Mike's right that he had his hitch installed last year, but it had to be modified at the shop. The one's we referred to that came out in May do not need any modification.

 

Mike, thanks much for the info on the TSB. I passed this on to my Service Advisor, but have the distinct impression he was blowing me off.

The dealer did agree to pay for my rental, but only after I called Ford Corporate.

Ed Pandolfino
Ford Escape Hybrid Owner
Carmichael, CA

 

Well some good news anyway, Ed. Let me know if there is anything else I can do. I am hoping everytime something catastrophic like this comes up we all will stand up for our rights and start with our dealer but go right up the ladder to Corp., if necessary. We are setting precedents in how this should work so that every person who gets in this spot, one of us on one of the forums can pipe up and give the steps those who have gone before used.

 

I will not go into detail here about my problems with rats eating my 2005 FEH's wiring, filling up my engine air filter with debris, eating rubber tubing to the window washers, and costing me a bunch of money, but I do have some solutions if anyone who has not heard me before on my Yahoo and other websites, Just post and I will tell you how I am solving this.

Also, I have gotten bad smells out of my air conditioning. I will tell you how to solve some of these concerns also.

I have found that the 2005 FEH is the only recent 'Premium' Ford vehicle that does not have a working Passive Anti-Theft System (PATS) also known as Secure-Lock (Ford Trademark). We have found all the hardware is there but we think there are errant RF interference onboard that keeps it from working and Ford chose to turn it off via the fireware at the facotry. It does work in the 2005 models.

Most dealers sold the car saying it had PATS and even sold a lot of people chipped keys for up to $100.

Some super friend has found a hack to turn on indicators and light the PATS light in off-engine key tests.

Let me know if I can anser any questions.

Mike

 

I'm curious about the towing. My instruction book says the Hybrid can tow no more than 1000 pounds while regular Escape can tow 3000. Did I misunderstand? Are folks towing more with the hitches being talked about?

aloha,
mehitibel

 

The maximum towing capacity is indeed 1000 pounds (may be less based on cargo load in the vehicle). This is a limitation of the powertrain, not the vehicle structure, as the V6 based Escape can indeed tow more with the optional towing package.

Since the structure is shared, the aftermarket hitches available are of the larger size required for higher towing capacity. That's why you'll see higher ratings on the hitches. You should always go by the vehicle's tow rating, not the hitch's.

 

My simple rant is that the Ford Escape cannot go fast enough in EV-only mode. Page 6 of my 2005 Hybrid Escape manual states:

"Under normal operation with the vehicle at operating temperature, the engine will start authomatically as you accelerate. Sometimes, the engine will start immediately as you begin moving, while other times the vehicle will obtain a speed of *up to* 25 mph (40 km/h) before the engine starts." (Emphasis added)

That sentence "Up to 25 mph" seems to indicate the top the EV-only mode speed (ignoring coasting down a hill at higher speeds).


25 MPH is simply too low. Parking lots and school zones are about the only time I drive that slow. Since the Normal 'in town' speed limit is 30 MPH in the USA, they should have made the EV mode handle at least that. Higher would be better. 35 would be nice. I can understand that it probably can't handle 41 MPH or whatever the top EV mode is of the Prius, but 25 MPH is too slow. I hate the fact that the only time I'm really in EV mode is in parking lots.

 

Ignore the manual. It's an oversimplification of reality.

The truth is the FEH can do approx. 42 MPH in electric-only mode, just like the "classic" Prius. The limitation is the maxiumum permitted RPM for the motor/generator.

However, you have to take the weight of the vehicle into account. If you do anything but drive like there's an egg under the accelerator pedal, you will cause the ICE to fire up. This is true in the Prius as well, but the Prius accelerator is less sensitive than the FEH is, so in general you end up moving your foot more to get the same acceleration than you do in the FEH.

Furthermore, staying in EV only mode is not necessarily the most efficient choice. The problem with running in EV for long stretches is that sooner or later you have to make up that power defecit. If you end up idling at a stoplight to recharge because you ran the past 6 blocks in EV mode you are not making the most of your ICE-on time. You can't recharge the battery as fast at idle speeds as you can when moving. This is related to the size of the motor generator and the RPM being made by the ICE. Plus, when you're moving the system can also use the bigger traction motor as a generator even when using the ICE to propel the vehicle forward. I've observed this mode on the energy display ... power flowing from the engine to the wheels, and from the wheels through the motor back to the battery.

 

Sorry to be so ignorant, but what is ICE?

 

Oops.

ICE == Internal Combustion Engine