DD 430

The driver's side front door on my '08 also has a noticeable 'offset'. It's especially noticeable when looking 'backwards' through the sideview mirror. I tried to adjust it myself and got the feeling that bolt had been either set with Loctite or was partially stripped to begin with. My adjustment didn't work. I brought it back to Ford. They tried with no success either. All-in-all I'd say that the fit and finish of the car is slightly below par. (With that being said I like the car very much.) My wife has an '07 Mazda CX-7. Everything 'lines up' on that car and closing the doors sounds like a bank vault - very tight and sound. The Mazda does a better job of assembly than does Ford although I can envision a higher probability of problems with the turbocharged 2.3L engine in the CX-7 than I can with the naturally aspirated 3.5L in the Edge.

I've got an '08 AWD. The radio shuts off quite often. I'd say once every other day. I've noticed something else as well: I've got an XM radio that is powered through the accessory port. The XM turns itself off as well with about the same frequency. (When I use the XM at home in the cradle it only turns off when I 'turn' it off.) The rest of the 'electrics' in the car seem to be fine.

My Edge suffers from the same problem. In my case it's a matter of poorly fitting front doors. In fact, while sitting in the driver's seat I can look into the mirrors on the doors and see that the black trim 'strip' at the bottom of the windows don't line up: they rear portion of both front doors protrude slightly. Normally the striker plate can be adjusted in order to 'pull' the doors back into alignment. I've tried it myself as has Ford with no luck. At this point I just live with it. As a side note: my wife has a Mazda CX-7. The build quality of the Mazda is much better than that of the Edge. For example, the doors on Mazda actually 'fit' the car. Additionally, the Mazda was fully coated with paint whereas the Edge has a couple of spots on the door jambs where there is a total absence of finish coat and the primer is very evident. I like the Edge but fit and finish is a problem.

I agree. Modern vehicles have styrofoam 'pads' built inside of the bumper covers. The foam can be compressed or otherwise damaged in a collision. A number of years ago my old Miata was rearended. I replaced the bumper cover myself. When I installed the part it was very apparent that the underlying foam was damaged as well. I replaced both parts.

I just had the battery replaced (warranty) in my '08 Edge last week. The car had about 21K miles. The battery showed 'green' in the indicator. I cleaned the terminals (which were pretty clean already). Then I pried off the cap and checked the cells with a hydrometer: the number 1 cell (front) was totally dead. The dealer replaced the battery after running a scan on the car.

I'm sure that fix will be covered under the warranty. My Edge doesn't have a sun roof but I have had other cars that did have them. On car in particular had a similar problem: If I parked the car on a hill with the rear-end sloping 'down' and it happened to rain, the area around the sun roof would fill with water. My first stop at a light or stop sign would be heralded with what sounded like a tidal wave. Next would come the water itself - it was always exciting! (Especially if I had a date with me.) The problem was blocked up drains which were located under the car. I blew a couple of bursts of compressed air into the drains and forced the 'crap' out of them - problem solved. Again, I'm sure that the dealer can fix the problem easily!

Chuck, That's good news about the part from Cowles. Too bad that the dealer in Butler was so clueless. I'm also surprised that the part was only $16.61 (also good news)! When the part 'popped' off on my car I had a Yakima Rocket Box on the car. I would estimate that the box and contents probably weighed in at about 85LBS. Obviously, since the car was being driven at highway speeds, there was additional force on the system as well. My two kayaks have also caused the covers to loosen as well. In fact, the Yakima cross bars themselves seem to have deformed the system a bit even when they're unloaded. It'll be interesting to see how the Thule works out for you. Keep us posted. Mark

Folks, Those numbers came from the "WORKSHOP MANUAL 2008 EDGE, MKX - VOUME 1" Pages 501-08-3, 501-08-4. If you 'hit' "Ctrl" "+" or "-" you can enlarge or reduce the photo size. All the best, Mark

It looks like an interesting system. It'd be nice to see one that is actually installed on a vehicle or at least some actual photos on an installation. By the way what was the price of the cover that fell off?

Chuck, The part numbers for the rear covers are: PN's 551A92-3, 551A92-4. I can't remember which is the RH and LH but I suspect the -3 is LH. Mark

Actually, the covers are a symptom of the problem. The portion of the rack that is thru-bolted on to the car is made out of plastic. This is the 'bearing' point and the deflection in the mount causes the cover to come off. So it's the mounting part (I can't find a part number in my service manual) that's the real problem.

Chuck, The missing cover is also a PITA to replace, too. And, yes, the Perrycraft look like the racks that came standard on all of my other cars. Mark

The front covers are essentially the same as those used on the rear. It's really too bad that Ford chose to use the materials that they used for the system - cast aluminum would have been the way to go, a bit more expensive but it would be much sturdier. The racks at Perrycraft look like the way to go. They appear to be screwed to the flat portion of the roof much like on the old Astrovan. I guess that, first, the stock rack has to be removed and, second, the black vinyl seam filler strip has to be replaced and then the Perrycraft units can be mounted. Ford could have done better on this portion of the car. But, so far, it's the only gripe that I have. Actually, though, they may end up with a legal liability issue with this one if anyone is hurt due a failure.

I use a hitch rack as well for bikes but, from time-to-time, I'll put them on the roof, too. The reason that I use this type of roof rack is that I'm a bit of a nut with regards to using a tower because they tend to screw up the paint. And, yes, the rack howls like my ex-wife if I don't use the fairing. I think that Perry Craft (www.perrycraft.com) make a replacement rack for the Edge that will hold (I think) 185LBS. I haven't seen an installation drawing for the part but I may check it out. The stock rack, I fear, is going to cause some real problems.