general problems of the 2006 Ford Freestyle - part 2

I just got the vehicle in November 2012 and on 12/12/2012 I was driving home, the rpms started revving on it's own at speeds between 50-60 mph. I was not increasing it's gas. I made it home and stopped at the mailbox; as I let off the brake the vehicle lurched forward without me hitting the gas. Then on 12/13/2012 as I was driving to work it did the same lurching coming out of park in my driveway and also at stop lights and signs. It also did the same revving and halfway to work it decided not to go over 40 mph.

Lurching or sudden acceleration.

Vehicle lunges forward because throttle revving the engine. Sitting in the car line to pick up children at school is worrisome. Throttle body replaced two times prior to this date. Ford dealer informed me that throttle body needs replaced again. This is unreasonable to have replaced so many times. I have owned many vehicles in my life, currently one with over 200,000 miles 12yrs old, have never replaced a throttle body. This is a safety hazard much like the recent Toyota accelerator issue. Throttle body should be a recall item or should be covered for replacement by Ford for life of vehicles.

At a very low speed the throttle body stuck open, and the car lunged backwards. I had to slam on the breaks hard to not zoom out into the parking lot into a passing car. The check engine, "wrench" light came on and the lunging kept continuing both in forward and reverse for several seconds. Finally, it appeared to stop once I put the car in neutral, and I was able to back out of the parking space. After that, there was something definitely wrong with the throttle itself. I was unable to accelerate into traffic at the necessary rate. This is a reoccurring problem as there are hundreds if not thousands of reports and complaints about 2005-2006 Freestyles and 500s. I would hope that Ford would do the right thing and recall this part for the safety of their customers and everyone on the roadway.

Car lunges forward when at a stop but still on drive, brakes must be immediately applied or the car will take off by itself. Happens more when the shift is in the drive position but is being held by the brake for a period of time like in a line, a drive thru, or long traffic light. Very scary!.

I have owned my 2006 Ford Freestyle for just over a year. . . . In this short time I have had it in the shop twice, both for major repairs. The first time was within weeks of my driving it off the lot; all of a sudden my car stopped recognizing the key (I guess it's a Smart key with a chip embedded in it). I had to get my car towed to two dealerships before the second one had it for multiple days before getting it back. This time I was leaving the store with my daughters. I started my car and shifted the gear to drive and although my car made the accelerating sound, it went absolutely nowhere. I then tried to reverse it and put it in neutral to see what it would do. I once again had to get it towed to two different dealerships and it has now been at the current dealership for over a week and they are having to disassemble my transmission to determine what is wrong with it. . Read more...

Car surges very dangerous.

The throttle body unit was malfunctioning causing the vehicle to strain, lurch, and accelerate without depression of accelerator. The throttle body was cleaned and then about 2 months after, the malfunction returned. After extensive research, I viewed dozens of similar complaints, some at low speeds in parking lots, in which pedestrians were almost struck.

My car accelerates sometimes while my foot is on the brake pedal. It feels like it is jumping forward or something. Also when I turn on my air condition my car, if in motion, will start to jump forward even though you have your foot on the brake. It even cut off on me several times with the air conditioning on. I now just drive without air at all because I am scared that my car will just stop on me. Also my air only works on the highest level.

While driving the Ford revs up and down, while it is doing this it lurches forward and I lose all dashboard instruments, I cannot use the air conditioning because it makes the problem worse. The scary part is I have my family in the car when all this happens. On Thursday June 21 I was driving down the highway at 50miles an hour when suddenly the car rpm revved up and down on its own the speedometer went out, the lights all flashed. The car was lurching forward, and it was worse when I was attempting to slow down. My daughter stated"I am scared" I cannot believe that this has not been recalled, when we were at the Ford dealership we bought the car from we told them what was happening, they didn't even offer to look at the car or seem to care. The problem is very unpredictable, one day it runs good then all of the sudden it freaks out.

Transmission went out at 50,000 miles apx. After googling I found this is common with this car. I also am currently dealing with what I think its a throttle body issue. I did a search on edmunds. Com and found a 12 page thread of people have similar issues. The car with revved up and lurched backwards and also forwards which is very scary and dangerous. I've had issues with getting the car to go above a certain speed as well. I will put the car into reverse and ease my foot off the brake and not even touch the gas pedal and fly backwards. I am terrified that one of these days I will not be able to stop the car. I am going to have it fixed but from reading others experiences it only solves the problem for a year or two and then they are back to the start again. It seems even this website has over 5 pages of complaints don't you think it is time to do something?.

We were in line at a fast food drive thru and the vehicle suddenly lunged forward , the tach rpm went from about 800 rpm (idle) to about 2600 rpm . Foot was on the brake at the time so it only moved about 6 inches. We parked in the parking lot and were ready to go and it did it again. An engine lite came on that indicated something from the transmission to the throttle was amiss. We shut the car off and waited a few minutes and restarted the car and the engine lite was off. So far we have not had another incidence and its been a week and about 300 miles since the occurrence.

The car idled high while in a drive through line with a foot on the brake, it did this twice. After it idled back down and my wife removed her foot from the brake, the car lunged forward. Luckily, there was enough distance between the cars to avoid an accident. She slammed her foot back on the brake, the car idled a little longer then died.

Car was sitting, parked in a lot, idling for about 10 minutes with the air conditioner running. When I put it in drive and let my foot off the brake, the car lunged forward as the rpm's first revved and then dropped. The car did this a few times, but once I got turned around toward the exit of the lot, it stopped doing it. About 20 minutes later, in a grocery store parking space, it did the same thing as I was backing out to leave. The car had sat running for another 10 minutes or so with the air on. This time however, the car idled up and then down, lunged in reverse, and then idled so low it died. Once I restarted it and finished backing out of the space, I turned the air down to low fan speed and the car was fine the rest of the trip back home.

Sitting at a light with my foot on the brake and my car starts lunging forward.

Engine speed will surge and vehicle will lunge forward or rearward, depending upon which gear the transmission is in, at unexpected times. Always noticeable near 0-2 mph with a/c on, foot on or off brake pedal, may or may not be turning. We have scared people in crosswalks and drive-thrus with this. It scares us as well.

Experienced an engine surge and lunge while waiting at a traffic light with my foot on the brake. Panel lamp (wrench) came on. Then when trying to accelerate through intersection could not increase velocity, as if I was sort of stuck in "low gear. " I pulled off of roadway and stopped the engine. After restart, problem seemed to be recurring but began to function more normally. On the next restart (trying to drive to repair shop) there was another episode of lunging when trying to stop (foot on brake, not accelerator. ) pretty scary. My shop found codes, did research, and subsequently replaced throttle-body and a broken upper engine mount. They also re-flashed the computer. 1 month ago they had replaced the battery. Drove home ok, and no issues in last few days, but have read anecdotes that these problems continue once they start. Don't know what % of Freestyles do this, but it is a real and dangerous problem on those that do. I'm afraid to put my wife back into this vehicle!.

While traveling home from holiday, my wrench light came on in the car and we could smell the engine beginning to overheat. My engine was trying to lunge forward even though I had the cruise control on. My vehicle then started to decelerate and I barely made it off from the highway via an exit ramp. Pulled over, turned off the car and opened the hood to let the engine cool off. I thought the problem may be gear or transmission related or perhaps bad gas. I tried a trick told to me by mechanic friend to back up the car and go forward approximately 40-50 feet, stop the vehicle and repeat the movement again to reset the transmission controls. I also added fuel injection cleaner and filled the tank again. After fuel injection and letting the car sit, it was okay for the rest of the trip. Had another incident just recently (July 2012). The same wrench light came on and my car once again lunged and decelerated and I had to pull off. Luckily, there was a gas station at exit again. And, luckily, I was able to maneuver through traffic when decelerating without harm to my family. I bought more fuel injection cleaner and filled the tank. I then let the car sit again. That seemed to help. We made it home after another rest stop for the car. Shortly after, my husband used throttle body cleaner to clean out my fuel injection pathway. He removed air connection and found the throttle body to be clogged with gunky material and sprayed a good dose of the cleaner into it while I gunned the engine to clear it out. I am now using fuel injection cleaner with every gas fillup to mitigate the problem. I know I probably need to replace the whole throttle body, but I am leary from what I've read on internet with others having same problem, replacing throttle body and then it having to do it again a year later. I am going to fix car and then probably sell it. Not safe anymore.

Motor surge, leaching out of control.

Same as others. Car lunges forward and/or backward when slowing to park, or just moving slow or idiling. Almost ended up over a berm at sam's club because of this problem. Very scary! taking car in to dealership on Monday. Vehicle surges when idling or going slow. Accelerates at times like parking or moving through parking lots or when stopped at stoplights.

Car surges when changing gears. Problem worse with fan controls on. Rpm's stay above normal idle (750-800) most of the time. Car will accelerate without using gas peddle at times. Must keep a constant vigilance with foot on brake. Went through all the basic fixes (mainly cleaning of throttle linkage and module) . Was told the throttle body needs replaced ($1000+). This module is mounted on top of the engine-why? this is not a unique problem with this car. Many, many, many people with Ford Freestyles have had this same problem. Other people have had this module replaced and that either did not fix the problem or it was a temporary fix. I believe it is a Ford engineering design flaw. Did not fix the vehicle. Bought another car and got rid of this safety hazard.

The transmission don't work like thousands of Ford free style and the transmission is hard to find and very expensive because they don't work !!!.

The contact owns a 2006 Ford Freestyle. The contact stated that while driving 30 to 40 mph, the vehicle would lose power. The rpm s would increase to 4,000, the air bag light, traction control light, and the onboard diagnostic light would also illuminate when the failure occurred. The vehicle was taken to a local mechanic and a diagnostic was performed, but the mechanic was unable to generate a failure code. The contact stated that the vehicle would return to normal function when the engine was turned off for a few moments. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact to have a dealer perform the diagnostic. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and the current mileage was 135,000. The VIN was not available.

Was driving to work car picked up speed to where the brakes would not stop then the car just went off.

Upper roll restrictor mount broken.

The contact owns a 2006 Ford Freestyle. The contact stated that the vehicle lunged forward without depressing the brake pedal. In addition, the vehicle experienced a loss of power sporadically while driving approximately 70 mph. The check engine and service warning indicators illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the throttle body valve was sticking and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the issue. The failure mileage was approximately 90,000.

Vehicle surges when idling or going slow. Accelerates at times like parking or moving through parking lots or when stopped at stoplights.

When pulling out of my driveway the car would not accelerate, seemed to not have any power. Then when placing my foot on the brake at a stop sign it surged forward. It was really scarey and had there been traffic, I would have been hit broad side, as I felt I couldn't control the car. The wrench light came on, and as I drove my son to school, the car continued to either have no power or was surging forward, I called my local dealer where I had just had the cvt transmission replaced in September, and asked to bring it in. They diagnosed it as a throttle body problem, and replaced it. I had asked about this when the transmission was replaced, and they had told me they didn't know about any problems. Oh please!!!!!! I've also had two very dangerous tire blow outs, and after some research see that unusual inside tire wear has also been a problem on Freestyles due to the sway bar links. Now tomorrow. . . . I am back at the dealer for the engine mount, yet another repeat problem that needs to be recalled. Please help us get these dangerous cars recalled and repaired!.

This incident actually started happening in 2006 not too long after I had bought the vehicle; however it did it only once or twice, or maybe not even so much that I noticed it; however in the past year and a 1/2 I have been experiencing the car lunging forward or backward. It always seems to do it when pulling in or backing out of a parking lot or the driveway. I have noticed that it seems to occur when the ac unit is on. Turn the ac unit off and it doesn't do this. I find this very disturbing because even with foot on brakes the car doesn't want to stop, it wants to proceed. Fortunatley for us it hasn't resulted in any kind of collision. I feel it is only a matter of time before something bad happens. Please investigate and issue recall. I understand that it is a throttle body issue which costs a lot of money and this is the only family car we have. I can't afford to pay to have this fixed. Struggling as it is after 2 job losses in 3 years time. Please help!.

My husband used the cruise control on the highway and experienced a loss of power. We are unable to use the cruise control at all. This is also a problem when getting on the highway or passing. Trying to pass can be terrifying when you are in the left hand lane and lose power,you have to find a way to pull to the right hand lane ,get off the road, and shut off the engine. When you start back up you have power again. I know that we are not the only ones with this problem I also know that they have had a recall for the same problem with a different model.

Sept 2011: started vehicle and put in reverse to back out of a space and engine revved. If I did not have my foot on the brake it would have leaped backwards thru the parking lot. When I shifted into drive it briefly tried to leap forward. I turned the vehicle off, turned it back on and the diagnostic warning light went off and vehicle seemed normal. Throttle body replaced by Ford ($800+). Nov 2011: speed over 50 mph, went to pass another vehicle and when I pressed the accelerator the vehicle bogged down, rpms revved and it would go no faster than 35-40 mph. Diagnostic light comes on. Pulled over, turned the vehicle off briefly, restarted, diagnostic light goes out and I proceeded. As long as I do not "punch it" in high gear I can increase speed when going over 50. Increase must be gradual. Condition has happened several times since initial instance.

My 2006 Ford Freestyle has a lurching problem and now it is getting more often than not, and extremely slow speeds, it wants to take off. I have had several near accidents regarding this and I can't seem to find out if Ford knows about this issue, are they doing anything about it, or is it easier to sue after the accident. Help me, please.

My 2006 Ford Freestyle has had this happen before and now it is happening again. The car will lunge forward at low speeds. When this occurred before the dealership replaced the throttle body and it cost about $700. Here almost two years later, it is doing it again. There is no way of knowing when it will do it, and is a major safety hazard. I cannot afford to pay to replace this part every other year. From reading online forums, it seems to be a major problem with this vehicle. Ford needs to take responsibility and find a fix that will not happen again. Yet Ford does nothing about it!!.

On 9/12/11 my 2006 Ford Freestyle experienced several failures. Driving through a parking lot and my wrench and emission lights came on. Took to mechanic and he diagnosed complete failure of transmission, and that my power steering was whining as any turns were made. Contacted Ford motor and the dealership and was told that while not uncommon, there was nothing they could do. My car has essentially died at 160,000 miles as the cost of repairs are greater than the value of the car.

On increasingly frequent occasions, my 2006 Ford Freestyle sel fwd vehicle has surged (or lunged) during very low/0 speed maneuvers, such as turning into, or backing out of a parking space/garage; queuing up in a right or left turn lane, or waiting at a stop light/sign for traffic to clear; or navigating tight passages, I. E. , parking garage exit lanes and drive-through lanes. The problem seems to be exacerbated by hot weather and/or a/c operation and/or steering wheel movement. This problem had occurred prior to 9/6/2011, but with very rare frequency. Now however, I am experiencing this problem on an almost daily basis. I am deeply concerned that there is a real safety issue developing with this model. If I don't have my foot firmly planted on the brake, the car can surge (fairly rapidly) forward or backward a good 10 - 20 feet.