2005 ford freestyle. In the last month or so the car has begun to accelerate on it's own at low idle and this has proven to be very dangerous and we have almost hit buildings and people in parking lots because the accelerator will surge on it's own. It happens in reverse as well as forward gears. You have to apply the brake very hard to stop the surge and the car sometimes stalls out with a critical engine failure message. We took the car in to the dealer and the problem is a faulty throttle body. This is a serious hazard and the vehicles should be recalled to fix this. It's happening to thousands of people who own these cars.
2005 Ford Freestyle acceleration complaints
Page 18 of 21: complaints 491 to 520 of 587, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 ford freestyle. The contact stated that the vehicle would exhibit an unusual increase in engine rpms and independently accelerate forward or in reverse without warning. The contact would shut off the engine and when restarting, the vehicle would resume normal operation. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where the contact was awaiting repairs. The VIN was not available. The current and failure mileage was approximately 102,000.
While slowing down to come to a stop sign at a crosswalk, my 2005 ford freestyle's engine suddenly started racing and jerking forward! Pressing down as hard as I could on the brakes did not stop the car and I had to turn it off-if someone had been in the crosswalk, I would have hit them! Needless to say, I am scared to drive my car-it is being towed to the dealership. Mileage is 46,318.
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 ford freestyle. The contact was reversing from a parking space and depressing the brake pedal as the engine exhibited an unusual increase in rpms. The contact removed his foot from the brake pedal and the vehicle then abnormally accelerated. The contact was able to stop the unintended acceleration by applying the brakes. The contact had experienced the failure over a dozen times. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or a mechanic for repairs or diagnosis of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 35,000 and the current mileage was 35,550.
2005 ford freestyle se, self accelerating and lunge's forward on its own (when foot is on brake) and displays "fail safe mode on dash", vehicle shuts down-mostly when going in reverse. Just bought used vehicle from dealership approx 3 weeks ago.
My 2005 ford freestyle will speed up and surge forward. Very dangerous situation while pulling into the garage. The surge forwarded has been happening for several years. We like the car and have become very careful when pulling up to intersection, into parking space, etc.
My 2005 ford freestyle will accelerate without any driver action and will die after accelerating. This occurs several times per month. The ford dealership advised that they are aware of the problem and that it is the throttle body. They cannot do anything about it because the parts are on back order. I was also advised by the dealer that there are several 2005 ford freestyles in my area with the same problem and that ford is aware of the problem.
Tl*the contact owns 2005 ford freestyle. The contact stated that the vehicle accelerated without placing her foot on the accelerator pedal. The failure occurred when she drove forward or in reverse. The dealer cleaned the throttle body, but was unable to repair it because the part was on back order. The part was cleaned, but the failure continued to occur. The contact stated that the vehicle would also eventually stall because of the failure. The failure mileage was 85000 and the current mileage was 95000.
While the car is in idle or no acceleration made, at a stop or in reverse, my car will surge, even with the brake on. I checked with the better business bureau, and also with ford.com. They suggested I schedule a check up, which I did. I went to the dealer repair service and they were unsure of what to do. One mechanic suggested a throttle body replacement which is 700 dollars, but said he's unsure of how to proceed. This seems to me like a safety issue that should constitute investigation by the federal safety agency. Especially considering what happened with the toyota. I searched online and found thousands of inquiries by consumers. Some of which rear-ended vehicles. When will the federal safety agency take action?
Tl*the contact owns a 2005 ford freestyle. While the vehicle was idle and his foot was on the brake pedal the vehicle accelerated. He applied extreme pressure to the brake pedal in order to avoid hitting the vehicle in front of him. The failure had occurred for several months and continued to occur several times a week. The vehicle was taken to the dealer on august 9, 2010 and the dealer advised him that the throttle body needed to be replaced. The dealer advised him that they did not have the part and it would be several weeks before it was available. He also advised the dealer that the vehicle was not safe to drive. The contact took the vehicle to a local mechanic who stated that he would have the part in a day. The throttle body will be replaced by a local mechanic. The approximate failure mileage was 73,500. The current mileage was 74,913.
I was sitting at a traffic light (1000 miles from home) and my 2005 freestyle lurched forward with my foot on the brake pedal. Then the wrench light and failsafe engine mode warnings appeared on the dash. I carefully drive the car to the local dealership to find that the throttle body needed to be replaced and the part was in national backorder.
Tl*the contact owns a 2005 ford freestyle. The contact stated that after starting the vehicle and applying pressure to the brake pedal the vehicle lunged forward. The failure also occurred while driving in reverse. The engine safe mode light illuminated on the instrumental panel. The contact engaged the accelerator pedal and the vehicle failed to accelerate. The failure occurred multiple times. The dealer was not notified. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 59994. The current mileage was 61000.
2005 ford freetstyle lunges forward when placed in gear and sometimes when sitting at a stop sign or traffic light. Also lunges backward when in reverse.
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 ford freestyle. The contact stated while the driver was stopped at a traffic stop with the brakes depressed, the vehicle abnormally accelerated. She continued depressing the brake but the vehicle continued to accelerate. The dealer advised that the throttle body was most likely causing the failure but the vehicle would have to be properly diagnosed. The vehicle was neither repaired nor diagnosed. The contact stated the failure was experienced several times in the vehicle. The failure and current mileages were 36,000.
2005 ford freestyle sudden acceleration, quick acceleration on its own during idle or as soon as you let go of the brake, dealer has already looked at vehicle several times. Throttle body, cleaned, new airfilters have been replaced, this has been an occurring problem for he last 5 months vehicle has 75,000 miles and the dealer mentioned they have 6 others with the same problem.
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 ford freestyle. The contact stated the air conditioning unit would sporadically surge before independently shutting off. The dealer advised that throttle body would need to be replaced. There were no prior warnings of the failure and the vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 40,000 and the current mileage was 128,000.
When activating the air conditioner, the vehicle would exhibit an unusual increase in engine rpms. Sporadically, the vehicle would surge forward when the failure would occur. The first time this happen the car had 40,000 miles on it. It seems to happen during the summer months only while it is hot, went to local dealer and they said it was the throttle body. I have notice that there are several complaints on this issue. I t seems to be very dangerous when this happens. I can't believe that the car doesn't have a recall on this issue. Please check into this.
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 ford freestyle. The contact was sitting at a complete stop with the brakes depressed when the vehicle independently accelerated. The contact stated the failure occurred several times and on occasion, the vehicle would stall immediately after the failure. When the vehicle would not stall, the contact would abruptly apply the brakes and shift into park to stop the unintended acceleration. The dealer replaced several wires. The failure recurred within three days after repairs. The vehicle was taken to a second dealer where she was advised that the throttle body would need to be replaced. The vehicle was not further repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 61,500 and the current mileage was approximately 62,000.
I currently own a 2005 ford freestyle and numerous times it has lunged when I was in a stopping position in many occasions. When I am in the car and in drive with the brakes on the car will instantly rev up and move forward. One occasion I was at a drive thru and the vehicle actually hit a pole in the drive threw. Another time, my wife was walking around the front of the car and the car lunged forward and hit my wife. This is a very dangerous problem. I have read online that this is happening all over the united states and one person hit someone in the grocery store parking lot. At times the car will not respond when the gas is pushed. I will push the gas to the floor and the car will only go 3-7 miles an hour. After reading many complaints about this it seems that it is the throttle body on the ford freestyle. Fortunately my wife did not get seriously hurt, just a minor bruise, however I foresee something happening. Numerous people have tried to replace the throttle body but ford states this product is on back order and is unknown when it will arrive. I believe this is a defect of fords vehicles and should be taken care of before someone is seriously injured.
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 ford freestyle. The contact stated when shifting into neutral or drive, the engine rpms would abnormally increase. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the throttle control was yet the failure persisted. The failure mileage was 71,000 and the current mileage was 86,000. Updated 11/03/10. *lj the consumer stated the problem would occur when the weather was hot and after long drives. Updated 11/04/10 only once occurance since new throttle body replaced, that after a 6 hour drive in high heat, sitting at stop light engine started revving. Shut down and restarted, was ok; no occurences since then. Smch
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 ford freestyle. The contact was at a stop with the brakes depressed when the vehicle abnormally accelerated. The contact applied more abrupt pressure to the brakes but to no avail. She then shifted into neutral and made a right turn to avoid crashing into a vehicle ahead. The vehicle then began to shake abnormally before stalling. The wrench warning light then illuminated. She then shifted the vehicle into park and was able to restart the vehicle. The dealer advised they were not aware of the type of failure in her vehicle. The vehicle was not repaired or taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing. The unintended acceleration failure had only occurred once. In addition, the contact stated when arriving to her residence, there was an unusual increase in engine rpms when shifting into park. The failure mileage was 118,223 and the current mileage was 118,243. Updated 11/03/10. *lj updated 11/04/10
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 ford freestyle. The contact was sitting at a stop with the brakes depressed when the vehicle abnormally accelerated. The contact stated the failure also occurred while in the reverse position however, the vehicle accelerated forward. The dealer performed a diagnostic and found that the throttle was defective. The dealer stated the part needed to make the repair was on backorder. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was 70,000 and the current mileage was 73,000. Updated 11/03/10.
I had my 92 yr old friend in my 2005 ford freestyle 500. I am 41. We had just left the hardware store. I put the vehicle in reverse. ( I just bought the vehicle from kenny ross ford as a used vehicle in nov. 2009.) the vehicle accelerated as soon as the transmission kicked in and it threw us backwards into the parking lot. I slammed on the brakes but at the same time the car stalled and I had no brakes. I stood on the brake peddle and finally came to a stop approximately 20 feet back into the parking area. My 92 year old friend was shaken so very badly I feared a heart attack. If I were older and not so strong, we could have been killed... Garage said throttle body issue. I came home after telling him I felt as if I were driving a toyota, and he said it wasn't covered under my powertrain warranty and it would be $879.00 to fix. I haven't even owned it for a year yet. Are you kidding me. Now I am scared to drive it.
My 2005 ford freestyle with 45,000 miles kept surging forward. It happened twice in 2 months when I was alone. This past july I picked my grandchildren up at camp sure enough it did it again almost striking a child in the parking lot. Brought it to the dealership and $800.00 dollars later found out it was the throttle body. There are many complaints with this same issue. Needs to be a recall!!! This is no different than the toyota situation.
I have a 2005 ford freestyle. It surges forward at low idle. I have taken it to the dealer, but they can't find anything. I have about ran through storefronts, my garage, and about hit parked cars. Today I almost ran over a small child at soccer practice. I have to keep my foot on the brake at all times when I am going slow or stopped. I have found that there are problems with the throttle bodys on the freestyles, but the dealer denies it.
The throttle body on our 2005 ford freestyle must be replaced. While driving today, 7/31/10, our car went into "engine failsafe mode" 8 times, 8 times!, while driving on the interstate and on a sc/nc state highway. Fortunately we were able to find a safe place to pull over each time. We have been on a waiting list for 2 weeks for a $600 part, and must now rent a car. I have noticed many online complaints regarding this issue that date back several years. This is a serious safety issue and I am hoping that the federal safety agency will finally encourage the ford motor company to issue a recall on this. Thanks.
The car lurches forward and goes into fail safety mode. Am told that it is a malfunction of the throttle body. It got worse over time and started doing it every time I moved the shift nob from park to drive.
Tl*the contact owns 2005 ford freestyle. While driving in traffic with his foot on the brake pedal the vehicle felt as if it wanted to accelerate and when he attempted to accelerated it began to slow down. The throttle light illuminated on the dashboard. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who determined that the failure was caused by the throttle body. The vehicle will be repaired. The failure mileage was 84,000. The current mileage was 86,000.
Tl*the contact owns 2005 ford freestyle. The contact stated that the vehicle accelerated and decelerated on its own. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing and was advised that the failure was caused by the throttle body. The dealer stated that the part was on back order. The VIN was not available. The failure and the current mileages were 95,000.
Tl*the contact owns a 2005 ford freestyle. The contact stated that whenever the vehicle came to a complete stop, she had to shift into park so that the vehicle would not accelerate on its own. The vehicle had accelerated on its own multiple times where the contact was forced to apply extreme pressure to the brakes in order to stop the vehicle. The dealer was contacted and stated that the throttle needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired since the parts were on back order. The failure and current mileages were 55000.
VIN decoder
See the problems and recalls for an exact car
Buying a used 2005 Ford Freestyle?
Check the exact car before you pay: accidents, salvage or flood titles, odometer readings and previous owners.
Check its history