hurk

Sorry for the late reply. Somehow I missed your post this morning.
I usually post then check back.

The air filter has been replaced & I've done everthing else in my topic post above. I use a quality synthetic oil as per the manual that meets the Ford spec. The car has been driven 200-300 miles after doing the coolant.

The same stuff is in the vehicle & it doesn't amount to much weight. I haven't checked the tires lately. Thanks for the reminder - although I'm probably not as bad as most folks, I kinda forget about the tires. It seems like they're almost always at 30-32psi. The Ford spec is 30 but I usually air them up to 32psi. I put a gauge on them & they're at or near 30, so I'll put some more in. Any suggestions for new tires? I haven't looked into that yet, since they're not really needed. Primary criteria: fuel economy & road noise.

The 2.0 in this Escape is woefully underpowered. It's fine once it's into the upper end of 3rd gear & it's peppy in 4th, but 1st, 2nd & early 3rd are pathetic. One factor of late is that I have to run the air conditioner almost all the time - Houston has gotten hot once again. But the fuel economy should be better. Last summer it would occasionally be down to 21 mpg which I attributed to the ac. Thanks.