Car Shaking at a Red Light… Any Thoughts?

I was stopped at a red light today, and my car started shaking really hard, front to back—so bad that I was actually moving.

I knew I needed to pull over, but as soon as I started to, this message popped up, and the car went into neutral. I had to restart it, but it took about 5 tries before it finally started again.

I always keep the auto start-stop turned off because I’ve had issues before, but this still happened.

Any ideas on what’s going on? I’m taking it in next week, but I have to wait for an appointment.

(Not my pic, but this is the same message I saw.)

Check your battery or replace it.

Zayden said:
Check your battery or replace it.

But it doesn’t sound like a dead battery when I try to start it…

Nuri said:

Zayden said:
Check your battery or replace it.

But it doesn’t sound like a dead battery when I try to start it…

I’m a Ford/Lincoln tech, and I own a ‘17 Escape with the 1.5L. Trust me—charge or replace the battery. Auto start-stop won’t work properly otherwise.

Sounds like it needs a new battery.

Yep, I agree—it’s usually the battery when auto start-stop starts acting up.

Will it start now? When mine did this back in April, my engine died while I was driving. Car wouldn’t move and had to be towed.

Ended up needing a whole new engine. It’s been a nightmare ever since. Honestly, I wish I had just taken the loss instead of replacing it because the new engine has been nothing but problems too.

I can’t even go up a hill without getting an ‘Engine Fault Service Now’ warning. And every time I take it in, no codes show up. It’s so frustrating. Ford knows how bad these engines are, but I was past the mileage limit for the recall, so I had to pay out of pocket.

@Flynn
Wow, that sounds like a nightmare! Mine did eventually start after a few tries.

Nuri said:
@Flynn
Wow, that sounds like a nightmare! Mine did eventually start after a few tries.

Glad it started! Hoping it’s just a battery issue for you.

Mine wasn’t so lucky. The crazy part? I had just picked it up from the shop the day before for new brakes, rotors, oil change, and some other stuff to pass inspection. Dropped $1,200 on it.

Literally drove it up the street, and bam, engine died in the middle of a busy intersection. The shop guys came out to help, but even they couldn’t get it started. Had to push it into a parking lot.

Took the shop two weeks to tell me I needed a whole new engine. Called Ford multiple times, and they refused to help. Just a complete waste of time and money. Hope yours turns out to be something simple!