# 2014 Ford Escape - Thermal control design questions

**URL:** <https://community.cartalk.com/t/2014-ford-escape-thermal-control-design-questions/152969>\
**Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\
**Tags:** ford\
**Created:** [November 17, 2019, 7:47pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2014-ford-escape-thermal-control-design-questions/152969 "2019-11-17T19:47:19Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![BillBrown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7ab992/32.png) [@BillBrown](https://community.cartalk.com/u/BillBrown)\
**Post date:** [November 17, 2019, 7:47pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2014-ford-escape-thermal-control-design-questions/152969/1 "2019-11-17T19:47:19Z")

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Actually 2 general questions:

1. Why don’t manufacturers use an electric water pump on cars in this day and age?
2. Why isn’t the coolant thermostat place in the radiator hose or as part of the radiator, where it would be very easy to access?

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**Author:** ![Nevada\_545](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/nevada_545/32/41232_2.png) [@Nevada\_545](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Nevada_545)\
**Post date:** [November 17, 2019, 9:07pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2014-ford-escape-thermal-control-design-questions/152969/2 "2019-11-17T21:07:25Z")

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1. BMW has been using electric water pumps for 15 years, they are not more reliable than belt driven pumps.

The Toyota Prius uses an electric water pump to cool the inverter, 350,000 were subject to a recall.

1. The cooling system thermostat must be in the path of hot engine coolant to be able to sense the coolant temperature and open at the proper temperature.

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**Author:** ![Mustangman](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/mustangman/32/44130_2.png) [@Mustangman](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Mustangman)\
**Post date:** [November 18, 2019, 3:23pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2014-ford-escape-thermal-control-design-questions/152969/3 "2019-11-18T15:23:49Z")

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1. because electrical water pumps are less efficient that belt driven ones. It slso puts a lot of things inline between the engine and the pump that can fail as opposed to just one or 2 things. If a belt breaks, you will know it immediately.