11 months old and 7th extendrd stay in the service dept. Since the first day I have had the FEH there is a very loud noise coming from the back area of the cabin. The sound is like a box of dinner plates rattling every time you drive on a slightly rough road or bump. Every time I bring it to the sevice dept they tell they need to order this part or that part but nothing is ever improved. This time they tell me it is coming from the sunroof draining area.
Overall my experience with FEH has been disapointing at best. Cheap leather interior, Nav Sys, speakers, rear view mirror, and the carpet covering the battery is falling apart.
I am sure if they fix the noise the other things will not bug me as much.
Andy

It must have been made on a Monday morning when the illegal aliens were still hung over.

"Cheap" leather interior is somewhat relative. I personally haven't had any of the problems you describe with the leather seeming cheap, the nav system works perfect and has a ton of destinations, speakers have good sound range with no distortion at loud volume, rear view mirror works fine (I mean, I can see out the rear of the car with it...), and my rear carpet is fine - mainly because I haven't ripped it out of its fastenings to see what is underneath, and I don't drag 100 lb weights in and out of the cargo area).

Sounds like maybe your tastes run more in the Lexus RX400H range. You get what you pay for - a 5 passenger compact SUV that gets 30+ MPG city when you drive it right and costs under $30,000 sans all the options. Hope your dinner plate noise gets fixed though.

It would seem that you have the basis for a lemon law claim. Certainly after being in the shop that many times you have a valid gripe.

And I hope that you get your noise resolved. But why are you carrying around dinner plates?

As for the other stuff, some of it I don't feel bad for you, and some of it I don't understand. First the leather. Yes, it is cheap leather. Anyone comparing it to, say, a Lexus could easily see that. But you knew that before you bought it, and so did I.

The nav system is in the same boat. It has a tiny screen, but is functional, and gets me around nicely. I certainly knew about the screen ahead of time, and the other quirks are just expected.

Now, what are the problems you are having with the speakers, rearview mirror, and carpet?

My carpet has been disconnected from the floor, and slides around, but it isn't falling apart.

I'm just trying to understand your issues, and separate legitimate gripes (rattle, service department, etc) from things you didn't like before you owned the vehicle.

2005 Ford Escape Hybrid - Titanium Green, 4WD, Appearance Pkg, Leather, Nav System

I'll go next:
5 months old and 1st visit in the service department, for something I caused and not even hybrid-related (broke my radio antenna). I'm as happy as a pig in muck! (Well, about everything except the fact that I managed to break off my own radio antenna!)

BTW, a Husky cargo liner will solve any deficiencies one perceives in the carpet covering back there. Keep it in there (deaden sound and/or help the cargo liner grip), and toss in a Husky cargo liner and you're good to go.

Cheap leather? My leather looks terrific, comparable to the leather in my husband's F-150 Supercrew.

It's all relative.

I hope they figure out your rattling plates sound. 7 trips to service for that? How does it drive? What's your MPG? Is it a very loud sound? Checked your lugwrench and jack recently to be sure they're seated well in the right rear cargo stowage well?

- Shannon (Geeky, Wild Texan)

Have two of them, an '05 and an '06 and in 28 months/27k miles total ownership (combined) I haven't had either one back yet. The '06 will probably go back to have the park brake adjusted (too much lever travel) but that is minor. I might just crawl under it and see if I can't tighten the cable myself.

I second the vote on the Husky liner. They are now required equipment on any new vehicle from now on.

I will note that I am NOT happy with the service I received at my nearest Ford dealership (see here), so from that standpoint I am feeling a little burned/singed around the edges right now. It was so bad it's letter-writing time to Ford Motor Co. and the GM and service manager of the dealership. Sigh... It really does just take one bad experience to sour the 'show', so I can see from other folks' eyes a bit better now -- you get gunshy and frustrated and just tired of fighting.

- Shannon (Geeky, Wild Texan)

I've had mine for 18 months and have experianced the cargo carpet problem, I figure I will just order the cargo liner from Ford or Husky to correct that. I did have a bad experiance with my first dealer (the one I got the FHE from) but switched dealers and everything has been fine since. I love the leather and have had no problems with it. There are a few things that could be done to improve the NAV system but I does what it needs to and very well. Not had any noise problems, but that would drive me crazy too, I hope they figure it out for you! I've had 2 Hybrids (I traded in a Civic for the FEH 'cuz I needed more room) and I think that is all I'll get now.

Mike Kinnell
Sonic Blue FEH AWD
Go BLUE!

My living is dependent on American manufacturing, so I decided to give Ford a break for at least trying to leave the dark side. When I purchesed my 2006 two months ago I reluctantly accepted that warranty service was likely to be performed by my local dealer, with whom I was less-than-impressed when I had my '98 Explorer. My biggest complaint with them was that 1 hour jobs turned in to 1 day jobs and they didn't seem to comprehend the manufacturer's recommended maintenance schedule. Since the FEH's regular service interval was 5000 miles for tire rotations and 10,000 miles for oil changes, etc., I figured they wouldn't be getting their hands on it all that frequently. I purchased a tire warranty and lifetime rotation/balance from a local Goodyear shop as recommended in another thread, so I won't have to deal with the dealer regarding the tires.

In all fairness to the local dealer, they were reasonable about warranty work on my former vehicle, and the techs seem genuinely interested in the hybrid vehicles. When I had my full-sized spare assembled, including the pressure sensor, their tech came out and spent time to make sure that all of the sensors were activated and picked up by the truck. He also gave me a copy of the sensor "training" procedure so I could coach the Goodyear people through it, if necessary.

I haven't had any issues with the vehicle so far, and my experience with previous Ford vehicles (with the exception of a 1973 Pinto) has been pretty good.

I have owned my 05 FEH for 11 months, driven it for 29,000 miles. During that time period, my FEH has only been in the shop once. That was for a hydraulic control unit for the regenerative braking. This has been the only time it has been in for repair (knocking on wood.) I get my oil changed and tires rotated every 5,000 miles since I drive mostly highway miles.
As for the leather, I apply a leather conditioner to is and it does soften up a little and the creases slightly disappear.
As for the cargo area carpet, my only complaint is that mine slides out from the "bumper area" too easily when loading stuff in through the liftgate.
Otherwise I am very happy with mine.

I have a 2005 FEH 4WD in Silver with the appearance package, the safety package, leather interior, and Nav.