ColdnFrosty

I wonder if anyone else has observed that the rear seat belt buckles have a heavy duty spring around the star bolts that connects the buckles to the seat frame. However, the spring forces the buckle into the upright position on the driver side rear seat, but forces the other two buckles down. This suggests that two of the buckles were installed incorrectly at the factory. When the rear seat back is lowered the buckles that are facing down can become caught under the seat. Raising the seat back can actually crush the seat buckle, rendering it useless. I contacted the Ford CRC flagging it as a safety issue, but was blown off - they cited their 36 mo/36,000 mile warranty. I suggested that it fell under their safety restraint system warranty which is 5 years and 60K miles. No response. Has anyone else had an issue with the rear seat buckles? Thanks.

Isn't this the Escape Forum?

The dealer repaired this under warranty. Tech said there were loose screws in the hatch under the interior trim. Solid as a rock now.

The "sag" in the headliner is normal. I noticed the same thing on mine and had the dealer open a few Escapes on the lot and they all exhibit the same gap at the rear of the panoramic roof. The explanation given is that the retractable sun screen can stretch and sag over time and if there was no gap, it would result in wear and tear on the sun screen. The sun screen does flap along the sides when my windows are open. The nature of a paper thin retractable sun screen.

Since we are on the topic of the rear hatch ... my handle broke off today (the inside handle). It snapped back together, but the plastic trim panel apparently loosened up contributing to the handle falling apart. I showed the dealer this and he explained the clips that hold everything together. He said it would take at least an hour for the tech to remove the panel and determine what clips need to be replaced. Then the clips have to be ordered, and i will have to come back for another hour plus session in the shop. Anyone else having a similar issue?

Hi guys, The plug on the passenger side has a hole in it, if you have the panoramic sun roof. It's a drain hole. Do not plug it or cover it. If you don't have a panoramic sun roof, the plug is solid. It has nothing to do with tow packages, lift gates, or otherwise. Water invariably will get into the channels along the sun roof, and it is then funneled out through that hole.

I have had three or four chips - typical in the nor'east at this time of year. Stuff kicks up. I do a quick scan every week or and touch up. Chips show up pretty easily on Tuxedo Black paint!

When the dealer told me $200+ just for labor, I decided to take a closer look at the liner. There are two trim pieces on either side in the rear that appear to hold the edges of the headliner. The rear edge is held in place by the rubber gasket at the top of the left gate. Slipping my hand in there I felt no glue and the headliner and insulation appear to be one piece, as you indicated. The nut and connector wire for the base are only about 10" forward of the upper hatch gasket. The wire come in at a 90 degree angle from the driver's side. So, I'm optimistic that I'll be able to do it myself without having to remove the liner completely.

I accidentally snapped off the antenna on the roof of the 2013 Escape while backing into a garage packing space - yeah - ugh! I ordered a new base and antenna (part #18813 and 18936). As the antenna bent forward it pushed the front of the base down and made an ever so slight depression just forward of the base - yeah - ugh! I think it will rebound with a little thumb pressure from underneath. However, I am curious if anyone knows how to drop the rear portion of the head liner so that I can access the connectors to the base? Many thanks.

I had the update performed this morning on my 2.0L AWD. No charge.

I'm surprised they just don't post the update. It has obviously been tested, or it wouldn't be out on the newer cars of the line.

Nice review. Thanks for posting. I agree with the fuel tank capacity. I wonder why they run the display to 0 miles even though there are 2 gallons remaining in the tank. Aside from the cheap floor mats, I have a passenger door misalignment at the top of the door. No leakage, but it does look wrong. If I had to be really critical, it would be with the voice commands (or lack thereof) with MFT. My biggest gripe is music selection. Although I can "browse albums" - I would like to be able to browse more than just the first screen. The lack of a "scroll up" and "scroll down" command prevents going beyond that. Also, there is no ability to "browse artists." Also, I've yet to figure out how to adjust temperature for both sides of the cabin with a voice command. Only seems to work on the driver's side.

Gotta agree with you. If I run a vacuum cleaner over it, it looks really bad. And my right foot heel is close to putting a hole into the cheap standard floor mat after just 3K miles. Ford needs to stop admiring the good looks of the vehicle off the assembly line and start thinking about what it looks like after a few years of use (or even a few months)!

Correct. You can actually go to Phone on MFT, then go to Messaging, and you should see a numbered list of your text messages. Unread messages will have an envelope next to them. You should be able to select any of those messages and have them read back. Oddly, you cannot say "Messages" and have MFT take you to that screen. Since that is purely a navigation function in MFT, I would say the blame there lies with Ford, not iOS.

I noticed that my front passenger door has some misalignment at the top. I took it to the dealer and they agreed but suggested it was a body shop issue. Upon closer inspection I notice that it isn't so much the door that is out of alignment as it is the vertical plastic panel. It seem as though the gasket on the upper edge of the door behind the panel is just thick enough that when the door is closed it pushes out on the top edge of that panel. Anyone else with a similar problem? Thanks.