This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
Was coming up to a stop light and the car started to accelerate. When I put on brakes, it accelerated more. To avoid hitting 3 cars in front of me, I went over a curb, up a hill and over and embankment. The car finally stopped in the middle of a side street. The impact of coming off the embankment blew 2 tires and totaled out the bottom of my car. The insurance company has totaled the car. As far as the speed of the car, I was doing 35 until the acceleration failed and when I put on the brakes, it went faster. I read on your website where Ford was having problems with lunging and this sounds like what happened with my car. Especially when I read from others that have posted there problems with this. I do believe that Ford needs to do a recall before someone gets hurt bad. I did go to the er to get checked out but besides seat belt burn, I was fine.
Scary car. A couple of times when car is idle/foot on brake the car would surge forward on its own. This is creepy. First time happened when parking in front of a wall. Luckily, I had enough room to not hit the front. I just came home and rolled into parking space. My foot was still on the brake but out of nowhere it just went by itself so my natural response was to brake really hard. It slowed the surging, but dang it! it scared the begezzy out of me. If I wasn't alert, I think that wall would damage the front car...let alone hit someone(s) if they are in front of this idle car. Second time when my husband rolled into the mall's parking space and it did it too. I sat next to him and it was just freaky weird. It happened 3 other times also. Ford better recall on this problem seeing how many complaints are posted online already. I had to look it up online and found a major car magazine stated it was a major problem. If they don't do anything about this, I think I will have to switch to another car maker. This Ford Freestyle 2005 AWD limited is a scary car: Air conditioner and idle/foot on brake = surging or lunging forward.
I have a 2005 Ford Freestyle. I have had several lunging incidents where the car feels like it wants to lung forward or backward when backing out a parking space etc.. the first time I reported this incident was on 08/25/09. The next time was on 09/22/09. The dealer ordered a new throttle body. There were so many issues with the throttle body on this car that they were on back order. The dealer allowed me to drive for 5697 miles before the part arrived. I requested a rental under warranty and they said they could not justify a rental. On 02/08/10 my new throttle body was installed. Today is 02/22/2012 and I am having the same issue all over again. The Ford Freestyle is by far the worst vehicle I have ever owned. I am on my second set of (rear) brake pads and rotors. I have had the engine mounts replaced. Our air conditioner only works properly during the winter. I have found numerous pages of forums with people from all over the United States dealing with the exact same issues on the exact same cars. I recently discovered that a class action law suit has been filed against Ford for the throttle body issue. I have pages of documented issues with this car.
I have more than one complaint. 1) shortly after buying my used 2005 Freestyle I would be driving both at higher and lower speeds and I would loose all control of the vehicle. It would not respond to gas or steering. It was like it was losing power but it was still running. I had several near misses when this would happen. I was lucky that when I bought my Freestyle it was "certified" and under warranty, otherwise the repairs would have cost me over $1200. My Ford dealer replaced the kind of sensor/brain as they called it. Has been working sense. 2) air compressor needs to be replaced now. I thought the A/C wasn't blowing cold enough, I finally told it to a repair shop I trust and he said he couldn't understand I had any cool air at all. 3) brakes, rear most of all, have been replaced several times. Way too soon and anytime it's wet they squeal like crazy. Guess I need to have them changed again. 4) transmission issues are starting now. I roughly have 90K miles and hoped this would be my last car for several more years. I hate to trade it in and start another car payment and let this car get back out to some other unsuspecting soul.
The contact owns a 2005 Ford Freestyle. While driving approximately 35 mph, the contact depressed the brake pedal but noticed the brakes would not respond. The contact continued to pump the brake pedal applying excessive pressure until the brakes responded. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for diagnostics where the mechanic was unable to diagnose the failure, but suggested having the brakes replaced. The brakes were replaced three times but to no avail. The contact stated there was a manufacturer recall but the vehicle was not included in the recall. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 300. Updated 03/14/12 updated 03/3/12
- Oxnard, CA, USA
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The contact owns a 2005 Ford free style. The contact was driving 20 mph when the wrench failure light illuminated and the engine stalled. The vehicle also experienced abnormally high rpms prior to the failure. The contact also stated that on a separate occasion the brakes were depressed but the vehicle failed to stop. The vehicle was towed to a private mechanic where the mechanic confirmed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was contacted but the vehicle was not repaired. The failure and the current mileages were 120,000.
I purchase my 2005 Ford Freestyle in June 2005. July 2005 traveling to Georgia between 55/60 mph, the check engine light and transmission icon appeared. Upon trying to accelerate, I could not move no more than 30-40 mph with the RPM's racing. I had to pull over and let the car rest approximately 15-20 minutes. Upon starting the car and putting into drive gear it was very hard and lunged. The car sounds like you're racing the engine with the vehicle in park. The frequency of the engine/transmission light with trying to accelerate and can not is a persistent issue. It also lunges when the air conditioner is turned on. Once the car is shut off and started again, while your foot is on the brake which has to be with more pressure than usual to control the lunge. Sitting in traffic with the air on with cars ahead of you is frightening since it will lunge then also. This has been an ongoing issue since the purchase of this vehicle. I've also had the brakes repaired more than normal. Since acquiring this car. Recently, I've gotten the brakes done in February, may and currently need another repair with all the squealing.
The contact owns a 2005 Ford Freestyle. The contact stated whenever the air conditioner was on for a long time and the vehicle was shifted into reverse gear it would lunge forward. The vehicle was inspected by a dealer who advised her that they were unable to diagnose the failure. In addition, she also experienced brake failure when driving at low speeds and decelerating; the vehicle would not stop. The vehicle was inspected by an independent mechanic who advised her that the metal part of the brake pedal fractured through the calipers causing it to leak the fluid. The vehicle was repaired. The failure mileage was unknown.
Rear brakes on my 2005 Ford Freestyle have gone out again. Have approx. 100,000 miles on the car and this is the 2nd time I have had to replace, not to mention that I have had to replace the tires 5 times on this car. It is an odd size tire so it is hard to find decent ones for the snow and they can be really expensive if you do find them.
The contact owns a 2005 Ford Freestyle. The contact stated that there was a lot of dust coming from the rear brakes. The vehicle was taken in for inspection at 11,000 miles and the local technician informed him that the rear brakes pads were defective. They were replaced by a Ford dealer and the vehicle was inspected. One year later the pads were defective again and needed to be replaced. The contact stated that tsb 10021463 was directly related to the failure; therefore, it was a known problem. The failure mileage was approximately 16,590. The current mileage was 29,652. Updated 12/14/2011 the brakes and rotors had to be replaced three times. Updated 04/25/11
I bought my 2005 Ford Freestyle new in January 2006. By November 2008 the rear brakes began grinding. I had them replaced at my local Ford dealership; it was still under the 3 year/ 36,000 miles warranty. Now, a year and a half later the brakes are grinding again and need to be replaced. The vehicle has less than 30,000 miles on it but is no longer covered under the 3 year warranty. The brakes shouldn't have to be replaced this often. However, in July 2007 we received a letter from Ford stating that the rear brakes would be covered under the original 3 year/ 36,000 miles warranty. This raises a red flag that Ford knew about the brake issues but did nothing about it, and still hasn't done anything.
Our 2005 fordfreestyle has a known surging problem. Everytime it would surge we would take it to the shop to be told there was nothing wrong. Finally the car lunged 2 ft forward and shut down while sitting at a light. We hit the fuel reset button to get it working then went to the dealership; paid around $3000 to replace the fuel reset button and sensors to only have it start back up a week later. Went back to the dealership to pay another $1000. Now a month later the car is surging again. This time while driving down the road, thankfully a back road, the car just shut itself off and non of the systems worked. The brakes barely worked. We had to let the car coast to a stop. It is currently a very large and expensive lawn ornament.
My left rear brake heats up and smokes. I have taken rides of less then 10 miles. I will be replacing the brake shoes for the 4th time. I have about 50,000 miles on the car. I'm afraid that on a long trip the wheel will lock up and cause an accident. 2005 Ford Freestyle VIN#[xxx] information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
The rear brake pads no my 2005 Ford Freestyle continue to fail, I am on my 4th set with only 64,000 miles. Interestingly the front brake pads appear almost new. Ford will not cover the cost of these brakes and hold that replacing the rear brakes every 15-20,000 miles is normal for this model.
2005 Ford Freestyle rear brakes replaced at 15K in March of 07 per customer and tsb then one year later at 8K more down to yellow and Ford noted to watch. Year later in September 09 now 8K more brakes once again in red!
2005 Ford Freestyle on third rear passenger side caliper after only 57,000 previous calipers froze needing replacement to the tune of $350 per occurrence. Ford aware of problem but will not do anything as not in warranty period.
While driving in heavy traffic with snow and slushy streets, the traffic ahead of me stopped. I applied the brakes and the ABS activated for about 1 second and then I had no brakes at all. No matter how hard I pushed the brake pedal, there was no ABS activity and no brakes. Fortunately I was only going about 5 mph. I struck the vehicle in front of me. It had no damage but I had a broken bumper cover ($1300 to repair). I took the vehicle to the dealer I bought it from to have the ABS and brakes checked. They found nothing wrong. I wrote a letter to Ford, explaining what happened. They said they were forwarding my letter to their engineering department for evaluation. I have heard nothing from them yet.
I own a 2005 Ford Freestyle which have rear brake issues, I received a letter in July 07 telling me of a possible problem with my rear brake pads that they may have gotten wet and expanded which would cause the pads to drag on rotors and wear out sooner. So I took into a Ford dealer they replaced my pads and rotors for the rear brakes only, this was at around 30000 miles. I now have 48900 miles on the car and my rear brakes are completely worn to the metal on the pad. I tried to talk with Ford customer service but was sent right back to the dealer which said they would not help me with the replacement the rear brake pads. I understand by reading your website that brake pads are not considered safety relate issue but searching the internet relate to Ford free style rear brake issues I was very surprise to find others that are having the same problems. They are even talking about rear calipers that are locking up and not allowing the pads to move away from the rotors, so there not dragging and wearing out which is what I belief has happen in my case. I am trying to find help in resolving this problem because of all the cost related to this repair having to be done in a short amount of miles between repairs and before it does become a failure and does cause someone to lose there life. Oh I do have to say that my front brakes which take most of the braking has 48900 miles on them and I am just replacing them. Through my own research I understand that GM escaped this rear brake design that the 2005 Ford Freestyle has because of all the issues and problems associated with its design. Thank you for any help that you can give use Ford Freestyle owners.
On December 22, 2007 my 2005 Ford Freestyle car was making noise on my entire 30 mile trip to work. I took a guy from work for a ride and he told me he was pretty sure it was my rear brakes. The car warranty had just expired, I had approx. 36, 800 miles on it. We took it to the closest place who could look at it right away, this was an independent shop. They informed me that my rear brakes, rotors and 1 caliper required replacing. The caliper had locked up and I had no brake pads left. They also told my husband that I was very lucky I didn't drive much farther as it was very dangerous. The shop said it looked like I had been driving around with the parking brake on. I never use my parking brake and there is a large light that comes on the instrument panel when it is on! upon urging from friends who couldn't believe how early the rear brakes needing replacing I did a little research and found so many forums and complaints about the exact problem. I shudder to think what could have happened to my family and I had I not gone to the closest place. Ford customer support told me they had a "customer satisfaction plan" in place for this issue. I was told to take my receipt for the repair to my Ford dealer and they would submit it for reimbursement because it happened prior to Dec. 31, 2007. Even though I was over 36K. Ford customer support just informed me today that they will not reimburse me because the dealer did not do the repairs. I can not believe Ford knows of this major safety concern and has not issued a voluntary recall. When the supervisor at Ford customer support told me I should have taken it to the dealer instead of the closest place I asked him "what if I would have had an accident and died on the way to the Ford dealer?" his response was..."I don't know, I don't have a crystal ball". safety and concern for their customers is obviously not a big concern.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- St. Peters, MO, USA