I picked a wonderful 2006 FEH from CarMax, had just 1800 miles on it, so it was, for all intents and purposes, a new car. Wish I knew why the original owner turned it back in.

Got a dumb question for the forum for users that have a NAV system: How do you reset the Home button? The previous owner had set home to his address. According to the owners manual, there are instructions to tell you how to set Home up the first time when there is no destination stored in there, but the manual does not say how to reset it. Trying to set it again as if it was the first time does not work.

I thought about taking it to Ford as a warranty item, and maybe I will, but I thought I would check with you folks here to see if anyone has this figured out.

Press and hold it when you are at your home location.

Don't be surprised if the address it comes up with isn't actually your home address ... mine lists a house about a block down the street.

I can't help with the NAV question since neither of mine have it but was wondering if you ran a Carfax on it when you bought it to see if there is any history on the car.

Since you have the previous owners address saved in your NAV system, you could always drive over there and ask him why he turned it in.

What kind of good deal did you get on the slighly used FEH?

By the way, welcome aboard.....

Thanks, that worked. I just had to hold it down alot longer than I thought, I was holding it down a couple of seconds and it would bring up an address in Alabama. However, by holding it down closer to 8 seconds it reset.

I might try that, contacting the original owner. I found their address in Alabama. It seems they bought the car in August and in turned it in a month later. Perhaps they were adversely effected by Katrina.

As for the deal, the CarMax price on it was $27,900 +$145 dealer fee + $200 to have it brought down from Alabama. I ordered the car on line, and paying them $200 was a heck of a lot cheaper then me flying there and driving it back. Other cost was sales tax of course. I also bought a 5 year, 125,000 mile total everything exclusionary warranty from Warranty Direct, not the dealer. (Exclusionary meaning the contract lists only the things that are not covered, as opposed to the things that are) . Cost of this was $1700. (The things that are not covered are basically the NAV system, shocks, tires, brake linings, the battery, aside from those, its a pretty complete warranty, and its the only one I have seen that went out to 125,000 miles)

The traditional dealers I went to were charging 100% sticker price for the FEH plus their fees, which were considerably more than CarMax's. One dealer had a 2005 FEH equipped the same way and his bottom number was $30,500. Other dealers for 2006's that I went to ran $30-$32. So I figure I saved a couple of thousand dollars. The savings certainly paid for the extended warranty.

Has anyone thought about if they should use the 'Home' button. From a security standpoint I have been thinking about setting my home to some other location. If my FEH was stolen with the keys they also know where I live and have access to my house. I thought it would be fitting to have my home location set for a police station.

Now I live in a rural community and don't really have much fear of a theft happening, but that does not mean I am 100% safe either.

Great question Scottie.

You can always have your home in your address book, ( in the Nav) under some name like "school" or something. Almost as handy... but no free ride to your house!

Good thinking?

(Of course, isn't your address in your glovebox, like the rest of us? )

I know, they now tell you to carry the proof of Ins and Registration in your wallet.
What If I lend my car to someone?

A pain. Seems like a no-win situation.

Forgot about those registration papers. But the home button could be a trick to get the vehicle someplace inconvenient to the thief. I doubt I will change my home setting though.

The home button is really useful when you are on a trip to a "new" city and want to save the current location of your motel/hotel but also want to explore around. If you are already in your own city, I wonder why you would need instructions on how to get there? I know this is off-subject, but over the years my rural property has been broken into many more times (14) than my city property (0). So, I would not rest easy in the myth of the rural life. Good jobs are scarce, theft is pretty easy, the average Joe seems less well educated and more inclined to steal my tools/chainsaw/weed eater/etc., no one is around to witness the break-in, and the cops cannot even get there without a 15 mile drive. I don't even have a mailbox or numbers on my drive for concern that it will flag another house for theives to cruise. In the city I have a dozen neighbors, joggers, bike riders, and cops practically everywhere (if you can get them away from their radar guns). On the plus side, out in the country the Escape blends right in and I feel like a good ol' boy, although I don't speak the dialect very well, being a Yankee and all.

well, my car *was* broken into a few weeks ago, luckily not stolen. they emptied my glove box and center console (along with taking other stuff) and my address was on registration, insurance slip, and worst of all, a recent work pay stub. luckily it didn't have my SSN on it, but it had my home info, bank info and my account number. i have since had the fun of closing my main bank account and opening a new one.

i didn't even think about the home setting on the nav system. of course, the jerkoff who broke into my car stole nav cds thinking it looked like a traditional cd binder. i kinda doubt a car thief would be interested in finding the vehicle owner, since that could be walking into a trap. most stolen cars (with value) are in a chop shop for parts within hours.

courtney | cork@bluemarble.net