Ford Repair: 2006 ford escape, inertia switch, ford dealer

Question
Hi there,
  My daughter has a 2006 escape with a problem and the local Ford dealer sucks.
The car has 5200 miles on it. the other day the engine stopped on her. She managed to restart and move about 20 feet. It stopped again and again restarted to get it out of traffic.
  The local dealer said the fuel shut-off senser was bad. They chenged it after accusing her of getting hit from the rear, which didn't happen because the dirt is still in tact.
  The engine now hesitates and almost stops but smooths out a while then again hesitates.
   Ford says there is nothing wrong.
What do you think other than me going kick butt.
   Any suggestion will be appreciated.

Thanks
Elton


Answer
Elton-

  Well, first let me recommend that if you do go back to the dealership, keep a level head.  I worked at a dealership briefly and let me tell you, threats and shouting don't get you anywhere.  But then again, I left after getting sick of arguing with the service manager...usually on the behalf of the customer.  The fact of the matter is that if the fuel pump safety switch had been tripped (like...say...in a non-existant rear end impact), she wouldn't have been able to move the car at all.  That inertia switch is there for a reason...to keep the fuel pump off no matter what in the instance of a crash.  With such a new car it's really hard for me to even guess at the problem, but if there are no engine codes (no check engine light), I'd start by looking at the fuel system.  If everything checks out ok there, move onto the ignition system.  And, if at all possible, take it to another dealership or a shop that covers warrantied work.  It really doesn't sound like this dealership is going to play ball with you.  Hope this helps.

Steve