econoline:

Thanks, sounds fun. Is there a re-design for '16.

 

We are right about 230,000 with our 2006 escape hybrid - am the original owner. We have had very few problems with it. For the most part it was just brakes, tires and oil changes. Lost one battery cooling pump. A/C still works but is not very cold. The radio NAV display is gone, radio still works however. One of the rear doors does not always open from the outside. And thats about it. Its still in use, we were debating whether or not to fix the AC and replace the nav display, and wondering if we will make it to 300,000.

 

If the AC works but is not very cold, it may just need a shot of R135a - an easy DIY fix for about $25

 

Congrats to the OP!
Hearing these achieving high miles is encouraging since mines is right at 108K. I was nervous getting it used with those miles but so far besides the PTU issue it has been trouble free.

 

I had an issue with the rear passenger side wheel well and rust. I flunked the Pa inspection and had to order new body parts and then had both rear shocks replaced. I had very good luck till 95,000 miles then a speed sensor and rear drive line coupler went. Front suspension items at 110,000 miles and the previous mentioned rust items at 126,000. Still runs good, gets the same mileage works well for my needs. Awaiting for the 2018 PHEV FEH or similar vehicles.

 

I had to have both rear wheel wells rebuilt on my '06. The driver front wheel well also needed a much cheaper repair to patch a small hole. Was still running quite well at 205,000 miles when an accident did it in (repairable, but not worth it for the age & mileage).

That generation of Escape has serious wheel well (and other spots) rust issues, at least if you're in the salt belt. Watch carefully and catch it early while it can be repaired without a complete rebuild.

 

I just rolled over 200K on my 2005. I had the A/C pump replaced using the new pump that I purchased. The entire bill was a little over $800 including the cost of the Motorcraft pump and labor to to the installation. It's the only "expensive" thing I have had go wrong with the car! I replaced a blend door actuator about 90K Mi ago but that's the only other item other than a battery and brakes.

I purchased the vehicle with 102K on it and got a screaming deal in 2010 because people were still afraid of the technology at the time. Not so much any more! Prices are holding very steady for used FEH's these days so I guess it was a pretty reasonable cost of ownership over the past 5+ years. Used ones with 200K on them are still selling for $5000-$7000 in good shape. I just picked up another 2005 that needs a steering module for my daughter. Hopefully that one will prove to be just as solid over time.

 

I have had some annoyances with brake rotors warping with age as well. Nothing terrible but it's annoying to have that pulsating stop sensation with warped rotors.

Rock Auto sells a set of rotors that will solve all your warpage issues:
https://www.rockauto.com/catalog/mor...029&cc=1429680

I put those rotors on with the Power Stop ceramic pads:
https://www.rockauto.com/catalog/mor...029&cc=1429680

The entire cost was about $160 for the change over. It was money well spent because this is a high quality set of components that will solve the problem for good. If you're reasonably mechanical you can easily do the job yourself.

One thing to note - I was woefully unaware of the risks of working on FEH brakes without disconnecting the accessory (underwood) battery. Luckily I never had a problem but if you don't unhook that battery it can kick into brake energize mode while you have the calipers exposed and puke the piston right out of the caliper, or so I read. I did get an error on the dash readout when I had finished changing out the pads. A battery disconnect/reset did the trick. While researching the error, I learned of my ignorance about the battery situation. I'll chalk that up to luck, or message board folklore. Either way, a battery disconnect is easy enough insurance. It's at the beginning of pretty much every instructional sequence in any manual but I had gotten in a bad habit of ignoring step number one. Doh!

 

It turns out you were right - I had taken it to someplace to get checked and recharged, they SAID they recharged but could not make it work. Just for the heck of a bit I bought last month one of those cheap DIY kits and within 10 minutes that 2006 230,000 mile AC was blowing cold again. We had some issues with the AC only running in max, not in any of the blower mid range speeds, but found that was due to a bad fan motor resistor switch. $25 and crawling up under the dash fixed that. In the meantime the mileage on the car is now approaching 237000 miles, still runs strong and smooth, no battery issues, so aside from a few dents, the only major thing wrong with it is the NAV and hybrid display is gone. Was thinking about pulling it all out and putting in cheap custom radio and music player. Anybody else do that?