riff raff

That's pretty exciting! Keep us posted. Those mods should definitely wake her up. Do you plan on doing anything with the exhaust?

Ok, I'm an idiot - my auto start settings weren't enabled (I figured that out before Droids1 posted that reminder, but I'm still an idiot) So, now my car starts with the climate on the last setting and the seat heaters are working. One thing threw me off - the seats are definitely warm, but the screen display doesn't show they are on. So, I don't know when they actually turn off, but they also don't stay on real long. But, having the seats warm and my climate control on is a big plus this winter.

Tuesday evening, I drove 280 miles home from NY, thru a snowstorm. The car (with new tires) did well, but when I the next day, I noticed that the undertray, beneath the drivers seat was hanging down and packed with snow/ice. I melted the snow/ice and found that I was missing six of the fasteners, with no other apparent damage. I guess snow started working it's way underneath and forced off the fasteners. Previous to this no fasteners were missing as I had just rotated the tires a week previous and been underneath. I had a hard time finding these fasteners. Three of my local dealers didn't have any in stock. A PA dealer near where I worked said he could have some the next day. These babies were $2.50 each. A 15/16" socket removes/installs them. (or corresponding metric).

I'll have to call my dealer and find out why the seat heaters don't turn on. Good to know on the mirrors. I definitely don't have a heated steering wheel, wish I did.

Motortrend had these stats 0-60 mph 2.0L T AWD - 7.2 sec 3.7L NA - 6.5 sec I suspect that the FWD 3.7L might be a tick faster. http://www.motortrend.com/cars/lincoln/mkz/2014/2014-lincoln-mkz-37-awd-first-test/

Good input droids! I suspected the twin-turbo would be a race horse! The auto setting has three (maybe 2) settings for blower and something else. So, no adaptive, but multi-level? Ah, I think that confirms why my seat heaters don't come on - I don't have the heated mirrors (or steering wheel). That wasn't a good move on Lincoln do disable to seats in the starting process. This AM, I found out what the "System" function does - uncheck it and the auto start doesn't work....and it is 4 degrees.........

I really liked the heated seats on feature that the '18 had, it's been close to zero every morning this week. My '14 has heated seats but NOT a heated steering wheel. Using the left toggle, I can see that "Auto Seat Heat" is enabled in my Settings>Vehicle. But the seat heaters never turn on. Perhaps the heated steering wheel is necessary for this to function? (manual doesn't say either way). This is also an option to turn on or off "System". It was toggled for "ON". I scoured the manual this evening, but find no reference to this function. Does anyone have a clue?

The new 3.0L is a twin-turbo with 400 HP, so I would expect it to be pretty quick, much more so than my NA 3.7L (I think mine was rated at 315 hp?)

My '14 3.7L was back at the dealer for another left axle seal this week (just the slightest drip). They gave me a 2018 2.0 AWD loaner and it was interesting to compare the two versions. This one had the 19" wheels, panoramic sunroof, Technology, Luxury and Magnetic (???) Package options. $10k worth of options, price was $51,200!, yikes! I drove it about 200 miles Motor - the 2.0 with AWD was slug compared to my 3.7L FWD, but quieter under acceleration. Fuel mileage was awful (18 avg when I got it). I was at 23 when I turned it in (I avg 26.5). 19" wheels - Road & Track was not kind to this wheel package, I noticed very little difference between them my 18" wheels. Interior - I prefer my touch only dash. The 18 console was way too busy. (i use the steering wheel controls 95% of the time anyway) - I did like the traditional buttons for the seat heat/ac vs my touch screen - the massage seats seemed like a gimmick - Display - I like my 4 part display better, but the color screen was nice. - I prefer my full "Split" cupholder opening and could see scratching the silver top on the left of the cups o the '18 - the extra power sockets in the undertray would be welcome (for my wife's phone on a long trip). I still used the interior 12V socket (in the cubby) for my phone. - the puddle lights were cool. - the adaptive climate control was a plus over mine Panoramic Sunroof - I lusted after this option (standard on my '14) but after seeing it in action, I'll stick to the standard roof. Like in my old Forester, the giant roof has no tilt option, which I use a lot. Headlights - the dealer window tag said it had adaptive headlights, but I didnt see that function and I thought my lights were a LOT brighter with a wider range - the auto high beam function was kind of cool Lane Alert/Adaptive Cruise control - this worked very well - the red collision alert was way too sensitive for heavy DC area traffic and scared the bejesus out of me on the first signal. Perhaps this can be altered, although I never found that function - the parking alert was handy, I still park too far away pulling into a spot. - I didn't get to test the parallel parking function Revel Sound System - I heard no advantage on this system vs my standard system. Auto Start - this system was a big improvement vs the '14. The heated seats are activated (it was in the single digits on the two mornings I started the car) and the car was just warmer than mine ever is on auto start.

The filter can't be changed without removing the undertray, so I would think that they drain from the bottom. (guessing they change the filter with the oil!)

That's pretty cool Chris, who knew Amazon had replacment items? I wish I had bought that Husky floor liner set vs the Weathertech set I have, the Husky has a lot move coverage over that hump just under the front of the seat cushion, that's constantly dirty in my car.

Ah, I didn't see the XM bump on his trunk lid and thought that was odd. Yep, the roof covering the AM/FM makes sense. I've seen a few on the highway and wondered the point of difference.

Thanks. I wonder what necessitates that? Is there a motor on the bottom of the trunk lid (where the antenna is on non-pano roofs)?

That white looks great. Be prepared to spend some tire money with those 19's... I'm on my 3rd set of tires at 85k. I noticed some MKZ's have the side antenna. Mine is on the trunk lid. Is that because of the upgraded stereo?

Thanks for that tip, I'll give it a shot if there are future problems. Perhaps it will save me $96... Oddly, it used to chime on closing, now it doesn't. But it works, so I'll be happy for that.

My trunk opening/closing has been erratic lately. It wouldn't close on the trunk button or remote, with increased frequency. In the past two weeks, in areas of NY with colder temps (low to mid 30's), the trunk wouldn't open at all (via bumper button, remote or interior release). I had it at the dealer in Friday, they "recalibrated" the trunk closer (reflash I assume). The car mostly sat over the weekend (temps too warm, we drove our MGB). I'll find out tomorrow AM and Tuesday, when I'll be back in upstate NY. I didn't see this issue from any members, at least through the search function.

Thanks for this info. The Michelin Primacy's that came on my '14 were toast at 35k. I put on a set of Kumho Ecsta's and these are now toast at 50k. We don't have many name brand choices in this size. I'll give the Pirelli's a shot.

You have an oil life monitor. At my last change, July 2017, at 70,000 miles, the oil life was at 2% at just under 10,000 miles on the oil.

Yep, that would be great to jack both wheels at the same time. An elegant solution, wow, pricey. I'll try my piece of Oak and see how that works. I installed welded sub-frame supports on my old Firebird Formula (t-top flexy body!). Those made the car stiff enough to jack on one point per side, but at the sacrifice of ride.

I changed the oil and rotated the tires on my '14 the other evening and once again cursed the lack of jack points for my garage jack. Previously, I'd used two small pieces of 2" thick wood pieces, which was a bit of a pain. My Uncle stopped by and saw the dilemma. I said we needed a cylinderical piece to attach to the jack arm, to replace the rubber pad that I used. He stopped by today with a turned piece of oak, with a rubber top. I have to test fit it, but it should fit up under the frame, in the recessed jacking points. I'll still need to jack at all four points. I can't get my jack up under the center of the front or rear because it is too low and the carpeted undertray covers all the jack points (even removed, I think the car is too low for my jack). Does anyone else have a different solution?

The auto trunk feature is the one thing that impresses my colleagues the most about the car. A kick open sure would be the icing on the cake.

is there any update for this problem? (fuse was a great suggestion)

Wow, that is strange. I'd try and disconnect the battery (pull the negative cable) for a few minutes and then reinstall, see if that resets the system. That failing, the latch must be way out of alignment, or something is obstructing the hinge movement, etc.

Also, good info on the AllData, I didn't know about this service.

Awesome Drolds1. Do those photos posted apply to all motors? Yep, as a feared on the coolant fill. It appears that type of fill has become the new norm. I suspect if not filled that way, you won't be able to bleed all the air out of the system, which could be a big problem. There should be a port on top of the engine somewhere for filling. I'll have to pull my cover The tranny fill seems simple enough. When I get back under my car in the next few weeks, I'll investigate and take some pictures. (I'll be at 50k)