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Hi Tom. :D You can try warm soapy water first. If that does not work, I use Meguiar's Vinyl and Rubber Cleaner/Protectant for the interior of my car. Essentially, any good vinyl/plastic and rubber cleaner made for automotive interior use will work. Just apply it to a clean cloth and follow the product directions. If you look in the maintenance and care section of your Owners Manual, they address cleaning the interior and exterior of your car. Ford also sells an interior vinyl cleaner. Good luck. :beerchug:

Hi solas. :D I use Meguiar's Gold Class line of wax. I just try to be very careful around the rubber and plastic parts. If I get any wax on the rubber parts, I use Meguiar's Vinyl and Rubber Cleaner/Protectant to remove it. If I get any wax on the hard or textured plastic parts (license plate frame, bottom part of side view mirrors etc.), I use Meguiar's Quik Detailer and a soft bristled tooth brush to remove it. Works great. For the glass I use ArmorAll Auto Glass Cleaner. That glass cleaner works so well (no streaks) that my wife now uses it for all of the mirrors in the house Of course there are many other fine brands available, I just happen to like Meguiar's. Good luck. :beerchug:

Hi miran587. :D I am not sure where you live? If it is as hot where you are as it is here, you must be driving around with your A/C on, or the system set to "AUTO" ("AUTO" is the same as having the AC set to on). Is that the case? If you are, and the majority of your driving is heavy stop and go traffic combined with very short trips, you very well could be getting that kind of mileage. Try to give us some more information. In addition, to double check the accuracy of the Information Center, try figuring out your gas mileage the old fashioned way for the next few fill-ups. Divide the number of gallons needed to fill the tank into the number of miles driven since the last fill up. That is always the most accurate way. Good luck. :beerchug:

Hi Chad. :D Just to try and explain. We understand that you can not drive all around PA looking at door jambs. Unfortunately, there is no way to tell build dates (dd/mm/yy/ or mm/yy) from a VIN alone. Only the model year is encoded in the VIN. ViperPilot (on Blue Oval news) only uses the VIN to access the Vehicle Tracking System computer database. Then he can access the build date, order date, delivery date, purchase date, etc, etc and all other vehicle information. The VIN itself does not contain the build date. The information is simply linked to the VIN in Ford's Vehicle Tracking System Look at it in this respect. Take your Social Security #. It does not have your height, weight, and eye color contained in the numbers. But if you give your SS# to your Doctors office, they may have all of that information linked to it in their system. The VIN is the same case. Ford has all of the information contained in its system, linked to the VIN. The VIN merely identifies which vehicle is being accessed. Unfortunately, there is no way to publicly access that Ford Vehicle Tracking System, and it is certainly too time consuming for ViperPilot to be doing it simply for research purposes, as he explained. We are sympathetic to what you are trying to accomplish. Unfortunately, it is not possible to access that information from the outside. Hope this makes things a little clearer from this side. Good luck. :beerchug:

Hi kapfarm. :D No significant "performance upgrades" (i.e engine, trans, suspension etc.). There are quite few convenience items that were added, SYNC being a big one. If money is not really an issue in the purchase, I would always recommend purchasing new. Yes, I know there is the subject of the depreciation hit on the new vehicle, I just personally do not like the idea of buying a vehicle that someone may have unloaded after one year due to problems (buying someone else's mistake). Yes, I agree that many people have very good luck with used vehicles. It is just my preference to buy new. Whatever you decide to do, good luck. :beerchug:

Hi nolanative. :D For what it is worth, here is my advice: If you do not have body shop that you know and trust, ask around. Ask friends, family and co-workers if they have body shop they would recommend. Ask your Dealer for a recommendation, if they do not have a collision shop of their own (not all Dealers do). Try to find at least two recommended shops. Once you do, get an Estimate from each shop (and your Dealer, if they have one). Take a look around at the shops while you are there. See how they keep the place, is it neat and clean, or dirty and unkempt. Ak them to show you an example or two of their current work. They should have at least a car or two to be picked up by customers. See how the work looks and the paint matches. Ask them to explain to you what will be done, if you choose them to do the work. Then pick the one that you feel most comfortable with. What you need done is a simple job, if done correctly. Good luck. :beerchug:

Hi Lowell. :D Both akirby and richv are correct (if a bit refreshingly blunt ). The glass area should be cleaned just as the windows would be cleaned (not waxed or polished). And if your Detailer does not know what to do, you should find a new Detailer. That being said: The painted portions of the roof should be cleaned and waxed just like the rest of the car. Any plastic or rubber trim should be cleaned and treated with a vinyl and rubber protectant. The glass should only be cleaned with the same glass cleaner you would use on your windshield. How to care for the various surfaces of your vehicle (interior and exterior) is actually addressed in the Owners Manual. You can also find good car care and detailing information on these sites: LINK: Meguiar's Car Care LINK: Mother's Car Care LINK: Paint Care and Detailing LINK: Autopia Car Care Good luck. :beerchug:

Hi akirby. :D I noticed you quoted my previous post. I was also stating that the build date is not encoded in the VIN. Did you think I was saying otherwise? Maybe my answer was worded in a confusing manner, but yes I agree, and was trying to make the point that only the model years, and not the build date are encoded into the VIN. He can go to a Dealer Service Department with a VIN and have the VIN run through the system for a build date (they will likely try to charge a fee), but he wants to try and run VINS from Dealer Inventory at home. I agree, no can do. Finding build dates will have to be done the old fashioned way: Go to the Dealer and look at the plate on the door jamb. The only reason I added the "There may be one, but I have never seen it" part was to avoid the inevitable post by someone saying "Well, my cousins, girlfriends, half sisters, next-door neighbor was able to find a VIN decoder online and get my build date". We already agreed. :party: Good luck. :beerchug:

Hi Chad. :D You probably knew this, but just in case: A vehicles build date (month and year) is listed on the sticker/plate located on the vehicles driver side door jamb. EDIT-Just saw this was already stated above. I do not know of a "VIN decoder" which will give you a month/day of build, only the year. There may be one, but I have never seen it. Good luck. :beerchug:

Hi nolanative. :D Unless it was a silver pole and that is silver paint transferred from it, it looks as though it is scraped down to the sheet metal. If that is correct, then unfortunately a body shop is the only real answer. It is actually possible to see areas where just the clearcoat was scraped off, and the other areas where the color coat is scraped off down to the sheet metal. If it was not a new car, you could try to touch it up and live with it, but not a nice new car. It would not really be possible to touch that up and get satisfactory results (well, not if you are the least bit picky like me). Sorry. Good luck. :beerchug:

Hi trackeryak. :D Both pieces are replaceable, but vary in price and difficulty. The painted piece can be popped off and replaced with a new one (you would need to purchase a replacement and have it painted). If you are talking about the black textured piece, I believe you will need to replace the entire mirror housing. More expensive to do. I would recommend trying to find the piece you need at a Salvage Yard. Good luck. :beerchug: PS - I replied above at the same time you were posting the pictures. You need to replace the mirror housing.

Hi Andry. :D Yes, you should be using 87 Octane, and "Regular" gas is usually 87 Octane, except in some high altitude areas where it is sometimes 86 Octane. In those high altitude areas, you should then use the mid-grade. Choose your gasoline grade by the "numbers on the button" (87), not the price. Do not use a fuel that is rated less than 87 Octane, and if the gas station you stop at does not have 87 Octane, use the next higher grade (not lower). There are areas with exceptions, but Octane grades normally run Regular 87, Mid-grade 89 or 91, and Premium 91 or 93. Again, the Engine Management Systems for the Edge/MKX are programmed solely for 87 Octane. There is absolutely no benefit to running anything higher, and it can actually be detrimental. You can download a PDF file of your Owners Manual here: LINK: Owners Manuals Click on this link. Then hover your cursor over the "Maintenance" tab. Then click on "Owners Manuals". Fill in the drop down boxes with the proper information, then download your Owners Manual. There is also a link there to order a new one from the company that prints them, or you can order a new one from your Dealer. You really should have one. Concerning the use of Overdrive on the highway. You should leave the transmission in Overdrive on the highway. Running your vehicle at highway speeds for long periods of time with Overdrive turned off will damage your transmission, stress your engine, and lower your fuel mileage. And in all reality, until you read and completely understand your Owners Manual, you should leave it in Overdrive all of the time. Good luck. :beerchug: PS - And according to what you drove previously, it very well might have mattered what Octane you should have been using.

Hi Andry. :D If you read your Owners Manual, you will see that the Edge is built to run on 87 Octane gasoline. Using an Octane level any higher than that is wasted money, and can even adversely affect how your Edge runs. The engine management computer (PCM) in the Edge is not programmed to take advantage of higher Octane gasolines. So using 89, 91, 93 Octane gasolines is just throwing your money out the tailpipe. Good luck. :beerchug:

Hi nolanative. Sorry to hear about your misfortune. For starters. to give you any sort of reliable answer, we would need to know: How deep are the scratches? Are they just surface scratches (i.e not all the way through the clearcoat)? Are they all the way through the clearcoat? Are they all the way through the color coat? How many scratches are there? How long are they? How wide are they, etc. etc.? There is absolutely no way for us to answer that question without more information an/or some pictures, so we can see how much/what types of damage there is. Posting some decent quality pictures would help. Or just go to a body shop and ask their opinion. You may want to see how much of the damage you can Polish/Compound out on your own first, if you know how to do it properly (or have friend who can help). Once you have done that, then you can decide if you need further correction. Good luck. :beerchug:

Hi azedge. :D That has not been a common problem for those with stock bulbs. Did you replace the stock bulbs with aftermarket bulbs? If those are aftermarket replacements, put the stock bulbs back in immediately. If those are stock bulbs, you should immediately bring your car to the Dealer and have the problem corrected. Good luck. :beerchug:

Oooops. Sorry, sccidental double post.

Hi KCFlyer. :D This is normal and nothing to worry about. It just has to do with the angle of the gaskets, positioning of the drain holes, angle you happen to be parked at, etc etc. The door is just holding water until the angle is changed to allow it to drain. But if it will help you rest easier, bring it to the attention of your Dealers Service Department next time you have your car in. Good luck. :beerchug:

Hi plevesquehhh. :D Just a few quick questions: 1 - Are you driving with the HVAC system set to "AUTO" (or AC)? Having the HVAC system set to "AUTO" is the equivalent of driving around with the AC on all the time. Turn off the "AUTO" setting, and only use it, or the AC setting when absolutely necessary. It uses more fuel. 2 - Have you checked your tire pressure lately? Do you check it with a good quality pressure gauge? Do you know what PSI you keep your tires inflated to? If you can answer no to any of those three questions, you are not properly maintaining your tires, and will adversely affect your MPG's. Air is free, gas is not. These are just two things you can do to help increase your gas mileage. In addition, it can take up to 5,000 miles for these vehicles to fully break-in. Your fuel mileage will increase over time. As far as trading-in a week old vehicle. Well, any Dealer would be more than happy to accept your trade-in. They would be more than happy because they will rake you over the coals on their trade-in offer, and then they will make more money all over again when they sell you another new car. Unless the owner of the Dealership is your Father (and maybe even not then), you will lose more money by trading-in your Edge and buying a new car than you will ever make back gas savings. Of course it never hurts to ask. But it would certainly be an unusual occurrence (and bring your own calculator) :shades: . Good luck. :beerchug: EDIT - Curses, beaten by the lightning fast fingers of akirby again!

Hi VapourSlvr. :D The Dealer cost on a vehicle is not the "Invoice Price". There is a "Holdback" involved, which Ford pays to the Dealer after a vehicle is sold. A bit complicated to try an explain briefly, but the Dealer makes an appreciable amount more on a new car sale than just the amount they charge over "Invoice Price". In addition, you state that the MSRP "was $45 913, got if for $42,900". Does that $42,900 price already include any Cash Incentives you qualified for? Or are you taking the Special APR Rates instead? If you are taking the Cash Incentives, you should have been able to get a better price than $$42,900. If you are taking the Special APR Rates, the story changes. Good luck. :beerchug:

Hi Cn_Hogger. :D Same thing, so don't worry about it. When the Edge was first introduced, the 3 trim levels were SE, SEL and SEL Plus. The Limited trim level designation simply replaced the SEL Plus (I believe for the 2008 models). They probably will eventually update the database and it will be registered as a Limited. Good luck. :beerchug: EDIT - SHIZZY typed faster than me! :stats:

Hi VapourSlvr. :D Short answer: Yes. Longer answer: Will some people be able to get away with it anyway? Maybe. But, speaking in a strictly legal, contractually and technical manner, the use of these aftermarket tuners void your Warranty for engine related problems. In the real world, if you have engine trouble and the Dealer/Ford discover that you re-tuned your PCM, your Warranty claim would most likely/always be denied. The websites for these tuners will speak in vague legalese, roundabout double talk and try to quote the "Magnuson-Moss Act" as some sort of shield for users. However, when you read between the lines, you take your chances and no manufacturer will cover engine related trouble in a car which has had its PCM modified. If they do, it is only out of the goodness of their heart. Do you want to take that chance? The "Magnuson-Moss Act" does not protect you in this case. Of course, many of the sellers or owners of these re-tuners will tell you that all you need to do to erase evidence of the re-tune is re-install the stock tune and drive around for a week before you bring your car in for service. Unfortunately, they never explain how you will be able to re-install and drive around for a week if you have a catastrophic engine failure and cannot even start the car. Concerning the "do-it-yourselfer" part of your question: Most come with 3 aftermarket tunes installed on them. Some of these tuners allow you to adjust certain engine/transmission parameters manually. Good luck. :beerchug:

Hi 2008vaporlimited. :D No. Due to how dangerous that would be, and the liability problems that would result, that function is not allowed from the factory. I am not sure if anyone has successfully reprogrammed the unit to allow that function. Good luck. :beerchug:

Hi hoamdezinahs. :D Unfortunately, that system is not a true "CAI" (Cold Air Induction) System, nor anywhere near a "Ram Air" system. It just uses a conical open element filter at the end of a pipe, sitting at the top of the engine bay where the hottest air is. Or, to re-qoute your excerpt from above: "Open Filter And Air Box That Seals To Hood". The key words being "Open filter and air box". If you look at the picture of the filter and heat shield, and read the description carefully, it does not use the factory air intake. It simply sits at the top of the engine bay, with a small, partial heat shield around the conical air filter. The heat shield has a gasket that "seals" against the bottom of the hood, but it is still almost wide open to the engine bay on the other three sides. Therefore. it is simply pulling in hot air from the engine bay. Now, if you can run it down to the bottom of the engine bay, closer to the ground, it could truly be called a "Cold Air Induction System". Since heat rises, it would be pulling in cold air from down low. The problem with doing this using an unsealed system and open air filter is the danger of submerging the system in water if you should drive through water that is deeper than your filter is high. As you said, you have been modifying cars since the 60's, so you probably knew most of this, but I figure better safe than sorry. Good luck. :beerchug:

Hi bulldog. :D Two things. First, of course you get the worst mileage from startup through the first 5-10 miles. It is like that with all cars. Next, are you constantly resetting the MPG readout to find this out? If you are, you are getting an artificially low MPG readout. When you reset the MPG display, it resets to zero. So your reading has to work it's way up from zero to the actual true average reading. That zero reset will always make your MPG display lower than your actual MPG, unless you leave it alone for a longer time period. To try and explain in another manner: The MPG display is not an immediate readout type of display. It is a calculation which factors fuel use over the course of time. So again, when you hit reset it starts over at 0 MPG and has to work its way up from there. Thus, a falsely low reading in the short run. It needs longer periods of time to achieve and display an accurate fuel use calculation. I hope this is not too confusing. Good luck. :beerchug:

Hi Retired_97. :D I follow the Maintenance Schedule for "Normal Service", 7500 miles or 6 months (whichever comes first) for the 3.5 liter engine. I do not put a lot of miles on this car though, so I actually wind up changing every 6 months. Keep in mind, if you use your vehicle to tow or your driving qualifies as "Severe Duty", the recommended interval is 5,000 miles (see your Maintenance Booklet). There really is no reason to do it sooner. No manufacturer I can think of (off the top of my head) has had a 3,000 mile service interval in years. It is just a moneymaker for the Dealership. Even my 2001 Cougar has a 5,000 mile normal service recommendation. Of course, if you feel more comfortable changing it sooner, that is completely up to you. Be prepared for arguments on both sides of the coin, those who insist on changing sooner than the Manufacturer Recommendation, and those who insist on using full synthetic oil and going much further than the Manufacturer Recommendation. Kind of ironic when we think about it. Of course, while sooner than 7,500 miles will certainly not hurt, I would advise against extending past 7,500 miles, at least while you are still under Warranty. Once you are out of Warranty, you are free to do as you like. Again, my advice would be to follow the advice of the people who built the car. Whatever you decide to do, good luck. :beerchug: PS - Just as an FYI, the Factory fill in your vehicle is Motorcraft Semi-Synthetic oil (not full synthetic, not conventional).