jeffs47

I have a mystery package arriving today via 2-day FedEx today from "HOV Services" in Levonia, MI. I had no idea what it could be until I stumbled across this forum. Sounds like I might have an $850 check waiting for me? If so, BEST DAY EVER!

I next called my Insurance Company and the adjuster went out today. He advised that the "rim damage" was able to be "wiped off" leaving something like "Scuff mark" on the tire. It sounded like there was a lot of conversation between the Adjuster and the Dealer and that everyone was being pretty reasonable. He said that the dealer was going to send it to Ford Engineering to determine whether they thought the impact was hard enough.

An hour or so later, the adjuster called me back, said that Ford Engineering advised the impact wasn't hard enough to break anything, and that the issue may be related to a "known issue", so it will be covered by warranty, and they'll even be providing a loaner. 

Seeing the photo that the dealer sent me, I see the point of the dealer and really can't blame them for doing their due diligence. Overall, I'm pretty happy with how things worked out. 

Yesterday, I was driving along on the highway with the Cruise Control turned on. Suddenly, the cruise disengaged, and the car when into EV mode. I pressed the EV Mode button, the car started to Chime and "Stop Safely Now" came up on the screen. I pulled over. Turned the car on and off, and was able to drive away.

10 Miles later, the same thing happened again. This time, the car wouldn't start back up and had a bunch of warning messages. When I turn it on, I see "Press Brake to Start", "Steering Assist Fault" (Which I don't even have), "Service AdvanceTrac", and "Collision Warning Not Available". The best I can do is get the car into "Run Power Active" mode.

Ford Roadside Assistance towed the car to the dealer. They called me this afternoon and said that there's a very small mark on the front rims showing that there was "impact damage" and that this somehow damaged a very expensive part of the steering system, which is now preventing the car from moving/starting. They said it's "Cosmetic" so the rim is fine, but they believe that this is what's causing the problem and I need to get my insurance company involved. The part that needs to be replaced is damaged, but it's damaged in such a way that the computer knows about it. 

My question: Does this make any sense? When the issue occurred, I was driving down the highway and there wasn't any sort of an impact. Should I let he insurance company duke it out with Ford, or is this something I should escalate to consumer affairs? It's very upsetting since I never hit anything. 

Just built and placed into service an EMW Juicebox. Build was pretty easy since I have fairly good soldering skills. Total cost, including a Leviton J1772 cable from Amazon was $335.00. Could have done it for MUCH cheaper if I wasn't worried about 30A in the future. 

One really cool thing that they support: You can take two 120v cords (Home Depot) and run them into the box when you build it. As long as you have two 120v outlets what are on different legs of your electric service and you have 240 volt charging. No installation of dedicated circuits, etc, needed. You're limited to 15 or 20 amps at 240v, but that's plenty for the Fusion!

If anyone's interested. I just leased a 2013 Fusion Energi Titanium on 12/31. Vehicle included Adaptive Cruise Control, Moonroof, and White Paint. I used the X-plan through my employer to get ~$2,500 off, and then there were $7,500 in rebates for a lease. The net result was a capitalized cost 10k under the sticker price. 

For a 24 month lease with 13,500 miles/year, my total out of pocket was $800 and the monthly payments are $437/month total (Note: The state of KY charges a "Personal Property Tax" each year in addition to sales tax, which Ford Credit includes in the monthly payment. This works out to be $30/month, so it's really $405/month for the lease and sales tax). Oddly, due to the incentives, the 24 month term was the cheapest option due to residual values. After three years, Ford calculated the residual to be 48% (Compare to 59% for my 2011 Hyundai Sonata and 56% for a 2013 MKZ). The interest rate on 2013s is .25%!

Why did I lease? The main reason is technology. Two years from now, the market is going to be much different. I'm hopeful that the charging infrastructure is there to make going "All electric" a reality. Until then, this car gives me the chance to get my "feet wet". That said, I've only had the vehicle for a couple of days and I'm already in love!

Hope this helps someone!