Tl* the contact owns a 2005 ford freestyle. The contact attempted to shift the vehicle into drive but instead, the vehicle lunged forward abnormally. The failure also recurred while in reverse where the vehicle would lunge backward. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer for diagnostics or repairs. An investigation was opened under the federal safety agency action number: pe11018 (vehicle speed control) that could possibly have been related to the failure. The VIN was not available. The approximate failure mileage was 100,000.
2005 Ford Freestyle acceleration complaints
Page 14 of 21: complaints 371 to 400 of 587, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Car is surging while stopped at a stop light. Worse with the A/C on.
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 ford freestyle. The contact stated that while at a stop light with her foot on the brake pedal, the vehicle would lunge forward. The vehicle was not inspected by a dealer nor had it been repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 86,000.
Our freestyle has experienced mild but worsening unintended acceleration for two years now, but it was always "mild" and did not cause the car to lurch forward even when the driver's foot was hard on the brake pedal. Then we had a new problem: no cold air from the AC at idle. We responded (6/11) to a mailed promotion from hertrich ford (easton md) for an AC "tune up." they did nothing but add dye to our refrigerant and "clean" our air ducts with disinfectant. So we turned to the owners' forum, myfordfreestyle.com, and quickly diagnosed the problem: a seized-up pressure control valve. Apparently ford dealers refuse to perform this simple repair (part cost $40) and will only replace the entire AC compressor ($800 + labor). So we ordered the valve online and had a competent local mechanic replace the valve (1-hour labor plus cost of refrigerant). The AC is "good as new", but the unintended acceleration is now much worse. The incidents always occur at very low to no speed and when maneuvering the car (I.e. Parking, k-turning, etc.). In all of these situations, both the AC and the power steering pump are demanding/drawing near-maximum power from an essentially idling engine, nearly stalling the engine; the electronic engine/idle control then kicks-in and hugely "over-reacts" by revving the engine to 2,000+ RPM. Even with your foot on the brake, an automatic in drive is going to surge quite far at 2000+ RPM. Please look at the myfordfreestyle.com website: note that almost all of the complaints about unintended acceleration come during hot weather months and a few also note the problem is much worse with the AC on. It took us less than 30 minutes on the website to diagnose both the AC problem and unintended acceleration problem. It is inconceivable that ford has not been aware of both of these problems for years. (surely ford's customer relations staff monitor owner forums).
For months, car has surged forward or backward depending on gear. Although a little frightening, it has been easily stopped by applying the break firmly. On june 27, 2011, the engine unexpectedly revved several times while in park, no one in driver seat. Last summer A/C compressor was replaced, problems seemed to begin after that.
The car occasionally lunges unexpectedly at slow speeds with the A/C running such as when pulling into a parking space. This also could occur while driving in a drive-thru lane with A/C on. I can also get this to happen at a stop light or sign by just turning the steering wheel slightly to the left or right with A/C on. I believe the issue is with the A/C system and power steering because I don't recall having any issues when the A/C is off. Another issue with the car is that it can stall after idling in park and then goes into failsafe mode. In this mode, the car accelerates very slowly with a maximum speed of 30 MPH. I don't recall any failsafe occurrences during the winter. This only seems to occur after the car had been idling in park with the A/C on. To resolve the failsafe issue the multiple times it has happened, power off then on the car. It has never happened twice in a row. I no longer idle the car with A/C running. My wife will occasionally drive my car; she knows about all of the issues and has had them occur. My son (18) is not allowed to drive my car. Another issue is with the driver's side middle row seat. The seat will not go down unless extreme force is used. Once the seat goes down it will work normally the next few times before needing extreme force again. We have taken the car to a ford mechanic multiple times for the above issues and they were unable to identify the problems. I purchased the vehicle new in november '04. The car now has over 103,000 miles. I have had these issues for many years. My incident date is the last time the lunges occurred as I don't recall the date of the first issue.
I have had my 2005 ford freestyle lunge while in either drive or reverse. Luckily nothing has been damaged and no one has been injured. I have noticed that it usually only happens while the air conditioning is on. Also I have been having issues trying to get my vehicle out of park. I am having problems with the gear shift. It doesn't seem to matter if I have just started my vehicle or have been sitting in a drive through. Please advise as to what I need to do to get this resolved.
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 ford freestyle. The contact stated that upon shifting into reverse, the vehicle lunged forward. An engine safe mode also began to illuminate on the instrument panel. The vehicle was not taken to have the failure diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure and current mileages were 78,200.
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 ford freestyle. The contact stated that the vehicle would intermittently lunge forward or backward while in drive or reverse. During the failures, the engine would rev until the tacometer displayed a reading of 5,000 rotations per minute. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where the contact was informed that the throttle body needed to be replaced and the software needed to be upgraded. The vehicle was in the process of being repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 15,000 and the current mileage was 89,000. Updated 07/26/11 *bf updated 07/28/11
My wife and I just bought a 2005 ford freestyle, 2005 model. The vehicle jerks and lunges when our foot is not on the gas pedal. We took it back to the dealership where we bought it and they sent it out to a ford dealership. The claim they couldn't find anything wrong and gave it back to us. The car still jerks and lunges and is very dangerous to drive.
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 ford freestyle. The contact stated that the vehicle would lunge forward abnormally with the brakes depressed. The dealer and manufacturer were notified of the failure but provided no assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 65,800 and the current mileage was 66,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 ford freestyle. The contact stated that while in a drive through line with her foot on the brake pedal, she noticed the vehicle would surge forward. The engine failed warning light would illuminate occasionally. The vehicle was not inspected by a dealer nor had it been repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and offered no assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 70,000. ..updated 09/15/11 *bf updated 09/26/11
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 ford freestyle. The contact stated that while stopped at a traffic light with the brakes depressed, the vehicle lunged forward abnormally. The contact stated that the failure would also occur while in reverse or sporadically when the air conditioner was activated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer for diagnosis or repairs. The failure was experienced numerous times. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was 99,000 and the current mileage was 100,000.
Car lunges unexpectedly at slow speeds especially when pulling into a parking spaces with foot on brake. Car stalls after idling restarts in failsafe mode car then accelerates very slow with unexpected lunges car also stalls after reversing. This may be associated with A/C I have not had as many fail safe occurrences during the winter. This seems to occur everytime I drive the car in warm weather. We have taken to a mechanic before they were unable to identify the problem. Replaced coils on one visit but did not fix the problem. Purchased vehicle used and had this problem immediately dealer was unable to fix. Purchased car in june 2010.
I am experiencing a sudden acceleration when idling, parking, and placing the car in reverse that results in the car lunging forward unexpectedly. The problem seems to be more noticeable when the air conditioning is on. Today for the first time when the car was put into reverse, the car accelerated, lunged, stalled and the engine fail-safe warning light appeared on the instrument panel. In each case, the movement of the car is significant and has been stopped by quickly stepping on the brake pedal.
I own a 2005 ford freestyle. With normal driving, this vehicle will surge in speed when placed in reverse and drive. I will be in a parking lot or my home garage and start the engine, place car in reverse, and the car will immediately surge in speed if my foot is not firmly placed on the brake. This has almost resulted in several accidents in public lots. This has happened for the last few months and several times a week. It has recently happened when I place the car in "drive". During the most recent incident, my engine fail safe light came on to indicate a problem. I have recently had the throttle body assembly replaced to the amount of $665.35. I was also informed that this part was redesigned for later models. I hope this resolves this issue. I also hope that no one has a serious accident resulting in injury to innocent parties due to this defective part.
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 ford freestyle. The contact stated that while driving approximately 5 MPH, the vehicle lunged forward until the brakes were applied. While the brakes were applied, the engine continued to rev until it was shifted into park and shut off. During the failure, the engine fail safe mode light illuminated on the instrument panel. The vehicle was not taken to have the failure diagnosed or repaired. Approximately two weeks later, the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where the contact was informed that the electronic throttle body needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 55,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 ford freestyle. The contact was reversing with the brakes applied. As pressure wa removed from the brakes, there was an abnormal increase in engine rpms as the vehicle abnormally accelerated. The contact experienced the failure at least five times. The dealer was contacted and advised that there were no recalls for the vehicle. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 50,000.
Purchased car used from ford dealer and bought extended warranty. Experienced car accelerating or lunging as car was shifted to reverse with foot still on the brake. Took it to dealer under warranty and repairs were made. It did not resolve the problem. Now we are out of the warranty and it is getting worse. Now it lunges and tries to accelerate while sitting at a stop and will also stall requiring an engine restart. Seems very very dangerous. I see many people complaining about the exact same thing on the internet and an investigation on the way. Add my issue as another example of this problem for 2005 ford freestyle VIN [xxx]. Investigation the federal safety agency: pe11018. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 ford freestyle. The contact stated that when shifting into reverse, the vehicle would lunge backward with the illumination of the fail safe mode error message. The vehicle would then stall. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that the throttle body was defective and needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was repaired. The failure mileage was 43,824 and the current mileage was 60,100. This would also happen when stopped at a stop sign or light. Although lunging forward. Updated 09/29/2011 *ln
Vehicle lunges when coming to a stop or attempting to park while the air conditioning is on.
Tl*the contact owns a 2005 ford freestyle. The contact was driving approximately 2 MPH and when pressure was applied to the brake pedal the vehicle suddenly lunged forward without warning. The failure occurred sporadically. The failure had not been diagnosed nor was the vehicle repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the problem. The approximate failure mileage was 87,000. Updated 07/20/11*lj the consumer stated it felt as though the vehicle wanted to go forward when the brake was applied. The vehicle then went into fail safe mode. The consumer drove slowly to safe spot. After shutting off the engine and resstarting it, the vehicle perfomred as normal. Updated 08/01/11
Tl*the contact owns a 2005 ford freestyle. The contact stated while slowing down or changing gears the vehicle lunged forward. She also stated that the engine fail safe mode message illuminated and in order for the warning light to shut off the contact had to turn the vehicle completely off. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that the throttle body was defective, as a result the engine mount and throttle body needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 72,000 and the current mileage was 85,000.updated 08/01/11*lj the consumer stated the problem is worse during hot weather, and after idling. The vehice lost power due to the engine going into fail safe mode. The AC compressor had to be replaced a month pror. Updated 08/02/11
Car lunges up to ten feet when my foot in not on the accelerator. My mechanic says it's the throttle body causing the problem.this has happened numerous times and has caused me to almost have accidents. There are currently no recalls, however, according to your website over 238 complaints have been filed. When can this be listed as a recall and have the car fixed by ford! This is a very dangerous situation. Why wait til someone gets killed or hurt? Please do something and do it today! We need your help!
Tl*the contact owns 2005 ford freestyle. The contact stated the vehicle stalled and surged forward while driving at a lower speed. The vehicle was not inspected by a dealer or local mechanic. The failure mileage was unknown, but the current mileage was 117,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 ford freestyle. The contact stated that the vehicle would lunge forward from stand still or when applying the brakes. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who was unable to duplicate the failure. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 55,000 and the current mileage was 95,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 ford freestyle. The contact stated the vehicle would surge unexpectedly when placed into gear. The contact had the vehicle inspected by a mechanic who was unable to determine the cause of failure. The failure mileage was 80,000 and the current mileage was 90,000. Updated 07/20/11*lj updated 08/01/11
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.
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 ford freestyle. The contact stated that when starting the vehicle with the brakes depressed, the vehicle would lunge when in drive or in reverse. The vehicle was not inspected by a dealer nor repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and they offered no assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 50,000. Updated 07/20/11*lj the dealer stated the problem was fuel related and the vehicle had to be reprogrammed. The consumer stated the vehicle seems to perform much better. Updated 09/01/11
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 ford freestyle. The contact stated that while trying to park the vehicle with the brakes depressed, the vehicle continued to surge forward. The vehicle was then inspected by an independent mechanic and they advised her that the throttle body failed. The manufacturer was then contacted and they offered no assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 85,370. Updated 08/31/11*lj the vehicle was repiaed by an independent mechanic.updated 09/12/11
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