery. Some studies show the battery should not be fully charged/discharged and should be kept in a middle range. I have read articles from Ford that the battery will last the life of the car. There is also the 8 year 100,000 mile hybrid drivetrain warranty. Like you said, it can be a hobby. Sometimes I find spaces closer than handicap parking since I have an EV. Other times I am willing to walk the half mile to find a plug in location. There are a few apps to help. Chargepoint is the main app for me. There are many places that offer free charging. Winter Park Florida has many free EV spots throughout the city. Orlando offers low cost charging. Museums often have free EV spots. Malls, theme parks, retail locations have charging stations but the cost ends up being more than using the gasoline engine. The downside is finding a dealer that can work on the car. I just had my closest dealer hold the car for two days trying to figure out how to perform a modem firmware update. Ford Mobile support can give you a list of dealers who can handle EV vehicles in your area. Evidently my dealer could not and now I need to travel 25 miles to a dealer that can.