Subject: 2006 Ford Freestyle aggressive, unexpected thrusting comments: I have a 2006 Ford Freestyle with 60,000 miles. It has recently begun to aggressively thrust (either forward in drive or in reverse in reverse) when put into gear and has done this in stop & go traffic and after making stops at red lights/stop signs. I took the vehicle to the Ford dealer where I purchased the car and the only "code" they got was for an air filter. Immediately after the vehicle thrusts, the wrench light illuminates and the car loses power (but can still crawl along with no steering or braking assisted control). The car has to be turned off & restarted at which point the problem dissipates as if it didn't happen only to return again at any unexpected time. Its frightening in parking lots, drive thrus & stop & go traffic because you just don't know what the car will do next. I drive with 3 small children & am in fear the car is going to cause an accident. The car is still under warranty with Ford but they seem unwilling to address this very real, very terrifying concern. What do I do?

- W Orange, NJ, USA

Problem starts when car is sitting idle, in gear, and the A/C is on. The car will lurch forward without pressing the accelerator. It's as if someone is flooring the accelerator and I'm not even touching it. It happens as soon as I remove my foot from the brake. I've had to slam on the brakes to keep from running into things. Many times the engine will stall and the wrench light comes on. After restarting, the light usually goes off. This happens any time the car sits idle for any length of time, I.e. drive-thrus, traffic lights, etc. I'm always worried the car will lurch out into traffic or I'll hit someone backing up as it's happened many times when backing out of a parking space. I feel this truly is a safety issue and don't understand why a recall hasn't been issued when the majority of complaints are for this same problem.

- Hilliard, FL, USA

The contact owns a 2006 Ford Freestyle. The contact stated the vehicle will sporadically accelerate up to 10 mph when attempting to park. The contact was able to stop the unintended acceleration by applying the brakes. The dealer advised that the throttle body would need to be replaced. The part was not readily available and the dealer advised that the part would become available late August but there was no guarantee. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact was concerned with the possibility of a crash as a result of the failure. The failure mileage was 32,000 and the current was unknown. Updated 06/17/11 updated 01/04/2012

- Philadelphia, PA, USA

The contact owns a 2006 Ford Freestyle. The contact stated while shifting into reverse with the brakes depressed, the vehicle abnormally accelerated in reverse. The vehicle then stalled. The contact was able to restart the vehicle and proceed driving. Less than one mile later while depressing the brakes, the vehicle independently accelerated and then stalled again. The failure occurred a third time four miles later while in reverse. The vehicle stalled immediately after independently accelerated. The check engine and wrench warning lights were also illuminated following the failure. The dealer advised that the failure was caused by a sticking throttle body. The vehicle was not repaired but the contact stated the warning lights were no longer illuminated after the dealer's diagnostic. The unintended acceleration failure persisted but the vehicle was no longer stalling upon failure. The failure mileage was 72,000 and the current mileage was 78,250. Updated evoq 07/20/10.

- Florence, SC, USA

The contact owns a 2006 Ford Freestyle. The contact stated when braking or sitting idle at a stop, the vehicle would abnormally accelerate without warning. The contact was able to stop the unintended acceleration by depressing the brakes. The failure persisted and became progressively worse. The vehicle was taken to a local repair facility where the mechanic cleaned carbon deposits from the throttle. The mechanic advised that the throttle would possibly have to be replaced if the cleaning repair did not remedy the failure. The vehicle was left with the mechanic where the contact was awaiting repairs. The manufacturer advised that there was not a recall for the failure and recommended having the dealer repair the vehicle. The failure mileage was approximately 70,000 and the current mileage was approximately 95,000.

- Downers Grove , IL, USA

We have a 2006 Ford Freestyle. When the car is idling in hot temperatures, such as at a stop light or in a parking lot, the car will rev up to ~2500-3000 rpms and lurch forward. Sometimes the car dies after this or seems unresponsive to the accelerator. The check engine light will come on. When testing the car on a code reader, it showed nothing related to this problem. Through research online, we've found this is a common problem with 2005 and 2006 year model Ford Freestyles. We believe this is a safety hazard, as it could lead to a collision while trying to maneuver at idle speed.

- Hot Springs, AR, USA

My 2006 Ford Freestyle just started accelerating when I step on the brake. I almost ran into the side of my office building. It is doing it quite frequently now and I see there are many complaints but Ford isn't doing a recall.

- Cuyahoga Falls, OH, USA

Unintended acceleration in 2006 Ford Freestyle.

- Spring House, PA, USA

The contact owns a 2006 Ford Freestyle. The rpms increased excessively when the contact had her foot on the brakes pedal. The vehicle accelerated as she released her foot from the brake pedal. The vehicle lunged backwards before it began to accelerate and then it stalled. None of the warning lights illuminated before and after the failure occurred. The dealer informed her to bring the vehicle in for a diagnostic test at her expense for $100. The manufacturer was contacted and a claim was filed. There were no related recalls or warranties related to the failure. The failure and current mileages were 39,000.

- Holland , PA, USA

The contact owns a 2006 Ford Freestyle. When the contact was at a traffic light the vehicle lunged forward and accelerated. The failure also occurred while driving in reverse. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who stated that the throttle body needed to be replaced and that the parts were on back order. The dealer does not expect the parts to be available before September 2010. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure and current mileages were 106,000.

- Ravenswood, WV, USA

The contact owns a 2006 Ford Freestyle. While pulling out of a parking space, the vehicle began to accelerate. The contact pressed the brake and the vehicle lost power. The contact took the vehicle to an independent mechanic who could not duplicate the failure. On a separate occasion, while at a stop light, the vehicle began to accelerate. The contact spoke with the dealer who advised the part was on back order and would take months for the vehicle to be repaired. The current and failure miles were 70000.

- Albertson, NC, USA

Currently own a 2006 Ford Freestyle. Car started accelerating on own. Drove it immediately to a shop, for fear of driving family in it. Turns out it is a faulty electronic throttle body, similar to Toyota problems. Spoke to Ford dealership service manager who said that this is a national problem, on backorder, currently though no recall. Insist that this is a huge safety issue, similar to Toyota's issues and Ford should stand behind getting this problem resolved. Dealership said backorder of parts could be 3-4 weeks. Not safe to drive car. Expensive to fix.

- Cary, NC, USA

The contact owns a 2006 Ford Freestyle limited edition. He stated that whenever he would apply the brake, there was an unusual increase in engine rpms and the vehicle would abnormally accelerate forward. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who advised him that the throttle body had malfunctioned and would need to be replaced. The repair was done at the contacts expense. The manufacturer would not provide any assistance. The failure and current mileages were 69,000. Updated 10/27/10.

- Walker , LA, USA

The problems started when I was backing out of a parking space. The car surges whether it is in drive or reverse...will continue to accelerate even when brake is applied. I have had to shut the car off completely to get it to stop. Other times it will surge, then stall completely. In addition to this happening after restarting, the car won't accelerate normally. This happened while trying to get through an intersection. Not safe.

- Cumming, GA, USA

My 2006 Ford Freestyle actually lunges and revs up when I first get into it and put it into reverse or forward. It has been happening regularly now for over 2 years and about 40,000 miles but this weekend was the final straw. I had to pick up a child and left my kids in the car for about 5 mins with the car running and when I went to leave the car lunged backwards and I almost hit a tree then it shut off. I put the car into park and restarted it and it lunged forwards after being put into drive then shut off again. I then restarted it but it would not run correctly.a wrench light also came on. It was clocking 3000 rpms at 40 mph and it seemed like it would not shift. I pulled over and let the car sit for about a minute and restarted it. It seemed to run okay after that but lunged again today.I pulled the codes which were po61B and P2106. This is a huge safety problem. I have almost hit people in parking lots, trees, my garage door, and my own kids...this has to be taken care of and I think Ford should do a recall!!

- West Point, VA, USA

My 2006 Ford Freestyle occasionally experiences engine rev and sudden acceleration when operated at low speeds, usually when the ac is in use. Occurs only after idling or operating at low speeds in excess of 3 minutes. Each time I had sufficient clearance to avoid an accident, but it's been close. It has happened a total of 5 times in the past 6-8 weeks, pretty much since it had gotten warm enough to use the ac. Never happened in the past 3+ years of ownership until this year. Most recent occurrence was yesterday, 30 May 2010.

- Cibolo, TX, USA

My Ford Freestyle 2006 keeps surging forward in low speed and out of park conditions. 1st time it happened I thought my foot hit the gas pedal accidentally. But it happened the 2nd time a couple of days later as I was leaving a gas pump. As soon as I realized that the car was jumping forward, I slammed my foot on the brakes which caused the car to die. I restarted it and went on my way thinking it was just a weird occurrence. The 3rd time it happened I was driving 5miles per hour in my children's school parking lot. Car surged suddenly and I had to veer for the soccer field to avoid other traffic. As soon as I slammed on the brakes, the car died again. I immediately called the Ford dealership and was told that I couldn't be seen until 5days later B/C they were booked. I was incredulous B/C this seemed to me to be a dangerous matter. I called another dealership where the service person insulted me by intimating that 1) I must have had my cruise control on - I did not or 2) that my mat was tangled in my accelerator or 3) "sometimes ladies have their purse by their feet and maybe my purse was pushing on the accelerator without me knowing." I had to ask him if he thought I was an idiot for calling since he wasn't taking my concerns for a mechanical safety issue seriously. I called a friend who's a mechanic who went onto the Ford website and found out that several customers were having the same issue with sudden acceleration and posted their concerns on the Ford website. I would have thought that a problem which could result in a major accident for the car's occupants or passers-by would have been taken more seriously and Ford would have had letters mailed to all the affected customers of that malfunction. At this point, I made the appointment and await what they plan on doing about it but, was already forewarned that I still have to pay for the diagnostic and repairs B/C my car is out of warranty since its 4yrs old and standard warranties are for 3yrs.

- East Amherst, NY, USA

Sudden acceleration when putting car into drive or reverse. Seems to happen most often when running the ac. Parking and pulling out of parking spaces is very dangerous as acceleration happens at slow speeds when usually in close proximity to other cars and people. 2006 Ford Freestyle with 60,000 miles.

- Winston Salem, NC, USA

2006 Ford Freestyle lunges while in drive or reverse. Car lunges while foot is on the brake, while in drive and foot is off the gas pedal, while in reverse while foot is off the gas pedal. I have had trouble with the car lunging forward and then stalling on 2 occasions. The lunging without stalling continues to occur and seems to be happening more frequently. Lunging has occurred on at least 8 occasions. Current mileage is 61K. Problems began about 1 year ago. I have also had problems with the rear brakes wearing out. Ford replaced them at no charge due to the recall. Just replaced my front break pads on 5/5/2010. Today, the airbag warning light came on and would not go away. Also the seatbelt light and alarm kept ringing even though I was wearing my seatbelt and there were no other passengers in the car.

- Delray Beach, FL, USA

I have a 2006 Ford Freestyle that lunges when you put it in gear. It does it all the time. Its worse when the air cond. Is on. I had an accident in a parking lot. I have quit driving the car till I can afford to take in to a dealer. From what I've read this is a common problem with Freestyles.

- Somerset Center, MI, USA