Dunesgirl

Hey all, just wanted to introduce myself and my new vehicle. I upgraded from my 2004 FX4 to this 2009 FX4 Luxury that hails from Canada. First thing I did was tint the windows and line-x the bed (it had some surface rust in spots from what looked like some fifth wheel hitch rails used to be). I'll be working through some maintenance items first but eventually I'd like to add a few items to it so I may be poking around every now and again.

Couple of questions so far:

I hate daytime running lights and want to turn them off. I understand that I have to go to the Ford dealership for this, but do they charge me labor for this procedure? How much should I expect?

Second, the "premium" Sony system sucks. I have an MTX Thunderform box I'd like to install in lieu of the Sony subwoofer but I've never hooked a subwoofer up to a factory head unit. How do I go about this?

I'm assuming the grille on my truck is not what it came with from the factory (I think it's a normal XLT chrome grille). I'd rather have a PTM grille. Has anyone painted their chrome grille before with good results? Does anyone happen to be selling their stock FX4, FX2, or STX grille for cheap (bonus if it's the factory black color)?

Thanks in advance! Obligatory photo

06F150CFCT

I had my dealership here in Rhode Island turn my DRL's off, which I'm glad they didn't give me a hard time about, and they charged me 90 bucks (1hr labor plus a discount). It was less than 1hrs labor but still a lot for what they actually needed to do. So I would expect no more than whatever the going rate for 1hr's labor at your nearest dealership. If I remember right here it was $110/HR.

Dunesgirl

Thank you for letting me know. I think our labor rate here is $80-90 or maybe even over $100 if it's the OEM dealer. I hate going to my local Ford dealership; I used to with my old truck for oil changes and such but they just have a bunch of high school kids working as their lube techs and are really no better than Jiffy Lube, except Jiffy Lube is much faster. I now go to a small independent shop for most of my maintenance. But I don't think they can turn off DRL for me.

Does anyone else have any input on my OP?

5.0nly

Did you do a carproof on it? It most likely has a front end accident.

ithomie150

Hey Dunesgirl,
for the connection to the stock radio, you will need a good LOC (line out converter) there are many posts on here with the "el cheapo" ones that have had some sucess as others have had bad ground noise.... look in the audio section for the best responses... "search is you friend"

the connection is easy you just connect the loc's wires to the speaker harness that goes into the front or back and then you have pre-amp output's to go to your amplifier..

hope this steers you in the right direction

Dunesgirl

Yes the dealer showed me the car fax. It's a one-owner straight from Canada, no reported accidents, regular service reported. That's not to say it wouldn't have experienced some form of damage, but at the same time some people just like to change grilles for one reason or another. I have in the past.

Dunesgirl

Yes thank you very much

I will do some more research in the audio section as well.

5.0nly

CarFax does not show accidents in Canada. Do a carproof on your truck for the full history. I'd be willing to bet $100 it has an accident on it.

Dunesgirl

Well, I had never heard of carproof before but it does make sense that carfax may not have accidents on record on Canadian vehicles. So I pulled one being that they are only $36. It also does not show an accident on record.

You can pay me via PayPal lol

06F150CFCT

Yeah just someone changed out the grille. Easy enough to switch out or paint. It's nice to know though that nothing was reported!