Just wanted to provide an update to my Redskins brethren, just in case they run into the same issue that I ran into.
I took my car (Ford Escape) to a local transmission shop that has been in business for years. They found that it was NOT a transmission problem, but a catalytic converter problem. This particular vehicle has 3 catalytic converters (WTF?) and one of the front converters had literally disintegrated and pieces of it lodged into the rear converter. The exhaust system was literally clogged up and the behavior exihibited was one of a transmission problem where the car was sluggish and appeared not to be able to smoothly shift into gear. To replace 2 of the 3 converters was going to cost over $2,000 parts and labor. Ouch.
But, here's the kicker: there is a federallymandated manufacturer's emissions warranty for catalytic converters (and other emissions related parts) for up to 8 years or 80,000 miles, whichever comes first. This has nothing to do with your bumper-to-bumper or drivetrain warranty. This is a warranty that covers everyone for vehicles manufactured after 1995.
My vehicle had 75,000 miles on it, which means I was covered. :jump: The local Ford dealership had to replace both bad converters free of charge. And they even covered 2 days for my car rental, which they didn't have to legally do under this warranty. So, kudos to them for that. And the way the transmission shop and the dealership explained it to me, there are SEVERE penalites (hefty fines, prison, etc.) imposed by the government if any auto shop does not disclose this warranty to a customer. The service manager at the dealership told me that they make these kinds of repairs "under duress". :rotflmao:
Side note: some of you probably know that I'm kind of a right-wing nutjob that wants to gut the Federal government. So, you must be thinking I'm a hypocrite to take "advantage" of this Federal law. Well, the way I see it, if the Federal government mandates that auto manufacturers install these emissions-related parts in their cars to abide by emission standards (which the cost of course gets passed on to consumers), then they damn well better protect the consumer from manufacturers skimping on material and installing cheap parts. I believe that's why this warranty law was passed to begin with. Anyway, that's my justification and I'm sticking to it.