Anyone have an 05 Escape with poor mileage?

Hi All: Just wondering if anyone here has a Ford Escape and gets
crappy fuel economy. I recently posted here about this. Any statistics
anyone has is greatly appreciated.
I have an 05 Escape Limited and my wife does mostly city driving.
Fuel economy is very poor. 147. - 15.0 mpg.
The dealer wants me to bring it in to have it checked.

Fifteen seems too low and worthy of further diagnosis. However, an
incidental mention in Car and Driver's recent article about the Escape
Hybrid is illustrative. Their observation, if memory serves, is that
an enthusiastic driver with a V6 Escape can get the all-around mileage
down into the teens. A four-cylinder or a light foot or preferably
both are needed to achieve its EPA figures.

For perspective: my old Wagoneer, a full-sized V8 SUV of traditional
(read: pre-OPEC) design, used to get about 15 *highway* and I never
worked up the nerve to keep track of city mileage. You of course have
both a smaller and a vastly more sophisticated vehicle, but it's still
heavier, has a lossier driveline, and shoves around a bigger and less
aerodynamic shape than a small sedan.

--Joe

On Wed, 19 Jan 2005, Finite Guy wrote:

> I have an 05 Escape Limited and my wife does mostly city driving. Fuel
> economy is very poor. 147. - 15.0 mpg. The dealer wants me to bring it
> in to have it checked.

Humor the dealer.

And tell us: Why'd you buy an SUV if you wanted car-type fuel economy?

"Finite Guy" > wrote in message
...
> Hi All: Just wondering if anyone here has a Ford Escape and gets
> crappy fuel economy. I recently posted here about this. Any statistics
> anyone has is greatly appreciated.
> I have an 05 Escape Limited and my wife does mostly city driving.
> Fuel economy is very poor. 147. - 15.0 mpg.
> The dealer wants me to bring it in to have it checked.

Wait until warmer weather. Assuming it's fairly new, wait until it has 5K
to 10K miles on it and check again. Both situations can reduce the mileage
by 2-3MPG.

Daniel J. Stern wrote:
> On Wed, 19 Jan 2005, Finite Guy wrote:
>
>
>>I have an 05 Escape Limited and my wife does mostly city driving. Fuel
>>economy is very poor. 147. - 15.0 mpg. The dealer wants me to bring it
>>in to have it checked.
>
>
> Humor the dealer.
>
> And tell us: Why'd you buy an SUV if you wanted car-type fuel economy?

He didn't say he wanted car-type fuel economy. He just doesn't want
dismal full-pickup truck fuel economy.

Finite Guy > wrote in
:

> Hi All: Just wondering if anyone here has a Ford Escape and gets
> crappy fuel economy. I recently posted here about this. Any statistics
> anyone has is greatly appreciated.
> I have an 05 Escape Limited and my wife does mostly city driving.
> Fuel economy is very poor. 147. - 15.0 mpg.
> The dealer wants me to bring it in to have it checked.

Not to start a war with the wife, but driving style can make a *HUGE*
difference in fuel economy. Phat-footed driving in town with lots of
redlights will really sap the economy. Running the defroster when it
isn't needed zaps economy, since the defroster also runs the air
conditioner compressor. Get some miles on the thing, like one poster
said, until it gets some miles on it...you aren't going to see the true
economy.
It could also be a defective O2 sensor, defective temperature sensor, or
some other sensor, making it run in 'rich' mode all the time. So have the
dealer check it out.



--
Anthony

You can't 'idiot proof' anything....every time you try, they just make
better idiots.

Remove sp to reply via email

On Wed, 19 Jan 2005 19:25:55 -0500, Masospaghetti
> wrote:

>Daniel J. Stern wrote:
>> On Wed, 19 Jan 2005, Finite Guy wrote:
>>
>>
>>>I have an 05 Escape Limited and my wife does mostly city driving. Fuel
>>>economy is very poor. 147. - 15.0 mpg. The dealer wants me to bring it
>>>in to have it checked.
>>
>>
>> Humor the dealer.
>>
>> And tell us: Why'd you buy an SUV if you wanted car-type fuel economy?
>
>He didn't say he wanted car-type fuel economy. He just doesn't want
>dismal full-pickup truck fuel economy.

True, I didn't expect car type fuel economy. I do notice that my 98
Grand Marquis with a V-8 gets better mileage than the Escape.

I will bring it back to the dealer to check it out. They claim they
won't charge me because it's under warrantee. We'll see.

Also, as an aside I did'nt see Dan's reply to my post other than what
I see in Masospaghetti's reply. Not sure wha'ts up with that. Anyone
know?

Finite Guy wrote:
> Hi All: Just wondering if anyone here has a Ford Escape and gets
> crappy fuel economy. I recently posted here about this. Any
statistics
> anyone has is greatly appreciated.
> I have an 05 Escape Limited and my wife does mostly city driving.
> Fuel economy is very poor. 147. - 15.0 mpg.
> The dealer wants me to bring it in to have it checked.

Friend of mine in MI bought a 04 Mazda Tribute (pretty much the same as
yours) with the 3.0 V6 and has the same exact complaint. His was
getting around 12 to 13 MPG. They went back and forth for a month and
nothing was found to be wrong with the engine. At around 12K mile and
when warmer weather came, the MPG went up to more than what he was
expecting. New engine and cold weather are not a great way to judge the
mileage. Give it a few months.

Finite Guy wrote:
>
> Hi All: Just wondering if anyone here has a Ford Escape and gets
> crappy fuel economy. I recently posted here about this. Any statistics
> anyone has is greatly appreciated.
> I have an 05 Escape Limited and my wife does mostly city driving.
> Fuel economy is very poor. 147. - 15.0 mpg.
> The dealer wants me to bring it in to have it checked.

Time for a reality check. The '05 AWD V-6 Auto Escape is
only rated 18 mpg city by the EPA. Even a very careful
driver will have trouble matching this in purely city
driving. For a less than "very careful driver", a new (less
than 5000 mile) vechile, and winter conditions, 15 mpg does
not sound unreasonable. My sister has a '02 2WD V-6 and only
get around 18 mpg around town during warm weather and she is
a very careful driver.

I have a Saturn Vue with the 4 cylinder and CVT
transmission, and I only get around 20 in mixed city /
highway driving.

My suggest is to start keeping a gas mileage log. It might
be that the mileage is not as bad as you think. Single tank
averages can be very mileading, even when you are very
careful about filling the tank.

Also, you did not mention where you live, but some locals
have different gasoline formulations that can drastically
affect mileage. See:

http://www.epa.gov/orcdizux/rfgecon.htm
http://www.mobil.com/USA-English/Fil...p%20100102.pdf
http://api-ec.api.org/about/index.cf...02001000000000
http://www.mobil.com/USA-English/GFM...soline_FAQ.asp

Regards,

Ed White

Have 04 Mazda tribute awd (same as escape.
I have calcuated molage since we bought it.

Highway driving with cruise control at 55: 25 mpg
"" "" more nomral speed: 20 mpg
Mix of highway and city driving (me going to work): 18 mpg
City driving stop and go : 15 mpg (if I'm lucky)

Y our mileage sounds fairly normal to me. My friend with 03 escape gets
roughly same mileage. A little less. He has a bit of lead foot tendency
though. Hope this makes you feel better.

"Ad absurdum per aspera" > wrote in message
ups.com...
> Fifteen seems too low and worthy of further diagnosis. However, an
> incidental mention in Car and Driver's recent article about the Escape
> Hybrid is illustrative. Their observation, if memory serves, is that
> an enthusiastic driver with a V6 Escape can get the all-around mileage
> down into the teens. A four-cylinder or a light foot or preferably
> both are needed to achieve its EPA figures.
>
> For perspective: my old Wagoneer, a full-sized V8 SUV of traditional
> (read: pre-OPEC) design, used to get about 15 *highway* and I never
> worked up the nerve to keep track of city mileage. You of course have
> both a smaller and a vastly more sophisticated vehicle, but it's still
> heavier, has a lossier driveline, and shoves around a bigger and less
> aerodynamic shape than a small sedan.
>
> --Joe
>