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.
I own a 2005 Ford Freestyle. I often experience a surge in my vehicles acceleration even when I have not touched the gas pedal. This occurs most often with the air conditioning off and just after I put the car in drive. Today I nearly ran over a pedestrian after shifting my car into gear, and so I googled the problem when I got home. I see that you are investigating this problem with the Freestyle. Please demand a recall before someone gets hurt.
2005 Ford Freestyle unexpectedly accelerates when car is put into gear (forward or reverse), this seems to be aligned with other complaints associated with NHTSA investigation PE11018. The engine will rev when putting the car into gear and will lurch in the direction of the gear that it was placed in. This is not due to the driver inadvertently pressing on the gas pedal at the same time as the brake. The driver has to firmly press on the brakes to prevent the car from moving. If the brake is only pressed just enough to put the car in gear the vehicle will actually move 3-4 feet. The happens sporadically but does occur at least 4-5 times a week.
I first noticed a surge in the car just as it was out of warranty. The problem has gotten progressively worse with time. Whenever the car comes to a stop (e.g. in a parking spot) the car surges in the direction the transmission is selected. Additional brake pressure is immediately required to keep the vehicle from moving forward. Likewise... when first selecting reverse from a stopped position the vehicle surges drastically which also requires prompt additional braking to keep the vehicle under control. The vehicle has always been well maintained by the dealer. The surging may be coming from an issue within the function of the throttle body, but not 100% sure of that. The addition of fuel cleaners seems to help, but only a little... and then only temporarily. Symptoms occur year round, but seem to be worsened by high ambient temperatures. The vehicle is a threat to safety in it's design and should be recalled.
After sitting in a restaurant's parking lot with the engine idling and the air conditioning on for about 30 minutes, the car lunged backward several feet when the car with placed into reverse. Once the car was stopped, I placed the car in drive and it lunged forward without me pressing the gas pedal. Luckily, there once no one around the car when this happened or there could have been injuries caused by the car's actions. Also, the car's "failsafe engine mode" and "wrench" light came on. This caused the car's power to be minimized to a crawl. We were only able to get the car's speed up to around 20 to 30 mph. After experiencing this issue, I looked on the internet to find that many individuals were having the same problem with this model. It appears that it is an issue with the throttle body component on this model that is bad and causing this problem. This is a serious safety issue and I would hope that Ford would be held responsible for replacing this part under a recall.
- Bay Village, OH, USA
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We started noticing the engine surge a few months ago whenever we shifted out of park or neutral. The RPM's jumped around 400-600 above idle and now are over 700-800 with the A/C on. So far, we have not experienced any damage to the vehicle. I took the vehicle to my local Ford dealer, blackwell Ford in Plymouth, mi and was told I needed the throttle body needed replacement at a cost of over $800. The vehicle has 94000 miles on it and aside from that problem, we have been pleased with it.
The contact owns a 2005 Ford Freestyle. While the contact was driving approximately 10 mph approaching a stop sign, the brake pedal was engaged and the vehicle began to surge, followed by the illumination of the engine fail safe mode message and the check engine warning indicator. The failures occurred intermittently during extremely hot weather temperatures. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer four times for diagnosis; however they were unable to duplicate the problem or determine the cause of failure. The manufacturer was not made aware of the defect. The approximate failure mileage was 67,772.
I have a 2005 Ford Freestyle. Yesterday when backing up the car suddenly surged. My foot was not on the gas pedal. I was able to stop the car and it stalled. This is not the first time the car has done this but this time was the most noticeable. This happens sporadically and only seems to do it when at idle speeds. It does happen in forward and reverse. Mainly in parking situations. This may also be related to the A/C as I just started noticing this issue in early summer when I started to use the A/C.
My 2005 Ford Freestyle has been surging when my foot is on the brake. I have noticed these last few days it has been surging when I am attempting to pick up speed. Tonight just after I turned it on it putitself in engine safe mode and would not let me drive faster than 5 mph. It was chugging the whole way down the street, then finally just turned off.
The vehicle surges when at a complete stop. It also stops when driving it down the road. The "wrench" light comes on and the vehicle slows to a complete stop. This is extremely dangerous. The service engine light comes on. The vehicle does this on a consistent basis......6 or 7 times per 25 miles! I took it to the Ford garage where I purchased it in clinton, nc. They put it on the machine and said they could not find anything wrong. Their suggestion was to turn off air or heat!!! now after researching this issue online I find out there are numerous complaints about the same issue. I took the car to a local mechanic who was suggested to me by our local advance auto store. The mechanic was very familiar with the Freestyle and the same issue. The solution to fix the problem is a new throttle body. At a cost of $520. I called the Ford garage in clinton, nc to see if they had the part so my local mechanic could fix it. Now the parts employee, bobby told me the throttle body problem was a "huge" issue with the Freestyle and there should have been a recall. Is it going to take someone getting killed or seriously injured before Ford takes responsibility. By the way, I have contacted Ford, to no avail. The wrench light issue started once in a while on February 18, 2011. It now is a daily thing multiple times a day since April 5, 2011. Updated 10/06/11 status update 11/15/11
I own a 2005 Ford Freestyle sel AWD. The car lunges out of park. Happened about three times in the last 30~ 60 days the car comes to a failsafe engine mode. I have to shut off the engine and restart it to clear the failsafe mode. This is not the first time this has happened. It has happened in the past few years.
After idling at a stop light, the car lost most of its power when resuming through the intersection. Have had many similar issues since this incident where the vehicle will lunge forward or backward by itself when the brake is partially depressed or the when the brake is fully depressed the engine revs up by itself. Drivetrain light came on once when power was decreased and then went away when the vehicle was left parked an off for an hour. Ford dealership has determined the throttlebody is cracked. Offered to fix for $900. No action has been taken because of the steep expense.
Vehicle's engine surges at low speeds when backing up or going forwards. The problem is most noticeable when the air conditioner is running. It does not happen consistently which makes it difficult for dealership to diagnose, and it is unpredictable and dangerous. Pressing the brakes will stop the surge. It has been happening off and on for a year but has increased in frequency to where it occurs nearly every day.
1- the engine cradle totally rusted out replacement est. $3,000. Dealer says not covered 2-the hood is pitted dealer says not covered est.1000.00 3- radiator coolant tube made from steel rusted out and coolant leaked. Est $250 4-door latches fail in cold weather door will not stay closed.dealer says its been fixed under recall.its still a problem.
When parking the vehicle or reversing out of a parking spot the engine will "rev" and the vehicle will lunge forward as if I had pushed the accelerator but my foot was applying pressure to the brake. This has occurred since I bought the vehicle in 2005 at approximately 11,000 miles but the latest incident happened yesterday, July 4, 2011. Up until recently I could not reproduce it on a regular basis so I did not take it to the dealership. After reading an article on reuters website that this is being investigated by NHTSA I decided to report it here. As the article states, it appears more often when I have the air conditioning on high. I spoke to the service department at the Ford dealership in flat rock Michigan and they said they were unaware of this problem and that there is probably nothing they can do to correct it. To date, this has caused no injuries or accidents but it is only because I take extra precautions (e.g. turn off the air conditioning or be prepared to apply extra pressure to the brake when parking) to ensure the car does not lunge forward and hit anything.
Our Freestyle has experienced mild but worsening unintended acceleration for two years now, but it was always "mild" and did not cause the car to lurch forward even when the driver's foot was hard on the brake pedal. Then we had a new problem: No cold air from the ac at idle. We responded (6/11) to a mailed promotion from hertrich Ford (easton md) for an ac "tune up." They did nothing but add dye to our refrigerant and "clean" our air ducts with disinfectant. So we turned to the owners' forum, myfordfreestyle.com, and quickly diagnosed the problem: A seized-up pressure control valve. Apparently Ford dealers refuse to perform this simple repair (part cost $40) and will only replace the entire ac compressor ($800 + labor). So we ordered the valve online and had a competent local mechanic replace the valve (1-hour labor plus cost of refrigerant). The ac is "good as new", but the unintended acceleration is now much worse. The incidents always occur at very low to no speed and when maneuvering the car (I.e. parking, K-turning, etc.). in all of these situations, both the ac and the power steering pump are demanding/drawing near-maximum power from an essentially idling engine, nearly stalling the engine; the electronic engine/idle control then kicks-in and hugely "over-reacts" by revving the engine to 2,000+ RPM. Even with your foot on the brake, an automatic in drive is going to surge quite far at 2000+ RPM. Please look at the myfordfreestyle.com website: Note that almost all of the complaints about unintended acceleration come during hot weather months and a few also note the problem is much worse with the ac on. It took us less than 30 minutes on the website to diagnose both the ac problem and unintended acceleration problem. It is inconceivable that Ford has not been aware of both of these problems for years. (surely Ford's customer relations staff monitor owner forums).
When shifting from park to drive or reverse the engine will rev and the car lunges forward or backward. It is much worse with the ac on, but does it at any time. It has recently starting doing this after coming to a stop while driving. The car will then shut off and go into engine fail safe mode and has has limited power. Luckily no one was directly behind us when the incident occurred.
2005 Ford Freestyle sel exhibited unintended acceleration when pulling into parking space. Vehicle surged forward about 2 feet while moving foot from accelerator to brake. Engine speed returned to idle once brake was applied.
Vehicle lunging into reverse 1. events to make it happen: Put the vehicle into reverse with foot on brake and sometimes the vehicle will accelerate rapidly 2. occurs whether or not the engine is hot, but usually the weather is warm. 3. when first noticed the problem in 2008, was told the part to replace was the throttle body position sensor assembly and the part would be unavailable for 12 months. Never replaced the parts. Learned to keep foot on brake.
At random times when the car is idling or at low speeds with no contact with the gas pedal, the engine surges. This occurs in forward or reverse, with or without the brake being applied. At times, the surging is severe and requires a lot of pressure on the brake to hold the car in place. Last year, it seemed to occur more often with the ac on. The compressor died, so we had it replaced, but that did not fix the issue. We have not crashed into anything but have come very close. It is troubling since it occurs at low speeds, meaning we're in close proximity to cars, people, and buildings when the engine surges.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Old Lyme, CT, USA