2006 Ford Five Hundred Surging and Power Loss

[LeeVondrak]

Hello:

 

I am new to this site and would like to hear what people have to say about the problems I have been having with my 2006 Ford Five Hundred (approx. 138,000 miles). I do not know much about cars, but here it goes.

 

My first experience with the issue was on a 4 hour drive (all interstate). We had been driving for 3.5 hours when suddenly the car would not accelerate properly. When I pressed the gas pedal down, the RPMs would get abnormally high then go normal then back to high. I kept driving and about 20 minutes later the same thing happened. However, this time it failed to accelerate at all. We pulled over to the shoulder where it proceeded to die. I shut it off, took the keys out for a minute or two, then started it up with no problems. At this point I knew something was wrong. I was so close to my destination I figured I could kind of nurse it to the finish line. A couple miles later the RPMs jumped around as before. I did not want to take any chances; I pulled over and got it towed.

 

The following day I took it in to a Ford dealer to get it looked at. They said I was missing the transmission dipstick. They replaced the dipstick and the tube that it sets in. They said the absence of the dipstick was probably allowing transmission fluid to burp up out of the tube. They topped my fluids off and said I was good to go. I made another 3.5 hour trip without any problems. Leaving for another 3 hour trip, I experienced the same issues as I did on the 4 hour trip (surging, loss of power, trouble accelerating) on three separate time throughout the trip; I followed the same regiment of turning the car off, taking the keys out, and starting it back up.

 

Each event occurred while I was driving in and out of hills on the interstate at speeds above 60 mph. These issues seem to me, with my novice experience to cars, that there is an issue with the transmission. However, with the problems only occurring on hills, it makes me think that the fuel pump is going bad as it is not able to pump the unlevel amount of gas in the tank. I am not even sure if that makes sense. I may be unrelated, but I do hear some whining when the car is being driven.

 

So, all that being said, do you guys have an insight to this type of problem? Have any of you experienced these same issues? Do you have a suggestions on what my next course of action should be? Is it the transmission? fuel pump? or something else?

 

Please let me know what you think. Any help is appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

-Lee V.