2009 Ford Escape 6 speed AT

[XRinger]

I've been driving a stick for so long, I don't have a clue about ATs.

I've been looking to buy a Ford Escape
http://www.stonehamford.com/detail-2...s-3715452.html

And I'm wondering if this AT has a record of problems? Or is this model too new?

Thanks for any comments..

[XRinger]

Since no one has commented, I'll assume everything is fine and
go ahead and get a 2009 Escape with the 6sp AT and 2.5L ICE.

Took a test drive yesterday and the shifting was very nice.

[JanGeo]

The new 6-speed automatic is expected to yield a 1-mpg boost in city and highway fuel economy, though final EPA numbers are not yet available.

From Popular mechanics - you do know you are buying a gas guzzler right?

[Jay2TheRescue]

I'm right here with my brother in law (The guy that manages a Ford service dept). He says that he hasn't had any problems with them, with the exception of a stray one here or there will leak ATF from the cooler.

-Jay

[XRinger]

Not so sure it's really "a gas guzzler", it should do pretty well for it's size and weight.
At 60 mph, the 2.5L ICE turns a lot lower RPMs than my old 2.0L CRV.
The AT seems to get to 6th gear ASAP. And, it's pretty smooth too.




Neat little air-dam under the nose and some little mini-dams for each rear tire.

And, the tires are the same low-rolling-resistance tires they use on the 2009 Escape Hybrid..

Once I get the SG2 calibrated, we'll see what we got. Once it's broken in,
I'm hoping to see about 30 MPG with a 50:50 mix of highway and city.

It's academic anyways, since I only drive 1,000 to 2,000 miles a year.
That's not a lot of fuel. Since the summer of 1997 I've been going in for
fill ups about once a month.

I traded in the 1999 CRV with 35,540 miles on it.
That's 3,554 miles a year, or 296 miles a month (or 10 or 12 gallons of gas per month).

Now that I'm retired (2 years now), I'm driving a lot less. In the summer, I put on more bicycle miles..

[Jay2TheRescue]

Sounds like my grandfather. When he died he had a 2 year old car in the garage with only 2,200 miles on it. (I hope to someday get my hands on that car.) Enjoy the new car.

-Jay

[XRinger]

http://jalopnik.com/388001/ford-reve...pe-and-mariner

The new 6F35 AT seems pretty nice, but be sure to check your fluid level.
It uses Mercon LV (I read that LV means Low Viscosity) and getting
the right level turned out to be a little tricky for me.

Yesterday, I had only put about 147 miles on the car. It had 60, so the
total was 207 on the 6F35, when I decided it would be a good day to
check the levels per the manual.
After doing the warm-up and 3-second-wait shift changes, I found the level
was very low. It was down under the bottom indicator hole.
In the "Do Not Drive" zone.

I could not find any Mercon LV (made for Ford) and neither could my dealer.
When they went elsewhere and got some, my salesman sent
a couple of repair guys to my house..
They confirmed it was indeed really low. And then they over-filled it.
After they left, it was 1/2 to 3/4 inch over the top indicator hole.
Back in the Don't drive zone again.. "AT damage and shift problems likely".
(When it should have been down between the holes in the crosshatch).

So, I pumped out 23 of the 32 ounces they added to get the right level.
Since I had to pump, warm-up drive & check... Then repeat, it took a while.

It seems really strange that it only needed 9 oz to move the level up
from very low to the top of the crosshatch..

I plan to drive-n-check it a few times today. Just to be safe.
The guys did leave me with a fresh quart of Mercon LV, just in case.

[hi tech hillbilly]

a 2009 model anything has a trans dipstick? thats cool, my 05 explorer doesnt have one but i know how to check and service it anyway

EDIT: That looks exactly like a mini Explorer, and they look better than all previous models IMO. Nice car!

[XRinger]

It's a "forever filled" tranny, but I guess they got smart with this one and built in a stick tube.

I took a test drive today to warm it up for another reading.
It might have gotten a little too hot, since the level was a tad too high.

I've done a half-way calibration on my SG2 and today it showed 22 mpg city
and over 35 mpg on the highway.
Even if that's not right, it's pretty close. I think this thing might turn out
to be a nice little hypermiler.

[XRinger]

At least the highway speeds that I drive around here..






At 65 MPH, 2k is pretty good in my book.. Just loafing along.


The first two pics were shot on the way out, before the turn around,
at about 16 miles. The second two were on the way back.
65 was my max speed. (Still breaking in).

[theholycow]

That's pretty decent RPM. How do you survive on the highway around Woburn at 50mph? When I've been there, 65 is the minimum to not feel like you're going to surprise every speeding trucker.

[XRinger]

I just took another little road trip and went to the gas station
and got a fresh fillup and added it to the CleanMPG log.

I pick a time when the traffic is lighter, so there will be space for people
to pass me, if I'm doing 52-55 in the right lane.
But, I was in a hurry today and came back at higher speeds, moving
with the traffic (with the AC on too).
The loop was from the 4&225 exit and down to the Rt-9 turnaround and back.
When I got off Rt-95 today, the AFE (trip mpg) read 37.6 mpg..

I'm wondering what it will do for mpg highway, after break in??



I deleted the first fillup, since it was done by the dealer and I had no clue if
it was before or after being test driven. Plus, it had a lot of idle running while
I was working on the ATF level. Got that finished at last!


Anyways, this fillup seems to be in line with the little un-logged fillups, I did trying to get
a good MPG calibration. It's getting very close to being precise.. Until the winter fuel gets here.

My guess is 22 city & 37.6 Highway
It's rated at 20 city & 28 highway
FEH rating is 34 city & 31 highway

This is starting to look like a great little SUV for vacation driving..

[XRinger]

I've got about 1,100 miles on the odometer now and it seems it was already
broken in..
I'm still getting the same MPG.. "My guess is 22 city & 37.6 Highway".
turns out to have been right on the money. The SG2 fillups are almost dead on.

Sadly, I have been doing all city driving lately, with an average speed of
about 26 MPH.. (As you can see from my CleanMPG banner).

The fancy 6-speed AT is still working fine. I have heard of a few bugs
with 'flat-towing' them behind RVs. I guess the ATF level has to be
a tad lower for towing to work right.

[dkjones96]

My sister's escape does pretty well on gas. Not sure what her mileage is but she said it isn't really any different than the Neon they had was.

They do turn nice and low on the freeway, gotta love that extra displacement. My sister staying out of overdrive an entire trip hauling a heavy uhaul trailer was only turning about 3k at 65.

[JanGeo]

Ironically when on my trip to VT last month I got to drive one with the 6 speed and I did manage some near 30MPG short trip mileage mixed city highway in hilly Vermont too. You really have to baby the throttle to get good mileage.