BlackSEL

Another source of a rattle from the right side: the passenger front seatbelt hitting the plastic piece on the side of the seat. Take a piece of thick felt, sticky-backed, and stick it to that plastic piece on the side of the seat.. now if the belt buckle hits it, it will have a nice soft cushion and not rattle any more.

I get 28 all the time, which I think is pretty damned good for a medium-sized very comfy car. I see econoboxes advertised that say they'll get 25-28 mpg, well why drive one of those when I can be comfortable and have a lot of room in the Fusion? 2008 I4 SEL, 50/50 city and highway driving. And I'm no lightweight on the throttle. What I find really helps my mileage is using the cruise control once on the highway; I think it keeps me from inadvertently creeping up my speed. I normally cruise between 5 and 8 mph over the limit.

If I reset the trip computer then hit the highway with the cruise on at 68-70 I can get 30. But normal driving to/from work (50/50 residential/highway) I am averaging 28. Damned good if you ask me. Some mfr's are advertizing tin cans that give 28 mpg. In the Fusion I have a fun, luxurious (SEL), great-handling little hot rod and get great mileage.

To isolate noises, I find that a good first step is to remove everything you can from all the compartments - glove box, center dash compartment, and both armrest compartments. Stick it all in a box and leave it at home while you go on a test drive... many times I've found it's something like that. I did have the sun visor-came-undone noise this week, and fixed it. Only problem noise now is a "creak" or "crunch" in the center dash when I go over joints in concrete interstates... anyone have a solution for that?

Found that when no one is in the front passenger seat, the seatbelt clip can bound on/off a plastic piece of the seat at the same height. I bought a 4x6" piece of thick felt with sticky back at WalMart for $2 and cut a 2x3" piece and stuck it to the plastic on the seat. No more seatbelt banging.

Just wondering if my 2008 SEL has the ambient lighting.. it does have the theatre lights, is that the same thing? I'd like to change the colors, maybe go for a blue. Can I just change the bulbs, put in the blue tinted ones?

It's probably the clock. The SEL (I have one) has an analog clock, every minute the minute hand advances and it sort of chirps.

We have 3 identical Fusion SELs in our local office... all of us have the same problem. One of the 3 has an F-150 with the identical mirror, and it works fine in his truck. I called the local Ford dealer (Apple in Columbia MD) and the service manager called me back again, asked for my VIN, but that's the last I heard from him. It isn't that the mirror doesn't work- it does- but only if conditions are exactly right. I'm getting tired of having bright lights in my eyes as I drive at night. Will Ford install a regular mirror for free, to solve this problem? I'm ready to rip it off the windshield and do without it.

Hmmm, mine won't dim that way either... the light seems to hit the glass only not the sensors... I'm thinking of calling the service manager and complaining about this (as a safety issue) and seeing if they'll swap it for a regular manual dimming mirror instead.

I'll try turning mine 180 degrees tomorrow and see if it makes a difference. It'll look a little odd but if it works, that would be a good tradeoff. I can't stand all that glare.

Also, I wonder if we wrote to the manufacturer if they have suggestions?

I wonder if we turned the mirror 108 degrees, to put the sensors on top, if that would help. I know you're right about the light not hitting them... I have tested by holding my hand up in front of the mirror... the light from behind shows up on the upper half of the my hand but not the bottom.

Is there a way to get a copy of that TSB online?

Anyone else have one of these... my SEL has it... damned thing will only dim if the back window is completely clear and someone is at exactly the right distance behind me. Now that it's winter, any rain or wetness whatsoever on the back window prevents the mirror from dimming. Is there some way to force it to dim? I'm about ready to rip it out and toss it out the window. Should I call the service manager and discuss it with him? Anyone heard of any TSPs on this? FYI I have friend with a new F-150 Lariet, same mirror. His works fine. I wonder if it's just the fact that the Fusion has that really high trunk.

I never press the fob lock button until I'm out, the door is closed and I'm walking away. Maybe it's just the lights staying on when dark and has nothing to do with the locks....