I'm a little disappointed in my escapes mileage. Better on the hwy? 28.1 overall while using all the tricks!
I usually can only go all electric about 3,000 feet.
I would like responding people to do this test...
After your escape is on all electric. Put it in park. With nothing on, time how long befor the engine starts up. How long does it run before it shuts off? how long again does it stay off before the engine starts?
Mine will run more on gas than electric while in park. The engine will not stay off for more than 1 minute. With really nothing "Wrong or broke" How would I convince the dealer to check each battery cell?

 

Ambient temperature, might be interesting to note.

 

There are a number of questions the "experienced posters" will be asking you before replying with comments. My guess is these experienced posters could be asking one or more of the following: Where do you live in an attempt to find out about terrain-road congestion-gas formulation-how far do you drive on a regular basis-how many miles on your vehicle--tire inflation values.

There are many factors involved with obtaining great gas mileage. The ability to get your vehicle into electric mode also play a role in obtaining great gas mileage. However, the Ford Escape-like every other hybrid vehicle sold in this country--is not designed for staying in electric mode mile after mile. These vehicles are referred to as hybrids-gas and electric mode. The well known experienced posters are able to drive in electric mode, quickly recharge the batteries and go back into electric mode assisted with a variety of visual display information, experience and special hybrid techniques.

The above information does not answer your question on how far can one go in electric mode? This can depend upon the state of charge in the hybrid battery and with a fully charged battery, I believe the distance is 1.6 miles.

The time one can idle in electric before the gas engine starts also depends upon a number of factors including whether the engine is at operating temperature or just warming up. The engine does start up every so often to keep the emission system in a correct operating status.

The dealership's salesperson is often not the best place to obtain information (other than manufactured supplied) about the Hybrid Escape. Most of them do not know anything about questions such as you are asking.

Evidence exists that one can exceed the EPA mpg ratings for this vehicle.

 

Welcome to GH.

I suppose the first question is, what's "All the tricks?"

Where you are, your local temperatures/weather conditions, the terrain, your average trip distance, speed, and how long you're on the road are all very big factors.

How many miles are on your vehicle? Do you have the Nav system so you can see your state of charge?

Even with "your experiment" my answers can vary greatly. From not at all (Less than a minute) with a drained battery in the sub freezing temps of winter during startup, to over 10 minutes in the summer with a charged battery that's been driving around for the last hour.

In answer to your last question, you'll probably have to show that there is something to warrant doing a test on the battery cells.

 

I agree, we need more info to remote trouble shoot!

In the cold, like 24'F, after the engine is "hot" mine will run for 2 or 3 minutes, then stay off for 4 or 5. I had to sleep in my FEH in a church parking lot during the "blizzard of '06" in Colorado & Utah, and needed to keep the engine "on" while sleeping to stay warm. Even at 24'F the engine was off more than on. It used less than 1 gallon in 5 hours of "idle".

At below zero 'F, ( -20'C ) the engine will run the 2-3 minutes, then stay off for only 30 seconds, as the catalyst cools off quickly.

In summer, ( but not over 90'F ) it will run for 2 or 3 minutes, then stay off for perhaps 10 minutes.

Best case, I can go 2.0 miles in EV from a well-charged HV battery.
1.5 is more typical.

-John

 

Wow, you seem to do better than I do, in cold weather.

Last winter, when I was like 10deg, I drove for 20 minutes in the highway with, of course, the ICE running the entire way. When I got off, I had to stop at a red light. My ICE turned off, but only for about 20 seconds. It was back running again by the time the light turned green.

 

That night I slept in the car with the car "on" in winter it shocked me too how little it ran. Maybe since I was parked there was no cold air rushing through and the engine was a bit "insulated"?

 

From the few stories I have heard about internal trouble shooting of the HVBattery assembly, Ford (especially the techs at the dealers) calls in engineers from Sanyo. (Probably because of a warranty issue between Sanyo and Ford) I would guess "slim" and "none" are your chances of getting someone at the dealer to open up the HVBattery and investigate or measure anything.

 

I agree. For safety, time, and ( lack of ) technical expertise reasons, Ford will only replace the whole battery pack. I doubt they would even fix a cooling fan, since this requires opening the battery case where there is 330v inside.
( they may ship it off to Sanyo or Ford HQ somewhere to 'refurbish' a battery if it were only a cooling fan issue, but your local dealer would not do it )
Think of it this way, will a Ford dealer fix a car stereo? I doubt it. But they will install a new stereo for you.

There are certain codes inside the car's memory that tell the Ford tech right away he has no option other than to replace the battery. This is an obvious case, and there is no detective work involved, and probably not much approval needed either.

If there are no codes found, then it may take a while to convince "higher ups" to replace such an expensive part. When you think about it, the battery probably costs more than the engine!

 

I can 2nd "gpsman1"s comments about replacing the whole battery pack. I have a new 2008 MMH FWD and after having the vehicle for only 2 days the "wrench" light came on. When I took it to the dealer they checked it out and said that there was a problem with the control unit on the battery pack and that the whole battery pack would have to be replaced. Of course, that did take some high level approvals but within a week a had a new battery pack and now the "wrench" light is off!! (I was told that the battery pack cost almost $8,000!)

BTW: while all this was going on I was still driving the MMH and there were no apparent performance issues whatsoever. Everything "seemed" to be OK, except for the "wrench" light being on.