10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
4 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
3 / 0
Average Mileage:
84,163 miles

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« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #52

Jun 012007

Freestyle 6-cyl

  • 36,000 miles
Vehicle engine accelerates to approximately 2100 rpms while in gear forcing it to lundge foward or reverse without the interaction of driver this problem seems to occur while at idle, and deceleration to stop, malfunction is becoming more problematic with mileage and age of vehicle.

- Florissant, MO, USA

problem #51

Mar 312012

Freestyle 6-cyl

  • miles
My car keeps lunging especially when the air is on... also when I go into reverse it lunges and shuts off. What could the problem be...

- Washington Park, IL, USA

problem #50

Jun 062011

Freestyle

  • 119,000 miles
I drive a 2006 Freestyle. Just weeks after buying it from used dealer the vehicle started lunging when I would attempt to stop or be at a slow pace. Example being in parking lot and trying to park it would lung from about 1000 RPM to 4000-5000 rpms. This would throw my car forward. I did tap a car that day but no body damage. Also the car will be driving down the road and the wrench comes on and motor shuts down. There is no warning and has been very scary when merging into 75mph traffic with no where to go. On the 6th of June 2011 the throttle body was replaced. However within the 30 days all symptoms were occurring again. I had the compressor go out which cost $1000 to replace. On 12/02/11 I took the vehicle back to the shop, they ran codes and found it was the transmission. I have many accounts of the lunging and the wrench shut down issue. It has become very regular and makes my car very unreliable.

- Tulsa, OK, USA

problem #49

May 282011

Freestyle 6-cyl

  • miles
Three times I have experienced lunging in my car when shifting from park to drive or reverse. My foot is on the brake and not on the gas pedal. My then had transmission problems, not shifting from first gear regardless of speed or RPM. After having the computer codes checked there was an error with the transmission, the tech reset the computer codes and the car temporarily ran fine. Then the problem returned and persists. After researching this problem I discovered that it is not something limited to the transmission but seems to include the throttle body and the air conditioner as well.

- Happy Camp, CA, USA

problem #48

Jul 192011

Freestyle 6-cyl

  • miles
The car lunges forward or backwards, while having full foot on the brake, when trying to reverse from parking or in neutral. It has stalled also from this, but most dangerous is the jumping forward or backward in parking situations!! when is Ford going to recognize this and do a recall? I have 3 children and it is our only vehicle!!!!!

- Cape Coral, FL, USA

problem #47

Sep 262011

Freestyle 6-cyl

  • 60,000 miles
My 2006 Ford Freestyle is absolutely the worst made car I have ever owned! throttle body problem... 50,000 miles, check! ac compressor goes bad.... 60,000 miles, check! and now beginning at 79,000 miles the cvt transmission is trashed! $6000 to fix and you can't even get a new one! I drove it knowing it would go bad another 3000+ miles because I was destined to spend a lot of money either way. The mechanic actually suggested I trade it in when it began. Would that have been fair to whomever bought it" these are all common early mileage problems with the Freestyles! there are numerous posts about other owners with the same problems, especially these three and there are a couple more that fortunately I have dodged to this point. What is Ford going to do? just let those of us who bought Freestyles with cvt suffer. What about the fact that you stopped using the cvt transmission on the Taurus X? why" I think we know based on the numerous cvt failures at such low mileage. But not low enough to be covered by warranty.

- Madison, MS, USA

problem #46

Aug 092011

Freestyle 6-cyl

  • 100,000 miles
Car lunged forward with foot firmly on the brake, this also happened when the car was in reverse. This lunging stopped when the brake was applied, this has happened several times since then.

- Nampa, ID, USA

problem #45

Aug 022011

Freestyle

  • 60,770 miles
I was backing my vehicle out of a parking space when the engine suddenly stalled and a small wrench light appeared on the instrument panel. Two days later, I was stopped at an intersection when the car began lurching forward, even though I was stopped with my foot on the brake. Later that day, it happened again while parking in my driveway. The car lurched while in both drive and reverse. There had been several days of extremely hot, humid weather during which I had been using the air conditioning in the car quite frequently. The air conditioner was on during all incidents. I have not had this problem occur again as I have not used the air conditioner since the last incident.

- Saugus, MA, USA

problem #44

Aug 262011

Freestyle 6-cyl

  • 67,446 miles
Our 2006 Ford Freestyle lost power and began to surge irraticly. The vehicle then lost power and would not advance as if the transmission had gone out. The wrench symbol and the check engine light came on. We pulled over and shut the vehicle off. Restarting the vehicle helped the wrench light go away but the engine light remained on. Our local dealership has diagnosed the problem as a faulty throttlebody. The part was unavailable but was reassurred we could still drive the car. We started home and the problem re-occurred. Our car surged and then lost power. We were stranded on hwy 95 in 116 degree heat. Once we got home I started looking at the numerous complaints that Ford Freestyles have recieved on 2005-2007 models. We are currently waiting on the dealership to find a replacement throttlebody and schedule a repair. The car seems very unsafe when this problem occurs and Ford recommends replacing it with the same defective part.

- Lake Havasu City, AZ, USA

problem #43

Aug 252011

Freestyle

  • miles
While stopped in traffic (outside temperatures were approximately 98-99 degrees F. air conditioning was running in both the front and back of the car) with the brake pedal pressed the engine revved (RPM went above 2) and lurched forward approximately 1 foot. Applied the brake pedal more forcifully and approximately 1 minute later the engine revved and the car lurched forward again. The second time put me almost rear-ending the car in front of me. Later in the day as I was reversing (again, with the brake pedal being utilized) the car revved and lurched backward. I am being told the throttle body needs to be replaced with expected costs roughly $1,000.

- Boise, ID, USA

problem #42

Aug 222011

Freestyle

  • 76,000 miles
Incidents of unexpected vehicle movement when the driver's foot is not on the accelerator.

- Midwest City, OK, USA

problem #41

Jul 042011

Freestyle

  • 71,000 miles
When slowing to enter a parking space or on exit from a parking space the car would suddenly idle / rev up to a high speed RPM and quickly accelerate forward. This would tend to occur when you are moving between the accelerator pedal and the brake, the car would lurch forward without control. This required the driver to slam on the break to prevent the car from hitting adjacent cars, pedestrians and curb. This also occurs when slowing to a stop at controlled intersections. The problem seems to occur more frequently with high temperatures and at higher altitudes. The problem has caused the car to stall and to trigger a computer fault that limited the function of the transmission. Turning the car off and on again cleared the error.

- Liberty, MO, USA

problem #40

Jul 062010

Freestyle

  • miles
When at a stop light or at a drive thru car will lurch forward when in drive. Foot is usually on the brake pedal at the time, because it happens when I let off the brake to accelerate but the car accelerates on its own. The rpms go from 1 to 4 with no foot on the accelerater. Air conditioning is always on when it happens. It also happens in parking lots. It is always when at a stop, getting ready to go. Luckily I now know when it will happen and under what condition and have not hit anyone.

- St Charles, MO, USA

problem #39

May 242011

Freestyle

  • 65,000 miles
I was waiting to pick up my son at school in the "pick up" lane. The car was in drive, but I was at a complete stop at the time with my foot on the brake. Without warning and without a change in the speed of the car and no movement of my foot off of the brake, the car's engine revved and suddenly lunged forward, nearly hitting the car in front of me. This has happened more than once since this time - always when the car was not moving (like waiting in drive-thru lines) or was about to come to a complete stop (like slowing down at a red light, for example.) I have heard from a friend who is a fellow Ford Freestyle owner that this is a problem with the throttle body. She had hers replaced and it cost her over $500!

- Euless, TX, USA

problem #38

Feb 102011

Freestyle 6-cyl

  • 100,000 miles
My 2006 Ford Freestyle lunges very quickly while my foot is on the brake after I put it in drive or reverse, usually forcing me to slam on the brake at which point the car stalls. This is very scary as it has happened in crowded parking lots and also into traffic.

- La Grange, TX, USA

problem #37

Jun 012009

Freestyle

  • 48,000 miles
Sudden "lurching" acceleration when idling, requiring a quick response to stop before crashing into other vehicles or lurching forward into oncoming traffic, or to avoid hitting pedestrians walking near the car. It happens both in forward and reverse, and is worse when the air conditioning is running. Many times it will stall the car in the middle of the intersection. Have had many near misses. Ford now says it is probably the throttle body requiring approx. $800 to replace it. This is after we have had it into the dealership's service dept. Numerous times and paid to have the problem tested/fixed to no avail.

- Travelers Rest, SC, USA

problem #36

Jun 302011

Freestyle

  • 47,000 miles
When fully warmed up, this vehicle occasionally surges or lurches violently when first put in to gear (forward or reverse) from park. Foot is on the brake, but the vehicle still moves approximately 5 to 10 feet uncontrollably. Engine races and the check engine light comes on. Turning off the ignition and restarting the car clears the light. The local dealer is unable to find any codes stored on the computer. Ac has always been on when this happened. No accidents yet, but I'm sure there will be one some day.

- Fredericksburg, TX, USA

problem #35

Jun 012009

Freestyle

  • miles
Each summer for the last few years when the temperatures reach over 100 degrees, we have a problem with the car surging while either parking or backing up. It seems to happen most often on short trips, usually when the air conditioner is still on high. The brakes will stop the car but you must keep your foot over the brakes even to back out of the driveway. This does not happen any other time of year. This year, 2011, the car sometimes stalls out when surging and now the check engine light has come on. The 2 codes that came up is P2106 throttle actuator control system forced limited & P061B internal control module torque calculation. The current mileage on the car is 34922.

- Mesa, AZ, USA

problem #34

Jul 232011

Freestyle

  • 44,460 miles
2006 Ford Freestyle is surging at low speeds.

- Denver, CO, USA

problem #33

Mar 102011

Freestyle 6-cyl

  • 83,291 miles
I had to get my throttle replaced in my car due to involuntary lunging of the car. I have almost gotten in several accidents when my foot is on the brake and my car still lunges forward. I have to slam on the brakes in order to avoid hitting a car or a person. This is not an optional fix as it is clearly a safety hazard. I have seen several other complaints on this problem and hope that a re-call is issued. I spent nearly 1,000 dollars to get this problem resolved. This is not normal wear and tear. This is absolutely a defect. Please issue a recall as it is only fair to consumers.

- Los Alamos, NM, USA

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