I purchased a 2009 Escape XLT in January. It has about 1,000 miles on it now. I had a remote start installed by the dealer after I bought it. I feel like there is a hesitation sometimes when I step on the gas. If I step on the gas too hard than it jerks forward from a complete stop. Sometimes I think it is laboring when shifting gears. I'm confused. I know it sounds silly but I was wondering if it has something to do with how I am stepping on the gas pedal. The car I traded in was a 1999 Ford Escort ZX2. So as you can imagine, this is quite a change. I spoke to the salesman that I bought the vehicle from and he said that he just had another woman say the same thing. I thought that was curious. He is looking into it for me to see if there was any notifications/recalls about a problem with this vehicle. Has anyone else experienced a similar problem?
It sounds software related as the throttle is electronically controlled. When you press the gas pedal it tells the software how much fuel to pump into the cylinders to get you moving. Not to sound rude but this vehicle was just redesigned for '09 and there are bound to be some kinks, as there is with any other redesigned vehicle! Still, electronic throttles can require some getting used to. I doubt your auto start has anything to do with this problem.
Next time you're at the dealer ask if you can test drive a similar vehicle to see fi you can duplicate the problem.
I have a V-6 Milan with a similar problem, it had a hesitation from a very slow rolling stop and then hesitate when accelerating up,(like when rolling up to a red light and have it turn green right before coming to a complete stop). The car also has a miss that the dealer never found and an eratic idle that was an intermittent problem. The dealer cured most of the problems with a more current "flash" of the computer that was supposed to cure all of my problems. I still have the intermittent miss but even worse the new flash was able to take a car that got consistant 28-29.5 highway milage down to below to 25 MPG, in fact since the flash 24.5 is the best I have been able to get out of this car, the dealer claims I am getting more, which I am not. By the way, when the dealer re-flashes your computer to newer updates you cannot go back to the old settings! Since switching from GM cars I have been buying Fords for 40 years now, this one is probably my last.
My advice is that if the dealer wants to re-flash your computer to fix problems I am sure that the new flash is going to be a richer fuel mixture to cure the hesitation, you will loose gas milage, so decide whats best for you, hesitation or loss of MPG.
I have a V-6 Milan with a similar problem, it had a hesitation from a very slow rolling stop and then hesitate when accelerating up,(like when rolling up to a red light and have it turn green right before coming to a complete stop). The car also has a miss that the dealer never found and an eratic idle that was an intermittent problem. The dealer cured most of the problems with a more current "flash" of the computer that was supposed to cure all of my problems. I still have the intermittent miss but even worse the new flash was able to take a car that got consistant 28-29.5 highway milage down to below to 25 MPG, in fact since the flash 24.5 is the best I have been able to get out of this car, the dealer claims I am getting more, which I am not. By the way, when the dealer re-flashes your computer to newer updates you cannot go back to the old settings! Since switching from GM cars I have been buying Fords for 40 years now, this one is probably my last.
My advice is that if the dealer wants to re-flash your computer to fix problems I am sure that the new flash is going to be a richer fuel mixture to cure the hesitation, you will loose gas milage, so decide whats best for you, hesitation or loss of MPG.
DEATH FLASH! Older Dodge trucks were known to get what was known as the 'Death Flash'. As the older Magnum LA series V6 & V8 engines had no knock sensors the dealer flashed my friends PCM, it cured the engine hesitation and knock under mid to full throttle. A lot of talk has spread about this, and other so called computer 'updates'. I'm sure the dealer knows what the software will do, such as giving the engine more fuel to compensate for the engine sluggishness. I haven't had to deal with it myself, but know of a few people who have had problems, on both older, and new vehicles; one being an Infinity G37! His engine had a strange idle, so the dealer 'updated the software' and my friends mileage went from 20-22mpg average to mid to late teens, even with driving like grandma. Dealers should make the consumer aware of what the software updates will [possibly] do to a vehicle.
Just read a post from another 2009 Escape owner who has a similar exceleration problem. So, I guess I'm not imagining things afterall. Bill suggested to take the vehicle to the dealer and have them look up the current TSB on these vehicles. My Escape is almost a year old and I still have the problem off and on...very annoying and can be dangerous. Thanks for the info Bill. I printed it out and will be heading to the dealer soon. Here is the info for anyone that may need it.
Just read a post from another 2009 Escape owner who has a similar exceleration problem. So, I guess I'm not imagining things afterall. Bill suggested to take the vehicle to the dealer and have them look up the current TSB on these vehicles. My Escape is almost a year old and I still have the problem off and on...very annoying and can be dangerous. Thanks for the info Bill. I printed it out and will be heading to the dealer soon. Here is the info for anyone that may need it.
Even if the dealer cannot provide a fix for the problem, make sure they have your Escape documented as having a problem. It wouldn't hurt to try another dealer either, just as a second opinion.
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