Hi,
I have a 2005 Ford Escape XLS that I've owned since new, and until now have never had a problem. It just turned 70,000 miles the other day and at the same time, the check engine light came on. Since the manual indicated it was probably emission related, I chose to ignore and had a local shop clear the code. Then, about a week later, while cruising down the highway, the rpm's shot up from around 2800rpm to 4000rpm and then back down again. The next day, it was doing it about every 30 seconds and it didn't matter how I drove... high speeds, low speeds, cruise on/off. It felt like I was riding a bucking bronco. I did notice it went away if I shut the overdrive off. However, as soon as I turned it back on, it started up again. I'm taking it to Ford tomorrow, so I'm looking for some quick advice. I don't want to get ripped off, i.e. new transmission. Do you think this is transmission related, emission related... Any help would be greatly appreciated before tomorrow. Thanks.