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.
My wife was running her routes, making stops for groceries, pet food, etc. It was a sunny and warm day. As she came home, during the last mile, she noticed car behaving erratically (vehicle's speed seemed to slow down, then speed up, slow down, whatever it wanted). She knew immediately something was wrong because it has never done this before. We have owned it for 2+ years and she is the primary driver. She pulled into our driveway. The garage is 90deg to the driveway and requires driving beyond the garage door entry, then a short backing up and turn of the wheel to align it for pulling in. When she came to a stop, then put into reverse, the car began to really act up, lunging, hesitating, ,. she was able to manage reversing the vehicle with running into our barn or into the yard and got it into the garage. She immediately called me several times at work and left me messages on various phone numbers. I think it shook her up pretty badly. We have 3 young children and we do not want to see them or anyone hurt. We did our homework before purchasing this vehicle and decided not to get the AWD model because the repair rates were slightly higher. Last night I immediately suspected this to be the culprit though. Before doing any diagnostics, I thought to check a few websites and phone a friend. There are obvious design features that diminish the reliability and quality of this vehicle as related to the most basic feature we expect a car to do - stop when we want it to, go when we want it to. And when these types of issues surface so early in a product's life, why is the NHTSA allowing them to persist. Is it waiting to see 'how many more will come' or raise the priority after someone has been fatally injured" what if this happened while I was in the car line to drop my daughter off for school, , and the kid in front of us was just stepping out of their car?"
The contact owns a 2007 Ford Freestyle. The contact stated that the vehicle would surge forward while the air conditioning unit was activated, attempting to park, or while traveling at low speeds. The failure recurred intermittently since April 2008. The dealer replaced the air filter to remedy the failure however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken to the dealer a second time and the contact was informed that the throttle body needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was aware of the failure. No repairs were performed. The current mileage was 139,000. The VIN was unavailable. The approximate failure mileage was 60,000.
The contact owns a 2007 Ford Freestyle. The contact stated that the vehicle would intermittently lunge forward while driving at various speeds. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer and the throttle was replaced. A few months later, the power train light illuminated on the instrument panel. The vehicle was towed to the dealer and the contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The contact was also informed that the parts necessary to remedy the failure were unavailable. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the first failure, but not the second failure. No assistance was provided. The failure mileage was 60,000.
We purchased the 2007 Ford Freestyle only one month ago from a dealer in blair Nebraska who certified that there were no problems with the vehicle purchased. We have not owned this vehicle for more than a month. While driving today with the family (children included) down the freeway the vehicle stopped accelerating in the center of heavy traffic. Lucky no accident was caused! the vehicle started lurching and then would not go over 25 mph. We are understanding that there are several complaints about this vehicle performing the same way with many others in class action and forums.
When the car is in an idle position either in park or at a red light with my foot on the brake the car starts to move without any pressure to the gas pedal. The problem is worse when the air conditioner is running or when the car has sat in park with the engine running for more that 5 or 10 minutes.
- Tucson, AZ, USA
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Throttle body issues (possibly transmission as well) cause intermittent surging, unexpected acceleration patterns, stalling or all three. This is especially pronounced with A/C running. The first time it occured I was backing out of a parking space in a crowded mall parking lot. The sudden surge as I was backing out at idle (not depressing the accelerator at all) nearly caused me to hit a pedestrian. Dealer "could not replicate" the issue but suggested a thorough cleaning of throttle body. Have driven approximately 40,000 miles since first incident and cleaning does help for a short while but the surging returns without warning. Clearly a dangerous issue, an accident waiting to happen and I've learned (online) this is common in these vehicles.
The contact owns a 2007 Ford Freestyle. The contact stated that the vehicle would lunge forward or backward when idled. The vehicle was not taken to have the failure diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified and offered no assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 59,000.
The contact owns a 2007 Ford Freestyle. The contact stated the vehicle surged while driving low speeds. While the gear was in reverse or drive there would be a sudden surge in the engine. The speed would increase up to 15 mph. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer. The manufacturer was not notified. The VIN was unknown. The failure mileage was 107,000.
On as many as 8 occasions, my Ford Freestyle has lunged without touching accelerator at all. This happened to both my wife and myself. This has happenend in forward, reverse, when turning and when air is switched on. The first time I was turning as I backed out of a parking spot. Very scary! other than that I love the vehicle.
The contact owns a 2007 Ford Freestyle. The contact stated that the vehicle lunged forward abnormally after being stop or in reversed while would lunge forward abnormally when stopped or braking to a stop. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer for inspection or repairs. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 52,000.
The car lunges or surges at low speed. The RPM go up 1000 RPM on its own. This only happens in parking lots at very low speeds so my foot is always on the brake but this cold be a very serious defect causing potential injury to others.
The contact owns a 2007 Ford Freestyle. While the gear shift was placed in reverse the vehicle accelerated in reverse on its own while the contact depressed the brake pedal. The contact applied excessive force to the brake pedal in order to stop the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing. The technician stated there was a failure within the electrical wiring near the HVAC unit. The vehicle was not repaired. The VIN was not available. The approximate failure mileage was 50,000.
The 2007 Ford Freestyle will sometimes lurch forward or backwards from a stop. In all cases the car was initially at a stop with my foot on the brake and when I took my foot off the brake, but before placing my foot on the accelerator, the car lurched forward if in drive or backwards if in reverse. The car usually lurched about five feet before I was able to stop it. Sometimes the lurching was followed by the vehicle stalling and in the worst case the vehicle stalled, the check engine light and the service required light both turned on and I was unable to re-start the vehicle for several minutes. The lurching seems to be more of a problem on hot days.
On about 10 occasions my Ford Freestyle has lunged forward or backward while in reverse without me engaging the gas pedal. It will stop if the brake is applied but it often catches me off guard. About half of the times the car then cuts off (once while attempting to turn onto a very busy street). The car will restart but often cuts off about 2 more times before deciding to run correctly. Usually the check engine light and wrench symbol will illuminate. This is a very scary and dangerous problem. On one occasion, after dropping of my mother at a store I took my foot off of the brake and the car lunged forward coming quite close to my mom who was crossing in front of my car. After taking the car to a mechanic, the P061B code came up for internal control mod torque calculation performance. When we googled this code I was shocked at the number of people who have posted on various websites about this same problem. Thanks for your time!
When shifting from park to drive or reverse to drive, the car randomly surges forward even when the accelerator is not depressed. It also occurs when stopped or moving slowly forward such as at a stoplight or when parking. The problem is more pronounced when the air conditioner is on. It is a concern that this surging problem may cause an accident at some time.
This is the 2nd time my 2007 Freestyle has started lunging. It will lunge in drive or reverse. Starts out with small lunges but the lunges get bigger. Then I find that it will lunge so hard I need to slam on the brakes. This causes the engine to stall. It is very difficult to drive upon restart. First experienced the lunge problem in may, 2009. Took to dealer mechanic next day and was diagnosed as faulty throttle. Replaced the throttle and now I once again have the same problem. Replacing the throttle bottle didn't solve the problem. I also have had an issue with my A/C and a broken engine mount. Not trusting the Ford dealer mechanic, I took it to a third party. The parts alone were $1000 because they could get them from Ford only. Total cost to replace compressor and fix engine mount $2200. You can't drive in the hot Arizona summers without ac. The lunging seems to get worse with the ac on and when turning the wheels. My first experience in 2009 and this one happened while starting to back out of parking spot. Had ac on and cramped wheels to back out. As I eased by foot off the brake, the car just shot back almost hitting the vehicle behind me. Slammed on brakes, car still tried to back up then stalled. The engine sounds like I have my foot on the brake and gas at the same time. Racing and high rpms. Taking back to dealer today.
While starting 2007 Freestyle there was a very sudden revving engine sound followed by the car lunging forward. The car was still engaged in park position, my right foot positioned over brake but not on it as I was about to shift into reverse. The revving & lunge stopped as suddenly as it had started & I went on to back up without any problem. The incident concerned me because the car did move forward some..inches, maybe a foot. It moved enough that my bushes in front of my bedroom window were touching the front rim/bumper of car. I have had many more incidences like this one in the past few weeks. All are unpredictable. Car has lunged while in drive and reverse as well. It has also "sped off" immediately after engaged in drive. It will accelerate without my foot on the pedal. It will stop when I brake but by then it has already covered some ground. The car is having different/opposite acceleration problems when I stop at signs/lights. The car won't accelerate at all with the pedal pushed all the way. Then it will eventually catch and accelerate.I have had what I think is the power go on & off while accelerating & slowing down, with panel lights go out then on. The steering isn't effected. The engine itself sounds as normal as any day. My car has 29,329 miles. I had to replace all brakes last week. Brought car to shop & was redirected to the Ford dealer. Mechanic gave me code P0701 along with brief explanation of problem. I'm afraid to drive it. It's not safe to drive. However brief the incidences are, the driver is still without any control over where the car goes for that time. The lunging itself could cause injury to driver. I had my Freestyle taken to dealer this morning. I have not heard from service dept. Yet. I have seen huge cost incurred by others. The service dept. Got defensive & abrupt so I am glad that these Ford issues are being investigated.
Vehicle several times has lurched forward and backward when put in drive or reverse sometimes stalls & shuts off at low speeds backing or pulling out of driveway. Several near accidents with vehicles & pedestrians really wish Ford would recall part & fix problem. Could not find recall but found several other complaints from other Freestyle owners wish Ford would investigate & fix.
The contact owns a 2007 Ford Freestyle. The contact was driving approximately 5 mph and when the brake pedal was engaged, the vehicle suddenly lunged forward. The failure recurred four times. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the problem. The approximate failure mileage was 70, 000.
For the past year, when the car is at idle, but not in park, with foot off accelerator, the car will suddenly, and without driver action, surge or lurch forward. Or if in reverse, it will surge backward. If foot is firmly on brake, the lurch will not cause movement of tires, just body of car as the brakes restrain movement. But if it occurs in the instant the driver is moving the foot from accelerator to brake, or without the brake being firmly depressed beyond what is needed to restrain movement while at idle, the surge can be 2-5 feet before the driver is able to apply the brake and cease the movement. We have almost hit a pedestrian coming out of a fast food restaurant crossing in front of car as we were going through drive-through. We were at a stop to receive food with foot on brake enough to stop forward movement while at idle but not enough to stop when surge occurred. We have almost hit numerous cars while trying to park, especially during parallel parking attempts. The condition comes and goes. At times when it is "acting up" the car also loses its ability to properly accelerate in response to demand for gas and speed. Push on accelerator but the car will not respond except at only a very slow rate, taking many seconds to reach a top speed of 25-30 mph. This has caused safety issues when it occurs while pulling out in front of on-coming traffic, even though doing so at what should be a safe distance. My wife is now refusing to drive the car when the condition is occurring due to her fear of it acting on its own. It started in the 80,000 mile range. Our car now has about 102,000 miles.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Akron, OH, USA