edge1217

Thanks, WWWPerfA_ZNOW. You absolutely read my mind about cleaning those MF towels and the buffing pads. That was going to be my next question. How do I do that? I used a magic marker to label the backs of each pad so I knew what was embedded in it, figuring I could clean them as best I could and then dedicate each pad to a specific chemical. Right now I have each one sealed in its own Ziplock bag until I can figure out how to clean them. And you're right about re-using the Iron X bottle, not cool at all. Buying empty bottles was one part of the pre-planning process that I forgot to do, and the empty Iron X bottle was all I had. Did my best to clean it with hot water and Dawn and then swab the inside with a wadded up Cheapo Depot MF towel and reapeat the process, but who knows? Hopefully when I go to the garage my Mineral Gray Edge won't be a Mineral Purple Edge.... A few pics to follow, if I can figure out how to upload them!

Joe, I ordered the same cloths based on your suggestion. These really work! The trick is to have them only slightly damp so they don't deposit tiny drops of water. Have to try it on the SS appliance and glass cooktop next! Thanks for putting me onto this!

It was 80 degrees and sunny in Southern CT today. All that remained of our 30” February blizzard was a patch of dirty black snow about a foot high along the side of my driveway. The crocuses were popping up. I had the day off. I was fresh out of excuses. It was go-time. Nerves were running high. I’d never done this before. But my Edge was a disgrace and my image was on the line. Something had to be done. Keep in mind that all throughout my incredibly long life I have never done anything other than wash and hand-wax a car. I did both of those things once a year, whether it was needed or not. I never heard of claying, and I thought a DA was some kind of haircut from the '50s. The concept of putting a vibrating power machine against the finish of my months-old Edge was, well, inconceivable. But that was in my past, and I've moved beyond. Today I did it. The Bottom Line: WOW!!! Fantastic results! I have never owned a car so clean and shiny, and I swear it actually looks better than the day I drove it off the lot. The finish looks and FEELS like glass. This was so easy, and in a strangely curious way, it was actually fun! The Rewind: Some of you may have seen a thread from a couple of weeks ago where I asked if it was ok to wax over a 6-month old Auto Armored car. I mean, two weeks ago I was thinking Liquid Turtle Wax, guys. But Richy, Edgieguy, Joehio and others responded with a lot of helpful suggestions and encouragement about doing it right. I learned the answers to important, time-honored questions like “Doh, what’s a Clay Bar?” and “Dude, won’t a DA polisher grind right down to bare metal?” I had gone public with my stupid questions and it was too late to pull back and risk further ridicule from my country, and perhaps the entire civilized world. So being backed into a corner, I bought a ton of stuff, including the dreaded DA Polisher, and decided it was time to put my new-found “knowledge” to work. Two weeks ago I knew absolutely nothing about machine polishing and waxing. Today I know next to nothing about the subject. That, my friends, is amazing progress. The Method: I decided to use a method that Edgieguy documented very nicely on this thread http://www.fordedgeforum.com/topic/11359-getting-the-sport-ready-for-winter/ His description was very detailed and very clear, and he was a noobie too when he first gave it a shot so I figured maybe it wasn’t too bad for me to try copying. This was an approach that Richy had helped him with, and it looked totally intimidating and intriguing at the same time. For equipment, I used a brand new 6” Griot’s Garage DA Polisher, with a 5” Lake Country Backing Plate and 5.5” Buff and Shine Pads (Green and Blue). For chemicals I used the same as Edgieguy -- Iron X, Meguiar’s Clay/Quick Detail (as a lubricant), Duragloss 501 and 105 Cleaner/Polishes mixed 4:1 with Duragloss 601 Bonding Agent, and Collinite 845 Insulating Wax. I used an assortment of products from Corey at Car-Pro US -- some of those blue hand applicators, the amazingly soft and thirsty blue MF drying towel, a couple of MF wash mitts, and some of those miracle streakless glass cleaning sheets. BTW, Corey sent me a confirmation on Easter Sunday that my order had shipped. Say Hallelujah, where else do you get service like that??? I also used a few Cobra MF towels for wiping the polish and wax residue, and the Cobra Guzzler drying towel (but I much preferred Corey’s blue drying towel!). I won’t go into the process details because Edgieguy has already done that (see the link above) and I followed his procedure as closely as possible. But I do have some exceptions and observations that might be of interest to anyone else who is thinking about taking the plunge. Ten Confessions & Observations From A Virgin Machine Detailer (well, you know what I mean….) I used an entire bottle of Iron X on my Edge but saw very little iron dissolve. I sprayed it on in the shade, spread it with a foam applicator, let it dwell 5 minutes, agitated it with a foam applicator, rinsed it off thoroughly, and wiped it dry with a MF towel. My Edge is Mineral Gray which is a fairly light color, so I would think I’d see the purple streaks pretty easily. I saw a few streaks, mostly on the back liftgate, and also on the centuries-old license plate that had been transferred from my previous car. The biggest and quickest-forming purple spot I saw was on the floor of my garage where the Iron X had dripped. My Edge was just 6 months old with less than 6k miles of suburban driving, so I guess it hadn’t picked up much iron. Will definitely try Iron X on my other car when I do that. Probably not necessary for new-ish cars that have been lightly driven though. Like Edgieguy, I was amazed at how fast, easy, and effective the clay bar treatment was. The sides and rear of my car, even though it was only 6 months old, looked really clean after a good washing, but they were so rough to the touch that I could actually HEAR my hand run over the surface. Claying turned the entire car smooth as glass, with no detrimental effects to the clear coat, which was one of my noobie fears. At Richy’s suggestion, I did order a Polyshave Decon block and Ultra lubricant from Corey. I used it first on the glass to break it in per the instructions, but I didn’t know if I was using it right and it’s impossible to see the dirt that’s being removed because of the black surface. I called an audible at the line of scrimmage and opted for the clay treatment instead to use on the painted surfaces until I had a better idea how to more confidently use the Poly Shave Decon block. I can’t tell you how petrified I was at first to put that 1.3 million RPM machine against my beloved Edge. I got over my fear in the first 10 seconds. To my surprise, it didn’t grind down to bare metal. No primer showed through, and it didn’t even cloud the clearcoat finish. So Richy was right after all.... My fear of the machine quickly turned into respect, and respect quickly turned into enjoyment, all before I had completed my first panel. Looking deep into that shiny finish, I could see a strangely demented grin looking back at me. Why didn’t I buy a DA years ago? What a time-saver and what a nice, even application! And wow, my arm wasn’t even sore from all that rubbing! In less than a minute I became an amateur with the confidence of a pro – normally a deadly combination but fortunately not a problem here. Now for a confession.... I was so concerned about using a DA that I actually MASKED the chrome and vinyl/plastic parts with blue painter’s tape (it’s OK to laugh, the shame will make me stronger somehow). I was concerned about the DA grinding 60-grit polish into my chrome and dulling it, and I was also concerned about “burning” the plastic parts from a three-thousand degree hot buffing pad. Idiot…. By the time I finished my second panel, I wished that I hadn’t masked all that stuff. I don’t think my clever little extra precaution was at all necessary. Next time I won’t bother, and then I’ll be entitled to laugh at the next Noobie who says he masked his trim. Idiot.... Due to my lack of experience, I erred on the conservative side in terms of my DA power settings. I applied the 501/601 solution with a setting of 3, which is probably a little slow for the initial polishing. I did the 105/601 and the Collinite 845 applications on a setting of 2, which was probably also a little slow. Will take it up a notch or two the next time (especially since that will be my wife’s car). I knew that the addition of 601 Bonding Agent to the 501/105 polishes would not remain stable for too long, so I didn’t want to mix up too much. I knew that I needed to mix it with 501 (and then again with 105) at a 4:1 Polish:Bonding ratio, but I wasn’t sure how much solution to make up. Turns out I guessed right on the money, but I got there in a bizarre way. I rinsed out the dead Iron X bottle REALLY well (what's up with that smell???) and then I squirted 1/2" worth of 601 liquid into the old Iron X bottle, then brought it up to the 2.5” mark with 501 Polish. Why 1/2" and 2 1/2", and why use a ruler instead of a liquid measuring device? I dunno, it just felt right. Plus if my wife caught me using her kitchen measuring cup for Duragloss Bonding Agents and Polishes I’d be grounded or worse for sure. This measuring method produced just a tiny bit more solution than I needed for the entire car, applying in thin but even layers. The same process for measuring the 105/601 solution produced just enough of that mix for the whole car too. I measured later and it looks like this translated to about 1 ounce of 601 BA to 4 ounces of either 501 or 105 polish. I screwed a squirt top cap from one of the DG products onto the old Iron X bottle, shook the mixture really well, and used that system for squirting solution onto the buffer pads. I had been forewarned that the Collinte 845 Insulator Wax was very viscous, so I set the bottle in the direct sunlight on the driveway to warm it up while I applied the other products. That helped but it was still thick, so I set it in hot water for a few minutes and it turned into a very free-flowing liquid. I still shook it really well, but it didn’t take much effort. Very thin, squirted really well onto my favorite t-shirt (my only "whoops" of the day). For the most part, I applied all the polish and wax products by squirting four nickel-sized dabs directly to the buffer pad once the pad was primed, just like you see on all those YouTube videos. Why nickel-sized and not penny-sized is beyond me. I decided to follow tradition and use nickel-size dabs because just like Canada, the US will soon be phasing out the penny so I wanted to set up a highly scientific procedure with an eye toward the future. I figure this probably explains the nickel thing on YouTube, because I know a lot of Canadians post there and pennies are already irrelevant to them. I used one of Corey’s blue hand applicators for the area and contours where the buffer pads couldn’t reach, using a new pad each time I changed to another type of wax or polish. Those areas I buffed out with a MF towel. I figured that it's probably much easier doing it this way rather than taking off all the door handles and parking lights just so I could use the 6" machine all around the entire car. Like Edgieguy, I used a green 5.5” B&S pad for the 501/601 apoplication, a blue B&S pad for the 105/601, and another new blue B&S pad for the Collinite. Richy had suggested that I could use the white pads, which I think are slightly more aggressive. Now that I know how gentle the DA polisher is, I think I’ll try the white pads the next time. The B&S pads seemed really nice, but being a noobie what do I know? I was expecting them to fly off like Frisbees at 1.3 million RPMs but surprisingly that didn't happen. Any pad that passes the industry standards for non-Frisbeeing is pretty good in my book, so I'll probably keep buying these BS pads. And that's no BS. BTW, there was very little dirt coming up on the buffer pads, so I think the clay did a great job. The clay bars were moderately dirty (I used two bars but probably could have just used one, but I was being very careful about keeping the clay kneaded and clean). I learned an important lesson that I had learned once before but chose to ignore -- do not do the glass until the very last step. I had washed the car yesterday and was looking for something else to do before I did the buffing today, so I did the glass even though I knew it was supposed to be that last step. That was dumb. I had to clean the polish and wax off the glass…. So there you have it, a virtual Top 10 List For Noobies! I hope this helps to get other noobies over their fear of machine polishing and waxing. Two weeks ago, I was basically asking if it was ok to apply Liquid Turtle Wax over my Auto Armor finish. Now I I’m a seasoned pro with pretty much one entire car already under my belt and another one coming up. I can’t believe how nicely this turned out – no scratches or swirls, and no bare metal showing through. With its "miracle molecule" ultra-slick finish, my Edge's top speed is now 7 mph faster, it can slip undetected through some of the most sophisticated radar traps in Southern CT, and best of all, bird crap slides right off like butter on greased Teflon. Amazing. I’ll try posting a couple of pics tomorrow. Thanks again to all who provided advice and encouragement (and for getting me to part with $500 in cool toys and supplies!).

All my cars have done this, but the Edge is by far the worse. If I open the driver's window a couple of inches it equalizes the pressure and stops the madness.

Sounds like you're in for a fun summer, Edgieguy! Hey, do you remember the name of that cleaner cloth that Richy put you onto? This morning I drove directly into the sun and what I thought was a nice clean windshield was full of hazy streaks. I can never seem to get a windshield clean! And Richy, I'll post some pics for everyone to show my work in progress and the end results!

Congrats on the MKX! I have a Limited AWD with 18" wheels. I had taken the more commonly seen 20" wheels out for a test drive and felt the ride was too harsh (even though I generally prefer a firm ride) and the steering seemed to take more effort than normal on tight low-speed turns. A few people suggested that it might be the 20's that were causing this, so I test drove an Edge with 18" wheels and the ride was much better and that sealed the deal for me on the Edge. Just for the heck of it on the same day I took out the 18's I immediately drove a 20" Edge over the same route and I was convinced in the back to back test drives that the difference was real. Others have said the same here on this forum. I may not be the coolest kid on the block with 18's, but I'm very happy with the ride. I saw your question about the dye transfer with the Light Stone interior. I also have Light Stone, the first non-black interior I've had in quite some time. I was horrified one morning a few days after we took delivery when I noticed that my passenger's seat had dark blue stains on it (my wife had been wearing a brand new pair of jeans). I bought some Meguiar's Gold Class Rich Leather Cleaner/Conditioner Wipes and one wipe took the stain off very easily (the wipe turned blue!). I haven't noticed any other dye transfer since then, so I think this was just an exception. No problem, it came right off though. Enjoy!

You're slowly killing me, Richy.... :stop: But I'm glad you found Iron X. I ordered this and the PolyShave Decon Block, plus the Ultra lubricant for the block. The block looks interesting, seems like a big improvement over clay if it really works as well as they say.Hope to get started next weekend and will take some pics and let you know how it goes. Thanks again!

Hey Edgieguy, to be honest when I saw your first post the only beading that I could see was the beads of sweat dripping from my forehead! I thought that was WAY beyond my capability and wondered if it was really necessary. I figured that since you're in northern Jersey and I'm in lower CT it would just be a whole lost easier to bribe you with a few beers and have you come up to my place and "show" me how to do it! But your description was very detailed and clear, and I just kept reading it over and over again and looking up the products until I got a pretty good sense of the concept. I'm pretty confident now and can't wait to get started, and I'm looking forward to seeing those beads on my hood instead of on my forehead! Thanks again for your incredibly detailed description. It was really helpful and I hope others are encouraged to try it too!

Richy, today I ordered everything I need to get started on this project. I looked at the Rupes machines and while they look beautiful, they had price tags that were a little too steep and I didn't feel I was worthy of such a nice machine given my complete noobie status. I went with the Griot's new generation machine instead and got a Lake Country 5" backing plate and a good assortment of B&S pads. Since I'm using a slightly smaller BP than the Griot's machine is designed for, do I need to use any special counterweights or take any other precautions? I also got all the cleaners, polishes, waxes, etc. that you and Edgieguy recommended. All except Iron X spray, that is. Couldn't find it in-stock anywhere, even on the manufacturer's website. Maybe they're phasing it out or are about to transition to a new & improved version? I think I'll try the process on my wife's car first. I could use that practice to build my confidence and experience before tackling the Edge. BTW, today I did a very thorough wash on the Edge and was absolutely amazed at how rough the surface was even AFTER the wash. The front end and hood weren't bad, but from just behind the front wheels, all the way along the sides below the belt line, and the entire back of the car was a whole other story. It was so rough I could actually HEAR my fingers running over the surface, and it FELT like 100-grit sandpaper. This car has only been on the road 6 months and it's been driven only very lightly around town, garaged whenever it's not on the road, and it's been carefully washed by hand many times since I've owned it (my garage has a warm water mixing valve for winter use). The car LOOKS great after today's wash job, but I was amazed at all the unseen crap that's embedded in the surface. I'm wondering if it's from the magnesium chloride solution they put down on the roads in the winter, I've heard that's nasty stuff. Anyway, I'm just glad that I'm on the right track to doing a proper reconditioning before too much time goes by. Thanks again to you, Edgieguy, Joehio, and WWWPerfA_ZNOW for all your help. I'm going to join L2D and study up before I get started. Will see you over there!

Thanks to everyone for your very helpful replies. OK, I think I'm going to take the plunge and do it the right way. Edgieguy's detailed writeup was incredibly helpful, and Richy was also very clear and encouraging. The level of support here on the forum is just amazing, and really appreciated! I've pulled together a shopping list and think I know pretty much what I need. First, I'm gonna get a new DA. I was torn between the Griot's 6" and the PC 7424XP, but after reading reviews I think I'm leaning more toward the PC 7424XP based on noise and reliability. Is there a compelling reason to get the Griot's instead of the PC? Whichever one I buy, I think I need to get a 5" backing plate and I'm looking at Lake Country for that. Then I'm thinking I'll use the Buff and Shine brand 5.5" pads. Does this configuration make sense? Now for the pads, Richy is suggesting the white pads, which from what I can tell are intended for heavy polishing, whatever that means. Edgieguy used the blue and green pads, which from what I can tell are slightly less aggressive than the white ones. Is there much of a difference between these choices, or am I splitting hairs here? I'm pretty clear about the various cleaners, polishes, and waxes I need to get based on Edgieguy's incredible write-up. Richy, I'll definitely take you up on your offer to join the Live2detail forum. I took a really quick look and it's pretty amazing. To a noobie it's like drinking out of a fire hose, but that's a good thing! Thanks again to everyone for your help. Looking forward to the day when I can stop asking dumb questions and actually get started!

Edgieguy and Richy, you guys are scaring me.... This sounds like a pretty involved process but the results are certainly fantastic after seeing Edgieguy's pics of the water beading up, and Richy your website shows some pretty amazing results. This is all new to me so I hope you don't mind a few more dumb questions. First, I see that Edgieguy mixed the 501/601 products in a 4:1 ratio. I saw a few places online that referenced a different procedure, where you put on the 601 bonding agent on first, let it dry to a haze, don't wipe it, and then apply the 501 cleaning polish (or 105) over that and then buff. Is "combo" procedure you guys use an improvement over what I saw on the other websites? Sure seems a little easier, and I figure maybe the bond is better when the two products are mixed directly? The second question is that Edgieguy says he then applied a 105/601 combo. Would this be in the same 4:1 ratio that was used with the 501/601 combo? Also, with the Iron-X, how bad would it be if I accidentally got some of that on my chrome grille, belt trim, or badges? I can mask those off as best I can but there's still a risk of some getting on the chrome surfaces. I have those chrome plastic-clad 18" wheels -- I assume I need to be very careful about not getting any on those, right? Finally, Edgieguy used a machine buffer but I'd be afraid of buffing all the way down to the driveway as soon as I hit the on button. Kind of scares me to use a machine on a 6 month old 2013 Edge with no real experience. So can I get the same results by applying and buffing by hand, and how much tougher of a job would that be? Thanks!

Wow, you guys definitely have me sold on Collinite 845! Thanks very much for your advice. I'm not really very savvy when it comes to proper detailing. I see that it's not a cleaning wax, so do I need to do any special cleaning other than a really good wash prior to applying the Collinite? I've seen a few references to using a clay bar treatment first, or even applying other waxes or products as a base. I'm willing to put in the effort, just want to do it right. Thanks again, this Collinite looks like great stuff!

Guys, This may sound dumb, but is it ok to apply wax over the AutoArmor on my 6 month old 2013 Edge? The AutoArmor surfaces seemed really slick when I first picked up the car but after a few weeks they started feeling like the "before" surface on the showroom half-hood demo so I doubt it's really doing much in the way of paint protection. Having paid for AutoArmor on a previous car and being skeptical after the experience, I wouldn't have ordered it on the Edge. But the day I went in to finalize the deal after 2 rounds of price-negotiations, 3-4 weeks of driving the salesman crazy, and 3 different test drives, the dealer "threw it in" to get me to sign (which I was already planning to do anyway). My main interested in AutoArmor when he offered it was the 7-year interior stain, rip, & tear protection. Paint ptotection, not so much.... So..... I'm assuming it's ok to wax over the AutoArmor but just wanted to check to make sure I don't have to use any special kind of wax or do any special prep steps oher than a really good cleaning. I have a full bottle of the AutoArmor Paint Protection Cleaner/Renew -- is that worth using? Looks like it contains water, mineral spirits, petroleum distillates, and Stoddard solvent. Supposedly it's safe for Clear Coat. If it's ok to wax, can someone recommend a high quality wax to use? Many thanks in advance! Bob

Yep, Soundscreen is the sound-deadening glass. I swear it's a softer glass but maybe not. By 3000 miles I had a fair number of tiny scratches from the arc of the wipers. Nothing big or annoying but it does seem a bit early to have that start happening. And that was before any winter driving with sanded roads. I applied some Rain-X, thinking the polymers might help shed some of the grit before the wipers grind it in. Seems to have helped a bit, the scratches don't seem to have gotten any worse. Good luck with your Edge!

Is973800: If you're looking for comments about bugs with the new upgrade I'll pass this along in case you find it interesting.... I did my own installation (with Nav and the A4 SD card) a week or so ago and was giving myself high 5's over a job well done. I hadn't seen this post so I didn't do the master reset before or after, and it wasn't mentioned in any of the instructions that I'd seen on the Ford website. My installation seemed to go fine, but after reading this thread I'm re-thinking a little quirk that I noticed that's similar to what blockisle9 mentioned above. After the 3.5.1 upgrade when I used the voice command to change the temperature, the system confirmed the command but didn't change the temp. This only happened once and I only requested a 1 degree change, so I chalked it off to something I must have done wrong. Then another time I used the voice command to change a Sirius station and the command was confirmed but the station didn't change. Yesterday when I started the car the screen blacked out on me and wouldn't respond to touch or voice commands so I had no radio or nav. I started to freak, but a couple of minutes later a message appeared saying something like "normal system maintenance is being performed" and a minute or two later the system powered back up with no further issues. It's funny because the same thing happened immediately prior to performing the 3.5.1 upgrade. I had just started the car to get ready to do the upgrade, and it black-screened BEFORE I had inserted the USB drive to start the upgrade sequence (so it occurred under the old software version). That was the first time I'd ever noticed the system maintenence message and black screen, and it's only happened twice now that I'm aware of (once under 3.2.2 and once under 3.5.1). I'm wondering if a master reset might help?

I'm pretty sure the difference in quietness has more to do with the Limited's sound deadening properties in comparison to the SEL. The SoundScreen glass is intended to cut down on noise that's transmitted through the glass, which is apparently a major source of noise entering the cabin. I know the Limited has it, not sure about the SEL. As far as the 20's vs 18's, that was a big issue for me when I was shopping the Edge. I thought the initial test drive on a Limited with 20's was pretty harsh, and while I like a firm ride, it was enough of a deal breaker at the time that I took the Edge off my list and went to check out other makes. The other makes that I drove also had 20's and they all seemed stiff. I started thinking that maybe it was the 20's that were causing the harsh ride, so I went back to the Ford dealer and did a side by side test of an Edge Limited with 20's and another Limited with 18's, back to back on the same afternoon. Both my wife and I thought there was a huge difference, with the 18's giving a much smoother ride, and we had a whole different impression of the Edge so we went with the less "cool" 18's. Handling seemed a little better with the 18's too, seemed like less steering wheel effort was required going around tight corners at low speed, as in a 90 degree turn through an intersection. I don't recall there being a difference with the noise level, but then again noise was never an issue for me with either the 18's or 20's. Maybe I'm dead wrong in the way the 18's struck us, but at the time we did end up with a strong preference for the 18's. BTW, when I asked my dealer about the 18's vs 20's, he told me the opposite of what your dealer told you (my guy said the 18's would be smoother and I think he was right). My 2013 Limited is by far the quietest car I've ever had, and the ride is very smooth but without being "soft" and I'm still very glad that I went with the 18's. Everyone has different perceptions and preferences, but I'd guess that if you went to upgrade to the 20's for a smoother, quieter ride, you'll be disappointed based on my experience. Upgrading tires and rims would be an expensive proposition, so be sure to test it out before you take the plunge. BTW, if you decide not to change wheel size, when it's time to replace your tires you might want to shop around for a tire with a quieter compound. A few months ago I replaced the tires on my Accord with Bridgestone Turanza's and they made an amazing difference in the quietness of the ride. They are made with a somewhat softer compound and a less aggressive tread design, yet they still handle very well. Good luck!

Thanks guys. I felt pretty dumb posting that so I'm glad others have heard it and that it's normal. I thought I was pretty tuned into the car but this was the first time in 4 months that I ever noticed it. Maybe it's more pronounced when it's cold, or maybe it's because the car was stopped when I flipped on the high beams so there wasn't any road noise to drown it out. (Wife wanted me to see if the deer were in the woods when we pulled into the driveway....) So this week I go to the dealer for my first routine service visit. I have absolutely nothing on my "Fix or Check This" list, and my Edge is the first new car I've ever owned where I haven't had some small nit to be taken care of. I even did two self-installed updates to MFT that went flawlessly. I'm really very satisfied with my Edge, so glad I came back to Ford!

I have a 2013 Edge Limited AWD with factory installed HIDs, about 4 months old with 4k miles. Tonight for the first time I noticed a very distinct thumping sound coming from the engine compartment when I switched the HIDs from hi beam to low beam, and vice versa. My wife was with me and she heard it too, and it happened every time I changed from high to low, or low to high. It was very cold outside, if that has any bearing. It's a single thump each time I change the beam. Is this normal? Thanks!

Thanks guys. I wanted to get your unbiased opinions before I called the Ford dealer. I never dealt with this dealer before and I figured he'd probably tell me to come in once he sensed my concern, so I needed a few other points of view first. I called the dealer after I saw your posts and he's saying pretty much the same as you guys. He says they recommend waiting until 5000 miles or 5 months, and that there's really no need to come in before that. Seems pretty reasonable to me. Thanks for your help, you guys are great!

For what it's worth, this is the same configuration for the 2013 Edge, and the solution is therefore the same as outlined above. My wife and I are taking our golden retriever with us on a few hundred mile getaway and I needed to get those ^%#(& headrests off temporarily so I could slip a seat cover over the rear seat, under the headrests. I found the hole for the Allen key ok, but logic told me to push toward the center of the post and I had no luck. The secret is to push the Allen key parallel to the length of the seat. It's shown clearly in the photos above, I'm just describing it a little differently. Just push the Allen key parallel to the carpet-like backing that runs along the toip edge of the seatback, which you can see in the photo. As stated in the earlier posts, the center headrest is integral to the armrest and it will not come off. It is lower profile so I'll just drape the seat cover over that, or cut an opening in the seat cover to fit around it. Once you know the trick, it's not so bad and it's a good thing to know if you ever need to remove the headrests for hauling stuff (but removal is obviously NOT recommended for passenger transport for safety and liability reasons). BTW, I'm going to print out this thread and put it in a plastic bag with an Allen key for storage in the rear cargo compartment because I know I'll forget how to do this!

I have a 2013 Edge Limited AWD, which I've been driving under normal conditions since I picked it up brand new in late September. I currently have about 2,200 miles on it. I've read the owners manual about oil change intervals and the Oil Life Monitor, and all of that makes sense for on-going maintenance. However, I can't find any reference as to when to have the first oil change done. So my question is whether the first oil change should be done according to the regular oil change intervals (i.e., wait for the Oil Life Monitor message), or whether I need to do the first change a little sooner than the recommended on-going cycle? Or maybe the OIl Life Monitor is smart enough to get me in a little sooner for the first visit. I want to do the proper maintenance on this vehicle, but then again I also don't want to bring the car in too soon if that's just a waste of time, money, and oil. Thanks!

Good move, tourphoto. We previously owned a 2005 CR-V and looked into a 2013 CR-V when we bought the Edge. The new car was mainly going to be my wife's and she was initially more comfortable with the CR-V, mainly in terms of its smaller size. You do get a lot more gadgets for the money with the CR-V, but it's definitely more toy-like than the Edge. The Eco button for fuel economy is a joke -- just changes the shift timing and the saleman told us he recommended turning it off because performance suffers. On the test drive I did play with Eco and it really robbed an under-powered engine that much more. There was no comparison between the Edge and the CR-V in terms of comfort. The Nav system on the CR-V was knocked by one of the magazine reviews for being "archaic." That turned out to be an understatement. The text on the screen looked like something from an '80's video arcade game, so much so that it looked like it was designed for or by a pre-schooler. The car just felt small. It rode ok, better than our old CR-V, but it was still a tiny car. Why Honda continues to offer just a grossly underpowered 4 cylinder engine is beyond me. And that blind spot created by the rear pillar was a real liability, especially without having any kind of BLIS-like visibility feature available, and that was the biggest deal breaker for my wife. Payload rating is a lot lower too, and on my older, beefier CR-V, the back clearly sagged when we loaded it for week vacations trips to Cape Cod. Just didn't think the cute redesign was going to be up for the job of some light hauling. Not to mention Honda's ratings taking a hit over the past 2 years. Even in the showroom, it felt like a car that would lose its new car aura in about an hour or so. We have no regrets at all over getting the Edge over the CR-V. We feel more like adults driving the Edge. It's far more comfortable. And the Ford dealer gave us so many incentives to work with that the price gap betrween the Edge and a loaded CR-V kept getting smaller and smaller to the point where it was harder to justify trading down to the CR-V, considering all the extra features and ride quality we got with the Edge. We didn't take the Pilot out, but just sitting in it and looking at the design, my personal first impressions were "Truck" and "Old School." I had the same feeling about the Jeep Grand Cherokee, which we actually did take out for a test drive, and then promptly drove back to the dealer's lot. Of the larger vehicles we considered, my wife was ok with the Edge, but was getting more concerned about the size and maneuverability of the Pilot, Jeep, and Highlander. You mentioned the blind side in the CR-V, and I had the same feeling about the Highlander, which has a gigantic blind side on the rear side window. From the outside the glass area looks large, but on the inside you'll quickly realize that most of that small rear side window is masked with black paint for some reason. The actual clear glass area is about the size of an index card, which is worthless when glancing over your shoulder though the rear headrests while trying to make a quick lane change at 65 mph. These are just personal reactions based on our preferences and needs, and everyone makes different choices based on different criteria. Good luck with your decision!

Hey David, I think you're getting a better deal than I did on the ESP. I paid $1595 for the 7 Year/75,000 Mile Premium Plan with $100 Deductible. I paid less than you but my mileage plan is lower because I only do 10k a year. Be sure you're getting the Premium Care plan level. It covers more of the things that are likely to go wrong than either the Basic or Extra Care plans. I called Ford over the phone before I went to wrap up the deal with my dealer, and they came in somewhere around $1800 for the plan I got, if I remember correctly (looked for my notes for the exact quote but I must have tossed it -- it was definitely around $200 more than my dealer quoted). BTW, Premium Care will cover MFT beyond the standard warrany period. Other ESP plan levels probably do too, but be sure to check into that if MFT is the main reason you want to get a plan. For me, having MFT coverage was a good thing, but I decided to buy the ESP more for the complexity of the overall car. Everything is electronic these days, right down to throttle mapping, and those electronics can be very expensive (not to mention the cost of the labor to get at them!). I never used to buy extended service plans until I bought my '07 Honda Accord. Glad I did, because they replaced the steering unit one time and a broken strut another time, which more than paid for the contract. Plus I had piece of mind of having coverage time left while my Honda was dying a premature death. The reason I got that plan was because my prior car (Maxima) needed transmission work in Year 4 that wasn't covered, and I paid a LOT more than a service plan would have cost. Ditto for a Chrysler Town & Country where I also passed on the service plan (a very expensive lesson at 73,000 miles!). I always used to view these plans as pure BS, but given my personal experience and the increasing complexity of all the systems in all makes of cars these days, I figure the ESP has better odds of paying out now than they used to in the past, plus I have piece of mind. The cost of the plan was about 4% of the total cost of the car, which is spread over 7 years so at about 1/2 a percent per year, I can justify it in my mind based on my personal experience. Hope this helps.

The capless system uses a spring-loaded door that is supposed to provide a tighter seal than traditional cap systems, and if you look closely you will see that there's a rubber gasket that runs along the circumference of the filler door (gasket is on the body panel rather than the door). That should do a pretty good job of keeping stuff out, but I see your concern if you are driving in a particularly dusty area every day. Go to accessories.ford.com and you will see a Locking Fuel Plug that may serve your needs. There's a photo and it looks like it might do a better job of keeping crud out of the recess in the capless filler tube because it appears to fit over the recess. Part Number is 8U5Z-9C268-B and its suggested price is $24.99. Downside is that you have to lock and unlock it, but if you're pumping your own gas that shouldn't be a problem if it gives you piece of mind. Hope this does the trick!