June 14, 2006 I hit 50,000 miles with my FEH. Ordered June 2004, Delivered February 24, 2005.
In the 1st week I had 2 minor problems.
- Bad ABS Sensor.<
- Nav CD player reported a "Focus Error" and would not read the Nav CD.<
The dealer replaced the sensor, but could not find or duplicate the "Focus Error" problem. I saw the error a 2nd time in the 1st month, but never again.
I have had a couple of other things happen that I would consider "Odd".
- 20 Minutes into a trip I stopped at a convenience store for snacks. I restarted the FEH, and the dash display showed "Power Steering Failure". Turning the wheel sure enough no power steering. I turned off the ignition, waited 10 seconds and restarted with no problems. This has only happened once, but I did think it was odd.<
- Another issue started about 2 months ago. About once every couple of weeks I will look at my DTE display and it shows no text. I try to cycle through the different displays, but the DTE side stays blank until I shut off and restart the FEH. The odometer side has always worked. <
The only thing that I am disappointed with is the fuel economy during COLD weather. I know all vehicles take a hit in Temp extremes, but my FEH seems to take it a LOT harder than any previous vehicle I have owned. Between November 05 - March 06 I only got to 30Mpg 3 times, and was as low as 22 Mpg. As the winter months progressed I watched my lifetime FE drop from 31 down to 29.3.
This FEH replaced my 2001 FE V6 4WD. My original reason for ordering the FEH was to lower my monthly fuel bills. (OK, the real reason is that I am a geek, and wanted to be the 1st with a FEH) In 2004 with gas prices going up 19 Mpg was costing quite a bit, but I did not want to give up my SUV.
As of the time I am posting this message I have 51,049 miles, 146 fill-ups, and a lifetime MPG of 29.5. Looking at my fuel logs for the 2001 FE, I fairly consistently got 10 Mpg better mileage with the FEH. My FEH fuel log I created in Excel not only keeps track of my MPG, but also estimates the savings in fuel between the 2001 FE V6 4WD and the FEH. At 146 tanks of Fuel my fuel savings is $2061.27! About $15 per fill-up savings! I run almost exclusively E10 fuel, only using straight unleaded when E10 is not available. If it was all about savings I could have purchased a smaller hybrid and saved $4-$6K already, but I really love driving an Escape.
When I ordered my FEH the word was I would pay about a $3000 premium for the Hybrid vs a conventional Escape. So if I used the numbers at the time of order I should recover the Hybrid premium by the 2 year mark. Actually with the Tax credit I received I have probably already passed the 3K mark.
I probably should also address my driving habits. I drive a minimum of 100 miles between home and work each day. 20 miles at 55
Mph, 80 miles at 65
Mph. Flat and open would best describe my commute. Last summer I was trying for Hypermiler status and limited my max speed to 55
Mph, as the weather got cold I could see that Hypermiler just was not going to happen. I now drive the speed limit, or just under, and try to avoid Interstates. This is far from the FEH's most efficient operating conditions. That being said 29.5 Mpg I am happy with.
At +50K miles my FEH was/is the right choice for ME. If I had to replace it today I would replace it with another FEH, no question. My only concerns (Small at this time) is what will be the "Life of the Vehicle" I anticipate I will hit the 100K mark before the FEH is 3 yrs old. Did you know if you pull the fuse out of the HV Battery, it does not start. So there is no driving it as a conventional vehicle if a HV component fails.
So can I get 260K miles out of it like I did my Mercury Tracer?