10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 5
Injuries / Deaths:
7 / 0
Average Mileage:
94,365 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

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.

2006 Ford Freestyle electrical problems

electrical problem

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2006 Ford Freestyle Owner Comments (Page 1 of 4)

problem #76

Jan 042023

Freestyle

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Car struggles to change gears. ABS, ENGINE, and THROTTLE warning lights on. Rough idle, car does not accelerate when shifted into drive.

- Huntington , WV, USA

problem #75

Nov 182019

Freestyle

  • 215,000 miles
Was driving check engine light came on and then a wrench showed up in far left hand corner.my vehicle quit accelerating goes to limp mode while I was still in motion on w butler rd in mauldin SC 29662 doing 40 miles an hour. It scared me.I am 70 yrs young and have been licensed to drive for 52 yrs. This situation was by far one of the worst I have ever been involved in. What if anything is being done about this situation if anything to save lives.

- Mauldin, SC, USA

problem #74

Oct 162018

Freestyle

  • 153,000 miles
My mom's 2006 Ford Freestyle, surges forward when using the air conditioner or defroster. There has been many times it has done this almost rear ending the vehicle in front of hher.this has been going on since beet and my deceased father have own it.(2010?) her instrument panel goes bonkers now, and sometimes the car won't start and the panic alarm goes off when we get out of the car.

- Bozeman, MT, USA

problem #73

Jun 082018

Freestyle

  • 171,753 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

My car surges and the rpms move without touching the gas. It tries to throw me into traffic when at stoplights and stop signs. It tries to throw me at people when driving slowly through parking lots. I have to put my car into neutral while at stops so that my family or other family's don't die because of a malfunction that Ford had with the car when they sold it. I was never told about the malfunction and they say I'm years past the warenty and 20000 miles past the warenty milage. So because my car is 20000 over I guess it's okay for my car to kill me and my children or other people?

- Redding, CA, USA

problem #72

May 142018

Freestyle

  • 161,000 miles
The contact owns a 2006 Ford Freestyle. While driving 45 mph, the throttle control transmission warning indicator illuminated and the vehicle stalled. The contact coasted the vehicle to the side of the road and powered off the engine. The contact attempted to restart the vehicle, but was unsuccessful. The vehicle was towed to the contact's residence. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the surge needed to be reprogrammed. The contact's husband called coughlin Ford of johnstown at (740) 967-2086 (670 w coshocton St, johnstown, oh 43031) and was informed that the vehicle was included in an unknown recall that had been closed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 161,000.

- Galena, OH, USA

problem #71

Mar 232018

Freestyle

  • 106,000 miles
The first week of June 2017, we were having issues with the electrical in our Freestyle. The lighting would dim and brighten on and off while the car was running and there was almost a pulse in the rev of the engine. We took the vehicle into our local mechanic and had to have our alternator replaced. In July 2017, we were driving to meet with friends for breakfast and the Freestyle stopped running a couple car lengths away from a major intersection. We, again, replaced the alternator and this time the battery had a dead cell and needed replaced as well. We noticed nothing to alert us to the electrical issue this time, no pulsing or change in the lighting. We have not used the Freestyle much over the winter because we noticed the pulsing and light issues again and when we took it into our mechanic, they couldn't replicate the issue. We also have a second vehicle and did not need to use it much. We started it a couple of times to try and prevent any issues, but could not get it to start at all this week and when we tired to jump start it, we could only get it to run when it was hooked to our second vehicle. The Freestyle was towed to the shop today and we are currently having the third alternator installed and a second battery. The mechanic is looking into the issue further, due to the number of times we have been in for these issues. We hope to find a resolution to this issue.

- Boise, ID, USA

problem #70

Feb 242018

Freestyle

  • 93,015 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Problems started after the battery and alternator were changed back in November 2017. First, the battery light and check charging system went on right after the Ford dealer changed the battery and alternator. We were told that the electrical output was fine despite the warning light. Since then several alternators were changed by the dealer but the warning light remained and the dealer does not know how to fix this. Today while driving (streets and highway) the dashboard (instrument cluster) went off and on and all gauges went to zero and back on after a while during driving. There was a kick to the engine every time this happened. My backlights went crazy (including reverse lights) while driving forward on streets/highway. Turning lights were also affected. Other drivers alerted me today. This is a danger to us and others. I fear the engine could eventually get affected too. There are many posts online with identical issues and Ford does not appear to be willing or able to solve this.

- Riverside, CA, USA

problem #69

Mar 132017

Freestyle

  • 152,200 miles
This car has many problems. I wouldn't buy this car again. I have invested too much money for repairs. The air bag sensor keeps coming on. The car has no speed after I had the transmission replaced. The lights on dash are off and on.

- Miami, FL, USA

problem #68

Dec 142016

Freestyle 6-cyl

  • 60,000 miles
The driver side passenger door seal is faulty, letting water get into the door causing it to freeze and rust. The electrical for the driver heated seat keeps malfunctioning causing it to keep breaking. The levers that flip the second and third row seating have become faulty and will no longer work. Lastly, the all-wheel drive component on my vehicle stopped working while I was driving. It was during the winter and the roads were icy so it caused me to have less traction and fish tail.

- Haslett, MI, USA

problem #67

Aug 292016

Freestyle

  • 105,400 miles
Safety complaint for Ford Freestyle 2006. The wrench and engine light appear on the dashboard and the engine goes to limp mode and the speed drops to 30 miles per hour from highway speed of 60 to 70 miles per hour with no warning other than the quick drop in speed and wrench light. Driving on a highway with trucks and cars going 70 miles per hour or more is beyond dangerous and asking to get hit. We have had Ford service on this car but they did not have recalls for this problem. Vehicle in motion on highway. Have had car towed, pulled over to breakdown lane and traveled side roads for fear of getting hit by another vehicle. Please do something to Ford Corp to fix this problem before there is tragedy.

- North Andover, MA, USA

problem #66

Apr 212016

Freestyle

  • 167,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

I will be driving and either the ac will be on or the dvd system will be in use and the consol turns black and the lights go off on the dashboard and the engine revs and sometimes it says check charging system. This happens while I am driving on the freeway. The lights will turn back on in the dashboard and then the airbag light is blinking. It is very cornering as I drive my children in this car. I am afraid it is going to happen and I will be unable to stop and either cause an accident or hurt my children and myself because of the electrical system just shutting down. This should be a recall and should be fixed by Ford. It is a safety issue. This has started happening with more regularity since 1/2016

- Castle Rock, CO, USA

problem #65

Feb 022016

Freestyle

  • 103,000 miles
The contact owns a 2006 Ford Freestyle. The contact stated that while driving at 40 mph, the vehicle stalled without warning. In addition, the contact stated that there a loud abnormal sound emitted from the vehicle. The vehicle was not able to be restarted. The vehicle was towed. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 103,000.

- Culver City, CA, USA

problem #64

Dec 172015

Freestyle

  • 150,081 miles
The contact owns a 2006 Ford Freestyle. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle accelerated and decelerated independently as the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact also stated that when the air condition was activated, the vehicle would lunge forward. The vehicle was taken to the dealer but the failure was unable to be determined. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 150,081.

- Tampa, FL, USA

problem #63

Oct 312015

Freestyle

  • 162,200 miles
Alternator replaced by Firestone three times in two weeks span, and then Ford dealer changed alternator two times in two weeks span, problem remains same in the vehicle. Problem appears randomly, no dash board display only battery glows when I start car.

- Farmington Hills, MI, USA

problem #62

Sep 142015

Freestyle

  • 129,907 miles
The car completely turn off while driving on the freeway. There is also a feel of power lost on take off while.driving. And I have read there's been concerns about the throttle body malfunction.

- Stockbrige, GA, USA

problem #61

Mar 152014

Freestyle

  • 113,677 miles
On March 15, 2014 while driving my Ford Freestyle my car completely lost power on a 2 lane state road. I lost power steering to be able to completely get my car off the road. My child and I were broke down in the evening 40 miles from home and cars were coming fast behind us barely getting over even though I had my flashers on. I thought maybe my gas gauge stopped working and I was out of gas. By the grace of god someone we knew drove past us and came back. They went and got gas for the car thinking maybe the same issue. Nothing helped to restart the car. I had it towed to a mechanic that we know. He put it on the computer and low and behold it's the throttle body that needs replaced, the same part that I understood a year before was replaced. I was told it was replaced because there was a recall. I find out later it was not replaced that it was actually a customer satisfaction program that I call is a cya for Ford. The only thing required of the dealership is to clean and reprogram, something only a Ford dealership can do. I thought it must be under warranty cause I had the work done less than a year. Only to find out that Ford just authorized a band aid fix and that my throttle body would have to now be replaced and my cost. Prior to this my car almost lunged us into the side of our house as I was pulling into our carport. Not the normal breaking that Ford tells NHTSA in their report. I had to put all my might with both feet on the breaks to stop my car from running into our house. Also not the other bs lie Ford tells nhsta that the car looses power but does not loose control of power steering and breaks. On both occasions that I had a problem all of what Ford tells NHTSA is not an issue is definitely a safety issue. Im appalled that NHTSA has to wait for someone to die to stop believing the bs lies Ford is giving them. Do something.

- Dunn, NC, USA

problem #60

May 102013

Freestyle

  • 107,055 miles
My car lunged forward several times. At at least one point it lunged with such force that I had to put both feet on the break and push with all my might to stop it from hitting my house when pulling in to park. Under Ford's so called research it said normal break pressure stopped the worse case scenario, a lie. My child was in the car with me and she was very scared. I had had problems prior but was thinking maybe bad gas. I call Ford to find out that I had a "recall" "customer satisfaction program" which was a one time fix to clean and reprogram the throttle body. Some Ford service department employees are frustrated with this issue because they know its just a "band aid" fix. It doesnt take care of the problem, which is a safety issue. My band aid fix didn't last a year. Found myself broke down with my child on the road with no control a yr later. You wonder what was the problem. Throttle body this time had to be replaced at full cost to me!!! my car lost power quickly and had no control with power steering etc. Couldn't get my car off the road. Was broke down right in a 2 lane state road with cars going 55mph. And barely getting over to keep from hitting me. Another lie told by Ford where they say it doesn't effect having control of your car. Want to know whats odd. A family member had to take their vehicle to the dealership because their mechanic could not fix it, why? throttle body went bad, full cost to her also. I'm complaining again due to finally getting the paperwork which the dealership said they couldn't give it to me at that time and a friend whom my husband carpools to work with is having the same symptoms, when checking his VIN# his car is under that csp. However his can be replaced at Ford cost but we will see. They were on a highway with speed limit 70mph. Very dangerous. I feel Ford is failing and NHTSA is satisfied with Ford's bs.

- Dunn, NC, USA

problem #59

Aug 262015

Freestyle

  • 150,000 miles
Today (08/26/2015) while emerging into oncoming traffic my car refused to accelerate. It would never rise above 20 mph. Thankfully I was down the street from my mechanic. An otherwise two minute drive took fifteen minutes of my allowing the car to just coast because it would never accelerate when I pushed on the gas. After praying and finally making to the shop, he placed the diagnostic mac of thine on it only to inform me that it is the electronic throttle body was opened. I searched for a recall or something to offset the cost but I have been unsuccessful thus far. This was a very frightening experience and thankfully one where I didn't get injured due to cars almost hitting me, running up on my bumper even with the flashers on, it's not fair that this complaint is closed. What if someone got seriously injured or even died because the car just suddenly refused to accelerate.or even began to surge out into traffic. This matter needs to be re evaluated for the safety of all the customers who own this vehicle.

- Baytown, TX, USA

problem #58

Jun 282015

Freestyle

  • 110,170 miles
Car was parked for about 10 minutes after running without issue for 20 minutes. When starting again from the parked position, car lost all power steering. Within the 2.1 mile/6 minute ride that followed, the power steering never returned. Checking under the hood revealed serpentine belt failed in a clean break. The car was not driven prior to replacing the belt the next day. Once the belt was installed, a quick run through the system functions included running the A/C. all systems seem functional until the A/C is activated. Within 3 seconds of starting A/C, observed audible motor sound followed by all power failed (full shut-down). Turned off engine, removed key, waited 60 seconds, all was good until again turning on the A/C, when symptom of system failure (audible motor sound change) occurred again, A/C was turned off right away, and engine and all other systems operated as expected.

- Enfield, CT, USA

problem #57

Jun 152013

Freestyle

  • 108,000 miles
The contact owns a 2006 Ford Freestyle. While driving at various speeds, the vehicle accelerated and decelerated independently and the check engine and unknown warning lights illuminated continuously. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the throttle body needed to be cleaned and the computer needed to be updated. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 108,000.

- Las Vegas, NV, USA

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