R2D2's 2022 ST - KISS Build

Silent mode, as I noticed, is more about cutting out the lights and sounds after you shuts off the vehicle.

Yes, there will still be few lights inside, like the ambient lighting, the 10 inch screen etc, drivers display, etc, for some more time and eventually they also die down.

The overhead lights can be switched on/off manually, but they remain off by default, in my case with the silent mode.

I'll try to get some pictures later with it on and off.

Probably 'dark car' mode is what you are looking for. But I could not get it to work with my ST.

Thanks! This whole thread is filled with goodness. yeah…I tried dark car mode and I was just as successful with it as you were. Lol. I guess I was expecting something like I had in my Charger, Crown Vic and caprice…its light out inside…

Put a proper twin bed in there to test the fitment, for an upcoming road trip. Daughter was so happy to be in there. Took it to a beach bike ride near by and was a good place to rest after the ride.


I need to find an air mattress and pillow now.

Bi-anniversary gift for ST.
20% front window ceramic tint from Madico.

Matched 95% to the factory rear from the outside.
Slightly darker when you view from the inside.

Also as per the person who put it, the blue car might get unwanted attention from cops. Tint can be used as a reason for them to pull me over. Not sure if/when I'll get a ticket for it.

I will get a better picture later, (after I wash it?).

Future plans: 75% for the front windshield and 35% for rear and back.

Explorer 2022 Cargo volume specifications behind each row when the seats are folded.
.

Disclaimer:
The width changes from ~47 inches to ~59 inches based on where you are measuring.
Based on the second row seat type and slider position when folded down, there will be some gaps on otherwise flat load floor.
These are not measured by me; taken from multiple Internet sources for approximate measurements.

Zion National Park Utah.

Bryce Canyon National Park Utah

It was mostly drive though and didn't explore any POI due to lack of time.

ST SUV Experience – Park City Utah
Warning : Long and picture heavy post.

Check-in 5:15 pm MT at the Hyatt Centric Park City : I was just in time after a long drive from Zion NP.
Park City reception dinner from 6:00 pm, MST. My car was the only one left in the circle when we came back after dinner.

Check-in 8:00 am and Morning briefing with vehicle allocation.
Street drive to Soldier Hollow : Two groups, each takes a different route to the Soldier Hollow. Amazing drive experience.

Driver switch at mid-way point. Could see the snow at the top of the mountains.

All together after reaching Soldier Hollow facility.

Vehicle control exercises (Trail drive). Was very mild off-roading and anyone can do it.

View from the top of trail. Need to mention again, the whole experience is set up in a beautiful location. Heber Valley view.

All the cars in our group

Our car #20, covered in dust from the completed trail drive.

Lunch at Soldier Hollow

Evasive Exercises : I tried lower than 25 mph, 25 mph and higher than 25 mph in my three attempts, respectively. Didn't hit any cones.

Pre-Collision Exercises : I sent the balloon car flying in my first try, as I hit 32 mph, where one is supposed to hit 20 mph.

ST AutoX - I got to drive 5 fun rides and 1 timed run, as wife did not wanted to do this. She did everything else.

Parking near Biathlon Experience

Biathlon Shooting Experience : my score - Large target 5/5 and Small target 1/5. Instructors are athletes training for next winter Olympics.

Return drive to Hyatt Centric.

(Left) Location, the group assemble before the drive back. (Middle) AutoX time. I came second, missed prize of unspeakable value (Right) Grand Summit Hotel lobby, where we sent our toddler for daycare.

Program complete and my ST leaving the hotel. I took my ST in the same drive route again in the evening and stayed in Heber valley that night.

Odometer at 1500 miles with 21.5 mpg. I was mostly in Eco mode, constantly at 10% above speed limits on adaptive cruise control , lot of idling with temperatures hitting110F outside.

Thinking about going back again and may be drive till Yellow stone this time.

Laminx gun smoke tint on the trail light.

I did DIY install and didn't do a stellar job, yet it looks good form distance. You will see bubbles while looking closely.

Few pictures of how things look in different light combinations and the rear camera view in dark, with factory bulbs.


I'm not feeling any lack of illumination, but will update the reverse light to LED in future.

And the front fog done with yellow LaminX.
Goes along with the California legacy plate.


I suggest professional installation, if you are like me, (trying it for the first time). Looks good from a distance, but come closer and you will see all the bubbles.

Taking ST to the Ford Dealer tomorrow for the first service (multipoint inspection?)
ST is at 5500 miles and 6.5 months with oil life at 46%

No complaints other than infotainment issues everyone has.
My ford pass remote start stopped working as well. Might be Sync problem again.
And may be a clutch re-learn for the occasional lurches.
I do have a 360 cam recall notice at my hand, but never faced that issue.

I happen to have 4 years maintenance contact and hence should not cost anything from my hand.
Please let me know, if anything I need to be mindful about?

Since I'm on a premium care and ESP from Ford, my oil change/service interval is 5000 miles or Six months. So they performed first service with oil change today.

Regarding Sync, they mentioned that I have the latest version (22251) and they did a hard reset. Infotainment works as normal for now. I'm sure the problems are going to come back in few weeks, when the memory gets full again. (Edit: it came back within a day)

Surprised to see all the FORScan changes I did, are intact after hard reset.

Didn't do a clutch re-learn as there was no time for my afternoon appointment. I told to leave it, since it's not easy to replicate the occasional lurching at cold start.

Neither I or they talked about the camera recall.

Cost from hand 0$. Time 3 hours. I expected a car wash, but didn't get one, may be because it was closing time.

Got the "real" black badges from the ST experience.

I was laughing in my mind when they said, you will only get them here, since I did mine with sharpie in 2 mins. My wife gave me a look that said "how did you get it earlier?".

The original ones sure looks far better than my solution, but I'm not going to install them anytime soon. I can save an hour required for removing the factory one and surface preparation needed for fixing the black ones.

I'm very sure a normal eye won't be able to tell the difference.

I have switched to Physical Auto Stop Eliminator, as ForScan solutions were either temporary or resulted in unwanted side effects.
Bought it from ST classified section here. 5 mins for installation.

Works in the background and remembers the last setting I selected.
One less thing to worry about.

PS:
I have stopped experimenting with all software/ ForScan changes on my ST, till Ford can figure out its Sync issues.
I don't want to put extra load on the system, which is already limping with all the memory issues.
Hard reset solution from the Ford service center lasted only a few hours, before my infotainment started defaulting back to factory settings.

Reverse lamp LED conversion. AUXITO 7440 7443 LED Bulb. More bright than I will ever need and no error after installation.

Left LED and right factory one at night

Day time images with the tint and LED close-up

20 mins installation with the right tools and knowledge. Youtube videos helped as well.

Did this a while back and never had an issue. Great design and it just works.

Cup Holder Hero to add a bit more blue 'splash' inside.

Sad day for me and ST, the first ever dent.

Someone parked on the side opened his door into my vehicle. The side mirror fell out of the housing (I pushed it back later) and a small dent on the passenger door.

Lucky my dash camera caught everything.

Just started the insurance claim process.

I have a perfect driving record and even though this was not my fault, thinking if I should go with the insurance or get it done at some place or leave it as is for now. Don't want the insurance rate to jump in the next cycle.

PS : I'm new to the insurance claims.

What's done is done and happy that no one was injured or anything. But I wish He opened that door two seconds later..

Sorry to hear. What a bummer.

Dropped my vehicle for fixing the dent today.
Estimate is close to 1500 $ (insurance found I'm at 0% fault and should get most of $ back). The bad part is 9 days estimate for getting the vehicle back.
The worst part is that knowing it's not going to be full factory paint anymore.

Back to a 2008 civic, makes me appreciate all the good things about my ST.