Hi guys,

Have an issue with my 2011 Ford Escape LTD AWD (3.0L), i drive on the highway for 30 minutes or so and when i get onto downtown city streets (stop and go) in rush hour congestion, when i come to a crawl or stop (traffic light) the vehicle stalls. I try to start and it cranks over, however will not start for 5 to 20 minutes till things seem to cool off. When the engine dies the engine stumbles at first for a second or two like fuel is being cut off, then dies. When i drive highway for an hour and come off into higher speed limit roads no issue, it is only when i come off and go onto very congested downtown city roads. I figure it has to be heat related, only in the summer.

My 2011 has 344,000km on the odometer however i replaced the 3.0L engine at 190,000km, the engine is smooth as can be has plenty of power and drives like new no issues whatsoever. I just need to solve this issue as it has my mechanic perplexed as it is a random issue in summer heat, happening for 2 years now. The transmission seems to be in good shape considering it is original, no slippage whatsoever and has plenty of power. Honestly the car feels wonderful, just this random stalling after she is hot coming off the highway followed by 20 - 30 minutes of congested downtown driving. It stalls only when i am stopped at a light or such, lunges for a sec then dies.

No codes are spun out, however today the check light engine did come on....he checked for codes numerous times but it doesn't seem to trigger anything of significance or it disappears by the time i get the car to him. I'll see tomorrow once again if it did trigger a code that remains.

It feels like fuel delivery to me, however no idea where to look now.

The car is in great running order and tuneup done a year prior to this intermittent issue.

We changed out the fuel pump relay and found that isn't the issue, also the fuel pump driver module. Two weeks ago we bit the bullet on the fuel pump itself as we haven't any more thoughts. Also brand new battery installed, didn't help.

My mechanic is a very knowledgeable guy, he did things like cleaning sensors and such but with this being intermittent i wish to see if there's something on a 2011 Ford Escape (3.0L) that is a known problem that i might be able to discuss when i take this beast in one more time.

I absolutely love this vehicle and no reason to be scrapping it, or passing it to another when i know there is a gremlin in there.

I bought this beast for my son when he was a teenager and it has sentimental value seeing it reminds me of him, and i woudn't mind putting some money into this to get a lot more years but this random stalling issue has to be addressed first. I did the body work myself on it so that is excellent, and like i mentioned this thing runs as well as it did when i purchased new back in 2011....just this crazy stalling when hot is killing me.

Coolant level is good and no overheating engine wise....

Thoughts?

 

Update to date, still a work in progress......

We had changed the Fuel Pump Relay, Fuel Pump Driver Module & Fuel Pump, cleaning connections on battery, fuse panel and grounds....stalling in super hot (over 30C) weather in stop and go traffic still happens intermittently.

My mechanic believes it is a electrical/power issue and believe it may be the Relay for the PCM, i did get it to stall out once and replaced the relay and she started up for me. Doing it once however is a good sign, however put the old relay back in and hoping for a really hot over 30C day to recreate the symptom and swap out the relay once more to confirm. If i can do it a second time then i can rest assured we have it tackled, but till then i am still reticent.

If it is not the relay then my only other thoughts are crankshaft positioning sensor or camshaft sensor. I believe it would be an erratic crankshaft sensor as without the correct reference the PCM would shut everything down immediately. A camshaft sensor i believe would still allow the car to operate.

So this week or next i expect a day of hot weather and i can test once more that PCM relay, will report back in case someone else can benefit.

Cheers.