general problems of the 2005 Ford Freestyle - part 2

My Freestyle surges and lunges forward and backwards. I hit a car while trying to back up and park because the car surged and accelerated into reverse. This is the second time that I have had this problem in 2 years and needed to replace the throttle body. I almost hit people in a parking lot because of the sudden surge and acceleration. This is extremely unsafe and unpredictable. Needs to be recalled! engine mount was also cracked and needed to be repaired as in many of the other cases in the class action lawsuit.

Where to begin. . . . The brakes are shot. Don't work at all. During the summer and fall the car will randomly go into "failsafe mode" and just stop. It has to be turned completely off for several minutes before attempting to turn back on and will generally do this up to 8 times before I just shut it off and leave it until the next day. During these months it will also get a mind of it's own and just leap forward. I have to stop 2 car lengths behind any car in front of me when I'm coming to a stop, otherwise it will lunge forward (even though I have my foot firmly applied on the brake) and hit the car in front of me. Oh, and will jump curbs, hit garage doors, all that good stuff too when it gets this surge. Then, during the winter months the door latch gets stuck and the car doors are literally frozen open. I can't drive anywhere with two small children and car doors that won't shut. Oh, and my vehicle wasn't included in the recall so I can't get it fixed. Oh and did I mention the brake system doesn't work? like won't hold brake fluid, air is all in the lines, and hardly no brakes. Have you ever tried driving with no brakes?? it sucks! and forget driving on the highway with my kids in this car. I don't trust it at all!!.

Cvt transmission has issues many lawsuits over this our transmission stop yesterday. Reading the cost of replace and this looks like something Ford needs to address please help!.

The transmission of this vehicle is bad. Ford knows it and they it but did not do anything about it. As we are driving down the freeway going 75 / 80 miles an hour the transmission will go to what they call a safe mode or something like that. When this happens it goes down to 40 miles an hour. If you are on the freeway when this happens it could create a problem, crash and thus is a safety concern.

For several years, my car had an unexpected lurching/lunging problem whenever I was pulling in & out of parking spaces. This was very dangerous, since I had to immediately slam on my brakes to avoid hitting something or someone. I noticed on several forums that the suggested fix was to have the throttle body cleaned, so on 9/17/12, I had my regular mechanic perform this repair. In Dec 2012, I received a recall letter from Ford stating that they would repair the throttle body or reimburse me if I had already had it done. This letter was apparently a result of complaints like this with NHTSA and a class-action lawsuit filed over 2 years ago. No sooner had I applied for the refund when the second issue (that the forums all describe) starting occurring - I. E. A loud whine whenever I have the car in park or neutral. The sound goes away once in drive, but I've had 3 garages tell me this is a sign that the cvt transmission is failing. The repair costs anywhere from $4,000 to $7,000. Numerous documentation exists that these cvt transmissions are failing around 100,000 miles and that the manufacturer of the part no longer makes it, so only rebuilt transmissions can be used. Apparently Ford has the market cornered on those and there is a huge back-order problem to even get the work none. All this indicates a problem on Ford's part, but a lack of response until another class action is thrown at them which is already in the works. Needless to say, I have not been driving my car, since it seems inevitable that the transmission is about to die. I do not want to cause an accident, but I do want the NHTSA to put pressure on Ford to correct this problem since most of these vehicles are reaching the mileage point where the failure is bound to occur and an accident will happen. The throttle-body problem is apparently related to the cvt problem so please have them fix it.

Tl- the contact owns a 2005 Ford Freestyle. The contact stated while driving 55 mph, the vehicle repair warning lamp illuminated and failed to maintain or increase speed. The vehicle was not repaired but was diagnosed as a problem with the converter. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The approximate failure mileage was 75,000. Rvk.

Vehicle lunges or surges when at idle or low speeds in forward and reverse.

The car jump in low speed and you have to apply the brakes, this was in direct drive or reverse.

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 Fords 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!!!.

Yesterday I was in line at a drive thru. As I turned the wheel slightly to make a turn and roll forward a bit in the line the car made a dramatic lunge forward with very noticeable increase in throttle, but I did not have my foot on the gas pedal. I had to apply additional brake to hold the car from impacting the car in front of me. It did it several more times as I went through the line and got my food. I was able to get the car to do it again at home in the driveway. This is real bad and has to be a serious defect. In a different situation the car could lunge into oncoming traffic and cause a fatality. I have the car parked and will not drive it.

Recently, my 2005 Ford Freestyle began lunging forward at slow speeds, and yesterday it did it twice in heavy traffic. I took it to big country Ford and they are trying to tell me it is my water-pump and air conditioner compressor. They also said my motor mount was broken, which was a common problem with the Freestyles and taurus x models. As I read online, the lunging problems seem to be common with these.

Sudden, sporadic lunging/surging occurs while at low speeds, I. E. Parking. Seems to them, especially on hot days when running a/c. Last year I got the "safe mode" and wrench display, bit of course when I took it to Ford they told me I had to bring it in when the message was still showing. It occurred again this year, but I didn't bother going to Ford. But today, as I was trying to park, the car did it again and this time I almost rammed the car in front of me. What can I do?.

I have experienced the "surging" problem being investigated by NHTSA. I was in a parking lot and put the vehicle into reverse, started to back out of the space and the engine surged and lurched backwards into the driving area. I put it into park and noticed the engine rpms going up and down instead of staying constant while idling, then it evened out. I tried again and the car surged again (I was ready for it this time and applied the brakes to slow the vehicle down) and was able to back out of the space and drive normally. This is not the first time that the vehicle has done this, but I am not sure how long it has been doing it.

1. Pulling into parking space, vehicle surged forward, steering was turned sharply at the time and foot on brake 2. Pulling in garage and vehicle surged while foot on brake.

My 2005 limited edition Freestyle has a few issues that I am very concerned about. My throttle is having major issues. The car will surge forward with no warning when I am at a complete stop. It also has caused it to have a lot of difficultly accelerating when in motion and starting the ignition. I'm afraid that it will surge forward and cause me to hit something or someone. I've read online about people that have had this issue where it gets so bad that they've even lost all acceleration while driving down the highway and one person who hit something in his garage sending it flying through the garage wall. My husband has tried cleaning out the throttle with no success. We bought the car used less than a year ago with no warranty and this problem has been getting progressively worse over the last few months.

The engine has begun surging, particularly at low speeds. Happens most often when it is very hot outside the a/c is on and the car is in reverse. The car will suddenly surge and I have to jam on the brakes to stop the car. This has happened several times when backing out of parking spaces and once now at a stop light as I was slowing to a stop. I've found many references to this problem online that the throttle body is the problem and has to be cleaned. Ford needs to alert owners of this issue and initiate a plan to remedy it before someone gets killed.

I was backing out of a parking space and the car lunged several feet and I barely missed hitting another car. This happened to me yesterday and almost every day as of the past couple of weeks. As well as many, many times in the past couple of years, since buying the car. This is getting very dangerous and hard to control. There is no rhyme or reason to this and we are getting fed up. It seems to do it more in the summer and in the winter, it does not like to stay running when starting it. The issue with it not staying running in the cold has stranded me on several occasions. The battery is brand new, so that is not an issue.

With the a/c on full (very hot day outside), when stopping or starting to reverse, the car lurched forward twice. My foot was on the brake and was not on the accelerator.

Car lunged forward when in drive thru. Foot was on the brake and air condtioning was running, car seemed to have a surge of power causing the car to lung forward and then car cut off. This happen before in August of 2008 and the Ford dealership said it was the throttle body. Dealership replaced throttle body and motor on ac unit, but it is still happening. Dealership and Ford consumer care was contacted,but they refuse to acknowledge problem or fix it. The problem has also affected the transmission. Transmission needed only a new in put shaft, but Ford failed to tell customers that they closed their plant that makes the parts for Freestyle. No input shaft could be found, so had to pay for a whole new transmission for $6000. 00. Again Ford was contacted, could only say OH well.

The very first time it occurred I was parking my vehicle and it just lunge forward on its own. My foot was on the brake and not on the accelerator. It happen multiple times that day to the point I started to put the car in neutral when I came to a stoplight to keep it from possibly hitting another vehicle. This went on and on that summer and it seemed to do it when it is hot and the a/c is running. It hasn't stop since!.

On 6/18/12 as I was slowly backing out of my garage I heard the car revved up a bit and the car suddenly lunged backwards for a couple of seconds. It's a good thing I had my foot on the brake pedal so the car didn't just speed backwards all the way. On 6/20/12 as I was pulling out of the grocery complex, turning right into the main road the car suddenly revved up and started lunging forward. It's a good thing I had my foot on the pedal again. Also it's a good thing there was enough distance between my car and the one in front. Otherwise I would have hit that car because the lunge was pretty significant. I brought it to Ford upland, CA for the throttle body service. I gave them a copy of the Ford TSB 09-24-12 but in inspecting the vehicle afterwards, I do not see any evidence that the throttle body was removed and then cleaned thoroughly. The TSB specifically states to remove the tb and clean it properly. I am guessing that they just opened up the other end and sprayed tb cleaning compound and that's it. Now I am weary that the lunging might happen again. I am hoping through the NHTSA this vehicle can be recalled and Ford to assume all costs of replacing the defective tb and any other connected problems to lunging. This is my only vehicle and I use this to drive my family which includes a 1 year old baby.

I own a 2005 Ford Freestyle which lurches backward when you have the a/c on and you back up. It also started doing the same in foward. Ford should act upon this before there is a death.

We have had a few issues with the car lunging but today, June 18,2012 was the worst incident. I was backing out in a parking lot and the car lunged so bad I had troubles stopping it. I then put it in drive when it stopped to try backing out again and it lunged in forward so hard I almost could not get it stopped and about hit the car in front of me. The display then said it went into engine override and cut the power. This is something that obviously needs taken care of and I was fortunate I did not hit anybody.

When at a stop, our car lunges when you press on the gas pedal, forward or reverse. There is a hesitation after pushing on the pedal than it leaps forward or reverse. I was told from a dealer that it needed the throttle body cleaned and was told the same from a transmission shop. The transmission shop informed me of some problems Ford was having with this transmission. I looked it up on line and seen many complaints. I cleaned it and it seemed to fix the problem. A couple of months ago, it started the lunging again. This morning, the car shuttered and stopped and several lights on the dash lit up, wrench, motor. The car wouldn't move, it wouldn't even rev up. It stranded my wife on the side of the road. I came to meet her and had it towed to our house. I cleaned the throttle body again. When I got in to try it, all the lights were no longer there but it still lunges. Very afraid to let my wife drive it again with the possibility of being stranded.

I just recently had my Freestyle(05)become increasingly horrible lunging in parking lots,drive thru's,etc. Upon reading about it on your website I realized how much of the same problems are occuring for all the owners of this vehicle. It just recently has gotten worse since I just had the a/c compressor replaced.

The car was surging and lurching forward even when the brake was engaged. We had near misses running in to cars in front of us just trying to get it to a safe location as we were stuck in a parking lot and in stop and go traffic. While on the interstate is would just loose almost all power even though the accelerator was floored.

When in reverse or drive if turning the sterring wheel the car take off and you have to but the brake on hard to stop car. This happens 95% of the time.

Pulling out of a parking space after idling for approximately 10 or so minutes the vehicle was placed into reverse and the vehicle lurched back about 10 feet almost striking two cars and a person. The lurching has occurred on multiple occasions also when this happens the vehicle goes into failsafe mode. It has also lurched going in drive as well.

Vehicle lunges forward and rear in garage at start-up and freezes at 30 miles per hour on highway when using speed control.

While driving on the highway at a speed of approximately 70 mph, the car (2005 Ford Freestyle) would not accelerate/maintain speed and quickly decelerated and had to be pulled into the emergency lane, coming to a complete stop. The car had to be turned off and restarted in order to continue traveling the 3 hours left in the 9 hour trip back home. The Ford service shop said the throttle body ($900), ac compressor ($1,300), and top engine mount ($330) need to be replaced. Based on what I've been able to read on the internet, this appears to be a recurring and dangerous theme with this Ford vehicle.

Vehicle unexpectedly and with great speed lurches in both forward and reverse. I notice the issue most often when pulling into or out of a parking spot or just after using the brake. The car suddenly accelerates without warning forcing me to slam on the brakes so that I do not hit other vehicles or unintentionally enter traffic. The issue is very dangerous because there is no forewarning and has appeared to be happening more often and with greater force.

Car wont accelerate from a stop and will surge from a stop and when backing up. Took it to mccarthy Ford in chicago where they informed me it was the mass flow sensor, six days later I'm having same problem and now being told it's the throttle body.

My Ford Freestyle 2005 has been lunging for months. I purchased this vehicle used from a private party. Of course if the previous owner had any issues he did not share them with me. The vehicle did have some minor dings which he claimed occured when he backed into a fence. He had been having some severe medical problems so I am wondering did he just think it was his fault, not realizing the car had lunged. I see a lot of other people on the internet are having the same problems. When are you going to recall this vehicle? it is very scary and does it in forward and reverse. I have been afraid to park in any tight spaces where it may lung and cause a accident or injure someone. I have a handicap parking tag but have been leary of parking in those spaces should this happen. Also the air conditioning only operates when the vehicle is accelerating, I saw others have that issue also. Please take action soon before these vehicles suddenly lunge on a interstate and cause serious injuries or death. Thank you.

2005 Ford Freestyle surges at low speeds when foot is not on accelerator, or suddenly speeds up at low speeds such as parking or backing up. I have had several near misses almost drove into traffic , and rear ended car in front. This is the second issue with this event. First occured in 02/July/2009 Ford replaced throttle body motor this fixed the problem until this week.

Engine / speed surging especially noticeable when parking. Whether in drive or reverse engine moderates only slightly but car lurches. This has happened to three different drivers of the same car, same day, similar experiences. Extra pressure was needed on brake to prevent car from hitting other cars in parking lot. . . . Circumstances: hot day ( 90+ f), air conditioning on, engine at idle speed while maneuvering into / out from parking, turning wheel or holding wheel turned during maneuver.