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I have a 2009 Ford Edge AWD with around 110k miles. Automatic transmission. No previous issues.

It has recently started experiencing a very brief loss of power.

Here are some things I've noticed:

  1. It always happens between 45-55 MPH. It has never happened below or above that range.
  2. It only happens when I have the gas pedal pressed in around 5-10%. So it only happens when I'm maintaining speed. It never happens when I'm idling or losing speed. It also never happens if I press the gas pedal further than around 10%. The only sure way that I've found to prevent it is to press the gas down and accelerate moderately hard up and then quickly release the gas and idle until I need to increase speed again.
  3. It happens on both flat sections of roads and on hills (both up and down).
  4. I would consider them to be "stutters" as they only last about 0.5 seconds. However, if I don't either release the gas or press the gas further, they will continue to occur with about 1 second between each stutter.

If needed I can record a video while intentionally causing the issue. Anything I could experiment with to help narrow down the potential cause?

Do you think it's a transmission issue? Maybe some sort of gas intake issue? An ECM issue? Engine issue? Spark plugs? Any suggestions would be appreciated. I'm not a car guy but I'm confident I could fix some smaller issues myself if I knew which direction to go.

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  • Could you specify which motor you have? It sounds like it could be a VVT solenoid or cam position sensor problem or an exhaust valve control solenoid? Just spit-balling off of the top of my head. Do any warnings or lights come on during this or at any other time driving the vehicle?
    – Reed
    May 30, 2017 at 16:54
  • Hey Reed. It doesn't have any warnings or lights at any time, even when experiencing the stutters. I have the SEL model, but I think it's just the normal 3.5L V6 engine. Is there anything specific that you need me to look at with the motor?
    – Wes
    May 30, 2017 at 17:01
  • Unfortunately, stutters are really hard to 'see' so to say. Because it could be any one of the issues I listed, or all of them, or none of them. It makes it even tougher with there's no code associated. Your best bet would be to take it to your mechanic who can manually cycle these solenoids and diagnose your issue better than we can through the keyboard. Good luck! :)
    – Reed
    May 30, 2017 at 17:14
  • Welcome to the site. There are a few details missing about your car that can help us help you. What engine? When was the last time is was serviced? Is the Check Engine Light or Service Light on? Have you had the codes read? Has any maintenance been done recent to this problem? Please use the edit feature to add these details.
    – CharlieRB
    May 30, 2017 at 19:31
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    Checked your throttle position sensor?
    – tlhIngan
    May 30, 2017 at 21:58

2 Answers 2

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I had the exact symptom on my 2008 CX-9 which I believe has the same engine as the Edge [edit: actually mine is the 3.7 not 3.5 as I have read in the comment section]. In my case, the tiny stuttering advanced to a misfire on Cylinder 2... a bunch of experimentation (swapping spark plug, swapping injector, swapping coil) and time, finally proved it was the plugs. Got a new set, issue gone.

Before "fixing", I noticed that idle was okay for the most part, very gently pushing the gas it will start to stumble but accelerating a little more would push through the stuttering. Your method #2 for dealing with it, was exactly what I would do.

I was determined not to use a parts cannon so it took a number of weeks to prove, as swapping the location of plugs in cylinders 2 and 6, stopped the misfire for a couple of weeks... but it returned and eventually I caught the culprit.

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Pre-cat O2 sensor. Should give a code on the OBD, but not if it is just starting to fail. Changing plugs and plug wires could make the symptoms go away for a while, but as the sensor continues to weaken, the problem comes back.

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