Car problems and a question

[4thHorseman]

Wasn't sure who to ask, but I know there are plenty of intelligent people on here so I thought I would state my problem and question here.

At the end of August, my fiance and I bought a 2003 Ford Escape from the dealership near us. It went through it's inspection just fine, however, two days later the Escape wouldn't start. We had it towed up to the dealership, and the following day they told us they couldn't duplicate the problem and they started it up fine without any issues so they were unable to fix it. We paid $188.

Yesterday after my fiance got out of class, she went to start her Escape...which again didn't start. After waiting three hours for the tow guys to get there, one of them looked at it and said that the starter may be going bad. I'm not a car person, but apparently there's something on the starter that spins with a rod or something that either goes in or out. They said that rod wasn't doing that, though the starter was spinning. She had it towed to another (closer to her school) dealership, and they started it up fine there. They told her to take it to the dealership we bought it from since that's where we purchased it and where it was looked at last time.

She called today and so far they haven't found anything. I'm worried that I'm going to have to pay another (almost) $200 for no solutions and I was wondering if this is something that I should do, or if I should not pay it until something is fixed. Unfortunately, our warranty can't cover it unless they know exactly what is wrong and can be replaced.

I can't afford it. And we need the car since we both have work and school to go to...pretty much at the exact same times. I'm wondering if anyone can give me some advice on what to do. It's becoming really stressful for me.

[PiratesPensSteelers]

Wasn't sure who to ask, but I know there are plenty of intelligent people on here so I thought I would state my problem and question here.

At the end of August, my fiance and I bought a 2003 Ford Escape from the dealership near us. It went through it's inspection just fine, however, two days later the Escape wouldn't start. We had it towed up to the dealership, and the following day they told us they couldn't duplicate the problem and they started it up fine without any issues so they were unable to fix it. We paid $188.

Yesterday after my fiance got out of class, she went to start her Escape...which again didn't start. After waiting three hours for the tow guys to get there, one of them looked at it and said that the starter may be going bad. I'm not a car person, but apparently there's something on the starter that spins with a rod or something that either goes in or out. They said that rod wasn't doing that, though the starter was spinning. She had it towed to another (closer to her school) dealership, and they started it up fine there. They told her to take it to the dealership we bought it from since that's where we purchased it and where it was looked at last time.

She called today and so far they haven't found anything. I'm worried that I'm going to have to pay another (almost) $200 for no solutions and I was wondering if this is something that I should do, or if I should not pay it until something is fixed. Unfortunately, our warranty can't cover it unless they know exactly what is wrong and can be replaced.

I can't afford it. And we need the car since we both have work and school to go to...pretty much at the exact same times. I'm wondering if anyone can give me some advice on what to do. It's becoming really stressful for me.


As far as I know, you have to give your dealership a few tries to fix the problem.

In other words, you can't go to them once...problem continues...go somewhere else....problem continues....go somewhere else....problem continues.

Keep going to the dealership you bought it from, keep receipts and if it's a problem that never goes away you might be able to qualify for the lemon law.

[LewMoxinsghost]

You should definitely run the VIN through a history report if you haven't already. This can give you and idea of what kind of problems the previous owner had with it.

An old trick some dealers do to sell lemons is put sawdust in the oil. This makes it run great for a few hundred miles before completely breaking down. I don't think this is what is going on with you, but you never know. I don't buy cars unless I know their history.

[mikekerr3]

When you try to start it does it turn over at all, make a click and nothing or what.?

[4thHorseman]

Well, if I'm understanding my fiance correctly (she's asleep so I can't ask more details about it), it doesn't turn over at all. Runs great when it runs, and it's only happened twice in the last month, but the two times she went to start it she got nothing.

And the car history was great. It was owned by an older couple who couldn't really drive it due to a worsening condition of the husband. It had less than 40,000 miles on it and the only accident it had was a slight collision on the side that needed some repair. Other than that, the car history checked out just fine.

[SUPERECWFAN1]

Does it get hot awhile and not start when ya try it ? Does it need to cool down a long while and then start up and go fine . And it repeats this ?


Because this is what happened to a truck my dad had a long while back. My uncle sold it to him and he joked..."It runs fine for 30-40 minutes....then stops and has to sit for a long while.."

The problem was that there was a wire hanging loose and it was grounding the vehicle out. The wire would get hot and once it touched the metal of the truck....off she'd go. And time would need to pass and then it would start. I'd check for a loose wire grounding it out.

[4thHorseman]

Does it get hot awhile and not start when ya try it ? Does it need to cool down a long while and then start up and go fine . And it repeats this ?


Because this is what happened to a truck my dad had a long while back. My uncle sold it to him and he joked..."It runs fine for 30-40 minutes....then stops and has to sit for a long while.."

The problem was that there was a wire hanging loose and it was grounding the vehicle out. The wire would get hot and once it touched the metal of the truck....off she'd go. And time would need to pass and then it would start. I'd check for a loose wire grounding it out.

As far as I know, it doesn't get hot. The first time it happened was early in the morning before it had been driven that day. When it happened on Monday, she got to school fine and she was there for 3-4 hours. She went back out and it wouldn't start up then.

The only thing the dealership mentioned when we took it in the first time had something to do with a weak charge from the alternator, but since they couldn't duplicate the problem, they couldn't say that the alternator was the problem. But they didn't mention anything about loose wires.

[moonlight_night78]

If you have an Auto Zone nearby, they can check the alternator and the battery for you for free. Have you tried to jump it off from another car?

[4thHorseman]

If you have an Auto Zone nearby, they can check the alternator and the battery for you for free. Have you tried to jump it off from another car?

Yeah. When her car was at school, her mom drove over to help her out. She tried jumping it with no difference, and so did the campus security (again with no avail).

I'll have to find the nearest autozone. Thanks to everyone for the help btw.

[mortari]

I have a 2003 escape
I had to have the fuel filter and pump changed when that happened 3 months ago.

[mortari]

that sounds exactly like my symptoms

[FanboyStranger]

Weather can be a factor in getting cars to start, particularly older cars or cars with a lot of miles. Has the engine trouble been on days with rain or damp conditions? All of my cars have been beaters, and this was an occasional problem. It's a lot cheaper to find ways to make under your hood more water tight than replace a starter, which is what the problem sounds like. When you try to start the car, does any thing-- dash,lights, windows, etc-- get any power, or are you completely dead (battery terminals may be corroded, but the battery may be fine)? Also, you mentioned that the car was previously in an accident, then repaired, so I wouldn't discount the loose/improperly connected wire theory.

[4thHorseman]

Weather can be a factor in getting cars to start, particularly older cars or cars with a lot of miles. Has the engine trouble been on days with rain or damp conditions? All of my cars have been beaters, and this was an occasional problem. It's a lot cheaper to find ways to make under your hood more water tight than replace a starter, which is what the problem sounds like. When you try to start the car, does any thing-- dash,lights, windows, etc-- get any power, or are you completely dead (battery terminals may be corroded, but the battery may be fine)? Also, you mentioned that the car was previously in an accident, then repaired, so I wouldn't discount the loose/improperly connected wire theory.

I really should ask her more in depth questions about it.

The first time I thought it might be the weather. It was the first real cold night we had, so I thought maybe the cold got to it. But Monday was about as perfect as it could be (mid-70's or so, blue skies) so that threw a wrench into that theory for me.

From my understanding, it clicks and that's it. No power anywhere else.

[section 8]

Does the battery hold a charge?
Have you checked the Alternator?

[mikekerr3]

Yeah. When her car was at school, her mom drove over to help her out. She tried jumping it with no difference, and so did the campus security (again with no avail).

I'll have to find the nearest autozone. Thanks to everyone for the help btw.

Autozone's website has good instuctions how to replace parts , at least those that are replaceable by people that are not "car people" .

[jesse_custer]

Honestly, the first thing you should do is eliminate the possibility of a fucked up battery. Take the battery off the car to Autozone or a place that will test it. It will usually take an hour or more for the test. Come back. If the battery is fine, you know it's something else. If it's the battery, good. Cheap and easy fix.

[Roquefort Raider]

From my understanding, it clicks and that's it. No power anywhere else.

If that's the case I agree with SUPERECWFAN1: it sounds like a ground problem. My father in law had a similar problem a few years ago. He had driven the car to the grocery store, and when trying to get back had zero response from the car (no power anywhere). I really mean nothing at all; not even residual charge for the radio or the dashboard lights. We went to get another car to try and boost the battery, but that wasn't necessary; when we got back and tried again his car started just fine. Only the next day the problem was back.

The ground was damaged and would sometimes contact the chassis, sometimes not.