klc317

I am finally getting the Infinity Kappa 690 component set to install in the front doors of our MKX tomorrow. I had originally ordered them in December of last year and was lured by a lower price I found than my usual online car audio store. Anyway, I didn't bother reading the reviews of this company (DealerCostCarAudio) and after 3 months, getting my bank and lawyer involved, and a bunch of runaround I finally got my money back. Just as an FYI, DO NOT EVER order from this company. I should have read the reviews but didn't. F rating on BBB with over 700 complaints and unresolved issues....what a mess! I ordered them from Crutchfield on Friday and they will be here tomorrow according to the UPS tracking number. Anyway, I will take pics of the install this weekend and will post them here. I believe a member (Kempie) did the exact same install in an MKX so it should be similar.

Definately Michelin Latitude Tours. IIRC they still offer the $70 rebate on 4 tires too. Got ours from TireRack to replace the horribly worn Continentals on our '07 MKX (only 30K miles) and saved a ton over any quoted local tire store price.

They're not bad little cars. Typical modern 4-cyl front wheel drive vehicle, nothing special. They are built on a Cobalt platform. They look better in dressed up form. The one they give me is a basic fleet ordered one. There is an FX2 model of the F150 availible in the 2010 models but I have yet to see one in person. They are very few pics floating around on the internet but they look REAL good. From what I can gather they are coming out in Canadian models first.

The only other ride we have currently is my work provided HHR. Not really any need for another vehicle right now since she drives the MKX and only works about 10 minutes from the house. They provide insurance on the HHR for her to drive it also and it's pretty much free gas so it gets plenty of use. KILLER job benefit! We generally drive the MKX on the weekends but if its snowy/rainy out and the MKX is clean this car gets used. I'm on my second HHR now and they get us a new one every 2 1/2 years or so: Until recently I had this '07 F150 FX2 and although I loved it, it never really got driven and was just an extra payment and insurance so I sold it. Only had 8K miles on it in about 2 years of ownership. My dad and neighbors all have trucks I can borrow when I need one: I am starting to realize that I'm getting bored without an extra vehicle to tinker with/modify so I have started looking for something else of my own to park in the garage. Been kind of eyeballing 2001-2003 F150 Lightnings for some reason...we'll see. Having only one vehicle and insurance payment for the both of us and being able to make extra house payments and other things is nice for awhile though!

Thought I'd throw in some videos of the neat stuff on these. Coming to the Edge too.... MyLincoln Touch system, awesome! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSsfkEdycAY

The 2010 has a new style optional 18" wheel and the previous "base model" 18" chrome-clad wheels were changed to a machined aluminum finish. Our 2007 is equipped with body color door handles instead of chrome. Not 100% sure if that was a change made over the years or just part of the Elite pkg. Those are the only 2 things I can think of that would be in addition to your list.

One of ours looks similar. I would like to find the plastic paint that is the exact same color and re-finish it if I could track it down.

They must have removed it while it was in the showroom and forgot about it. Congrats on the purchase! What options does it have and interior color?

Sounds like it is getting sun faded. Might want to look into getting a new one and keeping a fresh coat of protectant on it like Meguires Interior Detailer. I wouldn't use Armor All.

Didn't notice any stale smell in ours but the filter was pretty filthy and clogged with lots of dust, bug wings, leaf fragments, etc. I doubt if it had ever been changed when we picked ours up at 28K miles. If the filter were allowed to somehow get damp I can see how it could create a musty/stale smell. I plan to change it about every 6 months from now on after seeing how much stuff gets stuck in it and we all know that the Edge/MKX can use all the help it can get when it comes to airflow through the HVAC system.

Right. Nothing beats ongoing "hands on" preventative maintenence like treating your leather every few months (ever seen a 5 year old car that has never had the leather treated?) and keeping the car clean and applying regular wax coats.

3M makes a good adhesive remover that is clearcoat and paint safe. It comes in a red & white spray can or metal pour type can at any parts store. It works well for getting body "badges" or dealer installed badges off. The hair dryer and fishing line works well in combination with this stuff. Goo Gone works well too.

Yup, it doesn't feel right to do it but the hard "yank" does get the glovebox loose. Takes an elastic neck to look down and under to get it lined back up to "pop" it back in.

It's not a bad product. Ours has been flawless so far.

I would be interested in seeing how it works but I think I will stick with the drain plug method. No particular reason but you have to crawl underneath to change the oil filter anyway and it's not much more effort to drain the old oil from the bottom. If the oil plug does for some reason get stripped or rounded off a new one from the parts store is cheap. After un-mega-torquing the drain plug the dealer twisted on recently I had to pick up a new one after I nearly destroyed it trying to get it loose. On the other hand, I cant see any real disadvantages to using the siphon method, assuming you can reach the bottom of the oil pan with the tube. I hear people being worried about sludge and/or chunks of stuff left in the pan but if you change your oil regularly (like you are supposed to), have you ever noticed any chunks of stuff draining out of the drain plug hole? I sure haven't and if I did I would be really worried. Also, the oil filter is there to pick up any dirt or undesirables in your oil anyway and who doesn't put a new filter on when they change oil if you care about your car? I have considered buying a cheapo oil extractor for doing the oil changes on the lawnmower, generator, and maybe for swapping out power steering fluid in the vehicles though. If you are really picky I suppose a siphon tube could be used to stick into the drain plug hole after the oil is drained to get out any tiny bit that would be left. Overall, I feel much better and satisfied doing the job myself however it's done. Sure you might go through a few shop rags and get some dirty oil on your hands but thats the fun part.

If you are referring to the entire underneath including the whole exhaust system I use a diluted solution of water and Simple Green or similar cleaner in a small garden sprayer (the pressurized kind) several times a year on the entire undercarriage. While that is on there soaking you can use a long handled brush to scrub off any suspension or exhaust areas you want and then rinse it all out thoroughly. You'd be suprised how much brown/dirty gunk comes off and it really makes the underneath look clean again. As for the exhaust tips I simply use whatever wax I am using on the car at the time.

Sure would make it a pain to change oil though.

The boxes (2 of them, 3 if you want HD radio) are only about 1 1/2" thick and maybe 4x4" so you can put them almost anywhere. I mounted mine inside the center console/gearshift area kind of up under the dash. Theres plenty of empty room up under there and plenty of spots to mount things like this. They can't be seen and I routed the cables very neatly and hid everything. I am very picky about having things neat and properly installed and like you, don't want anything seen. As for the antenna...I was going to stick it (it is magnetic mount) centered right in front of the tailgate opening on the rear roof. Seemed like the closest thing to the stock location I could come up with. I found however that the antenna cable wasn't quite long enough to tuck all the antenna wire away under the trim around the passenger side of the interior as I wanted so I had to come up with a different idea. Since our MKX is not equipped with the factory THX sound system, there is simply a blank peice on the dash where the speaker grill for the center dash speaker would be. I simply tucked all the antenna wire away behind the radio area and mounted the antenna right underneath that plastic cover. Suprisingly, it picks up just fine there and nothing at all can be seen. I used this same solutuion with the NAV antenna for the Avic D3 I had in my F150 and it worked fine too. Just make sure to be careful with the satellite antenna wire. If you kink it tightly, scrape the outer casing/insulation or barely crush it in any way it is done for. I've ruined a few in the past. As for any additional advice pay close attention to any dipswitch settings and reset procedures as you do the install. It's different depending on if you are just hooking up the Ipod control or with the other add ons. My kit was missing a paper of instruction that explained this and everything didn't work quite right at first. After a quick Email to the company they set me on the right track and everything has been fine since.

I remember when my dad had a '95 Explorer that had a sqiuggly/distorted spot in the glass right in the middle of where you look down the road to drive. After a couple dealer trips they finally noticed it and replaced the windshield free of charge stating it was a safety issue.

Did get up to the mid 50s yesterday and all the snow has melted off so I got out the hose reel and washing stuff and did a hand wash. Rinsed all the salty crap out from underneath, cleaned out the engine compartment and door jambs. Threw on a fresh coat of Rain-X also. Might not stay this way for long but at least it will look good for a day or two. The Meguires NXT is holding up well since I last applied a coat in November. One complaint I do have about the MKX is how hard it is to get the grille clean. All those little squares take a massive amount of time to dry out and get clean. Maybe I'm too picky.

Very true. A pre-delivery dealer "cleaning" is much less than anything to be desired. When I picked up my brand new '07 F150 FX2 I think it was cleaner before they "cleaned" it and I had to properly wash it the same day I got it home. Our MKX was not much better either in fact quite dirty especially on the inside but then again it had only came in off trade the day before. They asked if they could have a day to clean it and I declined...lol...they looked at me like I was crazy. I just did it myself since I am much more picky, use only good products, and microfiber.

And Schwans trucks

[ Touchless washes are ok for knocking the surface dirt off, but do not clean well. Thats for sure! I have to live with the film until it's warm enough to do a hand wash. However, the touchless does at least give me some peice of mind of knowing that the crust and collected slop/salt from underneath is cleaned out on a regular basis.

Not sure. Our MKX has a slightly different speaker setup with the tweeters in the front door panel above where the 6x8s are so the A-pillar removal isn't necessary. I would imagine its a simple matter of working it off and pulling the clips loose but I'd ask someone else on here to be sure.

If only my garage was equipped with a floor drain....