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About 20% of the time when starting, my Escape will start, but the speedometer, RPM needles go up to the max. The engine does not rev high. I give it 2-3 seconds and they come back down and I drive away. Some days it starts up with no problems. Other days I have to try 3 or 4 times to get it to start. Is something gradually going bad. I hate to take to dealership until I know what needs replacing.
Very expensive . I think I paid $250 - 300 just for the Rebuilt part. The labor will add another 100.
They did check everything out before replacing the battery, basically the whole electrical system because the battery power was well below spec, and all else was fine. After it was replaced our Escape ran better than the day we drove it off the lot leading me to believe the battery was bad from the beginning.
I purchased my '02 Tribute in January '02... Which means it is still under warranty for another 3+ months. I have purchased several new vehicles over the years, and this one does not make the top of the most favored list. I would put most of the blame on Mazda and the Dealership. I had engine problems before I had 3000 miles on the vehicle, and the sunroof broke and had to be replaced, which the dealership took two months to complete. Now I am having transmission problems, brake problems, and even the radio is having problems. Perhaps my luck was bad and I happened across the worst in the barrel, but the dealership's, and Mazda's, help in correcting problems has been poor at best. I was willing to chalk it up to the dealership being a bunch of losers, but after contacting Mazda and getting no assistance, I have made up my mind never to buy another Mazda product again. My Mazda just went over 31,000 miles, and is considered low mileage, which should get me a good trade-in, about the only thing it has going for it...
Replaced with a 04 Audi A4 1.8T FWD CVT. Audi's have their detractors also, but we have zero problems in the 1st 12,000 miles. The Trib had 4 trips to the dealer in same span. The A4 better than Tribby it in every category.
I was surprised the dealer had the rack in stock. Must be common.
From what I've read on another forum you can adjust the idle mechanically via the throttle body by basically turning a screw. However, that method supposedly can cause other driveability problems and I don't know exactly what they are.
Apparently the safest way to adjust the idle is via the PCM and sometimes simply resetting it (disconnect the battery) does the trick.
More info can be found on Escape-Central if you're interested.
Vibe is much smaller, and ride is so-so, and that strange placement for antenna...
Plus, if you plan to lease, the monthly payments will be at the same range, as Escape have much higher residual.
first time on 2004 and older models, please note to use the best quality materials and possible and only use a reputable shop or mechanic to do the work. I used PROSTOP ceramic-enhanced from
PepBoys. I also used the same make rotor. I'm not sure if Ford is stilling using the dust-ridden
pads and disposable rotors like I had on my '01
XLT 2WD V6. The new pads are way better and don't dust-up near as much as the Ford OEM pads.
The PROSTOP rotors are turnable too, instead of
throw-away. The front disk system on the '05's seems to be beefier and still does a good job stopping the Escape, which is one of it's better
attributes. A friend who's a mechanic helped put them on, paid him instead of the dealership or shop.
So far, 58K miles but no signs of trouble ahead on the tranny or steering rack that I've read from the postings. I've had two (2) complete BG chemical flushes, on the cooling system, transmission, and power steering systems. Maybe this has helped, I don't know, but it's peace of mind insurance for me so far.
Then only other issue is that my mileage has gone down from 19 mpg city to about 16.5-17. I've been in touch with the dealer who did the recall
PCM re-flash, and they claim it has nothing to do
with the recall. However, oddly enough the mpg drop didn't seem to start happening until after the recall re-flash. I've checked alignment (often overlooked as cause for low mpg), brand new spark plugs, tires balanced, etc... all the
obvious or what I think obvious stuff, but no better mileage. If any body has ideas let me know. Oh, and btw, I've run BG44K fuel additive,
(super-concentrated) at $20 a bottle for about the last 40K miles, from what my shop has told me, would circumvent the need for a fuel-induction/injection service. I add it about every
5K miles to the fuel tank.
Still love the Escape though, it's still got plenty of power for my needs and has been a reliable, good vehicle to date... just keep up with the maintenance.
to be 16-17 MPG. Of course a lot has to do with
personal driving habits. I don't consider myself a hard driver. Most posts about MPG seems to be in the 18-19 City / 22+ Hwy range, which should be about right with the exception of the '05's which d/t some retuning seem to be getting a couple more MPG better.
However, here's my problem: When removing my foot from the accelerator (like to slow down for a stop light), it seems that the flywheel or drive chain keeps outputting RPMs. The vehicle does not slow down at all and keeps the same speed for maybe 100 yards. This causes me to hit the brake pedal, and "ride" the brakes for too long.
Anyone notice a problem like that? Any suggestions?
I have a 2003 Ford Escape which is 18 months old. It only has 24,000km or 14,300 miles on it. The original tires which are General Ameritrac tires are shot. The tires have no tread left. The wear started on the outside edge and moved inward. I have had the tires balanced twice and two wheel alignments done and it had no effect. Has any one else had problems with pre-mature tire wear on these awful tires?
emitting a low volume but still audible tone.
I have tracked it down to the boot which the
brake pedal bracket hits when you apply the brakes. With the vehicle in park and idling,
if I gentle move the boot around the tone will
come and go. If the vehicle is moving, I hear the tone. As soon as I apply the brakes it stops. Since this makes the 5th problem with the
vehicle, since the warranty ran out in March 04,
Any ideas before it goes back to the dealer?
Find a performance shop and have them plug a lap-top to your PCM. These lap-tops have sofware that can read what is in your PCM. If you know what it should be then they can may be modify the settings.
My wife has an 04 Tribute and her vehicle is quieter than my 01 Escape. I looked around the vehicle and noticed some pieces of foam attached here and there around doors ect.. not found on my 01 Escape.
Just for fun I test drove an 05 Escape and there is a huge difference in noise in the cabin. Ford/Mazda listened to the consumer and did a good job on noise reduction.
for the power steering pump. The high pressure hoses are additional if needed and any extra parts will of course be charged by the dealership including: shop rags, power steering fluid, disposal charge, environmental fee, processing fee, etc. You get the drill...
If the dealership quoted $700.00 then it's either in parts markup or labor and the above mentioned items.
I don't know the difficulty in changing a power-steering pump, but my guess is at least several hours base labor rate which is pushing $75.00-$80.00/hr. + the part(s) does not equal $700.00.
For that much money, I'd ask the dealer to justify, quantify the cost(s) in writing.
All, FYI : Almost pushing 60K miles on the '01 XLT V6 and have noticed that my drive belt(s) will need replacing shortly, passenger-side front
light lense is fogging and collecting water. Noticed it in some heavy rain here the last couple of days. So a seal must broken, the lense looks good with no breaks noticable. Will take it out, dry it, and re-seal if possible. Noticed clunking in A/C compressor. Was told by mechanic
friend that A/C clutch is going out with possible
future failure of A/C compressor. I guess after 3 1/2 solid years of running the A/C about 8-9 months per year, then this may be expected.
Mazda quoted me $500.00 for the pump and $200.00 installation which I declined of course. I just came from a used parts dealer where I obtained a power steering pump from a 2002 V6 Tribute for $89.00 total with a six months warranty. Does not look too hard to install, two hoses connections and a bracket. The car is a lease and I am going to turn it in soon. FWIW, I have been displeased overall with the Tribute's quality. No more Mazdas for me.
Just out of curiosity, if you're so concerned with quality why in God's name are you leasing? After all, you are going to turn it in eventually so you might as well drive something you like. Did you like the Tribute?
Also, if it's a lemon you shoudn't have to pay for any repairs unless you go over the mileage ceiling of the warranty, which would be over the same ceiling for the lease in most cases too. Neither is very smart when you lease.
If you're '01 Tribute only has 40,000 miles on it how is the pump not covered under the 48 month/48,000 mile warranty? Did you buy it in 2000?