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.
Random lunging when, generally, car is placed in reverse. It does it randomly, increasing in frequency. However, today, we got a warning light and the vehicle went into "engine failsafe mode" and was jerking and just not driving appropriately. We went to Ford, and were told to turn the car off and back on to reset that particular sensor, but that generally these problems can be attributed to a throttle body issue - and that said issues may continue or worsen until replacement of this part.
While sitting in a parking lot on a hot day (A/C running), my 2005 Ford Freestyle suddenly lunged forward. When the brake was applied, it stopped the engine. A message appeared reading "engine in fail-safe mode." Approximately 2 weeks later, this same condition was repeated with the same result. In between these events the car seems to perform as expected. As of now we have taken no action however next Wednesday the dealer can look at the vehicle and hopefully have some good news on the repairs. I had the local autozone technician run a diagnostic check and two codes came up he said were unique to Ford so a Ford service technician would be required to interpret. He lead me to believe these codes read "tac" and something referring to the torque control module. Codes may have been "P061B" and a P1202" (?).
The car lunges unexpectently when car is stopped with the gear shift in the "drive" position or when easing forward at a low rate of speed. It was inspected at a Ford service dealership who said they could not find anything wrong with it. I am afraid the vehicle is at risk for injuring someone or something do to this unexpected lunging. It seems to have a greater problem during the summer and warmer parts of the year.
The contact owns a 2005 Ford Freestyle. The contact stated while waiting on a red light, the vehicle lunged forward although the brake pedal was depressed. The contact mentioned that immediately after the check engine light illuminated, the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was taken to a local mechanic who diagnosed that the vehicle speed control was defective. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was 99,000.
The contact owns a 2005 Ford Freestyle. The contact stated that when placing the vehicle in drive or in reverse it would accelerate on its own. While driving various speeds the vehicle would suddenly stall without any warning. She noticed the failure occurred more when the air conditioner was on. The vehicle was not inspected by the dealer nor had it been repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 92,000.
- Reynoldsburg, OH, USA
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The contact owns a 2005 Ford Freestyle. The contact stated the vehicle would suddenly surge forward while driving. The failure occurred when the vehicle was traveling forward or in reverse. She noticed the failure while the air conditioner was activated and the temperature outside was hotter than normal. The current mileage was 93,000. The approximate failure mileage was 85,000. The VIN was unavailable.
Vehicles lunges involuntarily and unexpectedly when foot is released from the brake (without any depression of the accelerator). The problem occurs in both drive and reverse at very slow speeds (I.e. backing out of a parking space, advancing through a drive through restaurant, swiping a badge at a gated entrance). Backing out of a parking space has become dangerous due to lack of vehicle control. The lunging requires very firm brake application to stop and avoid a crash. This requires an immediate recall to mitigate the potential risk of personal injury or death.
The contact owns a 2005 Ford Freestyle. The contact stated that the vehicle would lunge forward and backward at anytime. The dealer was not notifued. The manufacturer denied any assistance with repairs of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 70,000 and the current mileage was 100,000.
The contact owns a 2005 Ford Freestyle. The contact stated that while reversing at approximately 5 mph and attempting to park, the brake pedal was engaged and the vehicle unexpectedly surged without warning. The failure would occur after shifting the selected gear with pressure applied to the brake pedal. The manufacturer was not notified of the unintended acceleration. There was currently an open investigation associated with NHTSA action number PE11018. The approximate failure mileage was 86,500.
2005 Ford Freestyle transmission surging when placed in reverse. Had been minor up to this point but while my wife was driving it last night, engine revved higher than before and stalled. Check transmission light came on and 'system failure" message appeared. After doing some research, it seems to be the throttle body problem that is prevalent with this vehicle. Of course, my extended warranty expired 2 weeks ago.
My 2005 Ford Freestyle is surging/lurching when I am going slowly, I.e. when I am pulling into or out of my garage, when I am parking, when I am approaching a stop sign or stoplight. I've taken it to the local Ford dealer service department, for them to look at this issue as well as an "AWD malfunction" indicator that comes on periodically while I am driving. The service techs could not identify the source of the lurching/surging, but thought it might be associated with the "AWD malfunction", which in turn they thought might be a result of a bad oil pressure pump (however it would have been a multi-thousand dollar repair for them to even investigate further, so I didn't have them do anything). The surging/lurching is getting worse, and I no longer feel safe driving my car. I fear for the safety of my children, myself, and those who might happen to be in front of me when my car surges.
After sitting in a restaurant's parking lot with the engine idling and the air conditioning on for about 30 minutes, the car lunged backward several feet when the car with placed into reverse. Once the car was stopped, I placed the car in drive and it lunged forward without me pressing the gas pedal. Luckily, there once no one around the car when this happened or there could have been injuries caused by the car's actions. Also, the car's "failsafe engine mode" and "wrench" light came on. This caused the car's power to be minimized to a crawl. We were only able to get the car's speed up to around 20 to 30 mph. After experiencing this issue, I looked on the internet to find that many individuals were having the same problem with this model. It appears that it is an issue with the throttle body component on this model that is bad and causing this problem. This is a serious safety issue and I would hope that Ford would be held responsible for replacing this part under a recall.
I have a 2005 Ford Freestyle sel. In the last month, the car has been surging and taking off without my touching the gas. Last Friday, it surged violently backward while I was parallel parking and ran up on the curb nearly hitting people. I stood on the brake and the engine quit and went into a fault mode. It did this three times after re-starting the car each time. It also about two weeks ago surged forward into the gate of my gated community. It is now surging at a third of my stops. I don't try and back it up if at all possible. I am convinced this is a serious safety problem. I am afraid to allow anyone in my family to drive it. I feel this should be re-called and fixed.
We started noticing the engine surge a few months ago whenever we shifted out of park or neutral. The RPM's jumped around 400-600 above idle and now are over 700-800 with the A/C on. So far, we have not experienced any damage to the vehicle. I took the vehicle to my local Ford dealer, blackwell Ford in Plymouth, mi and was told I needed the throttle body needed replacement at a cost of over $800. The vehicle has 94000 miles on it and aside from that problem, we have been pleased with it.
Many occurrences of unexpected surge/vehicle movement over the past 4 months. Recently, the car unexpectedly jumped forward resulting in a very unsafe condition when stopped at an intersection with a pedestrian crosswalk. I was very fortunate that no pedestrians were in front of my vehicle at the time that it lunged forward.
The contact owns a 2005 Ford Freestyle. The contact stated while traveling 5 mph the vehicle unexpectedly accelerated and failed to stop until the brakes were depressed to the floor. The vehicle also experienced the identical failure when the vehicle was placed in the reverse position. The contact stated the vehicle was not taken to dealer, and the manufacturer was not contacted. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 20,000, and the current mileage was 85,000. Problem has happened many times since we bought the car, but has gotten much worst the last few months. It jumps much more or farther than it did before. Updated 10/07/2011
The contact owns a 2005 Ford Freestyle. The contact stated when the air conditioner on was with the vehicle in the park position, it accelerated, either forward or in reverse. The vehicle was taken to a local mechanic where the battery and alternator were replaced. The remedy did not resolve the failure. The vehicle was later taken to the dealer who indicated that the alternator needed to be replaced. The vehicle was taken back to a local mechanic and the alternator was replaced. The failure was not resolved. The local mechanic diagnosed the failure as the drive by wire throttle assembly. The manufacturer was contacted. The failure mileage was 130,000, and the current mileage was 141,000. Updated 10/26/2011
When idling, car would surge briefly as if accelerator were pushed. After several inquires at Ford service about recalls, check engine light came on. Problem diagnosed as defective throttle body. Part replaced at a cost of $706.85. Understand there have been several like instances reported. Surge could easily cause a collision either front or back.
Bought a Ford Freestyle in July 2008 took it to the shop July 2009 because it was lunging and stalling. Ford kept it on their lot until November. When I got it back I had to replace the tire because they had flat spots they did not move the car. They replaced the throttle body and now July of 2011 it is doing the same problem. I was told that this car engine gets to hot and the alternator can't work correctly. My warranty expired July 27th 2011 and I can't afford to fix this car. Something needs to be done about all the problems this car has.
The contact owns a 2005 Ford Freestyle. While the contact was driving approximately 10 mph approaching a stop sign, the brake pedal was engaged and the vehicle began to surge, followed by the illumination of the engine fail safe mode message and the check engine warning indicator. The failures occurred intermittently during extremely hot weather temperatures. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer four times for diagnosis; however they were unable to duplicate the problem or determine the cause of failure. The manufacturer was not made aware of the defect. The approximate failure mileage was 67,772.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Ofallon, IL, USA