Driving:The gas engine automatically starts and stops to provide power
when it’s needed and to save fuel when it’s not. While coasting at low
speeds, coming to a stop, or standing, the gas engine normally shuts
down and the vehicle operates in electric-only mode. Conditions that
may cause the engine to start up or remain running include:
•Considerable vehicle acceleration
•Vehicle speed above 40 mph (65 km/h)
•Ascending a hill
•Charge level of high voltage battery is low
•Very high or low outside temperature (to provide system
cooling/heating)
•Engine not warm enough to provide passenger requested cabin
temperature
Stopping:The gas engine may shut off to conserve fuel as you come to
a stop. Restarting the vehicle is not required. Simply step on the
accelerator when you are ready to drive.
Transmission Operation:Due to the technologically advanced,
electronically-controlled Continuously Variable Transaxle (eCVT) you will
not feel shift changes like those of a non-hybrid vehicle. Your hybrid’s
transmission is designed to do its work seamlessly.
Since engine speed is controlled by the transmission, it may seem
elevated at times. This is normal hybrid operation and helps
deliver fuel efficiency and performance.
Neutral:It is not recommended to idle the vehicle in N (Neutral) for
extended periods of time because this will discharge your high voltage
battery and decrease fuel economy. Because of the unique nature of the
hybrid vehicle, the engine will not start in the N (Neutral) position. Also,
the engine cannot provide power to the hybrid system in N (Neutral).
Low Gear:L (Low gear) is designed to mimic the enhanced engine
braking available in non-hybrid vehicles. L (Low gear) will produce high
engine speeds to provide necessary engine braking. This is normal and
will not damage your vehicle.
Reverse:(R) Reverse Gear vehicle speed is limited to 22 mph
(35 km/h).
Introduction
7
2012 Escape Hybrid(ehv)
Owners Guide, 1st Printing
USA(fus)
Driving to optimize fuel economy
Your fuel economy should improve throughout your hybrid’s break-in
period. As with any vehicle, fuel economy can be significantly impacted
by your driving habits and accessory usage. For best results, keep in
mind these tips:
Tire Inflation:Keep tires properly inflated and only use recommended
size.
Drive Habits:Aggressive driving increases the amount of energy
required to move your vehicle. In general, better fuel economy is
achieved with mild to moderate acceleration and deceleration. Moderate
braking is particularly important since it allows you to maximize the
energy captured by the regenerative braking system.
NOTE:Having your engine running is not always an indication of
inefficiency – in some cases it is actually more efficient than driving in
electric mode.
Additional Tips:
•Do not carry extra loads
•Be mindful of adding external accessories that may increase
aerodynamic drag
•Observe posted speed limits
•Perform all scheduled maintenance
•There is no need to wait for your engine to “warm up”. The vehicle is
ready to drive immediately after starting
Refer toEssentials of good fuel economyin theMaintenance and
Specificationschapter for more fuel saving tips.
Introduction
9
2012 Escape Hybrid(ehv)
Owners Guide, 1st Printing
USA(fus)
WARNING LIGHTS AND CHIMES
Shown in standard measure. Metric similar.
Warning lights and gauges can alert you to a vehicle condition that may
become serious enough to cause extensive 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
bulbs work. If any light remains on after starting the vehicle, refer to the
respective system warning light for additional information.
Service engine soon:The service
engine soon indicator light
illuminates when the ignition is first
turned to the on position to check
the bulb and to indicate whether the vehicle is ready for
Inspection/Maintenance (I/M) testing. Normally, the service engine soon
light will stay on until the engine is cranked, then turn itself off if no
malfunctions are present. However, if after 15 seconds the service engine
soon light blinks eight times, it means that the vehicle is not ready for
I/M testing. See theReadiness for Inspection/Maintenance (I/M)
testingin theMaintenance and Specificationschapter.
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 by your authorized dealer.
Instrument Cluster
20
2012 Escape Hybrid(ehv)
Owners Guide, 1st Printing
USA(fus)
MESSAGE CENTER
Your vehicle’s message center is capable of monitoring many vehicle
systems and will alert you to potential vehicle problems and various
conditions with an informational message followed by a long indicator
chime.
The message center display is located in the instrument cluster.
Info
Press the INFO button repeatedly to
cycle through the following features:
TRIP A/B
Registers the distance of individual trips. Press and release INFO button
until the A or B trip appears in the display (this represents the trip
mode). Press and hold the RESET button for two seconds to reset.
Refer toUNITSlater in this section to switch the display from Metric to
English.
MYKEY MILES (km) (If programmed)
For more information, refer toMyKeyin theLocks and Security
chapter.
MILES (km) TO E
This displays an estimate of approximately how far you can drive with
the fuel remaining in your tank under normal driving conditions.
Remember to turn the ignition off when refueling to allow this feature to
correctly detect the added fuel.
LOW FUEL LEVEL will display when you have approximately 50 miles
(80 km), to empty. Press RESET to clear this warning message. It will
return at approximately 25 miles (40 km), 10 miles (16 km) and 0 miles
(0 km) miles to empty.
Distance to empty is calculated using a running average fuel economy,
which is based on your recent driving history of 500 miles (800 km).
This value is not the same as the average fuel economy display. The
running average fuel economy is re-initialized to a factory default value if
the battery is disconnected.
Instrument Cluster
27
2012 Escape Hybrid(ehv)
Owners Guide, 1st Printing
USA(fus)
Waiting four seconds or pressing the RESET button cycles the message
center through each of the language choices.
Press and hold the RESET button for two seconds to set the language
choice.
System warnings/information
System warnings alert you to possible problems or malfunctions in your
vehicle’s operating systems.
In the event of a multiple warning situation, the message center will
cycle the display to show all warnings by displaying each one for four
seconds.
The message center will display the last selected feature if there are no
more warning messages.
Types of messages and warnings:
•Some messages will appear briefly to inform you of something you
may need to take action on or be informed of.
•Some messages will appear once and then again when the vehicle is
restarted.
•Some messages will reappear after clearing or being reset if a problem
or condition is still present and needs your attention.
•Some messages can be acknowledged and reset by pressing RESET.
This allows you to use the full message center functionality by clearing
the message.
DRIVER DOOR AJAR— Displayed when the driver’s door is not
completely closed.
PASSENGER DOOR AJAR— Displayed when the passenger side 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.
STOP SAFELY NOW— Displayed when the stop safety hazard warning
lamp is illuminated. This indicates a hybrid component fault/failure that
will cause the vehicle to shut down, fail to start or enter into limited
operating mode.
Note:If the vehicle is still running, it may soon shut down without
further warning and should be stopped safely. Contact your authorized
dealer as soon as possible.
Instrument Cluster
31
2012 Escape Hybrid(ehv)
Owners Guide, 1st Printing
USA(fus)
To activate the autoset feature:Press MENU repeatedly until AUTO
PRESET ON/OFF appears in the display. Use
SEEK/TRACKto
turn AUTO PRESET to ON, and either wait five seconds for the search
to initiate or press OK to immediately initiate the search. If you press
another control within those five seconds, the search will not initiate; the
10 strongest stations will be filled and the station stored in preset 1 will
begin playing.
If there are fewer than 10 strong stations, the system will store the last
one in the remaining presets.
RDS Radio
Available only in FM mode. This feature allows you to search
RDS-equipped stations for a certain category of music format: CLASSIC,
COUNTRY, JAZZ/RB, ROCK, etc.
To activate:Press MENU repeatedly until RDS (ON/OFF) appears in the
display. Use
SEEK/TRACKto turn RDS ON/OFF. When RDS is
OFF, you will not be able to search for RDS equipped stations or view
the station name or type.
CAT/FOLD(Category/Folder):This feature allows you to select from
various music categories.
To change RDS categories:Press MENU repeatedly until RBDS ON/OFF
appears in the display. Use
/to turn RDS to ON. Press CAT.
PRESS UP OR DOWN TO CHANGE RDS CATEGORY will appear in the
display. Press
/to scroll through all possible categories. When the
desired category appears in the display, press
SEEK/TRACKto
find the next station playing that selection or press SCAN for a brief
sampling of all stations playing that category of music.
CD/MP3 Player
CD:Press to enter CD/MP3 mode. If a disc is already loaded into the
system, CD/MP3 play will begin where it ended last. If no CD is loaded,
NO DISC will appear in the display.
LOAD:This control is not operational. To load a CD, simply insert the
disc, label side up, into the CD slot.
Entertainment Systems
38
2012 Escape Hybrid(ehv)
Owners Guide, 1st Printing
USA(fus)
Do not use any irregular shaped
CDs or discs with a scratch
protection film attached.
CDs with homemade paper
(adhesive) labels should not be
inserted into the CD player as
the label may peel and cause the
CD to become jammed. It is
recommended that homemade
CDs be identified with
permanent felt tip marker rather
than adhesive labels. Ballpoint pens may damage CDs. Please
contact your authorized dealer for further information.
Audio system warranty and service
Refer to theWarranty Guidefor audio system warranty information. If
service is necessary, see your dealer or qualified technician.
MP3 track and folder structure
Your MP3 system recognizes MP3 individual tracks and folder structure
as follows:
•There are two different modes for MP3 disc playback: MP3 track mode
(system default) and MP3 folder mode. For more information on track
and folder mode, refer toSample MP3 structurein the following
section.
•MP3 track mode ignores any folder structure on the MP3 disc. The
player numbers each MP3 track on the disc (noted by the .mp3 file
extension) from T001 to a maximum of T255.
Note:The maximum number of playable MP3 files may be less
depending on the structure of the CD and exact model of radio
present.
•MP3 folder mode represents a folder structure consisting of one level
of folders. The CD player numbers all MP3 tracks on the disc (noted
by the .mp3 file extension) and all folders containing MP3 files, from
F001 (folder) T001 (track) to F253 T255.
•Creating discs with only one level of folders will help with navigation
through the disc files.
Entertainment Systems
49
2012 Escape Hybrid(ehv)
Owners Guide, 1st Printing
USA(fus)
5.Power/:Press to activate/deactivate the climate control
system. When the system is off, outside air is shut out. Press +
or
–
to manually increase/decrease the fan speed. The manual fan
speed setting will appear on the left side of the display. Press AUTO to
return to full automatic control.
6.
Panel:Distributes air through the instrument panel vents.
7.
Panel/Floor:Distributes air through the instrument panel vents,
demister vents, floor vents and rear seat floor vents.
8.
Floor:Distributes air through the demister vents, floor vents and
rear seat floor vents.
9.Passenger temperature:Press to engage/disengage separate
passenger side temperature control. Turn to increase/decrease the
temperature on the passenger side of the vehicle. The recommended
initial setting is between 72°F (22°C) and 75°F (24°C), then adjust for
comfort. The passenger side temperature setting will appear in the upper
right corner of the display.
Each time the vehicle is started and driven without an occupant in the
front passenger seat, the climate control system may default to single
zone operation to improve fuel economy. This smart-zone feature will
turn off the passenger temperature display and the temperature control
will be based on the driver’s temperature setting. If dual zone operation
is desired without a front passenger present, press PASS TEMP or adjust
the passenger temperature normally. The system will remain in dual zone
mode.
To disable the smart-zone feature:Press and hold PASS TEMP for
more than four seconds. Both temperature displays will begin flashing to
signify that the feature has been disabled. The system will return to the
previous mode after PASS TEMP is released.
To re-enable the smart-zone feature:Press and hold PASS TEMP for
more than four seconds. The driver’s temperature display will begin
flashing to signify that the feature has been re-enabled. The system will
return to the previous mode after PASS TEMP is released.
10.
Passenger heated seat control (if equipped):Press to
activate/deactivate the passenger heated seat. SeeHeated seatsin the
Seating and Safety Restraintschapter.
Climate Controls
55
2012 Escape Hybrid(ehv)
Owners Guide, 1st Printing
USA(fus)