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 a 2006 Ford Freestyle. The contact shifted into reverse and there was an abnormal increase in engine rpms to 2500. The vehicle then abnormally accelerated and the contact abruptly depressed the brakes to stop the unintended acceleration. The vehicle stalled once he depressed the brakes. The contact was able to restart the vehicle but the vehicle would not accelerate. The contact took the vehicle to a local repair facility where he was informed that the throttle body would need to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired and there were no prior warnings of the failure. The current and failure mileage was 50,000.
- Winston'salem, NC, USA
I have a 2006 Ford Freestyle the throttle body has gone bad and it cause the car the lunge out of control. This could be a problem as it lunges about a foot or two and you could easily hit a person or car or someother object.
- Imperial, MO, USA
The contact owns a 2006 Ford Freestyle. The contact stated when shifting gears, the vehicle would independently accelerate intermittently. In addition, the vehicle would not accelerate past 35 mph. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where the dealer advised that the failure could possibly be caused by a defect in the torque converter. The contact was awaiting a definitive diagnosis of the failure. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 50,000 and the current mileage was approximately 52,000.
- Wexford, PA, USA
2006 Ford Freestyle. Unexpected acceleration at low (idle) speeds. Occurs sporadically, usually when air conditioner is on and car is in reverse. Also happens when at a stop in drive. I thought it might be a transmission problem. Dealer could not find anything wrong. The other day it happened in a drive through lane and I almost hit the car in front of me. I braked and turned to the right and the car stalled. It did not run good for the next 10 miles. I drove directly to the dealer and explained the problems in detail. Next day I was told T hat it was a dirty air filter and nothing was found. I told them that I had researched online and found thousands with the same problem. That it was T he throttle body. They told me that they had not been able to reproduce the problem and they could not replace the part until it did. They have had my car for several days.
- Algonquin, IL, USA
The contact owns a 2006 Ford Freestyle. The contact stated while attempting to brake from 5 mph, the vehicle abnormally accelerated without warning. The contact had to abruptly depress the brakes and shift into park in order to stop the vehicle. The dealer advised that the throttle body would need to be replaced. There were no prior warnings of the failure and the vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 30,000 and the current mileage was 38,000.
- Miami, FL, USA
Our 2006 Ford Freestyle has started to accelerate at higher speeds when putting in reverse even when brake is being applied, this also happens when putting into drive, but not as often as reverse. We have 50,000 miles on our car and have had no other problems thus far. Our check engine light came on today and I am planning on contacting a Ford dealer tomorrow to get it diagnosed? I think Ford needs to recall the throttle body's in these vehicles, I had no idea so many owners of the 2006 Ford Freestyle are having the same problem as we are.
- Huntingburg , IN, USA
Surging/lunging of car even while pressing brakes as hard as possible. Occurs quite frequently. Have not repaired yet, will not let wife or daughter drive until I get it fixed.
- Locust Grove, GA, USA
We have a 2006 Ford Freestyle which has driven well for years without significant problems. In July 2010, we became concerned with the car's sudden acceleration in both reverse and drive. Each time you place the car into gear (without touching the accelerator), the car lunges forward or backward and it is terrifying to drive. After the car lunges it will sometimes stall. You cannot ease slowly out of parking spaces or more slowly through traffic because you could easily hit another car or person. The sudden acceleration started out as hardly noticeable but now the car is completely unsafe. On July 22, 2010, we took the car to our Ford dealership and they told us the problem was will the "throttle body". they told us we couldn't drive the car at all until this part was replaced. Nationwide this part is on back order for at least 2 weeks. Apparently, this is a problem for many 2006 Freestyles.
- Elmhurst, IL, USA
The throttle body in the 2006 Ford Freestyle. Unexpected acceleration, revving of the motor.
- New Windsor, NY, USA
The contact owns a 2006 Ford Freestyle. While driving in reverse at an unknown low speed, the vehicle surged backward until the brakes were applied and the vehicle stalled. After the vehicle shut off a transmission service light illuminated on the dashboard. Upon restart the service light was no longer illuminated on the dashboard. The contact also stated that the failure occurred previously while driving forward. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where they were unable to determine the cause of failure. The failure and current mileages were 100,800.
- Lansing, KS, USA
The contact owns a 2006 Ford Freestyle. The contact stated that while driving 35 mph, the vehicle continued to accelerate. The contact tried to the stop the vehicle by applying the brakes and the vehicle continue to accelerate through a stop sign. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer who stated that the throttle body needed to be replaced. The dealer stated that the part was on back order and would be available in the middle of August. The contact stated that the failure could potentially cause a crash to occur. The failure mileage was 60,000.
- Hutchinson, KS, USA
I am very concerned that my vehicle accelerates on its own and Ford will not do anything about this problem.this has happened several times while in drive and reverse causing me to almost strike another vehicle. I own a 2006 Ford Freestyle and have contacted the manufacturer several times and had it to a Ford dealership. It was diagnosed as the throttle body and Ford is aware of the safety issue but is doing nothing. I was told that the part would not be available until at least the end of September. Ford knows that this part is defective causing acceleration in the vehicle and still will only tell me there is a national backorder and they are doing everything they can. The safety of my family and others on the road is of no concern to them. They refuse to provide me with a safe vehicle to drive. I believe this issue needs to be addressed. They are knowingly risking the lives of my family and others on the road by knowingly not issuing a recall. Not only is this dangerous when this part does eventually get redesigned and produced by Ford even though it is a safety issue and defect in Ford Freestyles I had to pay $75 to have the problem diagnosed on July 6, 2010 and my cost to repair the issue when the part is available will be approximately $700. I cannot believe that Ford is being allowed to operate business in this way. My first contact regarding this problem was July 6, 2010 and still nothing. Ford has not provided me with the part required to fix my car and cannot tell me when it will be available. They also will not provide me with a safe vehicle to drive and is suggesting that I continue to drive a car that accelerates on its own. They should not be allowed to stay in business. I am contacting all necessary authorities regarding this safety issue that Ford will not address or resolve.
- Ravenswood, WV, USA
The contact owns a 2006 Ford Freestyle. While applying his foot on the brake pedal and driving in reverse the vehicle surged backwards and the service warning light illuminated. The contact applied the brakes with extreme force when the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was taken to a dealer who stated that the throttle body needed to be replaced. The dealer also stated that the parts were on back order. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 80,625 and the current mileage was 80,805.
- Bismarck, AR, USA
The contact owns a 2006 Ford Freestyle. The contact stated that as she entered the parking lot, the vehicle suddenly accelerated. All of the warning lights illuminated simultaneously. When the brakes were depressed to slow the vehicle down it continued to lunge forward. She had to continue turning the engine on and off in order to stop the failure from occurring. The vehicle was towed to the dealer who stated they had to perform two diagnostic tests at her expense. The throttle body needed to be replaced, but the parts were on back order. The failure was not covered under any recalls or warranty. The manufacturer stated that the parts were not covered under the warranty and she was responsible for the repair cost. The failure and current mileages were 54,000.
- Brownsboro, TX, USA
Daughter was driving car in chico ca I was in passenger seat. 100 degree temps and the air conditioner was operating at high setting. She was slowly rolling forward into a parking space covering the brake when the car lurched forward as though she had stepped on the gas. Contacted the dealer by phone today and he assured me that there were no service bulletins concerning this issue. He said because no check engine light came on that it probably would not show up on a computer check. I will be stopping by tomorrow to have them diagnose the problem.
- Modesto, CA, USA
The contact owns a 2006 Ford Freestyle. The vehicle suddenly accelerated several times while attempting to park the vehicle with her foot on the brake pedal. A recent incident occurred while driving at her residence and nearly caused a crash to occur. The vehicle will be taken to the dealer to diagnose the failure. The manufacturer advised the contact to take the vehicle to the dealer and to file a complaint with the NHTSA. The failure mileage was 49,500 and the current mileage was 51,000.
- Richmond Heights, OH, USA
The contact owns a 2006 Ford Freestyle. When the brakes were applied a wrench warning light illuminated on the instrument panel. The vehicle surged forward and the contact began to apply repeated pressure to the brakes before the vehicle would stop. The failure recurred twice and the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer who stated that the throttle body needed to be replaced. The replacement parts were on back order and the vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 26,000 and the current mileage was 26,700.
- Playingsmart444@Yahoo.Com, NV, USA
My '06 Ford Freestyle has been having problems with surging forward especially when moving slowly back and forth into a parking spot. At times it even stalls. The surge causes the car to rapidly accelerate and I'm forced to slam on the brakes to avoid hitting the car, wall, person, or whatever is in front of me. It usually happens when the ac is on. I have taken the car to a Ford service station on three different occasions and they have been unable to detect the problem. On the first attempt, they could not duplicate my concern. The next two times I went into the car with the technicians and they did experience the surging motion. However, when running the diagnostic on the car, no problems were indicated. Most recently, the electrical system was updated on the car and I was sent home, as the technicians said they drove the car and no longer felt the surging. By the time I exited the highway (5 miles later) the car was surging and threatening to stall out. I have been researching online and have discovered multiple Freestyle owners with the same complaint. Most have indicated that the cause is the throttle body. I have made another appointment to bring in my car tomorrow and have photocopied some of those complaints. If this issue is prevalent in Ford Freestyles, there should be a recall for our vehicles to be repaired at Ford's expense. Driving my 4 year old car should not make me feel like my life is in danger.
- New Rochelle, NY, USA
We own a 2006 Ford Freestyle with approximately 90,000 miles on it. We have taken the car to the dealer for every scheduled service since purchasing it, oil changes, and "29 point checks" as Ford advertises. This week, while driving the car, the car suddenly accelerated for no reason, without the accelerator depressed and continued to accelerate even with the brake depressed. It almost resulted in an accident. The only way to stop the car was to turn it off. Upon bringing it to the dealer, we were told that the "throttle body" was defective and needed to be replaced at a cost of about $ 1,400. Upon researching the NHTSA website, we discovered that there were approximately 200 or more complaints regarding a similar issue with the same model car and the same model year (unexpected acceleration and loss of control). The dealer indicated that the "throttle body" could not be replaced until August 20, 2010, as there are no longer parts available anywhere in the country. And for the next 35 days the car cannot be driven. Upon calling the Ford Motor Company consumer hotline, the girl with whom I spoke told me that "the part is on backorder" before I even had a chance to tell her what part I was referring to, leading me to believe she was already aware of the problem and the shortage of parts was due to having to effect so many of these repairs. When I told her more about the problem and the fact that this was a serious safety issues (even referencing the recent case with Toyota), she put me on hold for almost 20 minutes while she tried to reach different people, but she would not acknowledge or discuss whether this was a known issue by Ford. She evaded the question just told me that she would have someone "escalate the request" and would call me. She sounded very defensive, and became more defensive when I told her about the near accident but couldn't explain how they could be out of this specific part throughout the entire country. This is a serious safety issue.
- Point Pleasant, NJ, USA
- Canton, GA, USA