I have only had this car 5 months. 3 weeks ago first the battery light came on then the check engine light then it just stopped running I have tAken it to two mechanics and the dealership all of which say they cannot figure out why its starting so hard and will not keep starting they changed the spark plugs now the last mechanics saying it might be the timing chain but he is still not sure he wants to open it up for $300 just to see what’s the matter with it I had the alternator change the car has been in and out of shops for the last 3 weeks I am at a loss as to what is wrong with the car can somebody please help me it will start but it cuts off and its running real rough.
I can believe that the dealership doesn’t want to deal with it, 'cause they often don’t want to deal with aging cars. But neither mechanic could figure it out? Is there a backstory here? Can you relate to us exactly what tests they’ve done? And the results?
The '06 has OBDII. A shop should be able to get a lot of information just by hooking up a diagnostic reader to the OBDII port.
Beyond that, there’s oscilloscope-based analyzers.
And there’s vacuum gages to check the valves, and a test kit to check for fuel pressure.
Valve timing isn’t rocket science to confirm either. It takes just a wee bit of elbow grease and the willingness.
And a compression test would be a really good idea here.
Beyond that there are things like exhaust flow that can be checked. A plugged exhaust will cause an engine to run rough and stall out.
Post back with some answers.
thank you so much for your comment the dealership said they have to do a tune up and change the spark plugs to further diagnosis which they wanted me to spin $700 and they was still not sure if that was it my mechanic said he changed the spark plugs check the fuel pressure put it on the machine and its not giving him any reading another mechanic said the same thing he change the spark plugs and the alternator at this point I just want the car running so I can trade it in it makes no sense that I’m paying a car note on a car that I can not drive I’m so disappointed
First…stay away from the dealership for any car repairs. Find a good, independent mechanic and they can find out what’s wrong with your Escape fairly quickly. This vehicle is rather straightforward when it comes to troubleshooting. The last person that looked at your vehicle is no mechanic so remember that when it comes time to have any other vehicle looked at for repairs. +1 for the same mountainbike.
Some states have Used Car Lemon Laws. You should look into that. Keep records of all work & estimates in case you do have some legal recourse.
(I’m assuming that by ‘the dealer’ you are referring to where you bought the car)
It’s a 2006, Joe. Too old for lemon laws.
The problem you’re having with the vehicle might caused by a faulty Crankshaft Position sensor.
http://www.1aauto.com/content/articles/bad-crankshaft-position-sensor-symptoms
As the article states, a faulty crank sensor won’t always cause the Check Engine light to come on and set a code. So, if these mechanics don’t see crank sensor code, they won’t consider it to be the problem.
Tester
I’ve replaced several bad crankshaft position sensors over the years, which caused stalling and/or no starts, but which didn’t generate a fault code
Wow, $700 to change spark plugs? Run away! Run away!
Thank u Tester how much does it cost to replace a crankshaft position sensor
Prices vary a lot based on parts sources, markup, shop labor rates and even locale so it’s difficult to make a close guess.
AutoZone shows a crank sensor for a shade over 25 bucks. They’re located by the crankshaft harmonic balance in most cases and are held on with one or two bolts depending upon engine and fitment. There will be one wire connector plug.
Know anyone mechanically minded that you could slide a few bucks to on the side and just have them do it in your driveway? They’re normally not a big job at all.
its already in the shop I guess I will tell the mechanic to try that but you know how mechanics are they hate for you to tell them something they should already know but thank you very much
The crank sensor is certainly a very good suggestion as mentioned. CPS failure is also not that rare and even with a hard failure may not leave any diagnostic trouble codes to work with.
It has to boil down to an educated guess; or maybe even a wild one… 
Rough guessing on price I’d say 250 or so total on one engine and less on the other. It will vary based on the engine option in your Escape
I hope that’s what it is cuz its way cheaper than him checking the timing belt which he said would cost $300 just to check it and if the timing chain is broke I think he said timing chain it will cost me like 600 that’s outrageous just to check and see if its working right shaking my head
It’s a 2006, Joe. Too old for lemon laws.
Not in MA. They do not put a restriction on build year. They do however, have a time limitation of 7 days after purchase and the cost to repair a safety or emissions failure must exceed 10% of the purchase price.