2005 Ford Freestyle: hesitation when accelerating

Filed Jan 29, 2016 · Transmission · 140,000 miles · MD

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 ford freestyle. While driving various speeds, the transmission exhibited severe hesitation in a jerking motion. The failure recurred on a separate occasion. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the transmission would need to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 140,000. The VIN was unavailable.

Filed May 29, 2014 · Electrical, Engine · 145,000 miles · MI

This vehicle looses complete power while driving. Runs sluggish and hesitates.. Took it to the dealership for possible recall (throttle body) dealer says not the issue need to replace alternator, and transmission, etc.. Called ford motor company customer service for assistance to see if this was a known issue.

Filed Sep 17, 2013 · Acceleration · 101,000 miles · IN

Happens both when taking off and going over 40mph veh makes thumping sound from rear end and hesitates until thumping goes away then able to accelerate without problem.

Filed Nov 19, 2012 · Engine, Transmission · 125,000 miles · WA

When at a stop, our car lunges when you press on the gas pedal, forward or reverse. There is a hesitation after pushing on the pedal than it leaps forward or reverse. I was told from a dealer that it needed the throttle body cleaned and was told the same from a transmission shop. The transmission shop informed me of some problems ford was having with this transmission. I looked it up on line and seen many complaints. I cleaned it and it seemed to fix the problem. A couple of months ago, it started the lunging again. This morning, the car shuttered and stopped and several lights on the dash lit up, wrench, motor. The car wouldn't move, it wouldn't even rev up. It stranded my wife on the side of the road. I came to meet her and had it towed to our house. I cleaned the throttle body again. When I got in to try it, all the lights were no longer there but it still lunges. Very afraid to let my wife drive it again with the possibility of being stranded.

Filed Aug 10, 2012 · Acceleration · 55,000 miles · WV

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 ford freestyle. The contact stated that the vehicle lunged forward or in reverse when the vehicle was placed in park gear, or driven at low speeds. The vehicle also accelerated when the contact removed his foot from the brake pedal. The failure occurred without warning, and recurred intermittently. The vehicle hesitated to accelerate to higher speeds. The vehicle was taken to the dealer but was not inspected since the failure was not present. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The current mileage was 62,000. The failure mileage was 55,000.

Filed Jul 7, 2012 · Brakes, Transmission · 103,000 miles · IN

1.) while putting car in reverse,with foot on brake the car lunges backward with significant force & speed. 2.) while sitting with 'drive' engaged & foot on brake car will lunge in the same manner. If A/C or heat is on it is significantly worse & more dangerous!! This happens very unexpectedly & surges/lunges quite a distance before vehicle is able to be stopped. Sometimes the vehicle will completely shut itself off with some type of a fail safe error displayed. This problem occurs multiple times daily on a daily basis! I am scared to death to back out of any parking space with the fear of hitting a pedestrian! As well as this issue, while driving at any speed, the vehicle acts like it will stall. Meaning that you may be driving anywhere from 20-60mph & it hesitates - not only when accelerating, but when at a consistent speed as well. This too increases with heating & cooling on. All incidents could cause great harm!

Filed Jul 5, 2012 · Engine · 118,500 miles · IL

While sitting in traffic with AC on and car lunged forward hesitated and went into fail safe mode.this has been an ongoing problem and the second time we've made a complaint. In 2005, approximately 4 months after purchasing the car ford replaced the throttle body, as the it was still under warranty, car was fine for about 3-4 years. Then the same problems began occurring again. Lunging and stalling in 2010. In may of 2012 we had the throttle body replaced again, as it had gotten so bad the car was barely drivable. Every ten feet or so it would stall and go into fail safe mode. Throttle body was replaced on may 13 2012, and the issue was resolved immediately until yesterday. Obviously the throttle body is defective, even after ford supposedly redesigned it in 2007. Am I going have to spend 600.00 every year to have the same part replaced because ford won't issue a recall on an obviously defective part.

Filed Jun 4, 2012 · Transmission · 62,000 miles · SD

Sudden engine revving driving on interstate. Loss of power to transmission. Instrument panel wrench light came on. After resting restarted and acted like nothing happened. Drove to dealership evaluation showed an event. Assuming it's ok to drive. Weeks later at a stop light hesitation and jerking was occurring. This continues, worse if AC was on. Nothing ever revealed on instrument panel indicating failure. Back to ford based on codes it was going to need a $900+ part. During this process it was revealed a new transmission was required or a rebuilt. 4-7k. We no longer trust this car for our safety. It was always maintained at dealership. We loved this car.

Filed Sep 22, 2011 · Engine, Seats · 61,540 miles · SC

The car started showing hesitation when accelerating and making a strange noise early in 2010. This condition got progressively worse until one day, while driving on the freeway, the engine would not respond to the gas pedal being depressed, the wrench light came on, and I was forced to coast to the side of the road. I turned the car off for a few minutes and when I attempted to restart it, the gas pedal seemed to be working again. Took the car to jones ford the next day and they told me the throttle body was bad and replaced it to the tune of $638.97. Date of service was april 1, 2020. Mileage at time of failure was 61,540 everything seemed fine for a few months but I started noticing the hesitation on acceleration again. Took it to summerville ford on july 21, 2010. I didn't wait for a complete failure since it was extremely dangerous to lose power on the freeway with a whole car load of kids! Jones ford said the throttle body was bad again and replaced it under warranty this time. Checked for codes and got code #u0141. Mileage at time of replacement was 65,207. Within the last couple of weeks I have noticed similar conditions to the last two times the throttle body failed. Yesterday I was parking and the car surged forward as I let my foot of the brake, almost causing me to hit the car in the spot in front of me. I have no choice but to keep driving it until something is done by ford about this dangerous condition. I was also told that the motor mount needs to be replaced. I also have replaced the 2/3 row seat pivot once during warranty but it failed again in 2010 and I haven't been able to afford to replace it. The A/C compressor stopped working this summer. Still not fixed. I have replaced my tires twice in seven years. I have replaced both sets of brakes. Ford needs to address these common failures. Before someone gets hurt!

Filed Aug 15, 2011 · Acceleration · 83,000 miles · FL

My 2005 ford freestyle was lunging forward while idling. I nearly hit some pedestrians and also nearly hit the car in front of me at a traffic stop when the car lunged forward on its own. Since I have a newborn baby and was very concerned about safety, I did not hesitate to bring it to the dealer. I was notified that the throttle body of the car needs to be replaced. I understand that the problem is fairly common which indicates it is a manufacturer defect and should be considered for recall. I feel this issue is a major safety concern and has the potential to cause injury or death.

Filed May 24, 2011 · Engine · 105,000 miles · WI

Ford freestyle stalls and shuts down while driving, disabling the powered steering among other things and causes very unsafe situations. This will usually start with some hesitations of the engine and then it dies. Often it stalls while taking off from standstill as well either forward or going in reverse. Sometimes there is surging of the engine as well, especially while using AC or turning the steering wheel. This has caused many dangerous situations on the road where all of the sudden we stall in middle of traffic. The car has been to the dealer about three times for these issues, last time for fuel system cleaning but this has not solved the problems.

Filed Dec 2, 2010 · Acceleration, Engine · 77,721 miles · MI

Throttle body replaced after car did not start - 2005 ford freestyle. Prior to replacement, jerking/lurching of the vehicle once started and foot off the gas pedal. Hesitated to start on many occasions if car is parked on an incline as if no gasoline in vehicle. Also, on occasions, car stalled in the middle of the street, but started up after several tries. During replacement, ford representative indicated that the part just went out - nothing could have prevented it. Cost $600+ to fix which also caused additional parts (spark plugs, fuel sensor) required. Diagnosis indicated, throttlebody plates stuck, fuel sensor injector pressure replaced). Dealership kept old parts except spark plugs.