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.
First incident - hot July day, 2011; idling in traffic with the air conditioning on; car lunged forward a few times; aggressively applied the brakes and the car stalled each time. Subsequent incidents - all similar. Air conditioner on; proceeding slowly out of a parking spot when the car lunges forward. Have not sought service as many blogs indicate the problem has not been properly diagnosed.
The car was surging and lurching forward even when the brake was engaged. We had near misses running in to cars in front of us just trying to get it to a safe location as we were stuck in a parking lot and in stop and go traffic. While on the interstate is would just loose almost all power even though the accelerator was floored.
The contact owns a 2005 Ford Freestyle. The contact stated that while attempting to accelerate after shifting from park to drive, the vehicle lunged forward abnormally. The contact mentioned that the failure recurred several times and the vehicle would sporadically stall immediately after the failure. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who was unable to diagnose the failure. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 45,000 and the current mileage was 100,000.
2005 Ford Freestyle, the engine revs up and lunges forward in drive with a hard jerk. This also happens in reverse. Have to hurry and slam on the brake before hitting anything. After a couple of months the vehicle started knocking in park. Also knocks stopped at a red light. Brought it to the Ford dealer. Started the car and was told that it was the transmission without them even taking a look. This is an issue that Ford knows about and received many complaints about but still have faulty equipment. Eventhough this happens at low speeds, this could be very dangerous for kids and people not paying attention walking by. Can't believe this issue is still being looked at to get fixed or recalled.
The contact owns a 2005 Ford Freestyle. The contact stated while driving at any speed, the vehicle made a knocking noise. The vehicle was taken to a local mechanic and the dealer where a diagnostic test was performed. The failure was located in the transmission input shaft and bearing. The manufacturer stated that the failure was not related to a recall. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 49,000 and the current mileage was 50,000.
- Benicia , CA, USA
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Many times when I put the car in gear, whether it's forward or reverse, the car surges. I have almost gotten into accidents because of it. Stepping on the brakes helps but doesn't completely stop the initial surge.
While driving at 7 am in the morning on a very bust road in Nevada, both the check in light and the failsafe mode light came on. The car stopped in traffic and I had seconds to get over to the side. I got as far out of the road as possible but it was a dicey situation. I called my mechanic who sent a tow truck. I had no problems with this car until I hit 120000. As soon as I did, the check engine light came on. Took it to the shop and got a code read about the mass air flow sensor, which I don't have. I have a maf sensor. Replaced sensor, then fine for 2 months. Then the light came back on while I was at the dmv trying to register my car in nv. Had to take it to the shop again and the code was for the egr valve. Replaced that, no lights for 1 month. Then last month the light came back on and my mechanic decided he should clean the throttle body. Said there were problems with it but no recall had been issued. He said he would clean it and see if that fixed the problem. Light came back on in three days. Hooked it up again for diagnostics and the code is for an oxygen sensor, ordered that and then yesterday, the wrench and the cel came on and I was almost rear-ended. Car in shop now and I have no idea what is next. Car is lurching, having trouble accelerating and chugs along.
The transmission went out in our Ford Freestyle. We are finding out that this is happening to many Ford Freestyles with the CRV transmission. Ford knows this is a huge problem, but will not recall these cars. I am done with Ford cars forever.
My family and I were on a summer vacation traveling on the interstate at about 70 mph. My van was set on cruise control. All of a sudden, the motor revved up extremely high and I tapped the brakes which disconnected the cruise control. I then stepped on the accelerator and the engine just revved up like it was in neutral but it was still in drive. I coasted to a stop along side the road. I tried reverse and drive and nothing. So I put it in park which did stop the car from rolling and waited for a tow. $3041.11 and 3 days later, I had a another transmission installed and headed home.
This is the 2nd time this happened! again, we were on the highway and suddenly the motor gave out. Luckily, we made it without an accident to the shoulder. The wrench symbol and the cel were on. The motor started again but the car didn't take any gas, didn't accelerate. And the engine was running very rough and rumbling. I had my wife and kids in the car and was really so mad. We had to call a tow truck and a taxi to get home. The cel came on so many times in the past months, we checked the code - it was always for the throttle body. We cleaned it and the light was gone. Only to come back a couple of weeks later. As I said, we've been dealing with this problem since some months now. But this is the 2nd time the motor actually stalled. And in this really very dangerous situation : on a highway!! Ford needs to initiate a recall, I've done some research in the last months, there are so many complaints about this problem. My Freestyle also lunges forward/backward if I'm accelerating. I think it's all related and totally irresponsible of Ford not do do something. It's a serious safety issue. A miracle no one has been injured until now - or worse!!!
I brought my car to the dealership today it was making a very loud transmission noise. I received a call at 4pm from the Ford dealership stating that the transmission was bad. When I received this information I researched the problem only to find thousands of complaints on cvt transmissions from for. They have refused to correct this problem under recall which I find to be terrible. When they are in financial deficet they get bailed out by our government but when they have faulty equiptment they turn their head. I am disgusted with the way they have delt with this problem. Who can afford to buy a new transmission for a vehicle every 60000 miles!! I guess we can let the american consumer take the hit that works for aliving and pays taxes so that they can get bailed out of trouble when they have problems!!
The contact owns a 2005 Ford Freestyle. While driving approximately 40 mph, the vehicle stalled. The contact was able to restart the vehicle and the vehicle was towed to the dealer for diagnostic testing. The technician advised the contact that there was an electrical failure. The contact referred to NHTSA action number: 12V006000 (power train:automatic transmission:torque converter) that could possibly have been related to the failure. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact that the VIN was not included in the recall. The approximate failure mileage was 135,000.
The contact owns a 2005 Ford Freestyle. While parked, the contact moved the gear shifter to reverse and the vehicle lunged backward abnormally as the check transmission warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing where the technician advised the contact that the transmission would have to be replaced. After the repair, the failure continued. The vehicle was not further repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 14,777. Updated 02/14/12 updated 02/17/12
I have a 2005 Ford Freestyle with two issues.. issue #1- when shifting into gear (drive or reverse) or starting to accelerate the car lunges forward or backward. It is a requirement to stay a few feet back and foot firmly on the brake at all times as not to hit other vehicles or pedestrians. Issue #2- instrument panel randomly began to illuminate lights (ie check engine, seatbelt, air bag) for a period of time and then they would disappear. Then the gauges (ie gas, temp, and speedometer) began not working. Took it in to shop and they confirmed a faulty instrument cluster.
I have more than one complaint. 1) shortly after buying my used 2005 Freestyle I would be driving both at higher and lower speeds and I would loose all control of the vehicle. It would not respond to gas or steering. It was like it was losing power but it was still running. I had several near misses when this would happen. I was lucky that when I bought my Freestyle it was "certified" and under warranty, otherwise the repairs would have cost me over $1200. My Ford dealer replaced the kind of sensor/brain as they called it. Has been working sense. 2) air compressor needs to be replaced now. I thought the A/C wasn't blowing cold enough, I finally told it to a repair shop I trust and he said he couldn't understand I had any cool air at all. 3) brakes, rear most of all, have been replaced several times. Way too soon and anytime it's wet they squeal like crazy. Guess I need to have them changed again. 4) transmission issues are starting now. I roughly have 90K miles and hoped this would be my last car for several more years. I hate to trade it in and start another car payment and let this car get back out to some other unsuspecting soul.
The transmission has started to make a very ugly noise when on park. The SUV lunges and the RPM needle goes out of control sometimes. I've read online of other Ford Freestyles having the same problems and I've also heard that these problems have cause some accidents. Please do something to fix this problem. We do don't have the money to have these problems fixed and we need the transportation. Thanks.
I bought my 2005 Ford Freestyle in June 2010, very nice car. A few week into driving I heard a very strange noise so I took it back to the dealership to check, the told me the noise is normal it is coming from the transmission and that sound goes with that type of tranny(cvt). August of 2010 driving on I95 got a popping sound and car stop, I tow it back to dealership and the transmission went, the put a new tranny in it was covered by my warranty, January 2012 got the same sound again and I was told that the tranny is not good, so I need a new one again it is covered. So U see Ford is not taking responsibility for there mistake, please help all of us that have 2005 Ford Freestyle problems.
After having the car seviced for stalling, and having the throttle cleaned, the car again would not start.. this time it had drained the brand new battery as well.
I have already replaced the throttle body in this vehicle around 2008. I can check with my mechanic for an exact date. It was surging into traffic, light poles in parking lots, and even pedestrians, all while my foot was on the brake. I now have the same issue with the throttle body failing again. This kind of car is going to injure or kill someone. I do not have another 800 dollars that the dealership charges to correct this problem. With no warning this car lunges forward with no regard to what or who is in front of it. Please look into this further. I am fully aware that there are many others who also own this same type of car who have the same exact problem. Please help advocate for the people who cannot continuously afford to fix this problem with no resolve in the end. [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
Purchased used Ford Freestyle December 2010. Ran fine until warm weather and use of air conditioner. With A/C on, the electronic throttle control seems to often greatly overshoot the correct setting when shifting from neutral to drive or reverse, which causes a significant engine RPM increase and a momentary "lunge" if the brake is not applied very firmly. Many vehicles do this to a minor extent but the Freestyle is far and away the worst I've ever seen. This does cause unanticipated vehicle movement and could injure a child, passerby etc or cause a vehicle to enter an intersection. My wife is certainly unnerved by it. Effect is in fact sometimes there in cool weather but to a much lesser extent. Reading forums and thinking about this (I'm an engineer and sae member) it may very well be something like a worn throttle position sensor interacting with an ECU software glitch, may very well be fixable in software. Annoyingly the tps on this vehicle is integrated into the throttle body or I'd just replace the tps.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Weymouth, MA, USA