The dash board info reads safe mode (engine failure) the lite and a wrench appear on the data on the dash. The vehicle motor still on goes down to 1 to 3 mph while driving, on street or freeway, the car have to be shut off and restarted and proceeds to run for awhile and does the same thing and no one can seem to find out what the problem is.it have been worked on by license mechanics several times and the problem is still there.. need a solution. It is a unsafe situations.

- Detroit, MI, USA

I went in to my local mechanic for tire rotation and we discovered that the motor cradle was rusting out with a big hole in the cradle frame.

- Johnstown, PA, USA

In 2010, my car would go into "engine failsafe mode" and I would have to shut it off and restart it. After a few times, is started lurching forward when it was idling. At that time, I had an extended warranty and the throttle body was replaced. Today, April 10, 2013, I was driving to work and the "engine failsafe mode" kicked on twice and the second time, the "check engine" light went on and stayed on. I was able to make it safely to work and decided to take it to a shop across the street from my office to have a diagnostic run. It cost $75 and they told me that the throttle body needs to be replaced! I called Ford and was told that all that they can do is clean and reset the computer under a customer satisfaction recall. I plan to drop it off today at a dealership on my way home. Unfortunately, the car now has over 109,000 miles and is not covered under warranty. My complaint is that I replaced the throttle body in 2010 and it is malfunctioning again. I was told by Ford that if this doesn't work, it will need to be replaced at my expense. This appears to be a common issue with this car and I want to see if there is anything that can be done to make sure that this is fixed correctly and the cost is taken on by Ford for the faulty part!

- Cordova, MD, USA

I've had problems with this vehicle numerous times over the past few years. I filed a complaint on here once but do not remember the dates or the username/password I used. This vehicle is the worst car I have ever owned. I've sunk thousands into repairs in the last couple of years. I've had instrument cluster replaced 4 times, replaced engine mounts, my A/C compressor went out on it, throttle body replaced. And now it sits on blocks we thought was the fuel pump went out so replaced it. Didn't do any good. Not sure what it is the instrument cluster still doesn't work correctly, it was surging til the day the other day when it just wont go anymore, it will start and run but won't go. I was told it could be numerous things, throttle body again, instrument cluster still not right, might be my transmission, could be my pedal throttle sensor, fuel switch out..........so what do I do nickel and penny everything I have into a lemon that obviously the NHTSA nor Ford care about. I'm a single mother with two children, we live 7 miles from town...and now I have no transportation. I bought this vehicle in 2005 and paid quite a bit for it. Its like toilet paper or diapers....disposable! I will never purchase a Ford again.

- Cherokee Village , AR, USA

When at a stop, our car lunges when you press on the gas pedal, forward or reverse. There is a hesitation after pushing on the pedal than it leaps forward or reverse. I was told from a dealer that it needed the throttle body cleaned and was told the same from a transmission shop. The transmission shop informed me of some problems Ford was having with this transmission. I looked it up on line and seen many complaints. I cleaned it and it seemed to fix the problem. A couple of months ago, it started the lunging again. This morning, the car shuttered and stopped and several lights on the dash lit up, wrench, motor. The car wouldn't move, it wouldn't even rev up. It stranded my wife on the side of the road. I came to meet her and had it towed to our house. I cleaned the throttle body again. When I got in to try it, all the lights were no longer there but it still lunges. Very afraid to let my wife drive it again with the possibility of being stranded.

- Graham, WA, USA

About 2 yrs ago during the beginning of the summer I noticed that my air condition on my 2005 Ford Freestyle was not cooling. Sitting still you will think you have on the heat. I also noticed that on the passenger side it much warmer that than the driver side. Cools ok in the mornings when it is not so hot but later in the day you can forget about the air. I have had the freon check more than once was told it was not low. This year it worst than ever. Before it would start to cool about 20 miles further down the road. Not now! I was told by the mechanic also the the motor brack is broken. What is next. I also had the lunging problem that was fixed, only because it was still under warranty. A car that is only 7 years old sure has had lot of problems.

- Elm City, NC, USA

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.

- Gilbert, AZ, USA

Car lunges when coming to a stop and sometimes even after you have stopped, it lunges forward or back such as when trying to park or reverse from parking. The lunging starts happen when it is hot outside, summer months, and always if the air conditioner is on. The lunging started off small in the beginning, now its at a point that it stalls my car. I have almost run into someone while I was backing up because the car lunged even with my foot on the break. I feel incredibly unsafe driving in the summer months, I am afraid to turn on the air conditioner, because the lunging happens immediately. Lunging has increased from 2009 to present.

- Riverside, CA, USA

The contact owns a 2005 Ford Freestyle. While at a stop with the brakes applied, the contact noticed that the vehicle had suddenly surged forward without warning. The following day, the contact was at a stop and shifted the vehicle into reverse and noticed that the vehicle had suddenly stalled without warning. The failure had not been diagnosed and had not been repaired. The VIN was not available. The failure and current mileages were 134,000.

- Fort Worth, TX, USA

Scary car. A couple of times when car is idle/foot on brake the car would surge forward on its own. This is creepy. First time happened when parking in front of a wall. Luckily, I had enough room to not hit the front. I just came home and rolled into parking space. My foot was still on the brake but out of nowhere it just went by itself so my natural response was to brake really hard. It slowed the surging, but dang it! it scared the begezzy out of me. If I wasn't alert, I think that wall would damage the front car...let alone hit someone(s) if they are in front of this idle car. Second time when my husband rolled into the mall's parking space and it did it too. I sat next to him and it was just freaky weird. It happened 3 other times also. Ford better recall on this problem seeing how many complaints are posted online already. I had to look it up online and found a major car magazine stated it was a major problem. If they don't do anything about this, I think I will have to switch to another car maker. This Ford Freestyle 2005 AWD limited is a scary car.

- La Crescenta, CA, USA

When stopped or moving slow to make a turn the engine accelerates on its own, this happens going forwards or in reverse and happens more with the ac turned on.

- Orange, CA, USA

In 2008 my Ford Freestyle started lunging forward at very low speeds when in gear without either the brake or accelerator pedal applied. If I applied the brakes, it stopped the car right away, but if I was sitting with the vehicle in drive or reverse and didn't have my foot on the brake pedal, the vehicle would suddenly lunge - and the only way to stop it was to slam on the brakes. I am just luckily we never hit anyone. It seemed to happen after it rained. A local (non Ford) mechanic stated that he believed the ECM was getting wet and corrosion was causing this problem. After he addressed the problem (he cleaned and tightened pins, sealed with terminal sealer/corrosion inhibitor), the problem completely stopped. Now, 4 years later, it's doing it again. But that mechanic is no longer in business and I am worried that this is a chronic (and scary) problem that needs to be addressed. This morning my vehicle lunged suddenly backwards out of my driveway, right into the sidewalk where children were passing. I had stopped my car, let up the brake and it lunged. No one was hurt but I no longer feel comfortable driving it. I hope that you can investigate this problem and provide me with an update (and a solution!). we love the vehicle otherwise.

- Key West, FL, USA

When stopped or moving slow to make a turn the engine accelerates on its own, this happens going forwards or in reverse and happens more with the ac turned on.

- Brocton, NY, USA

The contact owns a 2005 Ford Freestyle. While driving at any speed or while stopped, the contact noticed that the vehicle would suddenly accelerate followed by stalling. The vehicle was not diagnosed and no repairs were made to the vehicle. The current and the failure mileages were 129,956.

- Jay, OK, USA

I have a 2005 Ford Freestyle. I have had several lunging incidents where the car feels like it wants to lung forward or backward when backing out a parking space etc.. the first time I reported this incident was on 08/25/09. The next time was on 09/22/09. The dealer ordered a new throttle body. There were so many issues with the throttle body on this car that they were on back order. The dealer allowed me to drive for 5697 miles before the part arrived. I requested a rental under warranty and they said they could not justify a rental. On 02/08/10 my new throttle body was installed. Today is 02/22/2012 and I am having the same issue all over again. The Ford Freestyle is by far the worst vehicle I have ever owned. I am on my second set of (rear) brake pads and rotors. I have had the engine mounts replaced. Our air conditioner only works properly during the winter. I have found numerous pages of forums with people from all over the United States dealing with the exact same issues on the exact same cars. I recently discovered that a class action law suit has been filed against Ford for the throttle body issue. I have pages of documented issues with this car.

- Winter Springs, FL, USA

I have a 2005 Freestyle, I bought new, and have had the throttle body replaced twice for this surging issue. The dealer said it was a bad throttle position sensor. I have read on the forums about other people having the same problem. This is my wife's car and she freaks out when it surges, she has almost lost control sometimes.

- Lilburn, GA, USA

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.

- Shelbyville, KY, USA

While stationary in my 2005 Ford Freestyle in the left turn lane at a red light, the engine suddenly accelerated moving the car forward approximately five feet into the intersection before it could be stopped. At the time of this occurrence, my foot was already on the brake and only by stomping harder on the brakes was I able to stop the car's forward travel into cross traffic that was traveling at over 40mph. The car then died and a warning came up on the information display on the dash panel stating "engine failsafe mode". I turned off the ignition and tried to start the car again. The car started, but still displayed the "engine failsafe mode" warning and when we were attempting to return home, the vehicle would not shift out of first gear or allow us to accelerate over 30mph. This incident took place at 9:35pm on January the 20th 2012. It was raining and the ac heat was on.

- Santa Rosa, CA, USA

This Freestyle has surged several times since purchase. We replace a failed throttle body in 2010. Recently in shop in 9/11 for nonstart.

- Crossville, TN, USA

While driving the vehicle it goes into fail safe mode kinda like stalling it does this up to 4 or 5 times with only going a few miles and doesn't matter if it is in town or highway it does it everywhere. We have to pull over shut the car off and restart it.

- Coganstation, PA, USA