Ordered our 09 FEH and have a few questions
 

Placed the order for our 09 FEH on 6/26
Black Pearl Slate
FWD, Nav & Sidesteps
Dealer says we should expect it around end of September, begining of October. Yay! :D :D
Any new cars we've bought in the past, we have changed the oil, tranny fluid and differential oil to synthetic somewhere between 5K & 10K miles. We did this to reduce engine wear, improve performance and increase (albeit slightly) fuel economy.

At the 10K mile oil change I was considering changing over to Mobile1 SuperSyn 15K mile (and continuing to change oil every 10K per Ford), Royal Purple ATF and Royal Purple Gear oil for the differential. Also considering a K&N air filter.

Since this is our first Hybrid and our first CVT transmission I'd like to hear from FEH owners before making these plans.

Sincerely,
Blind Mike & Michelle
TwoLostMinds

Re: Ordered our 09 FEH and have a few questions
 

IMHO, do not switch out the eCVT fluid. The extended 100,000mi warranty on "hybrid unique components" is worth too much.

Re: Ordered our 09 FEH and have a few questions
 

Congrats!!!

I am planning on changing to regular Mobil 1 0-20W with my first oil change (vs. Supersyn). There are several people here using it here with good results and it should help with the mileage--especially in the winter. It exceeds all 5-20W specifications, and it is the same juice I use in the HCH so I can buy it in large quantities.

I've heard enough questionable stuff about K & N's that I've stopped using them (even though I didn't have problems with the one in my old Protoge). Supposedly they can lead to problems with the air sensors in the car if you use more spray oil than you are supposed to. I have had 02 sensor problems in a previous Ford so I'm not going to do anything that might encourage them in this car.

Re: Ordered our 09 FEH and have a few questions
 

Good point. I had the same concerns with the Hyundai Santa Fe transmission. Heard nightmares about people using non Hyundai/ non Mitsu tranny fluid and killing their transmissions and voiding their warrnaties. I didnt start using the Royal Purple in it until several others took the risk and were sucessful. Guess I'll leave the tranny fluid alone unless others do it sucessfully.

I've used K&N filters, AEM cone filters and WeaponR cone filters without a problem. As long as you hit the MAF sensor with a little ZeroRes MAF sensor cleaner at the time of each oil change there's no issue with oil buildup altering its readings. IMO, cleaning the MAF sensor should be standard preventative maintenance because of how much effect a dirty one can have on power and fuel economy. A $6 can from Napa usually lasts around 10 or 12 cleanings.

Sincerely,
Blind Mike & Michelle
TwoLostMinds

Re: Ordered our 09 FEH and have a few questions
 

The factory fill in the CVT is already synthetic!

08feh

Re: Ordered our 09 FEH and have a few questions
 

There are actually very few moving parts inside of this transmission. The fluid simply lubricates the steel belt and the pulleys.

Because of this the fluid is not exposed to the same types of extremes compared to a normal Automatic Transmission. I wouldn't be too worried about it.

Re: Ordered our 09 FEH and have a few questions
 

Almost right:

"The eCVT has no belts, either."
http://www.gulfcoastnews.com/RT2005FordEscapeHybrid.htm

There are no pulleys or chains either.

GaryG

Re: Ordered our 09 FEH and have a few questions
 

Gary-
I was looking at your signature, which shows 715 miles to empty and 30.4 MPG. This doesn't add up, unless you have a 23 gallon tank?

I got 30.6 on my last tank, and my distance to empty is around 485.

What is the story? Is there a larger tank on the 2005-2007 model?

Re: Ordered our 09 FEH and have a few questions
 

You're misreading the instrument panel, that's not 30.4 MPG, that's 30.4 miles driven on the trip odometer.

The MTE (Miles To Empty) is based on your recent MPG, so the higher it is, the more miles to empty it figures you have on your tank. It's not uncommon for many of us to have 600-700+ mile tanks during the summer when our MPG is high. My own personal best was 675 miles on a tank.

Re: Ordered our 09 FEH and have a few questions
 

Ah, that makes sense. My 2008 has a single display, with rotating values, so my MPG is not displayed with my "Trip A" elapsed mileage.

I sometimes wish I'd gone for the FWD, though the wife likes the AWD for some reason. I'm having difficulty keeping it above 30.5 MPG.