Questionmy wife and 2 daughters are on their way to arizona from ny.they are driving 8 hours a day.at the end of the second day,they got gas and when climbing hills,even not steep ones,the car started to lose power and eventually stall.she had it towed and they could not find anything wrong the next day.when I first bought the car this year,I noticed that sometimes it would start lose power if Iwere merging on to a highway and had to give it gasto accelerate.I would take my foot of the ges a little and it would be fine.I do not know if they are related.
AnswerSteve, what you describe could be fuel pump problem, and it can be an intermittant concern... making it hard to diagnose when you take it into the the shop!
If the Ford dealer has the vehicle, they can look at a little more data than the independants can... fuel trim at present may not show the problem, but mode6 data might shed some light on the problem. It is also worth looking at the BARO sensor readings, and make sure they are accurate for the altitude for which you are driving. DPFE can also cause some crazy things with fuel control, so they will probably also check that.
From your wife, you've probably already made sure that the engine wasn't overheating and the oil pressure was OK when the loss of power occurred. Did she have a 'check engine' lamp on? That will give a repair facility a clue as to which diagnostic procedure should be checked out.
Hope this helps... obviously, you can't do much from a remote location (neither can I, but these ideas may help you compare them to what a local shop says they find) I would suggest using the local Ford dealer for several reasons - 1) they should be best equipped and trained for your car... 2) they should have a warranty for their work that can be carried to any other Ford dealer - something you need if you don't plan to be in that area next week!
Clay
