Shuts off while driving?

Tiny
CRHORSLEY
  • MEMBER
  • 2005 FORD ESCAPE
  • 4 CYL
  • FWD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 95,000 MILES
I have a 05 Escape 4cyl, auto, 95,000. I bought it used at 28,000 mi. It runs fine when you start it, and it's cold. After you drive it for awile, and everything warms up, it tries to stall when you come to a stop sign. Half the time, it does stall. I have to put it in neutral, give it a little gas, then pop it into drive to get going. Then, it'll run fine until I stop again. Also, if I put it in park start it, it starts fine. Then switch to drive or reverse, it'll stall out. Only does any of this after the car is warmed up. I have replaced the spark plugs, fuel filter, and oil. It has a new air filter, and I also cleaned the Mass air flow sensor. Still doing it! To my knowlege, it has never had a transmission oil change. If I change it, I don't know if it would make a difference. Any ideas?

One thing to note.I have noticed in the last 6 months, a weird shudder in the engine/transmission when it auto shifts down a gear from overdrive.

Also. Engine idle is fine. Purrs like a kitten when sitting. But struggles a bit when under a load(Put into drive or reverse)

Please help!

UPDATE: I removed and cleaned the IAC, and Throttle body. Got it back together. Test drove it. And now it accelerates sluggish. If I gun it from a stop, it'll accelerate fast, but has a difficult time progressing to the next gear. While driving normally, if I give it gas to accelerate, it won't downshift. And accelerate. It's a gradual acceleration. I'm totally lost at this point. I didn't unhook the battery while I did everything (Probably should have) so I unhooked it last night so maybe the computer can reset. I'm going to hook it back up the morning and see how it does. It didn't stall at stops, but wanted to. It still stalled when I put it into drive from park after the car was warmed up though. Any thoughts? I'm now losing hair too!
Monday, January 19th, 2009 AT 8:05 AM

5 Replies

Tiny
WHIPPLE1386
  • MEMBER
  • 13 POSTS
Hi.... Interesting little problem you have here. Changing the trans fluid won't make a difference. I'm not saying you shouldn't do it, cause it would be a pretty good idea on the maintenance side of things, but bad transmission fluid isn't going to make your car stall. Nothing really pops into my head right away with this problem except that you may have a transmission problem. Your best bet would be to take it to a Ford dealer. They'll hooked your car up to the IDS system. And believe me, the IDS is amazing. I use it at least 5 times a day. But do your homework first... Find a good service department. And nothing against the mom and pop shops, but Ford is going to be the only place that has the IDS. Keep me posted.
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Monday, January 19th, 2009 AT 10:50 PM
Tiny
CRHORSLEY
  • MEMBER
  • 4 POSTS
I forgot to update this post. I founf that I forgot to hook the Throttle Position Sensor back up when I put everything back together. So now. It's back to what it was doing before, but it seems to be getting better the more I drive the car. It won't stall at stops now, and when put into drive, it stays running. The rpms still drop, but it stays running. So. Should I replace the IAC, or continue on and see how things go?
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Tuesday, January 20th, 2009 AT 7:08 AM
Tiny
WHIPPLE1386
  • MEMBER
  • 13 POSTS
It's ok.... Stuff that happens. Believe me. As for the IAC sensor, to tell you the truth, you have to ask yourself 1) How much does it cost, 2)Will this completely fix it. The real issue for me is that I cannot physically look at the car, so me making the decision for you will have to be up to you. And by the sounds of what you've already done, that might be the best thing to do
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Tuesday, January 20th, 2009 AT 9:58 PM
Tiny
CRHORSLEY
  • MEMBER
  • 4 POSTS
One last update.I took it to the airport last night and just when I thought it was better, it stalled again. So.I'm back to square one, unless I go ahead and change the IAC. I found one for 55.00 online. I'm just thinking about it for the moment.
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Wednesday, January 21st, 2009 AT 6:57 AM
Tiny
WHIPPLE1386
  • MEMBER
  • 13 POSTS
I was looking into it today at work, and escapes are prone to IAC problems. So I would change it if you can. Let me know what happens
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Wednesday, January 21st, 2009 AT 4:17 PM

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