CarManiac's '14 Escape

[Xilor]

Hello,

Now that I've been on this forum for over 2 months, the time's right to finally start my own car thread.

My current car, is a 2014 Ford Escape. Its the S model with some options on it. Its got the 2.5L I4 engine and a 6-speed automatic.

Overall it may seem like a very boring and uninteresting car, and you might ask yourself what's a supposed car enthusiast doing driving one. Well, hard as it may be for some to believe, this car is actually a hoot to drive. This gen. of the Escape was pretty much entirely designed in Europe, so its got a very well tuned suspension, and a very peppy and responsive engine. Overall its probably one of the best driving CUVs on the market today.

As for why I've got an CUV, well, lets just say it may have something to do with the fact that I live in a city that annually gets over 10 feet of snow during winter.

Anyways, enough blabbering, time for some pictures, the car is a bit filthy in them as the road to the scenic spot where they were taken was quite dusty;

My Ford teddy bear

Now I'm not that much into modifying, although I do plan some mods, more on this in post #2. However I am a huge maintenance freak, and an amateur photographer, so this car thread will mostly be about that.
If it catches anyone's interest, I will post updates of the various detailing stuff I love to do on the car, like the polish/clay bar/wax job I'm planning to do in a few weeks.
I also travel all over the province to various scenic and cool places, and take lots of photos. So once again if anyone's interested, I will provide updates.

That's pretty much all I guess, thanks for reading.

 

[Xilor]

Now I am planning some mods, but it'll mostly be minor aesthetical stuff, as this isn't really a car fit for modifying, and I'm not that much into that stuff in the first place.

Short term:

-Hood deflector; I've only had the car since January and put on 6k miles on it, but there's already lots of tiny paint chips all over the front of the car.
I'm thinking of doing a clear bra application over the entire nose of the car. However I've heard that dust and dirt can get underneath the bra, and scratch the paint, so I'm not sure yet, might just put one of those black plasticky things on the hood.

Long term:

Wheels: I'm not much into aftermarket wheels, and I quite like the Ford wheels that are standard on the top of the range Escape Titanium, so that's what I want. Problem is, they are 18" wheels while right now I'm running 17" wheels and tires. So on top of the wheels, which are over $250 a wheel from Ford, I'll need new summer tires. It'll all be very expensive so it'll have to wait till next year.

Subwoofer: The OEM speakers and head unit are quite satisfactory, however, the bass is quite weak. I'm thinking of installing a subwoofer in the trunk, and wiring it into the system. I don't know anything about car electronics though so I've no idea whether it's feasible or how expensive it would be.

 

[homeforsummer]

I'm thinking of doing a clear bra application over the entire nose of the car. However I've heard that dust and dirt can get underneath the bra, and scratch the paint, so I'm not sure yet, might just put one of those black plasticky things on the hood.

Well-applied clear bodywork protection shouldn't let any dust or dirt underneath. One of those ugly black plastic things that VW kids are obsessed with on the other hand, probably will - since it isn't applied directly to the car's paintwork and effectively just wraps over the top.

 

[Xilor]

Well-applied clear bodywork protection shouldn't let any dust or dirt underneath. One of those ugly black plastic things that VW kids are obsessed with on the other hand, probably will - since it isn't applied directly to the car's paintwork and effectively just wraps over the top.

I was thinking more one of these things:

They can be had for very cheap and they provide decent protection to the hood and windshield, from my experience. Its obviously not as good as a clear film bra though, mostly because it obviously doesn't protect the bumper. But with the film its really important to find a place who will do it properly, my dealership is offering to do it for ~$150 which seems like quite a lot, but I'm not sure I'd trust anyone else, not a lot of good shops in my area.

 

[Slash]

I have an '03 Escape XLT 4WD with the 3.0L V6.

I have never felt an SUV that was so light on its feet. For what it is, it drives very well. A tad top heavy but you can really pitch it into corners without too much fear of under steer despite being FWD.

I know this probably has little in common with yours but I wanted to share. I can only imagine how much more refined this one is.

 

[Ibonibo]

Now I am planning some mods, but it'll mostly be minor aesthetical stuff, as this isn't really a car fit for modifying, and I'm not that much into that stuff in the first place.

Short term:

-Hood deflector; I've only had the car since January and put on 6k miles on it, but there's already lots of tiny paint chips all over the front of the car.
I'm thinking of doing a clear bra application over the entire nose of the car. However I've heard that dust and dirt can get underneath the bra, and scratch the paint, so I'm not sure yet, might just put one of those black plasticky things on the hood.

Don't tailgate as much I have 7k on mine. 3 minor paint chips (just in the clear)

I think HFS suggestion on taking an 3M Clearcoat is the best option. Invisible, long protection (7-10years). It's not that cheap, but the results of a well applied clear warp are very good


Yeah car bra's are fulgy, scratch the paint and ....

 

[Xilor]

I have an '03 Escape XLT 4WD with the 3.0L V6.

I have never felt an SUV that was so light on its feet. For what it is, it drives very well. A tad top heavy but you can really pitch it into corners without too much fear of under steer despite being FWD.

I know this probably has little in common with yours but I wanted to share. I can only imagine how much more refined this one is.

I drive a lot of older Escapes at my job, they're good cars.👍

The biggest difference with mine is that its much more car-like. It feels like a slightly bigger Focus, very well-settled and light on its feet. You really have to push it pretty hard for it to remind you that its a CUV and not a small hatchback.

I think HFS suggestion on taking an 3M Clearcoat is the best option. Invisible, long protection (7-10years). It's not that cheap, but the results of a well applied clear warp are very good

I'm probably going to get that installed, in about 2-3 weeks from now.👍

Small update today; I applied some RainX to the windows. Its supposed to rain later tonight so I'll be able to see how well it works.

Also bought some stuff for the oil change I'm going to do this week-end:

Reppin my roots

 

[Xilor]

So today I got started on the oil change I was planning.

Some minor frustrations aside, everything was going well, up until I got to the point where I needed to unscrew the oil pan bolt.

My last oil change was done at the dealer's since it was during the winter, and the absolute bellends who work there screwed the bolt on so hard, I couldn't make it budge no matter how hard I tried. Finally, I got frustrated, misjudged the pressure I was applying on the wrench, and this happened:

The oil pan bolt is now stripped clean, my 5/8 wrench just spins right through, and the bolt is too tight for me to unscrew it with a conventional wrench.

What are my options?

 

[IforceV8]

13-15 mm 6 pt socket and if that doesnt work a trip to the hardware/tool store to get a stripped nut socket.

 

[Xilor]

The local hardware store didn't have any sockets fit for the job, I ended up getting some vise-grip pliers and with a lot of effort managed to get the bolt out of there.

However I obviously need a new oil pan bolt, I'll have to ride my bicycle to the local auto store to get it, IF they'll even have one. If not, I'll have to leave the car on axle stands and with no oil in the engine until Monday, and then take a cab to the dealership.

This really isn't going well.

 

[Slash]

Get a socket 1 size smaller and beat it on with a dead blow hammer, or any hammer. That should work.

 

[Joey D]

Wheels: I'm not much into aftermarket wheels, and I quite like the Ford wheels that are standard on the top of the range Escape Titanium, so that's what I want. Problem is, they are 18" wheels while right now I'm running 17" wheels and tires. So on top of the wheels, which are over $250 a wheel from Ford, I'll need new summer tires. It'll all be very expensive so it'll have to wait till next year.

Ford used that same stupid bolt pattern on the Escape that they used on the Focus, trying to find 5x108 wheels is going to be a pain. Check Focus Fanatics though, Escape wheels are fairly popular right now with the MkIII Focus owners, so you can probably snag a cheap set of the Titanium wheels on there. Also pretty much all Volvo wheels will work too, so that gives you some more options.

 

[Xilor]

So yesterday, the least practical man in the world decided to do an oil change. Seriously, I love doing this stuff, but I'd probably give Clarkson a run for his money, I'm just rubbish.

Putting the story into quotes, since there's quite a lot of large pictures.

Anyways, I ran into problems right away when I couldn't find my crowbar. So instead, I had to use a screwdriver to operate my jack.

Then this happened

A couple of screwdrivers later, the car was finally up on the axle stands.

Then, I had to unscrew a huge plastic cowl thingy that was covering up the entire under-body of the car where the engine was. Don't have any pictures of that, but it involved unscrewing 9 bolts, and the amount of sand that fell down on me while doing that would be enough to build a medium-sized sand castle.

After unscrewing the oil filter without any trouble, I got started on the oil pan bolt. Now my last oil change was done by the dealer, since it was back in the start of spring, and I don't have a garage to work in. The bellends who work there screwed the bolt so tightly that no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get it off. So in the end, I got frustrated, misjudged the pressure I was applying on the wrench, and stripped the bolt.

So then I had to walk () to the hardware store, where I got some vise-grip pliers, and after a lot of effort and cursing, got the bolt off.

Here's a picture of how knackered it was at the end.

However, I knew that I needed a new one, the hardware store didn't have any, so for the first time in 5 years, I had to ride a bicycle () to the auto store, which is about 20 minutes away. It was a very unpleasant experience, and when I got back, I wanted to destroy the bicycle with a hammer, but then it started raining.

Thankfully the rain stopped, so I was able to go back outside and finish up on the job. However I ran into more trouble when I realized the oil filter wrench I had used to get the OEM filter off wouldn't fit on the Mobil 1 filter I was putting on. I wasn't about to bike to the auto store again, so I tightened it by hand and with some pliers, which seems to have worked. Thankfully the rest was done without any drama.

So after all of that, the car was finally back in one piece and running 100%.

 

[Ibonibo]

I change the screw on every oilchange. Mainly due to the seal but also because of this ^. And on some cars it is mandatory factory requirement.

 

[Aquarelle]

Only tighten your oil filter hand tight, your engine will do the rest - you don't need to use any tool to get it on and worst case scenario hammer a screw driver through the new filter when you next change it

 

[Xilor]

Small update, as I've now done enough driving since yesterday to assess the impact the oil change has had.

My last oil change was done at the dealership, I specifically asked them to use Synthetic oil, which I assume they did, however for some reason they decided to put in 0W-20, even though the owner's manual calls for 5W-20. They only told me about that after they put in the oil, so there was nothing I could do at that point. They also used a Motorcraft oil filter, which from what I've heard is down there with Fram as one of the worst filters you could use.

Anyways, the stuff I used was Royal Purple 5W-20 Synthetic oil, and a Mobil 1 oil filter. Right away the engine seems to run much smoother, it also seems to have more power, if that makes any sense. I went on a twisty mountain road today and the engine had a much easier time on the hilly bits, so much so that the gearbox up-shifted noticeably sooner then usual. I've also observed an improvement of 2-3MPG on my daily highway run to work.

Moral of the story, even if you ask the dealership for the best they've got, it still won't be nearly as good as what you can use yourself.

 

[Aquarelle]

That's pretty much it, I got into being a mechanic solely because I don't trust dealerships or garages and I don't know any master mechanics to rely on - so I developed the skillset all by myself.

But seriously - about the oil filter - I know what I'm suggesting might seem foolish to you but there is really no need to use your filter tool to tighten the oil filter onto the motor. If you tighten it as much as you can with your hand it will be more than sufficient - your engine will create a seal without you risking damaging your new filter or making removing it the next time more difficult than it needs to be.

Just like how the dealership overtightened your sump bolt 👍

 

[Xilor]

I have had a small problem with the Escape for the past couple of months, I would like some advice on what could be causing it.

Basically it seems to be a gearbox issue; whenever I slow down to stop, but don't completely stop before going back on the throttle, the car reacts very harshly, almost like I'm being rear-ended or something. The only way to avert this is by either stopping completely, or feathering the throttle like its made out of glass. Also quite often the transmission seems to change gear quite harshly on the 1-2 and 2-3 up-shifts.

I've driven other Escapes identical to mine at work and they don't seem to have any of these problems, so there's definitely something wrong I think.

 

[Aquarelle]

It could be something as simple as the oil - I would try this first. Find the recommended oil weight for your car and go from there 👍 Always work up from the cheapest thing with diagnostics.

 

[Joey D]

It's the double clutch transmission, the programming is probably screwy on it. You can try undoing your battery and letting the vehicle set for a minute or so, this will let the programming reset for the transmission. If that doesn't work, go to the dealer and see if they can do a software update for your transmission. There were also some issues with the clutch packs Ford used, so you might have a faulty one but the dealer can look up your build date and see if that's the issue.

I had all sorts of issues with the transmission in my Focus, the software update sorted it right out.

Also, you're going to get some jerkiness at lower speeds just because that's how DCT's work.

 

[Xilor]

It's the double clutch transmission, the programming is probably screwy on it. You can try undoing your battery and letting the vehicle set for a minute or so, this will let the programming reset for the transmission. If that doesn't work, go to the dealer and see if they can do a software update for your transmission. There were also some issues with the clutch packs Ford used, so you might have a faulty one but the dealer can look up your build date and see if that's the issue.

I had all sorts of issues with the transmission in my Focus, the software update sorted it right out.

Also, you're going to get some jerkiness at lower speeds just because that's how DCT's work.

The Escape doesn't use the DCT though, it uses the 6F35 6-speed transmission that's been jointly developed with GM. I called my dealer and got an appointment for next month (they can't do it any sooner, apparently) since I need some other stuff done as well, going to try unhooking the battery tomorrow.

It could be something as simple as the oil - I would try this first. Find the recommended oil weight for your car and go from there 👍 Always work up from the cheapest thing with diagnostics.

You mean the transmission fluid? The car's only got 6k miles on the clock and the fluid's obviously never been changed. I doubt that that's the problem, feels more like something mechanical, or maybe the programming's just screwed up.

 

[Aquarelle]

You mean the transmission fluid? The car's only got 6k miles on the clock and the fluid's obviously never been changed. I doubt that that's the problem, feels more like something mechanical, or maybe the programming's just screwed up.

That's just what it sounds like to me, I can only do so much without knowing much about your car specifically or being able to witness the problem first hand.

 

[Joey D]

Hmmm that's strange that Ford is still using the same transmission they used in the second gen Escapes, I would have thought for sure they put the DCT out of the Focus in it since they already share a ton of components. Maybe the DCT is only available on the Kuga?

 

[Xilor]

Hmmm that's strange that Ford is still using the same transmission they used in the second gen Escapes, I would have thought for sure they put the DCT out of the Focus in it since they already share a ton of components. Maybe the DCT is only available on the Kuga?

Does look like it. Wonder why they didn't make the DCT available on the North American Escape, though I guess it doesn't matter that much since both gearboxes are quite problematic.

Either way, once the Auto in this goes, I'm planning on seeing whether its possible to swap in the 6-speed manual from the Kuga.

 

[Xilor]

Finally got around to trying to unhook the battery tonight, only to find out that it's located in a completely inaccessible spot. Basically I can get to the positive terminal fine, but to get to the negative terminal I literally have to take half of the engine apart.
If I only unhook the positive terminal, will it reset the transmission's computer?

 

[Xilor]

Triple post warning.

Hit a small milestone today. Sorry for the crappy image quality, the phone wouldn't focus for some reason and since I was doing 70mph down the highway, I didn't insist.

Very happy with the car so far. Still very fun to drive, very comfortable, has all the kit I could wish for. Other then the jerky transmission, which I'll get checked out two weeks from now, its been flawlessly reliable. No rattles, no odd noises, feels very solid.

 

[Ibonibo]

I do milage shots every big step too

On your pics:
From this

To this

in 3 minutes. Plus going on your knees to take a pic is always welcome

 

[Xilor]

@Ibonibo That does look much better, which software did you use for this? I've got the full Adobe suite on my PC, I imagine that could work well, I just never got around to learning how to use any of it properly.

 

[Xilor]

I've finally been able to save up a bit of money, so I'd like to do an upgrade on the Escape before the end of summer.

As you can see in the pictures, the car is currently on steelies and hubcaps. I'd like to buy some really nice alloys. There are 2 options I see.

The first one is to get the same wheels as on the Escape Titanium, I love these very much:

However, these wheels are 18 inchers, and I currently have 17 inch tires. So on top of the wheels, I'd have to get some new tires as well. I don't mind it that much since the summer tires I currently have are rubbish, but it'll get very expensive, $1000+ probably.

My other option is to get 17" alloys that are available on the Escape SE

These will cost less, and I won't have to get new tires, overall I probably won't have to spend more than $400-$500. However I don't like them as much to be honest.

An another alternative is to look at aftermarket wheels, however I haven't found any that I've liked yet.

What's your advice?

 

[Capt Air]

Go with what your heart truly likes, even if that means more saving. If you went the other way you won't be as happy so even though you spent less money, it went to waste.