bsamuels

sirtanon: Thanks for the response. Hadn't thought of a wrap. I am definitely going to look into that. With the humidity we've been having here in Texas; along with my total inexperience painting I might have to go this route. I had been doing some research on painting with spray cans but this seems about as difficult but doesn't have to contend with the humidity(which it's been constantly raining and huumidity is up there here near the gulf coast). Anyways, thanks for the recommendation. It is much appreciated.

Thanks for the reply and the video link. Yeah. Those tools will definitely come in handy. I'm pretty good with disassembly but they certainly help to avoid scratching anything.

I had briefly thought about going that route. Was thinking just a similar silver(or 'stone' like they have chosen to call it). The attached picture is the only other piece that is the same color so I'd need to remove it as well. Which I have never looked into that process but will today as this seems like it is going to be the easiest and best route. I have seaarched and called every automotive place and I don't think anything that is for sale is going to match perfectly. If by chance you have any information on the removal of this piece it would be appreciated. I just recently bought some trim removal tools so this will be my first use of them(bought them when I was debating replacing a window actuator or whatever it's called; but decided to take it to a family friends collision shop who replaced pretty cheap). Yeah. I looked online but as these pieces seem prone to discoloration from being touched I was thinking I better go the route of something that can be replicated in the future. Thanks for the response though. It is much appreciated. For some reason I was hesitant on going with another color but I think this is the best course of action.

So as the title states I am looking to refurb this 'finish panel' as the prices for these pieces are a bit ridiculous. And as it is something to receive more wear and tear I'd like to be able to do it again when needed in the future. I am having some trouble finding paint though for it and confusion with color codes/numbers. The color code for my vehicle found inside driver door is 'DL'. From my searching online I believe the color to be Medium Light Stone(sometimes seen online as 1T3A). I am looking for any suggestions on sourcing products and doing myself. The following is a link for about the closest item I have found online. https://touchupdirect.com/shop/touch-up-paint/ford-medium-light-stone-interior-1t3/ Although it does have the number as 1T3 without the 'A' which is a bit concerning. I have also attached some photos of the piece to display the color. Again, any and all help is appreciated as I have done a decent amount of searching with very little luck. Maddening that Ford doesn't sell these paints anymore. They obviously want us to purchase new parts at the ridiculous prices. Side note: I know chrome pieces need some love also; but that is something I figure I could use a more generic product. And excuse the dirtiness. Need to get her cleaned up but it's been raining a good bit here recently in Texas.

For anyone who might be following this or care... After a few weeks with the claim going AutoZone passed the buck(after several weeks) to the manufacturer(Johnson Controls) since it was a particular dollar amount of damages. They could've passed it off sooner since they knew the amount of damages when the claim began. Then. Johnson Controls uses a certain insurance company which in turn uses Broadspire to handle claims. AutoZone sent my battery to Johnson Controls who received my battery around January 16th to test. Well they had my battery from then 'til earlier this week when I was a bit fed up. I prepared a small claims court petition and let Johnson Controls as well as the claim representative from Broadspire know I would be filing it Monday if I did not have a response. Well what do you know I get a call today it is approved. So AutoZone was decent about it although they could've sped the process along quicker by passing it off sooner. And who knows when I would've received a response from Johnson Controls via Broadspire if I did not let them know this had taken way too long and I would be filing suit. All in all it could have been worse probably and I'm just glad they honored their "work" (the battery).

Yeah. When I originally took it to the local Ford Dealership they did not seem to care to inform me what had happened or did not even try to find the cause. So I assumed it was the part was defective as it should not have had this issue so soon. Also, the mechanic tested my alternator and said it was fine. So I rescinded my NHTSA complaint but have a claim with AutoZone right now. As these batteries have vents and the alternator was fine I don't see how or why this happened unless the battery was faulty. They are testing the battery and will hopefully be honest and repay me the costs I incurred due to the faulty battery. I'll post when I hear back from them on it though. If they don't accept the blame I will be filing a complaint with the BBB.

In case anyone was interested. The batter separated in one corner where the top and bottom meet. The acid leaked and ran down the cable eating through the housing and damaging the linkage cable.

The dealer said the cable and shifter assembly. The mechanic I took it to is replacing the cable without pulling the dash and said he could fix the shifter assembly. Basically my battery leaked acid onto the cable and ate through the rubber housing. Filed a claim with autozone as it was duralast with a 5 year warranty and only 2 years old. I'm just gonna let the mechanic handle the situation. He seems to be a solid one. Thanks for responses. Seems like a good community.

I got the quote back from the dealer with the parts needed. They stated Cable Assembly/Selector Lever Control(73595) and Auto Trans Shift Lever(7210). The mechanic I took it to after the dealer said he has been able to "snake" the cable around to where it needs to be hooked up from the shifter assembly. I figure the dealership probably could have also but was going to charge me the "book" rate regardless. We'll see what his estimate is which I'll be interested to hear. I'm about done with this local dealer. How long would you think a dash removal alone should/would take for a "professional"? The quote said 11 hours for the whole job. I'm pretty sure I could uninstall and reinstall the dash in under say 8 hours at the most with just about 0 knowledge on it from the videos I've seen. I'm no expert but I am smart enough to figure things out along as I work.

This past week when pulling into my driveway I shifted my car into park and I could feel something give. I could not shift out of park after so I removed console to do it manually as shift interlock override was not working. I can manually shift but the dash indicator is obviously misaligned and it will never go into park or register on the dash as going into park (Only seems to recognize park when I kill the engine in neutral with handbrake on and then shift to park; thus releasing the key). Other than that I can get it to go into all other gears(R, N, D, M) with some "finagling". I took it into the dealer as this problem is above me and they just looked at it this morning (11/21/16) and they just called with a quote. They said the linkage was broken and I needed a new shifter assembly. At least that's what I think they told me over the phone. They stated they would have to pull the dash to install the new part and the price would be $1663 with labor. I realize labor is expensive but does it really take them that long to pull the dash; is this a reasonable price? I always trusted the dealer I used when I lived in Oklahoma but this now local dealer(Texas) told me in the past my wife's vehicle needed brakes but I took it to an excellent local mechanic(who is a good friend of my dad's) and they told me they were fine. So I don't know whether to trust this quote as it seems a little ridiculous? For now I'm gonna pass on fixing it as it still drives fine, I just have to manually release the lever to shift out of park which isn't a huge deal for know other than not having the console pieces in place Any and all help is appreciated. Info on car: 2011 Fusion SE Purchased Certified Pre-Owned in 2013 Has less than 40,000 miles. Filed complaint with NHTSA