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Ford Escape

3071 messages,  Last post on Aug 16, 2012 at 4:59 PM

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What is this discussion about? Ford Escape, SUV




Messages Page 291 of 308

#2899 of 3071 2001 Escape by gheimur

Nov 23, 2008 (2:39 pm)

I bought my wife a 2001 Ford Escape new in 2001. The reliability has been pretty
good. Not perfect. We gave the car to my daughter to use for her internship at college and now that she has a job we gave it to her, My wife bought a new 2008
ESCAPE Hybrid . Perfect car. The 01 Escape needed a brake booster and rear shocks t 94k The Maryland inspection station said they were leaking. Besides that nothing except normal maintenance. My daughter is even surprised how the 01 Escape has held its value. I feel that the car is solid, I saw one in an accident a month ago, the airbag went off and the girl walked out. Check out values on edmunds or kelly blue book and than make an offer. I also have a Saturn, that has been reliable. The saturns book value drops dramatically after a few years so you can probably get a great deal. The Escape runs great at 96k. would buy it again. Good Luck

#2900 of 3071 Re: 2001 Escape [gheimur] by drgums

Nov 23, 2008 (2:47 pm)

Replying to: gheimur (Nov 23, 2008 2:39 pm)
Thank you for your help

#2901 of 3071 2005 escape xlt v6 by vrdr9

Nov 25, 2008 (9:28 pm)

hi, just purchased an escape and already are having some noise issues. at low speeds there is a loud whine like tires . but as the speed gets higher around 65 or so it becomes more pronounced. it sounds like wheel bearings. anyone have any thoughts. thank you.

#2902 of 3071 Re: 2005 escape xlt v6 [vrdr9] by vg33e power

Nov 26, 2008 (10:19 am)

Replying to: vrdr9 (Nov 25, 2008 9:28 pm)
2001-2007 Escapes are notoriously road noisy in general. We have a 2004 Limited 4WD and it came with the crappy Continental tires which were horrible from the begining. A week into owning our Escape we had the dealer re-balance and rotate the wheels and the noise improved a little bit, we even took it back to have them check the wheel bearings, but to our surprise they were fine. We continued to accept the noisy cabin due to the tires for the next 30k miles when they finally got about half worn and the noise coming from those things was short of a houling wolf at speeds above 35mph, just imagine traveling at highway speeds. I chucked those pieces of crap and replaced them with a set of Goodyear Wrangler tires, which were far more quiter and confirmed that the real noise proble was indeed the tires and not the bearings. I cannot say that our Escape is now nice and quiet, because it is not. I think it is just an aspect of the truck to be a bit noisy, but changing tires out (if you have the crappy Continentals) will definately improve road noise, unless of course you do have bad wheel bearings.

#2903 of 3071 Re: 2005 escape xlt v6 [vg33e power] by vrdr9

Nov 26, 2008 (11:33 pm)

Replying to: vg33e power (Nov 26, 2008 10:19 am)
im taking it back to the dealer on friday. thank you for your input. ill let you know what i find

#2904 of 3071 escape v6 xlt 2005 by vrdr9

Nov 26, 2008 (11:35 pm)

another issue i was having is my 4x4 light comes on every minute or so on dry pavement at highway speeds. can anyone tell me if this is normal? if not what might the problem be? thank you.

#2905 of 3071 Re: escape v6 xlt 2005 [vrdr9] by vg33e power

Nov 28, 2008 (9:09 am)

Replying to: vrdr9 (Nov 26, 2008 11:35 pm)
Usually a 4x4 light comes on under two circumstances. 1. the 4WD system is on and engaged (working) or 2. malfunctioning or overheated.
 
I see that your Escape is a 2005 which is the first year Ford changed over to their "smart 4WD system" which essentially turns on by itself whenever it senses loss of traction on the front wheels.
 
This is actually the only reason (and the great rebate as well) I opted to buy a 2004 model rather than an 2005. We bought our Escape in Sept. 2004, so they were only 4 2004 Escapes left in the lot, 2 of which were Limited 4WD and out of the two only one was the color we wanted- Dark Shadow Gray/Black (call it luck).
 
2001-2004 Escape have the so-called "smart 4WD system" (although back then Ford did not call it that, who knows why since it works the same way as 2005 and up) as well, however, in addition to that it also has a rotary knob on the dash where you can select 4x4 and lock it on constantly. I loved that feature rather than not having the option to do so on the 2005 and up Escapes.
 
I would have the system checked, unless it only goes on when your driving over slippery roads (black ice, water, etc.) then if thats the case it should be normal and its letting you know that the 4x4 is engaging. If you still have warranty, it would not hurt to get it looked at. Good luck, let us know what you find out.

#2906 of 3071 Re: escape v6 xlt 2005 [vg33e power] by twoplankr22

Nov 28, 2008 (10:44 am)

Replying to: vg33e power (Nov 28, 2008 9:09 am)
in 2005-2008 models the 4x4 light on the dash only comes on if there is a problem with it (overheated usually). there is no way to manually lock it in 4 wheel, and no notification light to tell when it's engaged. this is a MAJOR design flaw, and i wouldn't have purchased this vehicle if i had known this. You should get it checked out asap.

#2907 of 3071 Re: escape v6 xlt 2005 [twoplankr22] by vg33e power

Nov 28, 2008 (11:29 am)

Replying to: twoplankr22 (Nov 28, 2008 10:44 am)
...there you go vrdr9. Light operation clarified. So you should definately get your 4WD system checked out.
 
twoplankr22, sorry about your misfortune, like I mentioned earlier, that was the only reason I chose to buy the 2004 model rather then the 2005. IMHO, if your going to get 4x4 vehicle, then you should also have full control of when to turn it on. I dont want to rely "only" on sensors and electronics to determine when I should have 4WD on or not.

#2908 of 3071 05 escape awd by vrdr9

Nov 30, 2008 (7:18 pm)

thanks. i appreciate everyones input.

Messages Page 291 of 308

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