By accessing this website, you acknowledge that Edmunds and its third party business partners may use cookies, pixels, and similar technologies to collect information about you and your interactions with the website as described in our
Privacy Statement, and you agree that your use of the website is subject to our
Visitor Agreement.
Comments
That about sums it up for me too. I test drove a Highlander and it was smooth and very refined (of course its 10% more money).
I'm currently looking at the VUE. Nice package. Still can't figure out how it can be longer and wider but have less cargo room, legroom and shoulder room than the Escape.
Most troubled vehicle per consumer reports readers.
Since it's obviously a subjective judgement, wouldn't it be nice to have a little interior decibel display on the dash?
Not holding my breath.
I think anyone with sound concerns should just test drive the thing and make up their own mind.
Most people I've spoken to have agreed the Escabute is a loud car on the highway - cost cutting on the insulation I would guess.
I rented one and put 200 Km on it this weekend.
With me and 3 others taking a highway trip we had to elevate our voices pretty high to get over the noise. That wasn't comfortable past the first 20 minutes so then we just blared the radio at #12 volume or something. If you want to call that just above luxury car levels, then so be it but I'd hate to see what you call loud.
I don't mean to poke fun at anyone for their opinions, but there are CR-V owners complaining about the clicking of a solenoid that can only be heard if they listen carefully and completely shut off the radio. In fact, some can't hear it, instead they have hold their hand on the steering column and "feel" the slight vibration.
So, yeah, I think it's getting a bit silly.
No, I don't expect it to be as quiet as a luxury car, if I did, I would have bought a Lexus.
Well, I was driving home from work tonight on U.S. 1 - major road in Miami - and my Escape stalled while I was doing 45 mph. I managed to stay calm and drift over to the right lane - I was in the process of going over to the right when it happened and I put on the hazards and then stopped. The Escape started up right away.
This is the second time this has happened. I have the XLT 2001 Escape - it has 6000 miles on it and I purchased it in April 2001.
I took the Escape to the Ford dealer immediately and went into the service manager. He totally denied ever having heard of this problem in any Escape but mine (he did remember me from the last time) and told me to bring the car in Monday. He said he knows I will take this the whole way through to the lemon law in Florida - he said it like I was trying to set him up.
This is so upsetting. I am afraid to drive my lemon and yet I need to get to work.
Any word on the NTSB investigation. Any suggestions. Any class action lawsuit going on.
Murphy
that shuts off the fuel pump if the fuel level
drops. The dealers have a crib-sheet for this
problem should it occur during customer test
drives! Maybe this is the problem being noted
by several unhappy owners. I regret that I did
not save the copy I got from the newbie sales
rep at Mazda when I was pressuring him to give
me information about the rotary blade coupling.
There was a particular sequence of turning the
key on-off-on and pressing the gas or something
like that to get the vehicle to start up again.
If you folks were "low" on gas, maybe this is
the source of your troubles - fuel pump cutout.
Ford vehicles seem to have problems with fuel
gauges that show empty when there is 4 or 5 gallons
left. Maybe this problem is related? Try asking
for the "test drive tip sheet".
what other problems should i be aware of??
What else should I consider buying??
thanks
At 1400 miles, I changed the oil (Amzoil 5W-20 Synthetic) in my Escape. I also checked the antifreeze with a hydrometer and checked all fluid levels to make sure I had no problems. I was surprised that at this point I could not find any factory defects other than a missing battery terminal boot. I ran full OBD2 diagnostic scans and found all readings almost dead perfect. I thought I had bought a quality built car.
At 2450 miles, while checking the oil and fluids, I discovered a thick oil slick in my coolant reservoir. My thoughts on quality were pretty much dashed at this point.
I brought it into the dealer and told them that if the motor was toast, I expected a NEW and not rebuilt motor to be installed. I also requested a free power train warranty extension to 100,000 miles as this is supposed to be the mileage it should be able to run without as much as a tune up. Since literally the whole power train needs to be removed to swap the motor and there are literally 100's of sensors to be swapped, I feel the probability of having future problems are much higher than if Ford had built the car correctly at the factory. The dealer declined the warranty extension and said I would have to take my case up to Ford Customer Service. (which I intend to do) Hopefully Ford will stand behind their product and will alleviate my worries that I'm going to have a short life vehicle.
Has anyone had the Duratec replaced in their Escape and if so, how many additional trips to the dealer did it take before they had everything running correctly. I do not feel too good about this.
I'll let you all know how this turns out.
The Escapes/Tribs braking distances are top notch and soft brake pads are the reason why....
Anyway, in reading your posts about stalling for the past few weeks, I've noticed one thing they all seem to have in common -- the vehicles seem to stall when they're going downhill. If it was just a low-engine-speed occurrence, then you'd be experiencing stalls coming up to traffic lights, idling, etc. But that's not what's happening. It's happening when you're going downhill.
This simply HAS to be a problem either in the design of the gas tank or (more probably) the fuel line from the tank to the engine. In my layman's opinion, it sounds like gravity is causing a "burp" somewhere when the vehicle is nose-down.
Just a thought after reading all your posts! You know, my Ford-built Mazda pickup had fuel pump relay problems and problems with fuel pressure causing the truck to stall when I purchased it. I would have just driven to the end of my street in the morning -- making my first stop since turning on the ignition -- and the moment I hit the gas again, the truck would stall and I'd smell gas. I'd have to sit there and crank it for at least 15 seconds before it would finally turn over and let me go again. After taking it in a couple of times, I was finally told that there was a fix -- and they installed a new PCM. (That did fix the problem but caused others that were never resolved until I got rid of the truck -- mostly lean fuel mixtures and incessant engine pinging no matter what kind of gas I used. It's a long story.)
Anyway, Ford seems to have a history of releasing vehicles that haven't been fully tested and then updating PCMs to take care of problems. I'd be surprised if you guys don't find out about a "PCM Upgrade" under warranty before too long.
Meade
Overall, I think that Ford/Mazda's design of the fuel tank and the fuel line sucks. There have been numerous complaints resembling mine about the fuel tank as well as the fuel line. What different steps has Mazda/Ford taken to try to resolve this problem with those of you who've had the stalling? Your solution may be as simple as getting that fuel line fixed.
After the second stalling incident - while doing 45 mph on US 1 in Miami - not going downhill - Miami is flat - I took the Escape back to the dealer armed with the knowledge from this board and my first complaint, etc. There is a Ford bulletin out on the problem; The Ford Dealer replaced PCM and re-programmed. BUT - I know this sounds like a tin foil hat alert - the service manager said the same thing posted above - that perhaps a radio frequency is interfering with the Escapes and all of the Escapes and Tributes have the potential to stall - you just have to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Well, if that is the case, this will be an even bigger problem for Ford (like I care). I did check Yahoo Finance and the Escape stalling problem is already become a stock value problem.
Anyway, will keep checking in. I have the whole service bulletin but it is rather long. Let me know if anyone wants a copy and I will try and scan it and send it to whomever.
Still afraid to drive my car even with no hills in Miami.
Murphy
Wouldn't it be better to determine whether hills are a factor by examining conditions when a vehicle stalled?
I've picked up some subtle hints from you that yours has not stalled, so the terrain on which you drive is irrelevant. No?
Here is the info from the Ford bulletin:
reprogram PCM W/WDS Version B17.1 or later. Some 2001MY PCMs cannot be reprogrammed and must be replaced. this is determined by the MPC# located in the upper left corner of the bar code on the PCM. If MPC# is 160 then replace with part #1U7Z-12A650-AXA and reprogram. If the MPC# is 161 then just reprogram. All 2002MY PCMs can be reprogrammed. Disconnect the vent line in the EVAP emissions system from the check valve side. Using shop air, blow air through the vent line from the check valve forward. Check for revised EEC power relay. If relay has white lettering, replace W/F0AZ-14N089-A. Make sure relay pin connections are tight in pwer distribution box.
Hope this helps.
Murphy
Thanks again.
The bulletin then continues with what I wrote approve re the fix.
Murphy
Murphy
Maybe I should have just taken them off the work order and put the papers in my briefcase.
Murphy
Denial must be the 51st state, and scape is governor.