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Hope it works for you too.
Shona
Shona
This is the first vehicle I've owned that's had Anti-lock brakes. First NEW vehicle too, I've always bought used. I've always done my own brake work in the past. Is the Anti-Lock feature something that will prevent the changing out of the pads and rotors. It's always been a pretty easy job in the past.
Again, Thanks to all you have given their advise.
I appreciate the advise on hose clamp and brake fluid. I'll follow your advise. Other wise I may have just pushed the pistons open. I'll be sure to bleed them a little when I'm done, just in case.
The Drilled and Slotted rotors I found are only $40.00 more for the pair and I think I'll give them a shot. But yes, I agree. The dealer wanted $660.00 to do the front brakes and rotors. I'll be able to do it for about $200.00.
Thanks everyone again. I'll keep you posted on whether After Market Rotors wear better than OEM parts. I sure hope so.
I have 2003 LX with Luxury Package, Perimeter Alarm, Rear bumper step plate and Cargo Net.
Just the other day my alarm system went off.
No one near the car or anything at all for that matter. I check the car and "thinks" there was a door open and wouldn't allow me to arm the alarm system or anything. The overhead lights were on and the door ajar light on the dashboard was on. After a while everything went back to normal and I was able to arm the car. This has happened twice. Any Ideas?
TIA
Thanks for the suggestions. It does confirm that it was not something unique to the vehicle.
I may have to buy new tires with life time warranty as you have done.
But when you had the cupping problem: Did they replace the tires at the tire dealership easily or you had to fight for the same?
Odie
- Ki
real_ki@yahoo.com
People will be more likely to take the time and post an answer if they know you'll be back to participate in the message board discussion! :-)
tidester, host
Odie
Http://www.geocities.com/odie442/albert_family.html
little to complain about other than brake pad/
rotor change at 29K miles and IAC valve
replacement at 40K miles. The thing that blind-sided me the most about the brake job was
the complete rotor replacement which added an
additional $250.00+ dollars to the receipt. I
know that there is a direct corollary between
how much your foot is on the brake and brake wear.
Brake pad wear is normal and occurs worse on
some cars than others. As mentioned in another
post, I intend to change out the rotors (next
time) with high quality, turnable, rotors which
should in the aftermarket by now. I intend to
change the pads with ceramic ones which will
reduce and / or eliminate brake-dust. Problem
solved. Ironically the brake shoes have about
50-60% (according to mechanic friend) left. I
wonder if the rear-brake drums are disposable ?
I saved my old-bad IAC valve, cleaned it up
(used throttle/carb cleaner, good quality)
and re-installed it just to see what would
happen. Fired right-up and kept it connected
for a day or so. No problems. But I re-installed the new one in any case. For those
who've changed IAC's, try and keep your old
one and maybe do the same thing. It may be a
good spare one for emergencies if it still
works. Apparently, at least in my area, the
IAC's were back-ordered at most of the Ford
dealerships, but I got mine within two days
from a parts house. Makes me think that Ford
may have a batch of factory defective ones
that are being installed unbeknownst. Ford
needs to put a little heat on the part manu-
facturer and do some solid QC and figure what
may be going wrong. Just by judging by the
number of people posting, it could be larger
problem outside the posting. Of course as
mentioned, the IAC fix may not solve all the
drivability issues which have been posted. I
don't discount that some people may have
poorly built vehicles either. We all know
that happens.
By an large this vehicle has been no more
problematic than most of the other cars I've
owned (Chevy, other Ford's, Honda, Toyota,
Nissan) and less than some. My wife (I'll
say this because she doesn't read these posts),
bought an '03 Toyota RAV4 in March. It's got
more rattles, buzzes, and sounds than my Escape
does by far. She frustrated that her RAV is
like this because it was assembled in Japan.
Don't think it makes much difference these
days.
Would like to upgrade to '05 with possible
engine size/HP increase as previously posted.
It's good that Ford is doing this, as I've
read that the new V6 option in the Saturn VUE
is Honda-made (smooth) ~w/240 HP.
Called the dealer and he suggested the same thing - remove IAC and clean. Can you please describe for me what the IAC looks like and where it is located?
The other night I removed a black plastic piece that goes into the air hose near the air filter. This part is hollow with a few thread like pieces-- as you can tell I am not mechanically gifted. Thanks for your time and assistance. I sprayed this part and towards the manifold and airfilter with carb and intake cleaner. Car started with no problems. Now, I am back to the same issue. Car takes forever to start
rudy32
Steve, Host
middle of the engine. You can see it and
access it very easily. It almost looks like a
small t-stat sitting on top. It is bolted on
w/two 10mm (I believe) screws and has an
electrical connector that will have to be detached
(easy). The best I can say is that it is
connected near to the black plastic FORD cover
but more on top as opposed to eiter side.
Unfortunately I don't have a digital camera and
cannot post any pictures. If someone does then
it would be good and it'd be easy to point out.
If you know anyone mechanically inclined or you
run the vehicle by the dealership or a shop, I
believe a service advisor could point it out
(for free). However, let me say again, that I'm
not a mechanic and this fix may not work for your
particular drivability issues. A friend who is
a mechanic and who does some of my car
maintenance work diagnosed the problem within
minutes and admitted the IAC is problematic in a lot of other Ford vehicles, trucks, cars, etc.
He's replaced his IAC on his Ford F-150 with only
20K miles. Actually. I am surprised that Ford
hasn't latched onto this as a TSB at least. As
rotarykid has said the EGR may be problematic
as well. I did receive a certificate of
acknowledgement from Ford corporate indicating
that if I have problems with the EGR flow that
it will be replaced for free using the
certificate that Ford sent.
about the MAF sensor. Really when jacking around
with anything having to do with engine air-intake
one needs to be real careful. Don't know what
a MAF runs for the Escape but judging by parts
costs for other makes/models it's not cheap.
Foreign car MAF's have been known to cost in the
high 100's and even 1000's of dollars.
Sorry if I can't be more explanatory about the
IAC location, but it literally is a 5-minute
change-out for that sensor. I am surprised if
a dealer cannot diagnose the problem. A good,
reputable, independent shop should be able to.
I've heard of the a good independent shop actually
calling the dealership with the proper fix on
other repair issues. Any shop is only as good as
their owner/manager and techs. whether private
or dealership.
I have found a shop that is close to home, offers
some the same amenities as the Ford dealership and
most of their techs. have 20+ years at the same place and are ASE certified with most at Master
level. That tells me something. For small things
I still use a mechanic friend if he's available
and to pick up some extra cash.
Although, the brakes are not my biggest disappointment, its actually the Mazda service I'm really ticked about. Firstly, when I went to buy my Tribute, the sales guy was treating me like a highschool kid flipping burger paddies trying to buy a $30,000 SUV. I was insulted with the way he was talking to me. It was pathetic, and I wrote Mazda about that, and kindly got a photocopied apology that I could have read it was so poorly photocopied, and a nice key chain. That's Mazda for you. The key chain made me feel so much better (a little sarcasism there I think). Their apology actually made me more mad than the Sales Rep. It didn't stop there. Last year in Dec 2002 I went in for my regular service at 36,000 kms (22,000 miles), when I was told all my tires were totally worn and down to the metal, and needed to be replaced. On top of that, I was told my rear brake drums were leaking and needed to be replaced. I basically looked at them like a deer in headlights. It didn't seem right at all to be driving a brand new Tribute, not even 2 years old, and the tires don't pass safety. That's ridiculous. I said no to both. The next day I went to a Goodyear dealership and asked them to inspect my tires and brakes. They said my front tires were only 38% worn, and the back were 63% worn, and they had been rotated. He said they were good for at least about another 15,000 kms. As for the brakes, he said no leaks at all, and if the back drums were leaking, they could cease up and they shouldn't have let me leave with them like that. He said the brakes looked like new. So finally, in June (6 months later and 18,000 kms later), I got new tires for my Tribute. Paying Goodyear $50 to look at my brakes, and tires, saved me about $800 from a clear scam from Mazda. I haven't yet, but I intend to write Mazda again, and demand they compensate me for my new tires, and for the $50 it cost to check my brakes to find out they were lying to me. Its only fair they should do that for trying to scam me out of all that money. Where I get my service now is much better, but still some things are there and I have no trust in them anymore. When I replaced my brakes a few days ago, they said it would be good to replace my wipers too. I said thank-you, but you guys did that for me in April of this year already. What? Do I need new wipers every 6 months now? It sad how some shops just try to get what they can from customers. Personally, I don't have time to research all the details about SUV's to know if they are pulling a fast one on me, that's why I'm supposed to be putting my trust in the dealership to do their job properly. I think Mazda makes good automobiles, but from what I've seen from their service, THEIR warranty has run out. It's just sad I think. I think it would be good to have some sort of regulatory body in shops on a provincial/state or federal level, with no biased view, for each service to ensure the customer isn't getting screwed. With more and more vehicles on the road, and the complexity increasing, customers are just not going to know if they are really getting scammed or not. That's my two cents.
What type of starting/performance problems? I doubt plugs are your problem. Can you be more specific.
" Discovered a small oil leak aroung the last spark plug removed. Gaskets not available at local Ford dealer. I gonna inquire if gaskets will be covered under Ford ESP powertrain warranty. Does anyone know if it is covered under warranty?"
Should be covered, but what gasket? Valve cover? Head?
As for Mazda buying you a new set of tires, you have a better chance of seeing my Red Sox win the world series. I have only seen mazda buy tires ONCE in my career. As for something leaking from the rear brakes, whatever may have been leaking, should have been covered under warranty. I will just take a guess that your mazda dealer is a conglomerate of car lines. Any mazda exclusive dealer should know much better about selling things that are covered under warranty. Perhaps the dealer just hasnt had the mazda car line long enough to know better. I find that some of the people in my store forget that mazda has at least 3yr 50k on all the cars we see. They are used to that domestic warranty of 3yr-36k on that great GM line we also sell. (just kidding about the great part). Try another dealer if possible- depending how far the next one is. Continue making a stink to Mazda and the district rep and let them know you still arent satisfied. Let them know that you probably wont buy another mazda again because of your experience.(they dont like to hear that).
Thanks for the response, I am considering contacting Ford and lodging a complaint.
kirstie_h
Roving Host & Future Vehicles Host
MODERATOR /ADMINISTRATOR
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Share your vehicle reviews
tidester, host
access to information that is useful and helpful
for Escape/Tribute owners. I posted on the other
the site about 1 yr. ago concerning the issue I
had with brakes/rotors on my '01 Escape XLT.
Mine lasted to 29K miles. Ford dealership replaced both for ~$460.00 total. Service advisor did not know that the rotors were unturnable either. I believed him. Bottom line
is you may get dinged once, but start researching
aftermarket pads /rotors (Raybestos, Bendix) so
it doesn't happen again. I plan on keeping my
Escape (currently 43K miles) for at least 100K+
miles or for another 2 -3 yrs. I'll probably
need another brake job this next year anyway. I'll just change out to ceramic pads and hopefully
turnable afternmarket rotors. There are a lot of
manufacturers that are apparently going to this
set-up, probably d/t cost-cutting and standardization. I don't agree with it, but I
do have a good, reputable, non-dealer mechanic
that I can take the Escape for service and advice
on best procedure, etc. Recommend that everyone
do the same, if they can once out of warranty
and servicable items. Don't want to take work
away from Rotarykid though, he's a good one for
Mazda. Otherwise my Escaoe has been a commendable
vehicle, once I got past the IAC problem. As
said before it's better than most vehicles I've
owned before, including imports for service and
most aspects of reliability.
I wouldn't have even believed there was a stall problem (I've never had it happen to me) until I was riding in my friends Tribute and he stalled on one of the back roads behind our development. He said it only did it on this one particular hill, and he noticed the RPM gauge was running very low before it happens, now he double foots on the hill and hasn't stalled since.
Odie
My Homepage
Asked the dealership about this when they changed my oil. They checked my altenator and battery (both fine) and they did a s/ware upgrade of some sort as well but the truck still does it. It doesn't do it all the time, but it probably shouldn't at all, correct?
TIA,
Chimps