17MKZ3.0TT

I can verify the battery is bad, as it cannot be charged above 12.9V, but so far I haven't gotten any messages. I'm going to the dealer to replace it and make sure it gets properly pro-rated, just haven't had time lately.

I run with 18" aftermarket & snows in Winter and the OEM 19" the rest of the time, so that I can get bashed 2x on FB. Seriously, I couldn't post that on a FB site because I'm barely a week into a 30 day FB Jail term. A snowflake made 4 BS posts in a row on a thread, and I corrected him in a kind & loving manner with hardly a mention of his suspected IQ and parent's marital status and % of human DNA. That's called bullying if you are a conservative, or bravery if a liberal. Cool thing about FB Jail, food & sex is the same, and I can come & go as I please.

I'm starting to wonder if the Motorcraft batteries are less than stellar. On my 2017 3.0T, I had the battery fail (shorted plate, according to the 3 hr. test) under warranty around 16~17 months ago. My booster box wouldn't get it going but my old reliable Sear charger/starter set to stun for 30 seconds let it crank and the charging system brought the system voltage above the 13v point right away so I made an appointment & drove it to the dealer right away and got a ride back home. Replaced under warranty and all was fine until my "report card" after the dealership oil change said, (rpl. battery immediately). I pointed out how new it was as and accepted the car as is. Short story, I've put the battery on a 4A max charger/maintainer with an automatic high-freq. mode 3 times, and it's calling "fully charged" at 12.9V instead of the usual 13.3~13.4v I get with my other cars & a spare deep cycle RV one. Going to let them rpl. it with whatever battery pro-rated warranty it still has (car out of warranty now) and eat the labor, I guess. Like 6 of the 7 Dwarfs, I am not Happy.

Running Chrome on my laptop. Other than the usual giant banner ad at the top of the page & slightly smaller one at the bottom, really nothing in the way of ads. Just FYI.

Great info, thanks. I'm sure it will help those who were using it and wish to continue! MKZ / MKZ Hybrid 2015-2017 Hermosillo July 28, 2014 through September 5, 2017 should let folks know if their MKZ is affected, and their mfg date should be in the upper left corner of the drivers;s side doorframe sticker, near the VIN.

Nice, thanks for the report.

How is the noise level? The four Blizzak's I put on for Winter-only driving are pretty noisy at slow speed in a sharp to medium turn, but I wouldn't dream of giving them up.

Like bbf said, maybe the dealer? A scheduled dealer stop might be just the minimum shop charge. I'd call your regular dealer and ask the service writer if it sounds like something they would be willing to put on their equipment while you waited if you had an appointment. If you have been a regular and hopefully they have a full crew in the back, you may be surprised. Seriously, I have my favorite Service Writer at the local Ford dealer (no Lincoln place near by) and I don't even stop in for an oil change without around $30 of fresh, bakery donuts for him to spread the wealth "in back" (he knows to never forget the parts guys & cashier). Bribery? Hell no, I just want to be known as the donut guy when I need help, not the retired prick who comes in all grumpy because his !#$%^& car/truck needs something. My superhero costume is, "Politeness Man"

I can kind of see both points, but I've already accepted my next car won't be another Lincoln because Lincoln doesn't want to make cars anymore. It makes it less stinging to let go, and I've never used the app anyway since I'm content with the on-board info and a little green light on the fob to tell me my out-of-sightline car started remotely. I spent good money for my full-size 9-passenger van that allows me the luxury of a nimble 400HP panoramic roof sedan when I don't have cargo or lots of friends when I volunteer to being the designated driver. Regaining an app in the future wouldn't make up for losing a sedan.

agreed, and try and make the comparison to a front wheel drive vehicle of similar weight. Sidewall flex is always an intangible short of an actual test usage.

I think you pretty much summed it up. Tread depth is a primary factor, as well as tire width, but I am not going to worry about the width as I'm retired and no longer have anyone depending on me getting anywhere day or night. Back then, I also had a 4x4 truck, mostly for ground clearance. Now I have a 1 ton chassis 350 Econoline with serious/aggressive tread Michelin truck tires. Great ground clearance, but I miss my 4x4. Anyway, the 4 Blizzaks & aftermarket wheels I have on the Z for winter work really well, makes it a different car. Cas always, drive like there's an egg between foot & accelerator in bad traction situations. It ain't Baha ?

I'm across the pond to the west and , yeah, seems high around you, but I'm maybe in between your mkt and MO. A lot depends on various local economies, also, right now. Maybe money was tighter where you bought.

I got one of those little Old Spice air freshener thingies for mine, I must be getting old ?

What am I missing here, doesn't seem outrageous for a well-equipped 2019, under warranty.

I would gently mention to take the savings over a "Brand X" vehicle and invest it to pay for future repairs, as nothing complicated or feature-packed will ever be inexpensive to repair.

I agree, OEM for the engine, since it matters, and pretty much anything for the cabin, since you are only risking yourself and passengers. (I'M KIDDING!!!)

Mechanic (brake shop) told me that's how he understood it, also. A used one from a same type MKZ already knows it's a trunk module, and they don't need to match a VIN like an ECU, etc. does.

Thanks. The more I think about it, my '63 LeSabre wagon had a 401 and it was a loaner '62 or '64 sedan with a 355. I just remember it was a year off from the '63. They put in a 410 from a Wildcat that had been hit from behind. Garage promised no damage to the engine as the bell & trans casings were intact and we were keeping my transmission anyway. They had the tranny from the Wildcat sold and I got a good price for the swap giving them the (401?)410 and not being in a hurry. It was Summer and I had a motorcycle and rain suit.

Good luck, I never could keep track of all the different engines. I pulled the rod-busted 355 from my '63 LeSabre and replaced it with a 410 Wildcat. Folks still tell me neither engine existed. I don't bother telling them about the 2-speed auto trans.

I think it was around 15 years ago when I swore I'd never buy another black car-they start to look filthy on the way home from the car wash ? I waited around 4-5 months for the local dealers to get an unsold metallic gray one in, since nobody wanted to talk price (and this was BEFORE covid) IMHO. I quietly put the word out everywhere for around 100 miles that I'd pay a $500 "finder's fee" for the right car, new or used, up to 10k miles. I just had to get used to a dirty car in winter, again.

BTW, that's the color I wanted, but I finally gave up when a dealer an hour away had a black one with the 3.0T and Pano roof. Had 19" wheels that I'd have traded straight up for your color gray ?

Personally, I've used the K&N in some motorcycles after head work and rejetting, needed a little more airflow to get the full advantage. No way I'll be doing anything but OEM for the air filters-car has plenty of power for it's intended purpose and the real key to top power is avoiding low octane gas if top hp & mileage is the goal. IMHO, the ~400HP we already have is about all the OEM suspension can really handle if ya get adventurous in zig zag'n.

I call all of my cars, "the car" and my window van or PU, "the truck". Safer that way, you never call a vehicle by another's name. They hate that and may refuse to start.

Update. Put 11.3k miles on the 2 Vredestein front tires, just took them and the last 2 OEM Mich. XMX4 ones to change over to the winter wheels & Blizzaks. FWIW, the Vreds look virtually new, and at 35k miles, the OEM are close enough to the wear bars that I'm just going to wait and order two more Vreds in the Spring to be mounted prior to the snows coming off. Loved the Vreds, handled great in wet or dry but unlike the OEM Mich, didn't wear out like pencil erasers. The 2 Vreds went on to replace the 2 worst OEMs, and now the other two are done. Car is set up perfect-wear was even on all four tires, running the door sticker 38psi cold. Just clarifying, the car has 35k miles on it, as do two of the OEM tires. The other two OEM were near enough the tread bars at 20k miles that they would have been useless in any bit of snow and not lasted the winter, anyway. That was last Fall, so I made the call to do Blizzaks all around, on their own wheels. I like changing mounted sets of tires on my vehicles, as it gives me a chance to give each corner of the car a good look for fluid leaks and general wear, road hazard damage, etc. That said, I don't want to fire up the furnace in the garage and do that inside compared to a warm driveway session on a sunny Fall day.

AWD is awesome even with OEM type tires, within their limits. Obviously with the relatively wide tires they'll float over packable snow rather than bite down on it, so you have to balance the euphoria of zooming in a straight line with the need to stop and go around corners. For last Winter I took the plunge and bought 4 aftermarket wheels pre-loaded with Blizzak winter tires. Noisy, but wish I'd done it years ago. I went with 18" wheels (car has the OEM optional Michelin MXM4 19" rimsaver build) to get the same circumference with more sidewall, and just a hair narrower to help them bite down a little more vs float. YMMV