
Introduction 4
Instrument Cluster 10
Warning and control lights 10
Gauges 14
Entertainment Systems 16
AM/FM stereo with CD 16
AM/FM stereo cassette with CD 19
AM/FM stereo with in-dash six CD 23
Climate Controls 33
Heater only 33
Manual heating and air conditioning 34
Rear window defroster 35
Lights 36
Headlamps 36
Turn signal control 41
Bulb replacement 43
Driver Controls 48
Windshield wiper/washer control 48
Steering wheel adjustment 50
Power windows 53
Mirrors 54
Speed control 55
Message center 59
Locks and Security 77
Keys 77
Locks 77
Anti-theft system 84
Table of Contents
1

WARNING LIGHTS AND CHIMES
Warning lights and gauges can alert you to a vehicle condition that may
become serious enough to cause expensive repairs. A warning light may
illuminate when a problem exists with one of your vehicle’s functions.
Many lights will illuminate when you start your vehicle to make sure the
bulb works. If any light remains on after starting the vehicle, have the
respective system inspected immediately.
Service engine soon:TheService
engine soonindicator light
illuminates when the ignition is first
turned to the ON position to check
the bulb. Solid illumination after the engine is started indicates the On
Board Diagnostics System (OBD-II) has detected a malfunction. Refer to
On board diagnostics (OBD-II)in theMaintenance and Specifications
chapter. If the light is blinking, engine misfire is occurring which could
damage your catalytic converter. Drive in a moderate fashion (avoid
heavy acceleration and deceleration) and have your vehicle serviced
immediately.
Under engine misfire conditions, excessive exhaust temperatures
could damage the catalytic converter, the fuel system, interior
floor coverings or other vehicle components, possibly causing a fire.
2005 Escape(204)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA English(fus)
Instrument Cluster
Instrument Cluster
10

HIGH ENGINE TEMPERATURE.Displayed when the engine is
overheating. Stop the vehicle as soon as safely possible, turn off the
engine and let it cool. Check the coolant and coolant level. Refer to
Engine coolantin theMaintenance and specificationschapter. If the
warning stays on or continues to come on, contact your dealer as soon as
possible.
DRIVER DOOR AJAR.Displayed when the driver door is not
completely closed.
PASSENGER DOOR AJAR.Displayed when the passenger door is not
completely closed.
REAR LEFT DOOR AJAR.Displayed when the rear left door is not
completely closed.
REAR RIGHT DOOR AJAR.Displayed when the rear right door is not
completely closed.
LIFTGATE AJAR.Displayed when the liftgate is not completely closed.
LIFTGATE GLASS AJAR.Displayed when the liftgate glass is not
completely closed.
PARK BRAKE ON.Displayed when the park brake is ON. If the
warning stays on after the park brake is off, contact your dealer as soon
as possible.
SERVICE EMISSION SYS.Displayed when the engine has defaulted to
a’limp-home’operation. If the warning stays on or continues to come on,
contact your dealer as soon as possible.
SERVICE BRAKE SYSTEM.Displayed when the braking system is not
operating properly. If the warning stays on or continues to come on,
contact your dealer as soon as possible.
CHECK BRAKE LAMPS.Displayed when the brake lamps are
activated and at least one is burned out. Check the lamps as soon as
possible and have the burned out lamp replaced. The center high-mount
brakelamp is not monitored.
CHECK LEFT OR RIGHT HEADLAMPS.Displayed when the
headlamps are activated and at least one is burned out. Check the lamps
as soon as possible and have the burned out lamp replaced. Refer to
Replacing headlamp bulbsin theLightschapter.
CHECK LEFT OR RIGHT HIGH BEAMS.Displayed when the
headlamps are activated and at least one is burned out. Check the lamps
as soon as possible and have the burned out lamp replaced. Refer to
Replacing headlamp bulbsin theLightschapter.
2005 Escape(204)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA English(fus)
Driver Controls
64

SAFETY RESTRAINTS
Personal Safety System
The Personal Safety System provides an improved overall level of frontal
crash protection to front seat occupants and is designed to help further
reduce the risk of air bag-related injuries. The system is able to analyze
different occupant conditions and crash severity before activating the
appropriate safety devices to help better protect a range of occupants in
a variety of frontal crash situations.
Your vehicle’s Personal Safety System consists of:
•Driver and passenger dual-stage air bag supplemental restraints.
•Front safety belts with pretensioners, energy management retractors,
and safety belt usage sensors.
•Passenger occupant classification sensor (OCS)
•Front crash severity sensor.
•Restraints Control Module (RCM) with impact and safing sensors.
•Restraint system warning light and back-up tone.
•The electrical wiring for the air bags, crash sensor(s), safety belt
pretensioners, front safety belt usage sensors, driver seat position
sensor, passenger occupant classification sensor, and indicator lights.
How does the Personal Safety System work?
The Personal Safety System can adapt the deployment strategy of your
vehicle’s safety devices according to crash severity and occupant
conditions. A collection of crash and occupant sensors provides
information to the Restraints control module (RCM). During a crash, the
RCM activates the safety belt pretensioners and/or either one or both
stages of the dual-stage air bag supplemental restraints based on crash
severity and occupant conditions.
The fact that the pretensioners or air bags did not activate for both front
seat occupants in a collision does not mean that something is wrong with
the system. Rather, it means the Personal Safety System determined the
accident conditions (crash severity, belt usage, etc.) were not
appropriate to activate these safety devices. Front air bags and
pretensioners are designed to activate only in frontal and near-frontal
collisions, not rollovers, side-impacts, or rear-impacts unless the collision
causes sufficient longitudinal deceleration.
Driver and passenger dual-stage air bag supplemental restraints
The dual-stage air bags offer the capability to tailor the level of air bag
inflation energy. A lower, less forceful energy level is provided for more
2005 Escape(204)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA English(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
96

improperly seated or restrained in the front passenger seat contrary to
proper child-seating or restraint usage recommendations. Even with this
technology, parents areSTRONGLYencouraged to always properly
restrain children in the rear seat. The sensor also turns off the air bag
when the passenger seat is empty to prevent unnecessary replacement of
the air bag(s) after a collision.
When the front passenger seat is occupied and the sensing system has
turned off the passenger’s frontal air bag, the“pass air bag off”indicator
will light and stay lit to remind you that the front passenger frontal air
bag is off. SeeFront passenger sensing systemin the airbags section of
this chapter.
Front safety belt usage sensors
The front safety belt usage sensors detect whether or not the driver and
front outboard passenger safety belts are fastened. This information
allows your Personal Safety System to tailor the air bag deployment and
safety belt pretensioner activation depending upon safety belt usage.
Refer toSafety beltsection in this chapter.
Front safety belt pretensioners
The safety belt pretensioners at the front outboard seating positions are
designed to tighten the safety belts firmly against the occupant’s body
during a frontal or near-frontal collision. This maximizes the effectiveness
of the safety belts and helps properly position the occupant relative to
the air bag to improve protection. The safety belt pretensioners can be
either activated alone or, if the collision is of sufficient severity, together
with the air bags.
Front safety belt energy management retractors
The front outboard safety belt energy management retractors allow
webbing to be pulled out of the retractor in a gradual and controlled
manner in response to the occupant’s forward momentum. This helps
reduce the risk of force-related injuries to the occupant’s chest by
limiting the load on the occupant. Refer toEnergy management feature
section in this chapter.
Determining if the Personal Safety System is operational
The Personal Safety System uses a warning light in the instrument
cluster or a back-up tone to indicate the condition of the system. Refer
to theWarning lightsection in theInstrument clusterchapter. Routine
maintenance of the Personal Safety System is not required.
The Restraints control module (RCM) monitors its own internal circuits
and the circuits for the air bag supplemental restraints, crash sensor(s),
2005 Escape(204)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA English(fus)
Seating and Safety Restraints
98

STARTING
Positions of the ignition
1. LOCK, locks the gearshift lever
and allows key removal.
2. ACCESSORY, allows the electrical
accessories such as the radio to
operate while the engine is not
running.
3. RUN, all electrical circuits
operational and warning lights will
illuminate. This is the position the
key is in when you’re driving.
4. START, cranks the engine. Release the key as soon as the engine
starts.
Preparing to start your vehicle
Engine starting is controlled by the powertrain control system. This
system meets all Canadian Interference-Causing Equipment standard
requirements regulating the impulse electrical field strength of radio
noise.
When starting a fuel-injected engine, avoid pressing the accelerator
before or during starting. Only use the accelerator when you have
difficulty starting the engine. For more information on starting the
vehicle, refer toStarting the enginein this chapter.
Extended idling at high engine speeds can produce very high
temperatures in the engine and exhaust system, creating the risk
of fire or other damage.
Do not park, idle, or drive your vehicle in dry grass or other dry
ground cover. The emission system heats up the engine
compartment and exhaust system, which can start a fire.
Do not start your vehicle in a closed garage or in other enclosed
areas. Exhaust fumes can be toxic. Always open the garage door
before you start the engine. SeeGuarding against exhaust fumesin
this chapter for more instructions.
2005 Escape(204)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA English(fus)
Driving
Driving
130

Readiness for Inspection/Maintenance (I/M) testing
In some localities, it may be a legal requirement to pass an I/M test of
the on-board diagnostics system. If your
indicator is on, refer to the
description in theWarning lights and chimessection of the
Instrument Clusterchapter. Your vehicle may not pass the I/M test with
the
indicator on.
If the vehicle’s powertrain system or its battery has just been serviced,
the on-board diagnostics system is reset to a“not ready for I/M test”
condition. To ready the on-board diagnostics system for I/M testing, a
minimum of 30 minutes of city and highway driving is necessary as
described below:
•First, at least 10 minutes of driving on an expressway or highway.
•Next, at least 20 minutes driving in stop-and-go, city-type traffic with
at least four idle periods.
Allow the vehicle to sit for at least eight hours without starting the
engine. Then, start the engine and complete the above driving cycle. The
engine must warm up to its normal operating temperature. Once started,
do not turn off the engine until the above driving cycle is complete.
CHECKING AND ADDING POWER STEERING FLUID
Check the power steering fluid.
Refer to the scheduled maintenance
guide for the service interval
schedules.If adding fluid is
necessary, use only MERCON
AT F.
1. Start the engine and let it run until it reaches normal operating
temperature (the engine coolant temperature gauge indicator will be
near the center of the normal area between H and C).
2. While the engine idles, turn the steering wheel left and right several
times.
3. Turn the engine off.
2005 Escape(204)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA English(fus)
Maintenance and Specifications
234

Instrument panel
cleaning ...................................206
cluster ........................................10
lighting up panel and
interior .......................................39
J
Jack ............................................177
positioning ...............................177
storage .....................................177
Jump-starting your vehicle ......186
K
Keys
positions of the ignition .........130
L
Lamps
autolamp system .......................36
bulb replacement
specifications chart ..................43
daytime running light ...............37
fog lamps ...................................37
headlamps .................................36
headlamps, flash to pass ..........38
instrument panel, dimming .....39
interior lamps .....................41–43
replacing bulbs ...................43–47
Lane change indicator
(see Turn signal) ........................41
Liftgate ........................................66
Lights, warning and indicator ....10
anti-lock brakes (ABS) ..........135
Load limits .................................156
Loading instructions .................161
Locks
childproof ..................................80Lubricant specifications ...257, 259
Luggage rack ...............................68
M
Manual transaxle .......................142
fluid, checking and adding ....237
reverse .....................................143
Manual transmission
fluid capacities ........................254
lubricant specifications ..........259
Message center ...........................59
english/metric button ...............61
system check button ................61
warning messages .....................62
Mirrors .........................................52
automatic dimming rearview
mirror ........................................55
fold away ...................................54
heated ........................................54
side view mirrors (power) .......54
Moon roof ....................................58
Motorcraft parts ................229, 253
O
Octane rating ............................228
Oil (see Engine oil) ..................213
Overdrive ...................................139
P
Parking .......................................144
Parking brake ............................135
Parts (see Motorcraft parts) ....253
Passenger Occupant
Classification Sensor ...................97
2005 Escape(204)
Owners Guide (post-2002-fmt)
USA English(fus)
Index
270