Ford Escape Mazda Tribute Maintenance and Repair

scape2 · November 2002

bri66?? "one of the few Escapes that have no problems??" I have spoke to 14 people who own Escapes/Tribs of all years from 01 - 03 along with varying trim levls. Not one had any catastrophic fialures..

bri66 · November 2002

My 2001 was made in July just prior to them changing to the 02's as well. I absolutely love mine. It's really fun to drive, good on gas, and for a family of four have plenty of room. Mine has stalled just once with same story as most, braking while going down a hill going about 45mph. I will eventually bring mine back for the transmission chatter, but i'm in no hurry. Mine came with a Ford 100,000 mile powertrain warranty. Good luck with your Christmas present for your Escape. My wife says my present this year is in my garage. I just finished restoring my 1966 Mustang. I'll have to look for those beans elsewhere.

warren19 · November 2002

Seems like these vehicles really have a stalling issue.

http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/2002-11-05-focus-probe_x.htm

mhaynie1 · November 2002

I have a 2001 Tribute LX V6 that vibrates between 70-75 mph, even more if I am going up a long incline. Recently, I began noticing a rough shift between 4th and 5th gears and a whining sound. The dealer has yet to find a cause of the vibration, much less acknowledge a problem with the vehicle.

scape2 · November 2002

This article give no exact numbers. "Thousands" how many thousands?? I have owned an 01 Escape XLT v6 4wd for 19,000 trouble free miles. If I see someone driving either an Escape or Tribute and they seem approachable I will. So far I have approached 14 owners of EScapes/Tribs of various model years. Not one has had any catastrophic problems with their vehicles and enjoy them. I specifically ask about "stalling" or engines blowing up or transmissions dropping out stories I hear about. 14 owners, not any major problems.
I am not saying this stalling issue is not happening. What I am saying is people like yourself make it look like every Escape/Tribute out here is stalling with no numbers to back it up.

paride · November 2002

Warren19's complete post:

"Seems like these vehicles really have a stalling issue.

http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/2002-11-05-focus-probe_x.htm"

Scape2's conclusion from Warren19's complete post:

"What I am saying is people like yourself make it look like every Escape/Tribute out here is stalling with no numbers to back it up."

Scape2 - I'd like to know how you drew the conclusion you did from Warren's post.

varmint · November 2002

Paride - In Scape's language, any complaint about the Escape/Tribute is an act of treason and has the potential to blow the issue out of proportion. Most of us just turn the page and keep reading.

bri66 · November 2002

I could'nt have said it better if I tried.

jondavid · November 2002

Perhaps you might want to trade bri66 your trouble-free Escape. That would solve their problem, and you could finally see an Escape with a problem first-hand! :-)

suvshopper4 · November 2002

In defense of scape2 (!), someone stated something to the effect that "a few" Escapes are trouble-free. That was an exaggeration.

varmint · November 2002

LOL! Okay, let's lay off poor Scapey for a moment.

Baggs indirectly prompted me to check CR and find their most recent reliability ratings. The Escape and Tribute are both ranked 30% below the current industry average. This is not good, but it is an improvement over the initial rating. So things are getting better (assuming the average hasn't changed much).

As for blowing issues out of proportion, it certainly has happened. In this forum and in others. Just because a vehicle has an abnormally high rate of failures does not mean that every vehicle built is a lemon. Clearly, that is a grand exaggeration.

I was just goofing on the the counter-swing to that trend.

scape2 · November 2002

Warren19 started his statement like all Escape/Trib owners better beware, almost like all of these thousands upon thousands of owners are going to have this stalling issue. The article clearly says "thousands" not how many thousands.. 1,2, 10???..
As I have said over and over again until I am blue in the face.. I never have said the Escape/Tributes are totally problem free..
The Escape/Tribute have taken it hard on the chin since day one for the recalls. People keep bringing these up over and over and over again.. yet, if you look back it was for 2001 model years and only for certain lot/build dates.
Yes, I have a problem free Escape, the 14 other people I have spoken to also have problem free Escapes/Tribs. I bought mine through the internet. I asked for a certain color/trim level. When I arrived he had 7 on the lot with the colors/trim level I wanted. I chose one.. are you saying I just got lucky?

larry51k · November 2002

does anyone know if there is a way to adjust the rear wiper on my tribute? despite a new wiper, the blade only cleans about half or less of the rear window.
also, does anyone have a rear spoiler.? if so, does it do a good job keeping the window clean.? not sure i like the look based on photo in literature(never seen one in person). first snow today(buffalo, ny) and rear window is a mess/difficult to see out.

jondavid · November 2002

This statement:
"Separately, NHTSA said it had also upgraded an investigation into thousands of complaints about engines stalling without warning on Ford's Escape compact sport-utility vehicle and the Tribute SUV sold by Ford's Mazda subsidiary.

The complaints involve vehicles from the 2001 and 2002 model years, NHTSA said."

and this one:
"NHTSA said Ford had received 3,274 complaints about the Focus engine problem and added that the stalling had allegedly caused 16 crashes and three injuries."

Tells you that something is going on. 3,274 people wouldn't be filing complaints about their Focus engines stalling if they were happy with it's reliability. Also, NHTSA isn't going to upgrade an investigation into the Escape/Tribute without at least some evidence. "Thousands" would technically be at least 2 thousand. If there are that many reported incidents of stalling, while it might be statistically small, it's of little comfort to you personnaly if you end up being the minority percentage of problem afflicted owners.

While I understand loyalty to a favorite vehicle, I don't see some healthy skepticisim toward symptoms of possible design/quality defects as out of line. Especially if you follow Detroits history of using statistically influenced financial decisions on reparing/recalling defects versus letting the customer battle it out with the dealer. This likely occurs with the asian automakers also.

Just to be fair, I also see the new 02 CRV as having quality issues I never had with an earlier model. However, none of them I've read on this board referenced any engine stalling, but were more nuisance issues.

Having followed the Escape/Tribute board for quite some time (I thought about purchasing an Escape about a year ago) I don't really see any concerted effort to mar the Escape's reputation. More likely, as in my case, a little disapointment in what seems to be a really neat design, marred by even the small number of reported stalling/other issues.

As my old bandmaster used to tell our band many, many years ago, it doesn't matter if everyone of you march in perfect step and never miss a note, one person out of line is what the crowds in the stands notice. Sticks out like a sore thumb. Unfortunately, that fact is true.

odie6l · November 2002

try using Rain-x on your Rear window.... You won't have to use the wiper as much.

Odie

dglandon · December 2002

We are looking for a 2003 Tribute LX. We found a 2W drive, no moon roof or towing package for $23,500. Dealer does not want to move much. However an internet dealer in Atlanta has the same car for $19,710 ($1,000) below dealer invoice. We have never dealt with an internet dealer before. What should we be cautious of and is the local dealer likely to move if given internet figures?

stever · December 2002

Here's a couple of recent articles for starters:

Part One

Part Two

Steve, Host

bess · December 2002

Offer your dealer $21000 ($300 over invoice), and politely walk away at anything over $500 over invoice and go to another dealer..

For sure you could buy the Escape at that price and its the same vehicle.

jwarden · December 2002

Previous post mentioned talking to 14 owners with no catastrophic failures... well, here's my story: Bought my 2002 Escape in Oct. 2001. Drove it for about 2950 miles (ready for my first oil change) and BAM, at 60 MPH on the interstate in cruise control, the engine gave up the ghost. Just died. Diagnosis? Seized engine. Apparently the piston pin cracked in cylinder 5. No one volunteered this. I had to read the mechanics notes surreptitiously. Ford replaced the engine and I negotiated a longer warranty (good thing I didn't pay for it in the first place!) to 5 years/75k with a $50 deductible. I'm now at 17,000 miles and the only problem so far has been a necessary recharge on the A/C related to an improper evacuation during the engine swap. I'm having concerns about the tranny right now but I'll see where that goes. I'd rather have it totally fail and have it replaced than to visit the dealer every week and have them tell me I don't know what I'm talking about.

I filed the information with NHTSA.

Not happy about the incident but I do love the Escape. It works well and suits my needs perfectly. It handles better than a Taurus and carries my skis much more effectively.

lb1961 · December 2002

I am getting ready to purchase a 2002 Escape, however was wondering if these problems are noted on the XLS model with manual transmission. The price is excellent and there are only 5200 miles on the odometer - makes me wonder why it was traded in so soon. I'm taking it to my mechanic tomorrow before I purchase. Should I have him look for anything in particular?
Thanks

baggs32 · December 2002

lb1961,
You should have no stalling problems with an XLS 5 speed. It only happens in the V6 models which only come with an auto transmission.

audia8q · December 2002

considering the Tribute comes with a 4/50K warranty now and the Escape has only 3/36K wattanty...the advantage seems to be with the Mazda version.

odie6l · December 2002

I talked to my service tech the other day while I was having my oil change done. He said, "The main reason we are getting all these stalling problems is the timing is set to low, but if you increase the timing you engine will run harder and decrease your gas mileage." I just left it at that because my escape was done and I had to go.

Lucky for me I have not had the stall happen to me, but now that the tech told me about the timing, when I'm slowing down or coasting I watch the tach and just touch the gas if it goes really low.

Odie

maltb · December 2002

can the timing be adjusted on the Triscape? Was this person a factory trained technician?

macaroni2 · December 2002

Odie,

I have a 2001 Escape that had a stalling problem (among many other things that I won't bore you with) and was told that it was a faulty relay. I don't know if it's the same kind of problem you're experiencing, but it would stall on deceleration at low speeds (10 mph or less). I had the relay replaced about a year ago (I think) and have not had the stalling problem since. My service people never said anything about a timing issue. Although I'm not impressed with the reliability of my Escape, I do think my local techs are top notch.

blackhawk4 · December 2002

The dichotomy is it's nice to know that others are experiencing the same problems. As for the stalling...I was experiencing the same problem for a while until an old master mechanic at Ford of all places, removed the breather hose and showed me the reason...dirty throttle body, very dirty! He sprayed throttle body cleaner in the intake, a considerable amount, and wiped it out with a lint free cloth. You would not believe the amount of black, intake clogging crap that came out. It has not stalled once since then. I keep the throttle body clean every couple of thousand miles by DIY. I have had the entire transmission replaced, a rear main seal go out 4,000 miles later, and now I have another transmission leak. I have an appointment with the dealership this Friday to discuss an amicable trade-in or a free extended warranty. Anyone else getting a sense of deja-vu?

odie6l · December 2002

yes he was a ASE certified tech at the local Dealer I goto. And No I have NOT had the stall at all. I was just asking the tech if they had had any of them come in for the stalling issue. He told me they have had it and it is the faulty realy..but it is being caused by the timing being set too low. I didn't get into detail with him because I was picking my escape up after the 24,000 mile service.

Odie

escaped17 · December 2002

lb 1961,

I had a 2001 Escape and recently traded it in for a 2003 Limited because of the problems with the 2001. The 2003 has been wonderful - we already have 6200 miles on it and we have not had any problems yet!!! It is my suggestion that you go for the 2003 and lay off the 2002 - too much of a history with them. Good Luck.

hfdewees · December 2002

If you decide you don't want to deal with dealerships. I have a 2002 Tribute LX V6 4x4 that I want to sell.

tidester · December 2002

Please - no buying and selling on the Town Hall boards.

tidester, host

204meca · December 2002

My 01 Trib V6 has 26K, minimal problems so far -- a couple of adjustments & one stall, apparently fixed with a new relay.

I plan to have the ATF changed soon. The manual says to not mix Mercron (petroleum based ATF) with Mercon V (Synthetic ATF I believe). Many posts on Escape Central advise going to full synthetic ATF. So when the power flush the tranny, can they be certain they have gotten all the petro based ATF out beforet they put the synthetic in? Is this really an issue I should be concerned about?

Also, has anyone attempted to change their own fuel filter? Where is it located and how difficult is it to do? Thanks

hfdewees · December 2002

Sorry...

hfdewees · December 2002

Is anyone having this Stalling problem on a 2002 Tribute? All of the problems I've seen about this were on 2001. I have a 2002 with 18K miles and have not experienced this problem. I have however, had door rattles and yesterday we had a throttle body replaced because the accelerator was sticking when you tried to accelerate from a stand...so far Mazda has fixed the problems but the rattles keep coming back.

scape2 · December 2002

issue was a very small percentage of Escapes/Tributes. Get out on the net and visit other chat rooms you will see for yourself. Looks like the Escape/Trib have moved up on consumer reports.... I had a good feeling the black eye of initial 01 Escape/Tribute issues would fade.

varmint · December 2002

Yes, Scape2. I too see some improvement in the 2002 CR rankings...

30% Honda CR-V*
28% Subaru Forester
25% Toyota RAV4
20% Hyundai Santa Fe
18% Nissan Xterra
8% Saturn VUE*
5% Pontiac Aztek*
-2% Jeep Liberty V6*
-5% Chevrolet Tracker
-6% Suzuki Vitara/Grand Vitara/XL-7
-32% Ford Escape V6
-32% Mazda Tribute V6
-50% Jeep Wrangler

suvshopper4 · December 2002

What do your CR percentages represent?

paride · December 2002

Also, what does the asterisk next to some of the vehicles represent?

varmint · December 2002

I didn't want to belabor the point... but here goes.

The percentages are the vehicle's numeric score as compared to the industry standard. A zero % rating would mean that the vehicle is of average reliability for the industry. A positive value is better than average and a negative value is worse than average. IIRC, the last ranking for the Escape was something like -40%, so, either the industry average has dropped (it hasn't), or the Escape has made some progress (not much).

CR bases it's data on surveys sent to their users. When they compile this information, they use the last 3 years information (unless the vehicle is newly redesigned, like the CR-V). The asterisk mark indicates those models which have fewer than 3 years worth of data. There are also models which do not have enough data to be statistically significant on a yearly basis (such as the Aztek, which doesn't sell enough units per year). Since the Escape/Tribute has no "*", we can conclude that they have a statistically significant sample for each of the three years included in their surveys.

As Baggs will point out, we do not have the total number of surveys for each vehicle. Since a larger sample is more reliable than a smaller sample, it makes 100% perfect comparisons impossible. Each vehicle could have a different potential for statistical variation.

The relationship with the industry average is still solid, since that includes all vehicles regardless of class (a plenty big sample).

baggs32 · December 2002

"As Baggs will point out, we do not have the total number of surveys for each vehicle."

I guess your finally sick of hearing me say that?

To make a long story short, CR only requires a return of 100 surveys to make a vehicle eligible. That means one vehicle could have received 100 while a competing vehicle may have received 1000 thus making it's margin of error lower.

I'd also like to point out that it was posted on another Escape forum that the CR 2003 Auto Buyers Guide has the Escape tied with the Santa Fe for third in reliability. Varmint's numbers are the most recent numbers posted on CR's web site. No one seems to be able to confirm the paper version's numbers so far. I myself find it a little hard to believe that a vehicle could make such a leap in one year though. Unless CR's numbers are just as unreliable as some of the vehicles they report on.

varmint · December 2002

Third out of how many?

baggs32 · December 2002

"Third out of how many?

"

That I don't know, and no one else seems to have seen the issue. Since it is tied with the Santa Fe for third, I'd say third out of at least four.

middlemack · December 2002

I had my rear wiper replaced under warranty this summer. The service folks never even batted an eye when I told them the original wiper only cleared half the glass. In fact, they said they've seen that in a lot of Escapes. If yours is still under warranty, maybe the third wiper is the charm! My replacement has been great so far.

middlemack · December 2002

By the way, I took my 02 Escape in last month to fix the creaking around the front doors. The fix: they lubed the weather stripping with silicon as they said it was dried out. THis actually stopped the creaking and I was pleased...until a few days ago when it started up around my driver door again. How do I get/what should a permanent fix be?! I'm not interested in lubing weather stripping the rest of my time owning this car.

scape2 · December 2002

CR posted the Escape as 4th overall in this category as far as relibiability/quality is concerned.
Sure like it how Varmit is ready to hammer on the CRV when a pending class action lawsuit against the CRV for burnt valves is flying all over the internet!..

varmint · December 2002

LOL You keep thinking that, Scape!

scape2 · December 2002

Look at post #2814 in the CRV vs Escape room. the 2002-2003 Escape rates #5...in this class..

larry51k · December 2002

thanks for the info. on dec 12 i took my trib in for routine maint. they said the wiper needed replacement and was covered under warranty-just liike you said.
again, does anyone have the rear spoiler and what do you think of it (looks/effectiveness?

varmint · December 2002

SCape2 - I think you are mistaking CR's car reviews (and ranking) with their reliability data. The reliability rankings are as I posted them in #1923 of this thread. CR also reviews the vehicles and ranks them according to their preferences. This is typically based on value, safety, performance, utility, etc.

In their overall reviews, the Escape finishes about 5th. In their reliability ratings, the Escape finishes second to last. Only the Wrangler scores lower.

bri66 · December 2002

I had my V6 auto-transmission serviced last week and since the fluid was changed the chatter which was occuring constantly has not happened again. The transmission shop that I brought it to claims that there is no pan to drop only a drain plug on the Escape. They claimed there is a filter inside the transmission, but claimed it is not something that needs to be changed on a regular basis. Sounds to me that it would be probably a major overhaul to replace it. They added new fluid and added a clutch additive and advised me where there is no pan filter to replace, that it is very important to replace fluid on a regular 30,000 mile schedule. Hope this info is helpful. Happy holidays to all.

windowphobe6 · December 2002

There is a pan of sorts over the valve bodies, but it's mounted vertically; it's of no use for changing fluid. The filter is indeed internal, and in fact is inaccessible without major disassembly.

Ford Escape Mazda Tribute Maintenance and Repair

Comments

Helpful Tools

Most popular vehicles