Ford Escape

indylowflyer

I replaced the original floor mats with the Ford accessories logo mats. Thet are MUCH better than the originals. I have also purchased the rubber mats and will install when the weather turns. They are heavy! I also bought a rear carpeted cargo mat that I highly recommend. It also has the Escape logo and will protect the carpeting in the rear cargo area. Approaching 10,000 trouble-free miles.

robingf

Thanks for the news clippings, Steve. As of about an hour ago, our facility was notified that the plants shut down on Thursday expect to reopen for production on Monday, 2nd shift. So, that's SOME good news for all concerned.

So far, the Escape plant hasn't been mentioned.....I hope it stays that way, as our Escape is due to be built the week of the 24th !!

Cheers....
- robingf -

lovethosesuvs

I now have 1800 trouble-free miles on my 2001 Dark Highland Green Escape XLT, and have loved every minute of it. I also got those beefy rubber floor mats and they are GREAT! With having the leather, it makes cleanup a snap! No carpeting for me!

Since I have a dog, the Husky rubber (or whatever it is) cargo mat I ordered off the Internet also makes cleanup easy. I also got a tan tarp from Menard's and folded it in such a way that it is under the Husky floor mat, and then goes up against the back of the back seats and is wedged between the tonneau cover holder and the top of the back seats, to hold the tarp there. Since the back of the back seats are carpeted, this also helps cleanup. It's kind of a jerry-rigged system, but it looks fine and works great.

Today we went up to Door County (Wisconsin) and had a great time. It is nice knowing that cleanup will be easier, quicker, and more effective than with my previous car (Ford Escort). No matter how much I cleaned the carpeting, it still smelled like dog.

tbhawn

We purchased an Escape 11/00. We have been pleased except the A/C will sporadically cut on/off. It will go from 42 - 65 degrees without warning. We have had it in the dealership 4 times & they say they cannot fix it because they cannot get the problem to duplicate. Has anyone had a similar problem or any advice??
Thanks in advance,
T Hawn

escape9

Are you getting the "Carpeted Floor Mats" in the Outfitters Catalog or the "Universal Carpeted Floor Mats?"

The "Carpeted" have an escape logo, and the Universal have a Ford logo.

dafowner

Traded in my 97 Dodge Grand Caravan ES for this vehicle. My first car was a Ford and I decided to come back after having problems with my Dodge. Bought the vehicle in Oct 2000 Model XLT presently 24,000 miles. It been in the shop for recalls and to replace the front steering and tie rods( Aug 2001). The gas mileage and drive is very poor. I had hope to save some of the down time that I had with my van. I've spent more time at the dealer with problems than I had with the van. Plus I spent money on rentals. Presently the coolant light comes on but the reservoir is full, and I have electrical problems and it is had to start at times. The dealer does know what the problem is.

mckee4

Basic answer to your question is no, I did not get the 4WD variant Escape, d/t the fact that
they're hard to come by in Houston. I would've preferred to have gotten it, but in a
several delaer search, not one was found. Besides, at the time, the one that my wife and I
had locked on was on the lot and ready to go.
My daughter is going to college in a mountainous area and it would've been nice to have
the 4WD for an extra safety and drivability. Really for the Houston, Gulf Coast
area, the 2WD is more than adequate.
FYI. The after-market moon-roof wind deflector which I purchased from the dealership
seems to be ill-fitting and does not seat properly. I'll have to check back with the
dealership on this one. Otherwise I am extremely happy with all the accessories
purchased so far.

indylowflyer

I got the "carpeted floor mats" with the Escape logo out of the Ford Outfitters Catalog.

escape9

One more question:
Are the mats for the rear seats larger than the stadard mats that come with the car?

Thanks

hckynut

If you are talking about the Rubber Mats that say Escape on them the answer is YES. They are much, much larger than the puny carpeted ones I took out of ours. To me it was a good buy for the size and depth of these rubber mats.

hckynut

indylowflyer

The carpeted rear mats , base part # 7813086, are slightly larger than the original mats. The rubber mats, base part # 7813086-front and # 7813106-rear, I ordered were fronts only. The catalog is the "Escape Accessories 2001".

wldflr1

I have an Escape that was picked up on March 10, 2001 and for the last few months, I have noticed the infamous gas fumes after restarting the car shortly after it was turned off (the engine is still warm).

I now have about 6,500 miles on it and am wondering if Ford has a solution to this by now or is it something that has to be tolerated? It's time for another oil change and I'm wondering if I it's worth the aggravation to leave the car in the shop for the day for something that they don't know how to fix...

Other than the occasional gas smell, I really do love my XLT Escape!

turksteritis

I had the gas smell in my 01 tribute. The dealer installed new o-ring gaskets for the intakes & no smell ever since.

ssam4

don`t know which to buy love the taurus i own one but thinking about the new escape... is the escape a great suv ? would you buy it agin ? any problems ?

indylowflyer

It really depends on what your wants/needs are in a vehicle. My choice was the Escape and we would purchase again. We have over 9,000 trouble-free miles and love this vehicle. It offers a car-like ride and gets good mileage for a suv. Also, four-wheel drive is a huge plus over a car in the winter.

mikepro

I also had a 2000 Sable (company car) that was a fine vehicle, and now have a 2002 Escape. I would take the Escape hands down. It has a nice ride, (not as cushy as the Sable, so if you like that..), is very tight in its steering and handling, and is just an all around great vehicle. I really like the seating position, styling, 4wd, and performance. I wouldn't worry about quality at all. But, that's just me. Go test drive one and see what you think.

pontoon20

As seen on Kelley Blue Book's site, Ford is offering a $400.00 College Graduate Incentive on the 2002 Escape.

However this incentive is NOT available with National Incentive-56M.

Can anyone explain what National Incentive-56M is?

hckynut

I have never owned a Taurus but have driven many of them and also a Sable. Whenever we go on trips of any distance we always rent from Hertz and they use primarily Ford Motor Company cars.

Although I liked the Taurus and Sable there would be no thought to me as what I would buy again. We picked up our 2002 XLT Premuium Sept.4 and now have a little over 500 miles on it. Everything the replies above stated are my exact feelings.

Rides nice, is one of the best handling vehicles I have driven(for it's type)and the quality on the one we have is impecable. Road noise is minimal, fit and finish is superb and not a single complaint about this SUV. It does have a very slight wind noise at Interstate speeds of 70mph, but I've found that to be true in every single SUV I drove before deciding on the Escape.

I am not singling out the Liberty, but only because there has been mentioned on this board more than once about their superior quality over the Escape do I mention this. It did not ride any where near as smoothly as the Escape. We have no intentions of Off-Roading(not by choice anyway's)with this SUV so I prefer the smooth softer ride of the indepentent suspension. The Liberty's I drove(3 different ones)all had a least as much, and 1 of them more wind noise than our Escape.
Don't know if it was the type of tires(I know this does make a difference)but it had significantly more road noise than our Escape.

All in all if you are looking for a vehicle that rides like a car and has the conviences of riding higher(better view of the road)and probably much more storage capacity by all means go with the Escape. I don't think you would regret this decision.

hckynut

indylowflyer

Well said. And all of this for only 20-25 thousand.

Only 500 miles? You still must not be getting much seat time!

eager1

Hi everyone. I was just wondering if the problems with the 2001 Escape have been resolved with the 2002 (gas smell, engine stalls, etc). My husband and I have been wanting to purchase the Escape for some time but have been waiting for some finance incentives. My dealer called today to state that they finally have lowered the finance rates as of today in response to slower sales (as a result of the tragedy).

Also, I've noticed that a few of you have mentioned that you like the 4X2 and don't really need the 4X4 if you're not going off road. I think gas mileage is a little better with the 4X2 also? Is there anything else I should conside when selecting this vehicle?

I appreciate your input. Thanks.

bess

Important considerations.
a. 4cyl vs 6cyl
- I prefer the 6cyl.. My brother has an escape with the 4cyl and 5sp and he says it does just fine..
- Automatic vs manual. Personally I prefer manual tranny, however I got the automatic for 3 reasons:
a. Its our family car we take on trips, so its nice not having to shift.
b. I prefered the V6 engine, in which case you have to get the automatic.
c. After the testdrive it was one of the few vehicle with an automatic that actually allowed the vehicle to feel powerful..

xls vs xlt:
I didn't want leather, but I also didn't like the cloth xls seat designs at all. I also like the 60/40 split rear seat fold down option.

2wd vs 4wd:
The Escape 2wd is a front wheel drive vehicle.. Even with decent snows, the front wheel drive combined with decent ground clearance will go far.. In fact I bet the 2wd Escape will do better than the 2wd Explorer because of the Escape being a front wheel drive.. However if you want 4wd, there's nothing wrong with that either.. I have the 2wd, my brother has a 4wd.. We both love them..

15" vs 16" wheels:
I like 16" wheels and the extra body side cladding that comes with it..

Options I didn't get: Leather (just a personal preference), step bars (basically useless and actually make it harder to enter/exit, and just get your pants dirty, moon roof (because I installed an overhead video system, which works nice)

Just my opinions with some facts mixed in..

robingf

Late on Thursday evening, Sept. 20, Ford announced the following finance incentives for most/all 2002's, through Ford Motor Credit :

1.) Loans of 3 years, 0% Interest
2.) Loans of 4 years, 0.9% Interest
3.) Loans of 5 years, 2.9% Interest

This incentive program runs from Sept. 20 through the end of October.

Since our Escape is due to arrive in early October, we can use this program !! HOORAY !!

evets50

I sure would like for the new finance incentives to apply to the Escapes? But from what I see on the Edmunds New Car Site, they do not?? Anyone know for sure??

tincup47

Edmunds probably hasn't updated the info yet. Check this site for verification

http://www.fordvehicles.com/news/index.asp?tpt=1&aid=150

or this one

http://63.236.108.16/news.cms?newsId=515

jimxo

After hearing that 2.9% for 60 and feeling patriotic, I think 2002 Escape will suite me better than the Honda CRV. My 95 Taurus has 190k miles and runs great, but everything else is falling apart.

I read many post but only one with pricing. I need to do some home work here. Can someone be kind enough to reply?

How much over invoice should I pay?

What is a good deal for a 7/100 mile warranty?

Thanks in advance!

robingf

I've just confirmed with my dealer (where I have my Escape on order) that the finance incentives, indeed, do apply to our order ! Any dealer that works with Ford Motor Credit should be able to confirm the same over the phone, through an inquiry to their Finance person.

toodamnhip

Having all those pockets, slots, drawers, etc in the 2002 XLT what are you doing with them? What are you placing in these areas? Has anyone found a good multipurpose organizer tray for the bottom space on the console? What about cell phone accessories?

I am using the under the passenger tray for storage of a first aid kit and the empty CD jewel cases.

bri66

Mine are still empty, not sure what to do. Question, does anyone have any idea what the sloped slot on the very far left is??? Dealer told me to put a dime in it.

hckynut

indylowflyer. Still not getting much seat time. The lady has been working more hours(for the Escape Fund) and thus the Escape is home less.

What's this about incentives on the Escape? I went to both of the websites that "tincup47" left and I don't see anything that specifically says the Escape. See the Explorer, Taurus and a few others, but nothing about the Escape.

If this is true I am going to call my Ford Dealer and bend his ear a little bit since we've only had ours for a couple weeks and see if they won't do a little something to lower our rate a bit.

I had this same thing happen several years ago when I ordered my GM Olds car. Not long after I took possession of it GM came out with a much lower interest rate. I went to the dealer and they did split the difference with me.

On the 2002 Escape(we are leasing it,fits our needs better this way)the interest rate when we picked it up is around 9%.

Anyway I got nothing to lose by talking to them. I will mention my experience with the same situation with GM a few years ago. Don't you guys feel that within a certain period if an Incentive program is announced it should be Grand-Fathered back at least a fixed amount of time to customers that have just picked up their vehicles?

hckynut

lovethosesuvs

Under passenger seat tray: phone book. More useful than I had anticipated.

Bottom part of console: hand cream, good to use when you are at a long red light.

Where cassette player should be: nail file, pennies.

Ashtray: toll change.

Slot in doors: maps.

Console: baby wipes (good if you eat in the car a lot), Kleenex, extra CD's.

I have no problem filling up the space!

toodamnhip

First week with my "banana" 2002 XLT and she works very well. It's a joy to drive. Had to run to Rockford and put about 200 miles on her. The first MPG was 22.1 which I thought was not bad for the first tank.

There is some wind noise but its not that bad either. Only real problem is some vibration in the drivers mirror. I didn't notice any brake dust showing up yet which is a problem with other ones I've seen. Does it start showing up about 500 miles in? Only complaint is the drivers door padding needs to be thicker.

Check out Ford's Australian site. They have a way for you to get some jpg's of your vehicle being built. Would have loved to see that here.

To Bri66: Around Chicago here I placed quarters in the slot for the toll and use the ashtray for the nickels and dimes.

To lovethosesuvs: Thanks for the suggestions. Hmm a phone book? Beats paying those cell phone info charges I guess but it must be a small directory.

eager1

To Hckynut: My dealer called me to inform me of the incentive rates right now, and I've even seen a few commercials. The only Ford vehicle it doesn't apply to is the Thunderbird. I agree that you should call your dealer and see if they'll work out a deal for you. Good Luck!

To Bess: Thanks alot for your input!

To JIMXO: I can't really help you on the 2002 pricing for CRV vs. Escape, but the 2001s were priced comparably. Even though I've heard many complaints about the look of the interior of the Escape, to me it looked 10 times better than the CRV. Even a CRV with leather looks cheap. I am also curious as to how much above invoice people feel would be a good deal.

toodamnhip

Is the net we get with the XLT the same one that's in the accessories catalog? The one in the truck looks smaller. Is the correct installation to hang it off the flanges near the rear door and it hangs down but doesn't touch the floor area?

bess

You should easily be able to get a deal of $500 over invoice.. Some folks will get better than this, but there alot of folks who will pay MSRP. If a dealer won't give you a deal that price range, find another..

However as you can see from this site, the difference between invoice and MSRP is only around $1500 or so, unlike most of the larger SUV that have considerabliy more markup for MSRP.

hckynut

bess not sure what post you are replying to, but whomever is looking to buy an Escape would be remiss if they did not look into the X-Plan.

hckynut

lovethosesuvs

Actually I used one of those guillotine-type paper cutters to cut some of the bottom margin off--it was just a tad too long (or the tray is too short). Really helps when you've been out for awhile and get hungry and need suggestions of places to eat.

I used to be a sales rep with a company car, so am quite used to being on the road all day every day.

Enjoy your vehicle!

odie6l

that little sloped slot left of the steering wheel hold about $1.75 - $2.00 in quarters.... only problem is they rattle like hell when you hit some bumps or go over the groved road during construction season.

I also like the free 12 disc CD case Ford sent me after I purchased my '01 Escape.

Odie

lovethosesuvs

Odie--I didn't get a free CD case. Did it just come to you or did you fill out some kind of form?

4thdown

For what its worth, I ordered a 2002 Premium XLT 4x4 with Mach Audio 6 Disc CD on 8/31/01. The price I got was $1074 below MSRP. I live in southern NJ.

Hope this helps...

ver2us1

I got my first cell phone today, that is a great idea to put a phone book in the passenger seat tray! I was wondering about that little cubby hole way to the left also *lol*! I haven't put anything anywhere yet in any of the various slots but my purse fits inside the console so I can hide it there if I don't want to drag it with me while running errands. I am really happy with the leather seats and got the 16" wheels specifically for the wheel lip moldings (had to add as option since I bought a 4x2). Just make sure you buy an XLT - it is worth every penny over an XLS in my opinion! I paid the set price of about $200 under invoice through the x-plan but was willing to pay up to $200 over invoice before I discovered the plan. I can't see the brake dust yet, probably since I have so few miles, but if I run a white rag over the wheels the black soot is there. I've been trying to keep them wiped down every week. I have had my Escape for one month, 670 miles so far, and absolutely love it!!

heckster4

What is the x plan? Can it be used for a Tribute also? Is Ford offering 0% interest? Is Mazda?

hckynut

Called my Ford Dealer this morning and the news for me getting cheaper financing was not good.
Seems like they do offer the 0% interest rate on the 2002 Escapes, but that does not apply to those that are leased. They also said it is for NEW orders or purchases only. Since I completed the loan procedures before the Special Program became effective I am out of luck.

The story of my life the ole "day late dollar short" deal. In this case many, many, many dollars by the end of the 3 year lease.

hckynut

kellyg8

I bought my 2002 XLT in Dark Highland Green with 6-disc changer and moon-roof on Saturday using the X plan and they offered me 4.9% on a 5 year financing plan. I tried to get the 0.9% but they told me that was only for 3 yr. plans and the 0.0% was only for 2001 Escapes. Other than reading on this board that in some places 0.0% is being offered for 2002's, I'm very happy with my new "green machine." I've had it for 3 full days and it already has 270 miles on it! I also found out that there are only 6 green 2002 XLT's with moonroofs in the entire state of California... and I have one of them!

I've been looking at Escapes for almost 6 months almost to the point of obsessing... I even found at most dealerships I was telling the salesman the differences between the XLT and the XLS and the 2001 versus the 2002. I could not have done it without this message board because it was here that I found out about the X-plan and it made a world of difference.

Thank you!

evets50

Just ordered our Escape XLT with the X-Plan. It is the ONLY way to go when buying a new Ford. I learned about the X-Plan on this site so thanks to those of you who helped educate us novices. Now the only hard part is waiting for it to come in. Dealer said about 4 to 6 weeks.

odie6l

the Cd case just showed up in the mail. I don't know why I got it. Probally for filling out the survey or something, I dunno.

Odie

indylowflyer

The cd case is a "thank you" from Ford for your Escape purchase. I know two other people who bought XLT Escapes, and received the cd case. Ours showed up about 8 weeks after purchasing. My only question is does Ford send it to owners who did not get the cd player?

heckster4

What is the X plan? Please someone answer me!

suvshopper4

heckster4: "What is the X plan? Please someone answer me!"

The truth is out there. Or so I've heard.

stever

Here's a post with some X Plan discussion links:

steve_ Jul 5, 2001 5:24pm

Steve
Host
Vans, SUVs and Aftermarket & Accessories Message Boards

robsao

Just found out yesterday that my truck was delivered a month early to the dealership. That`s not what bothers me too much. What bothers me is that it is the wrong color and does not have the Mach Audio. It`s a good thing that I am in Japan right now and they have about 27 days to find one like the one I ordered. Otherwise I will take the one that they delivered but I will have them install the Audio system and not pay for it and try to get another $1000 off the price. As much as I hate to say it, it was Ford that messed up. I have a quote from Aug 3 with a signature and I received the paper work dated Aug 27 with all the old info. One way or another I will get what I want. Ford won`t loose my business it`s just a little annoying.