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.
This vehicle unexpectedly surges forward when at a stop and when idling. Even with your foot on the brake the car can still lunge forward five to ten feet. This seems to be an intermittent problem but has happened many times. This is a serious safety issue that needs to be addressed right away before somebody gets injured. I am extremely disappointed in Ford Motor Company for not addressing this issue yet. It is public record that this is a common problem with this vehicle. I would like to see a recall issued immediately.
The vehicle lurches forward when at low speed and also while backing up without driver assisting. This sudden accelaration is unpredictable. I just purchased the vehicle a day ago and now I'm stuck with it. Every time I am backing out of the parking area it accelerates suddenly and I have to make sure my foot is on the break to stop the car before it hits something or someone. The same thing happens when I put the car on drive after backing up. It will lurch forward on its own.
Was a very hot day (100+ degrees) sitting in traffic with ac on. Car suddenly lunge forward. Happened several times within an hour. I bought the car used in may, and this is the only time it has happened. (2006 Ford Freestyle).
The vehicle sometimes accelerates when the vehicle is in a stopped position. If the brake is not pressed it will lunge forward. I have noticed that it appears to happen when the steering wheel is turned in either direction.
- Greensboro, NC, USA
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At low speed 0-5 mph +/- vehicle will suddenly surge. This can occur when moving forward, but most often occurs when vehicle is in reverse, as in backing into a parking space. The surge is very evident -- the engine revs and the vehicle speeds up. This will occur regardless of whether the accelerator or brake pedals are depressed. There is no evident correlation between the surge and other activities such as air conditioner use, weather conditions, etc. However, there does seem to a be a correlation with the vehicle's direction of travel and, possibly, engine temp. My observation is that the surge almost exclusively occurs 1) when the vehicle is in reverse; 2) at low speed or idle; and 3) after the engine warms.
The vehicle has been accelerating all by itself and I have to quickly step on the brake to stop it. It has happened three times. The last time, I had 4 children in my vehicle on a very hot day and it happened as I was waiting to merge into traffic. Luckily I was able to stop it but it was very scary. I brought the vehicle to a local mechanic who indicated that it could be the throttle body or transmission, which he indicated could be very expensive. Upon researching the problem on the internet, I was shocked to see that a large number of other people are experiencing the same problem - some have even had accidents because of it.
On several occasions, the car surges unexpectedly while idling (e.g. while stopped at a light, or immediately after starting the ignition). The effect appears to be exaggerated when the air conditioner is turned on. The throttle body/transmission maintenance light has come on during a few of the incidents. The throttle body control has been replaced once.
Our 2006 Ford Freestyle has been lunging uncontrollably while driving or reversing! the RPM's go really high while driving. We have almost been in 2 accidents this past week and now are afraid to even drive it. We researched the problem online and see thousands of complaints about this! it has been in the 90's - 100's weatherwise and we have been running the A/C during the times this has happened. Please help! we have a child and can not afford the over $1000 it is saying to fix this and don't feel we should have to pay it with so many people having the same issues!
I own a 2006 Ford Freestyle sel. Last week while I was driving the car and stopped on a signal light, my car run out of power. I had to turn the engine off and re-start it and drove it in a parking area nearby upon seeing a "check engine light and a wrench light on my dash monitor. As I was backing off from where I park the car, the car surge without me hitting the gas pedal and when I stepped on the brake, the engine lost its power altogether, hence I needed to restart the engine again. I noticed that this thing happened when my ac is on. I decided to drive the car to a nearby Ford dealer for checkup. I was informed that I needed to change the mass air flow sensor and the throttle body costing $1,200. I noticed this engine surge and loss of power on my vehicle before on several occasions but I did not give much importance to it until the "check engine light" flashed into my dash monitor the other day. I am now filing this complaint upon seeing a lot of Ford Freestyle owners have encountered similar problems as I do. I do hope that you will look into this safety concerns and come up with the best solution the soonest possible time.
The car was losing/gaining acceleration, rmp's would increase but the speed was not there. The engine light, a wrench light and traction control lights appeared and disappeared. The car was slamming into gear when taking it out of gear or reverse. I took my car to a Ford service center. They stated they needed to clean the valves and replace the throttle body. This service was $995. Then Ford service stated that this did not resolve the problem but the car needed the service. Now the next service they want to perform is work on the transmission at a cost of $1500 not knowing if this will fix the problem.
On 7/8/11, I was backing out of a parking space when my 2006 Ford Freestyle suddenly lunged several feet backwards. I narrowly missed hitting the car behind me and thank goodness there was no one walking in the lot behind me. The car then died in the middle of the parking lot. I was able to restart it and after a couple more short forward lunges, I was able to drive it the 1 mile back to my home. I had it towed to the Ford service place where they said it needs the throttle body replaced. They said they can just clean the throttle body, but it would be a temporary fix, so I am having it replaced. My bill is approximately $850. I am so disappointed to find online that there are hundreds and hundreds of complaints about this problem, yet no recall has been issued. Apparently it has caused a handful of accidents already and it is only a matter of time before someone gets hurt. A car that lunges out of control either forwards or backwards is a dangerous situation! I will save my receipt from my auto repairs because when a recall is eventually issued, I am hoping I can get reimbursed. Very disappointed in Ford for allowing this known and dangerous problem to continue.
I have experienced a surge where the car will move with your foot on or off the brake while sitting still. This problem occurs whenever I have the A/C on or when I am turning the steering wheel. The problem is more serious when I am backing into my garage and the car surges backward which almost causes me to hit the back wall of my garage. The most serious incident occurred when the car started surging while I was backing up at work and the car hit the building. There was minor damage but could have been serious if my foot was not already covering the brake. I called the dealership and took the car in. They diagnosed the car had a bad mass air flow sensor with a code of (P061B) and (P2106) they also diagnosed that the throttle body was extremely carboned up and suggested the throttle butterfly was not moving freely due to the carbon. I paid to have it cleaned and they suggested that the throttle body may need replacement in the future.
My 2006 Ford Freestyle is lurching when I do not have the accelerator pressed. It usually happens in reverse, but has also happened in heavy traffic and completely stalled. The "wrench" light comes on but when you shut off the motor and restart it is usually fine again. This has happened approximately 10 times over the last three months.
I was sitting in the car with the air conditioner on for about 10 minutes with my children while my wife went to pick up a few groceries. When we left I put the car reverse and slowly took my foot of the break. The car then jerked backwards as my foot was softly on the break and then again when it was off the break. The car then stalled and the wrench light appeared. This has happened several more times since, mostly when the car is in "drive" with the air conditioner working hard and my foot either softly on the break or just off the break. The car will jerk forward. I'm not sure the component that is malfunctioning, but bellow is an educated guess.
When my 2006 Ford Freestyle sits parked running with air on I put it in reverse or drive and the rpms rev up over 2,000 and when I hit brakes wrench light comes on. My husband read the codes and talked to a Ford mechanic and said it a bad throttle body. When the car revs up it tries to lung forward or backward quickly. Throttle body needs replacement.
My 2006 Ford Freestyle is lunging forward without feet on the pedal. I almost ran over an attendant at a car wash. He had to jump out of the way. Got the car home, but, it would only go 20mph. Very dangerous situation. Someone could get hurt or killed by this situation. Now the car sits in the driveway and my wife no longer has a vehicle to drive to get herself and our boys around. Thanks goodness my wife or kids have not gotten hurt driving this vehicle. What are we to do now?
On several occasions my 06 Ford Freestyle has had and unexplained jerk/lunge in motion. We purchased the car in Oct 08 and the problems started Nov 08. I have gotten to the point where I have had enough, and my faith in Ford is slowly wilting away. The jerk/lunge normally occurs while coming to a stop at red light or stop sign, or going idle speed in the following places drive-thru, parking lot, while reversing or parking the car. Today when I got back from the grocery store I was reversing into my garage and the car started to lunge I applied the break and it continued to jerk about a foot till it stopped. I was not sure the car would stop, this scared me half to death, I kept on thinking what if someone was behind me. I tried again and it happened 2 more times before I shut the car off. I then turned everything off in the car started the car again and put it into reverse and everything was fine. I was very grateful that this happened in my own drive way. If I was in a parking lot I could have hit a car with it moving a foot and I could have hit someone. The jerking/lunging in the car is very sporadic and has happened while my husband drove the car as well, so it is not operator error. It is so sporadic that this action is hard to recreate at a given notice you can not predict the time but you can anticipate that it will happen at least 3 times a week. Some may think that if it is hard to recreate then it is not a problem, but if it happens at least 3 times a week that is something to look at especially when you are thinking about human life. A vehicle is not a luxury item especially to a military family like we are. It is a necessity that should be dependable and the manufacturer should stand behind there products. I have two small children and wonder what to do next. Thank you for taking the time to read this and I hope there will be a resolution to this soon.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Chesterfield, MI, USA