You are not alone in trying to figure this out. I too have gotten into a position where rpms top out and there I am stuck and rockin and not rollin. I seem to top out at about 2500 and it is after I have been towing a load for awile and am on an uphill. At other times one of my front wheels drops into a hole to the hubs and though I get spin at the back it has pulled out with no problem. I have friends who have had your problem in snow trying to get back on a hard surface.

My first thought is that the 4WD is being automatically locked or disabled because of heat but no one, including myself, has noticed any indicator light in the message center like it is supposed to. I have then turned off the car for a few minutes, turned it back on and run a system check which shows '4 X 4 OK' and I seem to be then able to move forward again. You might try it yourself and watch for indicators.

In darker moments I start to think this loss of power under certainly less than 'extreme off-road conditions' (Ford's language for the override) is the result of a firmware bug in the 4WD sensor of the Powertrain Control Module because it seems to be shutting down my engine for no good reason but not giving me a blinking indicator light like it should. I have gone through the workshop manual but have yet to find a description of this kind of failure.

Perhaps someone else out there has a better idea.

Mike

Mike Maline - Sdctcher
2005 Ford Escape Hybrid Owner
California School Teacher