James McGill

I live in a climate where temperatures are going to easily reach 122°F (50°C) and drive two V6 Fords, a 2011 Edge SEL and a 2004 Ranger (With "Edge" trim!!). The advice I'd like to hear is a list of things to check in an aggressive cooling system preventative maint. I had a couple of overheating scares last year. Original fan failed, Motorcraft replacement fan failed a week later, Taiwan fan works. Radiator housing exploded. Replaced with Motorcraft radiator. Now when I drive I monitor with OBD2. On 95-100° days it drives at 195° and gets above 215° idling. I don't have any baseline data but I assume that's high. It does cool effectively when underway, so I'm not really worried much about coolant flow. What keeps me awake at night is the notorious H2O pump in my 3.5L. One of the things I want to consider is to pre-emptively renew the timing chain and VCT, and I would appreciate advice and details on that, and opinions on whether it's a good idea. It's a $2000+ job, but it's a $7000+ catastrophic failure. In any case it hasn't really let me down yet, but I'm in Phoenix and Summer is Coming.

Today I installed a Sync3 APIM and screen in my 2011 SEL. If anyone is on the fence, I highly recommend it.

I installed a (2018 Explorer, I think) Sync3 APIM and screen. Much, much better than Sync2. Next phase will be a JL Fix86, amp speakers and sub. Who has fit a 6.5" door speaker in a first gen Edge?

There's one user in the FEWW group who used a Metra kit which retains the 4.3 inch touch screen. My posts there about the possibility of replacing an 8 inch non-Sony touchscreen didn't yield any promising responses. I'm scared. (edit 5/7/2018) The Crutchfield support folks told me that the Metra 99-5848CH kit won't work either, and that there's no solution. Now that I understand the reason nobody has installed an aftermarket radio in a 2011 Edge with the 8 inch non-Sony touchscreen is because it can't be done, I am going to sell the car. I'm devastated by this news.

I apologize for not being clear in my problem statement. For the sake of argument, let's say we have that high-end Kenwood, or your average Kenwood or Pioneer or Alpine head unit. FWIW I have a Pioneer AVX-2300NEX ready to go. The issue is sticking it in this dash: Hopefully the solution is a a combination of the Scosche dash kit I posted earlier and iDatalink Maestro.

Consumer car stereo stuff is easily available, no need to go grey market for a Pioneer AVIC*NEX head unit or iDatalink stuff. There's so many options at that end of things that I'm spoiled for choice. I should have been clearer in my rant. My question is really only this: Does the Scosche FD6205B dash kit work in a 2011 SEL with the 8 inch non-Sony touch screen? If nobody knows, I'm about to find out and I'll certainly post about my install. What I was hoping for is a reason to have confidence that it will work, from anyone who has ever used this dash kit. I hate the feeling of being alone in uncharted territory. One thing I've learned from this experience is that I will never again own a vehicle that doesn't simply have a 2-DIN owner-upgradeable radio that's fully decoupled from all other vehicle systems. If that means I'll never own another car made after 2005 or so, I'm ok with that

I think I should have been clearer in my message. The radio itself is the least of it. The issue is that the AC/heat/seat-heater controls have to be relocated in order to make a hole for a DIN/Double-DIN head unit. Using the factory head unit isn't an option, it's failed on me six times, usually comes back on after a day or two, and the last time was two weeks ago. I am not replacing that with another factory radio -- I won't keep the car if that turns out to be my only option. I have an iDatalink RR and the harness, a nice Pioneer head unit, some good speakers, and AVLIS-CO camera, and now I'm just waiting for the Scosche 6205B dash kit (which appears to have been shipped by horse-drawn wagon). The only thing that's really giving me much anxiety is that Scoshe dash kit. This thing: https://www.cnet.com/products/scosche-fd6205b-car-stereo-installation-kit/ Unless I find someone (anyone, anywhere) who has used that in a 2011, not the one with the 4.2 inch screen and not the Sony system, I'm going to have anxiety over this. There are other dash kits that are supposed to leave the 4.2 inch dash kit in place. That confused me until I realized that not every Edge from my year has an 8 inch screen. The other thing that's giving me anxiety is that I think I might now have to choose between the iDatalink and whatever the Scoshe does for wiring. I'm desperate enough to do something about this car, that I've bought all these parts without knowing for certain that they will work. Plenty of people used a Metra dash kit but only with that 4.2 inch screen, whatever that is. I'm pretty sure I'm dealing with the dreaded APIM failure and a previous owner who didn't replace it: https://ford.oemdtc.com/1745/12m02-warranty-extension-covering-accessory-protocol-interface-module-apim-software-and-hardware-2011-2014-ford-lincoln Anyway I don't care about Sync or MFT or the APIM or anything related to taht, but I do care about HVAC+Seat heater controls and this Scoshe kit seems to be my only hope.

OK, almost a year later and I haven't driven the car out to the desert and walked away and I haven't driven it off a cliff. Before I pursue either of those solutions, I'm going to try this: Scosche FD6205B Dash Kit. These are discontinued, but I've got one on the way. iDatalink Maestro RR Pioneer AVIC-2300NEX (Selected for compatability with iDatalink, the particulars of the head unit are the least of the problems here) Disappointing that I can't find a report of anyone in the world successfully upgrading a 2011 Edge with an aftermarket radio. One success report would go a long way toward boosting my confidence. Note to anyone who is also considering this. There isn't enough space behind the factory MFT screen for a Double-DIN unit in the upper section. That means that modifying the bezel and sticking a radio in there isn't an option. You have to relocate the HVAC controls, which either means a radical DIY hack or using a Scosche (halfway decent, but long discontinued) or Metra (flimsy and ugly but widely available) dash kit. There are plenty of Mustang owners claiming to be happy with Scosche dash kits, and that reputation is the only thing giving me a shred of confidence about this. I'm also not sure that there's actually enough depth at the bottom (where the factory HVAC controls are) for a DIN stereo. It would be absolutely thrilling to me if anyone could say they replaced the Ford MFT screen with anything else, and/or used one of these dash kits, and/or used an iDatalink Maestro on a 2011 Edge. Anybody? In any case, wish me luck.

I love the car, but I absolutely hate the MFT touchscreen. I want to rip it out and replace it with something aftermarket. The problem is, I feel that I will be the first person to ever try this, and also, that there will be at least one important function that won't work (climate control, seat heater switch, door security code update, what else?) I'm frustrated enough by the (failing) touchscreen and poor sound system that I honestly regret having the car.

Apparently, nobody. I'm ready to drive this car off a cliff instead of trying to fix the stupid radio.

I'm encouraged by the idea of an aftermarket touchscreen system. http://maestro.idatalink.com/ Has anyone ever done this to liberate an Edge from MFT?

Laughing at that "cold weather" TSB -- it's happening on a 2011 Edge SEL that's never left Phoenix.

It's not that I don't like them, it's that they are coming up on 90K miles and I'm going to replace them. It costs the same to overhaul a front end with performance parts as it does to use stock. Even sticking with stock, are the OE suspension parts the same on base models as "Sport" models?

I had a different problem, the radiator/condensor fan stopped working. I had my local mechanic change it while he checked over the car in general. Fan or circuit on the fan assy was dead, and apparently this is a pretty common issue on a lot of different cars that use that part. Decided it was worth paying his markup for the part and the 5 minute job in exchange for a pretty thorough inspection. I'm going to have to plan to do all the usual 90K mile stuff and he knows that when I do suspension work I'm going to want whatever passes for performance parts. Would welcome feedback on what performance parts might be -- better than stock struts and maybe sway bars for example?

Thanks for the reply. On the color - the minute I saw it in the lot, I almost turned around and left. My wife said the word "Teal" in a tone of voice that made me queasy. To be honest, it's still reverberating in my head... {teal...teal...teal...}... But the interior is luxe. I can't find any meaningful wear and tear. The driver's seat has the expected "broken in" feeling but it's still very nice. I did buy the Ford ESP (or the version of it sold at Lincoln dealers) 36K miles. I didn't mention it because it makes me feel like a chump - I don't really believe in warranties. I think of it, quite literally, as "tipping the dealer." If it ever has value, I'll let you know. I also bought the dealer's finish warranty. This car doesn't have so much as a parking lot door ding, so I figure I'll let them keep detailing and waxing the thing -- I mostly bought that plan to make the finance guy shut up about it. Reading in the forum, the only thing that jumps out at me is the common problem with the door-ajar sensor in the locking mechanism. It has me worried that I'll run into the same problem, but at least I'm forewarned. I have similar worries about being the 2nd owner on any touchscreen device. On that long road trip I mentioned with the rental, I know I was cussing at the MFT system, but I also learned every possible workaround so I really know that generation of MFT/Sync inside and out as a result. It's a LONG drive from Winnemucca Nevada to the Oregon coast, and I had a LOT of time to deal with that thing. Once I got this one with a touchscreen that actually works, I felt like I knew every feature.

I just bought a Mediterranean Blue 2011 SEL with 81,250 miles. It's by far the freshest vehicle I've ever owned, but required a leap of faith for me -- 81K miles is a breathtaking number in my world. Carfax shows a North Phoenix highway commuter who took it to the dealership every 5000 miles right up to the day they traded it in, I believe for a Lincoln (ended up at a Lincoln dealership in any case). I happened to drive a 2011 Edge rental, pretty much the exact same car, on a trip from Las Vegas to Portland Oregon. I loved and hated the car, mostly because I was stuck with a defective touchscreen (thanks, Avis) so I couldn't adjust certain things. Anyway, fast forward to 2017, and I found this 2011 SEL in apparently fine condition for a decent price, and it's certainly been fun and very comfortable during the five hours I've driven it so far. My other car is a 2004 "Edge" Ranger.