Car trouble

For the past couple of weeks I've noticed my 2010 Escape Limited (V6 auto, 70,000 mi) running a little funky, surging and losing power intermittantly. It wasn't bad at first but got progressively worse, the wrench light came on, and yesterday on the drive home I thought I wouldn't make it.

Pulling away from a stop sign, it just wouldn't go - 5 MPH max. I pulled over, shut it off, restarted it, revved it a few times, and drove home. It still wasn't running right, but it wasn't spitting and sputtering or bucking. It just wouldn't go, like someone was randomly pinching the fuel line.

I'm thinking the fuel pump might be crapping out or there's a blockage in the line. It idles fine, but maybe doesn't have enough pressure under acceleration. The wierd thing is that sometimes it runs just fine, with normal power.

Any ideas?

Thanks guys.

Have you checked the fuel filter?

Nope. They just came and took it away. Hopefully it's just the filter(s), but you know how that goes. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$......

Oxygen sensor or some other sensor malfunction?

That same thing happened to my Nissan Sentra (what a piece. Drove fine, but everything broke.)

Ended up shutting down on me on a major highway (401-ON).

Throttle body issue?

^^^Just did some reading on that. It had all the right symptoms of a throttle body problem. It would be sweet to have that covered by Ford.

Yep - throttle body. I called the shop at 3:30 and they hadn't even looked at it yet. Dammit. At about 6:00 I get a call - car's done! And NO CHARGE under the extended warranty deal!! WHOOHOO!!

I love those guys.

Glad you're happy and all is well!

Hey thanks for the heads-up! I woulda bet it was the fuel pump or dirt in the line.

I don't think too many Fords use gas caps anymore...

My '06 has a cap, but the '10 is capless. Still kinda weirds me out.

The throttle body issue is apparently wide-spread and well-known (except by me) and instead of issuing a recall, Ford extended the warranty to 10 years/150,000 miles on the throttle bodies of affected vehicles. Doing it that way saves them a boatload of money. I can't complain. I wasn't charged a dime (they covered towing even) and was only carless for a day.

Could have been much worse.