I have a 2001 Escape with the 3L V6 and automatic trans, it has 110K miles. Lately I have noticed when driving on the highway and starting up a hill, the car kind of shudders when it makes the first downshift. Is there something I can or should do before taking it to a trans shop?

Thanks for any help you can offer.

 

I would suspect it is ether rough coming out of overdrive or the torque converter is not disengaging as smoothly as it should. It could be a trans related problem . One thing you can try is to stop at a place like Autozone or another auto supply store where they will check the vehicle's computer for any history codes. They usually will do this free of charge as a customer service. If you have any codes in there it hopefully would narrow down the system that is having the problem.
If they find any , get the number(s) and post it/them here. That is very possibly what any shop would do first anyway.

 

Have you checked the fluid level and condition? If it's just a little low, it could respond this way. Check it hot, idling, and in park.

 

I should have said that the fluid level is good and the fluid is clean.

 

I would make sure the engine is properly tuned. If something is even slightly out of whack the ECM will raise the idle a little and that could have an effect on the way the transmission shifts.