The shop manual for the 2006 4WD Escape (non-hybrid) has lots of discussion of the 4WD indicator and when it displays, etc., etc., blah, blah.

But I have taken my FEH on a grassy hill in the summer and punched the accelerator pedal after starting to roll back (inducing certain front wheel slip) and watched the dash board lights as the rear wheels are engaged the truck starts up the hill - and nothing - no lights, no symbols, no message in the message center.

I believe Ford diabled the indicator feature that is present in the non-hybrids for the FEH design. Possibly as a design trade-off for some other warning feature?