This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
I own a 2005 Ford Freestyle sel. I am experiencing engine surges (sudden acceleration) on a daily basis. The vehicle was taken to a Ford dealer where they didn't find any problems and blamed it on engine load from the ac systems. While I have not had any accidents yet I have on several occasions been forced to stand on the brake to avoid hitting other vehicles and in one case a pedestrian. Ford won't do anything because they say that they can't find anything wrong and there are not recalls.
Our 2005 Ford Freestyle is lunging forward at low speeds. We need to firmly press on the brakes to stop it which is very dangerous! at this point, the engine stalls. It seems clear this is a very common issue in this vehicle due to a malfunctioning throttle body. This is not safe and there needs to be a recall to permanently fix the issue!
The vehicle on a very hot day 95 degrees out with the A/C on high was put into reverse with foot on the brake and the car surged backwards and went into safety mode. Had to drive the car home in safety mode. My wife says it happened a few times to her also. The upper motor mount on the engine has totally fell apart, the rubber bushing dried out and is gone. Called Ford and they told me the part is $230.
My wife drives a 2005 Ford Freestyle and it has a tendency to lunge forward when put into drive, without her foot on the gas pedal. She keeps her foot on the brake, but it still lunges. This also happens when she puts the car in reverse. I drove the car Saturday and experienced it for myself. I feel that this is unsafe and am debating parking the vehicle until something is done.
- Choudrant, LA, USA
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I noticed on yesterday's news that my vehicle and problem is under investigation, so I want to add my voice to the number who have had a similar problem. My 2005 Ford Freestyle lurches unexpectedly. It will only occur for a few seconds. I have owned the car for 1.5 years, and it has happened on 2 separate occasions. Both times I was traveling very slowly preparing to enter a parking stall. Fortunately I already had my foot on the brake, so not damage or injuries occurred.
Vehicle surges forward and in reverse, even when foot is applied to the brake. This happens on a daily basis nearly every time the vehicle is driven and is very dangerous, especially when in traffic and while maneuvering in parking lots. The surges are unpredictable and occur mainly when the vehicle is initially placed into drive or reverse, but can happen randomly while just sitting with it in gear. It has been happening for over two years now. The engine safe light has come on two occasions in the past two months as well, but has cleared itself after switching the car off, then back on.
I bought a used 2005 Ford Freestyle and it has been a good car up until the past 6 months. Within those months I have had the engine mounting bracket break and the car, during stop and go driving, will randomly lunge forward or backward. When the car decides to lunge, even with your foot on the break, it is not stopped completely. I have contacted Ford about this issue and have done numerous hours of research myself. All of the research that I have done points to the throttle body going bad, however, Ford denies that there is any kind of a safety issue and that there is no recall. Ford will however, gladly charge me $600 to replace it. When there is a safety problem with a vehicle, and random, uncontrollable lunges are a safety problem, the dealer should take responsibility and fix the defective part. With the hundreds of posts that I have read by other Freestyle owners with the same problems, most of which have been in the past 2 years, the part should defintely be recalled and fixed by Ford.
Have a 2005 Ford Freestyle- with a throttle body issue. The part is on back order- no rental given by company. "fail safe engine mode" and check engine light is one because of it- they insist that it is safe to drive (I drive 75 miles back and forth to work everyday). I am sorry- but driving that many miles- with my children in the car as well- while the engine is failing- is never safe. Because of the jolting forward and backwards while in this mode- I can't even count how many times I have almost hit another car, or a pedestrian! what happens when the engine does fail- is Ford going to replace that?
When sitting idle with A/C on, engine revs on it's own and has gone into failsafe mode. When going from park to reverse, car lunges while in reverse causing a significant safety issue if the brake is not applied quick enough. The car also lunges forward when going from park to drive. The car has a tendency to lunge at a stoplight and then shut off and go into failsafe mode forcing a restart of the car once it has been taken out of drive and back into park. This has been going on for a few months, but we can't afford to fix it until next month. Even when we do go to order a new throttle body through Ford, which is what was recommended to fix the problem, it's apparently on a horrendous backorder until further notice.
I have a 2005 Ford Freestyle with a cvt transmission. The car did not show any previous signs of problems or engine indicator lights. In may of 2009 the car had approximately 42,000 miles on it. I was driving approximately 30 mph when the transmission "slipped a rod" causing the transmission to explode leaving pieces of the transmission on the road way. During the explosion, pieces from the transmission damaged other parts of the engine. A new transmission was required.
2005 Ford Freestyle - I am having problems with the car randomly lurching it has happened while backing up and moving forward - after the lurch it may be fine other times it shuts off or the car goes into fail safe mode. Particular worries me while backing up in parking lots and such worried it would cause me to hit someone/ something. It has done this on quite a few occasions over several months and seems to have become worse during the hotter months.
2005 Ford Freestyle limited AWD. The vehicle, when A/C unit is on and outside temperature is between 80 and 90 degree F, surges forward violently, approx. 1 to 2 feet, while trying to slow down or stop. Then engine goes into safe mode and stalls. When researching this problem on the website myfordfreestyle.com there was information about the possible cause of the surge. The Ford service dept. Recommends replacing the throttle body due to excess sludge build up inside the unit. $700 plus fix. I took my car into the Ford service dept. In my area, gave the description of the problem, they said it was probably the throttle body and that I would have to get this replaced and that the car was unsafe to drive due to the surging. Ford says the throttle body is on back order.
For several months we had noticed that when we shifted our vehicle into gear (forward or reverse) the car would lurch forward/backward as we came off the brake. Several weeks ago, my wife had the vehicle in line at my daughters elementary school driveway waiting to pick her up. As she released pressure on the brake, the vehicle unexpectedly jumped forward and she needed to slam on the brakes to stop it. The engine then went into "failsafe mode" and ran on diminished performance until she was able to get the vehicle home. Upon examination, it was determined that the throttle body needed to be replaced on a car with 65,000 miles. It was the faulty throttle body that had been causing the car to unexpectedly lurch/surge forward. I am filing this complaint because it appears that it is not an isolated issue for the vehicle and it is a family vehicle which means that there are many of them sitting in school parking lots and pick up lanes. As you can imagine a vehicle that unexpectedly surges forward in an area full of children caused a great deal of concern to my wife and I. in my research there appears to be technical service bulletins issued by Ford regarding this matter and although my car had been in for it 60K service just months before, there was no mention of a problem with the throttle body. The Ford dealer wasted no time telling us that the part is not covered under their extended power train warranty which I had on the vehicle. Quite honestly, that was not my main concern as a child could have easily been harmed by this faulty throttle body and the symptoms it produces. The dealer replaced the throttle body and cleaned the injectors and the vehicle is running better.
When brakes are engaged, vehicle attempts to speed up. Have to bare down on brakes to slow down. Sometimes this causes the engine to go into a back up safety mode. Twice vehicle cut off and had to be restarted.
My 2005 Ford Freestyle has been having problems with surging forward especially when moving slowly back and forth into a parking spot. Sometimes right after the idle surges, the idle will also suddenly drop, and now at times it even stalls. The surge causes the car to accelerate and I'm forced to modulate the brakes to avoid unexpected movement of the car. It usually happens when conditions are warm, the car is warm, and the ac is on. I have taken this car to Ford in the past, and they have not been able to correct it. I am taking it in again as the stalling problem has become more pronounced. When I googled for problems with Ford Freestyles doing this, I found others have registered complaints exactly the same as mine.
Sudden loss of power while driving, has happened 3 times already. Happens when it's rainy, after not driving the car for a day. Can be really bad if happens on the highway - you step on gas and there's no response (the engine is running) - the car can essentially stop by itself in the middle of the road. Date of first incident reported, mileage at the time - 90,000.
2005 Ford Freestyle SE: Throttle body problem led to intermittent sudden loss of power in traffic, engine surging and car lurching at idle. Frequency of incidence increased during snowy weather. Took my local Ford dealer nearly 8 months to correctly diagnosis & repair problem. (date listed is first incident.)
The contact owns a 2005 Ford Freestyle. The contact stated that the engine failed in safe mode. While driving at various speeds, the engine shuts off. The Ford manufacturer stated that they did not have the parts available to repair the vehicle. The failure mileage was 70,000.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Elgin, IL, USA