My complaint mirrors verbatim others related to the May 2011 investigation opened into the "lunging" at slow speeds for the 05-07 Ford Freestyle. The ac, hot temps, & lunging. One occurrence traveling 60mph & began to "stall out" & slow on major highway with three children in car. Any pressure on fuel pedal no result. Busy traffic, could only travel max 35-40mph. Put flashers on & struggled to make it to repair shop. Turned off ac in 100 degree heat to get any kind of response from engine. I was worried & feared for mine & my children's safety. Vehicle would barely accelerate thru intersection after stopping for red light. Finally made it to shop. Vehicle was placed on machine. Codes appeared: P061B alter fuel control module error, P2106 throttle actuator forced limited. Took vehicle to Ford house & explained issues as well as codes from previous shop. Was told would be $100 for Ford to hook up for a dx. If the codes I had were same, would cost est $800 to repair. As mom of 3 & who drives great distances for work, this repair asap. Have had many occasions if not had foot firmly on brake the vehicle would've caused a wreck at stop light, pulling into, out of parking lots, etc. Car literally drives itself in D/R at 10mph with no acceleration at all after placing in D/R. on 8-12-12 was in drive thru line & car lunged at high rate of speed forward after barely lifting foot off brake. Came mm from slamming into vehicle in front. Put car in P & the vehicle died. Wrench/engine light came on. Turned engine off, turned ac off & restarted the car. I can only imagine what would've happened if this had occurred at a stop light in a busy intersection? this issue is a fatality waiting to happen. This cannot be a fluke random issue if you have rec'd 238 prior complaints regarding the exact same issue. I urge NHTSA to place a recall, if for the only reason to save lives. Updated 08-03-12 updated 09/07/2012

- Tyler, TX, USA

My family was sitting in the car while it was parked in drive. It stalled out and made a strange sound that sounded like a problem with the transmission. I have noticed that when it is hot it seems to accelerate on its own. I have noticed that it usually happens at low speeds and reverse. I feel that this is very dangerous. I have researched this car online and have read that this has happened to quite a few of these cars. I wanted to make sure that this defect has been noted. Thank you for your time.

- Orlando, FL, USA

Cvt transmission bad and has to be replaced. There is a recall on the torch converter on the cvt trans but replacing it doesnt really fix the problem even though it was the cause of the original problem. Once it goes bad you have bits and pieces of metal floating around all over everywhere else and the transmission just goes regardless. Useless recall. Also, the ac only blows cold at high speeds....when driving slow in town it blows warm and I'm having electrical problems with the windows....goes down when I pull up or wont go at all.

- Boise, ID, USA

The contact owns a 2006 Ford Freestyle. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, the brakes were depressed and the vehicle lunged forward. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and a private mechanic. The mechanic stated that the main computer needed to be updated and a wire was touching the air conditioner unit. The manufacturer was not contacted. The vehicle was not repaired. The VIN was unknown. The failure mileage was 54,000 and the current mileage was 75,000.

- Gresham, OR, USA

My Ford Freestyle has had engine surging issues for approximately a year know. Today 6/21/2012 my car started surging at every stop light so severely if we weren't holding down the brake we would of hit the car in front of us. The problem became so severe we had to put the car in neutral at every intersection to keep car from trying to jump into the intersection and stall. Today's temp was in the high nineties and we were using the air conditioning. Today's incident was the worst its been. Went on line and search the symptoms and found that a lot of Freestyle owners are having the same issue. With the safety of the car owner and pedestrians that could be near the car in jeopardy. Ford should be recalling these cars and trying to find a permanent solution to fix this rather then charging the owners high dollars to replace a defective designed part with the same defective part.

- Springfield, MA, USA

I purchased my 2006 Ford Freestyle in June of 2007. Initially I fell in love with the comfort, size, and gas mileage of my new car. Around 2 1/2 yrs later I started noticing when moving from park to reverse my car would sometimes stall or lunge backwards. It was only occasionally and at the time I was told I probably didn't have it in gear all the way before reversing. I had to switch from park to reverse very slowly and always be ready to hit the brake in case it decided to lunge on its own. This problem has almost completely gone away except now I have problems accelerating. Almost always on the highway now my car will loose power and the wrench light will come on. Once I pull over and restart it, it seems to temporarily solve the problem. This is however beyond dangerous. Several times this has happened in places on busy highways where there is no shoulder. I have to travel in the slow lane now 100% of the time and I try to avoid major interstate at all costs. I have invested a great deal of money into several different things that have turned out to not be the problem. I feel like this car should have been recalled by now, before it ends up killing someone. I bought this car because it seemed like a great family car but now I am scared to death to even let children ride with me. I am also very upset that after paying down over a 20K loan to 5K that I will have to buy another car. I planned on having this car for years and years. I attempted in 2009 and in 2011 to trade the car in for a new car and the $ value of trade in is very low. The dealerships are well aware of the problems and offer a very small amount for a 7 passenger 2006 with only 85K miles on and it gets great gas mileage compared to most SUVS or vans that seat 7.

- Columbus , GA, USA

First, during a family vacation the wrench light kept coming on and the 2006 Freestyle would have no acceleration like the transmission would not engage to get the required speed to pass. This results in slowing traffic down causing road rage with other drivers in the vicinity. On one occasion one of our teenagers who is learning to drive experienced this and will not drive the car for this reason. Also, on several occasions while I was driving in route to work or the grocery store, my 06 Ford Freestyle sel limited seemed slow and sluggish to respond as I would be waiting at a red light for the green. When the light did turn green and I would press the gas pedal to go, the car would stall/shut off. A few times there were close calls as the car behind me would be unaware I was having trouble and almost rear-end me. When the car would cut off, I would proceed to restart the car and then press the gas to go. The car seemed to respond extremely slow like I would have the gas pedal pressed to the floor and would only be able to go 20 - 25 mph. On other occasions, the car would seem to lurch forward or backward (depending on if I had the car in drive or reverse) the wrench light coming on my 2006 Ford Freestyle creates a very dangerous situation because the engine will accelerate without applying the gas pedal and will not accelerate at times when the gas pedal is pressed. People at Ford tell me that the company making the valve body part went out of business without notice, which does not help my situation any. So what is to be done" I have notified my state and federal highway safety commissioners, NHTSA, and my friend who also owns a 2006 Ford Freestyle of the problem and I would like to ask everyone with a similar problem to do the same. Please explain, what is to be done"

- Millbury, OH, USA

I have always owned Ford however this is by far the scariest Ford car ever and to me the unsafest!! I purchased my Ford Freestyle back in October 2010. Ever since then my car seems to have a mind of its own. When I am completely stopped my car will automatically lunge forward and even stall when I am turning my wheel. I have a 5 year old child who I drive everyday to school in this death trap and it scares me to death. I have tried talking to my Ford dealership about this since the car was like this when I bought it but of course they want me to spend all this money I do not have on repairs...after internet research it appears there are hundreds of people that have the same problem with this vehicle. Why isn't anyone doing something about this to protect the consumer? it is very scary and I do not understand why the car is lunging forward and backwards if backing up when my foot is clearly on the brake as well as stalling. I hope someone will do something about it before someone ends up in an accident or even dead because of this!! that would be a serious lawsuit I am sure. This is a serious issue please please do a recall on it now if not for me for the sake of someone's life who is driving one of these unsafe vehicles.

- Bradenton, FL, USA

My Ford Freestyle has been lurching for years. I have now started stalling when pulling into parking spaces, or making sharp turns. My air compressor needs replacing and I was told the erg valve may cause the lurching? my engine lights comes and goes sporadically and I have to go through carpool line or grocery store with one foot on brakes. I can't fully feel confident at redlights that I won't rearend the person in front of me. I can't understand how this is a issue we should all be stuck with when its obvious a defect. I filed a complaint quite awhile back but now the stalling and lurching has become quite a safety issue. I can live without air although the mechanic seems to think its all related... please recall the issued parts! I stall on hills, when pulling out into traffic, I lunge at random times and then....its fine for the next drive... then dangerous the next!

- Covington , GA, USA

Was driving to work car picked up speed to where the brakes would not stop then the car just went off.

- Cincinnati, OH, USA

Summary: I was putting gas in my car, as I entered the car after fueling, I was talking to my mother for a moment, and as I was about to place the key in the ignition, there was black smoke coming from the passenger mirror. I got out and ran over, and saw flames. I ripped the black cover with the mirror off, saw that there was an electrical fire. Burning myself, I put the fire out in time to keep it from getting out of control. With the fire safely out, I saw that it was from the led courtesy light assembly at the bottom of the passenger side mirror. It was completely melted and burned. I removed the part, (as well as the one from the driver side for safe measure), and took them to my local Ford dealership so they could report it as a faulty part. The part is the wagner part 71077. According to the driver side (I could not read the passenger side to see if it has the same part number, or if it is different for right and left.) the wire assembly, was burned near the base of the wires where they enter the assembly. Had I not been there to put out the fire, my car would have burnt to the ground!!! my hand is recovering at this time. Updated 09/19/13 the consumer sold the vehicle, a year ago. Updated 09/24/13

- Ottawa, KS, USA

Vehicle surges when idling or going slow. Accelerates at times like parking or moving through parking lots or when stopped at stoplights.

- Ararat, VA, USA

The car when your at a stop or low speed, in drive or reverse the car will try to lurch. When driving down the highway it's fine but when you come to a stop the wrench light comes on. A couple of times the car wouldn't go right away but eventually it would sometimes after turning the car off and back on again the wrench would be gone and would be able to go. Sounds like sometimes the car isn't shifting right.the lurching is really noticeable when the A/C is on. Can't have the A/C on when at a stop or it will lurch.

- Cicero, IN, USA

Engine revs and vehicle lurches while placing the car in reverse, even with foot firmly on the brakes. Appears to be worse when air conditioner is on. Vehicle has lost virtually all power while driving. When this happens, you can floor the gas peddle but the vehicle won't go over 10-15mph. Pulling over to the side of the road, turning vehicle off, waiting 15 seconds or so, then restarting, seems to reset the vehicle to a more functional level. The vehicle also has an extensive exhaust smell and it is currently at the shop for a $566 repair for the diagnostic exam and that diagnosis indicating that the egr valve needs to be replaced. I called Ford and they do not have a current recall for the egr valve, or throttle body-which seems to be a correlated problem within the two.

- Little Elm, TX, USA

On multiple occasions my vehicle has lunged when in a stopped position. When backing out of a parking spot, while in reverse, but with the brake still applied the car has lunged feet backwards at a fast rate and nearly caused accidents. This is also true in regards to stopped at a light or stop sign. While in drive with the brake peddle depressed stopped behind another vehicle the car lunged forward a couple feet nearly hitting the car in front of me. I have four children and I feel unsafe in my own car. I don't know when it is going to happen so I have to be prepared for it at all times. Thank god that I haven't had any accidents when this happens. It is such a fast and unexpected movement that my children will scream. This needs to be taken seriously before someone has a serious accident.

- Parkersburg, WV, USA

For about 2 months I had been experiencing some minor surging when car was put into reverse but thought it might have been bad gas or needed a new fuel or air filter. First major incident was in August when I started my car and put in reverse to back out of parking space. Before I took my foot off the brake, the car accelerated backwards and then stalled suddenly. This happened at least 3 times while I was in the parking lot before the car finally began to work properly and I could drive it home again. Both wrench and check engine lights were on.

- Ormond Beach, FL, USA

I was parked with car running for about 10 mins. When I went to back up the car, the car lunged backwards while my foot was still engaged on the brake. Car stalled but I was able to re-start car. Wrench and engine lights were on. I drove the car home but the fuel injection was labored and did not accelerate normally and would also accelerate unexpectedly while sitting at traffic light. I was able to get the car home, but check engine light was still lit after several days.

- Ormond Beach, FL, USA

With the vehicle in gear, either forward or reverse, and with a foot on the break at idle RPM the engine surges causing the vehicle to lurch. Consequently, the vehicle will either stall or the "wrench" light will illuminate and the vehicle will not accelerate to over 30mph while driving the RPM's up well past normal for that rate of speed. This is also the case while at idle speed (no foot on break...just engine in gear and at idle...as if pulling into or out of a parking space). This has been ongoing, yet intermittent, for a little over a year though now it's a multiple-daily occurence.

- Orlando, FL, USA

The car is surging and lunging (see pending investigation from May 2011). Also, when running the A/C it starts to go off and on by itself, then the engine starts to shut off and on, and all gages go to zero, like the car is losing power.

- Bullard, TX, USA

Trying to park my car in a crowded parking lot, the car suddenly surged forward and then stalled. I tried to restart the car and it would not start. I waited a minute, turned off the radio, A/C, etc and then was able to restart. I have had a similar problem on two other occasions since.

- Exeter, ME, USA