Wednesday, May 3, 2017

Get Together in the Smokies - Ford Tech Talk

04/22/17


After lunch, Joe King, the Specialty Vehicles Account Manager, NA Fleet, Lease and Remarketing Operations for Ford Motor Company talked to us for several hours.  These are the notes Sonya and I took:

Ford Discussion

Joe King - Specialty Vehicles Account Manager




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Joe was taking lots of notes and some things he would send to us after he could get the right answers
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Introduced to the North American market in 2015

Question - Why is so hard to check the air in the tires?  Addressed access with change in chrome wheel, 2018 model will have a polished aluminum wheel

Econoline (another chassis being used for RVs) will be available through 2020.

Question - Does raising the clearance void the warranty - yes and no answer.  If there is a problem, if the modification caused the problem that problem will not be covered. 

Question - Can the Fuse be retrofit for Sync?  No, The systems are not in place.

Question - Are there other tire size options?  (Joe to check)

Suggestion - Add some type of screening to window valley under wipers where leaves collect.

People using the Transit for RV - Winnebago, Thor, Forrest River, Leisure Travel Van

Is there anything wrong with idling the Transit for a long time ?  Used this way by a lot of package delivery services.  Don has a e-mail from Ford that says it is OK but expect more frequent particulate  filter regeneration.   Do not do this while parked on grass since the heat  from the regen can cause a grass fire.

Since the A/C on the transit will cool the entire vehicle what is the fuel consumption per hour when idling.

2018 Transit will have different parking break so drivers seat can swivel.

Asked about push button start

Asked about 2nd alternator

Asked about what Ford did to add the extra inch of clearance and could it be back fitted to earlier models.

Asked about TPMS from Ford.  Issue is the dual wheels on the rear. Was going to check into it.

Asked about using the longer wheel base Transit.  It is not available in the RV package

Suggestion - Porting from cab radio to coach so you can listen to XM radio

Where can we get maintenance?  Most any Ford Dealer can service the Transit but issues with having a big enough lift.    Ford Commercial Vehicle Centers.    On web at https://www.ford.com/commercial-vehicle-center/. -   These dealers should have the right equipment to service large vehicles like our Fuse.  This is a new program that our member Tom W. worked on.  

Joe and Tom W. (a member of our group) recommend Motocraft Cetane booster every 5 tanks

Gas vs Diesel Fuel economy

Does my Fuse have xxxxx feature? Can be found out on the VIN.  A detailed printout of what options are with your Fuse is on the Ford OASIS system which is a dealer system so you have to ask.  You can get a less detailed report using your VIN of the Ford site.  Register your vehicle on the Ford site for recall info and other information

There is a new app for phone called “Ford Pass”.  Can be used for some more basic things on the current model Transit.  In future models more features will be available (remote start, etc)

Comment from the group about using an app called Torque Pro and an ELM327 OBDII scanner to get engine codes and see what engine is doing.  

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