Some Initial 2013 Impressions (good, bad, and debatable)

[rk2112]

Driving on the Penn Turnpike this morniing I opened the rear windows. The air created a vibration in the rear of the Escape that vibrated making my inner ear tickle. I shut the windows and the noise stopped.

 

I was going around 65 MPH when I pened the rear windows. Let me know if anyone else has this problem.

 

Look at your quick guide, it states you can get wind buffeting if you only open the rear windows. It says to open a front window to aliviate the issue. My last three SUVs have all been the same way.

[transitman]

Driving on the Penn Turnpike this morniing I opened the rear windows. The air created a vibration in the rear of the Escape that vibrated making my inner ear tickle. I shut the windows and the noise stopped.

 

I was going around 65 MPH when I pened the rear windows. Let me know if anyone else has this problem.

This is a common problem with all suv's and some cars. There's really nothing you can do. If you have a sun roof, one thing I found to get air circulating inside the vehicle is to open the rear portion vent of the sun roof and open one rear window a couple of inches, no helicopter affect and good air flow.

[Escapism]

Yup, does it in my 2001 Rav4. If I open just one rear window I get all sorts of ear splitting wind buffeting. The more I crack another window the more it diminishes.

[pillboy]

Does the rear window wiper lift off the glass more than a couple inches? I'm used to ones that will lift to a 90 degree angle (and stay there) for using a squeegee or an ice scraper on the glass. The one on the Escape doesn't appear to do so and I am afraid of forcing it to see if it does.

 

 

This is the first time I have had an HD radio. I know that some AM stations broadcast in HD on a side band of an FM station (usually owned by the same parent company). I tuned a station with the radio in the AM mode and the "HD" symbol lights up, and then the sound quality of the broadcast will change (along with the HD symbol winking out) when I travel in a local area know for crappy FM reception. Does the radio lock onto the HD FM signal when you tune an AM station and does the radio switch back and forth between the FM signal and the AM signal depending on the best available signal?

[svtenthusiast]

To Sassy7 and Pillboy:

 

The sound is just like the soft buzz of a fuel pump, comes on EVERY time I open the driver's door and continues for about 2 minutes even if I just open and close the door quickly to get something and well past when the lights go out. It is difficult to locate, sounds like it is comming from under the hood but it could also be coming from the chassis area beneath the front seats. With a mid-mounted fuel tank it might actually BE the fuel pump (If it sounds like a duck........etc.) but I'm wondering why it comes when I open the door without even putting the key in the ignition. Could be you don't hear the same on yours because mine is a 2.5 S.

 

I hear the same soft buzz/hum on my 2.0 Ecoboost. Mine has that sound after I park the vehicle in the garage, and 2 minutes after I open one of the front doors as you have stated. It could be the high pressure fuel pump. This vehicle has a low pressure in the tank and a high pressure for the direct injection, mounted directly on top of the engine.

Edited September 14, 2012 by svtenthusiast

[JoeIndy]

This is the first time I have had an HD radio. I know that some AM stations broadcast in HD on a side band of an FM station (usually owned by the same parent company). I tuned a station with the radio in the AM mode and the "HD" symbol lights up, and then the sound quality of the broadcast will change (along with the HD symbol winking out) when I travel in a local area know for crappy FM reception. Does the radio lock onto the HD FM signal when you tune an AM station and does the radio switch back and forth between the FM signal and the AM signal depending on the best available signal?

 

AM stations can broadcast HD Radio in the sideband of their frequency too. The frequency available for the digital transmission is less than FM, so you end up with FM quality over AM bands. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HD_Radio#AM

[pillboy]

AM stations can broadcast HD Radio in the sideband of their frequency too. The frequency available for the digital transmission is less than FM, so you end up with FM quality over AM bands. http://en.wikipedia....iki/HD_Radio#AM

 

Thanks. I thought HD was broadcast only in the FM band - never really researched it much since I never had an HD radio.

[bkell]

Is anyone having any issues with callers on the other end of a sync call hearing a ton of wind noise? It's not bad on every call, and it only seems to be happening at highway speeds. But it's like when I'm not talking it's picking up all the cabin noise and delivering to the other end. My dealer contact told me to do a little homework on it, testing it with different signal strengths and battery levels just to rule out anything related to that. The cabin is a little louder than other cars I've had, but in the cabin I don't notice it that much. I don't know if it'd be a problem with the mic, or if there's some other reason more outside noise is getting in to the cabin. There's no way to calibrate the mic, is there?

[Escapism]

Took delivery yesterday. Drives and handles great! This dealership has two locations near me. When my car came in they thought it went to the other location so they drove it over there, then realized their stupidity and drove it back. So my brand new, ordered Escape had 28 miles on it. But I'm over it, sort of. :beatdeadhorse:

 

Anyway, the only thing that I found wrong was the rear hatch alignment. The gap on one side must be close to 1/2" and the other side is like an 1/8". I mean really Ford???? I noticed it the second I walked up to the vehicle from behind. It has been noted at the dealership and I'm still debating whether or not I should let them screw with it. Looking for some opinions on this matter from you folks. I even crawled in the back cargo area so I could watch the latch engage when it came down and the male/female connection seems to be lined up nicely. So I guess if they slide the door over they would have to slide the latch that is on top of the bumper over as well. First thing I will do is go do a meet-and-greet with the service guys and get their opinion on this.

 

But thats it, no other issues. MFT/Sync works great. Paired my iphone 4s with no problems and started listening to my tunes from my phone via bluetooth right away on my ride home from the dealer.

Edited September 16, 2012 by Escapism

[Escapism]

There's no way to calibrate the mic, is there?

 

Good question. Usually buried down in the system somewhere there is a way to calibrate the mic. Just how fancy the adjustment options are might be an interesting find.

[boppergee]

Took delivery yesterday. Drives and handles great! This dealership has two locations near me. When my car came in they thought it went to the other location so they drove it over there, then realized their stupidity and drove it back. So my brand new, ordered Escape had 28 miles on it. But I'm over it, sort of. :beatdeadhorse:

 

Anyway, the only thing that I found wrong was the rear hatch alignment. The gap on one side must be close to 1/2" and the other side is like an 1/8". I mean really Ford???? I noticed it the second I walked up to the vehicle from behind. It has been noted at the dealership and I'm still debating whether or not I should let them screw with it. Looking for some opinions on this matter from you folks. I even crawled in the back cargo area so I could watch the latch engage when it came down and the male/female connection seems to be lined up nicely. So I guess if they slide the door over they would have to slide the latch that is on top of the bumper over as well. First thing I will do is go do a meet-and-greet with the service guys and get their opinion on this.

 

But thats it, no other issues. MFT/Sync works great. Paired my iphone 4s with no problems and started listening to my tunes from my phone via bluetooth right away on my ride home from the dealer.

 

I had the same exact issue. My rear hatch was misaligned exactly as you described. I refused delivery and my dealership took it to their body shop where I'm told they simple loosed the top bolts at the top of the door and tapped it over,which broke the paint seal.They then resealed and touched it up.They did not touch the motorized pistons or reallign the latch.It is now perfectly even and the door closes with no issues.I'm happy with the fix and am not worried about having rear door issues down rhe road.

edit: I forgot to mention my car had 38 miles on it the first time I went to pick up the car.It was deliveried by a trailer and not driven from a different dealer,at least this is what I was told by my salesman.He said, they sometime have 2 miles on it, other times they have up to 50,not sure why.It took 2 months for my order to come in and the salesman knew I was waiting for it,so I dont think they would cruise around town with it before they called me and let me know it's ready.But you never know...

Edited September 17, 2012 by boppergee

[Escapism]

Thanks boppergee, this puts me at ease a little bit. As far as random mileage, I was told that they randomly pull new cars at the factory and test drive them for quality assurance reasons.

[akirby]

I was told that they randomly pull new cars at the factory and test drive them for quality assurance reasons.

 

This. ^^^

[NickF1011]

So my brand new, ordered Escape had 28 miles on it.

 

Eh, every car has a few miles on it even before it arrives at the dealer. Most that are not custom deliveries will have a handful of miles from driving it around the lot and going on test drives. A vehicle can have several hundred miles on it and still be sold as "new".

[Steve H]

Got through al the thread and haven't seen anything on real world MPG.

Are you guys and gals getting anywhere near the EPA rated MPG on the window stickers?

[Escapism]

Got through al the thread and haven't seen anything on real world MPG.

Are you guys and gals getting anywhere near the EPA rated MPG on the window stickers?

 

Well, when I picked it up from the dealer(that put 28 miles on it) the MPG readout said 13ish. Which tells me that whoever was driving my car was driving it pretty hard. i have gone through 1/2 tank of gas since Saturday and the MPG have creeped up to 20 as of this morning on my way in to work. Keep in mind this is my very first tank of gas and I don't know what the readout is from the factory.

[Steve H]

Well, when I picked it up from the dealer(that put 28 miles on it) the MPG readout said 13ish. Which tells me that whoever was driving my car was driving it pretty hard. i have gone through 1/2 tank of gas since Saturday and the MPG have creeped up to 20 as of this morning on my way in to work. Keep in mind this is my very first tank of gas and I don't know what the readout is from the factory.

Well they gotta punch it to get up those truck ramps. Congrats and thanks for the reply.

[svtenthusiast]

Got through al the thread and haven't seen anything on real world MPG.

Are you guys and gals getting anywhere near the EPA rated MPG on the window stickers?

 

I have the 2.0 EB with FWD. I get between 30-33 MPG consistantly on my 80 mile daily drive for work that is 95% highway with 10 stoplights each way and some small hills. Drive with cruise between 58-65 depending on speed limit, coasting down when possible.

 

Lifetime average in 4500 miles on the vehicle is 28.6 MPG.

 

Vehicle is rated 22 city 30 highway.

[boppergee]

Got through al the thread and haven't seen anything on real world MPG.

Are you guys and gals getting anywhere near the EPA rated MPG on the window stickers?

 

I have the 2.0 EB with AWD. I'm averaging 25-26 MPG with a commute that is just about all highway(I have 2 traffic lights).On a good day I can get as high as 28 MPG,but any kind of traffic affects the average down 3-5 MPG.

Edited September 18, 2012 by boppergee

[Steve H]

I have the 2.0 EB with FWD. I get between 30-33 MPG consistantly on my 80 mile daily drive for work that is 95% highway with 10 stoplights each way and some small hills. Drive with cruise between 58-65 depending on speed limit, coasting down when possible.

 

Lifetime average in 4500 miles on the vehicle is 28.6 MPG.

 

Vehicle is rated 22 city 30 highway.

I have the 2.0 EB with AWD. I'm averaging 25-26 MPG with a commute that is just about all highway(I have 2 traffic lights).On a good day I can get as high as 28 MPG,but any kind of traffic affects the average down 3-5 MPG.

 

Mine is 4WD rated at 21 to 28 so I'm hoping to average about what you guys are getting. Encouraged by your input. Thanks.

[transitman]

I just returned from a 2742 mile road trip. The best mileage I got for any extended distance was 36 mpg's (I did top out at 37.2 for a short distance) on a relatively flat, no traffic, two lane at 55-58 mph, slowing for towns and resuming that speed. At 60-62 mph it dropped slightly to 33-35 mpg depending on terrain, it dropped to 30-32 mpg at 65 mph and at 70-72 mph on the interstate, I was getting 26-28 mpg, fighting a front corner 10-15 mph headwind. All in all, pretty good in my opinion. Depending on terrain and wind conditions, it's easy to match or beat the EPA highway estimates when driving between 55-65 mph. This is the best road trip car I've owned. Really quiet inside, very comfortable driver's seat, great passing get up and go and little to no lane drift. The only thing I wish was improved is a better rain deflector from the A-pillar to the window. A lot of water flows in when it raining or even a light drizzle with the window cracked. When I take road trips, I like to smoke and I'd consider side window deflectors if I smoked all the time. I'm not sure about the look of the deflectors, but have only seen them in a pic on the Ford accessories web site accessorizer feature. If anyone installs the Genuine Ford Parts window deflectors, please post a pic.

[Escapism]

Got my Escape back from the dealer today. They did a great job adjusting the rear lift gate. Looks much better. They did it in-house without having to send it to the body shop. Touched up the bolts and gave me the touch up paint.

 

My MPG on my first tank worked out to 24.7 with mixed driving.

[pillboy]

Got my Escape back from the dealer today. They did a great job adjusting the rear lift gate. Looks much better. They did it in-house without having to send it to the body shop. Touched up the bolts and gave me the touch up paint.

 

My MPG on my first tank worked out to 24.7 with mixed driving.

 

Good to hear they got it lined up to your satisfaction.

[golowes48]

I was wondering how many gallons of gas it usually takes to fill the tank. I only drive the new 2013 Escape now and then (it's my wife's car) and recently had the opporunity to put gas in it. The gauge was almost on empty and the low fuel light was on. After filling it up, it only took a little over 11 gallons to fill it. I thought that this was unusual because in my 06 escape, I usually have to put around 13 gallons to fill it when the gauge is close to empty.

[PajamaGuy]

The book says it's a 15.1 Gal Tank.