Learn me: 3rd Gen Ford Escape, the pricing seems to be right among that class of SUVS and the MPG atleast on paper are better then the others. I read there was a recall oil and fuel leaks (should be covered right now right?) I have also read the transmissions can grenade at higher mileage. Anything else I should watch for?
We've had a couple of 1.6l but now have a 2l to tow with. The 2l is superior in all aspects, including fuel economy. I know the 1.6 gets better on paper (and the test), but in real world use, the 2l is better. We can get almost 40mpg cruising down the highway. And the next week, we can tow our 2500lb trailer with ease.
I guided both of my daughter in-laws to 2017 Escape S trim level with the base 2.5l. The engine has a proven track record and is a common engine and transmission with my 2017 Fusion which makes maintenance of all three vehicles easier for me. The 2.5l is not available as AWD so if that is part of your criteria I think boosted is required.
I like them in terms of driving performance, comfort, and handling when compared to my wife's 2018 Rav4.
One thing to add- the oil issues are on the 1.6, not the 2.0l engine. Or the later 1.5l.
Either way, in the real world, the 2.0l turbo is a better choice of the boosted engines. I don't have a baseline for the 2.5l.
Frustrating side story..... Not to long ago, Toyota came out with a really amazing 2.5l engine- some may remember the discussions about it. Great motor, a little over 200hp, really clean, really cheap- like the ideal motor. And I very much opined that Ford should do the exact same thing.
Didn't happen. Well, not for production, at least. I found out that in the same time frame that Toyota did that, we did the exact same thing and came up with an amazing 2.5l motor. One that had enough power to nominally tow (it exceeded the 5000lb capacity of the 3.0l Ranger of the past).
Even though it was cheaper, cleaner, more powerful, and more economical than the 1.5/1.6 choices, it went nowhere. Really frustrating.
So, 3rd Gen is 2013+.
I put my MIL into a 2013 when new and it's been great. The early 1.6L was problematic but hers is a 2.0L
An additional input...the awd was a free standing option. For her, we got a loaded SEL model but chose to save the $2k+ and not get the awd. I mention this because if you want awd don't just assume it does, even if loaded.
Other than badges and a look underneath, I am not aware of any visual spotters guide to tell if it is awd. There is no dashboard knob or transfer case lever, etc.
In reply to John Welsh :
What kind of MPG with the 2.0L? AWD isn't make it or break it snow tires are equally as good for me.
Our 1.6 Ecoboost had a couple fueling system issues. Had replace both sensors and the high pressure fuel pump which was a pain in the ass. Other then that it was a decent vehicle. Personally I wish we had of bought the similar age CX5.
Our friends Escape had a cooling issues.
In reply to trigun7469 :
As for mpg, I don't drive it enough to know. As an old lady, she only drives around town so not a good "all around example."
But, when it was nearer to new, she lent us the car for a trip to NC (from Ohio.)
With two car seats (one rear facing) my wife (the passanger) had to keep her seat a little forward. Net result, the Gen2 Prius held the 4 of us better than the Escape.
Runaway from the 1.5! Ours (a 2018) was replaced at 21,000 miles
Iusedtobefast said:Runaway from the 1.5! Ours (a 2018) was replaced at 21,000 miles
what symptoms/complaints, and what did they say were the reasons the engine had to be replaced? my 2018 SEL 1.5 is around 45k and has been flawless since our purchase at 27k, CPO from local Ford dealer.
In reply to John Welsh :
You keep on talking about the Prius, but won't let me borrow one 
I bought a 1.6 AWD new in 2012 and had it until last year, we put 240,000 kms (150K mi) on it. Ours was part of the initial recalls for oil leaks and cylinder head cracks.
This car had the best front brakes I've ever seen, they lasted well over 200,000 kms on the same pads and rotors, I did the rears 3 times during our ownership. We also had some coolant leaks which were some plastic fittings. Also had to change the muffler mounts many times as they were made of some weird aluminum alloy that turned into dust after being exposed to road salt. Other than that it was tires and oil. The thing drove really well.
It was a good vehicle overall but at the end I believe there was a crack in either the block or the head as the cooling system was pressurizing a lot and we had some random misfires on cold starts (which is a symptom of traces of coolant making its way to the cylinders in micro cracks, issue is documented here 2013-2015 1.6 Coolant leak | 2013+ Ford Escape Forum). We kept getting a limp mode that would only reset with a code reader, which is why I now own a reader with the Ford software. I got rid of it because it was my wife's daily and she couldn't deal with the limp mode anymore.
If I were to do it again I would have gotten the 2.0!
trigun7469 said:In reply to John Welsh :
What kind of MPG with the 2.0L? AWD isn't make it or break it snow tires are equally as good for me.
My daughter has a 2105 with the 2.0 and AWD, she gets low to mid 20s in mixed driving.
Check out the FordTechMakuloco YouTube page. He talks about the Ecoboost 4's that are prone to lose head gaskets due to slots machined between cylinders on the top of the block. Interesting stuff that might be good to know before making that choice.
In reply to AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) :
Something to do with the design of the block. Had antifreeze getting in cylinders. Not enough for smoke out the exhaust but enough that it ran rough. That was what I was told. It was during the pandemic and supplies were short. They told us it needed a short block and a total of 47 parts. Everything was back ordered and parts wouldn't be in for 3 months. My wife called the Ford rep, we got pushed to the front of the line and we got it back in a month. At the time, we were told it was a very common problem and Ford didn't want to do a recall. The dealer we went to had two mechanics dedicated to rebuilding the engines.
Iusedtobefast said:In reply to AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) :
Something to do with the design of the block. Had antifreeze getting in cylinders.
Watch the youtube channel that I mentioned above to learn more about what you experienced ...
You'll need to log in to post.
