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Comments
I don't know what the improvements are, but the headlights will only shut off automatically. You have to turn them on yourself. There is a Ford accessory rearview mirror that you can have installed by the dealer. It automatically dims at night, and has a digital compass and thermometer as well. I believe third pary aftermarket versions are available too.
Odie
I also have seen a ligher beige cladding if I remember.. I have a Black XLT v6 4WD and it does have the light grey cladding. I guess there are going to Escapes with no cladding available very soon also. I like the cladding myself it give the Escape a more rugged look.
Odie glad to see you are enjoying your Escape. I have about 12K on my 2001 and also no problems or gripes. Did have to have the glass and rear hatch adjusted because of a few squeaks.. other than that runs like a champ..
Someone I know has inside info on Escape Issues. The 2001's were real bad, the 2002's are just bad.
Hopefully the 2003's will be fair to good.
Consumer Report's surveys support the above as do the 1000's of complaints across the net chat rooms.
I had a 2001 Escape and got rid of it after 6 months due to electrical problems the dealer could not identify or fix.
The more people buy them, the more problems get reported, the faster Ford fixes them. Its good for all us. Hey, I may even buy one again if they finally get in right in 2003.
And I gotta agree with you about the looks of the Escape. That is why I bought mine. I figured it was the best looking car-based small-ute out there. Mind you the new Forester is really starting to grow on me. Subaru sure did a nice fix up job on that one.
I personally know of several Escapes that had their engines replaced under warranty. Quality?
Canada.. I agree the 2001's had a rough start but to call everyone of the over 200,000 produced a lemon is just plain ignorant. There are thousand upon thousands of satified Escape/Tribute owners out here on the net from 2001, 2002 model years.
Why are you here anyway if you don't even own an Escape?
never said all 200,000 are lemons.
just that there seems to be a higher % of lemons with Escapes than most other mini-utes.
I Am very happy for your mainly trouble free escape (so far). Yes you are probably in the majority as well.
buying any vehicle is a tradeoff.
looks vs quality vs power vs handling vs mileage vs utility vs room vs cost vs value vs reliability vs comfort vs drivability etc etc.
Most of the above are personal as well.
I am here because I owned an Escape, and am condsidering getting another one (probably a 2003) once I as satisified Ford has ironed out the issues (especially the stalling).
In fact (and Ford would hate me for saying this) if I had a 2001/2002 Escape, I would tell the dealer that the Escape stalled (even if it did not) and have all of the stalling TSB's fully applied (as per the net - new PCM etc). Just for that extra measure of confidence. What I am in fact saying is that Ford should do the ethical and moral thing and issue a recall. Because they have not yet, you have to force the issue yourself, even if it involves a "white lie".
Not every vehicle has the problem. If everyone on the internet who reads your advice and lies, it does no one any good and just causes Ford an increased burden in warranty coverage costs. (Costs which eventually will be passed on to the consumer).
It also skews numbers of the number of folks that actually had the problem vs folks who lie and just report that they did..
Service departments will start to question those folks who really do have problems because of folks who just claim that they have a problem without even experiencing it. This gives some folks the impression that the dealership (or FoMoCo) doesn't trust them, so the users claims they are getting poor service.
No wonder companies like Honda have started withholding TSB information from the public. If your advice is taken, other companies will follow, and Ford will have to start withholding this information from the public..
Information is a great tool, but I don't recommend abusing it..
Relentlesly pursue the fix for those problems you have experienced, but don't make up problems that don't exist.
It is obvious it is a problem. The real danger is that Ford does not seem to have it 100% worked out yet.
I can see Ralph Nader jumping all over this one with a book called "unsafe at NO speed"
For my needs and preferences the Escape was a much better choice..
a. The Escape accelerated, braked, and cornered much better than the Explorer which had the 4.0L engine and the 5sp automatic tranny.
It was much easier to maneuver the Escape in every situation. (btw, my other vehicle is an F250 SuperDuty, so I know how to deal with large vehicles).
b. The Escape was easier to see out of. The bulging hood of the Explorer coupled with the low roofline gives you a cramped feeling.
c. The front seats were more roomier on the Escape than the Explorer.. My left knee kept resting against or bumping the door panel in the Explorer while the Escape did not have this problem.
d. For the occasions when I head north to visit family in the winter time, the front wheel drive Escape does alot better in the snow vs. the rear wheel drive explorer, (4x2 models).
e. The Escape with the same options as the Explorer can be bought for thousands less, and gets better mpg's as well.
I've only had to use the roof rack 2 times with the Escape (to hold just a few items when going to the beach on vacation), whereas if I had the Explorer I could have probably would have been able fit all the bags, food, luggage, toys etc, inside..
The rear seat of the Explorer is slightly larger, but not by that much. We've taken 1.5 hour trips with a third adult (grandma) in the back seat of the Escape between 2 car seats, and she got along just fine.
On rough washboarded gravel roads, the Explorer was smoother than the Escape, however it (the Explorer) didn't feel as precise on the the highway or paved roads.
My Escape, along with hundreds of thousands of others has been problem free (around 16k miles on it). I've seen the stalling problem posted on boards like this and it appears that Ford has some TSB's issued to handle this problem for the small % of vehicles that are affected.
My advice is to drive both and compare for yourself. Do you need the extra interior space, and towing capacity of the Explorer?
This stalling thing is getting a bit out of hand. Edmunds is about the only chat site that I read where a lot of this is happening. Makes me wonder about duplicate loggons trying to spread panic. I have almost 12K on my Escape and not one problem. Get out on the net and you too will see there are thousands upon thousands of satisfied Escape/Tribute owners out there.. Good luck. Any question feel free to ask!
The 2003 Escape is going to have upgraded interior.. along with many more standard features.. The Escape/Tribute are the way to go!
hope this helps
Odie
p.s. - I still have not had a single problem yet and i've got 19,500 miles on my 2001 XLT 4x4
Steve
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I hope the quality is on par with Honda/Toyota. My last two company cars (1998 Dodge Intrepid and 2000 Olds Intrigue) started falling apart at around 50,000 miles. The fit/finish of the escape looks on par with the imports.
I too picked up a Midnight Escape. They're very slick, basically what Ford will be offering next year in the 2003 Limited models of the Escape. The body color cladding makes the Escape look really slick!
I went from a Ford Contour to the Escape and it was an easy transition. The interiors of both the Escape and Contour are similar, though it would have been nice if Ford kept the same light switch. I also don't understand why the rear defroster isn't timed. Back in the early days of Rear Window defrosters, this typically mean the demise of the system because they were frequently left on too long.
I really like my Escape, but I must admit I'm not pleased with the overall build quality from a mid-year product. My passenger side front fender and door are poorly misaligned. Subsequently, my front passenger door body-cladding caught the edge of the front fender and subsequently was bent backward. I suspect too, because production runs for 2003 models will be starting shortly that supplies are low for replacement parts.
The good news, regardless, is that it isn't anything that can't be fixed.
Steve
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The only charge that I didn't see is the SHO charge and the Overseas delivery charge as I took delivery in the States.
The only way that they saved me money is the fact that I ordered mine and missed 2 Ford price increases. Overall, I had problems with the delivery (the dealer didn't care to help and Overseas Military Sales was worthless), no dealer wanted to help with maintenance - one flat out told me that I didn't buy it from them so they were not going out of thier way to help me.
Price wise, I could have gotten a better deal in the states, except for the price increases.
Don
The 2003 is supposed to have improved interior. Have you seen a 2001/02 model Escapes interior? Let me know if its better and how much. Thanks.
I am here for my Mother who bought a 2002 Escape a few months ago. I use the VW Passat discussion, and I always get great feedback.
Ok, here goes....
Out of every car I've even driven, I have never noticed the tachometer fluctuate as much as the one on the Escape does. I usually notice everything strange and I noticed this right away the first time I drove it. It's a V6 and it's automatic. The tach seems to jump A LOT. It hardly ever stays steady on an increase or decrease in speed. It seems to jump up and down instead. Is this the engine changing gears every 3 seconds?? It doesn't take much for the thing to downshift on even the smallest of inclines. I wouldn't even call it a hill.
It just seems like the tach isn't right. Does anyone else notice this and have you had it checked. Is this normal??
Thanks
I think what your seeing is the torque converter lock releasing anytime you increase/decrease your speed.. To increase MPGs, the lock engauges (eliminating torque converter slipage). In the past, most vehicles had to be at a steady speed for several seconds before the lock would engauge. (when it locks, you see the rpm's drop a bit, but your speed and gear remains the same). It almost has the appearance of a mini-shift..
I think the Escape's locks up fairly quickly. And when you change speeds, it unlocks quickly..
So, on the small hills, your not seeing a downshift, just the unlock..
My wife also likes the Midnight Escape. What is "nudo" leather? It is supposedly different from the regular leather, does anybody know?
I worry about stone chips on the Midnight appearance package. the bumper looks so glossy it looks like it will flake off with a little chip. but it looks great!
The Explorer is nice and because it is priced aggressively the lease cost is only 125 a month. I like the Explorer a lot...
bess, I am in the same predicament as you. Although I have only a one year old, we will have more and that is why common sense is telling me maybe the Explorer is better, but your comments are definitely reassuring.
My only problem with the Escape? When test driving it, it was hard to put in the car seat (front facing) in the middle because it left one side with generous room for one and the other side is too small for anybody. Is there a better way? Because there is no middle shoulder belt, are you putting the lap belt to secure it or using the shoulder belts? I don't like the tether straps mounted in the ceiling...others like the Santa Fe have them in the floor. They always tell us to mount the seat in the iddle but it lookslike the seat would be best fitting near the doors instead...any feedbakc would be truly appreciated.
Thank God my wife didn't like the Santa Fe!
I have had an Escape now for more than a year, my tach does not jump all over when its at a steady speed..
cmnott, The choice between and Explorer and an Escape is a tough one.. I had to make the same choice. I sat down with the wife and we discussed what are we really going to use this vehicle for? How is it going to be used? I needed light towing and AWD for my personal needs. I didn't need all that extra towing power and room. I have a small family (4) and had no need for seating 7 people. Both of these are nice SUV's. Test drive both multiple times, it will come to you which one to choose.. Good luck..
Have someone look at that.. Did you check your tranny fluid level?
cmnott:
To be honest.. We only went to the Escape when the youngest was 2, (older was 5). Prior to that I really felt we were served best by the mini-van.
The car seats are best on left/right. We always had 2 so we never tried a carseat in the middle. the lap belt only plus the tether will be just fine.
One thing to think about is how well will the rear facing car seat be? In the mini-van, we had buckets for front and middle, and bench in the rear. We also decided against a center console, which allowed for easier access to the rear..
It occured several times where my wife would shuffle back to the 3rd row seat so she could tend to the infant, or sometimes as a special treat, we would be the older one in the 3rd row, leaving a seat beside the infant available for easier tending as well.
There's also no doubt that the mini-van has more cargo room than the Escape, which does come in handy when you have all of the stuff for the really little ones (strollers, portable high chairs, portable playpens/crib, diaper bags, blankets, toys etc.
If I were in your situation, I'd look at the mini-van.
This is only my opinion.. There are thousands of folks who raise 2 kids and only own a 4door passenger car.. The Escape is at least as good as that.. We just liked the extra convience of the mini-van when the kids were really little..
I just hope they don't tell my Mom it's normal and treat a female like ...... well..... a female, and send her on her way without doing anything.
Thanks again
P.S. Please separate a reply to my post from a different reply to a completely different post instead of including 2 separate replies in the same post. Thanks
Give the Escape a good waxing with a high quality wax/cleaner. I did this to my 01 that is black and used Maquires 3step. It takes about 3 hours but is really worth it. I have a black Escape and it made it look better than the day I picked it up. Also, for the cladding/bumpers, are yours painted? if not there is a product called Black Chrome by Turtle wax. It comes out black but works great on the plastics. Keeps them clean and gives them a shine.
I was alerted to the offset frontal crash by someone on another forum and I must admit, they are truly disheartening. Quite honestly it looked terrible. Have others seen it? The NHTSA scored it very high, in fact higher than my S60 T5, so what to make of it?
By the way, the Explorer was chosen as a "best pick", it was truly excellent.
Also, what else is changed on the Escape for 2003?
I have just over 13,000 trouble free miles on my 01 Escape now. I have towed 2 jet skiis, been up skiing and to my favorite fishing spots. This vehicle has proven to be flexable, reliable and able.. Ford and Mazda have a winner here.. See the latest Motor Trend!
My wife really likes the Escape and now that she has heard that the 2003 Escape Limited will have heated mirror/seats, std. mach system, and BODY COLOURED mouldings no matter what color (she likes the red but would go with the black midnight appearance just for the allbalck look), she wants it even more.
Problem is the Explorer is a best pick in accidents and more attractive lease-wise...it is a question of going with your brain or with your heart.
My main beef is the child anchor/tethers. there is no shoulder belt for the middle occupant. i tried with the lap belt but it doesn't tighten like the shoulder belts and my wife was told to always put the car seat in the middle. So she is a little nervous of mounting the car by the door, but wouldn't it be more safe there?
The negative here, is the child seat centered in the Escape won't leave alot of room on either side..
The shoulder harness with child seats really doesn't do much (because of the way the shoulder part feeds through the seats).
The Escape belt holds the child seat, the child seat belt holds the child..
Once you get to the larger 'booster' seats, where you only use the Escapes belt to secure the child+booster seat, would you want to be sure to use the shoulder belt..
Looking at the ads in my area the new 2002 Explorer looks like a pretty decent deal for not too much more $$.
Anyhoo.. let us know what you choose...