2021 was a tumultuous year for the angry fleet. Bought the E92, Totaled the E60, sold the Sonoma, bought AK1's POS forester, bought AK2's very sweet Saab 9-3 which my wife promptly snatched up and put AK2 into the 200k Odyssey, and blew up the POS Forester 300 miles from home.
I hope 2022 is a bit more settled. To that end, we decided to buy a CPO 2018 Escape SEL AWD for AK1 to drive while she's in school so far from home.
27k miles, comes with 12/12 bumper to bumper and has powertrain warranty out to Dec 2025 or 100k. Among other things, the more important (to us) bits of the SEL package are projector halogens vs standard reflectors, heated exterior mirrors, and power hatch. It's just the 1.5L EcoBoost i4 (the 2.0L is only available in the Titanium, which is about $5k more). We picked it out last week and closed the deal 2 days ago. Is it weird that I bought winter wheels and tires for it before Christmas?
First order of business: remove the 3-season rolling stock:
and install the winters:
And something we didn't really do with the Forester:
I don't expect this will be more than just a maintenance thread, but I'll keep it up to date. So far it seems like a decent little car. berkeley, it better be! Almost $25k out the door, or $320 per month for 66 months (?!?!) at 1.99% through my CU.
Nice!
I have driven the Euro equivalent (Kuga) since 2011, now on my second one (a 2017 so the same generation as yours). Mine is a diesel AWD though but I had the 1.5 EcoBoost in my Focus. I had the 150 bhp version but I guess this is the 180 bhp?
I kind of liked that driveline (especially the brief time I had a 180 bhp tune in it) but it was not very frugal on fuel in the Focus.
But yea, the Kuga/Escape is a nice big :-) car, I really like that platform.
Gustaf
Nice!
FYI, WK1 rolls on the same winter wheels. Be very careful with them when they are off the car, as those spokes stick out way past the sidewall and they are very prone to nicks and scratches. Fortunately, the granite curbs of Maine have taken a preemptive role in that regard, so I no longer get stressed out about it.
We also went through similar tutorials with the lug wrench and the dipstick, but it soon became obvious that WK1 was just studying enough to pass the test.
I expect AAA to drop us at some point in the future.
OK cool. FWIW, in this crazy world I'd consider a low mileage AWD CUV well bought at $25 K. It is what it is right now and I'm hoping for my son's sake that his 06 Focus with 170 K keeps on trucking for a while yet.
I've put close to 160 K at work in AWD Escapes with the 1.6 EB, 130 K on the first one that I got new and about 30 K on the current example (97 K now as it was a hand me down) Pretty much just routine maintenance on both I've had so hoping it will be a good little appliance for her. The snow tires are a good call based on the other thread, my current one is running all season Continentals that are fine for typical conditions around here (the roads are bare and black within 2 hours of the snow stopping with all the chemicals used) but I wouldn't want to have to drive it very far in really bad conditions.
The AWD is very much front biased so handling in snow can be a bit squirrelly with the short wheelbase. (Basically a lifted Focus, built on the same platform.) It's counterintuitive but sometimes adding a bit of throttle improves stability because it engages the rear wheels. Oil consumption has not been an issue on either I've had but always a good habit to teach. 
(You need to stop beating yourself up on the other one, my son had checked the oil on his old GF's POS Forester several times on their trip and it still threw a rod.)
My daughter bought a 2015 Escape Titanium with 100k on it in the summer of 2020 after Dad got tired of fixing the 07 Focus that got her through high school. So far so good, I did a full 100k service on it soon after we got it. Hoping it gets her through college, including grad school, so 3 more years.
Tom_Spangler (Forum Supporter) said:
My daughter bought a 2015 Escape Titanium with 100k on it in the summer of 2020 after Dad got tired of fixing the 07 Focus that got her through high school. So far so good, I did a full 100k service on it soon after we got it. Hoping it gets her through college, including grad school, so 3 more years.
What is also interesting is that here in South Africa the first generation Kuga with the 1.5 Ecoboost all caught fire after some time.
I can't remember what the reason was, but it was utterly embarrassing for FordSA, but after some investigation and with a lot of recalls, the problem was fixed.
Being in the motorspares sales industry, the Kuga owners don't like it when you ask if they want a packed of marshmallows with their services kit
In reply to AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) :
I like the blue color!
First viewed via my phone, I thought in this picture that AK1 was levitating powered by sheer joy.
Guess that lug was really on there, eh?
On that topic, one of the things I did on my daughter's car over the holidays, and that I've done with all my newer Fords, is get rid of those damn 2-piece factory lug nuts. Over time, they corrode and swell up. First thing that happens is that you can't get a wrench on them, the second thing that happens is you spin the outer part while the inner part stays, so you end up having to cut/chip away the remains of the outer part so you can get them off. It's not fun.
This is the result of trying to get them off one wheel:
I went with Gorilla nuts, but there are a bunch of them out there that are an improvement over the factory junk.
If I ever meet the guy at Ford who decided those things were a good idea, I will issue a strong verbal rebuke.
In reply to Tom_Spangler (Forum Supporter) :
A strong verbal rebuke indeed! Torque spec is 100 lb*ft, and AK1 is about 105 lbs as shown. She had no choice but to stand/bounce on the breaker bar to get them loose!
good info on the lugs. I've used Gorilla in the past with good results so I'll pick up a set for the springtime swap.
5-month checkup: odo 32,625 and it's all good. So far, I'd be willing to bet that the oil has been checked on this Escape more often than on any other 2018 Escape. Since the EJ253 ordeal, she checks oil level and tire pressures with every gas stop. No sensors on the winters.
and speaking of winters, today we finally got the winters off and the 3-seasons on. 'Twas a beautiful evening for such work.
AK1 is down with scheduled maintenance. Oil change:
Engine air filter:
and cabin air filter:
Found a tiny bit of coolant weeping from connection on oil cooler:
Is that common? Does it catastrophize?
In reply to AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) :
That is oozing through the hose about an inch back from the clamp where it has been rubbing another hose. Fix it now!!
TurnerX19 said:
In reply to AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) :
That is oozing through the hose about an inch back from the clamp where it has been rubbing another hose. Fix it now!!
good eye, i hadn't noticed that and assumed it was weeping at the clamp. will take a closer look this weekend.
We have a 2018 Escape. Bought brand new. At 20,000 miles Ford put a new engine in it. There seems to be a defect in the block. Yes, the 1.5 liter. Pay attention to antifreeze level and if it runs rough, bingo. We were still under warranty so free for us. Service writer said if not under warranty it would be $7000 out of my pocket. They do have trans problems too. Mine won't shift correctly and cruise control won't maintain speed. Ford said it shifted sluggish but otherwise couldn't find anything wrong. It's going back to them in a week because it's worse now. 41,000 miles now. Otherwise my wife loves it. Good luck...
Hey, remember that weeping coolant hose? Well, since AK1 is headed back to school in a couple days, we got under the car to change the oil and I decided to wipe the crud off the hose and wrap a little safety duct tape around it. Only problem is it peed on my arm when I pushed it.
I'm guessing it was damaged by a hack using channel locks to remove oil filter, before our ownership. so we are carpooling tomorrow while I try to find Ford service part GV6Z-6B851-A local to 48187. If I haven't got it by Noon I'm going with generic bulk hose, which should be fine. It's molded in shape but the bends aren't severe. Not strictly a Silver lining, more of a well it could have been worse: at least I found it in my driveway on Wednesday instead of in an explosion of steam 300 miles from home on Saturday.
You said the car is a CPO, right? Is it not under warranty?
Tom_Spangler (Forum Supporter) said:
You said the car is a CPO, right? Is it not under warranty?
For sure the car is under CPO warranty, but no guarantee they could get it in before she takes off for school in 2 days. Also, the hose looks externally damaged vs manufacturing defect so I'm sure it would turn into a hassle.
I found the hose and clamps at Village Ford, $13.78. So I'll replace it and change the oil tonight.
Didn't know this came with a manual trans. Good on her for going that path. I didn't know a standard was even available in these by that model year.
I think that is his BMW otherwise there would escapes everywhere on this forum!
cdowd (Forum Supporter) said:
I think that is his BMW otherwise there would escapes everywhere on this forum!
I think it would just be people talking about Escapes but not actually owning them. In any case, you're probably right.
pres589 (djronnebaum) said:
cdowd (Forum Supporter) said:
I think that is his BMW otherwise there would escapes everywhere on this forum!
I think it would just be people talking about Escapes but not actually owning them. In any case, you're probably right.
talking about "when will ecoboost manual escapes be depreciated to Challenge level"
yeah, that's the 6MT in the E92
AK1 and I had a good evening in the driveway, 2 hrs and 15 minutes start to finish. changed the bad hose, refilled with fresh Motorcraft yellow 50/50, and changed oil & filter.
Just a bit over 38k on the odo, so about 5500 since last oil change. Gonna do 4k on the next 3, then we'll be back to 5k intervals on the easy-to-remember 5s and 10s.
Wheel chocks and jack stands FTW. Safety first when my kid is under the car.
Then we went out for ice cream at 9:45PM.
pres589 (djronnebaum) said:
Didn't know this came with a manual trans. Good on her for going that path. I didn't know a standard was even available in these by that model year.
Here in South Africa they were available in a manual. These are named Kuga, pronounced almost like cougar(with out the prominent "r"), over here
Timely thread given I'm considering replacing my Focus wagon with an Escape since I'm getting sick of the front pan dragging on the road regularly.
They were called Kugas here up till about 2016 when the Escape name replaced it. FWIW the Escape I'm looking at is a '17, base trim, 2.0l Ecoboost with 75,000 km's. Downside is it uses the 6 speed DCT but I've had two of them that have been flawless thank dog. Asking price is NZD20k which is 13 or so in your dollars.
cheers
Less than 6 months and 9k miles since swapping winters for 3-seasons, today we took advantage of (1) beautiful weather and (2) AK1 being home for the weekend and put the winters back on. I know it seems a little early, but you never know when the snow's gonna fly 350 miles north of Detroit.
At a little over 41k, nothing else is required at this time. Hooray!
