trouble free miles on my 01 XLT 4WD V6 and I average about 21MPG. V6 is fantastic, responsive, plenty of power. Escape rates very well at MSN in their reliability section too!!
How am I ever going to cope when I have to move on from my 50 mpg VW TDI. It will be a sad day when I have to get an SUV. Come on Toya, Ford. Lets get those hybrids out there.
The 2005 Ford Escape and the Mercury Mariner will be out towards the end of the summer.....But, the 2005 Mazda Tribute (much better warranty) is in production and should be on the dealers lots by Feb 2004 after a quality check hold before shipping.
I am to purchase a new, standard 2004 XLT 4WD soon. The internet sales person estimated my costs today as follows:
car price - 23,243 1% profit - 232 tax - 1,936 SUM: 25,442 -Rebate - 2,000 ------------------ To pay: 23,442
2-year registration/plates (~$70) and some other $30 DMV fee go extra on top of this.
The APR should be ca. 4.9%, though I am to check with my bank and car insurer tomorrow as well.
Is this a reasonable deal for upstate New York??? This is my first new car - please ADVISE... (I only have 2 days left if I want to take advantage of this 'opportunity' - Ford may easily extend it, or have another one)
what is the msrp on the escape? a 4wd xlt lists at 24895 with no other options. i don't see a 2k rebate, but it may exist. try pricing it on this site, to see what it comes up with for tmv.
2024 Ford F-150 STX, 2023 Ford Explorer ST, 91 Mustang GT vert
Yeeeha! Here in the Northwest we are getting hammered by snow/ice/wind.. Instead of me having to go into the Cascades for some powder, it came to me! In the past I have read some reviewers comments on how badly the Escape handles in snow.. I just don't get it.. mine handles super.. I was all over town today.. going up and down hills, never once got stuck. Slid a few times but that was it. 6" and counting where I live.. more on the way.
Thanks, explorerx4. ~$24,500 is about right for Escape's MSRP. "car price - 23,243" in fact was "Invoice total" on the dealer's sheet. Marek PS: I decided to wait a bit more and hunt.
I just received my new 2004 Escape XLT with no special packages, and it has the stereo with 4 speakers and 6 CD changer. In reading the manual, it appears there are two stereos that fit this description...the Premium which is mine, and the Audiophile which looks the same but has a DSP button in place of the COMP. Does anyone know the difference between these two, and is one any better than the other in terms of sound quality? Is the Audiophile considered an upgrade over the Premium system? Thanks.
Yipeee!! I got to drive my 2003 escape in the snow. It was wonderful. Put it in 4X4 and away we went. No chains or studs. Didn't need them and never got stuck. I Love my Escape, except got to get the waterfall noise fixed. Goes in the shop tomorrow. The serviceman finally got to hear it. I'll post the fix it problem if they get mine taken care of. It usually starts when I reach 20-30 miles an hour and keeps on going.
Does anyone know why the Escape and Tribute ONLY come in automatic? I am looking for a sport ute and they are by far my first choice, but not in automatic. I'm guessing that it may be some sort of mechanical issue where it's not feasible for the car to by manual.
I'm new to this board, we bought a 2004 XLT two weeks ago. As for the on-going thread about pricing, we got the truck with sticker of $25,565 for $24,000. Seemed to be on par with the Edmunds TMV (bought from Dayton Ford in NJ).
Anyhow, I see this truck calls for the 5w20 oil. Conveniently, there are only a couple of companies who make this oil, with the only one I've seen in stores being Motorcraft. Anybody using a different weight oil? I usually run Mobil 1 5w30 in my vehicles.
There was a big debate about oil weight when the Escape first came to market. It seems that a lot of manufacturers are now recommending 5W-20 in their new engines because of it's fuel mileage benefits. It's thinner thus reducing friction/pressure.
Many members of these forums and those of other Escape forums have contacted Ford/Mazda regarding safe oil weights. As it turns out, 5W-30, and 10W-30 are also safe. You'll just lose that extra .1 MPG with the heavier blends. Ford won't void your warranty for using a heavier weight oil. Synthetics are a different story though.
I personally use Pennzoil PureBase 5W-20 in our Escape because it's affordable, recommended, and readily available at most large auto parts chains. I also use the Ford recommended Motorcraft filter which I can only find at Pep Boys for some reason. A full oil and filter change runs about $9.00 for me.
I visited a local Ford dealer (Phoenix, AZ) today to inquire about the 2005 Escape. They're a few weeks away, and I got my hands on a training brochure. This is a brochure that Ford gives to the salespeople, not to the public. It was very interesting in how it profiled the typical Escape buyer, and how it slotted the Escape as "less rugged than the Liberty, but more rugged and athletic than the CR-V and RAV4". Apparently, the Escape is the only Ford vehicle where most buyers are women.
The big changes for the 2005 model are the floor mounted shifter, the new Intelligent 4WD System, and all-new 4-cylinder for the base XLS model. It's also supposed to be quieter, have revised automatic shift points, and a smoother ride. The V-6 is supposed to idle more smoothly. I also noticed that the HP output for the V-6 went DOWN - by 1 (201 to 200) and the torque dropped as well (196 to 193). I have no idea why they would go backwards in their engine tweaks.
I'm going to test drive it next month. The big disadvantage compared to the CR-V EX is that an XLT 4WD V-6 Escape will cost much more - about $3,000 more. The XLS 4-cylinder will probably match up well in price to the CR-V, but the V-6 is a huge and compelling advantage - I just don't know if it's worth $3,000 though. Incentives could narrow the gap, but they won't be very large for a new model - maybe $1,000 tops.
Yeah, I was kinda looking at the oil price for that. WalMart had the Motorcraft 5w20 for $1.79 a quart. Certainly a good deal cheaper than Mobil 1 at $24.00 a case! The other silly thing is that it takes five and a half quarts. You think they would make it so it takes either 5 or 6 just for simplicity sake. As for the filter, I'm going to use the PureOne from Purolator. It received the best filtration rating in SAE tests, even better than the $12 Mobil 1 filter. That and I can buy it locally for under $6.
Also, I can't believe that the 2004 XLT does not come with automatic door locks. I noticed that the doors were not locking when being driven, so I called the dealer thinking something was wrong, only to be told that it is not a feature on the truck.
but there are the child locks on the rear doors. Just open the door up and turn the little knob on the door itself. I call it the Police cruiser feature because you have to open the door from the outside for anyone in the back seat. I'm not sure if they took them off after the 2001MY, but mine has them.
A co-worker has a 2003 Escape, and her's does not have auto locks. Another has a Tribute (year ?) and her truck does.
Just would have been a nice feature for the same reason, my 15 month old in the rear. I flipped the child lock switch today because you never know when they're going to figure something out. She already opens closet doors in the house!
Other than that, been fairly impressed with the truck. The engine and steering are quite responsive. The doors feel a little cheap to me, though. Plan on keeping her until she dies.
PS...Anyone buy an extended warranty for theirs? Searched the web, found about $1000 to be the going price for premium care 6yr/75k miles.
odie, I'm not worried about the child opening the door from the inside because, as you stated, child locks are there. It's someone opening the door from the outside while I'm not looking that worries me.
The child locks don't prevent that but auto locks would. Sorry, I should have been more clear.
Well I just got my 2003 Escape out of the shop. So if anyone else has a water noise in their dashboard, heres the way to get rid of it. The Ford Dealer installed a filter that was suppose to be there in the cowl area and it was not there. It seems that when made at the Factory, they forgot to put them in on some Escapes. The service department called it a pollen filter. Hope this helps.
Having a '01 Escape V6 XLT, I stayed with the Motorcraft brand oil 5W-20 for about 20K miles, per recommendation from the shop I now use. The master mechanic told me that the engine tolerances are so tight on the new cars that he's recommend staying with the manufacturer brand for at least 20K miles. I then change over to 5W-30 weight Mobil-1. Keep in mind that the Motorcraft brand 5W-20 is semi-synthetic, though how much I do not know. So it is good protection for the engine, but I went to full-synthetic and now have 45K miles on the Escape. I use the Motorcraft filter (820-S) but may start using the Purolater Gold per previous posting as it does seem to have better filtration. My mileage has probably suffered by 1 maybe 2 MPG d/t the different weight oil. I noramlly get 18 City / 22-23 HWY at 70 MPH. I feel though that I'm getting better protection with the synthetic. For those who wish to stay with 5W-20, more oil brands are available now that I've seen; Castrol has a 5W-20, Royal Purple (pure synthetic), etc. Some engines will react differently if the weight oil is changed. Ex. : A friend has a Ford F-150 XLT, w/V8 Triton engine. He switched to sythetic heavier weight at first oil change and his valves audibly starting tapping. He switched back to 5W-20 Royal Purple and it solved the tapping problem immediately. Personally, I've had no problems to date with engine noises by changing from parafin-based to synthetic. I still enjoy my '01 very much and am looking forward to future models. It's unfortunate that Ford keeps jacking with trim levels and pricing so much. I got mine for $20.9K drive-out under X-Plan and haven't looked back.
I am living in Vermont and I have a long driveway. You need 4wd to get up it. I have 5 dogs and the combined weight is 400lbs. I would carry them with me at all times. (well most of the time) I have a 2wd truck at this point and I need an upgrade. What I am asking is if the Escape can handle the additional weight, and the type of driving in Vermont. Is there anyone out there that has one in VT? any suggestions?
From my short term experience with the Escape (V6) I would say it shouldn't be a problem as far as the weight goes, but I have limited experience with the 4WD in this vehicle.
PS...to all I was looking into using Synthetic oil for my truck, Mobil 1 claims that the 0w-20 they make is also for use in the 5w-20 spec engines that Ford and Honda make. Anyone using this product?
I'm considering buying a 2001 Ford Escape with 34,000 miles on it. I trust the dealer enormously, but would like to hear some of your experiences, suggestions, etc.
tthoma : I've got an '01 V6 XLT model with 45K miles. It's been a good vehicle for me and have had very minimal problems which have been listed previously, such as the the IAC (Idle Air Control)and a few other minor problems. I would run a check on CARFAX to check VIN for wreckage, damage, etc. Also, I would have an indepenedent shop run a full diagnostic check and once-over on it (usually about $75-$150), particularly on the major systems; cooling, engine, transmission, electrical, brakes, and steering. The brakes are a good example of potential repairs. You want brakes that are good for at least ~ another 20K preferably. A good ahop can give you a ball-park figure. Most brake jobs for the Escape are about $450+ d/t necessity of changing rotors at brake job. Not too keen on Ford's part, but a lot of makers are doing this now. Aftermarket brake parts, including turnable rotors are now available.
njdevilsrn : I didn't know Mobil 1 was making a 0W-20 weight. I can find a 0W-30 if I look hard here in Houston, but not 0W-20. If so, then I may go to 0W-20 next oil change.
I found out about it on the Mobil 1 site. Had a hard time finding it, though. BJs, Costco, and PepBoys don't carry it. WalMart was sold out. Advance Auto Parts had it on sale through this weekend, $4.08 a quart.
Have a 2004 Ford Escape with 800 miles on it. Yesterday, backed out of parking space & no power steering. Drove 40 miles to dealership. Found hose clamp had come loose on the return side of power steering pump. The question is whether or not any damage was done to the pump with the loss of fluid after driving those 40 miles.
My hose blew off on the hi-way driving 70 mph at --41C yesterday. This is on a 03 ES Tribute. Dealer said if it happens on the hiway keep driving it & as long as it is on warranty the pump would be rplaced.
The rear liftup window on my 2003 squeeks on turns and bumps. Plan to take it to dealer to adjust althought I would do it myself if I knew for sure it would not turn into a long running project. Anyone else had this problem and what did you do?
Bought a 2003 escape with 21k miles, my first ford. Happy with it so far except not too impressed with some of cheap interior and exterior plastic. Hatch does squeek. Reading lots of post and many saying they have milage between 30-40k with no prolbems. Thats means nothing with todays vehicles. My last vehicle was a camry, put 210k miles on it and engine never had a problem and still was not burning oil when I got rid of it. Decided I was not a car guy anymore and wanted a non-asian name. Hoping ford does not let me down.
Keep it serviced and it will last you many miles...Not just oil changes either. I mean, change transmission fluid at 30K, change radiator fluid every two years, change air filter every 12-15k. Check fluid levels regularly, rotate tires every 6-8K. I have 38K on my Escape and it performed flawlessly.. Squeaky hatch.. can be adjusted by dealeship...
Had ford dealership adjust hatch but still doing the same. Anyone else had this problem and if so did you get it resolved. Ford replacing throttle body due to sticking acclerator pedal however service tech said this is usually treated as a maintenance item when not in warrenty. My camry used to do the same and is basically soot/carbon back blowing into the area where the airintake butterfly valve is and the butterfly valve gets stuck in this gunk. Tech said they spray a cleaner into the air intake to clean it. On my camry I loosend air hose to manifold and cleaned valve area myself with brake cleaner. They charge $50 here for that service but if this is the same problem which was identical on my camry you can do it yourself for a few cents and maybe 15 minutes of work.
scott, They have a couple of them at the Pgh auto show and 98% of the vehicles there come from dealer lots. I have not been to a Ford store lately but someone around here must have some if they are at the show.
The dealer closest to me lists having about 15 of them on their site.
Thanks for that advice. I was going to take it back to the ford dealer on monday and have them tamper with it again but thinking this is a built in problem. Are you referring to the male points, the prongs, on the latch assemblies to wrap in tape. See no other points to wrap. If this does work seems like all the escapes would have the same problem.
went ahead and wrapped two male ends on hatch. so far no squeeking. considering the ease of doing this and time saved waiting on dealership to resolve this, if they could, this may be the best info I have received in a while. thanks jonnyb1
will the 2005 Escape (or Tribute) have any safety changes to improve the existing MARGINAL frontal offset crash test rating? Anybody have any real world experience with the safety of Escape in a crash?
we got a 2003 Limited for my mother a while back and the rattles were pretty bad. I did a search on this forum for "tailgate rattles" and found a couple posts suggesting the electrical tape fix. I put it on every latch I could find and the Escape is super quiet now. Even the front doors were rattling before. Not anymore. The tailgate glass is the other main culprit I believe.
I like the Escape a lot. Quick, handles well, very roomy inside and much more so than you would think standing outside and looking at one. The V6 engine has gotten so much smoother over the years.
My only concerns are:
The Continental Contitrac tires are horrible, way too noisy at speed and not that much grip. I will replace these with some Yokohama Geolandar GT/S pretty soon, these tires have been great on my Chevy Tahoe which came with some horrible Firestone Wilderness LE's.
The steering wheel positions do not work for me. The wheel is way too low and far away. I have long arms too. They need to put in a multi adjustable steering wheel like BMW's come with, one that you can move up down and in and out.
My final concern is the brakes. DRUM brakes on the rears? That is not good. I have also heard that the Escapes will burn through a front set of brakes by 20k miles or so, in some cases.
really like the looks of the 2005 escape/tribute. i would like to know how well the power train has held up over time. specifically the 3.0 engine/trans/suspension. real world experiences and honesty would be really helpful.
My 2004 Escape Limited has been great thus far - no problems, plenty of power, lots of fun to drive! I've got 8,000 miles on it thus far. I'm sure Scape2 will chime in - he's got close to 40,000 miles with no problems.
I have almost 40,000 trouble free miles on my 01 4WD V6 XLT Escape! I live in the Northwest and visit the skii slopes in the Cascade Mountain range, my favorite fishing spots along with towing my 2 watercraft with my Escape. This little SUV has been used, but not abused. I take very good care of my Escape. I am immaculate with preventative maintenance along with paint care. I am a Toyota/Honda/Nissan owners worst nightmare.... A Ford owner, that has a reliable, quality built, true tested Escape! LOL!.....
Comments
Escape rates very well at MSN in their reliability section too!!
Tom
I am to purchase a new, standard 2004 XLT 4WD soon. The internet sales person estimated my costs today as follows:
car price - 23,243
1% profit - 232
tax - 1,936
SUM: 25,442
-Rebate - 2,000
------------------
To pay: 23,442
2-year registration/plates (~$70) and some other $30 DMV fee go extra on top of this.
The APR should be ca. 4.9%, though I am to check with my bank and car insurer tomorrow as well.
Is this a reasonable deal for upstate New York???
This is my first new car - please ADVISE... (I only have 2 days left if I want to take advantage of this 'opportunity' - Ford may easily extend it, or have another one)
Thank you,
Marek
The 2005 Escape will be in dealers in February(it's already been shown at some autoshows - Miami, DC, LA, etc).
The Mercury version will not be available in the summer.
As for the Mazda version - don't know when it comes out - probably early 2004 to coincide with the 2005 Escape timing.
Steve, Host
Steve, Host
~$24,500 is about right for Escape's MSRP.
"car price - 23,243" in fact was "Invoice total" on the dealer's sheet.
Marek
PS: I decided to wait a bit more and hunt.
I got to drive my 2003 escape in the snow. It was wonderful. Put it in 4X4 and away we went. No chains or studs. Didn't need them and never got stuck. I Love my Escape, except got to get the waterfall noise fixed. Goes in the shop tomorrow. The serviceman finally got to hear it. I'll post the fix it problem if they get mine taken care of.
It usually starts when I reach 20-30 miles an hour and keeps on going.
Anyone know the real reason?
Is there a source for a brighter bulb?
Current bulb is blade type and says following:
06 12v w5w E1 2GL T21
I'm new to this board, we bought a 2004 XLT two weeks ago. As for the on-going thread about pricing, we got the truck with sticker of $25,565 for $24,000. Seemed to be on par with the Edmunds TMV (bought from Dayton Ford in NJ).
Anyhow, I see this truck calls for the 5w20 oil. Conveniently, there are only a couple of companies who make this oil, with the only one I've seen in stores being Motorcraft. Anybody using a different weight oil? I usually run Mobil 1 5w30 in my vehicles.
Many members of these forums and those of other Escape forums have contacted Ford/Mazda regarding safe oil weights. As it turns out, 5W-30, and 10W-30 are also safe. You'll just lose that extra .1 MPG with the heavier blends. Ford won't void your warranty for using a heavier weight oil. Synthetics are a different story though.
I personally use Pennzoil PureBase 5W-20 in our Escape because it's affordable, recommended, and readily available at most large auto parts chains. I also use the Ford recommended Motorcraft filter which I can only find at Pep Boys for some reason. A full oil and filter change runs about $9.00 for me.
The big changes for the 2005 model are the floor mounted shifter, the new Intelligent 4WD System, and all-new 4-cylinder for the base XLS model. It's also supposed to be quieter, have revised automatic shift points, and a smoother ride. The V-6 is supposed to idle more smoothly. I also noticed that the HP output for the V-6 went DOWN - by 1 (201 to 200) and the torque dropped as well (196 to 193). I have no idea why they would go backwards in their engine tweaks.
I'm going to test drive it next month. The big disadvantage compared to the CR-V EX is that an XLT 4WD V-6 Escape will cost much more - about $3,000 more. The XLS 4-cylinder will probably match up well in price to the CR-V, but the V-6 is a huge and compelling advantage - I just don't know if it's worth $3,000 though. Incentives could narrow the gap, but they won't be very large for a new model - maybe $1,000 tops.
Also, I can't believe that the 2004 XLT does not come with automatic door locks. I noticed that the doors were not locking when being driven, so I called the dealer thinking something was wrong, only to be told that it is not a feature on the truck.
I for one never really liked those until our baby was born. Now I do wish I had them because I keep forgetting to lock the doors all the time.
Odie
Just would have been a nice feature for the same reason, my 15 month old in the rear. I flipped the child lock switch today because you never know when they're going to figure something out. She already opens closet doors in the house!
Other than that, been fairly impressed with the truck. The engine and steering are quite responsive. The doors feel a little cheap to me, though. Plan on keeping her until she dies.
PS...Anyone buy an extended warranty for theirs? Searched the web, found about $1000 to be the going price for premium care 6yr/75k miles.
I'm not worried about the child opening the door from the inside because, as you stated, child locks are there. It's someone opening the door from the outside while I'm not looking that worries me.
The child locks don't prevent that but auto locks would. Sorry, I should have been more clear.
So if anyone else has a water noise in their dashboard, heres the way to get rid of it.
The Ford Dealer installed a filter that was suppose to be there in the cowl area and it was not there. It seems that when made at the Factory, they forgot to put them in on some Escapes. The service department called it a pollen filter. Hope this helps.
Motorcraft brand oil 5W-20 for about 20K miles,
per recommendation from the shop I now use. The
master mechanic told me that the engine tolerances are so tight on the new cars that he's recommend staying with the manufacturer brand
for at least 20K miles. I then change over to 5W-30 weight Mobil-1. Keep in mind that the Motorcraft brand 5W-20 is semi-synthetic, though
how much I do not know. So it is good protection
for the engine, but I went to full-synthetic and
now have 45K miles on the Escape. I use the Motorcraft filter (820-S) but may start using the
Purolater Gold per previous posting as it does seem to have better filtration. My mileage has
probably suffered by 1 maybe 2 MPG d/t the different weight oil. I noramlly get 18 City / 22-23 HWY at 70 MPH. I feel though that I'm getting better protection with the synthetic. For those who wish to stay with 5W-20, more oil brands are available now that I've seen; Castrol has a 5W-20, Royal Purple (pure synthetic), etc. Some engines will react differently if the weight oil is changed. Ex. : A friend has a Ford F-150 XLT, w/V8 Triton engine. He switched to sythetic
heavier weight at first oil change and his valves audibly starting tapping. He switched back to 5W-20 Royal Purple and it solved the tapping problem immediately. Personally, I've had no problems to date with engine noises by changing from parafin-based to synthetic. I still enjoy my '01 very much and am looking forward to future models. It's unfortunate that Ford keeps jacking with trim levels and pricing so much. I got mine for
$20.9K drive-out under X-Plan and haven't looked back.
PS...to all I was looking into using Synthetic oil for my truck, Mobil 1 claims that the 0w-20 they make is also for use in the 5w-20 spec engines that Ford and Honda make. Anyone using this product?
a good example of potential repairs. You want
brakes that are good for at least ~ another 20K
preferably. A good ahop can give you a ball-park
figure. Most brake jobs for the Escape are about $450+ d/t necessity of changing rotors at brake job. Not too keen on Ford's part, but a lot of
makers are doing this now. Aftermarket brake parts, including turnable rotors are now available.
njdevilsrn : I didn't know Mobil 1 was making a 0W-20 weight. I can find a 0W-30 if I look hard
here in Houston, but not 0W-20. If so, then I may go to 0W-20 next oil change.
Squeaky hatch.. can be adjusted by dealeship...
They have a couple of them at the Pgh auto show and 98% of the vehicles there come from dealer lots. I have not been to a Ford store lately but someone around here must have some if they are at the show.
The dealer closest to me lists having about 15 of them on their site.
the rattles will dissapear!
I like the Escape a lot. Quick, handles well, very roomy inside and much more so than you would think standing outside and looking at one. The V6 engine has gotten so much smoother over the years.
My only concerns are:
The Continental Contitrac tires are horrible, way too noisy at speed and not that much grip. I will replace these with some Yokohama Geolandar GT/S pretty soon, these tires have been great on my Chevy Tahoe which came with some horrible Firestone Wilderness LE's.
The steering wheel positions do not work for me. The wheel is way too low and far away. I have long arms too. They need to put in a multi adjustable steering wheel like BMW's come with, one that you can move up down and in and out.
My final concern is the brakes. DRUM brakes on the rears? That is not good. I have also heard that the Escapes will burn through a front set of brakes by 20k miles or so, in some cases.
thanks