Replaced Serpentine Belt and Tensioner.

209,267 miles.

New serpentine belt and tensioner: Gates K060551 belt ($16.96) and Dayco 89625 tensioner ($112.79), both from Rock Auto. The original belt still looked fine and I didn't see any issues, but after 18 years and 200k miles, Gemini and I figured we should go ahead and replace it. Installation was pretty straightforward.

Replaced Engine Air Filter.

209,267 miles.

I replaced the engine air filter with a Bosch 5154WS that cost $5.43 from Rock Auto! Since it's so cheap maybe I should be changing it more often. The manual specifies the engine air filter to be replaced every 30k miles, and the last time this was done was nearly three years ago at 174,484 miles.

 

New Tires.

207,030 miles.

Purchased at Walmart and installed at Midas in Farmington. Grand total of $800.42.

Tires were $642.60 and mount and balance came to $157.82 after tax ($35/tire).

The previous Phantom A/P 235/70 R16 tires lasted just over 45k miles and 5 years.

This time I went with the "Three Peak Mountain Snowflake" rated Nokian Outpost APT All Terrain 235/70R16 106T SUV/Crossover Tire. They look great and ride well. Very happy with the tires and I expect they will perform well over the CT winters. They have a 65k mile warranty.

Oil Change.

206,695 miles.

I had a $40 off coupon for oil change at Midas in Farmington. Total $31.89, would have been about $75 otherwise. Castrol ECO 5W-20 synthetic blend. Engine oil drain plug torque 21 ft-lbs.

Added brake fluid.

199,680.3 total miles.

Added 12oz Valvoline DOT 3&4 full synthetic brake fluid (full bottle).

Last time was about 18 months ago at 184k miles.

Oil change.

196,689 miles.

Second time at Midas in Farmington. They are friendly and seem to do a reasonable job. Total with tax was $75.61.

They again recommended changing the air filter, though I'm going to do that one myself.

The battery is getting close to replacement time: 430CCA (though it was below freezing that day!). Last replacement was May 2018, almost 8 years and 55k miles ago. Not bad!

He also flagged the serpentine belt as needing replacement. I don't think I've ever had that done. He said it should be done at 120k miles, and I'm nearing 200k so maybe in the spring I'll come back for that.

They didn't want to rotate the tires (as usual) and he pointed out they are nearing the end of their useful life, with 4/32" of tread and are now over five years old. These are the Phantom A/P 235/70 R16. They were warranted for 45k miles and currently it's been 35k and 4.5 years since I had them installed (July 2021). I think they should be good for another year.

They also noted pitting and scoring on the front brake rotors and wanted to replace them. This seems like a stretch to me, I don't think this is a problem. Can you believe I have never changed the brake pads?! Almost 200k miles on the original brakes. Unbelievable. It's because the hybrid uses regenerative braking so there is much less pad/rotor contact.

He recommended replacing the front and rear shocks and struts. I didn't ask how much that would be, but maybe will consider it when we address the CV joints and tie rod ends. We'll see.

They also questioned how long it's been since the spark plugs were changed. Well it turns out I did them in 2018 at 140k miles and Ford recommends every 100k, so I think they are good for a while. I wasn't having any issues when I changed them, and noticed no difference after changing them, so I expect these can go to 300k miles without issue.

Here's a link to the full inspection report, for as long as it lasts.

Passed smog check.

196,689 total miles.

First smog check in Connecticut! The Escape seems to have passed easily, everything is running great, so I didn't expect any issues. Zero DTC codes. $20 cash at Midas on Farmington Ave. 

Next test date is Jan 11, 2028.

New Wiper Blades.

193854.4 total miles.

New wipers! This time I went with the Bosch 360 set from Amazon: 20"/20"/12" ($50)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BZTCKL3B

Oil change and tire rotation.

186,993 miles.

I tried a new shop today - Midas in Farmington. Overall experience was actually quite good - they took longer than expected but were open with me that they were doing a full inspection of the vehicle and did point out some items to watch and repair for the future. He didn't want to rotate the tires, but ended up doing it no charge when I asked.

Tires were 7/32 in the front and 6/32 in the rear (after rotation).

Front brake pads were 7mm, rear 8mm. These are original and never been changed!

Battery measured 574 CCA so it's still ok.

Items flagged for future repair:

- replace right front axle half shaft - boot is torn and leaking grease (photo 1 below)

- replace outer tie rod ends - boots are torn (photos 2 and 3 below)

- replace front lower control arm - bushings are torn/cracked

They suggested the engine air filter needed to be replaced, but I don't think that's correct, it should be good until 200k miles. Link to previous filter change here - Changed Air Filters.

They also repaired the front right tire which had been flat after a nail. I attempted to plug it with a pull through kit but it was still leaking and needed to be topped off every few days. They said they would patch it from the inside which is the best way to do it.

Total price out the door was $45 for the tire and $40 for the oil change, total with tax $93.26. Given this experience, I plan to return to this shop for future service.

Here is a link to the service report: 

https://www.repairshopsolutions.com/midas-farmington/r/Rzn11VHTnaY

Added brake fluid.

184,315.9 total miles.

The low brake fluid warning was coming on again, added 12oz STP DOT3 brake fluid from a fresh bottle.

Oil change.

177,090 miles.

We had the oil and filter changed at Unionville Auto Repair. Carquest Synthetic 5W-20 oil. The price was very reasonable, $67.08 total including all parts and tax. Definitely would return to these guys in the future. We did NOT rotate the tires as I usually do at the yearly oil change because they thought the front tread looked better than the back.

Changed Air Filters.

174,484 total miles.

Air filter day over here! I changed all three air filters, total for all three was $45.90 from Amazon:

ECOGARD XC25571 - Rear Air Filter (FP51)

Motorcraft FP66 - Cabin Air Filter 

Motorcraft FA1772 - Engine Air Filter

The manual specifies the engine air filter to be replaced every 30k miles and the rear every 20k. The cabin air filter is the most involved and difficult to change, and there is no schedule specified in the manual. Might as well do them at the same time so how about every 25-30k. That would make the next scheduled change around 200k.

When accessing the cabin filter, the little plastic pins will break off if you try to pry them out from the top; instead come from the bottom with a flathead screw driver to push them up and out.

Tire Rotation.

169,957 miles.

Tires rotated and balanced at America's Tire on Hamilton at Bascom. Their parking lot is crazy small but these guys do a great job with service.

Oil change.

169197.5 miles.

Second time changing the oil myself. Did it in the driveway and managed to keep everything fairly clean. Good times.

The drain plug is 5/8" (or 16mm) and the oil filter comes off easily with the 76 / 14 oil filter socket. I bought the 5 quart jug but only used 4 quarts of Castrol 5W-20 full synthetic "high mileage", along with the Wix 57203 filter insert. Total cost about $55.

To reset the oil life indicator:

1. Press and release the SETUP control to display "OIL LIFE = XXX% HOLD RESET = NEW"

2. Press and hold the RESET control for 2 seconds and release. Oil life is set to 100% and "OIL LIFE SET TO 100%" is displayed.

3. While "OIL LIFE SET TO 100%" is displayed, if a lower oil life start value is desired, press and release the RESET control to reduce the start value. Each press of the RESET control reduces the value by 10%.

Note: Oil life start value of 100% equals 10,000 miles or 12 months. For example, setting the oil life start value to 60% sets the oil life start value to 6,000 miles or 219 days.

Oil Change.

163,138 miles.

For the first time since owning this vehicle, I changed my own oil. It cost less than the Ford dealer and was faster too! The drain plug (5/8" or 16mm) was on there super tight, but after I got that loose and bought the proper oil filter wrench it was very straightforward. The oil filter wrench I'm using says 76 / 14, which I think means 14 flats and 76mm across. The oil filter was impossible to remove without this special "socket", but very easy once I had it.

5 quarts Castrol 5W-20 synthetic "high mileage", Wix oil filter cartridge number 57203, total cost around $55.

Added brake fluid.

163,030 total miles.

Added 12oz Prestone DOT 3 synthetic brake fluid from a fresh bottle. This time I just poured in the whole thing since it's just going to leak out eventually. $5.24 at O'Reilly.

New Tires.

 161,323 miles.

America's Tire on Hamilton at Bascom.

I previously had the Michelin Latitude Tour tires, which served us very well. They were rated for 65k miles, but I got 75k out of them (installed at 85,822 miles, 8 years ago). I would have gone Michelin again this time, except that I am not driving as much as I did previously and am probably averaging only 5k miles per year, instead of 10k. 

So this time I went with a less expensive tire, the Phantom A/P 235/70 R16 for $108/ea (compared to $183/ea for Michelin). Their warranty is 45k miles. I also got the add-on certificates to cover the tires if anything should go wrong with them. Total out the door was $618.21. America's Tire has always treated us well over the years, and has plugged tires on three of our vehicles for no charge, even when the tires were not purchased from them.

So far the tires look great and have performed as expected. We averaged 30 MPG on the first road trip with the new tires (up to Tahoe and back). I didn't notice any difference in the ride and handling compared to the previous tires. 

Added brake fluid.

158,708 total miles.

Added 11oz Prestone AS400 DOT 3 Synthetic Brake Fluid, $2.70 at Amazon. 

It's been about 9 months since the last low brake fluid alert. I accidentally "over filled" the reserve tank but there is an overflow hose if it causes any issues. Next time I will probably just dump the whole bottle in and not worry about exceeding the MAX level. At this point I believe there is a crack somewhere in the plastic brake fluid reservoir, but replacing that is certainly going to cost more than adding a $3 bottle of fluid once a year.

Oil change.

158,192 miles. Capitol Expressway Ford in San Jose.

Oddly this was only about 4k miles since the last oil change, around one year ago. Since covid hit we just aren't driving that much.

I still haven't replaced the tires (now eight years and 73k miles on the Michelin Latitude Tour tires P235/70R16, rated for 65k miles!), so I again skipped the tire rotation and just did the oil change. They noted the tires need replacement (1-2/32" of tread) and quoted $1371.16 for replacement.

Total cost for the oil and filter change was $91.44! Yikes! And that was after a coupon for $10 off. Looks like I might start doing my own oil changes. I have been going to Capitol Ford for years because they rotate the tires and change the oil, which I want done together. But I may buy the next set of tires at America's Tire and could easily go to them for rotations.

Passed smog check.

156,875 total miles.

Passed the bi-annual smog check for CA registration at Campbell Star Smog Check. Smog check and certificate was $98.20 and annual registration was $153.