Engine surging unexpectedly and violently in gear at idle. I have had the throttle body replaced three times, and on 7-2-2014 it has begun this surging again. Ford customer relationship line has confirmed to me that the vehicle has not cleared off of their database ( I never received the csp-12N03 letter), and the coverage for replacement of the part has expired as of 5-31-2013. Ford asked me to keep all of my receipts when I replace the throttle body for the fourth time so that if Ford enacts a new coverage, I will have my paperwork in order. No promise of a notice letter however.

- Blythewood, SC, USA

Driving up to 55, engine gets to 4000 rpms, and wont shift. Codes suggest bad mechatronic.

- Jenison, MI, USA

The throttle body issue with Ford Freestyle has affected us twice with the same car. The initial time is mentioned above, and the part was replaced under warranty by Ford. The issue has resurfaced and it makes the car very dangerous if you are not mashing the brake down at idle because the car will lunge or lurch uncontrollably. It accelerates rapidly at idle without control. The lurching occurs especially bad when the air conditioner is running.

- Moore, OK, USA

My engine blew and had to be rebuilt. I then had to have the transmission rebuilt 2 months after getting it back. The inner tie rod ends went out. There was a number of.there things that went wrong at the same time. It was as though the vehicle started falling apart at 120000 miles.

- Noblesville, IN, USA

The contact owns a 2006 Ford Freestyle. The contact stated that while attempting to park, the engine rpms increased as the vehicle accelerated independently without warning. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was advised that the throttle body needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 121,000 and the current mileage was 141,000.

- Saint Petersburg , FL, USA

I have been having problems with the throttle body of the vehicle for the past 2 years. It seems to want to lunge forward and back on its own. The idol is screwed up as well. Ford issued a customer service 12N03 in December 2012. Since it was serviced at this time, it still has been occurring frequently. It is a dangerous situation when you do not know if you will hit someone if the car lunges forward or back on its own. I now have it in the shop for the third time to replace the throttle body completely, which will now cost me over $800. Ford needs to take responsibility and fix this problem on the car!!!!!!!!

- Davie, FL, USA

The contact owns a 2006 Ford Freestyle. The contact stated that while driving approximately 68 mph, the cbt transmission caused the vehicle to accelerate without warning. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed that the PCM transmission control had exceeded the current condition. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the problem. The approximate mileage was 79,957. The consumer stated two days after the vehicle was purchased, the wrench light illuminated. When the wrench light illuminated, the vehicle sounded and acted like it was stuck in gear. So, the only way to alleviate the issue, was to pull over, turn the vehicle off and back on again.

- Jacksonville, FL, USA

Experienced a drop in throttle response going through a curve/intersection and reduced power...pulled to the side of the road...switched off ignition and restarted. Had experienced the same situation over the past three months and found a Ford recall to clean the throttle body and reprogram the controller. Dealership now tells me that the repair is to replace the throttle body at a cost of over $800

- York, PA, USA

Car lunges forward when at a stop but still on drive, brakes must be immediately applied or the car will take off by itself. Happens more when the shift is in the drive position but is being held by the brake for a period of time like in a line, a drive thru, or long traffic light. Very scary!

- Needville, TX, USA

Transmission went out at 50,000 miles apx. After googling I found this is common with this car. I also am currently dealing with what I think its a throttle body issue. I did a search on edmunds.com and found a 12 page thread of people have similar issues. The car with revved up and lurched backwards and also forwards which is very scary and dangerous. I've had issues with getting the car to go above a certain speed as well. I will put the car into reverse and ease my foot off the brake and not even touch the gas pedal and fly backwards. I am terrified that one of these days I will not be able to stop the car. I am going to have it fixed but from reading others experiences it only solves the problem for a year or two and then they are back to the start again. It seems even this website has over 5 pages of complaints don't you think it is time to do something?

- Pearl City, HI, USA

I own a 2006 Ford Freestyle which I purchased in 2006. I have had some past experiences with what appeared to be the transmission slipping when mileage was around 50,000. The wrench light would come on, but then the car would resume as normal and the wrench light would go off. I was told by the dealership service department, that unless they were in the auto when it happened or the light was on, they could not run a code or determine the cause. My Freestyle now has 108,000 miles and this morning I was on the highway to work, the transmission slightly slipped and then when I accelerated, I had no power. I was able to roll to a side road for safety. I turned my auto off and then on, put it in drive and reverse and neither gears worked. My automobile would not move. I have talked to two Ford dealership service departments and they tell me it will be around $6000 (give or take) to replace the transmission. They said that no one will "repair it" due to the "cvt" transmission. I had to have it towed and missed work because of this. Ford should pay, not their customers. I want restitution. Ford needs to recall these automobiles and replace the transmission with one that they know is not faulty. They also need to pay for a rental auto while my transmission is being replaced with a new/reliable/safe one. I am very upset and would like to know where to go from here. I have taken great care of my automobile, regular maintenance done regularly and it looks new. Had I of been on the interstate, I could have been in a serious accident.

- Lebanon Junction, KY, USA

My 2006 Ford Freestyle has had this happen before and now it is happening again. The car will lunge forward at low speeds. When this occurred before the dealership replaced the throttle body and it cost about $700. Here almost two years later, it is doing it again. There is no way of knowing when it will do it, and is a major safety hazard. I cannot afford to pay to replace this part every other year. From reading online forums, it seems to be a major problem with this vehicle. Ford needs to take responsibility and find a fix that will not happen again. Yet Ford does nothing about it!!

- Gettysburg, PA, USA

The contact owns a 2006 Ford Freestyle. The contact stated that while driving approximately 65 mph, the wrench warning icon illuminated accompanied with a slight reduction in engine power. The vehicle was maneuvered to the side of the roadway and resumed normally after several moments. The failure recurred five times. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer, who was unable to locate a problem. The manufacturer was not notified of the defect. The approximate failure mileage was 80,000. The VIN was unavailable.

- Melville, NY, USA

This car is absolute junk and extremely unsafe! yes, I've had the same throttle body issue as everyone else, and after I took it to Ford for the "warranty" it got worse! instead of surging at low speeds, now the entire vehicles pulses...lights, engine, instrument panel, etc. At 60mph the engine will randomly sputter an the RPM's will shoot way up - every light goes bright/dim, the engine idle goes up and down, the air conditioning pulses and eventually turns itself on and off - then suddenly the instrument cluster goes nuts with the speedometer going from my speed down to 0 and back up, wrench and all kinds of other lights flashing, charging system errors - it's insane. I took it back to Ford and they said it was a loose battery cable (!) and of course after I picked it up it did the exact same stuff going back home. Now it appears I need to replace all 6 coils and the computer for about $1500 - this thing is only worth $3500 at this point and I still owe $9000 - it's a nightmare. Also having the transmission issues - doesn't want to go when you first put it into gear and kind of hops at low speeds - I don't even know how much that will cost. I have two small kids and depend on this vehicle to get me to work and get my family where we need to go an I'm scared every time I get in the thing...with so many of these having the exact same problems I really don't understand how Ford execs can live with themselves and not replace these failing parts. Someone is going to get killed, if they haven't already - I'm desperately trying to find a way to unload this thing!

- Hull, GA, USA

I purchased my 2006 Ford Freestyle as a used vehicle in 8/2011. I have had nothing but problem after problem with this vehicle. It started with ac issue in 9/2011. Then surging/braking issues off and on for almost a year. I couldn't get the dealership where I purchases it or an actual Ford dealership to repair the surging/braking issue because they couldn't get the problem to repeat when I brought it in. It wasn't until I received the service letter for this issue that my complaint was justified and the recommended repairs where done as per stated by the manufacturer letter. This repair wasn't done until 1/2013. During that time I have also had to replace the water pump and harmonize balancer. Now, 5/2013 my torque converter and/or cvt is going out. Basically, all the complaints that are out there on this vehicle I have the misfortune of being all in this one vehicle. I wish there was a recall on this vehicle because I desperately need out of this money trap and owe more on it than it's worth. Please help soon to be stranded single mom of 3.

- Houston, TX, USA

A few weeks ago I was backing out of the driveway in the morning (it was cold & frosty). When I put the vehicle into reverse it started to back out but then wouldn't accelerate. I pushed harder on the accelerator and it revved and finally went. The car felt off' while driving (shaky & not fully under control-like riding a bicycle when the chain slips but isn't completely off). The wrench light turned on but once I'd arrived at the destination & stopped & restarted the vehicle it seemed fine and the wrench light turned off. Last week I was again backing out and the vehicle would not accelerate, I pushed down more on the accelerator and it skipped / lurched back (almost hitting another vehicle). This happened twice more, both scary but manageable once I was able to turn the vehicle off and on again. Then this morning it happened again with the revving noise and poor and jumpy acceleration but after restarting, the 'check engine' light came on and has continued to be lit. So far I have only encountered the lurching and lack of acceleration occurring while in reverse, though it's continued once going forward until I can pull over and restart the vehicle. Until I can restart the vehicle it feels shaky and on the verge of dying, especially when at idle in traffic or red lights. I did a lot of research before purchasing the Freestyle. I chose it because it was one of the highest rated and 'safest' SUVS with 3rd row seats - reviewed by the iihs, car-seat.org and other organizations. I would not have purchased a Freestyle if these problems were well known to me at the time. We will look at the throttle body as recommended by other owners on this and other sites and I only hope that solves the problem. In the meantime I am afraid of the lack of acceleration and lurching problem happening around other vehicles and people so I am driving backroads where possible.

- Charlesteon, SC, USA

On February 11th I had the recall done that reflashed computer and cleaned throttle body. The 12th and 13 it was unseasonably warm and the vehicle ran great. On the 14th the vehicle would not move at all. The temp was below 15 degrees. I could not drive my car for a month. When the temps went up into the 20's the car ran fine. I called the dealer to report the problem and was informed that the recall could only be completed once. On March 7th I cleaned the throttle body myself and found a ring of carbon around the butterfly. After cleaning the car was running good again. This was less than 400 miles after the recall had been completed. The symptoms of the jerking have gone away with the cleaning. The continuous problem seems to be the engine and malfunction light will come on and the vehicle reduces power and speed. Seems to be at lower temperatures. Yesterday it was 20 out and it did this. I have inspected the air and vacuum hoses to the throttle body and cannot find any loose, or broken. I have sprayed around throttle body gaskets while vehicle is running and can find no vacuum leaks. I don't think this is completely a throttle body issue. I believe the cvt transmission is to blame. In November I had the transmission fluids and sump filter changed. I did this because of the complaints of early transmission failure. Usually the failure occurs when vehicle is under load, ie going up hills etc. And appears to be temperature related.

- Lewiston, MI, USA

The problem im having is that as the car goes 20-25 mph it complete stops and the wrench light goes on. It happened to me a few times on the highway at a normal high speed it complete went off. It sure has been a nightmare. Now I cant even take the family with me cause im scare to put them at risk. The Ford dealer did not fix the problem im at the point that I don't know what to do or who to call. Every number I call its an operator and the recording hangs up on me after a few times. I had a recall letter that was send to me but the repair dept at the Ford dealer don't want to give it back. I just hope the NHTSA can help me in some way. I was told that the problem im having has to do with the throttle body.

- Modesto, CA, USA

Our vehicle has been making noises since August, 2012. It also lunges forward when in park and when going at low speed. Afraid it is going to lunge forward and cause an accident or hit someone in crosswalk. We have had work done on this vehicle and nobody can tell us what the issue is. We have contacted Ford as it appears they have had numerous complaints and no response.

- Potosi, MO, USA

All of the sudden my rpms were surging really high while I was going slow I could only go about 20 mph with the rpms at 5! then my car would shoot forward and shut off. I had my throttle body cleaned under the recall and then the next day my car wouldn't move at all! it turns on but doesn't no go anywhere and when you put it in gear it shoots forward and shuts off again! the throttle body cleaning is obviously not the issue!

- Randolph, VT, USA