jhale1800
Well-Known Member
- First Name
- James
- Joined
- Mar 14, 2019
- Threads
- 18
- Messages
- 351
- Reaction score
- 556
- Location
- Huntsville, AL
- Vehicle(s)
- Gladiator Overland, 2000 Ford Crown Victoria, 2011 Hyundai Genesis Coupe, 2017 Mazda3
- Thread starter
- #1
I wanted to take the freedom panels off for the weekend; however, the weekend forecast on Friday called for rain. The updated forecast on Saturday morning looked much better, and it appeared it would be a beautiful day until at least mid to late afternoon, so I pulled off the panels and went about my day. Ended up going to an 11:00 movie, parked the truck without the panels in the parking lot, and when I came out of the theater it was POURING. The parking lot had puddles ankle deep as I was running to my Gladiator. Here's a few things I learned, and some pictures of the aftermath.
-This was the 5th time removing and reinstalling the freedom panels. I've always been careful unbagging and reinstalling the panels to make sure I'm putting them in the correct placement on the correct side. It probably took me around 5 minutes the first 4 times. This time, I was able to get them unbagged and reinstalled in 2 minutes tops.
-The cupholders were half way filled with water. Interestingly, later that night I noticed the cupholders have lights in the bottom. Glad they still work.
-The only dry area in the front appeared to be directly under the sensors for the adaptive cruise and automatic braking.
-The touchscreen was useless when wet, or when trying to use it with wet hands. I kept trying to get to the climate screen to activate defrost to get rid of foggy windows, and to turn on the heated seats. I was half way home when I realized all those functions had physical buttons underneath the screen.
-While driving, the horn would spontaneously go off. This would anger and confuse people driving around me, but a quick push of the horn on the steering wheel made it stop sometimes...
When I got home I parked it in the garage, dried it off with a stack of towels, and removed the drain plugs. I almost removed the carpet, but it looked like it would be a pain to reinstall so I patted it dry and left all the windows and doors open so it would air out.
-This was the 5th time removing and reinstalling the freedom panels. I've always been careful unbagging and reinstalling the panels to make sure I'm putting them in the correct placement on the correct side. It probably took me around 5 minutes the first 4 times. This time, I was able to get them unbagged and reinstalled in 2 minutes tops.
-The cupholders were half way filled with water. Interestingly, later that night I noticed the cupholders have lights in the bottom. Glad they still work.
-The only dry area in the front appeared to be directly under the sensors for the adaptive cruise and automatic braking.
-The touchscreen was useless when wet, or when trying to use it with wet hands. I kept trying to get to the climate screen to activate defrost to get rid of foggy windows, and to turn on the heated seats. I was half way home when I realized all those functions had physical buttons underneath the screen.
-While driving, the horn would spontaneously go off. This would anger and confuse people driving around me, but a quick push of the horn on the steering wheel made it stop sometimes...
When I got home I parked it in the garage, dried it off with a stack of towels, and removed the drain plugs. I almost removed the carpet, but it looked like it would be a pain to reinstall so I patted it dry and left all the windows and doors open so it would air out.
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