Q&A

The first time it happened, I drilled a hole into the pipe directly in front of the rear catalytic converter. Although loud, it did allow the car to be driven to the shop. One of the shops was the local Ford dealer/service center and the other two were independents. I park on a bit of a slope and it doesn't happen every time it rains, just seems to be heavy rains and if the car was sitting for a day or two in the rain. I see many other issues similar to this online, most ranging from coils, faulty PCM/ECM. I've already spent about $2000 on the issue and it's still there. Can't imagine what new coils, plugs, wires and a PCM/ECM would cost.

I'm having the same issue with my 2003 ford escape....did you find out the problem?

Yes I think I finally did. Knock on wood but the problem has not returned. I ended up having all of the ignition coils replaced, my mechanic discovered the faulty coils by spraying them with a little water while the engine. There were cracks in the coils themselves and when wet it was causing arcing. Hope this helps. I should mention that all catalytic converters were replaced too.

 Rookie

Great! Thank you very much..converters are expensive :(

 Enthusiast

I have had this problem many many times after rain and the vehicle not being run for that day. I have replaced 3 ignition coils so far (at various intervals) and that seems to solve the problem for a time. I have never replaced any exhaust components.