2005 Ford Freestyle: wrong fuel gauge reading

Filed Sep 4, 2019 · Electrical · 14,650 miles · ME

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 ford freestyle. On several occasions, over the course of several years, the instrument panel failed to operate when the vehicle was started. Over time, the instrument panel became totally inoperable and the contact was unable to see the speed, fuel level, or other gauges. The vehicle was taken to varney ford (located at 237 moosehead trail, newport, me 04953, (888) 460-7356) where it was diagnosed that the instrument panel needed to be replaced. Additionally, the battery needed to be replaced because the vehicle had not been driven for days to weeks at a time. However, the failure recurred. The contact stated that dielectric grease was added to the wire connectors and the vehicle operated as intended. The contact stated that the failure seemed to be more prevalent when the outside temperature was between 60-68 degrees. The manufacturer was informed of the failure. The approximate the first failure mileage was 1200 miles in 2007 and again by 2012.

Filed Dec 8, 2012 · Acceleration, Electrical · 55,000 miles · TX

The first incident my fuel gauge is off & producing incorrect data of gas remaining in car & driver window would roll up and down when trying to just roll it up. I took the car back to the dealership they did not fix the issue. Another incident I was on the highway and the stalled while driving. Third incident I was at a stop light with my 5 year old daughter in the car, all of a sudden the car made a loud revving up noise then shot us forward into oncoming traffic. I was barely able to back up before the cars reached us. Another time I was driving with my daughter taking her to daycare then going to work and we were going through a school zone. We stopped at a stop sign and there was a family with 3 children crossing and the car shot us forward again and we almost hit the family. Several times when picking up my daughter I would put the car in reverse and my foot was on the brake pedal still all of a sudden the car shot us back into the cars behind us. This car is very unsafe. I fear for the safety of others and my daughters and my life when getting into this car. Ford should recall this vehicle and replace it with a new car. People shouldn't be at risk for this.

Filed Feb 16, 2012 · Acceleration, Electrical · 60,000 miles · NY

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 ford freestyle. The contact stated that the speedometer, odometer and fuel gauge failed and displayed an erroneous reading of zero. In addition, the turn signals and headlights were inoperable. The contact also stated that with the brakes depressed, the vehicle would surge forward abnormally. Neither the dealer nor the manufacturer was notified of the failure, nor was the vehicle diagnosed or repaired. The current and the failure mileages were 60,000.

Filed Nov 17, 2010 · Electrical · 50,000 miles · MI

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.

Filed Feb 25, 2010 · Electrical · 38,000 miles · MI

Tl*the contact owns a 2005 ford freestyle. He stated that while driving approximately 35 MPH and making a turn the entire instrumental panel stopped working. The RPM needle began moving rapidly, yet the panel did not illuminate. The failure has occurred twice a day on a daily basis. The dealer stated that there was no warranty and they were unable to duplicate the failure. There were no repairs made to the vehicle. The failure mileage was 38,000. The current mileage was 57,222. Updated 11/16/10*bf the consumer stated he has ran out of gas several times, because the gas gauge was not accurate. Also, the instrument panel would become dark. Updated 11/23/10

Filed Sep 23, 2009 · Fuel system · 25,000 miles · 00

Fuel gauge will drop to zero and the check engine light stays on. I paid $109 for ford to tell me it will cost $500 to fix faulty fuel modules which is known by ford to be faulty in 2006. They will not fix it at there cost.

Filed Jul 16, 2009 · Fuel system · 60,000 miles · MS

Sitting at a red light and the car lurched forward when foot was on the brake. Almost got hit in the middle of an intersection. Car then immediately went into failsafe mode and would not go over 30 MPH. Took it to dealer and was determined that throttle body assembly needed to replaced. Then was told a week later that the part was backordered and would not be available for over 90 days. Dealer then told me it was ok to drive. No way I'm putting my family in this car which could gas forward on it's own as it is a drive by wire system. Many people reporting the same problems. Ford even has a technical service bulletin issued regarding this problem--tsb 05-25-13. Same problem happened to volvo's which use same parts. Hopefully more reports of this will cause ford to recall the part! And also after every two fill ups the fuel level sending unit goes bad.

Filed Jul 2, 2009 · Electrical, Lights · 52,000 miles · MA

The dashboard instrument panel fails regularly and all gauges (speed, gas, temp, etc.) fall to zero. The dashboard and other interior lights also do not work when this happens. At first, it happened intermittently and would work most of the time, but not all. Now, it happens regularly and I have driven several times without knowing my speed or fuel level. Sometimes the computer resets. At times, the gauges resume working within a minute, other times, they do not work for the entire drive, leaving me with no way of knowing my speed or fuel level and now way of seeing inside the car when it is dark. I did some research and found a tsb on the issue at ford, but it is expensive to fix and really is a safety issue that should be covered because of the lack of knowing the speed and fuel levels. I brought it in yesterday and it will cost $750.00 to fix.

Filed Mar 21, 2009 · Fuel system · 58,000 miles · MS

Fuel level sending unit fails every 2 fill ups.

Filed Jan 5, 2009 · Electrical, Fuel system · 52,075 miles · TX

2005 ford freestyle_- bought in 2007 has approx 19,000 miles on it bought extended service warranty for upto 100,000- approximately june 2008 check engine light came on and information center said "half fuel life op" took to dealer they changed out the fuel pump and the light came back on about 1 week later while on vacation. Took it back to the shop they changed out the other fuel pump as it has 2. It did it again shortly afterwards. They have changed the sending unit and then the fuel gauge started freaking out- showing half a take when full and going up instead of down after driving it. It has had the software redownloaded in the computer and I don't even know what all. It has been in the shop well over 30 days and is in there again for the same issue.

Filed Nov 11, 2008 · Fuel system · 28,405 miles · GA

I filled up my gas tank on november 6, 2008. Thirty minutes later, while driving, my gas gauge dropped to empty and the fuel warning light came on. I was so frightened by this, so I do not know if anything else on the instrument panel was affected. My son was screaming at me to pull over and stop, but there was nowhere to stop. On november 7, I took my vehicle to the dealership to explain the problem. I have owned my freestyle for 3 years and 4 months. It only has 28,405 miles on it. I also have the new basecare extended warranty. They charged me $94.00 for the diagnostics. I was told the fuel sensor is bad. It will cost $400.00 to replace it, and the extended warranty does not cover it. I had to refuse this costly job. I am troubled that the freestyle has a defective fuel sensor, and even more upset that the extended warranty is useless.

Filed Aug 2, 2005 · Fuel system · TX

For a few days, our family had been vacationing in the mountains of ruidoso, new mexico. Before heading home to texas, we filled the gas tank in our 2005 ford freestyle. Shortly after leaving ruidoso on our way home, the fuel gauge suddenly went from full to empty. We stopped by the side of the road not knowing if something had happened to our fuel tank but knowing that we should have a full tank of gas. The fuel gauge would jump intermittently from indicating that there was gas to empty which continued the entire trip. The check engine light came on the control panel and also a message to check the engine. This continued the entire time. When we returned home, we immediately took the car to the ford dealership to be repaired. After keeping it a day, they informed us that ford was aware of the problem with the fuel gauge on the freestyle but didn't know what to do about it. So, we were told that we would just have to deal with it until ford comes up with a solution which will probably take a few months. The check engine message and light, they said, must be related to this. We are concerned about this greatly because we need a reliable car and distances are far in this part of the country. Waiting a few months for a repair of something essential does not seem to be a viable option but pollard ford in lubbock, texas has given us no other choice.