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.
2007 Freestyle sel AWD w/50,000 miles surges at low speeds and stalls at high speeds. The wrench light comes on and the vehicle enters "limp" mode until vehicle is restarted. The dealership was unable to recover error codes when I took it in for diagnostics. However, based on my verbal description of the problem alone he suggested replacement of the entire throttle body assembly, saying "this is a very common issue for the Freestyle, 500, and edge." I am still deciding whether to spend the $1000 they quoted me for replacement (a Firestone service center quoted me $750). For one, I can't understand how such a dangerous malfunction is allowed to go unaddressed. Two, how can the throttle body assembly, which controls the entire powertrain, not be covered by a powertrain warranty" and three, if it is such a common problem that by verbal description alone, a dealer knows a major component needs replacement, why is this not being addressed by Ford at a national level" here's my vote of no confidence.
This has happened multiple times - more frequent during summer months - the engine lunges (both in drive and reverse) when my foot is firmly on the brake. Occasionally, when in reverse, it will lunge, then the engine will die. When I put the car in park and restart it the wrench light comes on. Ford says they can find nothing wrong with the car. Hopefully it will not continue to lunge when people are standing in a crosswalk.
Bought a used 2007 Ford Freestyle limited 3.0 duratec engine, cvt automatic transmission 2 weeks prior to incident. Had Ford dealer tune-up the engine, replace front crankshaft seal on engine and replace the cvt fluid & filters as well as perform a multi-point inspection. After work performed (which required the removal of the intake manifold w/throttle body attached for the tune-up) the vehicle now surges badly when in reverse pulling out of parking spot. Does so quite powerfully and is very dangerous to any life & property that is around the vehicle when surging occurs unexpectedly. No doubt in my mind had my wife been driving she would have panicked and there would have been a loss of life or property. Fortunately I was driving and managed (just barely) to maintain control. Took back to dealer to diagnose and was quoted the throttle body needed to be R/R'd. was told by service manager Ford was well aware of the issue but has failed to respond with a recall.
2007 Ford Freestyle surged forward as I was stopped for a traffic light. The "wrench" light illuminated on the dashboard. I took the car to my local Ford dealership where I purchased it. I was told the diagnostic code indicated the electronic throttle control assembly module needed to be replaced. The installation would cost about $700. The part was ordered in late July. It is now October and the part has not arrived. The problem has not re-occurred. It was very hot that day and the A/C was on.
Car surges forward at low speeds, especially when the ac is on, and sometimes feels like it is trying to keep moving under its own power even when my foot is only on the brake. The check engine light is not on so I'm told nothing is wrong.
My 2007 Ford Freestyle with approximately 56-60,000 miles would lurch forward or backward after sitting in park for a couple minutes (warmup, etc.). I always cover my brake with my left foot fortunately which prevented me from moving too far. This would almost without exception make the 'check engine' light come on and it would run very rough. I would have to turn off the ignition and then restart the vehicle. The local dealer did diagnose and repair the throttle body control (what I was told) under my extended warranty. It cost me my deductible but that took care of the problem for now. It may have had something to do with the 'drive by wire' controls/computer for the throttle body. Whatever it was the repair seemed to have taken care of it for now.
When shifting into drive or reverse from park or neutral, the transmission takes several seconds to engage and when it does it lurches forward or backward with no input to the gas pedal. You must have your foot on the brake and be ready to press down hard to keep the car from lunging forward or backward. Also, when creeping forward in parking lots or other slow moving situations and applying a small amount of throttle, the car will lunge forward at a much greater speed than what commanded at the gas pedal. This is an especially dangerous situation because in parking lots there are other people or cars, potentially close by that could be struck.
I have a 2007 Ford Freestyle that "surges" when it is put into reverse or into drive, this occurs on a daily basis. It is a very dangerous situation. I have 2 small children & this makes me feel very unsafe. After taking it to the Ford dealership to see what the problem was it was determined that the throttle body needed replacing. There happened to be a car exactly like mine in their shop having the exact same repair. I did some research & found that this seems to be a universal problem with this vehicle.
My car lunges forward or backwards even if the brake is firmly engaged. It is even worse if the car has been idle for a few minutes. It will throw a wrench in the warning light on the dash, stall out and I have to turn the car off then on again. It seems to be worse if it's hot outside. This car is very dangerous. You have no control over it lunging forward. There needs to be a recall on this. There are numerous complaints all over the internet and on here.
I took my Ford Freestyle into the dealer today to have it looked at because it was lurching and not getting enough power. It was diagnosed with...bad throttle body...and the mechanic had the nerve to suggest that it only happens to cars that aren't maintained properly by the owners. I explained that mine is well maintained and I have records to show for it, then he gave me the wonderful news that it would only cost me $1,188.93 to fix it. He acted like it was a real rarity for this to happen and that I was getting a huge deal. He even charged me $99 for the privilege of diagnosing the problem. Then he came back to me and warned me that it could stop or "the engine could seize" if I drove it still. When I wouldn't take the bait, he called me later at home and suggested they could give me a small discount for the repair. Then he once again warned that it's very unsafe to drive. By the way, I'm a single woman and the car has only 47K on it. I'm feeling pretty confident that the increased cost was associated with my gender...so, what others were told would cost them about $700 or so, I was informed would be almost $1,200 - guess it's more expensive to fix the problem when a woman is the primary driver!!! when I googled the Freestyle name I found out that this problem is very very common with other vehicle owners. I'm seriously disgusted that Ford and their representatives would try to cover up or ignore this problem and even allow drivers back on the road when this type of thing is occurring. It's an accident waiting to happen.
I was driving my Freestyle thru the carpool lane at school. I was moving very slowly, stop and go, without my foot on the brake or the accelerator. The car "lurched" forward suddenly. My left foot is always at the corner of the brake due to a problem I had with the accelerator cable in another vehicle. If my foot had not been on that brake, I would have definitely hit the car in front of me...or a child!!! a police officer standing right there, gave me a very mean look when this happened, as it was a truly unsafe driver. This has only happened to me the one time. I took it to a Ford dealership the next day. The repair it very costly. Its the "throttle body assembly", this seems to be a large problem with the Freestyle. I then spoke to a Ford customer representative, with no positive outcome. Upon checking this online, I realize that this is a common occurrence with the Freestyle. So I am "stuck" driving a very unsafe vehicle. I also have a delay in the shifting of the car from park to reverse, and from reverse to drive. Ford says that is a dirty transmission, and needs to be flushed..again pricey. I really feel that there should be a recall. How many children are at risk with this problem? this vehicle is very conducive to children, and I see many of these vehicles at schools. I have had over 15 Ford, and this is the worst service that I have ever had. I insist that something be done, before people are killed for a Ford issue that they are "aware" of!
2005 Ford Freestyle limited with 52,000 miles "lurches" in forward and reverse. Cost to replace throttle body part exceed $600. This vehicle is dangerous to drive. After further online research there are many same complaints. This issue should be properly reviewed for recall by Ford asap to minimize damages as a result of faulty parts.
We've had our 2007 Ford Freestyle for about 2 weeks, but today my wife was driving her Freestyle and had come to a complete stop at an intersection. Suddenly it surged while her foot was on the brake. She said she started through the intersection and couldn't get the car to go regardless of how had she pressed the accelerator ( engine did not race ) and finally gained speed. She immediately made her way home and told me her experience. I drove it myself and it (surging) happened to me when I stopped at a local auto parts store to see if they could pull trouble codes, which they couldn't read. We then left and I continued to drive it to see if it would still happen and it did when we were backing up at a local restaurant. We immediately came home and parked it. The reason we are writing this now, instead of waiting to see what a service rep would say, is because upon returning home we did a search on the net and found many stories of the exact same problem. Frankly I'm surprised we didn't hit something today. This appears to be a serious situation Ford needs to be held accountable for and issue an immediate recall.
For approximately 2 months, my 2007 Ford Freestyle has been surging when I put the car in reverse or when I go forward after being stopped, at say a redlight. Last week, my vehicle started dying on me and the wrench symbol would come on and the surging would be worse. Of course when I got it to the Ford dealership the wrench symbol was no longer on so they found nothing when the diagnostic test was performed. After leaving it there for 5 days I took it home and the next day it died and the wrench symbol came on again. I immediately took it back to the dealership and after the diagnostic was ran it was determined it was the throttle body that needed replaced.
2007 Ford Freestyle throttle body vehicle progressively feeling more rough at idling (while waiting at a stop light). On August 7 2010 I backed out of a parking space then with my foot on the brake shifted into drive. The vehicle started lurching forward overriding my foot on the brake. Indicator light came on the dash panel came on which indicated a transmission fault had been detected. I took the vehicle to the local Ford dealer who said that the throttle body needed to be replaced.
My 2007 Ford Freestyle has 64,446 miles and was purchased new. In the past 2 months, the car has developed a problem with rapid acceleration that occurs without warning and it happens in forward as well as reverse. It seems to be worse when it's hot & the A/C is on. I have almost rear-ended several cars while stopped at a light & almost "lurched" into a pedestrian in a parking lot. I took the car to my local Ford dealer and they diagnosed the problem as the electronic throttle body is bad and has to be replaced and the part & repair is not going to be covered by my extended warranty. This is a safety hazard to both the driver and public since it occurs without any warning and the "lurching" sends the car forward or backward at a sudden speed. Something should be done to alert the public.
When I put my car in drive or reverse and sometimes while idle it will accelerate highly without me touching the gas pedal and if I don't have my foot on the brake it will just take off. It will then try to go forward or backward and sometimes goes dead and wont let me re-crank it for a few minutes. It started out doing this every once in a while. Now it does it all the time. If im not careful im afraid it will Ram into another vehicle or even person if im in a parking lot. This started approx a year ago off and on and recently started doing it enough for me to be able to get it looked at. Ford dealership says its the throttle body. I see that this has been a problem for several vehicle types with the same throttle body problem, there still has not been a recall and it can be dangerous. After purchasing a brand new vehicle you would think the parts would be of top quality and not break after just a few years especially the throttle body. The throttle body is one of the main parts of the powertrain.
Putting vehicle into drive caused vehicle to "lurch" forward at high RPM. Wrench idiot line came on, car would not accelerate past 30mph. Had to turn car off in the middle of a busy intersection with children in the car and restart vehicle to clear condition and make car drivable.
My 2007 Ford Freestyle limited experienced unexpected surging forward and surging while in reverse. Incident happened twice in the same day. Warning lights came on. Car was taken to local Ford dealership for evaluation. Diagnostics indicated that the throttle body was bad and needed replaced. We were informed that there was a national shortage of replacement throttle body assemblies for this model and that the part was on back order. Estimated time frame the dealership expected the part was mid August. A general internet search revealed many similar stories of Ford Freestyle owners with similar year cars with similar mileage I suggest an investigation be conducted into why there is a shortage of this part ie to many similar model cars with faulty parts to keep up with demand. This poses as safety concern for my family as unexpected surges could lead to fatal accidents.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Minneapolis, MN, USA