I'm sure many others have already noticed this, but you really dont have to wait for the Engine to start when you turn the key.
Just Turn it and let go immediately, and it starts. .... Guess the computer is in complete control of this vehicle.........I assume the throttle is the same

 

When starting the FEH with the key, think of it as pushing a button.....which it actually is in the Prius. Now that I am used to it (and seen it done in the Prius), I wouldn't mind if it was just a push button start. I guess Ford decided that would be "too unconventional" for the potential market of FEH buyers.

 

I'm glad someone posted this because it's so true; it just takes a flick of the wrist. Twist + release. The ignition is really a push button made into the form of a conventional key interface.

The only problem for me is that our other car does not work quite the same way. Most of the time it starts right up but occasionally I do the wrist flick so fast that the starter never engages. A moment later I realize I'm not in the FEH and that it's twist + 1/2 second + release in a normal car.

 

I too have made this mistake in my other non-hybrid escape.

 

I also was wondering the second part of your question about the throttle so one day when at a idle I pushed the throttle to the floor and there was NO reaction as in non-hybrid car it would rev-up.

 

Park/Neutral + Floored Gas = Nothing in the FEH/MMH. It's all computer controlled and is yet another reason the engine should last longer than a standard Escape/Mariner.

 

My wife's 04 Trailblazer has the same style computer controlled starter and drive by wire throttle.

 

I told this to my wife, who usually drives our Escape, and she just rolled her eyes at me. She knows what a dork I am lol

 

I would have gone one step further: keyless operation. That's where the key is basically an RFID tag that sits in your pocket, but as long as it is in the car the start button will work and the steering wheel unlocks. When you walk up to the car it unlocks.

The first time I encountered this was in a Corvette that I rented at Hertz in Orange County Airport. It took me 15 minutes to figure out how to start the car! Oh, well. It's an easy feature to get used to.

 

Sounds good except it is one more thing to fail. I for one don't mind having to take my keys out of my pocket to drive. Also, read some of the Nissan Altima threads about dead batteries - I like to still be in control of when my vehicle can/can't start and having to put a key in the ignition and turn it is hardly an inconvenience. Also something a two or three year old kid couldn't do.

The computer controlled starting has been around for a while - I drove a 2000 (?) Buick that had it.