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I suspect that this feature is intentionally deep-disabled in US vehicles to discourage Canadians from importing them. Since the vehicle must have DRL in Canada, the harder it is to implement it, the fewer sales our dealerships lose to lower priced imports. It's how the game is played when it comes to implementing artificial differences in US vs. Canadian specs.

As an owner of a 2011 MKX, I heartily endose the open letter to Ford. There are so many poorly functioning aspects with the new Sync system that it would be reasonable to regard it on the whole as being a safety hazard. I actually have additional safety-related issues that do not concern the Sync system - repeated "blocked sensor" failures on a perfectly clean vehicle that disable collision and blindspot warnings. With no support received from my dealer, I think I'll also be writing to Mr. McCormick.

The hood on my '11 MKX is like this, about 1/8" lower on both sides, as are several other MKXs I've seen on the dealer lot. I'm assuming that is by design, although who really knows?

I've been told there is in the industry something called "new glass fatigue" and it primarily affects large rear window glass on newer vehicles. It happened to me on a nearly new Chrysler minivan whose rear window exploded while parked, as if it had been shot. (No, it had not been shot.) Chrysler eventually paid for the window replacement while admitting new vehicle windows can sometimes spontaneously break. Though they never managed to remove all the broken glass fragments in rear door, which continued to rattle for years...

I had to check this out for myself. And there's no difference if I do or don't have settings (heated seats, heated steering wheel, front and rear defrost) turned on prior to turning off the vehicle. Remote start simply doesn't activate any of them when set to Auto. I have also turned those controls to Off, shut off the vehicle and restored them to Auto but that didn't help. So I'm out of ideas and now its warming up considerably so I expect that might make it more difficult for the dealer to diagnose. Anyone have their dealership look at this problem?

Thanks for the feedback. Was kind of hoping that someone who had these problems before found a way to get the Auto features working. Perhaps for them it was just a matter of waiting for sufficiently cold temperatures... Anyway I'll schedule an appointment with the dealer and maybe I'll have better luck than their standard "We don't know how to fix it but we're going to ask Ford".

I understand that tethering is not available currently and that alone would eliminate it from my consideration. Multitasking the way it is implemented on WP7 is quite sad and that's not something that is going to be easy to fix like, say, the missing copy and paste functons. There's practically no application base as would be the case in any new introduction. The market will expand but to what extent? Personally I don't like the way the interface looks - at all. It's nice though that Microsoft will be in control of system updates and not the telecoms or individual manufacturers which is a big problem in the Android world.

That is good news in that there exists a current type of cell phone that supports all the major features of Ford's sync. Unfortunately Windows Phone 7 is so deficient at many functions which I've come to take for granted, that I can't even consider it as an option until there's some major improvements.

Well at -24C with my MKX remote start climate controls all set to AUTO, I'm still not getting any of the functions to work (heated seats, heated steering wheel, front and rear defrost). At first I thought it might not have been cold enough but that can't possibly be the case anymore. Has anyone with this problem found a method of getting it to work or had their dealer fix it?

While I wait for Ford to do something (anything) about this bug infested mess, I've made it something of a sport at finding new bugs. So here's a new one I haven't seen anyone mention before: I have a contact with 2 phone numbers, one for home, one for mobile and they are correctly identified as such in the Sync phonebook. Add each of these numbers to the quick dial list. Both of them show up under the same name and the same mobile symbol. So you have absolutely no idea which number it is you have dialed. Yes, it's a minor bug that could be remedied by adding 2 separate contacts but there's no reason why this kind of stuff shouldn't have been found in testing or quickly fixed with an update.

Yes, the USB ports are active any time the computer is plugged in.

I predict that the chief Ford apologist here will take exception to the word "deceptive"...

The date at the bottom is the date you generate the PDF. Yes, if there's no Sync listed as being installed, your vehicle hasn't been built.

Actually most current higher-end notebooks have at least one always-on USB port. I've assumed the USB ports in my MKX are always powered as well since my iPod nano is always fully charged.

Well we've got lots of slippery roads now and I've been entertaining myself watching the AWD display while still more of less watching where I'm driving. Sometimes its the fronts with a variable sized blue light, sometimes the rears and sometimes both sets. I'm not aware of which driving situations dictate which set of wheels illuminate, actually seems to be an indication of how much slippage is occuring. as steady-state driving shows dots of light at all 4 wheels and the harder you punch it, the bigger the light On the same axle, the lights are always equal.

Considering all the customers who suffered with this problem since the Edge was introduced and how it appears that Ford was never able to really solve it, it's a valid question. That said I haven't read of any reports that it affects 2011 models. Yet.

You do realize there are a great many problems with the first generation Sync that Ford has never been able or willing to fix? If not, spend a few hours reading the Owner-to-Owner forums. One thing that gives me hope that Ford will exert more effort to fix the current generation Sync is that if it is tied to various safety systems, then an actual recall is likely.

I wish to applaud Ford's marketing genious for renaming system crashes as "Performing System Maintenance". Well done!

That is a very good question. Certainly a Ford warranty is valid in both countries.

I read this and then I think of this other post made back in Auguest on a different forum by an engineer in Montreal: "Did you purchase a 2011 model with MyFord (aka Sync 2)? I worked with Ford on the MyFord system, i.e. so-called upgrade of Sync. Ford decided to build this system themselves and managed the entire software project themselves. It was their first foray in a software project of such magnitude, and I speak from first-hand experience when I say the quality of the software is mediocre at best. The system is rolling out to production now and is still full of bugs. MyFord will have you making repeated trips to the dealership for software updates." Rather prophetic I'd say. Ford built the system using Adobe Flash for goodness sakes. That's some pretty strong evidence right there they rushed the system to market.

As we wait for Ford to come up with improved software, it is a great relief to know that at least one Ford dealership knows about pulling Fuse #29. Something that was discussed here within the first week of the first ownership experience. This might be slow going indeed.

And they've been extremely successful at it! Non-standard connectors, non-standard SIM cards, non-standard security, locked down applications & developement etc. etc. etc. It's all been highly profitable for them yet a huge PITA when it comes to the end user who wants to interface their Apple product with 3rd party hardware. I'm afraid Ford Sync customers with most Apple products are never going to have a smooth ride until Ford buckles to Apple pressure and incorporates the special Apple authorization chip in their vehicles. And that's not going to do anything for existing Ford owners. As for me, I'll stay as far away from Apple as I can (notwithstanding the Nano my daughter bequeathed me...)

The strange thing around these parts is how relatively hard it is to find any 5-W20 oils. Ford has specified this weight of oil for quite a few years now but few retailers stock it. Yes, I know you can buy the synthetic blend stuff from Ford. I always use full synthetic however.

So what's the verdict regarding how intrusive the warnings are if you don't have TPSM installed? Is it just a single warning window that you can click OK on and not worry about it until the next vehicle restart? I realize it will likely have a warning light on constantly but that can be taken care of with a piece of tape. I have decided that TPSM is not worth it for my winter tires - unless I essentially lose the functionality of the left LCD screen!

You're not forced to use it you know. I'd like the features Ford told me were in my vehicle to actually work but that's probably a pipe dream. Anyway I've tried it and the only way I got it to display anything was to turn Gracenotes OFF. But 90% of my albums simply display the generic "Pop" or "Rock" picture and I have no idea how to correct that.