Problem with Ford 6 Disc Cd-Changer

[Ignis]

If you buy a new car, make sure that the cd player you get with it plays burned media. Some of the ford cd-players are only designed for commercially pressed media. Imagine how I felt after buying a Mercury Mountaineer Premier 2005 (~$35,000 car) and it skips entire songs, entire minutes, or just spits out the freshly burned CD and says "CD ERROR". And technically it's not broken, so warranty won't cover it, and getting a non-after market player that plays burned will cost me $900. Such bs.

Anyways, does anybody know of any media that could possibly play better in this situation? Or possibly some different format that when I burn it will play better? I know there are physical differences between pressed CDs and burned, but I'm desperate, and having my $35,000 car play CDs worse than a kia sucks. Thanks.

[Bodyslide]

What application are you using to burn the Audio CD's?

[Ignis]

Nero 6.6

[markhamPete]

I have a 6 cd in-dash player in my Ford and it plays burned cds fine. I don't know if they've changed - mine is a 2002. I did have a problem in the beginning when I tried using those fancy colored media like Memorex Black. I just stick to plain silver media and no labels.

[lordsmurf]

Try CD-AUDIO discs. Not because they say "for audio" or anything stupid like that, but because they are usually the blue-bottom AZO discs.

[Sifaga]

try different media

my car cd player will only play TDK discs

[Ignis]

Right now Im using TDK and it works but it will skip prolly 3-4 times per song, and on bad days, skip entire minutes of a song or worse. I guess what would be my best bet would be whatever is more like normal commercially pressed CDs. Is that the silver bottom called Phthalocyanine, or the Azo?

[Romper]

What lordsmurf said should get you out of trouble. A friend of mine has a top of the line HSV (Aussie car) from about 1999, I know its an older car, but the factory installed 10 stacker wouldn't have a bar of any of his backups, I suggested the CD-Audio discs and they only thing he complains about now is having to backup his stuff again!!

[sho95]

I have not found any ford that would not play a burn cd. Could be your program and or a bad CD-RW.

[zzyzzx]

Find out who actually makes the CD changer (not Ford!) and look around the internet to see what brands or types that particular brand of CD changer likes. Also try some Ford fourms for cars like yours.

[Noahtuck]

Also what no one has mentioned and i know for a fact has had an impact on burned media in stock cd players/changers, is burn speed!!!

Slow it down to 16X or less if you are burning faster than that.

And $900.00 for an aftermarket cd changer
Thats about 4 times what i have ever payed for an aftermarket 6-disc changer.

[Vanster]

Up until November 1, 2004 I was the Customer Relations Manager (for 16 years) at one of the largest Ford dealers in the State of Wisconsin. I never heard of a CD player "that would only play commercially pressed CD's". They should play burned CDs with no problem. When I left the company I bought myself a 2005 Ford Freestyle with a 6 disk changer and I have no problem at all. (It's probably the same changer as you have). Mine also plays MP3 disks beautifully.

Having said that, I can also tell you from experience that the Ford 6 disk changer will NOT play CDs with paper labels on them. If you have labels on your CDs reburn them and try again.

As the Customer Relations Manager a large part of my job was handling complaints and I handled my fair share of radio and cd player complaints. If a customer such as you would have come to me with your complaint we would have ordered a new radio...simple as that. In some instances I may have asked the customer to take me for a ride and demonstrate the problem. If you would have taken me for a ride and shown me how the player skips, I would have then ordered the radio.

Have you gone to your local Ford dealer with this concern? If not, try them. If they are the ones who told you "Ford cd players will only play commercially pressed CDs" they are full of shit. Ask to speak with the Service Manager. If you can't get any satisfaction from him, try another Ford dealer. It IS a warranty concern and YOU ARE entitled to a replacement radio / cd player if your player performs as poorly as you say. Feel free to print this post and show it to them.

Hope this helps and I hope you get your problems resolved.

Vanster