Ford Escape Hybrid with poor MPG

You have not gave us enough information regarding trip distance, drivers, was there a sudden drop in MPG, do both hybrids use the same gas or E10, A/C use, is your MMH a AWD and what year is it, are the tires the same and have the same PSI? All these things need to be addressed.

The M/E cooling pump also may be causing heat issues that some times don't give codes or warning lights. Some people drive the '05 AWD and are happy with getting 25mpg and don't want to use Hypermiling techniques to improve mileage.

For what it's worth. 2005 was the first year they did the hybrid on the Escape's. I have one, my mother has one, and I know of 2 others in my area that all bought ours with-in 3 months of each other that year. They seem to have been Ford's joke on us. Not only will your mileage never be what was advertised despite your driving habits. But, you will find that the coolant pump is a waste of metal as it usually has to be replaced every 50,000-70,000 miles (at $500-$700 a crack). And, the u-joints in the steering column (if you have the adjustable column) will go bad about every 8-10 months (depending on how often you drive the vehicle).
If you really want a good Ford hybrid they seem to have worked out most the bugs by the 2007 model. I am the only one of 6 people that I know that purchased this model that has been dumb enough to keep it. And (of course) I am getting ready this weekend to replace my 4th cooling pump.
If you keep this vehicle about all you can do is make sure you keep track of the recalls and get them ALL done. Especially since the wiring recall is known to set your vehicle on fire.

I have a '05 FWD FEH with a lifetime MPG of 45mpg on straight gas but Florida went to E10 gas in '08. My '09 FWD FEH gets even better mileage and I have a lifetime MPG average with 12,400 miles of 49.1 and growing:
http://www.cleanmpg.com/index.php?page=garage&displayunits=MPG(US)&viewcar=2612

The best mileage depends how you drive and if you have poor driving skills, city driving will be the worst. Highway driving will yield better mileage with poor driving skills because there are fewer ways to kill mileage because of changes in speeds. Also, some drivers in city driving run the A/C on MAX because they don't want the engine to shutdown because the interior temperature gets to warm.

I buy hybrids to get the most mileage out of a SUV which I need for space. I know what causes bad mileage and how to drive for the best mileage. I get much better mileage in the city (65mpg) than the highway (45mpg) so I try to stay off the highway as much as possible. You must understand how the hybrid system works in order to get the best mileage out of it. The MAX sidewall pressure on the factory tires is 44psi but 50psi is what I run for better MPG, handling, wear, safety and hydroplaning.

Don't complain about mileage until you understand about how to get better mileage. There could be problems with the vehicle like engine problems, tires, alignment, and other systems causing problems also. If I see a sudden drop in MPG I can find the problem right away by knowing my vehicle.

Hello -

I have a 2005 FEH AWD with about 50,000 miles, and I'm averaging around 21 MPG city, 23 MPG highway -- and hypermiling techniques don't seem to help. When I purchased the car (used), it was getting about 28-29 MPG, but the fuel economy started to plummet after leaving the car at a dealership for a 45,000 mile oil change and rear tire change. All tires are currently inflated to 35 PSI. Given the city-highway MPG numbers, one might think the electric motor simply isn't working, but I still manage all-electric drive at low speeds, so I know that's not the case. I've had the dealership examine the car twice, and both times they've found nothing wrong (and they claim they're managing 30 MPG when they test it; for all I know, they're just driving around their lot at 20 MPH without really engaging the ICE). What's strange is that, on the first occasion that I picked up the car from the service center, the MPG display really did say 30 MPG -- but it proceeded to fall down to the low 20s the moment I turned on the car (without even shifting to drive). Any ideas? Could the new tires really account for this dramatic drop? I also had a new stereo installed around this time; might the stereo wiring somehow affect the controllers that dictate electric/ICE distribution?

Many, many thanks!
T

Great, thanks Gary! I'll take a look at the new tires and the oil level. Best, T

I would be concerned if the HV battery wiring harness was replaced. We're seeing problems with the battery internal fans not working causing the battery to over heat causing electric motor Assist problems and EV to stop working after the battery pack gets hot. This is very expensive to repair! A Ford dealer ran a diagnostics check and missed this problem DTCs POA81 and POA96 with a poster and I had him check for the codes with a Scan Gauge II. He got the code POA81 so I told him to make the dealer repair it which they did under his extended warranty. Your battery problem sounds serious to me.

The electronics coolant pump is another issue that causes the hybrid components to overheat so make sure it's working properly.

I've tried to help two people with this problem in a '05 & '06 FEH. No sign of codes or red triangle just problems like you are seeing. Here is the thread: http://www.greenhybrid.com/discuss/f26/help-no-ev-2006-escape-24483/inde...

There was a "Customer Satisfaction" notice from Ford that I got for my '05 FEH. Ford said a wiring harness in the HV battery had to be replaced before a certain date so I took my '05 to the dealer and had it replaced. That recall has expired and Ford makes the owner pay for the repair now. I think the wiring harness may be causing the problems with the fans. If the '06 FEH owner had that work done, the battery should still have the 8yr 100,000 mile hybrid warranty. Your electronics coolant pump is not covered after 3yrs/36,000 mile warranty. Read that entire thread and let me know if you have any problems or more questions.

Which recalls have you had fixed on your Escape. Mine is a 2005 Escape also and it says the electric motor has been overheating with messages every now and then to pull over safely or something like that. Not sure whats wrong but would like to know if it is with a recall. Currently i have only used one recall that i know of. Thanks for your time and response.

Gary,

I'm having the same overheating warning issue but havent reached a shut down issue (yet!)

Key on, engine off, there is what I assume to be the pump running at the base of the radiator. If the pump is running can it still be the issue or do I need to look at something else?

thanks

By check to you mean look at it under the hood or take it to a dealer? Cause im already taking it to a dealer but i dont have a clue where it is under the hood.

Replaced the circuit that controls the battery's internal fan twice now ( both times after the 35 thousand mile mark) on my bought new 2006 FEH. Believe me, this almost 300.00 repair is not covered under the battery's 100K warranty.

Then when I asked why this part wore out so often, I was told "it just does".

My 2006 FEH is a great car. Ford unfortunately, sucks!

We bought a used 2005 FWD FEH 3 years ago. My wife was driving it about 20 city and highway miles per day to work and back. According to the MPG display and our calculations, were averaging 34 - 36 MPG. Then my wife retired and we started driving it more for short trips around town. About that time we took the car in to the dealer and had a bunch of little things fixed (including replacement of the radio) and the MPG display reset to zero. The MPG slowly built up but that was over a year ago and we haven't gotten above 27 MPG since. I can't tell any difference in the performance. The tires are nitrogen filled and at last check they were at the right pressure. Sure is interesting that "T" said in his or her post that the mileage dropped after taking it to the dealer and amoung other things replaced the radio. I appreciate any clues you may have.

KR

FEH - Ford Escape Hybrid

HV - High Voltage

DTC - Diagnostic Trouble Code (On Board Diagnostic System of a fault condition)

Hypermiler - Someone who can maintain or exceed the combined EPA rating of a vehicle. Techniques used are often standard but can unique to a vehicle like the FEH. See cleanmpg.com for more details.

A problem with the battery fans (2) is rare and is covered by the hybrid warranty 8yrs/100,000 miles in general. A DTC by a special Ford Scan Tool or a programmed SGII. The fans are located inside the sealed battery housing.

Great Gary - you hit it on the head - not the vehicles fault if you don't get good gas mileage - it is the driver. My '05 is getting better and better - even the little wife driving 50 mile round trip to work gets 33-34 MPG, on the freeway in the morning and back roads in the afternoon.

Phillip

We have a 2008 2WD FEH - it has approx. 68K miles on it now and at the 60K service we had the transmission serviced. I can't say that our gas mileage changed immediately at that point - but it did soon after. I mentioned this to the dealer at the last service and they said that everything checked out fine.

My concern is that until about 5 months ago we regularly saw 34 -35 MPG on the display and with a fill-up it would show just about 500 miles to the next fill up. Now the best mileage I see is 32 MPG or lower and on a fill up the max range is usually about 420 miles. I see this as a significant change in mileage and I notice that I do have to accellerate more to maintain crusing speed.

Could the transmission service have something to do with this?

Mike

Thanks Gary G. - our dealer does has certified Hybrid techs but it is definately worth looking into because I have noticed a difference and was wondering if it was a modulator or adjustment issue. I was not impressed when they told me that they only flush the units. I would think flushing would spread the dirty metallic fluid throughout the unit.

Having worked as a mechanic from 1974 - 1990 I've done many trans services and know first hand how much ground up metal collects is on the bottom of the pan and in the filter and that the 1st service is the most critical. I can't image trans technology has changed that much to support 50K miles before the 1st service. But I could be wrong - our dealer has been pretty good.

But our mileage continues to decrease - also it is winter. I'm due for another service at 70K and also the end of the extended warranty. I'll bring the car in before we hit 70K just in case - it's been great so far. Any suggestions for what to ask them when we bring it in?

Thanks for the info...

Mike

Our '05 FEH FWD used to get mileage in the lower 30's, but over the years has steadily declined to 22-24 mpg. This summer the AC became useless. I think it may have started to fail earlier this year but since we didn't need to use cabin AC in the fall/winter/spring we didn't realize it. The AC also cools the batteries and may be affecting the regen & assist efficiency.

The clunker is in the shop now having its AC compressor replaced. The mechanic found that it had self-destructed internally, sending bits of metal throughout the refrigerant lines. He showed me an in-line filter that they took out which was covered in metal shavings. Hopefully this will help improve the fuel mileage. I'm wondering if I should take it into a Ford dealer to have them run battery diagnostics. Does the ODB port report the battery fan/cable/... codes?

Hi everyone all this. 20+ mpg sounds like a dream to me. I drive a 1994 explorer and get about 13 mpg. Oh and that's not the bad part, I'm also a delivery driver and a server 20 miles away from my house. So I put about 130 miles a day. That's about 10 gallons per day. I know what your thinking "holy sh*t". Yeah that's horrible. Does anyone want to give away or trade from mine?

The Ford HV battery is designed to last the life of the vehicle. Your battery is still under warranty at a minimum of 5 years or 100,000 miles and longer in green states.

I've owned the '05 FEH and the '09 FEH. My '09 FEH was the best year for great mileage and everything else. I sold my '05 FEH at 80,000 miles because of all the improvements in the '09. The '10 FEH and newer models had some changes to the HV battery A/C which I think was just for cost savings and it reduced MPG. I hold the World Record Lifetime MPG in a FEH with 30,000 miles with a 53.8mpg average in my '09 FEH. See my mileage log at cleanmpg.com

Wow, looks like Bonnie and RYAN both got left hanging. I hope they both went to other sites like Escape city and Green hybrid too. I realize that's not nice etiquette, but the string characteristic on this forum apparently makes it easy to lose stuff.

The 2 biggest factors in MPG are driving technique and tires. You must accelerate modestly, and also brake mildly. I hated it at first, but I could sure tell how "sensitive" the accellerator ("gas pedal") is, and I now drive ONLY without a shoe on my right foot. If you don't have the Continental or Michelin LRR tires and keep them inflated at absolutely no less than the Ford recommended pressure, you're directly messing with your fuel economy. I'm talking 10mpg on these two items, probably more if you wanted to really do some insane extremes to prove a point. Also, ONLY use 5W20 or 0W20 or equivalent SYNTHETIC motor oil, and be CERTAIN that it is NEVER overfilled or below the "fill" range on the dipstick.