Faults:

No headaches (knock wood!!)

General Comments:

Cheap to drive - 26 mpg anytime, and 28 when it's a cruise. My Blazer ONLY got 20 - uphill, downhill, with the wind, or anytime.

Factory stereo is SWEET - teenager has no complaints!

6 CD changer and speakers galore. Wish it had steering wheel controls (ain't life rough??).

4200 miles in the first month - and just needs an oil change. Stole it from a GM dealer - and glad to dump off my oil-hemorrhaging Blazer!

Faults:

First time, kept getting a check engine light, and the Escape would be missing in the am.

Took it to the Ford dealer, and they said it was the computer. So we paid to get that fixed. Got it back the very next day; was still dealing with the same problem. Took it back, and they kept it for 2 weeks. I guess as punishment. Finally got it back; was just a loose wire. Complained that we paid for a computer, yet it was a loose wire, and no settlement on missed diagnosis. Wrote Ford with no help. Got a review card, and was very negative on it.

Second time, the transmission has started to disengage in reverse. Took it in, and the Ford dealership sent it out to a private garage not affiliated with Ford for diagnosis. Was told we needed a new transmission for 3,000.00. Asked what was wrong with it. Answer, well could be an internal leak. They forgot and left the estimate from the private transmission place; was going to be replaced for 1,000.00. The Ford dealership jacked it up to 3,000.00. Told they could put a used transmission in for 2000.00. So much BS.

Sent an email to the car guy on the radio, and he told us to a contact transmission place in Ft Worth to get a used transmission with a 2 year warranty for 1200.00, and a garage that would install it.

I will never ever buy another front wheel drive car from Ford. We also own a 2001 Crown Vic that I will drive till I die. But I will never ever buy another Ford front wheel drive. Bet on it.

Faults:

Since the first day this car presented brake problems. The dealer tries to fix them 2 times, but the problems continue. The diagnostics car system doesn't notify any problem, but the problem appears randomly. I don't feel the Ford Escape a secure car. I have request the money devolution, but Ford don't accept, they offer try to fix the problem, but they don’t want accept any responsibility about another failure of brakes.

Faults:

Nothing - we just bought it used from Carmax.

General Comments:

Our fourth Ford, hopefully we'll be as fortunate with this one as we have with past Fords, all of which we ran well into 200k miles.

We just purchased this mini-SUV from Carmax. Our second purchase from these folks and we got a great deal (as always). This Escape is the Limited model with all the options; monochromatic paint, automatic, leather, AWD, killer stereo system, etc..

This website was really helpful as we researched vehicles so we'll keep posting updates as time goes on and we put more miles on this vehicle. We'll try to be accurate and complete with the information so it can be of benefit to folks. We'll try to minimize the stupid remarks that some folks seem to feel obligated to make and instead we'll stick to the facts.

So far we've put only a couple of hundred miles on it, but the ride and handling is solid and stable. Road noise is a little elevated at highway speeds, but it is a mini-SUV, so no complaints. It certainly looks sharp, both inside and out. The controls are nicely laid out, but it goes a little heavy on column mounted controls. The seats are firm and have good range of adjustment. Again, it's a mini-SUV, so there was no expectation that it should ride like a Caddy.

It also has a lot of little details that we like. The headlights have an optional automatic setting that allows the driver to decide on the setting, keyless entry, panic alarm, ample storage and the vehicles computer provides nice summaries on gas mileage, distance to empty, oil condition, etc.

We also like the ground clearance and short body overhang beyond the wheels. While we don't plan to do any aggressive off-roading, it's nice to know it has some basic capabilities. We don't expect it to do what a Wrangler might do, so Jeep owner's may refrain from pointing this obvious difference out to us... we know.

Mileage isn't great at an average of 18 MPG, but it is full time AWD. Not as good as a Subaru, but awesome compared to the full size SUVs out there. Visibility is very good all around after I removed the back seat center headrest which really annoyed me.

Well, that covers it for now. Overall we think we have a nice vehicle for the price. It seems be a well designed vehicle that we hope to drive for years to come. We'll keep you posted.