Is there anything that needs to be done differently when servicing a hybrid vehicle? In the past I have taken my vehicles to the local Jiffy Lube every 4,000 miles or so. Should I take it to the dealership or is anywhere fine?

 

I would think it depends on how comfortable you are with your vehicle. I wouldn't want to go to a proctologist if I had a sore throat.

I guess it's nice to take it to someone comfortable with hybrids periodically, if you want them to catch little things before they become big things.

I'm taking mine to the stealership for my first oil change this week and will have to have them try (again) to fix the air bag light that has them puzzled. It hasn't been in since before Christmas so maybe they've been enlightened now.

I suspect, as time goes on, it'll be at Ford less and less.

 

Just out of curiosity, what is the problem with your airbag light?

 

I take my 05 FEH to the dealer for service every 5k miles.
I went to Merchants one time when I couldn't get into the Service Department at the Dealership. When that happened, they put regular 5W20 in the engine instead of the synthetic Ford recommends (which was my fault). The engine ran fine, but I took a major hit on fuel consumption for 5,000 miles.

If you take your vehicle to any place other than your dealer, just remember to request to use the oil recommended in your owners manual.

Currently, my 05 FEH has 103K miles on it.
Only had 2 problems (Knocking on wood)
A Hybrid component went out shortly after purchasing it.
The other was a tie-rod end went bad and was found at my 100K service.

They told me that for my next service to plan on changing my serpentine belt (still the original one) .

Good luck,
Rich

 

I have a yellow warning light which looks like an airbag being deployed that has gone off nearly every day since new. Some times it won't turn on until I've been driving for an hour, this morning it was 5 minutes. It doesn't seem to care if I have a passenger in the passenger seat. Once it comes on, it stays on until I turn the vehicle off.

They thought it was a sensor in the driver-side seat belt retractor so ordered one. When I went in to have it swapped out, after being there for 40 minutes I was informed it was the wrong color (beige instead of gray) so a week later I went in again and they swapped out the part. Next day the light came on again so they checked for codes, found nothing and blamed it on my ScanGauge and suggested I try leaving it unplugged. I told them ALL the hybrid owners have a SG, but I think they didn't have a clue and were telling me to just drive it for a while. That was before Christmas.

I drove for a month without the SG, and still had the light come and go. Now I have an OBD2 y-adapter with a SG and a DashDaq connected so I know what they're going to blame it on now.

 

Serpentine belt? I will be the first to admit I am no automobile mechanic or engineer. I do have the 2005 Escape Workshop Manual and did not find any mention of the serpentine belt. Can anyone find it or is this a mistake made by the service department at what ever dealership you go to?

 

The serpentine belt replaced the fan belt and other belts into one belt many years ago. It's the only engine driven belt that the water pump and A/C compressor operate from and there is a label under your hood of how it is placed.

GaryG

 

When I was in for my last service, I had mentioned it to the mechanic at my Ford Dealership. The mechanic popped the hood to look at it. He then said they turn orange when they need to be replaced. At 106K (accidentally entered the wrong mileage earlier), mine is still nice and black. Too look at it, you'll need to look down at an angle toward the front of the engine (passenger side of the vehicle) under the coolant reservoirs. Apparently replacing it isn't that easy with everything right there.
With everything they need to take apart to get to the belt, they said will take a few hours work.

 

When you take your FEH in for service even at the dealer make sure that they use 5w-20 oil, synthetic is best, Ford spec's a synthetic blend. Most "Jiffy Lube's" have Mobil 1 in 5w-20 which is an excellent full synthetic motor oil. If they are going to add ANY fluid make sure they are using Ford spec. (i.e. coolant) Most competant shops can handle most of the service work on a hybrid, where the difficulty and concern is is in the actual hybrid systems. Be an informed customer and you most likely won't go wrong. If they are not familiar or seem afraid of the car or tell stories of electrocution....find someone else.

 

I took my FEH in today for my first oil change and luckily the airbag warning light appeared at the last possible moment or it would have been just an oil change.

They spent a lot of time on the phone with Ford and think they have the problem figured out and why it wasn't logging a code. It's going back in next week and will get all the details then.