Ford Escape problem
 

A friend of mine has a 2005 Ford Escape and he's been dumping money into it like I couldn't imagine, last shop got him for $2000 for new front sway bars and front struts. He's not a car guy.

Anyway, he was driving the other day, couldn't go above 40 on the highway, then slowed but RPMs were still high matching foot on the floor. It's an automatic.

he pulls over, turns it off, waits a few minutes, turns on and away he goes for a few miles and then the same thing happened, as though he was driving a standard with a bad clutch.

Any ideas?

Dealer he had it towed to wants $3500 to put in a new transmission. He's in MN so I can't help him other than give advice.

We've all seen a car like that.

Keep fixing things hoping it'll be the last thing we fix and it never ends.

Can he do simple stuff?

Check the tranny fluid level, get him to tell you the color or put a drop on a white paper towel and send you the pic.

Sounds like he may be stuck in a high gear?

Sell the thing

He can't do anything, not even change the oil. I tried to get him to sell it, he does well enough that a new E350 wouldn't be a problem, but very frugal. in this case, penny wise and pound foolish. I think he should at least get a transmission flush with new filter.

Forget to mention, 2 months ago he had a new rear main seal put in. $1800. I don't know if it really needed one.

Car has 77,000 miles on it. Unbelievable.

Does he tow or drive over 80 a lot? If so the bands in those transmission burn right up under those conditions. The good news is they can be rebuilt by most transmission shops very quickly.

He drives like an old lady, doesn't tow anything.

See if he had the PRNDL in 2

Just D Don, thanks. The key here is the transmission was acting like a manual with a bad clutch. Engine RPMs would rise with the pedal, but the car wouldn't go anywhere.

I vote for low tranny fluid level.

I saw one recently where a busted cooler in the radiator killed the trans. Check the radiator for mixing.

$2k for sway bars.
$1.8k for rear main.
$3.5k for trans.

All recent.

Pretty sure that car isn't worth $7300. Suggest donating to charity, take tax deduction based on retail value and buy something reliable.

I'm thinking torque converter problem.

Sounds like it is slipping. There are clutches in the auto. When they wear out, they slip. You usually will have high rpm, high trans temp and not going anywhere.

I would send him to the nearest AAMCO that has a good review in Yelp. They are generally less of a rip-off than a dealership and can diagnose and estimate for a 2nd opinion. I have had good luck with them. They are individually owned franchises, so much depends on the actual shop.

G

The tax deduction is now based on what the charity actually sells the car for. Still not a bad option in this case.

Thanks for all the replies, appreciate it. On aigel's advice, I told him to first call and then most likely bring it to an Aamco.

I had the same.. Tranny on the Escape (CD4E) is nothing but trouble.
Sorry for your friend but there is no solution, it needs a new tranny.

He could've changed the fluid more often and saved the tranny unfortunately the maintenance manual waits like 90,000 before servicing the tranny..

best thing he can do is source a tranny from a wreck or replace the fluid then add additive and sometimes you get a second wind out of it, just enough to sell the damn thing..
The tranny is the #1 complain on the Escape.

Look at all the complains:
2005 Ford Escape Automatic Transmission Complaints