Part of the reason I like the hybrid is because it's cheap to maintain. The oil change interval is 10,000 miles and costs ~$35 at my Ford dealer (I use a washable air filter), and that's about the only scheduled maintenance required before 100,000 miles when a minor service is due. There's a little air filter in the back too but it can go more than 10K miles.
The disc brakes will probably last 100K miles, and there's no service interval on the transmission.
If the dealer can throw in a Ford Premium Care warranty for your peace of mind, then I say you're good to go.
Be wary of any Escape with a V6 and 4-speed automatic transmission, they were known to suck gas like a V8 around town.

 

We love our 2007 Ford Escape Hybrid. It has been more reliable and has had less problems than our 2006 Honda Civic Hybrid. We would buy another Ford Escape Hybrid if we needed to. It is our traveling car and it is so much fun to drive.

 

Some things you do to save money and some things you do b/c it's the right thing to do. This won't be my last hybrid and probably not my last FEH. I'd do it again.

 

You can see what I have below:

As for "will i get another one?" I got to see what ford is doing with the new Escape and can't wait till I hit 150,000 miles to get my next one! FEH FTW!

 

My current plan is to sell mine when gas prices go back to $4 a gallon.

I don't want to still own it when it has a value of $4000 and it needs a $4000 part.

 

RELAX! I bought my hybrid with 102K on it. It was well maintained and showed all signs of being a well cared for car. I've put over 5K on it with no major problems so far. I'm experiencing the well documented "A/C blend door actuator" problem and I plan to fix it myself. It's an intermittent problem that carries no discernable drivability problems.

Battery: Do NOT listen to people who tell you that it's going to cost you more than the car is worth to replace the battery. Batteries are known to last well over 250K mi. Evidenced by the fact that you can buy a used on for under $1000 just about any place you look. If the demand for them were higher, you'd see them for a MUCH higher price. If you're terrified of service costs, research the car forums to see what others are experiencing. Unhappy owners are few and far between. That's what I did before I bought mine. I've been very happy with the car and plan to drive it for a long time. What other SUV can you buy that gets over 30mpg? None!

 

I'm more worried about the ABS module ($4500) dying, or just dropping a grand or more in labor costs while a technician learns on my dime to fix a problem that can only be tackled with Ford exclusive instrumentation / analysis tools.

 

That's my major concern. I was just told my stealership no longer has a hybrid tech.

 

These are all valid concerns I guess, if you're inclined to worry a lot. Just about any newer car will have idiosyncracies that may need to be diagnosed by a Ford diagnostic tool. I really haven't seen anything from the numerous blogs and forums out there that would warrant these concerns. I won't complain about the nervous Nellie's out there though because that's why you can buy the used hybrids for roughly the same price as a regular Escape. If you haven't done the math, it doesn't make much sense to buy a new one as it will take 6 or 7 years to make up the difference in gasoline. Unless you're just into being green, it's not a very good return on investment if you buy new. Fortunately for the used hybrid buyer (unfortunate for the seller) the resale value is not good for these vehicles because of all the chicken little's out there talking about battery costs, and all the other potential worries. Thank you, I appreciate all the concerns... All the way to the bank.

I would encourage anyone looking at an HEV to do the research and find as many "horror stories" as you can. They aren't easy to find. Most people are very happy with them.

The truth is, any used car can cost you thousands of dollars in repair costs, hybrid or not. I will rely on the used parts market to keep my hybrid going. There are plenty of salvage vehicles out there and people parting them out willing to sell you the parts. There's no reason to get raped by a dealer for new parts.

If all of these "worries" will keep you up at night, then you best go buy a brand new conventional car and deal with the not so great mileage. While you're at it, try to find a small AWD SUV that will get better than 22mpg... Good luck.

Corski67
2005 Escape HEV
31-33 mpg Avg over 5000 Mi.

 

Please repost when you are in the middle of no where and the dash lights up like a Christmas tree and the vehicle powers down. I'm sure that Billy Bob at the nearest gas station will get you going right away.

Signed, Nervous Nellie.