Since day 1 of buying this vehicle, I have noted a vibration in the pedal when it goes from 69 to 70. Judging from the audible RPMs, the vehicle is shifting gears. It only happens on the way up, not down, and does not happen all of the time. When I first got the vehicle , I also noticed that the shifting was pretty jerky. I took it in less than a week after getting it. Leftit with the dealership all day. They took it for a test drive and reported that there was no issue with the vehicle.I reluctantly took it home.

A few weeks later, the jerkiness sort of cleared up. Either I got used to the way I should drive it, or the ECMs "learned" how to compensate for my driving. Maybe a little of both. After about a year, I took it in again for the vibration in the pedal. The Service Manager himsefl went on the road with me. I felt this was good service. Neither of us could get the vibration to occur. (It almost never does if you try - I don't know why). He assured me the vehicle was fine, so I took it home.

Last week (the car is now 19 months old and is at 15,500 miles) I took it in elsewhere for an oil change. I was asked how I liked the vehicle and mentioned the one problem with the shifting. (BTW, I love everything else about my Escape) He said he's have a look. I picked up my Escape after the oil change and I was told that the transmission fluid was very dark and that there is a problem with the transmission. I was advised that there was another 2009 Escape that the mechanic had been involved with and it had the same problem and the tranny seized up at about 18,000 miles.

I took it in today and was told that a "special" kind of fluid is used in the 2009 Escapes that is darker than the regular stuff and it should never be used as an indicator of a transmission problem. The service guy showed me this service letter: 21138 AUTO TRANS - MERCON LV FLUID COLOR

SOME 2008-2010 VEHICLES, EQUIPPED WITH AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION FACTORY FILLED WITH MERCON LV FLUID (PART # XT-10-QLV), MAY EXHIBIT DARK COLORED TRANS FLUID THAT MAY LOOK BURNT IN APPEARANCE. THIS IS A NORMAL

CHARACTERISTIC OF THIS FLUID AND WILL NOT AFFECT TRANSMISSION FUNCTION OR DURABILITY. THE MERCON LV FLUID IS A DEEP RED COLOR, COMPARED TO CONVENTIONAL MERCON V BRIGHT RED FLUID, AND THE COLOR NATURALLY DARKENS AT RELATIVELY LOW MILEAGE. IN SOME CASES, THE FLUID MAY APPEAR TO HAVE A GREEN TINT DUE TO DYE USED TO CHECK FOR LEAKS AT THE ASSEMBLY PLANT. TRANS FLUID COLOR SHOULD NOT BE USED AS SOLE INDICATOR FOR TRANSMISSION REPAIRS.

REFER TO THE CORRECT VEHICLE AND MODEL YEAR WORKSHOP MANUAL AND/OR MAINTENANCE GUIDE FOR DIAGNOSTICS, REPAIRS, AND/OR SCHEDULED MAINTENANCE.

Maybe I'm completely out to lunch here. I am not a mechanic. BUT this seems like a story to try and hold off concerned customers. What is so special about the 2008 and 2009 Escapes that their transmissions require a completely different transmission fluid? Could this just be a way to try and stall all of the customers long enough that their warranties run out?

Not impressed. I just want my tranny fixed. I have always been a loyal Ford customer, and this isn't likely to change, but it will be the last BRAND NEW vehicle I buy from them. I bought new to avoid precisely this sort of thing - problems that won't get looked after by the seller.

Update from Dec 7, 2010: The day I posted this Ford called me back to say they discovered a Service Letter that covers the problem. The ABS performs a "self-test" at 22 Km/h and 68 km/h. I did not ever feel a vibration at 22 km/h, but my problem definitely occurred near 68 km/h (I had thought 69, but close enough). They performed an ECM update on the ABS system and I have not had the problem since. Good stuff! My only complaint at this time is that I have been living with this problem for 18 months and taken the car back it three times to complain about it. I would think that they either could have searched out the problem in their service letters earlier or when that service letter came out have been reminded of my problem so they could have me come in a fix it. It turns out the ABS self-test is not destructive and so nothing is wrong with my SUV. Nice relief. I just wich I could have enjoyed my SUV from day 1 instead of from day 545. I do not know the release date of the service letter.