Kenquin

After getting over sticker shock caused by the prices for Goodyear and Michelin replacement tires I started on the sometime frustrating job of researching other brands. I spoke with all the manufactures I could reference and after reviewing the spread sheets I settled on Sumitomo 727 in 255-70R22.5 No sooner had them on and we were off for a 8 week trip of some 4000 miles. At first they sounded noisy and seemed to ride a little on the hard side. But as the molding nobs wore off and the tire developed a smoothness to the tread the noise was gone and the ride became softer. We had lots of rain and road flooding so had the opportunity to get a feel for wet road conditions. They performed very well despite what was a considerable amount of road water at times. As with most high cost items price was a real consideration and at $2350.00 for 6 tires, balanced and out the door, the savings over the "name" brands is substantial. So if you are considering re-tiring give Sumitomo a read before deciding where to spend your hard earned dollars. You will not be disappointed

Following up on my July 18 post. Ford Corporate have advised me that removal of 4 fuses is necessary to avoid a dead battery. As an alternative the battery may be disconnected. Ford has paid the dealer to install a cut off switch but unfortunately they have been unable to come up with one that fits the available space beneath the hood. We had to leave the area so elected to disconnect the negative battery cable and will get a proper cut off switch installed when we get back home. At Ford's expense. With respect to the transmission oil level they made note in their email to me re the battery problem that the oil level must be kept between the 2 bar lines on the dip stick. This level is a safe operating one and avoids the problem of foaming caused by a higher level. See the 2011 Owners Manual pages 202 thru 204 for info on flat towing (incomplete and misleading) and page 322 re the transmission level for flat towing.

The owners manual says flat towing for automatic transmission vehicles only requires a 5 min warm-up, put in neutral,key in accessory and AWAY WE GO!! NOT SO!!! Tow for max 6 hrs then run through the gears again. If you follow this procedure the result after towing will be the same as mine. A dead battery. And it happened 4 times before I got the complete story directly from Ford. The correct procedure is: Warm up for 5 minutes. Move the shifter through the gears for another 5 min. Put it in neutral, key in accessory. Remove fuses F27, F41, F43, F45 and after 6 hrs tow time reinsert the fuses, run the engine sequence again, put in neutral, key in accessory, replace the fuses. The fuse panel is located in a very difficult to access position under the dash to the left of the brake pedal. For most of the older generation it might just as well be on the moon. Anyone want to buy a 2011 SEL Fusion with 7500 miles on it?.