Transmission totally failed in cold weather, stranding me.

- Janesville, MN, USA

On April 30th, 2011 I was leaving on a short weekend trip with myself and 5 kids. I had just left my driveway and was driving about 25 when a bird flew out in front of me. I proceeded to try to brake so I would not hit the bird. Instead of braking, the car accelerated. The kids in the vehicle wanted to know why I sped up instead of braking. It was very scary. If there would have been a car or person in front of me, I would have hit them. Thankfully there was not. I let the incident pass and we continued on. On Sunday, May 1, 2011, we were driving home when my car started speeding up and then shaking. It was out of control. It was then that the check transmission light came on. I thankfully was able to pull over safely. We ended up having to find transportation for myself and 5 children and then have the car towed back to our local dealership. After the dealership checked it out, we were informed that the transmission is bad and they are asking $6000 to fix it. It seems that the special transmission they put in our 2005 Freestyle is not a good one and they are having problems with it. It is the "special" transmission that is making it so expensive to fix. So, it seems Ford knows that there is a problem but refuses to stand behind its product or customers and fix it. This is a very dangerous situation! I am so thankful no one was hurt in my situation. It could have been much worse considering I live on a busy street with a lot of children. I am glad it was not a child I was trying to stop for as I would have most definitely hit them..

- West Bend, WI, USA

Previous issue that I had fixed at the Ford dealer with my Freestyle. Vehicle would lunge as noted in your investigation. I contacted Ford and they stated that there was no recall at the time and apologized for the issue but noted it in the records for my 2005 Freestyle. I had the throttle body replaced and it fixed the issue, however, Ford did not pay for any of T he repairs. Repair was done at dovi Ford dealership in cortland, NY.

- Cortland, NY, USA

The car will rev up and jump forward (or backward). Sometimes stalls after jumping, worse when air conditioning is on. Dealership has said there is no problem they can find. Saw there was an investigations so I decided to make my complaint official.

- Burgoon, OH, USA

Unintended movement, when brake was applied engine seemed to throttled and shifted up without foot on accelerator and continue moving until brake pressed again and emergency brake applied and car hit curb.

- Birmingham , AL, USA

Bought our 2005 Ford Freestyle new. Summer 2010 began having stalling and lurching problems. Fall 2010, "knock" in transmission while in neutral and reverse. Winter 2010, "knock" becomes more prominent and is now being heard while slowing to a stop. Called several non-Ford transmission shops, they will not touch the cvt's. finally go to local Ford dealership, bearings are going bad, best case scenario $2,000, worst case scenario a re-man tranny $5,400+. of course, after getting into the tranny, I am with the worst case scenario. Contact Ford customer service.....end result --sorry about your luck.

- Defiance, OH, USA

Cvt transmission failure in my Freestyle 2005 at 83000 miles. The car has gone into a "safe" transmission mode or just stopped almost every month for 6 months. Ford wanted $ 6500 to put in an entirely new transmission. I took it to a transmission shop and they rebuilt it. Same problem is happening again. Ford needs to address this with the transmission manufacturer and figure this out or put out a recall on this transmission - that is no longer being used.

- River Forest, IL, USA

I have experienced my second cvt transmission failure on my 2005 Ford Freestyle.

- Newton, MA, USA

This happened again today. First noticed summer 2010. Have around 80,000 miles now. Vehicle surges forward. RPM spikes during driving every day no matter what speed driving to 3K-4K. Vehicle lurches forward at slow speeds as well. Have hit the side of my garage when I took my foot off the brake while parking and banged up the bumper pretty bad as well as garage. Vehicle lurched forward during summer when ac was on, almost hit another car, but seems to happen regardless of ac or heat on or off. Ford dealer reported no problem during last check up. Could it be the cvt. This is a serious issue and should be addressed! I don't feel safe and I'm planning to give vehicle to my son next year. Please help!

- Smyrna, DE, USA

My 2005 Ford Freestyle with 48000 miles on suddenly needs a new transmission. The dealer gave an option of spending a $1000 dollars to "possibly" fix it but cannot guarantee else we have to spend $5500 on a new transmission. Something is seriously wrong with Ford if after 5 years I have to spend over $5K on a new tranny and nothing is covered. Basically I pay it or have no car that will drive. This is completely bogus and Ford needs to do something about it. Apparently I am not the only one complaining here, so what is going to be done to rectify the situation?

- Dubuque, IA, USA

I bought a 2005 Ford Freestyle used with 81,000 miles a couple months later it began to surge forward or backward with the brake on. Then at 98,000 miles while driving down the four-lane the transmission completely quit. I had it towed to a Ford dealership and they are saying the transmission is gone and has to be replaced (for $6000). Obviously from all the complaints this is a serious problem, why isn't Ford doing something about it. Are they waiting on somebody to die first"?"

- Castlewood, VA, USA

Cvt transmission vibrating excessively and making loud noise when shifting out of park. Cvt transmission failure at 67,000 miles. Had to replace with a Ford remanufactured transmission.

- Bartlett, TN, USA

My 2005 Ford Freestyle just all of a sudden took off when I put it in reverse. I almost hit another car in the parking lot!!!!. since then it does it randomly several times a week and now it even does it when you put it in drive. I have to be very careful in parking lots and in traffic. This is very dangerous and Ford needs to recall this dangerous defect.

- Dallas, GA, USA

2005 Ford Freestyle lunges forward when placed in gear and sometimes when sitting at a stop sign or traffic light. Also lunges backward when in reverse. This has been going on for about 5 months and seems to be getting worse. Worried about the car hitting a person or another car.

- Winthrop, ME, USA

The contact owns a 2005 Ford Freestyle. The contact stated that when shifting from park to drive or braking to a stop, the vehicle would intermittently lunge forward. In addition, the vehicle would lose power sporadically and would engage the safe mode. The dealer advised that the transmission would need replacing. The vehicle was not repaired. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was 45,000.

- Covington, KY, USA

Purchased a 2005 Ford Freestyle two years ago. This past year (2010) have experienced surging when placing my car in reverse- consistently happens every time I start my car and place into reverse. This past week (8.26.2010) I almost rear ended a car while waiting at a traffic light when the car started surging (rpms were going up & down) unexpectedly. It surged 4 times then the fail safe lights came on and the engine cut off. I pushed the car off the side of the road. After a few moments I restarted- car again surged while in reverse and drove it to the dealership. Awaiting response of the problem. Am very afraid I will end up backing into someone or rear ending a car due to the over revving while sitting idle.

- Sanford, FL, USA

The contact owns a 2005 Ford Freestyle. The contact stated that check engine light illuminated as the vehicle abnormally accelerated before stalling. The contact stated the failure would occur intermittently. When shifted into reverse, the vehicle would move forward independently and vice versa. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where the contact was informed that the transmission would need replacing. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer offered no assistance. The failure mileage was 75,402 and the current mileage was approximately 75,800.

- Minneapolis, MN, USA

For the past 3 weeks, my 2005 Ford Freestyle has been lunging forward in drive w/O my control. In reverse, it lunges backwards. I have seen numerous blogs about the same problem w/Ford. Some people have actually hit bldgs & people! this is outrageous that Ford has not made a recall. This is a complete safety issue. Also, after the car lurches, it dies - which can happen on a highway as well. Ford will not do anything to help. They told me its my responsibility to get a replacement car while I wait months for the part to come in from the national backorder. If this wasn't such a problem then why are the parts on a national backorder?

- Melbourne, FL, USA

Car sometimes feels like it is accelerating, or bucking, when the brake is on or slowing down such as pulling into a parking space or pulling up to a stop sign or traffic light.

- Cranberry Township, PA, USA

The contact owns a 2005 Ford Freestyle. The contact stated that the vehicle would lunge forward when she attempted to slow down or stop. The problem became progressively worse since September 2008. The vehicle had not been inspected or repaired at the time of the complaint. The contact had not spoken with the manufacturer at the time of the complaint. The current mileage was approximately 70,000. The failure mileage was approximately 65,000.

- West Valley City, UT, USA