03 Escape, dead battery now rough idle

Hi all, I'm new to this forum and not knowledgeable about cars at all. I have an '03 Escape XLT that I got 2nd hand 2 years ago and it has been great. Currently has about 68K miles. I brought it in recently (to a local reputable mechanic) for the following things: check bouncy ride and do alignment, check low oil, and tune-up. They replaced some shocks and an alignment arm and the ride is very nice. They also replaced the oil pan gasket and did a tune up including new spark plugs.

Car ran fine but on 3rd day of driving, after several short, local trips, I parked then set the alarm and noticed it sounded weak. When I came back out an hour later the car wouldn't start and just clicked. Got a jump, drove for a while to try to charge battery and then went home. I hadn't remembered leaving any lights on that day and this all happened in the day time, but I had my 1 year old with me so maybe I got distracted. The next morning car started right up and battery diagnostic showed battery was good and nearly fully charged. Drove a few more days without incident, then today the car idled really rough as soon as I started it up and didn't sound good as continued driving a short ways. The engine light also flashed on and off. I drove 2 miles, parked and then started car back up and returned home. The car continued to run rough on the return trip and the engine light came on and stayed on.

So my question is: could the dead battery and rough ride be related? And could either/both issues be related to the mechanic's recent work? Finally, will my local mechanic be able to do the computer diagnostic tests that the dealer will? I appreciate any help or suggestions. I need my car for work and often have my baby with me so I'm totally stressed about these issues! Thank you in advance!

Take your Escape to a local Auto Parts store to have the battery load tested, and to pull the Diagnostic Trouble code for free.

Basically you need a new battery. I have a 2001 Expedition and have had severals issues with starting and bad idle with a weak battery. Especially with low cranking amps.
Franco

Last fall my 02 battery went out. Basically did the same as you report. Since it was 7 years old, I didn't even load test it, just replaced and it ran fine.

Thanks everyone for the replies! Yep, I needed a new battery. The rough idle has disappeared. The night before the rough idle started I had trouble finding a gas station and got quite low on gas, finally filling up just before home. Maybe the gunk from the tank got pulled out and caused the rough ride the next morning. I used to run on E all the time (before kids!) and never had anything like that happen before but who knows. All seems well, hope I don't need to see a mechanic again for a LONG time. Thanks again!