[stodge]

I test drove a Fusion I4 auto yesterday. I found the engine very noisy, even under slow city driving conditions. It was just unbearable.

Also, it seemed to rev way too high when driving around the city with low acceleration. It seemed to average 4-5k RPMs, when my driving was conservative and I didn't go over 50km/h.

Is this normal? I was completely shocked - it was a lot noisier than the 4cyl 03 Accord with 95000km and the 4cyl 06 Sonata. Was there something wrong with the engine?

Thanks

 

[Cross Bolt]

I have the same engine and transmission in the Milan and that high rpm at low speed is not normal. If you step on the throttle hard it is normal. If you really mash it down, it will go to 6800 rpm before it up shifts. The intake noise is normal. There is alot of high tech things going on inside the manifold AKA ( flap valves for emissions and better torque at the lower and high rpm range ). The plastic intake does not dampen noise very well but because it is so smooth on the inside, it does help in the performance dept. The engine is rated at 160 hp which is pretty high for what it is. Nothing is perfect and it does not cause that much pain. They could probabily put one of those big plastic shields over the top of the motor to help the intake noise.

 

[stodge]

It was also very shaky at idle - my 2000 Taurus Vulcan is much smoother and quieter at idle. Maybe I should try another test drive to see if that one had something wrong with it. The noisy engine was too painful to even consider.

Thanks

 

[Cross Bolt]

Mine does not shake. Most I-4 cylinder engines have their harmonic vibes, but this engine does a good job dealing with it because of the twin counter balancers under the crankshaft, which runs twice the speed of the crank. My wife's family has a Toyota Camery, and you should feel it. My brothers late model Toyota Camery does the same thing. A family friend has a Honda Accord and it's just as bad. I have no complaints about mine. Your v6 and v8 engines are very smooth. :shock:

 

[Cross Bolt]

One more thing and this may be the case. Ford has a computer for the automatic transmission and it does learn how one drives ( RPM. Throttle Pressue. Driving Style ). May be, not enough time to memorize the driving style, has been given. Also the last two or three drivers
put there foot in it and for now, thats all the computer knows.

 

[WCF]

Never drove the automatic. Mines the 5 speed manual. The engine wants to rev, its a very torquey four and pulls strongly at all RPMs. Never thought it was noisey, but am amazed at how quiet it is. Were you beating on it? Perhaps it was the automatic, and not the engine? Can't imagine why somebody would get an automatic with a four cylinder....you just don't have the control, both in terms of performance and gas mileage. The automatic, from what I heard, is always searching for gears, and that would certainly make it louder. Check out the manual version , its real sweet. Let a gear head friend of mine drive it today (owns like ten cars, just ordered a Mustang Shelby GT) and he was very impressed, to the point of questioning why anyone would want a six. So a four cylinder just needs a stick to be at its best.....

 

[bpmetalmilitia]

Sounds like a bad transmision on that I4. When my sister test drove a Honda Civic two years ago we found the car a bit too noisy also and the RPM gauge was at highs 3-4K. Obcourse we refuse to even buy from the lot, it seems the Honda dealership sold new production runs but they put hand on their cars (mechanics change parts on cars that were once sold and brought back for exchange); That Honda place is now in court and out of business. Not saying that is the situation you experience with the I4, most likely the I4 had a bad tranny.

 

[Cross Bolt]

    The five speed automatic in the Milan does exactly what it’s supposed to do. Every shift is spot on. I have to say that Ford got it right and if they did not, I would be the first to say so. I have run this thing through the paces (light throttle, heavy throttle, steep hilly conditions, wet and dry pavement) and I could not improve it if I was shifting it myself.
    As far as the notion that it hunts up and down not knowing which way to shift, it does not.
    Now if you ask me if I would like to have a six ,seven or eight speed automatic, I would have to say yes.  
:nsmile:

 

[captainhook]

My Milan is an I4 w/5spd manual.

I found it to be a great combo that is typically very quiet. Obviously is get on it, it will be loud, just like every other 4 cylinder in its class. After all, it is only a $20k car.

In comparison, my Milan is quieter then my friends 06 civic and my wife's 04 focus (which has the same motor).

If it's not a defective vehicle it comes down to personal expectation and opinion...

 

[stodge]

I'm prepared to believe either the tester car needed to re-learn to suit my driving, or that there was something wrong. However, I've since decided that I can't quite afford a new car, so........

 

[Cross Bolt]

I have got a feeling if you really hunted around, you could get a good deal on an I-4 MT. There is alot of dealers in the USA and
if you go to Ford.Com, you could do a search at the Fusion Site. All you need is some Zip Codes.

 

[shadowfall1976]

My 4 is as about as noisy as I like it, I love to hear an engine, it makes you feel like you're actually driving a car and not a bicycle,
it is not loud or noisy. Besides new cars always are noisier than once they break in with a few hundred miles on them, test drives are
mainly to see....Power, Comfort & overall feel & sound, but a car usually feels and sounds much better once you've driven it for a while.

 

[modenaf1]

[quote author=shadowfall1976 link=topic=41414.msg615333#msg615333 date=1142206492]
My 4 is as about as noisy as I like it, I love to hear an engine, it makes you feel like you're actually driving a car and not a bicycle,
it is not loud or noisy. Besides new cars always are noisier than once they break in with a few hundred miles on them, test drives are
mainly to see....Power, Comfort & overall feel & sound, but a car usually feels and sounds much better once you've driven it for a while.
[/quote]

I know, Honda's and Toyota's seem to be way to muted. They don't sound very agressive at all, just "get ya from point A to point B as quietly and boring as possible" type of cars. The really quiet engines gives off the impression to magazines like Car and Driver that the engines are very smooth, but the Duratec 23 is actually a VERY smooth engine with the balance shafts. The nice part is you can hear it. I like a good intake sound.

A 1996 3.0 Liter Duratec (the origional Duratec) fitted with the stock dual exhaust system on the Taurus sounds absolutely amazing when the butterflies snap open above 3500 RPM. What a nice smooth agressive roaring growl.

Now my Sentra on the other hand, I just has a blown muffler. Hearing your engine is one thing, but man...just accelerating to 25mph in a school zone past cops in this thing makes it sound like I am in a rice rocket doing full on VTEC redline full throttle shifts. Noise is good, but in this case, too much isn't so great lol.

 

[BlackI4se]

When I test drove the Fusion it was very noisy. It was also a different fusion than what I was buying but still some model just different color. Mine wasn't on the lot. Now after having 5800 miles on mine it is not near as loud. Its quited down alot. But if I lay into it, it will scream but I try not to do that its not a race car.

 

[otaku]

I kind of like noisy engines (especially if they sound good, I wouldn't say the fusion sounds particularly good though) considering the price of the fusion I don't see it as to much of a problem, I noticed the VW engines are very quiet when I tested them before buying but considering the pricing and reliability I went with the ford

 

[urnews]

[quote author=otaku link=topic=41414.msg1121284#msg1121284 date=1167186313]
... I noticed the VW engines are very quiet when I tested them before buying but considering the pricing and reliability I went with the ford
[/quote]
otaku,

Are you saying that the VWs cost more and are less reliable than the Fusions? What VWs are you talking about? Please elaborate. Boz

 

[HEVeng]

[quote author=stodge link=topic=41414.msg605140#msg605140 date=1141578157]
Also, it seemed to rev way too high when driving around the city with low acceleration. It seemed to average 4-5k RPMs, when my driving was conservative and I didn't go over 50km/h.
Thanks
[/quote]


Put the shifter in 'D', not 'L'!!

 

[otaku]

Hey boz I speak of the VW passat which isn't as comfortable as the fusion either (close but not quite) it costs more even with the I4 turbocharged with 200hp and fwd. Styling isn't as nice either. Turbo probably hurts reliability (nowhere near as good as fusion)

ONly thing I liked that almost sold the VW for me were these: push button start and automanual trans-which is probably also why they aren't as reliable :lol: and cost more