red454

Ok - thanks for the info.  I will have to get under there and take a good look.

2011 with bubbles forming in the paint right in front of the rear wheels.  Used a razor blade to cut the bubbles off and there was moisture behind the paint.  Water is getting in and I don't want to fix the rust without stopping the water accumulation.  This is the passenger side from a few months ago but the driver side is staring to show a few small bubbles.

Now that I have been driving mine for a while I am used to the shifting. It hasn't changed since I bought it at the end of January. Today I drained 4 qts. of transmission fluid and replace it with Valvoline Max Life. It says on the bottle that it is compatible with Mercon LV. I couldn't find any of the Motorcraft LV at any of my local auto parts stores. The old fluid was dark, but didn't smell burnt.

Sounds like you will have a chance to get some real good cold weather experience for the next few days. We had a new record low temperature down here in Cincinnati this morning as we hit between -7 to -10 depending on where you were.

Yes - the last couple mornings here in Indy it has driven fine in the cold. 8.5 miles one way to work.

 

Good deal, red454; keep us in the loop.

 

Crystal

Ok - thanks.

 

Since you're concerned, red454, I'd recommend making an appointment at your local Ford Dealership for diagnosis. Come back and post your results; I'll be here if you need my assistance.

 

Crystal

Thanks! Since I haven't had it for very long, I want to get some more driving time in for now to become more familiar with how it functions.

When you feel that wierd sensation, are you coming to a full stop or just barely coming to a stop?

 

Complete stop as I recall.

 

 

 

Hi, folks!

 

How many miles are on your Fusions? Let me know if you decide to get your dealership involved; I'll be able to investigate options to help once your cars have been diagnosed.

 

Crystal

Mine has 68K on it. I just bought it less than 2 weeks ago. It came with a 3 month / 3K mile warranty on engine / transmission. I doubt they (the Honda dealer I bought it from) will do anything since it isn't really acting up in a predictable manner. And I have to use the words "acting up" lightly because it seems to run fine most of the time. I may also just be extra-sensitive to it since I have been reading all the negative things about the 6F35. I don't want to make a big deal about it, but I also don't want to get hit with a $1200+ repair in the near future.

I should have stated that heat may be one of the issues as I have no concrete data to support that. I am not sure an auxilliary transmission cooler could be recommended these days even if heat is an issue. Except for the B&M, many aftermarket coolers do not bypass the fluid when it is too cold which could create issues if it cannot warm up to normal operating temperature. An extra cooler is also going to add resistance in the line and thus could also cause a pressure drop. With how precise everything is these days, just changing the fluid regularly may be the best option.

Good point(s). Now that I have been driving it for a little over a week, I have noticed a couple of times when leaving a stop light or stop sign it will very briefly feel like it slips and then grabs. Almost like you hit a little ice patch. This has only happened when starting from a stop and it is very mild and very quick. Shifting during normal driving is fine. Also a couple of times after a heavy throttle application and then taking my foot off the gas, the transmission will take a moment to drop the RPMs down - like it hangs for a second before it realizes that it is safe to upshift.

I am afraid to take it back to the dealer since I know it won't act up for them and they will tell me to bring it back when it does it. I checked for any engine / powertrain codes with my scan tool and there are none.

Some past and present vehicles: my '05 GT, '72 454 Impala convertible, and '69 Mach 1. I only have the GT and Impala now and really miss the Mach 1

@mozz - I do have a scan tool but I haven't tried it yet. But I will soon.

@akirby - Thanks for the link. Not what I wanted to hear, but that really sums it up.

Short answer - no. That comes with other packages. Your fusion may not even have the external temp sensor installed.

That is what I suspected. Ok, I probably already know the answer to this one, but can it (the proper sensor) be added and the system will recognize it, or is it part of a package and will only work as such? This car has the compass, which along with an external temp seem to be fairly common these days. So I am just a little surprised that it has one and not the other.

I have a question - the center dash display that shows radio, compass and Sync data on my '11 SE also appears to have other features, like exterior temp? Is there a way to enable that?

See attached picture. At the top of the picture, I see a lot of things that don't light up in the display. They are easier to see when I shine a flashlight on the display when the car is off. Maybe features I don't have like climate control but they are common to the display?

Heat is what really takes a toll on the 6F35 and really most FWD based transaxles. I never understood this switch the Mercon LV, but I imagine it was probably more or less fuel economy related.

I haven't had a chance to really go over the car and familiarize myself with it, but I assume that there is a tranny cooler in the radiator? Perhaps in addition to changing the fluid I should add an external cooler? I have a few engine and transmission coolers I have accumulated over the years. I did check the fluid and it still has a slight red tint to it - not new of course, but not burnt or dark.

I will say that it does shift differently than any car I have driven - and I don't mean that negatively. It does not appear to be having any obvious problems. I just figured that it is optimized (programmed) to get the most out of the power band of the 2.5L engine. If I hadn't read all the bad things about the 6F35 I probably would not have paid much attention to how it shifts.

This Fusion is about the same size as my Bonneville, but feels much lighter and handles much better. And I don't notice any of the issues I see on the forums about the 6F35.

Can anyone elaborate on the nature of the problem(s) or point me to a link? I just bought a 2011 and would like to know more about this.

I think they already took down the link - I just bought one on Saturday (1-31) and they link was broken late yesterday...

If you really look at the power compared to V6s from the 80s/90s, it's quite a jump.

I have always been a V8 guy, so for me to be anywhere near satisfied with a 4 is saying something! Decent power and smooth delivery.

Welcome. Thanks to modern day technologies such as variable valve timing and close ratio transmissions, they are really able to make the most of these 4 pots which have also grown a bit in displacement as well. The only thing I would recommend if it has not been done is replacing the transmission fluid as the 6F35 can be really hard on this new LV spec Mercon. Ford is the only company I have seen that can really make white look good.

Good point - when the weather warms up a little I plan to really go over the vehicle. I have always been a proponent of regular trans. fluid changes.

The tires are fair on it and I have a set of '05 GT rims / tires with only 3K miles that I took off of my Mustang in '06. I believe they should fit. Here is a quick photoshop to see what they will look like.

I know the tire diameter is different so the speedo will be off a little.

I photoshopped my old GT rims on the Fusion on the left, and on the right is stock...

Bought a 2011 Fusion SE yesterday. (see window sticker attachment) 68K miles - got it for $9300. The only thing I don't like is the Camel color interior. Really wish it had more of a charcoal interior. I wonder if they were made with my exterior color...

And I was worried that the 4 cyl. engine would be weak, but I was relieved during the test drive that it did not feel under powered.

I've been wanting one of these for a while. My 97 Blazer was starting to rust away, so it was time to put it out to pasture and move up. I know the Fusion is not a new car, but in a way I wanted to thank Ford for not taking the gov't prop up several years ago.

I am sure I will have questions as I become familiar with the Fusion.

Other vehicles:

2005 Mustang GT

1993 Bonneville SSEi

1999 Miata

1972 Impala (454) Convertible

Red....with that bit of a difference in overall diameter, your speedo will likely read a hair slower than you are actually going. The Mustang wheels/Tires are gonna be taller than the Fusion ones, and its gonna make your speedo read slower than you are actually going. It may even be enough to make your ABS/Stability Control light come on, but thats less likely. Definietely gonna see a speedometer error though. Im guessing about 6-8 MPH slower than your actual speed.

That is about what I figured - on paper it looks like the vehicle will sit about 17mm higher. I will have to figure the circumference and see how much slower, but you are probably close. I will post the results and maybe some pics when the weather is better and I can get the Mustang wheels on the Fusion. Thanks for the input.

I just bought a 2011 Fusion, and the tires are fair. In '06 I put some Bullits on my '05 GT so I have a set of stock 2005 Mustang GT rims / tires with about 3K miles on them. The Fusion tires are P225/50R17 and the Mustang tires are P235/55R17.

Do you notice any difference in the speedometer reading?