I am considering buying a 05 FEH with 70k miles. The price is pretty reasonable, almost on par with a non hybrid version. I owned an 06 FEH back in 06 and only kept it a year. I loved it and did not have any problems with it.

My question is, will I be buying a FEH and running into a bunch of issues since this car is somewhat late in life? I'm not afraid of the battery issue as I have read these pack can go 100k+ in taxis and I have seen them often on Ebay for only 1k used.

I'd appreicate opinions. What type of troubles do you think I might have? This is a pretty early vehicle (manufactured in 12/04)

 

Carfax and Vehicle service history are two pieces of information you need to otain. Potential issues are blend door issue and the MCEP (motor coolant electronic pump) failure. What tires are on the vehicle? This vehicle came with the Conti EcoPlus tires? Is the vehicle for sale at a dealership or used car lot? Good Luck.

 

The car has a clean Carfax history. I have not checked the service history. It is at a Ford dealer so getting the service history should be easy. I'll see if the MCEP has already been replaced. The tires are Conti and new, but do not look like Ecoplus (they have white lettering and look like regular Escape tires).

I'm going to take a look at it today. Probably won't buy for another week or two if it is still available.

 

Mine was made in 12/04 too! I just passed 99,250 miles today.

Mine has been virtually trouble free and I live in a state with 105 degrees summers and -20 degree winters and the battery pack puts out the same power as it did when new and I get the same MPG as new.

I replaced the MECP Motor / Electronics Cooling Pump ( better describe it or the dealer may say Huh? ) and have had trouble with the air conditoner leaking freon 3x. That's about it. Oh, my electric cabin heater pump quit recently, but there's a belt driven water pump also, so I get heat just fine when the engine is on, which is almost always in the cold, so the electric pump was kind of redundant, so I havn't replaced mine, because I don't need it.

 

I just bought a 2006 today with just over 69K Miles. It's certified by the dealership and I went with the extended warranty for an additional 2 years. Now I just have to work on getting better mileage! I got 21.9 at best driving home from the dealership.

 

Congrats. What did that extra 2 year warranty cost?

 

I haven't looked closely at the papers, but it added $30-$40 a month to my payment. I also bought a 5 year tire warranty for $10 a month. I usually don't buy warranties, but this time I did because I just want to be free from carrying the burden of, "What if?". It will be taken care of an the warranty. See, I went without a car for almost a year and used public transporation for work and leased a car for $40 on weekends when needed, and hitched rides with friends at other times. Now I have a new job where public transportation is not an option, so there was no avoiding being a car owner. I'm a reluctant car owner, but at least this Escape will be fun!

 

Cold weather lowers MPG in all cars, but is more apparent in Hybrids, because you start at a higher MPG.

You didn't state where you live, but when it gets warmer ( above 50's ) your MPG will ( should ) increase to middle 30's for MPG.

Enjoy!

 

I live in Michigan. I'm very relieved, and pleased to say that now I'm seeing 28+ mpg, mainly highway. My mileage was just as good going 70 mph vs. 60-65. That's good news since I'll be driving 27 miles each on the freeway to work. Looking forward to better mileage in warmer weather! Thanks!

 

For what it's worth, I have 103,000 on a salvage titled 2wd, with no expenses other than a plug and filter changes- + tires.

No need for brakes- and best of all- IT DOESN"T HAVE A TIMING BELT!

I am hoping for 300K- and over 100,000k there's no resale.

Gary