4th Generation Escape is 2020 to current. Mine is a 2020, 2.0L AWD, 50,000 miles on the vehicle. It's red (Click and Clack used to ask what color the car was, when a caller described a problem).

The strange sound occurs when starting in motion after stopping, like at a stop sign, traffic light, etc.

After rolling a few feet, there's a sound, like a "thump." It occurs every time that I start rolling after a stop, I think it's more noticeable if I turn right when restarting, but I won't say that for sure because I can't really trust my defective hearing that much.

I normally accelerate very mildly, not an aggressive start.

If I had to guess, I would describe the situation as some free play someplace in the drive train, and the "thump" occurring when taking up the slack. I'm not a mechanic, that's just a vague description.

Any ideas what might be causing this?

It's not intermittent, it happens every time I roll out after a full stop.

I do hit the switch to disable the automatic engine stop / start "feature" every time I start the engine, so it has nothing to do with that.

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UPDATE: Problem cured. Scroll down on this page for details.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: V-Tail,

CV-joint / U-joint?

If it is more noticeable when turning a certain direction, first thing I would suspect is a bad CV axle. Sometimes you can tell if you simply jack the front up and inspect the wheel for looseness. Also check the rubber boot for tears while you're at it.

not familiar with your escape but I have had the front end stabilizer/sway bar strut bushing rot out on my fords before and get noisy when in movement.

cheap and easy fix, also easy to see the damage with a visual inspection.

My first thought is something drivetrain related with the AWD.

2nd thought, does it have brake hold assist that holds the brakes applied when stopped? Maybe something related to that.

3rd though would be something suspension related, loose tie rod, sway bar link, or something like that.

Guessing at 50k, you're out of bumper to bumper [B2B] warranty, but wonder if it's driveline related if it may be covered under powertrain warranty which at 50k you may be at the limit. I don't recall if it's 5yr/50k or 60k.

Motor mount?

^ I thought that too, but the part about not feeling it until the car has moved a few feet is inconsistent. Every broken engine mount I have seen, the thump and/or noise happens immediately upon accelerating.

Engine mounts can do odd things sometimes. I had a Nissan Altima that had the engine jump up and cut a power steering line with the compressor pulley. Sometimes they are mistaken for transmission problems, e.g., hard shifting.

quote:

Originally posted by P250UA5:

My first thought is something drivetrain related with the AWD.

2nd thought, does it have brake hold assist that holds the brakes applied when stopped? Maybe something related to that.

3rd though would be something suspension related, loose tie rod, sway bar link, or something like that.

Guessing at 50k, you're out of bumper to bumper [B2B] warranty, but wonder if it's driveline related if it may be covered under powertrain warranty which at 50k you may be at the limit. I don't recall if it's 5yr/50k or 60k.

AWD is the correct answer, I'll post details below.

The vehicle does have the brake hold thingy, but I rarely use it, and it was never turned on when I noticed the thump.

No suspension problems found.

Cv joint or suspension bushing. Also check shock / strut connections.

Service advisor texted me this afternoon and told me the car was ready to be picked up. Went in and got it, and he 'splained what they found.

First, they drove it and they confirmed what I had told them. Inspection showed no broken or loose suspension or drive train parts, no bad motor mounts nor transmission mounts, nothing mechanical could be found.

They did some research and found that Ford had known of this complaint. Something about electronic control for the AWD system. They had sent out an OTA (Over The Air) software update two days ago, that should have been received by all affected vehicles.

The technician discovered that apparently my Escape had received the update but it had not been installed in the firmware yet, it was in some sort of buffered queue. He forced another download and that un-constipated the queue, the firmware got updated. Tech and service advisor, who had observed the "thump" on the initial test drive, took another drive after the update and the thump was gone.

I drove the car home and everything was good. They also replaced the liftgate latch to cure an intermittent failure to open via the power system.

I do miss my 1950's and 1960's cars, where a screwdriver and a pair of pliers would cure most problems.

Yikes! Who woulda thunk that cars would receive software updates over the air. This ain't right, man. I'm definitely wearing my tin foil hat today.

Yep^^^ A few weeks ago all 2023 Colorado's got some sort of update overnight and it left the "infotainment" system on and killed all the batteries by morning. That was a fun day for me

From time to time, my Jeep screen shows a tiny message about an update in progress...

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:

quote:

Originally posted by P250UA5:

My first thought is something drivetrain related with the AWD.

AWD is the correct answer, I'll post details below.

Glad you got it resolved. What do I win?

quote:

un-constipated the queue

Let's hear it for unique automotive maintenance procedures!

The Studebaker and the VW that I had in the 1950's did not have this sort of problem.

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:
The Studebaker and the VW that I had in the 1950's did not have this sort of problem.

And the VW had 45HP and a top speed of 56mph....downhill.

My daily drivers are early 2000 Hondas and a 2001 911 (996). No big issues yet with their electronics and no over-the-air firmware updates.

quote:

They did some research and found that Ford had known of this complaint. Something about electronic control for the AWD system. They had sent out an OTA (Over The Air) software update two days ago, that should have been received by all affected vehicles.

I'll be damned.

Pretty soon - actually it is already in progress - no one but the dealer will be able to make any repairs on your car. That could not have been done at an independent shop. Even to scan an engine light they are starting to require independents to purchase costly software. No more free scans at Vato Zone before long.

My 2019 Ram 1500 pickup had a ton of electrical issues when new. (Yes, I know you never buy the 1st year of a new model - but the deal could not be passed up)

Took months before an "over the air" software update that fixed everything. If Chrysler Care hadn't given me the softwafe version # to check, I would never have known that it came thru.

I, too, miss the "old days"

So basically, an auto manufacturer can send a software to create a 'mechanical' issue via a software update to generate more business for the repair shop?...not that I think they would do that.