Ford Freestyle owners have reported 18 seat belt related problems since 1996. Table 1 shows the 1 most common seat belt problems. The number one most common problem is related to the vehicle's seat belt (18 problems). For details of each of the problem category, use the links in the table.
| Problem Category | Number of Problems |
|---|---|
| Seat Belt problems |
While driving on highway my traction control, airbag, seat belt, abs & parking brake lights came on. I was able to drive car home, but soon after my transmission was also affected. Took car to dealer and a week later, they finally found the traction control motor is gone and needs to be replaced $900. 00. Dealer doesn't know if the traction controller needs to be replaced too, but will test that after loading new motor. If the controller needs to be replaced ,then it's another 1,200. 00 on top of everything else. Dealer originally thought it was an electrical problem which they never found and costing so much money and time.
I folded down the second row 2/3 seat to vacuum my seats and the seat belt locked and the seat won't go back up. Ewald in hartford said they would fix it and then changed their mind. There's a warning sticker saying no one should sit in the third row while the seat in front is folded. I'm still going to have to put my kids in the third row. I have 3 kids. Ewald said it would be $600 some to fix it and I don't think I should be responsible. I know it's an older car but it's not like I have ever folded the seat down before where it would wear out. I fold the second row 1/3 seat down all the time to let someone in the back. I believe this is a safety issue that Ford should recall or the ewald dealership should take care of.
The contact owns a 2007 Ford Freestyle. The contact stated that the rear driver's side seat belt was no longer operable. The vehicle was not taken for inspection or diagnosis. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the issue. The approximate failure mileage was 98000.
Transmission is going out and can't afford to repair because of ridiculous cost. Seat belt in middle seat is stuck and my children can't sit in that seat because it is stuck. Very unhappy with this Ford buy. I do not feel safe in my family vehicle!.
Front passenger seat belt will not lock - hasp does not engage with spring clip. Front passenger seat is unusable until the problem is fixed. Been driving for 40 years this is the first time I've had a seat belt failure, but it seems this model has a problem.
Middle row, middle seat, seat belt locked up. This seat belt was not in the female lock, 3-point seat belt position. It was un-engaged. Seat was put in the down position and seat belt locked even tighter. The seat would not go in the up position, the un-engaged seat belt had to be cut so that the seat would go in the up position.
The middle bench seats center seat belt retracted in while the seat was folded down, locked, and won't allow the seat to come back up. The only way I was able to get the seat back in the upright position was to unbolted the seatbelt, let the lose end retract into the mechanism until it released allowing the end to be bolted back again. I'm on the third time of unbolted and bolting a lousily (in my opinion) designed seatbelt system.
My daughter had a wreck, she rear-ended a truck who ran into another vehicle. The airbag on my vehicle did not deploy although the seatbelt did lock up. There had been no warning light stating that there was anything wrong with the airbag. I have written to Ford about this malfunction but they just say there is no recall on the airbags. I told them that unfortunately no one will know if there is a problem until they have an accident. I feel this is a very unsafe part and needs investigation.
Second row bench won't recline back upright because seat belt mechanism stuck and preventing upright position. Difficult to fasten child's seat belt next to the bench that won't go upright - very unsafe. Contacted Ford and they said there isn't any recall for seat belt and/or second row's already known problem. They said to pay for these exact problems others have already posted on many websites.
The contact owns a 2007 Ford Freestyle. The contact stated that the rear middle passenger seat belt retractor locked, which prevented him from using it. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed that the seat belt assembly needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and stated that they would contact him at a later date. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 20,500 and the current mileage was 29,000.
When my wife arrived at her destination, she could not release her seatbelt. This was the driver side seatbelt latch mechanism that had failed. She was able to finally work her way out from under the seatbelt by getting some extra slack in the belt. We finally were able to get the mechanism to release. I took it to the local Ford dealer and without thinking, I put the seatbelt on. When I arrived at the dealer, I was unable to release the seatbelt! I honked the horn until the service manager came out to see what all the noise was. The service manager was finally able to get the belt released. They had never heard of this problem. We ordered a new latching mechanism ($ 195. 00 /w/ labor) my extended warranty would not cover it because it is a safety item. This was the latch mechanism end that the belt clicks into. Vehicle has 55,000 miles. It was most certainly a safety defect!.
The contact owns a 2007 Ford Freestyle. The contact stated that the vehicle would abnormally accelerate when braking to a complete stop. The vehicle would be turned off for approximately two minutes before it would restart. In addition, the driver side seat belt would not remain locked. The dealer was notified of the failure who advised that he should bring the vehicle in for diagnostics. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 84,603.
2nd row, two seat bench. I was vacuuming the car. I folded the bench down to vacuum under it and when I tried to return it to the up position the seat would not unfold. I realized the seat belt was locked. I took it to the dealer to get it fixed thinking its a safety issue and would be free of charge, but it wasn't free. They fixed it for free after debating with them about this issue. Now its 11. 14. 2011 and the seat belt is locked again with the chair in down position.
In April 2007, driver's side seat belt became jammed. Had seatbelt buckle replaced. It was covered under warranty and there was not charge. On June 8, 2010 the check throttle body light and wrench warning light came on and we noticed a vibration in the engine. Took vehicle in. The throttle body and motor mount were both replaced. Cost of repair was $1023. 24 the mileage at the time of repair was 55,234. A couple of weeks later, the vehicle began to surge unexpectedly at times in both drive and reverse. At other times, vehicle would hesitates / had lilttle or no pick-up when starting from a stop. Check engine light came on, took vehicle in on June 22, 2010. An engine sensor was replaced and the pcm was reprogramed. Repairs totalled $642. 61 the mileage at time of repairs was 55,613. Was told at that time the fuel filter needed to be repalced and a transmission flush was necessary. Replaced fuel filter and had transmission flush done July 1, 2010. Cost was $200. 65. Mileage was 55,695. I read an article in the newspapers and learned that others were having similar problems. I wanted to be on record with problems that we have had with this car. Ford manufactured cars with issues. They should have to address those issues and compensate for the repairs that people had to pay for. The repairs that have had to be done on this car are rediculous. Between the seat belt issue and the transmission issues, I would say we have had some serious saftey issues with this vehicle and we most certainly regret buying it.
I have a 2007 freesyle and the drivers seatbelts wont work properly iand all the handles for fowarding the seats have like gotten loose they are still there but wont work properly either. Its just wat like three yrs old I shouldnt have this problem at all come on older cars still have these things working properly. Its a very safety issue problem. No old part is available no where ive called so many junk car places and nothing. This seatbelt thing is so expensive at the dealr I still pay a note on it from a carlot and I just cant afford it and then the gas is so high its so ridiculous it has gone bad so soon.
The contact owns a 2006 Ford Freestyle. The plastic casing over the top of the third row seat belt had broken. The vehicle was taken to the dealership and was informed that because the warranty had expired, the contact would have to cover the repair expenses. He called the manufacturer and was told that there were no recalls related to the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 50,000.
2006 Ford Freestyle the middle seat belt on the middle seat locks when the seat is laid down or it locks when not in use. It has been replaced 3 times and we continue to have the same problem. The seat belt is currently not usable.
The contact owns a 2005 Ford Freestyle. The driver's side seat belt buckle would not release the lock. As a result, the driver became stuck in the seat and was unable to exit the vehicle. The contact believed that the failure was a safety hazard in the event of a crash. The failure occurred twice with the first time occurring in April of 2006. The dealer was unable to duplicate the failure, but stated that other consumers were experiencing the same issues. The dealer was able to repair the failure by replacing the seat belt buckle; however, the failure recurred. The seat belt is also locking up again. Ford stated that the contact would have to pay for the repairs. The vehicle has currently not been repaired. The failure mileage was 9,450 and current mileage was 55,000.