Issues and dealer response.

[Jon M]

I had the dealer look at my right front window for the window chatter issue. First, I was told it was "normal". I told them there was a TSB on it, 13-6-13 according to the TSB thread.

They called back and said that that TSB is inactive, but there is another "not-a-TSB", like a TSB, on it, so they ordered the parts.

I don't what the "not-a-TSB" is called, nor have I ever heard of them before, but there you go.

On my power liftgate, which would close most of the way, and then reopen, typically 3 times before it would finally close, there is apparently a TSB. I didn't see one in the TSB thread when I reviewed it, but they say there is one.

Now, I have a question for all of you regarding your A/C's performance. This is my third Ford, and I've driven many others. One thing that I've always known, and heard many others say, is that when it comes to A/C, Ford makes the coldest there is.

On my 2013, when at idle, my A/C is not cold. It's not warm, but it's not cold. It's fine at speed. On every vehicle I've owned, and experienced this, it was due to a failing A/C compressor clutch. The dealer is telling me this is "normal", because there's no air flowing over the condenser at idle.

Freon's full, fans are turning, compressor's running...everything is "within spec". I'm guessing it's probably starting to fail, it's just not bad enough to catch yet.

So, do you all experience this? Or do you have an A/C system worthy of Ford's reputation?

I asked them about activating the hour meter, and they had no clue IF it could be done, much less how, on a non-police vehicle.

 

[Jon M]

On a separate note, in the last two days, I've driven a 2017 Fusion Hybrid, and a 2017 F-150 EcoBoost.

The Fusion Hybrid wasn't bad. The eCVT was absolutely the smoothest transmission I've ever had the pleasure to drive. It makes the CVTs of 8 or 10 years ago look rough.

My Explorer has the 3.5 NA. I haven't driven an EcoBoost before. That F-150 EcoBoost is fun. With the transmission in sport mode, it's a LOT of fun! Next time, EcoBoost!

I think Ford puts together some weird packages for their vehicles. My XLT has panoramic moon roof, Nav, back up camera, MFT, auto HVAC, rear A/C, and leather with heated seats, but not the intelligent access, heated steering wheel, cooled seats, etc.

The Fusion Hybrid had a sunroof, but the shade was manual. It had a back up camera, on a 4" screen, and I don't think it had sensors; if it did, they never made a sound. Auto, dual zone HVAC. It had, I think, leather trimmed(?) seats, where the outer surfaces were leather, but the inner portion was fabric, or maybe just fake leather. No heated seats, MFT, or much of anything else.

The F-150 has the EcoBoost, tow package, back up camera & sensors, remote start, DRLs that you can turn off in settings, an 8" NON touch screen, no MFT, but bluetooth, USBs, etc, power cloth seats, power adjustable pedals, manual tilt wheel, power rear window, manual HVAC, and auto restart.

I get that they create different packages of features, I just find these combinations to be very strange.

 

[kmarnes]

You've got a 2013, so it's still pretty new. If I were you, I'd just keep the repairs up, especially warranty issues dealt with (is your warranty still good?), and then save up to buy a new Sport/Platinum model.

My 2017 is only 8 months old now, but I haven't had any problems. Everything works great.

 

[Jon M]

You've got a 2013, so it's still pretty new. If I were you, I'd just keep the repairs up, especially warranty issues dealt with (is your warranty still good?), and then save up to buy a new Sport/Platinum model.

My 2017 is only 8 months old now, but I haven't had any problems. Everything works great.

I've got an ESP that's good through 2022 or 131k, that's taking care of this.

 

[blwnsmoke]

Many on here have stated that when at idle, the cold air turns warmer and as soon as you step on the gas pedal. Although my Explorer doesn't do it, it has been posted on here several times.

 

[Sixonemale]

Now, I have a question for all of you regarding your A/C's performance. This is my third Ford, and I've driven many others. One thing that I've always known, and heard many others say, is that when it comes to A/C, Ford makes the coldest there is.

On my 2013, when at idle, my A/C is not cold. It's not warm, but it's not cold. It's fine at speed. On every vehicle I've owned, and experienced this, it was due to a failing A/C compressor clutch. The dealer is telling me this is "normal", because there's no air flowing over the condenser at idle.

Freon's full, fans are turning, compressor's running...everything is "within spec". I'm guessing it's probably starting to fail, it's just not bad enough to catch yet.

So, do you all experience this? Or do you have an A/C system worthy of Ford's reputation?

I have not read that the A/C performance is strong, quite the contrary, mine is marginal at best. In fact there is no comparison to my wife's Lexus, where if you turn the A/C on her car to low you could almost get frostbite. This is one of several items where Ford has lots of room for improvement.

 

[peterk9]

There are threads on all the issues that were reported here.

 

[Sixonemale]

There are threads on all the issues that were reported here.

Understand, but having a new thread on topic now and then is not a bad thing, especially for people unaware of certain issues. In my opinion only, if every topic is added to an old thread with lots of pages it sometimes dilutes the topic and in many cases is not all that fun to read through 10 plus pages to find out where each and every new thread within an old thread begins and ends. Plus when someone searches it's nice to have a choice of several threads to read on one topic with slightly different titles that may help with specitivity for the topic at hand.

 

[613GT500]

A/C is ice cold and is significantly colder than my 2015 Lexus RX350.
The seat (bottom portion) is alsa quite colde, but the back cusions are lacking and will be going in for the TSB.

 

[cwescapexlt4x4]

My A/C is strong and with the AZ heat it's been tested many times.

 

[Sixonemale]

A/C is ice cold and is significantly colder than my 2015 Lexus RX350.
The seat (bottom portion) is alsa quite colde, but the back cusions are lacking and will be going in for the TSB.

My A/C is strong and with the AZ heat it's been tested many times.

Perhaps the AC system may have experienced a slight improvement in 2016 or some of us other owners with earlier model years currently have weaker than average AC systems that need to be tweaked.

 

[kmarnes]

As a car gets older, AC systems will eventually fail and generally don't live as long as the car, but I wouldn't expect there to be many issues with a 2015, unless it's gone through the wringer. They can get dirty and/or the compressor can wear out, along with lots of other things. They usually start out strong and get weaker and fail after 6-12 years. And it can be tough to determine whether it's failing or fading.

I've had lots of cars of various brands, and I can't say I've noticed a particular brand being better than another. I did have a 2008 Lexus ES350 that felt super cold, but that's when it was cranked and blowing directly at me on a hot day, and that wasn't a great feeling, because it needed time to work and cool the ambient temp. The Explorer feels relatively refined -- set a temperature, and it figures it out, and it seems pretty good at diffusing the air, so you aren't taking direct hits of cold air. Which is what I want.

 

[bdginmo]

The Fusion Hybrid wasn't bad. The eCVT was absolutely the smoothest transmission I've ever had the pleasure to drive. It makes the CVTs of 8 or 10 years ago look rough.

It may be called an eCVT, but it's nothing like a conventional CVT. The formal name for it is an epicyclic gearing transmission. And yes, it's pretty cool. I find the shifting in my Explorer (or any other conventional vehicle) incredibility annoying compared to my Fusion Energi.

 

[dudefish]

The AC on my 2013 Limited performs much like you describe here and it always has. Ice cold when the vehicle is in motion, not so cold when idling. Pretty normal for all vehicles I've owned. My Ex is nearing 90,000 miles and I don't think the AC is starting to fail.

 

[Jon M]

It's nice having a liftgate that opens and closes quietly, and on the first try.