2005 Ford Freestyle: whining or grinding noise

Filed Feb 1, 2014 · Transmission · 170,000 miles · MA

While my wife was driving home from work one night the wrench light came on the dash and the car started to make a loud whining noise from the engine area. She pulled into a shopping plaza and shut the car off and called me on the cell, we tried to start it up but the whining noise kept going and the car would move into any of its gears. It would shift into the gears selections but would not move at all, so I had it towed with a ramp truck threw my aaa membership. The transmission was not leaking and was full at the time of the breakdown and now its going to cost me around $5,000.00 to replace the transmission because ford motors co. Had a problem with there CVT transmissions in the models from 2005 to 2007 in the freestyles and 500 models.my car may have 170,000 miles on it but the body is in great condition because its never been in an accident and right now I can not afford the repair bill. I could purchase a nice used car for that amount of money. I will never buy a ford product again. Ford motors co. Knows about this problem but due to the time line they will never have a recall and the owners will be stuck with the costly repairs. Thank you

Filed May 18, 2013 · Transmission · 100,800 miles · TX

Driving down highway at 40-45 and car started making a loud whining sound, a couple of second later speed started decreasing and the the car would not accelerate. Had it sent to a local mechanic (meineke) who explained that the transmission had completely gone out and that the cost of repair would be in the amount of 6498.00 and that was paying for the transmission ( that they don't know when will come in due to back order) and labor. We have since discovered that there is a class action lawsuit against ford for the faulty cvts/ however still no recall to fix the repair at fords expense.

Filed Mar 30, 2013 · Engine, Transmission · 116,000 miles · PA

For several years, my car had an unexpected lurching/lunging problem whenever I was pulling in & out of parking spaces. This was very dangerous, since I had to immediately slam on my brakes to avoid hitting something or someone. I noticed on several forums that the suggested fix was to have the throttle body cleaned, so on 9/17/12, I had my regular mechanic perform this repair. In dec 2012, I received a recall letter from ford stating that they would repair the throttle body or reimburse me if I had already had it done. This letter was apparently a result of complaints like this with the federal safety agency and a class-action lawsuit filed over 2 years ago. No sooner had I applied for the refund when the second issue (that the forums all describe) starting occurring - I.e. A loud whine whenever I have the car in park or neutral. The sound goes away once in drive, but I've had 3 garages tell me this is a sign that the CVT transmission is failing. The repair costs anywhere from $4,000 to $7,000. Numerous documentation exists that these CVT transmissions are failing around 100,000 miles and that the manufacturer of the part no longer makes it, so only rebuilt transmissions can be used. Apparently ford has the market cornered on those and there is a huge back-order problem to even get the work none. All this indicates a problem on ford's part, but a lack of response until another class action is thrown at them which is already in the works. Needless to say, I have not been driving my car, since it seems inevitable that the transmission is about to die. I do not want to cause an accident, but I do want the federal safety agency to put pressure on ford to correct this problem since most of these vehicles are reaching the mileage point where the failure is bound to occur and an accident will happen. The throttle-body problem is apparently related to the CVT problem so please have them fix it.

Filed Nov 29, 2012 · Electrical, Engine · 113,000 miles · AZ

While maneuvering my vehicle in a small space (forward, reverse, turning the wheel) the car began to surge and lunge (has occurred before, but mostly in reverse.) there was loud whining when I turned the steering wheel (that began recently and is almost constant.) the engine began to rev loudly, the car trying to lunge even with the brake applied. I reversed the car several feet from the road for fear it would lunge into traffic. The engine light (1st time ever) and the wrench symbol came on. Car went into limp mode, would not accelerate or exceed 30mph. (4th or 5th time this has happened in the one year I've owned the car.) diagnostic codes given by autozone on 9/19/12: p2106 (throttle actuator control system) & p061b (internal control module torque calculation performance error.) upon restart, engine light off. Dealer was contacted, and on 9/26/12 I drove the car to repair shop. They said smart junction box melted, must replace (electronic chassis control module )before doing repairs to the throttle body, CVT and suddenly non-working A/C (was working prior). No repairs have been made to the vehicle as the dealership (not ford) refuses to honor the 36,000ml warranty with car. Recent problems prior to 9/26/12:*highway driving (55+MPH/sometimes using cruise) car revs high rpms/will not accelerate at all/resumes later*sputters/stalls/loses power when slowing/stopping (it does restart) instrument panel brightens/dims*power locks malfunctioning (unlock function works with fob only) often while driving car locks/unlocks continuously/car randomly unlocks after being parked/turned off*cd player not working/displayed error code/2 month later working again*security system function inconsistent/disables randomly*gears not engaging right away, then a loud noise and car surges/lunges into drive/reverse* lunging (mostly reverse) and surge/lunge when in drive/brake applied.

Filed Dec 13, 2008 · Transmission · 27,839 miles · NJ

Transmission failure at 27k miles. I was driving at 40 MPH. I accelerated slightly to maintain my speed up a slight grade. I heard a clunk from the transmission area under the dash and then the car lost all acceleration. I had enough speed to coast to a church parking lot where I parked. The engine was idling normally, but the engine would not rev higher when I stepped on the accelerator. The check engine light and check transmission indicator were displayed. I turned the engine off and then restarted it. It idled normally but I still couldn't rev the engine in park or neutral. The car would not move in drive or reverse. The check engine light and check transmission indicator were still displayed. I had the car towed to the ford dealership where I purchased it. The dealership replaced the transmission, clutch, and axle at a cost of $5885. The car is over 3 years old and out of warranty so I was liable for this cost. Neither ford nor the dealer would assume any liability for this defective transmission. Twice I complained to the dealer, while the car was under warranty, that the car was making a whining sound as I accelerated and the noise grew louder as the speed increased. He couldn't hear anything, either time. I have the work orders to prove it. I assumed it was probably road noise due to tire wear. The whining sound has disappeared since the new transmission was installed.