2011 Explorer Visor with Garage Door Opener

[JustB_Rad]

That website also has things like a Grille like the Limited (paint to match) and Door Mirror cover (paint to match). I know that has come up a couple times.

Has me wondering if I could add a Push Button Start to it......hmmmmmmm....

[CNY Xploder]

Picking the XLT up on Monday...just went to tascaparts.com and the price for the Charcoal visor with homelink is $241.66.

BB5Z7804105CA Charcoal w/ Homelink $241.66 (Same part number for w/ and w/o sunroof)

What I don't know is if there are other headliner colors. Couldn't find them on the website

[peterk9]

Originally Posted by CNY Xploder

Picking the XLT up on Monday...just went to tascaparts.com and the price for the Charcoal visor with homelink is $241.66.

BB5Z7804105CA Charcoal w/ Homelink $241.66 (Same part number for w/ and w/o sunroof)

What I don't know is if there are other headliner colors. Couldn't find them on the website

Although I'm not 100% certain, I believe that all 2011 Explorers have the black or charcoal headliners and visors.

[StunnedMonkey]

Originally Posted by simplysql

Hey Tom!
You need a torx (or whatever Ford uses on their screwheads) - really fairly simple. Two screws on the left side of the visor, undo those - also take off the one screw on the thing( for lack of a better name) that holds the right side of the visor on. By taking off that second piece, it gives you wiggle room inside the headliner. The wiring harness that runs to the visor (at least on mine) had some kind of adhesive on it, so you had to tug it a bit to force it loose. By doing that, it gives you enough slack in the harness to pull it out where you can see it, unclip the connector from your old visor, and reconnect it to the new. It's really fairly easy - takes longer to type it than to do it.

Sorry to dredge this old thread up. I was looking at my XLT and I don't see any accessible screws of any kind on or around the visor. Anyone have a pic of what I'm supposed to be seeing?

[auburn exp]

Originally Posted by StunnedMonkey

Sorry to dredge this old thread up. I was looking at my XLT and I don't see any accessible screws of any kind on or around the visor. Anyone have a pic of what I'm supposed to be seeing?

They are under a plastic trim piece that has a split in it. You need to snap this off and reuse it on the new visor. The screws are underneath it.

I do not have a picture, but look where you visor attaches to the headliner on the left side of the visor.

[StunnedMonkey]

Originally Posted by auburn exp

They are under a plastic trim piece that has a split in it. You need to snap this off and reuse it on the new visor. The screws are underneath it.

I do not have a picture, but look where you visor attaches to the headliner on the left side of the visor.

Thanks. I thought that's might be where it was, but it sure didn't seem to want to come open up very easily and I was afraid of breaking it, only to discover that's not where the screws were after all.

[auburn exp]

Originally Posted by StunnedMonkey

Thanks. I thought that's might be where it was, but it sure didn't seem to want to come open up very easily and I was afraid of breaking it, only to discover that's not where the screws were after all.

The plastic cover snaps off pretty easily, I did the install today, about 30 minutes, works fine. Just getting enough slack in the harness to plug in the new visor was the only hurdle. I caution to make sure you see what the wire routing looks like before you unplug the old visor and then duplicate it. There is a chance of pinching the wire and then getting a short down the road. I paid 199 plus 22 shipping for the visor. Works as advertised. Good luck!

[simplysql]

glad this is working out for people - we've had no issues at all with ours!

[Explorer209]

Originally Posted by simplysql

thanks for the responses! JAZNY - yes, we have the rolling code type opener, and it synced right up - no problem. I'd read on other places as well about transmitters being located in the grill, etc..not true - everything you need is in the visor.

I have a Genie excelerator with intellicode and mine has yet to work.....

[jackal424]

Originally Posted by simplysql

I searched and didn't find this - hopefully not a dual post. We just purchased a 2011 XLT - we bought the vehicle at one dealer after testing a Limited at another dealer. We were shocked when we got home and found that the XLT didn't have the garage door opener in the visor. Called the dealer - he told me the option was available only on Limiteds. Thought I might be able to customize the visor to make it work. Got on FordParts.com - found the visor - called my local dealer to see if the visor swap was possible - they said "no", completely different wiring. Well, I ordered the visor anyway. Found out the dealer was completely wrong. The visor with the homelink (or whatever they call it this year) fits EXACTLY into the same plug as they old visor. Took me about 15 minutes to make the swap. The part isn't cheap - about $225 - but it's nice to have the OEM look for the opener - especially since our last 4 vehicles have had this feature. Just a heads up. Thanks.

this is awesome....we were thinking the same thing...that man I spent so much and no homelink system....

many thanks to the OP who took the major leap....

Originally Posted by CNY Xploder

Best price that I know of for Ford parts is www.tascaparts.com

Everything that I have gotten for my F150 is normally 30-50% cheaper than my local dealer.

Thanks to CNY, i found it here and the price is great!

http://www.tascaparts.com/partlocato...&siteid=213668

for $199 + shipping $17.94 for me = $217

[Remeny]

This is something I will definitely be picking up. Thanks for the info guys!

Like JustB_Rad mentioned, how can we add push button start/true keyless entry?!

[jimjim15]

Does anyone know if the information in this thread is still valid for a 2012 Ex? I have an XLT and want to swap out the visor for one with a garage door opener.

I've gone to the websites which are linked to in this thread, and the parts are still available for a decent price in my area. Just wondering if anything has changed with the new model year that would make this procedure a bad idea.

Anyone?

[VinceL]

Please correct me if I am wrong.... but, I believe the Explorers equipped with an auto-dimming mirror use a Gentex model.

If the plug on it is the standard one, which I would hope would be the case, I think it would be possible to swap it out for one of these mirrors:

Gentex

I did this with my wife's Subaru and it was perfect. You can find the different models on Amazon at a savings, and installation is straightforward. Took me about 20 minutes to install, and that was mostly because the Subaru needed an adapter that most American cars shouldn't.

From what I understand, the universal opener in the Explorer can be finicky to program with some devices. The Homelink is super easy.

When my wife buys her new Ex, I will pull the one out of the Subaru and slap it into the Ex. That way we can have 6 things programmed, and an extra compass too!

Update:

So I stopped by the Ford dealership today and did a bit of investigating. The connector on the mirror (which is a Gentex) must be custom for Ford. The Gentex mirror in my Subaru has a smaller connector, while the Ford has a larger connector. Both have 3 wires leading to them, but the Subie mirror also has a jumper wire mixed in, that is on my car, which came with the mirror factory installed. I will check my wife's car when she gets home, she has the after market mirror that I bought and installed.

I'll update again when I have a little more info.

On a side note, the 2012's still have the tin drum sound above the windshield, how disappointing!

[sadlut]

Originally Posted by jimjim15

Does anyone know if the information in this thread is still valid for a 2012 Ex? I have an XLT and want to swap out the visor for one with a garage door opener.

I've gone to the websites which are linked to in this thread, and the parts are still available for a decent price in my area. Just wondering if anything has changed with the new model year that would make this procedure a bad idea.

Anyone?

I replaced the visor on my 2012 xlt with visor that has garage door
opener. Was told 2011 and 2012 are the same.

[moe-jiller]

Anyone know if this MY 2011-2012 'home link - sun visor' replacement discussion is the same for the 2013 XLT?

[peterk9]

Originally Posted by moe-jiller

Anyone know if this MY 2011-2012 'home link - sun visor' replacement discussion is the same for the 2013 XLT?

Welcome to the Forum moe-jiller.
The 2011 did not have 'Home Link'. It had what they called Car2U (Universal Garge Door Opener). It is also referred to as Home Automation System.
The Home Link came out in the 2012 models. Since a member said that the 2011 and 2012 visors were interchangeable, it should work on the 2013 as well since I assune it is identical to the 2012.
Good luck.

Peter

[moe-jiller]

Thanks for the reply - Any information / verification that the 2013 XLT already has the required electrical connector(s) in the headliner/visor wiring bundle? ajm

[darrylm]

I just swapped out visor with 2012 visor with garage door opener. Wiring and harness the same. Ordered through Tasca got it for $100+ less than dealership. What was said earlier about plug taped was true had to free it. All went well.

It was a Car2U.

[darrylm]

Originally Posted by darrylm

I just swapped out visor with 2012 visor with garage door opener. Wiring and harness the same. Ordered through Tasca got it for $100+ less than dealership. What was said earlier about plug taped was true had to free it. All went well.

It was a Car2U.

I needed to order a conversion module since my Genie Garage door opener's frequency is no longer used. Another $35.00. I'll let y'all know if any trouble once it arrives and I install it. DONE - Installed conversion module easily and remote programmed easily and visor opener now works. All successful!

[Dr Plastic]

Are the visors in the 2011 the same as the 2013? I may do this swap myself!