14 problems related to engine failure have been reported for the 2005 Ford Freestyle. The most recently reported issues are listed below. Please also check out the statistics and reliability analysis of the 2005 Ford Freestyle based on all problems reported for the 2005 Freestyle.
Driving my 2005 Ford Freestyle and all of a sudden, the vehicle starts to rev forward and backwards. I see the "engine fail safe mode appear and a lit up wrench also appears and the engine starts stalling or surging, followed by a sudden loss of power.
My vehicle enters engine failsafe mode in the middle of driving, experiences idle issues and the throttle body is responsible. I don't understand why there is not a recall present - when researching the issue you find many consumers with the same problem. I took my vehicle in to the dealership and they confirmed that it was the throttle body but that I would have to pay for repairs. My children have been put in serious danger due to the sudden engine shut off with no warning at various speeds including interstate driving. The engine failsafe happens while driving in town, while on the interstate, while accelerating, there is no warning or specific pattern.
2005 Freestyle sat parked at idle (in parking lot) for approximately 7 minutes. Brake pedal was then pressed and gear shift put into "drive". Vehicle rpm's immediately went up out of control without foot on accelerator. Vehicle quickly lurched forward about 10 feet before brake pedal was depressed far enough to cease the movement. Speed estimated at 8mph. Rpm's continued to increase and vehicle lurched again and travelled about a foot before brake pedal was further depressed enough to cease movement. For about one-half second after brake pedal was depressed, rpms stayed high and then vehicle shook violently and stalled. Dash readout said, "engine failsafe mode". Fortunately, no persons were in front of vehicle during incident. One hour later, same day, vehicle would not properly accelerate during passing attempt. Unknown if this issue was related. The next morning, vehicle would not start and hasn't started since. Vehicle currently in auto repair shop (we've been afraid to drive vehicle and will not drive it until situation is rectified).
Engine went idle during rush hr on i95 center lane traffic flying by rpms soaring and im at a coast trying to get over scared the bleeep out of several other drivers. Dash says engine fail safe mode and as I brake the car is lurching and jerking. I shut it off. I breathe in and out and then start her back up and I limp along the shoulder to the exit ramp. Arrange a day off and take it to Ford (went idle twice on the way) and they "clean out the deposits" in the trottle body free as part of a recall. So Monday back on the highway it happens again. Omg so I take it to the local guy and he replaces the trottle body assembly for about $700. Car is running great, exceleration is back she feels like new and it made me realize that the trottle had been acting weird for a while - occasionally things like starting the car and that initial acceleration when pulling foward or back but it never just went idle like that - thats just dangerous. I think it is unfair that Ford did not replace this part - I left Ford confident that they knew what they were doing especially because I told them of my near miss on the highway.
Waiting in line on the exit ramp in dallas. Ac was on. The car started surging forward and engine started revving up. This happened 4 times and I had to apply brakes hard to keep from hitting a car in front of me. A wrench light came on and the engine fail safe mode light came on. Turned ac off and limped into the parking lot of the united airline center. After the program, we made it back to our hotel with running the ac. I don't need to tell you that this is extremely dangerous and after reading several cases on line, there seems to be a lot of Freestyle owners experiencing the same issue. Is this issue being reviewed?.
For a number of weeks, my 2005 Ford Freestyle has lunged forward while sitting still. After the car lunges forward the dashboard readout says: "engine failure mode". This happened on Friday July 6th while stopped at a red light and almost lunged into speeding traffic, and more recently on Friday August 3rd while at a stop sign. This issue comes 18 months after replacing the vehicle transmission at 50,000 miles at the cost of more than $5,000. I wish to report this issue to the NHTSA as I am seeing many other reports for this very issue reported and think that this needs to be a recall as this is a very big safety risk.
Idling at traffic light with brakes pressed, engine starting revving up to over 2000 rpm. Vehicle started to surge and had to press brake pedal harder to stop. Vehicle moved approx 10 ft before it stopped. Issue happened repeatedly, but was not taken in to shop for diagnosis as it would not happen for quite a while. Has happened around 30 times since February. Today, 6/18/2012 while driving through town in stop-go traffic, vehicle started surging again. Wrench light came on as well as error wording of engine fail safe mode. Had to slowly maneuver into a parking lot and turn car off. Once restarted, lights went off and was able to make it home. Took it to local mechanic and they state this is common problem and the throttle body needs to be replaced (they just did on 05 Freestyle last Thursday with same symptoms). $758. 00 to replace. Really need some action on this investigation!.
While stationary in my 2005 Ford Freestyle in the left turn lane at a red light, the engine suddenly accelerated moving the car forward approximately five feet into the intersection before it could be stopped. At the time of this occurrence, my foot was already on the brake and only by stomping harder on the brakes was I able to stop the car's forward travel into cross traffic that was traveling at over 40mph. The car then died and a warning came up on the information display on the dash panel stating "engine failsafe mode". I turned off the ignition and tried to start the car again. The car started, but still displayed the "engine failsafe mode" warning and when we were attempting to return home, the vehicle would not shift out of first gear or allow us to accelerate over 30mph. This incident took place at 9:35pm on January the 20th 2012. It was raining and the ac heat was on.
The dash board info reads safe mode (engine failure) the lite and a wrench appear on the data on the dash. The vehicle motor still on goes down to 1 to 3 mph while driving, on street or freeway, the car have to be shut off and restarted and proceeds to run for awhile and does the same thing and no one can seem to find out what the problem is. It have been worked on by license mechanics several times and the problem is still there. . Need a solution. It is a unsafe situations.
In 2010, my car would go into "engine failsafe mode" and I would have to shut it off and restart it. After a few times, is started lurching forward when it was idling. At that time, I had an extended warranty and the throttle body was replaced. Today, April 10, 2013, I was driving to work and the "engine failsafe mode" kicked on twice and the second time, the "check engine" light went on and stayed on. I was able to make it safely to work and decided to take it to a shop across the street from my office to have a diagnostic run. It cost $75 and they told me that the throttle body needs to be replaced! I called Ford and was told that all that they can do is clean and reset the computer under a customer satisfaction recall. I plan to drop it off today at a dealership on my way home. Unfortunately, the car now has over 109,000 miles and is not covered under warranty. My complaint is that I replaced the throttle body in 2010 and it is malfunctioning again. I was told by Ford that if this doesn't work, it will need to be replaced at my expense. This appears to be a common issue with this car and I want to see if there is anything that can be done to make sure that this is fixed correctly and the cost is taken on by Ford for the faulty part!.
The contact owns a 2005 Ford Freestyle. While the contact was driving approximately 10 mph approaching a stop sign, the brake pedal was engaged and the vehicle began to surge, followed by the illumination of the engine fail safe mode message and the check engine warning indicator. The failures occurred intermittently during extremely hot weather temperatures. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer four times for diagnosis; however they were unable to duplicate the problem or determine the cause of failure. The manufacturer was not made aware of the defect. The approximate failure mileage was 67,772.
The contact owns a 2005 Ford Freestyle. The contact stated that the engine failed in safe mode. While driving at various speeds, the engine shuts off. The Ford manufacturer stated that they did not have the parts available to repair the vehicle. The failure mileage was 70,000.
When shifting from park to drive or reverse the engine will rev and the car lunges forward or backward. It is much worse with the ac on, but does it at any time. It has recently starting doing this after coming to a stop while driving. The car will then shut off and go into engine fail safe mode and has has limited power. Luckily no one was directly behind us when the incident occurred.
The Ford Freestyle surges and accelerates while idling in parking spot or while sitting at a stop light. Sometimes when it surges, the car loses power and goes into "engine failsafe mode".