Gimp

I recently acquired a 15 foot solo canoe that needed to go on my Edge. I initially purchased and self installed the Ford side rails in December. That was a relatively easy process that I described in another thread. The Ford cross bars came with my purchase but I decided not to install them. I decided to go with the Yakima canoe rack system due to the rubber feet that could be adjusted to firmly hold the canoe gunwales in place. The cross bars are about a foot further apart than the Ford crossbars would have been. For the front tie downs I purchased straps that could be installed under pre-existing bolts under the hood. This seemed to be the most secure point the plastic front bumper didn't present any points that seemed solid enough. I also bought tie-down straps for the rear of the vehicle but haven't used them as my canoe doesn't have a tie down point at the rear. My canoe only weighs 26 pounds and so far the strapping around the middle along with the front tie down seem to be quite sufficient. After doing my rack research on the manufacturers websites I made my purchases from the RackAttack.com website. They offered the best pricing and free shipping. Everything arrived quickly.

Congratulations on your purchase. I've been very happy with my EcoBoost purchase but not everyone has. I think it's been too easy to focus on the top end fuel economy figure which you really won't see unless you are driving at about 100 KPH or less, steadily on the highway. Whatever your results, I still think it will be an improvement over the economy of the larger 3.5 engine that you might otherwise be driving. The real benefit is the great low end torque with excellent accelerattion which I really appreciate. Of course taking advantage of that excessive torque (because it's enjoyable) is going to lead to lower fuel economy so you need to be disciplined. Darn! BTW, I just confirmed that I could easily carry a 15 foot canoe on top of my EcoBoost Edge. Algonquin Prov Park is in my future plans.

I was pondering your issue while on a 5-mile walk yesterday. It clearly doesn't seem right as I don't see those kind of fuel efficiency numbers with my vehicle. The one thing that came to mind was the active grille shutters and what kind of impact they would cause if they weren't functioning properly. I don't even know how you would be able to tell if they were working at all since there isn't any obvious sensation that I've noticed. The only other thing that I thought of would be how flat or hilly you highway drive is. I don't have to deal with any significant hills on my drive, but I do watch the fuel consumption meter and it really drops on inclines that I wouldn't normally even notice. Prior to my purchase I did the math on the increased cost of the Ecoboost engine vs. a 3.5 engine and realized it would take me about 4 years of fuel savings (based on comparing the two combined MPG numbers) while driving about 20,000 miles a year. I was actually going to pass on it. Then I drove the Ecoboost and decided that I really liked the performance a whole lot better due to the transmission shifting and the obvious low end torque. That's what I spent the extra $1,000 for and I'm happy with my choice for that reason. If I'd spent that extra money with an expectation of getting 30 MPG I'd be a really unhappy person right now. I just updated my spreadsheet and at 7,213 miles (80% highway / 20% city) I've used 284.4 gallons of gas for a total combined average of 25.36 MPG. My first five fillups gave me an average of 24.4 MPG, and the last five gave me an average of 26.28 MPG but I think that the improvement has more to do with better driving conditions now that winter has passed. My last thought would be the type of fuel that you are using. Out of 21 fill-ups my second to the worst was 22.4 when I decided to run a tank of premium. I don't have enough knowledge to know if the increased octane would have had a negative effect or a neutral effect on a vehicle tuned for regular. My worst MPG was 21.68 when I let my wife have the car for three days. She likes the sensation of the turbo kicking in so she really stomps on the gas peddle. The MPG would have been worse but I was monitoring the meter, figured out what she was doing (she was raving about the acceleration so that wasn't in question), and I borrowed my vehicle back.

How many miles do you have on your car, what is your highway MPG, and what is your highway speed? What is your city MPG? What did your dealership tell you about the tail pipes? Ford, GM, Chrysler, Toyota, Honda, etc. don't get the luxury of making up the MPG results that you see on the sticker. They are all required to use very detailed test procedures that are documented in the U.S. code of regulations. Set procedures following an established standard driving profile that each company has to follow. The final results are approved by the EPA and only those approved numbers can go on the sticker. Ford can't lie about the MPG or they'd be in a significant amount of trouble with the government. I just put about 15 gallons in the Ecoboost Edge tank today and ended up with an average of 28 MPG after a week of stop and go rush hour highway driving. Over about 7,200 miles of primarily driving the same daily route my combined average is about 25 MPG. From personal experience I can tell you that my optimal fuel economy comes between 55 an 60 MPH when I'm at a steady speed. It starts dropping very quickly as I increase speeds above 70 - 75 MPH.

Way out in the parking lot where nobody else wants to be. Walking is good for you. It seems like half the time when I come back a junker is sitting next to my vehicle so I make it a point to ensure that not the least thing of value is visible inside.

I have been posting my MPG numbers here: http://www.fordedgeforum.com/index.php?/topic/7989-ford-edge-gets-20l-ecoboost-30-miles-per-gallon/ My vehicle is currently at 6,800 miles and my total combined average has been just over 25 MPG. The vehicle window sticker lists the combined average at about 24 MPG. I've only seen 30 MPG on one full tank of fuel. I've hit 30 MPG and above on the meter when I've had a chance to drive it on the highway for a sustained period of time, but the non-highway driving brings the average back down. I'm convinced that your MPG rating is very dependent on your personal driving style. If you are an aggressive driver your MPG is going to be lower than if you are not. My spouse likes to stamp on the throttle so she can hit the brakes at the next red light. I don't see the point. She gets several MPG less than I do. It's easy to focus on the highway rating of a vehicle but most of us rarely drive all highway except on the rare long trip. When you compare your vehicle options, the most realistic number is probably the combined rating. While my MPG isn't quite as high as I'd hoped it would be, I have to remind myself that it's still better than the other two vehicles that I'd been considering. BTW, the meter on the left side of the dash can give you really good feedback on where you are the most fuel efficient and where you are the least. That includes slight slopes you never noticed, and your own acceleration. If you pay attention, you can adapt your driving style a bit to be more fuel efficient, and I'm not talking about hyper-miling techniques such as drafting which I don't engage in.

I took delivery of my vehicle in late November and was also very happy with it as it was. Thus I was worried about fixing something that wasn't broke. But, I went ahead and made the change. I can tell you that I'm very glad that I did. While I was happy with the system before, I think it's even easier to use now. Go ahead and make the change. You won't regret it.

With an Ecoboost engine? What is your driving time like? Do you have a lot of idling during your town driving and what kind of speeds are you driving on the highway? At my last fill-up I had 6,420 miles with a total fuel use of 254 gallons for a combined average MPG of 25.3. It would be better than this except for that 10% of the miles that my wife drives it. You could say that she enjoys engaging that turbo when the light turns green The vast majority of my miles are coming from 76 miles per day of stop and go rush hour traffic on the highway. I really can't understand how you're getting that kind of poor mileage.

If you want to self install a set of factory side rails the holes you need are either already exposed once you remove the black plastic strip in the gutter, or they are pre-drilled and filled with a soft sealant. You will see 'dimples' where those are. I did this myself in late November or early December and reported on it somewhere on this site. It was fairly easy and didn't take long. I used a small diameter drill bit to clear out the fill in the closed holes. It was like drilling into a block of cheese. I think that my biggest concern in the process was about dropping my ratchet on the roof and chipping the paint and so I draped the immediate work area. I also took the time to wax the gutters when I had them exposed. I ordered the Yakima railgrabbers and canoe brackets from Rack Attack last month. There pricing was the best that I could find and everything arrived quickly. I haven't installed them yet but was out in the garage sizing up the installation yesterday evening. I thought that the 48" cross bars might be too short so I went with the 58" which I plan to cut down a bit once I figure out my excess. I own a small pipe cutter so that will make a clean cut. I am waiting on the delivery of a composite canoe that only weighs about 26 pounds so I'm not worried about the weight. At the moment I'm figuring out my tie down options. The rear is problematic if you don't have a hitch as there is nothing solid to tie to. Once my canoe arrives I will complete the installation and provide a report with pictures.

My update arrived yesterday and I did the install this morning. I let it run for about ten minutes in the driveway and then just after the warning not to drive, I drove to work while it finished. No problems although I was a bit concerned about a couple of instances of 'black screeen' which was probably the system rebooting. My phone information wasn't there when it was all done, but my preset radio stations were. The phone connection took a couple of minutes to re-establish and I was done. I previously had the 2.11 system which I was quite happy with so I was a bit concerned about the update. However, in the few minutes that I played with it I noticed that the responsiveness of the screen was much better, and the layout of the display was much less cluttered. The few functions I really use just seem to be easier to locate with a quick glance. I liked the system before the update, and like it more now. In comparing it to my wifes 3 year old MB that has a large display screen and many of the same display functions (without the touch screen); the Ford system is much, much better, quicker, easier to use, and not nearly as frustrating. What I also appreciate is that the Ford just requires a software update and could update things again if they really wanted to. I could even envision an aftermarket company coming up with new software packages for purchase. In the past with with automotive technology such as the MB I mentioned you bought what you bought and lived with it for the life of the car no matter how clunky or antiquated it got.

The EcoBoost Edge calls for 5W-30 rather than 5W-20. I see plenty of opportunity for an error, even by a Ford mechanic. This discussion thread had me a bit nervous as I just completed my first oil change and thought I might have made a mistake until I double checked.

Another update: Yesterday I reached 5,276 miles and my 15th fill-up. The mileage continues to be 90% daily commute in stop and go rush hour traffic. I have not yet taken a long highway trip. My combined MPG after all these miles is 25.5. The first five fill-ups provided an average of 24.4 MPG, the second five fill-ups yielded 26.3 MPG, and the last five averaged out to 25.8 MPG. The worst single tank was the first one at 22.5 and the best tank came in at 30 in early January. Observations: First, I think that the transmission shifting has become much smoother since I started driving the vehicle. It initially had an occassional 'thunk' sensation which has gone away. I think it's more due to transmission break-in than anything that I'm doing differently. Second, MPG is absolutely impacted by driving style. My wife is a proud lead foot driver who now seems to be delaying trips to the store so that she can use the Edge when I get home. I'll arrive at home with a nice 26 to 27 MPG rating on the dash meter and she returns it with a 22 MPG rating 5 to 10 miles later. That really messed with my MPG average from the last five fill-ups. I should note that my wife has a very well equipped diesel Mercedes with only 18,000 miles on the odometer. While she loves that car, it really is a compliment to Ford that she seems to prefer the Edge. The MFT screen and external plug in options are far more user friendly then what she has in her car.

With my Edge Ecoboost I've noticed that the best fuel efficiency comes when I'm driving between 55 and 60 MPH. The efficiency begins to drop noticeably when I climb up toward 70 and above. I am making the assumption that the top fuel efficiency numbers listed don't come from what most of us consider to be highway speeds, i.e. 70+ MPH. I'm approaching 5,000 miles on my vehicle and haven't had a chance to make a long interstate highway trip yet so that is still an unknown for me.

Aside from my own learning curve issues, after 10 weeks and 3,900 miles I can't report having a single problem with my 2012 Ecoboost Edge powertrain, body, hatch or the MFT system. My Motorola phone connects and works great, I have two thumb drives and an SD card with music all plugged in and they also work great. I have to admit that the system has a lot of functions that I don't care about so perhaps I haven't challenged it enough to cause any problems. Overall I'm quite happy and leery of any software updates. My average going to work MPG (congested city highway traffic with winter gas) has been a shade over 25 and is slowly improving so I'm pretty happy with that as well. If I really had to think of an issue then it would be that I don't like the under hood latch release, and I think the removable plastic change tray is worthless.

As of this evenings fill-up I have 3,263 miles on the odometer. I have calculated my fuel use at 25.2 MPG based on the fuel that I've put into the tank. My driving profile for this is 90% highway, rush hour traffic during my stop and go commute on winter gas. I've never had more than half an hour of straight, highway driving yet although that has shown an MPG of between 29 and 33 depending on the speed - going by the meter.

After two months and 2,836 miles on my Ecoboost I have not heard or felt a thing to tell me when the active shutters are engaged.

I was curious and filled up with premium several days ago. Based on the fuel economy guage I think that I was running 1 to 2 mpg lower than with regular at similiar speeds. I just refilled with regular and calculated an average of 24 MPG from the premium. This is what I have been getting with regular, under a worse driving profile. The tank of premium was run in lighter work traffic due to the holidays (less stop and go), and clearer weather with dry roads. The summary of my unscientific observation is that premium didn't provide me with any performance improvement, it provided lower MPG, and it cost more money. I'm sticking to regular.

I have the mats. I wasn't reading your post closely enough.

I've had the Husky mats for just over a month and have no complaints. They went in very easily with only a little bit of trimming required. I had Michigan salty road slush in mind when I made my purchase. They should do the job quite well. If you're able to move the drivers side mat attachments please post an update with a short description on how you did it.

In my opinion, the value of purchasing the "roof rack" comes from the side rails because they support a number of aftermarket (Yakima or Thule) specialized carrying racks. I didn't install my original cross bars and don't know if I ever will, but they came as part of the kit. If you hadn't purchased the roof rack, you would be looking at atttaching a complete aftermarket system to your roof. I haven't checked the pricing, but I suspect that a kit that attaches to your rails will be less expensive than a complete Yakina roof kit, and more secure. Since the Ford cross bars have specific attachment points for the screws, there shouldn't be any way to move them any further apart. Looking at the Thule website I can see that some aftermarket kits do utilize the cross bars. They just may not work for every need such as your situation.

This discussion should tell you what you need to know: http://www.fordedgeforum.com/index.php?/topic/5997-2011-rear-headrests/page__st__20 I personally found that just dropping the center arm rest gave me a sufficient improvement in visibility without pulling out the two side head restraints. I've made mine easy to remove but am keeping them in place for the rare chance that someone may end up siting in the back. There is a safety and liability concern that I have in mind in case I'm in an accident with a rare human passenger sitting back there. I like to drop the rear passenger side for carrying my sheepdogs (I have three) and temporarily pulling out that head restraint leaves more usable space in the rear foot area.

I would love to know my MPG at a sustained 55 MPH but unfortunately here in Michigan I'd be impeding traffic quite a bit, even in a 55 zone. I ignited a technical discussion about the use of premium fuel in the Ecoboost in an earlier thread. I think the technical experts were saying it wouldn't make a difference. Once I get a solid feel for regular, I'll try it anyway. I may wait until spring as the day to day driving conditions here change significantly due to snow and ice so it's hard to get a good feel for things.

I want to follow-up on this with my limited first hand experience. Yesterday I did my third complete fill-up at 1,266 miles. Since I've always measured my fuel economy by actual gallons vs. miles, I feel most comfortable with this method. However, the capless fueling system makes it extremely difficult as it does not allow me to have a good sense of how full I actually am. Therefore I could be all the way up the filler neck, half a gallon under, or a gallon under. In my first two fillups I've 'trickled' two gallons of gas into the tank after the nozzle wanted to shut off from the very lowest setting. Thus my old methadology may not be very accurate. In any case, here are my preliminary numbers: Odometer: 12 miles - Brand new and I just topped it off to ensure I was at a full starting point. Odometer: 392 miles, 16.9 gallons of regular with 380 miles driven for an average of about 22.5 MPG - note I was dealing with really bad stop and go due to rain and icing for a couple of days. Odometer: 805 miles, 16.65 gallons of regular with 413 miles driven for an average of about 24.8 MPG - my standard daily commute of stop and go traffic without the rain and icing making it worse (Note that 25 MPG is the official combined rating) Odometer: 1266 miles, 16.4 gallons of regular with 461 miles driven for an average of 28.11 MPG. I was doing a bit more highway driving along with my morning commute. The vehicle is rated at 21 city, 25 combined, and 30 highway so I think the official figures are looking pretty realistic. As additional factors, I'm using 'winter gas', but am obviously not using the air conditioner now although I am using the defroster a bit. It will be a while before I take an all highway trip to sort out that figure, but here is what I'm seeing from the display. If I'm driving in the upper 50's to 60 MPH my display is showing between 33 MPG and 34 MPG. It's just me, no load, and I'm purposefully trying to avoid rapid accelerations as I do note that it drops the average efficiency quickly. If I increase my speed to about 65 MPH for a while my display shows about 31 MPG. If I'm at 70 MPH, the display is showing about 29 to 30 MPG. If I understand the manual correctly, the most efficient speed should be at around 55 MPH with efficiency declining as you increase from there. That's what I'm seeing.

I was happy to use your advice to successfully remove my rear head restraints. One thing to point out for clarity is that the hex wrench needs to be pushed in the direction of the back of the vehicle, not straight in. Once you have the restraint out, you can pull out the plastic sleeve quite easily. Looking inside you can see the metal tab that is holding the restraint in place. If you place your tool behind that tab and apply a little leverage the part will come out. The metal tab itself is easily removed from the plastic if one chose to do that. That plastic part can then be reinserted back into the sleeve, the sleeve will fit back into the seat (tongue and groove alignment required), and then the restraint will go back into the seat. It can then be quickly removed like any other car I have ever owned. I can't imagine why Ford has that locking tab in there other than to keep people from removing the restraint. In the world of litigation too many things are made dummy proof. I personally have enough sense to keep the restraint in place because I sometimes have people back there. For legal reasons, I wouldn't want to have an accident with it missing . At the same time, there are times when I want the seat back down and that restraint is just in the way.

No sunroof. I used to love sun roofs but can't wait to close them now. I recently learned that I'm photosensitive due to a medication I've been taking for years to control acid reflux. I also bought this vehicle with the express purpose of carrying a canoe and my research had told me that the panoramic roof was not an option even if my wife pressed me for it.