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.
RPM surge while parking. When pulling into a parking space with foot on brake, car lunges. When coming to a stop at a traffic light, car has also been known to lunge. Most all incidents occurred while ac was running and wheel was sharply turned.
First incident, 35 mph driving, wrench light comes on, engine cuts out into fail safe mode, loss of acceleration ability. Have to stop and restart. Hard to restart for a moment. Continues to happen more at higher speeds (55 mph and 65 mph on interstate). Also, lunges while foot is on brake, forward or backward depending if in drive or reverse. Researched online that many people having the same issue, so cleaned the throttle body and behavior diminished for a week or two. Contemplating replacing throttle body out of my own pocket. We purchased this vehicle because of the extra seating for our children, and it has happened the first several times with the children in the car. So now its not trustworthy. Please do something to force Ford to rectify this issue.
At low speeds with the A/C on, the vehicle lunges foward (while in drive) or backward (while in reverse). This is noticed most when pulling in or out of a garage or parking space.
For quite some time, my 2005 Ford Freestyle lunges and will stall when operating at low speeds (parking, and backing up) with the air conditioning on. It either lunges forward or backwards (if in reverse), then stalls and goes into failsafe mode. This is very annoying. The car should not do this. Now it's happening when idling at stop lights or in traffic with the air conditioning on...which is great in rush hour traffic in Florida when it's 95 degrees outside...having to drive around with the windows down because I can't drive with air on or car will stall is highly annoying. With all the other complaints this should be a recall. The car has 147K miles on it (mostly highway) and I love my car. The lunging is scary though. I'm having to look for parking spaces with limited neighbors so we don't lunge into another car.
- Deland, FL, USA
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On 9/5/2012, was sitting in drive thru at mcdonald's. when I picked my foot up off the brake to ease forward, the car lunged forward. I quickly step on the brakes hard, but each time I tried to ease forward this occurred a total of three times. Luckily, I was far enough behind the car in front of me that this did not cause an incident. This has also occurred on previous occasions, and when backing slowly out of a parking space. I did not think anything of it until this last occurrence.
Vehicle placed in park on a 100+ degree day with air conditioner running, the idle become erratic, surging to about 1800 RPM and then down to approx 300(almost stall), back to 1500 down to 400(almost stall). Vehicle did this several times over a 30 minute period. Later that same day, outside temp still 100+, while slowly reversing, vehicle surges several times. Had to "stand" on brake pedal to keep the vehicle from moving. Later again that day, temps still 100+, while pulling into a parking spot, vehicle surges again. Current odometer 106840. Had my personal mechanic come out tonight and look at the vehicle. We believe it to be the throttle body. No diagnostic failure codes. Computer "scan" indicates that voltages to throttle body may be incorrect(low). I am reporting this, as an internet search returned many hits of the same problem.
I've noticed the car to lunge and idling very high. When I back out of a parking stall for instance, the car lunges out and I have to keep my foot on the brake. When I'm at a full stop; at times you can hear the car idling very high and when you let go of brake the car lunges out. During traffic, you have to make sure you continually keep the brake on, or the car will thrust forward and hit the vehicle ahead.
My vehicle lunged backwards and almost hit a passing car. The engine fail safe mode came on and car continued to lung forward. I noticed this happen when the ac was on. I experienced no issues when the ac was off. Ford wanted me to pay $1800 to fix the throttle body and intake valves. After researching on the web, I saw multiple complaints on the same issue. Why isn't this being looked into with a high sense of urgency. It's obviously an issue as I also experienced the same issue on multiple occasions and didn't know why until the last time it happened today. I live in tx so understandably it is hot.
The contact owns a 2005 Ford Freestyle. The contact stated that while exiting a parking space in reverse at 5 mph, the contact shifted between reverse and drive when vehicle surged forward and backward abnormally. The contact had to maintain pressure on the brake pedal to stop the vehicle from surging. The failure recurred frequently and was most prominent when the air conditioner was activated or the weather was hot. The failure later recurred and the contact crashed against a pool table in a residential garage. The bumper was scratched and the contact did not sustain any injuries. The vehicle was taken to a dealer who was unable to determine the failure. The air conditioner compressor failed but was not replaced. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 50,000. The current mileage was 95,000.
The contact owns a 2005 Ford Freestyle. The contact stated that while sitting at a stop sign the vehicle accelerated independently. The failure recurred 5 times. The contact noticed that the failure recurred most often when the weather temperature was over 100 degrees. The contact was able to secure an appointment with the dealer. The vehicle had not been repaired. The failure mileage was 88,000 and the current mileage was 89,355.
The contact owns a 2005 Ford Freestyle. The contact stated that while braking to a stop, the vehicle surged forward abnormally. The failure recurred mostly when the air conditioner was activated. In order to correct the failure, the contact would apply the brakes and shift to neutral, before shifting the vehicle into drive. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or a repair shop for inspection or repairs. The manufacturer was made aware of failure however, did not provide any assistance. The failure mileage was 15,000. The current mileage was 50,100.
The contact owns a 2005 Ford Freestyle. The contact stated as he came to a stop sign there was a sudden increase on engine rpms. The contact mentioned that he engaged the brake pedal but it failed to stop the vehicle. However, the contact was able to turn the vehicle off and restart it in order to reset the system. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that the mechatronics control unit needed to be replaced. The remedy failed to repair the problem. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer who diagnosed that the throttle body needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The VIN was unknown. The failure mileage was 96,000 and the current mileage was 98,000.
I noticed that my car would speed up as I turned into parking places at low speed. Told my non-Ford mechanic to take a look in Nov. 2009. He suggested a fuel system cleanup. It seemed to work until August 2010 when my children's school started a carpool line for after school pickup. It is hot in my city in August, so I spent probably 20 minutes idling with the ac on. When I would start to let up on the brake as the line began to move forward, my vehicle's engine would rev up and my car would lurch forward without my foot ever coming fully off the brake. It did not appear to happen if I turned the ac off. To compensate I would turn car off and roll windows down if I knew I would be waiting more than a few minutes, but when the temp is 100+ outside it is miserable to do this. Once the weather cools off (below 90) the lunging seems to go away. The same problem happened in August 2011, and again in August 2012. This August it has been much worse. Sometimes I have just started my car when I experience the lunging. Finally took car to Ford and was told that I need throttle body replaced for $900. Because I also need a new alternator (and have replaced rear shocks and engine mount in last 4 months), I opted not to repair at this time. I have to be so careful in traffic for fear of causing an accident, and it appears I am not the only one! this is an extremely dangerous situation, and I am hoping that Ford will issue a recall as this is not what I would consider "routine maintenance" nor a rare instance of mechanical failure.
I just purchased my Freestyle in March from a used car dealer. Over the last 3 months or so it has started lunging at slow speeds. Multiple times coming close to hitting another vehicle after pulling to a full stop at a traffic light and with foot pressed firmly on the brake pedal. I am scared to death to drive this vehicle but since its the only one I have and I'm under contract, its not really a choice at this point. Seeing how many of this vehicles are having this same problem, I am sure that it will cause a serious accident. Why isn't Ford doing anything about this problem"?" if I had known about this before making my purchase, I would not have bought it. I love Ford cars, my previous vehicle was a Taurus, but if they are going to continue to have these kinds of serious problems, I will be rethinking any future purchases!!!
The contact owns a 2005 Ford Freestyle. The contact stated that the vehicle surged whenever coming to stop or when in reverse. The contact also stated that the engine motor mount had fracture. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer. The failure mileage was 18,000 and the current mileage was 68,000.
The contact owns a 2005 Ford Freestyle. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds the vehicle stalled. Also, the contact mentioned that the vehicle accelerated and lunged forward without any warnings. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who was unable to diagnose the failure. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was 70,000 and the current mileage was 87,000.
We were backing up in a parking lot and the car accelerated to where we had to slam on the brakes, luckily no one was behind us or we could have caused an accident. It is lurching forward when we are at slow speeds for no reason, I am worried that if someone is in front or back of us we will hit them. This happened about 2 summers ago but a part was replaced and it had not been a problem again until now. I have noticed that it becomes an issue on hot days when my A/C is on.
The contact owns a 2005 Ford Freestyle. The contact stated that the vehicle lunged forward or in reverse when the vehicle was placed in park gear, or driven at low speeds. The vehicle also accelerated when the contact removed his foot from the brake pedal. The failure occurred without warning, and recurred intermittently. The vehicle hesitated to accelerate to higher speeds. The vehicle was taken to the dealer but was not inspected since the failure was not present. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The current mileage was 62,000. The failure mileage was 55,000.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Oberlin, OH, USA