Good morning everyone. I have a quick question for those who own a 2010 model. A month ago I had an alternator failure, and after replacing it, I noticed something odd. When I brake, there’s a small bump and a drop in RPM. It hasn’t stalled yet, but it feels like it’s close sometimes. I’ve got a guy scheduled for a basic tune-up with a plug change soon, but after reading through this forum, I’ve seen that this might be linked to possible transmission issues. I should mention that I don’t have any problems shifting gears or hearing strange noises, just this RPM fluctuation when stopping and a slight shudder. Can anyone tell me what other symptoms show up when the transmission starts to fail?
My car is a 2010 XLT 3L V6 with 280,000km (174,000 miles).
Regarding the alternator replacement, it’s likely that the battery discharged or was disconnected during the repair. This would reset the car’s computer, and the car needs some time to relearn the idle settings (it may take a few drive cycles). This should be mostly done by now, but if you haven’t been idling much, it might still be adjusting.
Also, a slight RPM variation (<100 RPM) when you press the brake pedal is normal if your car has a vacuum brake booster. It uses some vacuum to ‘recharge’ the brake booster when you release the pedal.
@Winter
After I posted, I read a post from about 12 hours ago where the person described having a stall issue and what they did to fix it. Maybe I’ll have my guy reset the car using the OBD tool and clean the sensors to see if that helps. My only worry is the car stalling when braking hard, but luckily, that hasn’t happened yet, even though I’ve seen RPM spikes to 1200, then drops to 5-600 when I brake suddenly. I really love my Escape and haven’t had many issues since I got it. Thanks for the help!