Hey everyone,

This is my post here but I've been doing a fair amount of research. My wife and I are looking for a basic 'grocery' and zip around car for in-town travel. I've been clued in on a 06 that has got my attention. I was wondering if any of you could give me some advise in regards to buying a used 06 with around 49k miles on it (1 Owner)

I've been reading up on cooling fan replacement for the battery which seems to be a big issue. Is there anything else I should ask/be aware of before purchasing and post-purchase?

Thanks a ton!

Here is the listing:
http://www.autotrader.com/AtCarId/AT-14CA8E8F


Chris

 

Vehicle appears to have been recently repainted, notice flawless paint appearance. Rear door "Escape" and "Hybrid" badges are in wrong location (easy for paint shop to miss). Also missing "Hybrid" badge on passenger side door.
Tires appear to be Firestone which are probably not Low Rolling Resistance as originally spec'd.
Fleet vehicles like this usually live hard lives which drives down resale value, but this dealer is hoping you will overlook and just consider miles. You may have no way to find out what damage and repairs/servicing were done on this vehicle if gov't agency did it in house.
This FEH is also a stripper with apparently no installed options, which is rare but also bringing down its value.

 

I bought my 2006 Escape Hybrid from a Ford Dealer with about the same mileage. If this is a certified vehicle, then Ford has already checked it out and you can get an extended warranty. There is very little required service for the Escape Hybrid and I did not have any problems at all through 100K. I would check the tires. If you still have the original Continentals, plan on replacing them with the Michelin Latitude tires for a much quieter ride. FWIW, The Ford Escape Hybrid has been the best car I have ever owned in terms of reliability and low cost.

 

No way Ford can/will certify an 8 year old used car that was in fleet service, too many variables. The OP might check if the state it's going to be registered in has an extended hybrid powertrain warranty. In some states the warranty is 10 years/150,000 miles which would give a little peace of mind.

 

"Advice".

At less than 50K miles there's not much maintenance that would have been due on the vehicle. It would just be coming due for its 5th oil change if you followed the schedule. Battery filter every 20K miles and an engine air filter at 30K. Everything else up to that mileage other than rotating tires is "inspect, inspect and inspect". I'm not really sure how rough a life it could have had. So much of the drivetrain is completely controlled by computer, I'm don't know how much you could abuse it....the computer won't let you. Over potholes or through puddles?

Have it inspected by a local mechanic, preferably on with at least some hybrid experience. Battery pack cooling fans, MECS cooling pump and the air blend door actuator would be three of your most likely trouble spots...all doable at home if you're a bit handy. Obviously have it checked for accident damage.

The vehicle comes with so much standard equipment, I'd hardly call it stripped. It's lacking Nav/hybrid information center, leather seats, color-keyed body trim/ bumpers and a sunroof to keep it from being considered loaded.

 

I have an '06 Mariner Hybrid with 91k on the odo. Here are the repairs I've had done and are common issues with the early model years: blend door motor for battery cooling, battery cooling fans, MECS coolant pump (again part of battery cooling system), Left front ABS system tone ring (notched ring that allows detection of wheel rotation). Blend door motor and MECS cooling pump are not part of the extended hybrid warranty. Why, I don't know given they are unique and critical to hybrid system. When I had cooling fans replaced Ford wasn't considering those part of the HV warranty either however I still had an extended warranty in place that covered it. I've since read that Ford is now honoring the fans under the HV warranty. The big $ repair and most recent that wasn't covered by warranty was the MECS pump. There are plenty of threads on MECS pump failure and it doesn't fail gracefully either, i.e., you don't want to be traveling on the middle lane of the DC beltway traveling at 70mph when it fails.

If the above items haven't been replaced then there is good probability you will be replacing them in the next 50k miles so figure into your total cost of ownership. Having Ford or an independent shop do these repairs will cost you between $1000-$1500 combined. Also, any other repairs on the hybrid (at least at a Ford dealer) you get charged a "hybrid premium" labor rate as "it requires specially trained technicians to service a hybrid vehicle".

In general the vehicle is a decent around town "grocery hauler" that performs well in bad weather and snow. It also helps in stop and go traffic by shutting down ICE. As for savings at the pump, not really. Living in the mid Atlantic area the gas mileage really drops off in the winter and summer. In the winter the ICE must run frequently to keep engine at operating temps. In summer the engine runs frequently so AC compressor can run for battery cooling or, in my case, the wife turns HVAC controls to red options so AC always run which means ICE always runs. It wasn't until later model years that Ford moved to an all electric AC compressor. On even the slightest incline the ICE kicks in if you need to maintain 25 or higher going up the incline.

The primary reason I've still got the MMH is 1) it's paid for and 2) It has Virginia clean fuel tags and is my HOV pass when driving into/out of DC at rush hour. As my wife reminded me on the recent MECS pump repair, "that's only a couple of car payments. At least we don't have 50 more of those payments to make".

I recently looked at trading my MMH in for 2013 Fusion Hybrid, but, trade-in value for my MMH was low I think primarily because it's near the end of the 8 yr/100k Hybrid warranty. The Ford hybrids appear to depreciate rapidly as well. When researching FFH acquisition options the monthly payment on a 60 mo 2.9% loan with $9k down was same as a 3 yr lease with zero down. That tells me the car looses a lot of residual value in first 3 years.

My understanding reading the forums is that the there's nothing else prone to failure in the hybrid components of these vehicles. The battery supposedly is strongest component and possibly was over designed (which is good for us). Plenty of stories of Hybrid Escapes with well over 150k on the odo and no battery issues.


Don Y.
Leesburg, VA

 

Just a short note - the listing says 2006, but the picture says 2005. Are you sure it is a 2006 model?