Some things I miss, would like to get in FEH
#11
07-11-2007, 10:34 AM
Re: Some things I miss, would like to get in FEH
Ford uses Gentex brand mirrors (not Donelly) in its vehicles which offer that option (the auto-dimming mirror with compass and outside temp gauge is NOT offered as on option on the Escape or Escape Hybrid). The auto companies buy Gentex mirrors directly from Gentex. They are distributed to the after-market by a company in Indiana called Mito which offers factory support and installation advice. Mito also offers a 3 year warranty on the Gentex mirrors.
I purchased and installed the Gentex auto-dimming mirror with compass and temperature gauge in my 2006 Escape Hybrid. The installation took about 2 hours (you have to remove the A-piller by unscrewing the grip handle and then attach the mirror's power wire to a switched 12 Volt source undeneath the center console). Installing the outside temperature sensor was simple due to the presence of a direct access hole through the firewall (no drilling to get the temperature-sensor-wire-harness through the firewall!!!!).
The installation is pretty easy to do and turns out looking like a "factory installed option". If anyone on the list needs assistance installing one of these, I'll be glad to give advice based on my experiences.
I paid $189 including shipping from a Mito retailer called "Autodax" in Vermont. They have a website www.autodax.com.
Fred E.
Detroit, MI
I purchased and installed the Gentex auto-dimming mirror with compass and temperature gauge in my 2006 Escape Hybrid. The installation took about 2 hours (you have to remove the A-piller by unscrewing the grip handle and then attach the mirror's power wire to a switched 12 Volt source undeneath the center console). Installing the outside temperature sensor was simple due to the presence of a direct access hole through the firewall (no drilling to get the temperature-sensor-wire-harness through the firewall!!!!).
The installation is pretty easy to do and turns out looking like a "factory installed option". If anyone on the list needs assistance installing one of these, I'll be glad to give advice based on my experiences.
I paid $189 including shipping from a Mito retailer called "Autodax" in Vermont. They have a website www.autodax.com.
Fred E.
Detroit, MI
HELP PLEASE!! Take Pictures if you can.
#12
07-11-2007, 10:43 AM
Re: Some things I miss, would like to get in FEH
Thanks for the tip. I recently downloaded an Escape & Escape Hybrid accessories from Ford and they have the auto dimming mirror, but for some reason they say it is not available for the FEH. Any technical reason why not?
I don't have my FEH yet (they say it will arrive any day now...) but after renting a gasoline model a couple of times lately, I already miss the climate control on my VW Golf. I found that the difference between too cold and too hot in the temp control to be 1/2 click so I could never get it right. I can't beleive that in this day and age they don't have a climate control (forget dual zone) on the premium model.
Cheers,
Roch Comeau
Montreal, Canada
I don't have my FEH yet (they say it will arrive any day now...) but after renting a gasoline model a couple of times lately, I already miss the climate control on my VW Golf. I found that the difference between too cold and too hot in the temp control to be 1/2 click so I could never get it right. I can't beleive that in this day and age they don't have a climate control (forget dual zone) on the premium model.
Cheers,
Roch Comeau
Montreal, Canada
Cris
#13
07-11-2007, 11:01 AM
Re: Some things I miss, would like to get in FEH
Biggest annoyance for me is the so called "coin holder". If it's not completely full then the coins rattle loudly. If I pack it full, then it takes both hands to get a coin out. I can live with it, didn't have a coin holder on my '88 Blazer, but the poor design makes one wonder if anyone at Ford ever drove the vehicle and tried to use the coin holder.
#14
07-11-2007, 01:04 PM
Re: Some things I miss, would like to get in FEH
I was poking around under the hood a few months ago, key 'on' and climate control running, and felt air blowing out of it. If I hadn't passed my hand that way and felt the air, I don't think I'd have ever noticed it.
Sounds like a convenient conduit through which to pass a wire or hose, but it's clearly not "for" that. It's got to be there for a reason. Otherwise, why have it? It's clearly there by design, and not simply something someone forgot to cover.
BTW, it's down low on the firewall near the center, and looks like a piece of 3/4 inch plastic pipe sticking out about an inch from the firewall. I think it's just below or just to the left of the heater lines.
#15
07-11-2007, 01:07 PM
Re: Some things I miss, would like to get in FEH
Just a WAG, but maybe it's for pressure equalization? I know on my 2001 Escape, if you opened one of the windows at highway speed, you'd really feel the immediate pressure drop in your ears. That doesn't seem to happen in the 2008.
#16
07-11-2007, 01:32 PM
Re: Some things I miss, would like to get in FEH
Hey! I think you've got something there. Till you mentioned that, I never noticed that my ears don't go "pop" when I roll the windows down at 60 MPH.
#17
07-11-2007, 03:29 PM
Re: Some things I miss, would like to get in FEH
Interesting theory but... Why in the firewall? Vents to allow air to exit the vehicle already exist in the rear. Why put a hole right there into the engine compartment? Especially considering that when you drive with the climate system off and the window open, a vacuum exists inside the vehicle and air is drawn through any holes in the body into the interior.
Drive with the window part way down and you'll feel a draft around the inside door release as air is sucked in. I'm sure it's also being sucked in through that hole, unless there's a one way valve in there. Why risk introducing hot, smelly engine compartment air into the interior?
I know there's a certain sports or luxury car with an air horn in the firewall to introduce engine sounds into the cockpit. I can't recall which one, I think it's an Infiniti. I can research it if anyone's interested. IIRC, they insulated the car from noise so well that drivers complained they could not hear the V-8 roar for which they had paid a lot of money. In response, the maker designed a tube with a valve or filter on it to go through the firewall and allow some engine roar into the interior. It allows engine sounds but not air or other road noise in.
Drive with the window part way down and you'll feel a draft around the inside door release as air is sucked in. I'm sure it's also being sucked in through that hole, unless there's a one way valve in there. Why risk introducing hot, smelly engine compartment air into the interior?
I know there's a certain sports or luxury car with an air horn in the firewall to introduce engine sounds into the cockpit. I can't recall which one, I think it's an Infiniti. I can research it if anyone's interested. IIRC, they insulated the car from noise so well that drivers complained they could not hear the V-8 roar for which they had paid a lot of money. In response, the maker designed a tube with a valve or filter on it to go through the firewall and allow some engine roar into the interior. It allows engine sounds but not air or other road noise in.
#18
07-11-2007, 03:50 PM
Re: Some things I miss, would like to get in FEH
Okay I feel sort of foolish now.
It's not a vent hole, it's the drain for the A/C evaporator. It goes from the housing above the passenger foot area into the engine compartment. That's why Cozzman and his poor suffering wife could not see light through it.
I does not go from the passenger compartment to the engine compartment, so would not be a place where a hose, wire or conduit could be routed
Doh !!
It's not a vent hole, it's the drain for the A/C evaporator. It goes from the housing above the passenger foot area into the engine compartment. That's why Cozzman and his poor suffering wife could not see light through it.
I does not go from the passenger compartment to the engine compartment, so would not be a place where a hose, wire or conduit could be routed
Doh !!
Last edited by mtberman; 07-11-2007 at 03:53 PM. Reason: add detail & corr typo
#19
07-11-2007, 05:57 PM
Re: Some things I miss, would like to get in FEH
Your realization beat my post. I installed my own A/C in a previous vehicle so I know ALL about car A/C systems even if I don't want to.
It is a drain hole which is why you felt the A/C out of it.
I am reading in lots of posts that there is supposed to be a large hole on the driver side of the '06 but I can't find it anywhere. The only thing i can think of is the computer thing from the NAV system i have thats HUGE on the driver side is blocking the "hole" that every tells me is there.
It is a drain hole which is why you felt the A/C out of it.
I am reading in lots of posts that there is supposed to be a large hole on the driver side of the '06 but I can't find it anywhere. The only thing i can think of is the computer thing from the NAV system i have thats HUGE on the driver side is blocking the "hole" that every tells me is there.
