I'm preparing for a 1500 mile roadtrip in my 2006 FEH, so I bit the bullet and ordered a full size tire to go with a salvage rim, wanting a full-sized spare given the lack of availability of replacement tires. It took the parts person a couple of days to get all of the information she needed to order the tire, but it only took two days to get it once it was ordered. However, they charged me $15.00 for shipping, which I consider a rip-off since it is an OEM part. I also ordered a pressure sensor, which I was told would cost ~ $56.00. When the part came in, what was supposed to be the pressure sensor turned out to be only the bracket to hold the sensor. The actual sensor was another $60.00. I'm waiting to hear from the salvage yard that sold me the rim, hoping that they may still have one of the sensors off of the wheels.

I'm debating whether it might be more reasonable to just replace all of the tires on the vehicle with more easily obtainable tires and sell the tires off of my car on ebay. Then I could put the donut back on with the knowledge that I would only be a few hours away from a replacement tire that was covered under warranty.

 

This goes back a couple of weeks to something Tim said about "activating" the pressure sensors in the tires. Did anyone find out how it's done? How about driving with a full-sized spare in the rotation without a sensor? Is the tire pressure warning light on continuously when the non-sensored tire is on a wheel? This would seem to defeat the purpose of having the sensors in the first place.

I've had my tire and rim for several days now, but I was scrounging around the web looking for a used sensor, to no avail (Someone beat me to the sensors from the car that the rim came from, and they haven't had the courtesy to offer them online ). The sensors haven't been out long enough for used ones to be readily available, so it looks like having one in the rim will cost about $110 on top of the cost of the rim and tire.

Pat

 

This thread looks like it's about worn out, but there are two final factoids to share. I weighed the donut and the full-sized spare today on my low-tech analog bath scale. The donut weighed ~ 33 lbs, the full-sized spare ~ 50 lbs. I doubt that the 17 pounds would affect the mileage that much. The full-sized spare does extend several inches lower than the donut, but it is still higher than the bottom of the differential housing, so clearance and additional drag shouldn't be an issue.

 

The hybrid my dealer had sitting inside on their showroom floor, had the same problem with the rear carpet.

 

Rubber mat's the way to go. Husky makes a terrific cargo liner -- that was the first thing I added to my '06 FEH.

 

Shannon, which liner? Do you have a part #?

 

I second that request.

From what I understand, the Hybrids would take a different size due to the driver's side vent stuff.

 

Sorry I didn't see this thread earlier. Here's the info. I bought the Husky cargo liner at AutoAnything.com (same with the front and rear Husky liners):

SKU: 1943426
Qty: 1
Description: Husky Liners Cargo Liner 2006 Ford Escape Fits the Hybrid

 

I bought a full set of husky liners for my '07 FEH Hybrid from elevate_auto_supply on ebay. I got a break on the shipping for ordering three sets (front, second row, and cargo). They were delivered to my door 2 days after ordering them.

I actually ordered the '06 FEH mats since no one had any info on the '07s and they fit perfectly.


The second row is particularly great because it is one piece and covers EVERYTHING (I have two young boys who are prone to spills).

 

Well... I am now suffering the consequences of not having a full sized spare. While parallel parking, I hit the curb, which was really a metal storm drain (and I was going slowly, so I'm not very pleased) and a HUNK of sidewall ripped out of my tire.

The good news: the tire sensor works perfectly and came on as I finished parking the car, which gave me a clue.

The bad news: I called my Ford Dealer while waiting for the guy to come to help me change to my spare, and they told me they thought they had the tires in stock, and to just drive the car there (the dealer is 8 miles away). I got my child home first and looked up this thread. Called the dealer again and when further questioned, they told me they would have to order the tire and it would be a week before it came in.

Hubby is going out of town on a family matter for a couple of days tomorrow, so guess who has to go rent a car because it will take so long to get one single lousy tire in?

If you have the money, invest in a full-sized spare.