Dyoct

I haven't purchased a set of tires since December 2000. I have had a car payment since September 2001 however... As for tire life, I'm on my second set of tires, Cooper Touring CS4 tires. My father put a pair on back in 2008 then put the second pair in August 2009. The last two he put on are currently up front and have probably 8/32" to 9/32" left while the rear pair which was first installed is 6 or 7/32" I wasn't a stickler to rotations like I am so the older pair probably has just about 50K on them while the newer pair has about 40K. Seems like they will last a long time hopefully because I'd like to get some SAP 18s when the time comes for tires again and extend the streak.

Yeah, you can set them up to smoke out the intake and find leaks that way. Used to do them with techs all the time to find leaks.

Any resolve on the concerns? Also, Mustangs or Huskies?

Correct, and the people at fault get lawsuit happy and some of them actually WIN! Backup sensors and cameras are going to be mandatory soon because some parents are too busy to check their driveway for their children playing when they back out and they run over their kid.

Wow, if they didn't do a smoke test then the first thing that Ford tech assist will ask is if they did a smoke test then advise them to do so... The turn around time on the tech assist shouldn't be more than one business day, even with the lack of diag here it would be an instant email back. I used to work on both ends, for Ford and the dealer so I know how the thing works.

It's probably running hot. Have you checked the coolant level on it? I am in the process of doing a DIY coolant flush and I have water and flush going through the system right now. The fans stayed on the entire drive and I've never heard them work so hard before, car sounds like an airplane right now. WHIIIIRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

Wow, guess I don't have any pictures, but my toy is a Ford Taurus.

Well hope it works out. Keep us posted here as to how they wear.

That is a first I've heard of something like this on a Fusion because like you said, the tires wearing out quicker in the rear is the opposite of how it should be. Have both the dealer and the other shop done a four wheel alignment and not just a front end "set the toe and go" type of alignment that is pretty typical of many shops? The only time I have seen rear alignment issues with unibody vehicles is due to some type of collision. The Fusions are notorious for the wide turning radius you mentioned, has the vehicle been curbed? I know I've done it on mine a handful of times over the years.

Any update fellow Atlantan?

Meh, too close to the camera. I can't tell if the audio is distorted because of this when he revs 'er up or if there's that or there's some rasp to it. Plus, would like to see/hear a vid of the vehicle driving around both exterior and interior wise. I'm really interested in how "livable" the interior noise is such as is there rasp or drone? I have no cats, some off brand "Thunder" mufflers and what I call "big ass tips" on my SHO and the thing is incredibly obnoxious!

Sounds like they took good care of you and even had to get an engineer involved. I see your location is New York so it may be who I think it is. Anyways, if it's fixed, it's fixed and that's why these vehicles have a limited manufacturers warranty on them. And to answer your question, it is when a dispute resolution board or court of law rules that it is a lemon. Depending on your state days out of service and number of repairs for a same concern may qualify you to pursue to have the manufacturer reacquire your vehicle. EDIT: To answer the OP's original question, every 5,000 to 7,500 you need to change the oil AND rotate the tires. The manual will state to replace the air filter at 30,000 miles, however in the real world you're probably going to want to change this about every 15,000 miles.

Holy crap, I couldn't believe it when you said the shifter was less than $10. Checked with parts and they confirmed it, $9.67 as of right now. Wow!

Wow, that is not good. Something is/was grinding those pads down. Was the rapid wear fairly even on both sides? Hopefully you got it nipped in the bud with the parking brake cable adjustment.

How hot is it getting?

good ol' OBD found the fault yesterday afternoon. Thermostat appears to be stuck open. P0128. PID shows engine temperature was only getting up to 170*. Not that uncommon I've noticed at the dealership. Bad thing is as the fuel delivery is upped, I can see the cat temp getting hotter too....

Correct, it was his selling dealer that had to replace the clutch it sounds. However, based on the OP, a concern arose and the vehicle was taken to another dealer where they found that the concern wasn't a warrantable defect but the fault of a mis-repair by the selling dealer. Another concern came up and a battery was replaced, not sure if this under warranty or if the dealer paid for it. The poster states he wasn't given paperwork, so this sounds like it may have been an internal repair, either a dead battery due to lot rot or something else and this was not warranteed by Ford Motor Co. If so, it sounds like he does not have a lemon law case.

Aye carumba Bartman says. Just took the Fusion on a roadtrip for the weekend and with cruise set at 75mph for the entire multi-state trip it did not break 30mpg. In fact, it was just over 27mpg according to the meter. This is very disappointing especially considering that over a week ago I drove through a tank utilizing "hypermiler" technique of shutting off the engine at idle. During normal city and highway driving the car got over 30mpg: one item of note, the tank full of gas lasted an additional hour which tells me that all those times waiting at lights throughout the week really add up.

Definitely sounds like a short. I'd take it to a dealer whereas this fault will most likely not be found with a scan tool. You're probably looking at electrical diag.

I really hope this gets worked out, but from being on both sides, Ford Motor Company will probably not be of much help. You're going to have to get this resolved with the dealer(s). All parts warrantied are sent back to Ford and verified. The second dealer caught that the concerns are due to another shops mistakes and not Ford. Believe me, I do feel for you. As an F shareholder, I'm disgusted by alot things we do at the dealer level that are ultimately going to impact the end user's perception of the Ford and Lincoln brands.

There are drains going through the A and C pillars. There is a plastic tray type piece where the water is collected then it will drain out through the corners. Concerns I have seen with drains are that they would get clogged and water wouldn't drain.

I used EBC rotors and the Ford OEM pads (blue box, not the Motorcrafts). Are you replacing the rear rotors every year? Or the brake pads? How many miles are you going during that time? Seems premature unless you're somehow driving a Honda Accord...

Earlier production and sale dates are fairly common, especially when new models are involved. Pretty much all of the reasons where stated. One big one being residuals. The Japanese fiscal years typically end in March, so come April the next model year vehicles were shipping out. Like d said, if you're driving a '12 car, by this time next year it will still "sound" like a new car. Previous early launches that come to mind, 2008 Ford Super Duty (mine was built in Nov 2006), 2008 Ford Escape, 2010 Fusion, 2011 Super Duty.

Looks like the others got the TSB vs recall thing sorted out here. As a current dealer and former company employee I can tell you that alot of dealership service departments don't handle leaks and will sublet them out to another provider. If you're still under warranty, work with your dealer's service department. They may be able to get the company's field department involved to help. And yes, hotline will state that some water leakage is normal. For example, a high pressured car wash that has enough power to push water through the seal can cause a leak if it is so much that the drains can't clear it quickly enough.

The Fusion SAP wheels have don't have the lip and are flush whereas the Edge wheels have it. Just like the first gen Fusion SEL wheels look like the base Edge wheels with the lip difference.