I really like my 2005 HCH w MT, it has very few faults. Yeah it could have a little more power, yeah some things about IMA are a little quirky but the one thing that bugs me the most about my HCH is:
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The remote! The remote is actually designed really well with a big button for lock, a small button for unlock, and a recessed button for alarm. The fact that it is missing a trunk release is a small bother. The thing that makes me crazy is getting the back doors to open. The first push alway unlocks only the driver's door. Sometimes it seems as if I can push that stinking remote a hundred times and the remaining doors still do not want to open!

I'd prefer all the doors open in a single push but the dealer explained that women in big citys were afraid that someone might jump in the car with them if all the doors unlocked. Newsflash! I don't live in a big city, and I'm not a woman. It isn't so bad that the remote requires a second push, it is that the second push fails to open the remaining doors most of the time. Why not have a single click option, like the Windows OS does. Two clicks can be the default setting so that the frightened women don't need to figure out how to reprogram the remote, single click could just be an option.

Am I doing something wrong? Is there a trick to getting the back doors open?

I have the same trouble with my Ford Escape Hybrid remote, but I thought it was just me since my previous vehicle didn't have an alarm or anything "automatic" except the transmission.

I believe the dealer can reprogram that lock/unlock behavior for you, although if that's the case they should have mentioned that instead of the "crazy women in big city" anecdote.

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My biggest pet peeve about my hybrid?
That the top tier stereo in the Ford Escape Hybrid ('05/'06 anyway) -- the one that MSRPs for almost $3k due to bundling the GPS and energy management/hybrid display -- doesn't support MP3s, and doesn't have a native iPod-in connection.

One or the other, at least! I got the FDRW/PC-POD connection for ~$120 and have my iPod Nano integrated, more or less, now, but *gah* that should be standard in a 'top tier' radio.

- Shannon (Geeky, Wild Texan)

The lack of engineering units on the MFD and an accurate energy flow diagram showing MG1/MG2 and engineering units. Many folks have gone to OBD scanners but there is some lag in the data and the display.

My second complaint is the lack of engineering units for all of the signals that go into and out of the vehicle ECUs. Although some gross values are known, I prefer more details.

Bob Wilson

Operation Iraqi Oil Freedom:

Automatic, stock, project car.

My other 1500 cc car:

Automatic, stock, backup car.
Free speech, dialog and knowledge thrives without the poison of SPAM.

Lack of ability to control electric motor algorithms when climbing hills. (ie, battery runs out too soo, begins charging on the way up when I know I will soon have a chance to recharge it... etc.) Having a few optional controls would have cost next to nothing to implement, and it could lead to much greater efficiency in my case. However, since it's nothing but software and a couple of dollars in buttons, this pet peeve of mine is especially aggravating.

Having always drivin manual transmissions. I find it very difficult to effectively judge my speed with the CVT transmission in the HiHy. I can't hear the rev range and am constantly having to look at my speedometer. I catch myself speeding all the time in the Highlander without even knowing it.

one really big thing that i wish i had in my FEH is a seat memory. My car has 2 main drivers and we both like the seat so differently, that it would be nice to just push a button and have the seat my way. I find myself adjusting the seat at every light for the first 10 min or so trying to get it just right.

Ditto! I had to make a deal with my husband that he only move the seat forward (I'm short, he's not) and not mess with the height/angle stuff because it was wasting time every time I got in to drive, and the FEH is my primary vehicle. We have the mirrors more or less acceptable for all concerned, although I have to move the rear view everytime he's driven, too.

- Shannon (Geeky, Wild Texan)

I really can't believe that with a $980 stereo upgrade option, my in-dash 6-disc cd player can't play MP3's! I burned a lot of my music onto cd's in MP3 format that I used with my last car (X3) and it didn't even have an upgraded sound system. That along with no auxillary port for my iPod don't float well with me. Also, a lot of cars these days are coming satellite ready... well not the RXh. I have a lifetime subscription to Sirius and didn't want to waste it, so I bought the kit from Lexus and installed it myself. That helps with my music woes.

The Prius II has terrible blind spots and the spoiler across the rear window reduces visibility.

One of the benefits to being the sole driver, I don't have to worry about that. However, I have mentioned that numerous times to Ford people.

First 4WD Hypermiler

Have you read the FEH FAQ?

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