Be careful X owners - got into a fender bender yesterday...

[Paraphoe]

That is one reason I have always used those small 2" convex stick-on mirrors on all my vehicles. When properly placed, they will not only allow you to see your rear wheels for parking but will also show that vehicle beside you right up to he point where you can physically see it. They are the first items I have always added to all my vehicles. Peter

+1. I always put those on my mirrors too. They really help if you place them right.

 

[HughCares]

People pulling into "your space" when you have signals on to make a lane change is pretty common around here.

HUH???:scratch: The space doesn't belong to you until you are in it. Simply turning your blinker on does not give you the right of way....you are merely signalling your intention to move into the space.....not claiming ownership prior to getting there. Courtesy and respect have to be administered by both parties who may be vying for the same space....

 

[peterk9]

........BLIS does not compensate for mirror position and so you can get momentary blind spots where the car isn't visible and BLIS is not on......

That is correct. The actual BLIS radar is located inside the fender just behind the rear wheels and those small convex stick-on mirrors will eliminate any possible blind spots.
Being from the 'old school', I prefer to leave my mirrors adjusted as I always have. I find them helpful in parking and other occasions where I need to see the side of the vehicle without having to make constant adjustments. But that's just me.

Peter

 

[uniquename]

The problem is that the BLIS indicator and the built in convex mirror are located in the same spot on the mirrors. I think the stick-ons cost me around $5-$6 for the pair. I'm sure that Ford would would likely charge more to incorporate both systems in their mirrors.

Peter

I get that...but...they do have engineers. It could have been designed to have both from the start.

 

[VinceL]

I would prefer they leave the blis dot where it is, and have the convex mirror on the bottom edge of the mirror. Seems to me that it would be much more useful down there, possibly allowing for a better street/curb view, while having the upper part for long distance scanning.

Or, have the seam where the little mirror abuts the big mirror have an LED strip in it so the seam would light up, drawing your attention to the little mirror so you could double check it.

 

[phareous]

HUH???:scratch: The space doesn't belong to you until you are in it. Simply turning your blinker on does not give you the right of way....you are merely signalling your intention to move into the space.....not claiming ownership prior to getting there. Courtesy and respect have to be administered by both parties who may be vying for the same space....

Yes but you have to be an idiot to pull right next to someone who has their blinker on...its practically inviting an accident

 

[cnsheets]

Yes but you have to be an idiot to pull right next to someone who has their blinker on...its practically inviting an accident

Around here, people find that as a challenge. I've seen people sit with their blinkers on for half a mile trying to merge over and everyone simply speeds up to close the gap and not let them in....... very common....

 

[HughCares]

Around here, people find that as a challenge. I've seen people sit with their blinkers on for half a mile trying to merge over and everyone simply speeds up to close the gap and not let them in....... very common....

Yup....that happens too....and there are also many instances where someone has their blinker on and is totally oblivious to it and drives for miles.....

 

[phareous]

Around here, people find that as a challenge. I've seen people sit with their blinkers on for half a mile trying to merge over and everyone simply speeds up to close the gap and not let them in....... very common....

I've been one of the people to speed up before...but only because I didn't see the blinker until I was almost next to them...so I'd rather get out of their way (and blind spot) to let them over behind me rather than slam on my brakes to try to make room for them.

 

[cnsheets]

Yup....that happens too....and there are also many instances where someone has their blinker on and is totally oblivious to it and drives for miles.....

Yeah I was driving home last week and some guy in front of me had his blinker on for 12 miles. Never once tried or attempted to change lanes....just forgot it was on i guess.......

 

[jw2013explorer]

Sorry to hear about your accident FordMom. Thank goodness no one was hurt. I'm also sick of the lack of common courtesy drivers have these days. I let people move into my lane when they use their signal only to hear horns honking at me from behind. Very impatient people. What's all the rush about? I think if you see a turn signal and still make the decision to plow through then your almost asking for it. Not that I'd do that intentionally. :shifty_ey

 

[peterk9]

Yeah I was driving home last week and some guy in front of me had his blinker on for 12 miles. Never once tried or attempted to change lanes....just forgot it was on i guess.......

I don't know why manufacturers don't put 'signal on' reminders in their vehicles. I had them in my Highlanders and they worked great. It was just a chime that would come to grab your attention. I'm not sure exactly how it worked but it did. I guess it must have to do with time and movement. The alert wouold not come on if you were sitting in traffic waiting to make a turn.

Peter

 

[FordMomof3]

I don't know why manufacturers don't put 'signal on' reminders in their vehicles.

My Freestar had it. There's one section of town where I have to cross 5 lanes of expressway (read: 70mph when it moves) traffic. When there is a backup, it can take a really long time. I leave my blinker on. My Freestar would start quietly dinging at me way before I hit that 5th lane. That's really the only time I would hear it - but it would happen in normal traffic if you left it on long enough. *HOWEVEr* - it was quiet enough I wondered about the people who would really need it - if they'd be able to hear it.

So far, I've not been up there in rush hour to see how the X warns - but I hope there's something.

 

[phareous]

Yup....that happens too....and there are also many instances where someone has their blinker on and is totally oblivious to it and drives for miles.....

Oh yes this happens daily here... I usually give them 30 seconds or so and if they don't move I say heck to them and speed past them

 

[FordService]

Don't feel bad...
If it's any comfort, within less than two months from purchasing our explorer, my wife backed into our neighbor's mailbox and yes, we do have rear camera!

new to ford,

Whoops! It wasn’t one of those special expensive mail boxes, was it?

I don't know why manufacturers don't put 'signal on' reminders in their vehicles. I had them in my Highlanders and they worked great. It was just a chime that would come to grab your attention. I'm not sure exactly how it worked but it did. I guess it must have to do with time and movement. The alert wouold not come on if you were sitting in traffic waiting to make a turn...

Peter,

I suggest submitting that idea to:

http://Social.Ford.com

Be sure to grab the URL and put it here so others can rate and comment.

My wife has had an Acura RDX for 4.5 years, with a back up camera as well, and has hit so many things I cant keep track of them...

harlenm,

That sounds grizzly; I’m glad you didn’t include a pic.

...It is imperative to stay alert and know where the vehicles around your are at all times and double check your mirrors/blindspots prior to making the move...

Thanks for the awesome safety tip, HughCares.

...Oh - and have an appt at the body shop for tomorrow evening...

I hope your appointment goes well, FordMomof3.

Cory

 

[FordMomof3]

UPDATE: Went to the body shop where the lady I spoke to remembered them prepping my car A MONTH AGO ()

Anyways - it's going to be a $700-$800 fix and take 4 days. We're taking it in Sunday night so it's there first thing Monday morning and we'll get it back later in the week.

They're going to have to sand down and repaint the fender plus "blend" the passenger front door. The plastic wheel well will have to be replaced (it's really scratched) and they'll check out the front passenger side wheel as well. I'll post pix when I get it back. I got some crappy pix of the damage on my phone but I"ll post those with the after pix as well.

*sigh* no one was hurt...no one was hurt...no one was hurt...it's just *STUFF*.... In my enormous relief that no one was hurt - I can't seem to let myself off the hook. It may take some time before I stop having a near panic attack getitng into the car and going further than my .41 miles to work.

 

[JFUSION]

Sorry to hear about your fender bender. The manual states that if a vehicle passes though the 'blind zone' quickly (less than 2 seconds) that BLIS will not
trigger the alert. Perhaps that is what happened.
That is one reason I have always used those small 2" convex stick-on mirrors on all my vehicles. When properly placed, they will not only allow you to see your rear wheels for parking but will also show that vehicle beside you right up to he point where you can physically see it. They are the first items I have always added to all my vehicles.
I'm not sure how they would perform with the mirrors adjusted as per other posts. In any case, nothing will replace due care and caution, which should lessen, but not necessarily eliminate the possiblility of an accidental meeting.

Peter

I've used these small convex mirrors on all of my vehicles for many years and trust them explicitly, they've saved me many times, I can see far across several lanes when I'm on a multi-lane freeway, even motorcycles show up well on them, they also help when parallel parking to help avoid curb rash. I won't own a vehicle without these small mirrors regardless of all the electronic protection systems. Best $2.00 you will ever spend. While I don't preach not to shoulder check, these mirrors help to reduce your check times immensely, which can be a huge benefit when travelling on a busy freeway in heavy traffic. Sometimes shoulder checking can pose a risk to traffic that is in front of you if it takes too much time and these mirrors reduce that time to a very short amount.