im having the same issue with the lack of transmission power, i reach 4000 rpm and the vehicle does not go anywhere really i can manage to get up to even 100km after a bit of allowing it roll and work its way up... i dont have any lights coming on due to this.. oringinally i thought maybe a engine issue.. but soon i decided it was a transmission issue.. after seeing these video's and reading this forum now i am actually questioning if it might be a plugged cat. does that really effect the power of the transmission.. or is this vehicle ment to hit 4000 without going fast... im really not looking forward to having to change the transmission cuz that will cost more then i paid for it.. it too is a 2005 ford escape hybrid. .. it has fuel milage issues whic i assume is because of sensors, it shows service emissions system when i turn the key before i start it.. anyone have any opinions or advice....

 

I really thought transmission as well before finally determining that the cat was plugged. You can remove the pre-cat O2 sensor and see if the performance improves; that should tell you if the cat is plugged. Just be sure to protect the plastic canister on the firewall so it doesn’t melt from the excessive heat coming out of the O2 port on the manifold.

 

The eCVT sounds like it's working perfectly. There is no linear (or other easily described) relationship between engine RPM and vehicle speed with these cars. There are no "gears" in the traditional sense of any automatic or manual transmission. It really is a "continuously variable" transmission and therefore the engine can be turning 1,200 RPM at 60MPH - which if it was linear (and the drivetrain produced about 1600 horsepower) would make the FEH into a 300+ mile-per-hour car - and you can also see 4,000 or more RPM at 30 MPH, and it never feels like it "shifts." It all depends on what the computer commands the drivetrain to do, trying to produce the power the driver is demanding through the throttle at the current speed and conditions. The computer controls everything including the effective "gear ratio" of the transmission.

I agree with Fuzzy317, it sounds like you have a plugged cat. The computer is trying to get more torque/hp out of the ICE engine, but the catalyst is plugged and the engine is not producing enough power. The computer compensates, says: "More RPM!" and still not enough, so you are spinning the heck out of the engine and going nowhere fast.