28th Mar 2010, 16:46
I have an 02' Escape, bought one year ago with 54,000 miles. PERFECT condition.
First it would rumble when switching into overdrive. Then one day when leaving from a light, it started whining and slipping. This guy I've dealt with over the years is one of these transmission guru types -- all he does is work on transmissions. He told me to overfill the tranny fluid so I added an extra quart or so, past the full mark. This solved the problem. I also read somewhere on the internet the dipstick used in this vehicle for a time was not accurate. It might be worth a try to head off a major problem.
7th Apr 2010, 14:02
I have an 02 Escape with 125k on it. Only one major problem was the manifold. EGR valve replaced as well. Have spent $1500 total. Like the vehicle so much I bought an 05 as well. With 95K on it, I have spent a total of $59 on it, when the hose to the windshield washer became disconnected, and the front quarter panel needed to be removed to re-attach it.
Ford is building great vehicles for the most part. Every manufacturer including Toyota, Mercedes, GM and Ford as well will build a few with issues. Just be thankful you don't own a Chrysler product, or this transmission forum would be many gigabytes long.
Ford Rocks...
20th May 2010, 21:43
01 Escape XLT 4wd 148k miles. Has been a perfect vehicle... until today... driving my new born home from hospital, the trans started to slip.
Made it home thank God, but it's completely slipping in 1st, won't even make it up a small grade.
I had no idea this trans was a time bomb, yesterday it ran perfect, today it's done. Guess I'm very lucky we made it home.
Anyone know of a good source for rebuilt trans for an 01 Escape 4wd?
31st Aug 2010, 00:05
I bought my 2002 Ford Escape XLT brand new, kept up with maintenance schedule, no major problems until today.
The OD light started flashing while I was driving home from work. About 1/2 mile away the car was making a whining noise and then my transmission would not shift gears, had to coast to the side of the road. I had it towed to my local Ford dealer. After reading previous comments, it sounds like I will get bad news.
I am still waiting for the dealer to call me... It only has 71k miles, local driving, adult driver.
10th Sep 2010, 17:47
I purchased a 2005 XLT 6 cyl from Hertz in 2005. I have loved this car and done all of the scheduled maintenance. Aside from having to replace the mass airflow sensor at 55k miles and the spark plugs, it wasn't that much of a problem. However, I noticed a couple of months ago that when I put the car in reverse, the transmission would slip once. Didn't think anything of it, but did tell my mechanic.
Well last week I was driving home from work (69 miles each way, car had 25k miles when I bought it but has 102k now) I heard pre-ignition knocks when I went over a bridge. Shortly after that, the car started to surge while doing 65mph. Took into my mechanic and they told me the left hand manifold catalytic converter was clogged. Had to order the part wholesale. While waiting for the part, problems continued to worsen. Now it's at the point where the car will not go over 30mph and will not go over 2nd gear. RPM maxes out at 2500, whether in gear or in idle, and the engine is getting hot, thus causing more pre-ignition issues.
New catalytic converter came in yesterday and had it replaced today. The check engine light is now gone, but still can't go over 25MPH. Talked to a couple of friends, and they think that torque converter is going bad. Funny how everyone seems to be having transmission problems on the Escape. I loved my car up till this point, but I really don't think I will buy another Ford after this.
8th Oct 2010, 16:10
Be on guard you 2001-2001 V6 Escape owners. I just put $5K into reconditioned heads on a 72K miles XLT, 2 new spark coils, and new intake manifolds.
Problem: intake manifolds blew up when the engine backfired on start. Found some valves not seating and failing leak-down test, causing spark to ignite residual fumes. Manifold blew up because Ford did not recall the original design on the 2001 and install a redesigned, more robust, composition plastic (probably an accounting decision). Replacement intake has external ribs adding more durability. It might be a good idea to buy a new (improved) one when the spark plugs are changed.
22nd Nov 2010, 15:30
I have a 2005 Ford Escape. I was not having any problems at all with the transmission. I know the people I bought it from, and they changed the oil and serviced it as Ford said to do. I took into Ford for a transmission flush, and now I hear all these little noises that I did not have before. Ford says all is OK, it's nothing they did. I took it to a transmission shop, they checked it, and they say it could go out any time. They don't even do flushes, don't recommend one. They say Ford corp. don't recommend one, but why do Ford dealers PUSH you to have one? They make a lot of money off this service, that's why.
21st Dec 2010, 21:18
We own a 2002 Escape that now has 185,000 plus miles on it. Other than having 3 transmissions replaced, the sunroof switch, cruise control and the factory CD changer not working, it has been an alright SUV.
Now the interior door panels are coming off, and the new transmission is leaking.
26th Jan 2011, 22:16
I have a 2002 Ford Escape XLT-4 wheel drive-6 cylinder, around 96,000 miles. I bought it used from dealer.
The only complaint I have is the lousy gas mileage. I can only get 12 miles per gallon. Have taken it to my mechanic numerous times to see if anything can be done for better gas mileage, but nothing shows as being wrong with car.
Is 12 miles to the gallon normal for this car?
Thanks for any input.
Dan.
6th Mar 2010, 10:16
I have a 2002 Ford Escape XLT with 160,000 miles. Have had well over $6,000 in repairs for assorted problems including severely leaking transmission, ABS failure, airbag sensor replacement, all the engine coils, master cylinder, rear defroster, rear windshield wiper motor, and a faulty mounted rear differential. While driving recently all the lights and gauges, as well as the radio, turned off and on several times. Made it home and now car will not start with a brand new battery, possibly an alternator I'm told. Yes the car is old with many miles, but has never had a stretch of more than 4 months without a serious repair, with some problems manifesting seemingly one right after the other. Poor craftsmanship and cheap parts leads to an extremely unreliable vehicle.