Hi Mondaveo,
Many thanks for your detailed and well & long thought-out reply. Those after-market mirror inserts(?) look like a good idea, though I'm not sure I'll go that far until my lenses crack too. But it has given me an idea which may work, if I'm still bothered to do it. (At the moment, I've given up being annoyed about the locking deficiency and usually just pull the rear door handle(s) if I'm parking in a less appealing area.) But the idea - wiring an LED to the lock circuit is good, but it probably doesn't really do what I want on its own - as the circuit might be activated, but a motor might still not operate. I think the PATS system should take care of all that, but evidently doesn't. Nothing's perfect, right!?
It would be nice if there was a firmware upgrade that took care of it, but that seems pretty unlikely. And, I can see that generally, these great cars are "on the skids" and under various political (PC) pressures to be eliminated. Prices over here seem to drop every week. (Last week helped a mate buy one (2012 Zetec wagon, 200K's) for $600, still driveable! Such a deal!)
They have drummed up the "transmission issues" to be big and scary, but I think that's quite overblown, having just rescued my own Black '13 (LX) Wagon from sudden "Total Transmission Failure". (Only had 2nd & Reverse, rough clutch and Limp mode...) Total Cost: about 3 or 4 days work [my first time...] plus 6-odd litres of DCT Fluid and two trans filters. And a few new tools...
I have a salutary story to tell about that, which I think puts this clearly into perspective, but will have to make that another post. (In Summary, I think a Fork Learn triggered it, so beware!)
Anyway, since I fixed it almost a month ago, I've done nearly 3,000km without any real trouble, and most of that towing a trailer. It's far better when fully warmed up, and I have marveled at the smoothness of changes through the higher gears, even under load, even in Cruise control. Like, it will sneak through changes that you can't even detect by feel, that you really have to watch the rev counter to detect. The transmissions themselves seem to be very strong, but the clutches and the fluid filtration defects let them down.
Regarding the Dip Switch - Yes, as you mention, I discern now (didn't earlier) that there is a detent in the switch movement, and that that is as far as you need to go when dipping, but in a hurry, who's going to get that right every time? I still think it's a crummy design but again, haven't worried too much more about it. Just remembering which side is the correct one after driving a Japanese car around town is a big enough challenge! It's a crazy world we live in.
When I'm not so busy, I might have a play with it, though it won't help me. Road manners, like everything else, seem to be getting worse, and I hate people who go back to High Beam before they are even past...
Anyway, I'm planning to keep a couple of MC TDCi Mondeos on the road for as long as I can. Despite the time involved, I love them enough to do it, though I have been truly spoiled by our Toyotas. Learning all about them (The Mondys) keeps the grey matter firing, and in general, they are not so technical and difficult to get info on that it's possible. Unlike the Korean-made nightmares... A friend has one, and I never stop hearing about it. The latest, the engine suddenly went into limp mode right in front of a truck and trailer, and required a Stop and Restart to bring it back. Reason still unknown, but has to be handled by the stealer as there seems to be no data out there.
On another topic, very interested in your hail damage. Have you posted any photos or commentary anywhere? Would love to know more.
