Nomos

Thanks, I'll check that out tomorrow. I never top this car off, but that doesn't mean it couldn't have a problem from something else.

My 2010 SEL (FWD) has 6100 miles on it. I have taken it on a few trips throughout the state, and I've noticed a disturbing smell of gasoline at random times on the highways, generally over 75 mph. I've always attributed it to a nearby vehicle, as it occurs at random and goes away after a few minutes. My wife had the Edge this weekend for a 240 mile round trip, and she noticed the smell on both legs of the trip, again at random intervals. She also thought it was a vehicle near her the first time she noticed it, but that vehicle exited the interstate several miles before the smell went away (there weren't any other cars around.) Has anyone else noticed this smell or does anyone know what may cause it? I really don't want to take it to the dealer because it will not show up except at random, and all service managers want the problem to be replicated in front of them or they won't lift a finger.

If I were you, I'd call the dealer your employer used and ask them what it would cost to get that option installed. then call a salvage yard and see if you can find an Edge with automatic A/C and get the dash controls and stuff from them. Probably cheaper that way, but it's much cheaper than either to just suck it up and enjoy what someone else is paying for you to use.

They wouldn't even have to use gas struts. F150s from the 90s (all i know about) use a coiled spring. I don't know why they don't do that.

I have a '10 Edge with only manual lift gate. I'm 6'1" and my wife is 5'2"...neither one of us has ever had a bit of trouble closing it. there are two handles in the underside of the liftgate that aid her in closing it, and since they're too low for me to use comfortably, I just grab the outside like I would to open it. I don't see how a power feature could be any easier than this thing already is. The pneumatic dampers raise it all the way up if you just start to open it, and both of us can close it one-handed (loaded down with groceries in the other hand usually). Since it only takes one hand to open or close, I don't see much benefit to a power system that still takes at least one hand to operate (you could probably get the key fob button while still having a full load, but I don't see much other way to use it.) I guess it would be nice to press the button in the cabin, then walk around to an open door and close it from inside the house once you drop your burden, but that's not that big of a deal to me. Were I in my 50's instead of late 20's, I might disagree with myself here though.

Just wanted to post some info on this bike carrier I picked up yesterday. I only wanted something to carry my bike across town a few times a year, so a Yakima or something over $200 wasn't really interesting to me. I found this on the shelves at the local cut-rate tool store, and decided to give it a try since it's only $30. I have a class 3 hitch (2" tube) so the adapter it includes was needed. The fit wasn't very good at first, as it rocked around in the socket really bad. It was just a piece of plastic that screwed onto the 1.25" draw bar. I went back up to Harbor Freight, where I found a 2" drawbarthat has a 1.25" socket on the front for $10. I took that home and gave it a try. Results: the whole assembly moved around way too freely in the receiver hitch. So, I drilled 2 holes in the top and 1 in the side of the $10 adapter I bought. Then I tapped the holes and put in some set screws to adjust the sway of the bike carrier. This kept the smaller assembly from swaying, but the fit into my receiver tube just wasn't that great. I've seen some posts on here about people getting a bead welded onto the drawbars to improve the fit. Rather than go to that trouble, I found some toilet leveling shims in the garage and tapped those under the bike carrier in the receiver tube. These modifications made the carrier much more sturdy and reduced the side-to-side swaying of the bike carrier. (note: don't use the plastic shims for anything heavy; the up and down motion of your trailer tongue would probably shear through them) As far as the system actually carrying bikes, it does a pretty good job. The hitch can't be used for anything else, but if I have to tow my camper and bikes, I can just stick the bike carrier on the pop-up's bumper hitch with no trouble. I used a couple of bungee cords to pull the bike down against the mast of the rack, so I might tap some more holes in the upright and put a ring to strap it to more effectively. The mast has a quick release pin that will allow it to fold down for rear-hatch access, which is nice. The brace for the angle has a nice place to anchor a lock to so no one makes off with my bike. Overall, I'm satisfied with the $40 investment and 20 minutes of drilling/tapping set screw holes. I wouldn't recommend this if you carry your bike often or through rough terrain, but it's pretty good for light use. If anyone is interested, I'll post pics of the way I have it set up.

The really fine steel wool scared me at first. But it didn't leave a mark even through a magnifying glass.

Couldn't you just use Windex on the chrome plastic?

If it's not something obvious like something loose in your glove box, they might have just left a wire harness or something loose enough to rattle with highway vibration.

The chrome clads? Mine came with a cover on them to protect the chrome during transit. The service dept. took the film off, but it left a really bad residue after I washed it the first time. I tried Goo-Gone and Oops, nothing worked. So I took it over to the service guys, and they got it off with very fine steel wool. Just polished it right off, didn't scratch or damage the plastic chrome. If that's a similar situation, you can try that. If not, I'd take it in and have it looked at.

I've put velcro on the bottom of a tool bag in my old truck, and it shredded the carpet. How does the Edge's carpet hold up to the velcro removal?

Ebay uses proxy bids. You tell it how high you're willing to bid, and if someone places a bid higher than your previous but lower than your proxy, ebay will automatically place a bid for you until your highest point. Lots of people will let a bid sit until right before it ends, then "snipe" it for a lower price. They'll assume you've set a proxy and it is currently as high as you're willing to go. They'll outbid you by $5 and not give you enough time to change yours. I hate the practice, especially on listings where there are several identical items...everyone snipes on one, then the losers all snipe on the next one rather than each bidding on a separate unit. Sometimes I think people have 2nd accounts set up to run their bids up higher. How would ebay know if you just decided to relist the item and never complete a transaction?

Unfortunately, you can't take the cladding off the wheels. And, not only do they look like plastic, they feel like it too. I can't convince my wife to buy new wheels, and I'm kicking myself for not taking the dealer up on his offer to switch them out for a different wheel on the lot that fit...the MKX have an 18" wheel that looks just like the Edge painted-silver 17" that I would have gotten. I don't really dig 20" wheels for the replacement tire cost, so 18's would have been as much as I wanted. Maybe the dealer will make a similar offer if you ask. As far as your incline goes, test drive one up that incline and you'll see that the Edge has plenty of transmission to deal with that, and you can force a downshift the same as you would to pass if you need to.

In mountains? Not a chance I'd be willing to take. You'll burn your transmission up having to stay in first the entire time, then you'll burn your brakes up getting pushed down the mountain by a trailer heavier than your car (even with trailer brakes, that's a LOT of inertia.) The engine itself could tow 6 or 7k (probably more) with a proper transmission and chassis...of which the Edge has neither. Imagine this...you just made it up an incline at 25 kmph, since that's all you'll be able to do in first, then started down the decline on the other side. The brakes on the trailer go out...and you can't stop. Your vehicle and trailer, combined weight of 9,000 lbs with family and gear...goes plummeting off the side of a mountain. Warning labels and safety instructions aren't there to be ignored. They're there so that the manufacturer doesn't get sued for the failure of the consumer to follow them. For safety's sake...if you absolutely have to tow the trailer, go rent a pickup truck that is actually intended to pull things rather than using a +$30k CUV with the added bonus of a small towing capacity. Your family's survival is well worth the extra $200 or $300. Alternately, you might make friends with a neighbor who owns a pickup and work out a week-long trade.