10.0
really awful- Crashes / Fires:
- 25 / 0
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 1 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 75,025 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.
« Read the previous 20 complaints
The contact owns 2006 Ford Freestyle. The contact stated when the air conditioner was activated, the vehicle would stall without warning and sporadically, the vehicle would lunge forward or backward abnormally. The contact took the vehicle to a dealer where the dealer advised that there were no failures and the occurrences were normal for the particular vehicle. The dealer did not perform a diagnostic but advised that the engine would produce greater rpms when the air conditioner was activated. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 63,000.
- North Hollywood, CA, USA
When I am idle or just driving around local, the car is accelerating on its own. Very dangerous. I have adjusted my driving habits around this issue, but took it in this morning because the car will not start without pressing the gas pedal. I have read on the internet that there are many people that are having the same issue, but Ford has not issued a recall. I cannot afford to make the repairs that others have detailed, and they say that the problem comes back after the repairs are made.
- Saint Louis, MO, USA
The contact owns a 2006 Ford Freestyle. While stopped at a traffic stop, the vehicle suddenly lunged forward while the brakes were applied. The failure recurred intermittently and most frequently when the air conditioner was activated. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact to take the vehicle to the dealer for diagnostics. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer nor repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 128,000.
- Naples, NY, USA
During hot weather, on multiple occasions, my newly-purchased 2006 Ford Freestyle will "lunge" wildly when initially placed in either reverse or drive, requiring heavy application of the brakes to keep it from running away. The vehicle has a "wrench" light (indicating a powertrain or transmission fault) and an "engine" light (I.e., check engine) which both come on when this occurs. Typically turning the ignition off and restarting the car will temporarily resolve the problem, however occasionally the check engine light will remain on while driving for a day or so afterward. This behavior has not been exhibiting itself since the weather turned cooler. I don't know what difference that makes, but it does seem to make some difference.
- Owensboro, KY, USA
The contact owns a 2006 Ford Freestyle. The contact stated that the vehicle would lunge forward while driving at low speeds. The failure would also occur while driving in reverse and both failures occurred on an intermittent basis. The vehicle was eventually taken to an authorized dealer, where the contact was informed that the throttle body control was defective. The vehicle was repaired. The failure mileage was 5 and the current mileage was 89,090.
- New Boston, MI, USA
Ford Freestyle surges, moving the vehicle when brake is lightly held.
- Los Alamos, NM, USA
My husband was stopped at a red light. All of a sudden the car just went forward through the light, even though he was holding the brake pedal down. Thankfully no cars hit us. We thought perhaps it was just something weird that happened. I continued to drive it and it happened two more times. I called Ford. They told me that there was no recall and I should take it to a Ford dealership to have it tested. The dealership said that they had this happen on quite a few of their cars, and that even though the computer didn't show anything, they recommended that we have a new throttle put in the car. We did and paid $800. To have it done. We had also talked to a different mechanic who also confirmed that he had quite a few Ford come in with this same problem. Ford told us that they would not pay for it unless there was a recall. They car was not safe to drive, therefore we paid for the repair.
- Princeton, TX, USA
When parallel parking, the car surged backward and I had to stomp on the brake to prevent it from crashing into the car behind me. I then began to pull forward and it once again lunged, this time I was quicker on the brake and noted that the rpms shot up momentarily before it settled down again. The problem continues to occur, always at low speeds, most often when in reverse. It has occurred a few times when pulling forward into our garage. I am afraid to park near other cars wary that it will cause a collision.
- Marionville, MO, USA
2006 Ford Freestyle while driving on highway (60+ mph) engine feels as though it is in neutral. Push on gas pedal, rpms rev up to 4K-5K and car does not accelerate. Wrench light illuminates and need to pull car over to restart it. Car works fine after restarting for a bit, and then will act up again. Have read multiple reports of this happening to same vehicle so it is currently at the mechanic to have the throttle body cleaned to see if this resolves issue.
- Lyman, ME, USA
I have a 2006 Ford Freestyle. The car has been surging forward and backwards, for the last year and a half, with or without the A/C on. The first time I took it back to Ford, they told me there was nothing wrong. Now, we try not to use the A/C and drive/brake very cautiously.
- Chicago, IL, USA
The car surges when at low speeds, idling and in reverse. We first noticed it in reverse. This is more apparent when the A/C is on. We are unsure exactly when this started to occur so the date above is a close guess. The surging is definitely happening now. If it happens we have to step very firmly on the brake because the car wants to jump forward. We have also had the wrench light come on. When the vehicle was still under warranty we had it looked at by the dealer but we were told that they could not reproduce the problem. I searched the internet and have discovered that others are having the same or similar problem as I am.
- Phoenix, AZ, USA
My auto serviceman found my throttle body to be faulty. He mentioned a service report was published by Ford due to the number of failures Ford was having with this part.
- Wheaton, IL, USA
The contact owns a 2006 Ford Freestyle. The contact stated that the vehicle unexpectedly accelerated at rapid speeds and the contact was not depressing the accelerator pedal. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer and the manufacturer was not contacted. The vehicle was not repaired and the VIN was unavailable. The failure mileage was 60,000 and the current mileage was 65,000.
- Plano, TX, USA
We initially experienced surging while maneuvering in & out of parking spaces. Later the car failed to accelerate beyond 15-20 mph while driving down the street. Ford replaced the throttle body on the date above (6/16/09) at 53,700 miles at a cost of $780, which solved the problem until recently. Two weeks ago (8/15/11) we began to experience the surging again while maneuvering in & out of parking spaces. We now have 90,000 miles on the car. (Ford also replaced an engine mount when they replaced the throttle body in 2009 at a cost of $428.)
- Phoenix, AZ, USA
The contact owns a 2006 Ford Freestyle. The contact stated while the vehicle was in drive with the brake pedal depressed when the engine exhibited an abnormal increase in engine rpms. The vehicle then abnormally lunged forward. The failure would also occur in reverse. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who replaced the throttle body, but the failure persisted. The failure mileage was 61,190 and the current mileage was 76,000.
- Rockwall , TX, USA
We have owned our 2006 Freestyle since Aug. 2007. After 6 months of purchasing the vehicle, we noticed an occasional unintended acceleration problem. The problem became more frequent over the last few months. Recently, my wife was trying to parallel park when the Freestyle suddenly lurched backward narrowly missing the car behind ours. The car stalled when she applied the brakes. She restarted the car, and again it lurched, this time dangerously close to the car in front of her. Again, the car stalled when she applied the brakes. Our children were as frightened as my wife. We took our Freestyle in on multiple occasions and the cause of the issue could not be diagnosed even after we explained what happened. We took our Freestyle to a Ford dealership who finally diagnosed (with "75% confidence") the unintended acceleration stemming from a defective throttle body. The cost to replace the throttle body is nearly $1000. Upon research of this issue with Ford Freestyles, we feel that the unintended acceleration problem is cause for Ford to recall and repair these vehicles at no cost to us before my family or other Freestyle owners are injured or killed.
- Oakland, CA, USA
The contact owns a 2006 Ford Freestyle. The contact stated that while reversing from a parking space, the vehicle lunged backward and stalled. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer to have the failure diagnosed. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to the nearest dealer to have the vehicle inspected. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 80,000 and current mileage was 101,000. Updated 11/03/11 updated 11/04/11
- Royal Oak, MI, USA
Engine RPM will suddenly increase during low speed maneuvers such as parking or backing out of driveway. This sudden change can vary between 500 to 1000 RPM and seems more pronounced when the air conditioner is on and the vehicle is turning
- Casper, WY, USA
Car attempts to lunge while foot is firmly applied to the brake. This event sometimes results in an engine stall followed by the check engine light coming on. It has occurred frequently over the last 3 months. Most occurrences do not result in the check engine light coming on. Car failed vehicle inspection on 06/27/11 due to this event occurring while the inspector was testing the brake system. I don't plan to have the car worked on until this defect investigation is complete, so this car could serve as an example if needed.
- Denton, TX, USA
- Dunkirk, MD, USA