Eng. Surging car wants to accelerate while standing at red light hat trouble holding car still also while driving car wants to lurch forward.
2005 Ford Freestyle electrical complaints
Page 4 of 6: complaints 71 to 100 of 142, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Unexplained acceleration of vehicle. Car lurches for no apparent cause.
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 ford freestyle. The contact stated that while driving over 5 MPH, all of the gauges on the instrument panel failed. The vehicle momentarily surged forward. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer on numerous occasions where various repairs were performed but the failure persisted. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but offered no assistance. The failure mileage was 40,000. Updated 09/15/11
2005 ford freestyle surges and accelerates from a stop or low speed. It is particularly evident when shifting the transmission from drive to reverse or reverse to drive. The acceleration can last for maximum 5 seconds but you better have your foot firmly planted on the brake or the vehicle could lunge forward or backward into oncoming or parked cars and pedestrians. It doesn't happen al the time, often after the car has been run and parked for a 15-30 minute period.
Request to re-open the federal safety agency defect investigation #pe07058. The entire instrumental panel stopped working while starting, stoping or driving at low speed and on highway. Also when it happens, no turn signal alarm, no air conditioner, and controls on the steering wheel not working. Have not been able to check outside lights. It happens from time to time, comes and goes, lasts about 2-10 seconds. A few occasoins, it trigged air bag, coolent warning and check engine lights to come on. Check engien light stayed for a few days. I think it is a design or production defect since ford knew it back in 2006 according to its tsb. I think it's dangerous, especially when driving on highspeed, at night and in bad weather, you lose the info of speed and air conditioner and don't know if turn signal light is on.
2005 ford freestyle unexpectedly accelerates when car is put into gear (forward or reverse), this seems to be aligned with other complaints associated with the federal safety agency investigation pe11018. The engine will rev when putting the car into gear and will lurch in the direction of the gear that it was placed in. This is not due to the driver inadvertently pressing on the gas pedal at the same time as the brake. The driver has to firmly press on the brakes to prevent the car from moving. If the brake is only pressed just enough to put the car in gear the vehicle will actually move 3-4 feet. The happens sporadically but does occur at least 4-5 times a week.
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).
Sitting at stop light, engine surges and lurches into "fail safe" mode. Car slips out of gear into neutral, and limps to a stop. Has occured multiple times, especially in the heat of summer. Taken car into multiple shops, have never received consistent answer. Answers range from transmission failure to a bad computer, or a sensor.
My 2005 freestyle is making loud rattling sound (coming from trans) and the failsafe mode indicator as well as the yellow wrench have been appearing. I have had it in the service dept of dealership many times for surging and power failures, etc, and they have made numerous repairs - (including the AC compressor) and replaced a head gasket (which is leaking badly now?), and it appears this time it may be a throttle body problem? The dealer won't look at it till next week and wants $200 to check it out? People waiting in line (at the service dept) today told me they had the exact same problems (with freestyles). There should be a recall if so many people are complaining.
I own a 2005 ford freestyle and about 1 year ago, when ever I would back out of my garage or pull into the garage at a slow speed, sometimes the car would lunge unexpectedly either forward or backward depending on if I was backing out or pulling into my garage. It occurred at least 3 or 4 times per week until it finally got so back that my check engine light came on. At that point, I took the car to the dealership and they charged me over $600 to replace the throttle body on the car. This did resolve the issue somewhat, but at least a couple of times a month I still experience this lunging of the car, but it is not as dramatic as it was before they replaced the throttle body. I was really worried about this issue as we have a lot of kids that like to play around our house and I was always worried I was going to run into one of them when backing out of the garage so I had to make sure I kept one foot on the break just in case. This is a very serious issue and it is something that is definitely a safety hazard to the public. Also, my wife has a 2006 ford 500 and it experienced the same problems and we had to get the throttle body fixed on it as well. I spent over $1,000 within the span of a few months on the same issue in two different ford vehicles. There is definitely something wrong with the throttle body mechanism and ford needs to be held accountable for this dangerous situation they have put car owners in and they should be required to refund the cost of anyone who has already spent $600 or $700 to fix their throttle body. The ford dealer told me to keep my receipts in case this issue made the recall list.
2005 ford freestyle complete shutoff of electrical system including turn signals. This is the second problem. The first was the surging that everybody is complaining about. After a wrong diagnosis and replacing the throttle body and PCM, the whole problem was fixed by replacing the alternator. My concern is the complete shutoff of electrical system is a safety issue. This second problem is current.
2005 ford freestyle sel has lost power and turned off completely twice. Both times, I turned the AC and radio off and it started back up immediately. I have also experienced the sudden surge others have described when slowing at an intersection for a stop sign and it does require a quick hard break to keep from entering the intersection. Both of these events are extremely dangerous.
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 ford freestyle. The contact stated that all of the gauges on the instrument panel were malfunctioning. When the failure would occur, the reverse lights would illuminate and stay on. The vehicle was taken to a local repair shop where the vehicle was diagnosed as the cluster module being defective and needing to be replaced. The manufacturer was contacted who did not offer any assistance since the vehicle was out of warranty. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was 46,000. Updated 05/04/11
Over a period of about 2 summers, the 2005 ford freestyle would surge while sitting at an intersection or slowing during the approach. The surge was a rapid acceleration of the vehicle which required a heavy, or a quick brake. A quick response was required to avoid a rear-end collision, entering an intersection, or striking a pedestrian. The surges seem to be related to the operation of the air conditioner. The car had gone into a "fail-safe" mode while sitting in a drive-thru. I began using the AC sparingly and would turn off the AC completely when driving in the city or approaching and intersection. However, while approaching a turn on a state route, with a speed limit of 55, the vehicle unexpectedly shutdown leaving the vehicle exposed to on-coming traffic. The date listed below is an approximation. Around the same time toyota was having problems with "run-away" vehicles, I contacted the ford motor company alerting them of this hazard. I was told to contact a dealership. The dealership replaced the throttle body. I was told that the "computer" could not/did not show any information about the "fail-safe". On-line, it appears that many people have had these problems. Due to the season, I will not know if the problem was corrected. I'm hoping that the family isn't in the car if it wasn't.
Tl*the contact owns a 2005 ford freestyle. The vehicle was parked when the contact noticed that the door latch on all four doors would not close securely which resulted in the doors opening even when in motion. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer four times where they sprayed a solution on the door latch mechanism. Also, the vehicle was repaired under the nhsta campaign id number 06v383000 (latches/locks/linkages: doors: latch); however, the failure continued to occur. The failure mileage was 5,000. Updated 03/16/11 *bf the consumer stated the doors do not close when the temperature is 20f or lower. When they did close, they would open while making a turn. The consumer has returned to the dealer several times for the same problem. The dealer sprayed the inside door. Also, the alternator was replaced. Updated 08/31/11...update 01/20/12 *bf status update. Update 01/25/12
Tl*the contact owns a 2005 ford freestyle. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds for a year the driver noticed that all the warning lights would illuminate on the instrumental panel on a intermittent basis. The vehicle would also stall on different occasions without warning. The vehicle was inspected by a dealer who informed the contact that the instrument cluster had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired for the instrument cluster. The contact also stated that when trying to decelerate the vehicle it surge forward. The vehicle was also repaired for the instrument cluster for this failure as well. The failure continued to occur for the mentioned failures. The failure mileage was approximately 60,000.
Tl*the contact owns 2005 ford freestyle. The contact stated that the instrument cluster lost power and all of the gauges stopped working and the interior lights shut off. The failure last from a few seconds to a few minutes. The dealer inspected the vehicle and stated that they could not diagnose the failure. The dealer also stated that this did not mean there was not a problem because they could not duplicate it. The failure mileage was 78000 and the current mileage was 79000.
Tl*the contact owns a 2005 ford freestyle. While driving at various speeds, the contact noticed the entire instrument panel gauges would not function correctly with the illumination of the "check engine low fuel level" warning light. In addition, the wrench warning symbol and air bag warning indicator would illuminate. The failures occurred intermittently when the vehicle was in operation. Also, both turn signals failed to function properly. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnosis and they were unable to detect a problem. The failure mileage was approximately 50,000. The VIN was unavailable.
When driving my 2005 ford freestyle down the road the entire cluster will start cutting out all the lights will come on. The first time this happened I was driving 30 mile per hour. I pulled over and shut off my vehicle, a few seconds later I restarted my vehicle the lights still came on they stayed on for about 20 minutes and then stayed off for about a 9 days. The second time it happened they stayed on for 4 days. I called our nearest ford dealership the same day they came on and was told it could be the battery causing it or could be the cluster cutting out. We checked and cleaned our battery which is only 9 months old. It was not the battery. Then on the 4th day all the warning lights in the cluster went off except the check engine light. After a day or so it to went out. The biggest problem with this the speedometer does not work when this occurs. ...I feel this is very dangerous, especially on the curvy and winding roads where I live. And it is a problem I thoroughly checked out many people are having problem with this issue yet ford has not had a recall on it or the other problem with the throttle body (lurching and surging). Both are safety issues and manufacturing defects. Bad enough the AC problem and having bought 5 sets of tires since I have bought the 2005 freestyle. I have owned ford products for many years and being they do not back their products I will not continue purchasing from ford.
Tl*the contact owns a 2005 ford freestyle limited. While driving approximately 50 MPH at night, the vehicle suddenly lost power. The instrument panel was not lit and all lights turned off. The contact was able to be restarted after ten seconds. The failure occurred intermittently and the contact replaced five batteries due to the problem. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer but the failure could not be duplicated. The VIN was unavailable. The failure mileage was approximately 59,000 and the current mileage was approximately 100,000.
My 2005 ford freestyle with 58,000 miles suddenly looses all the instrument panel indications and the engine then dies. Restart is possible and instruments then return to normal. This usually occurs within a few minutes of starting the car but has happened at speed on the highway. The dealer claims this is a common freestyle problem and the entire instrument cluster has to be replaced at a cost of $700.00. Why has this obvious safety issue not been subject to a recall?
The car lunges forward or backward depending if you are in drive or reverse. It is so fast you have to brake with both feet and pull against steering wheel to stop car. Car trips into failsafe mode after this happens (would be too late, you would have hit something by then)dealer says it is the bad throttle body. Seems to be a systemic problem with freestyle 2005-2007? Very dangerous a matter of time before someone is run over or killed with vehicle.
The vehicle would experience intermittent loss of the electrical to the gauges and interior lighting. The gauges would sweep to zero and then momentarily sweep back. The length of the loss of electrical is increasing with each intermittent failure. Twice now the vehicle has also lost acceleration when pulling out of an intersection causing a potential collision condition. The last time this happened it also occurred with a loss of electrical to the instrument cluster and interior lighting. This is a potential serious condition as the vehicle may have been involved in a collision due to the loss of power. The vehicle is currently with the ford dealer undergoing diagnostics.
2005 ford freestyle. 3 different incidents when the car was stopped, lurched forward and then the dashboard light came on reading "engine safe failed" turned car off and restarted. 3rd time it happened the check engine light remained on with the emissions light on the dashboard. Took car to dealership to be serviced. We are now told the throttle body needs to be replaced and the electric system needs to be rebooted. The car only has 58,000 miles and we purchased only 30 days ago used.
During vehicle operation, the instrument cluster suddenly and catastrophically fails, apparently disabling several critical safety features. The malfunction at first occurred intermittently, then more frequently, but now occurs continuously. A local ford dealer has replaced the instrument cluster twice without resolving the problem, indicating that original ford equipment may be defective. The speedometer and tachometer needles suddenly drop to zero and freeze. The digital display shows 'odometer data error.' all warning lights on the instrument cluster come on at once. Without these instruments, the driver can no longer monitor vehicle performance, such as speed and engine temperature. The malfunction definitely disables the automatic door locks and traction control. It may very well also disable the air bag system since the self-check display also does not work.
Car accelerated when placed in reverse and brake was applied, 2005 ford freestyle ... Took to dealer... Replaced the throttle sensor w a kit. Problem was resolved to the tune of $700,00.
2005 ford freestyle experiencing electrical instrument failure. All gauges fail (drop to zero) and dash light goes out while driving. Gauges may resume to working position, but sometimes continue to fail while driving. Very scary when speedometer registers 0 MPH at highway speeds!
I was driving my car (pulling out of a mall) approaching the highway, I stopped for traffic to clear. With my foot on the brake, my car suddenly leapt forward toward traffic. Thinking that maybe I didn't have my brake pedal pushed hard enough (scaring me) I pushed my foot harder on the brake pedal. But the car kept lurching forward. Luckily the traffic cleared & I proceeded onto the highway. Then, the car didn't seem to move, so I pressed the gas pedal a little harder. The car acted like it was in neutral, then moved forward very slowly. I pushed the gas pedal harder, and again, the car acted like it was in neutral, then finally moved forward very slowly. Traffic was coming from behind so I kept going forward. Luckily the ford dealership was just a couple blocks away (around the corner). So I drove it very carefully straight to the dealership service department. At most I was going about 30-35 miles per hour. The dealership says the problem is the throttle body needs to be replaced. They have to order parts. Luckily my extended warranty is in effect, so it's supposed to be covered, except for a $100. Deductible. (plus we"ll need to pay charges to have the parts shipped asap). Today, my husband checked online and found that this has been an ongoing problem with ford freestyle's. This is absolutely dangerous! My car could easily have lurched out into heavy 40-45 mile per hr traffic, if I hadn't had fast reflexes! Or if I had pulled out in front of the higher speed traffic I could have been hit from behind! My car has only about 37,000 miles. I've had about four incidences of electrical problems with it. First, they replaced my alternator. Then my battery. Then my instrument cluster panels & (in the dashboard) airconditioning panels. At least they're the things that I know they've done (because the don't tell you all the things they've fixed or replaced). I don"t know if these things are connected. Also according to the internet, these parts have be hard to find.
We bought a new 2005 ford freestyle in october 2005. We had no problems until our 3 year warranty expired in october 2008. Beginning in 2009 we began to notice that our instrument panel would lose power. All dials would go down to zero, flicker and the entire panel would be dead for a short time. It happened intermittently and we lived with it for a year before taking the vehicle back to the san leandro, ca ford dealer, paying $250 for an engine diagnostic in january 2009. The diagnostic which took all day, revealed that there was a short in a wire in the instrument panel which meant the panel would have to be replaced in its entirety ($700). Not having the $700 to pay for the solution I came home to do some research. I found that per ford tsb 06-17-9 all ford dealerships were told about this defect. It was investigated by the federal safety agency and because the problem did not involve the operation of the exterior functions of the vehicle, there was no recall. I would like to know why ford mc is taking $250 from its customers to diagnose a problem that it already knew about. Also, if it were your vehicle, would you be satisfied in paying $700 for a replacement part that ford readily admits to having been soldered incorrectly during the manufacturing process? I can testify that there is a safety issue involved here. When driving home from yosemite np at night, along steep mountain roads, my family of 4 children, mom and dad nearly drove off the road when our entire cabin went dark because the instrument panel shut down. We had to brake hard and cars behind us and in front had to do the same in response. I could not tell how fast we were going, nor how much gas was left in the tank for a period of 10 minutes. Reverse lights come on whilst driving in forward direction causing drivers to brake behind us. The investigation should be reopened because this problem is ongoing and will cause loss of life for the sake of a replacement part that was badly made.
Re-experiencing electrical instrument cluster problems. Battery and alternator replaced 6/2008 when car dead in driveway. 8 months later 4/2009 electrical gauges fail and reset and same local mechanic replaced fuses. Two months later 6/2009 gauges continue to fail and reset leading dealer, referencing tsb, to replace with new instrument cluster. Luckily covered under extended warranty. Mileage then 63,000. In last year the car running fine until month ago june /july 2010 when electrical gauges continuously stopping and resetting on highway with and without A/C running mostly within first 30 minutes of driving. Also, subtle engine delay and fanlike sounds coming from underneath experienced during and after these episodes. While on vacation with these problems, two local mechanics suggested bad alternator but took to another ny ford dealer who diagnosed and replaced alleged leaking battery which was only 2 yr old battery. Of course, did not correct problem. Symptoms of electrical failure and reset are daily now and external lights dimming on off. Calling back original dealer for diagnosis and next steps. Extended warranty now expired. Very concerned that car electrical power will shut down on highway while traveling with 3 children. 76,000 miles.
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