My "new" 2004 VUE

[Tom92SCm]

Well, I have a "new" 2004 VUE. I say "new" because it's the same VUE I bought back in 2004 with 33 miles on the odometer. The only difference is that now I'm the primary driver of it- instead of my wife. We just bought her a new 2012 Ford Escape V6 Limited AWD.

My SL2 will be sold and the money from that will go toward my Explorer (new gears and a custom front bumper and possibly rock sliders).

As for my VUE, I plan on painting the grey bumper trim stuff with bed liner, getting the Westin safari bar and doing a quieting treatment to the interior.

And just because all threads about new (or "new") should include pictures, here's a look back from the beginning to now.





Then I decided to paint the brakes red. I'm not sure why.



And then at some point I added a better HU in the dash and added a 12-disc changer (remember those things?!?!?) under the front passenger seat:


Took it on more than one road trip:


Installed a Valley 2" trailer hitch receiver- for my bike rack.



The Duellers finally wore out. Actually I bought a set of Michelin X-Ice tires on their own wheels but I decided to never put these loud and crappy tires back on:

[Tom92SCm]

Here are the ASA wheels and Michelin X-Ice tires:




To replace the Duellers, I got some Yokohama Geolander H/T-S tires:


Then I loaded up a bunch of junk and yard waste and hauled it to the dump:


Got tired of the red brakes:



So this is how it sits today:





It's up to like 86,000 miles. All of which have been pretty trouble free.

[cdp326]

Congratulations on the new Escape.

Nice evolution of things things put on the base of the shifter.

[sideup66]

Were you referring to the Duellers as the "loud and crappy" tires??? I think they run quite nice to be honest, then again from the junk i had on my last car, anything is a step up.

[Tom92SCm]

Yeah, the Duellers. They aren't referred to as "the Duellers of death" just 'cuz.

Mine were hard- which results in them being loud and also have poor wet and snow traction.

Plus I just didn't like them.

But I'm considering getting rid of my Yokohamas even though they have plenty of tread left. They are hard and starting to develop cracks along the sidewalls.

[sideup66]

Originally Posted by Tom92SCm

Yeah, the Duellers. They aren't referred to as "the Duellers of death" just 'cuz.

Mine were hard- which results in them being loud and also have poor wet and snow traction.

Plus I just didn't like them.

But I'm considering getting rid of my Yokohamas even though they have plenty of tread left. They are hard and starting to develop cracks along the sidewalls.

Mine are still quite beefy (when I bought mine they were brand new) and have plenty of tread. I never had that car slip in rain either which is quite impressive, only way they slipped is when I would mat it going around a turn. Even then, the car grips wonderfully with those tires. Maybe because mine are newer . I just havent had issues...

Our Santa Fe has BFG Long Trails on it that actually have worked well for that too.

[BobbyP]

Tom - Nice pics! The VUE got kicked out of the garage for an Escape...

I have always enjoyed the Escape's I have rented. My only complaint was the controls for the heated seats. They have no adjustments, just on/off. The heat with them on is very hot and you end up being the thermostat...

The Acadia had 3 heat levels... I used them this past weekend in Denver...

[Tom92SCm]

Yeah the on/off seat heaters are kind of lame. And they seem to get really HOT too. Maybe this winter when they are actually needed, they will feel much better. Even though it did snow here last weekend- I used it, but more just because it was a new toy.

But yeah, the VUE is an outside car now. It's OK, it can take it.

An update:
Last night I took measurements of the floor pan, doors, rear hatch and cargo area as the first effort towards a sound deadening project. I'm going to give Don a call at Sound Deadener Showdown an email and get some shipping quotes and a total price on everything.

I also flipped through the pages in the FSM about exterior trim removal for the trim painting project.

[Tom92SCm]

Just filled up my best tank ever:

30.4 mpg!

I added a bottle of Techron to the tank that I used to achieve this. I didn't do any special or heroic, just drove to and from work and to the airport (45 minutes each way) with lots of cruise control and doing the speed limit (lots of 55-65 mph zones).

And to think, I bought an SL2 as an economical commuter for $1500 a year ago. Turns out I've had one all along, it's just that my wife was driving it and I had to buy her a $24,000 vehicle so I could drive the VUE....... (scratches head.....)

[sideup66]

Originally Posted by Tom92SCm

Just filled up my best tank ever:

30.4 mpg!

I added a bottle of Techron to the tank that I used to achieve this. I didn't do any special or heroic, just drove to and from work and to the airport (45 minutes each way) with lots of cruise control and doing the speed limit (lots of 55-65 mph zones).

And to think, I bought an SL2 as an economical commuter for $1500 a year ago. Turns out I've had one all along, it's just that my wife was driving it and I had to buy her a $24,000 vehicle so I could drive the VUE....... (scratches head.....)

Hmm im wondering how yours got so high... I know I have the auto, in city/mixed I usually see an average of 18...little on the low end. Highway (mainly saw this driving to and from my college, lots of 55-60 mph zones) it sent the average to about 23 mpg. Also I have the awd which could be killing mine a bit, not to mention I doubt my plugs are in best of shape (does some odd stuff since I got it which lead me to think plugs could be a little tired).

Sounds like its serving you well, as for the sitting outside, shell be fine my Vue lives outside (dirty as can be right now) but once you give it a bath it looks brand new again .

[SC2BuzzBomb]

Surprised you bought her the outdated 2012 model when the 2013 all-new model with EcoBoost power is available shortly.

[RedGeminiPA]

Originally Posted by SC2BuzzBomb

Surprised you bought her the outdated 2012 model when the 2013 all-new model with EcoBoost power is available shortly.

Probably because, as usual, Ford is offering HUGE incentives to unload them.

[Tom92SCm]

What he said plus I wanted to get out of my P.O.S. S-series and I'm not a fan of getting the first year of an all new re-design. And while the Eco-boost is a cool engine, it comes at a premium.

[BobbyP]

Originally Posted by SC2BuzzBomb

Surprised you bought her the outdated 2012 model when the 2013 all-new model with EcoBoost power is available shortly.

This is not a fair comparison. The 2012 Escape is a very nice ride. The last 2 Escapes I drove had a quick V6, comfortable leather seats, quiet ride, and good soundnng stereo. My only complaint was the heated seats had only 2 settings; too hot and off.

The new Escape looks like a CRV clone with Focus mechanicals. I will reserve judgement until I drive one. Unfortunately it's gene pool does not inspire a lot of confidence.

[pdough]

Nice and clean! Give it a romp to 5,500 or so and clean it out while you have the fuel cleaner it it. Mine loves a romp every now and then; more often than that I guess...... and still looks as good as this one!

My father in law thought I had bought a new one after I really cleaned it up a while back. Still looks like new on the outside. Hope you enjoy driving your new beater as much as I have the past few years. Mine takes a beating from me for sure.

[pdough]

Originally Posted by sideup66

Mine are still quite beefy (when I bought mine they were brand new) and have plenty of tread. I never had that car slip in rain either which is quite impressive, only way they slipped is when I would mat it going around a turn. Even then, the car grips wonderfully with those tires. Maybe because mine are newer . I just havent had issues...

Our Santa Fe has BFG Long Trails on it that actually have worked well for that too.

I had two sets of Duellers on mine. After all the talk I still went out and bought another set after the originals wore out after 60+ thousand miles. Live in NJ so snow wasn't much of an issue... But I loved them for better or worse; they wore like no other and gripped pretty well except in hydroplaning... Have since had Kumhos and Goodyears. Neither has been that much better in my opinion... Again, no snow, but rain performance has been just about equal...

[Kyle51895]

Wow, I really like the silver! I helped my friend wash her silver Trailblazer a few weeks back and I couldn't believe how dirty the water coming off of it was. It definitely didn't show filth like my black does! I really need to look into some rims. Seeing yours makes me want them even more, since I have the absolute base model rims, which I really don't like at all. How much were yours total?

[XRL]

Originally Posted by Tom92SCm

What he said plus I wanted to get out of my P.O.S. S-series and I'm not a fan of getting the first year of an all new re-design. And while the Eco-boost is a cool engine, it comes at a premium.

The Escape is a heck of a vehicle. Before we bought the Outlander, we were looking for loaded Mariners. The only reason we quit looking was because we found her Outlander with all the features we wanted, and the Mariner was a wee bit too small for us and the dog.

The old Escape had a bit of a tough look to it, the new Focus sadly looks like a supersized Focus. I'm sure it will be a great vehicle for people who want a practical, reliable, and fuel efficient CX-7, but the old Escape is a great package still.

[Tom92SCm]

Originally Posted by Kyle51895

I really need to look into some rims. Seeing yours makes me want them even more, since I have the absolute base model rims, which I really don't like at all. How much were yours total?

I want to say they were about $100 each. They are ASA wheels. And the reason I got them was because when I tried to order black steel wheels from Tire Rack to be used as my winter wheels, they were all out.

I don't remember the offset on the ASA wheels but I really like it. It pushes the wheel flush with the body.

Nice wheels really help set a car apart from the rest.

[sideup66]

Originally Posted by pdough

I had two sets of Duellers on mine. After all the talk I still went out and bought another set after the originals wore out after 60+ thousand miles. Live in NJ so snow wasn't much of an issue... But I loved them for better or worse; they wore like no other and gripped pretty well except in hydroplaning... Have since had Kumhos and Goodyears. Neither has been that much better in my opinion... Again, no snow, but rain performance has been just about equal...

Mine doesnt seem to hydroplane much unless like i said you drive like a total buffon, but you are right, when it starts the go you get that feeling that things can turn ugly, very quick. I also actually live in nj as well, if you dont mind me asking, which part? Im more southern near Philadelphia. On dry I rarely if ever have traction issues. Snow when we get snow seems average in my opinion. No more no less. I cant complain overall, if only my stupid sway bar didnt snap I would be perfect .