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.
We own a 2006 Ford Freestyle and are only the 2nd owners of this car! we bought it in 2011 and are at our boiling point with it! the previous owners had to get the transmission rebuilt, we had owned the car for less than a year and had to get the transmission rebuilt again at almost $4,000! now 3 years after we fixed the transmission we are back at the same juncture where our transmission is causing us a problem again! I took it in because it was overheating and I ended up having to have the radiator and a portion of the water hose replaced at almost $1000! two days later I'm driving and as I pull off from a light I notice the car does a pretty heavy jerk forward! I thought I hit the pedal too hard so I didn't think much of it! but on my way back home each time I take off at a light my car is heaving forward and then it starts jerking a little violently and finally as I'm heading to the shop it starts stalling out and feeling like it's not catching gears to change! I have checked against other complaints for this same car and apparently this is a common issue, unfortunately, it looks like it's time for Ford Motor Company to step up to the plate and stop making your faithful car owners go for broke fixing an issue that is clearly a manufacturing issue/defect! they need to look into all the complaints and issue a recall and fix this problem once and for all free of charge! most people do not have thousands of dollars sitting around to fix their transmission every 3 years! we need our car fixed immediately as this is our only family car! please fix this issue for us!!!!!
The contact owns a 2006 Ford Freestyle. While driving at 35 mph, the vehicle stalled without warning. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the transmission failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 150,000.
The contact owns a 2006 Ford Freestyle. While driving approximately 50 mph, the vehicle jerked and accelerated when the brake pedal was depressed. The failure recurred ten times. The vehicle was towed to a dealer where the failure was not determined. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 162,000.
The contact owns a 2006 Ford Freestyle. While driving over 60 mph, the vehicle independently downshifted and then jerked forward. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic; however, the mechanic declined to diagnose the failure because he thought it was recalled. The dealer stated that there were no recalls for the failure. The manufacturer was not alerted of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 176,000.
I purchased a 2006 Ford Freestyle in April 2014. It has been a great truck except for the following problem: When driving at highway speed, the transmission will suddenly drop into low gear. The transmission will not go into any other forward gear without shifting into 'park', shutting down the engine, waiting a minute, and re-starting the engine. This can be quite dangerous on a fast moving freeway! in normal city driving, the truck runs fine. On long road trips, the transmission may do this dozens of times before reaching my destination. It is especially a problem going up long grades. It can also occur when overtaking a slow-moving vehicle, decelerating, and then speeding back up to pass. I checked a forum for Freestyle problems and there have been several instances of others having the same problem. Some paid hundreds of dollars to have their transmissions fixed, but the problem persists. I talked to a Ford mechanic about the problem and he said that the Freestyle (made only in 2006 and 2007) has been known to have problems with the cvt transmissions. He said there is a faulty temperature sensor in the housing of the transmission that sends a problem signal to the computer that 'locks the transmission into 'limp' mode so the driver can pull over'. to replace it requires buying the housing because the sensor is part of the housing. But, the company that made the part for Ford went out of business in 2008. So no part has been available. I was told that Ford had contracted another company to make the part in December 2014 and the part would be available in June 2015. In June, I checked, and now the part will not be available until the end of 2015. I complained on the Ford website and they deny any problems with the transmissions so no recall has been issued. I can't use the cruise control because the transmission will go off and the high RPM can blow the engine.
- Gardena, CA, USA
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The contact owns a 2006 Ford Freestyle. The contact stated that when the transmission was shifted to the drive position, the contact noticed an abnormal noise underneath the vehicle. The power train warning light illuminated. The contact also stated that while driving, the vehicle would lunge forward. The vehicle was towed to a dealer and diagnosed for transmission throttle failure. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 85,000. Updated 11/18/15 updated 1/14/2016
The contact owns a 2006 Ford Freestyle. While driving approximately 55 mph, the vehicle decelerated to approximately 30 mph followed by an abnormal noise. There were no warning lights illuminated. The dealer stated that the vehicle needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 200,000.
The contact owns a 2006 Ford Freestyle. While driving at approximately 55 mph, the vehicle stalled without warning. The vehicle was able to restart. The failure recurred on one occasion. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that there was a throw away transmission. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 200,000.
Car jerked and hesitated trying to put in reverse. Engine light came one. Had more issues with transmission while driving with hesitation and jerking. 3 mechanics unable to identify codes issued caused by engine light or identify cause of problems. Took car back 2nd time to transmission shop and did an indepth inspection which found little metal shavings in the fluid in the transmission. The mechanic researched and found that was an inherent issue with the cvt transmission which is why they stopped making it. Difficult/expensive to repair due to parts not available. From 2nd mechanic that is a master Ford mechanic, this car is not repairable. 1 of the mechanics said that these cars should not be sold and are, or should be, on a list of unsaleable cars by dealerships. We bought ours from a dealership just 9 months ago and not our money is down the drain. Did not check reliability before bought vehicle and found that this transmission has many complaints. If this was such a bad transmission that it is no longer made, why is it not recalled and the vehicles that have it. This is deceptive practices for dealers to sell these vehicles with such a known issue for a part that will eventually fail in all vehicles at some point. Especially when the transmissions are not able to make it to 100K miles. That is a bad transmission and these should be recalled before more consumers spend their money foolishly or someone is injured when the transmission causes issues while driving. We have been advised by the mechanics not to drive it on the freeway so as to prevent crashes due to the transmission failure.
I was driving my car and the wrench indicator came on, my car would not accelerate. I've taken my car to the repair shop and was infromed there is a known issued with Ford Freestyle 2005-2006 and the cvt transmission. I reviewed and it appears Ford knows this is an issue, but refuses to recall/repair it. I will be seeking legal action if Ford does not pursue a recall on this vehicle and it's known issue with the cvt transmission.
The continuously variable transmission(cvt) found in my Ford Freestyle 2006 vehicle contains design and manufacturing defects that lead to powertrain failure.. Ford has known about this safety problem since 2005 and has issued technical service bulletins to dealers regarding the defect, but it has never informed me and other consumer(s). This vehicle(s) and their cvt transmissions fail, suddenly and unexpectedly, at any time and under any driving condition or speed, further, sudden loss of forward propulsion and delayed acceleration has had serious effects on handling, stability, acceleration and maintenance of speed. These conditions and risks can thereby contribute to traffic accidents, which can result in personal injury or death. Thank god this has not yet happened to my family. We have come close on multiple different occasions. Ford has chosen to actively conceal the defective cvt transmissions in the Ford Freestyles. This has put my family drivers' in danger and cost us over 3300 dollars in repairs. This was in June of 2012. Now, the kistler dealership has told me repairs would be over 7300 dollars to repair with 156K miles on the vehicle (approx 46K more since the first repair). As a reasonable consumer I would expect and assume that a vehicle's transmission is safe, will function in a manner that will not pose a safety hazard and is free from defects, . I do not expect Ford to fail to disclose the cvt transmission defect to me or other consumers. Moreover, I do not expect Ford and the kistler dealership to initially deny this defect, charge me thousands of dollars to repair it, then more than double the amount to repair again only 46K miles later. I am asking for Ford to answer for this problem. Please get back with me for any questions.
The contact owns a 2006 Ford Freestyle. The contact stated that the transmission slipped and hesitated. The vehicle emitted an abnormal noise and made a jarring movement when changing gears. The vehicle was not inspected by a dealer or mechanic. The failure mileage was 112,000.
The contact owns a 2006 Ford Freestyle. The contact stated that the transmission failed. The failure occurred on three occasions. The vehicle was taken to a dealer on three occasions where the transmission was replaced. The vehicle was not repaired for the most recent failure. The failure mileage was 150,000.
I was about to exit the parking lot and when I pressed the gas to exit it didn't respond. The wrench light and check engine light came on. A passerby tried to help me move it since it was blocking traffic but it wouldn't move even in neutral. It did however roll back without having to press the gas. The days before I also noticed that when I was parked the car would jump forward while I held down the brake. A mechanic diagnosed it and said it was the throttle body. He replaced it but it was good for only a day.
The traction control system kept car lunging- applying the brakes intermittently. Felt like transmission was trying to shift gears but sharp lunging. Almost cause accident and should be of concern during winter or wet driving. The wrench light lights up on the dash and this should be of concern if someone is unaware of this potential. Might cause an accident if not aware of it.
While driving on interstate highway the transmission went into low gear, wrench light came on. This is the 4th time something like this has happened. Have to pull over shut car off and restart.
Vehicle speed decelerated and wrench light came on took to Ford dealership (on vacation trip) had to leave the vehicle as they said needed new throttle body----at approx. 103,767 mi. Approx 107,178 miles speed decelerated on trip and wrench light came on.when turn the vehicle off wrench light goes off and desired speed can be resumed. Took to Ford dealer and said they could put in new "brain" or new transmission. Took vehicle to mechanic for second opinion and they said it was transmission and suggested taking to transmission specialist. Transmission specialist agreed transmission had to be replaced.the vehicle was taken out several times by these mechanics and verified that it was shifting okay and okay to drive. Left the mechanic place of business and was sitting stopped at a traffic signal with foot on brake pedal and vehicle lurched forward and rammed the car in front of the vehicle. Looking for another vehicle and so scared to drive this anywhere.
The contact owns a 2006 Ford Freestyle. While driving approximately 50-60 mph, the check engine light and service vehicle soon warning light illuminated. The vehicle stalled without warning and lost all power. The vehicle was able to be restarted. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 97,000. Updated 01/23/15 updated 9/8/2017
The contact owns a 2006 Ford Freestyle. The contact stated that while driving approximately 30 mph, the vehicle stalled without warning. The vehicle was able to restart. The dealer diagnosed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 76,000. Updated 01/15/15 updated 01/15/15
The contact owns a 2006 Ford Freestyle. While driving approximately 10 to 60 mph, the vehicle shifted into neutral on its own and the transmission failed. The dealer stated that the vehicle needed a new transmission. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 131,000.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Dallas, GA, USA