2006 Ford Freestyle: adaptive cruise control problems

Filed Nov 15, 2019 · Brakes, Transmission · 65 miles · MN

I was driving on the highway when suddenly the vehicle started surging and was losing power last wednesday 11/13/19. Another time, was with my whole family, the AC, cruise control, and car stereo was on when suddenly the vehicle lost power all of a sudden. I got scared because I did not want to get into an accident particularly on the highway. Ford motors please, do something about my vehicle. Also, the vehicle does not stop when it should every time I apply the breaks. Whether on the streets, the highway, making turns, and at a stoplight, it always goes an extra distance before actually coming to a full stop. The brake pads are all oem from the ford dealer in my town. I'm always worried that my vehicle will one day give me the slip and get me into a vehicular accident. Ford motors, we only have one vehicle in my family and preventing a possible vehicular accident is something your company can do especially when you have the capability and the means to do so.

Filed Aug 16, 2019 · Transmission · 145,000 miles · SC

The CVT transmission has caused intermittent problems over last three years. The vehicle suddenly loses power and the wrench light comes on. Have to pull over to turn off and have everything reset. This is an on going problem, definitely can not use cruise control either. Have seen numerous reports of identical problem, most recently had to have transmission first rebuilt then completely replaced because the module they were rebuilding first arrived damaged, then when new one was put in transmission sent up numerous other codes saying transmission had failed and needed to be replaced, which we did at a cost of over $7500 and it only gets a 100000 mile or 3 year warranty. This is a known problem by ford and should have been recalled and all work done under that recall.

Filed Sep 30, 2015 · Transmission · 134,000 miles · CA

I purchased a 2006 ford freestyle in april 2014. It has been a great truck except for the following problem: when driving at highway speed, the transmission will suddenly drop into low gear. The transmission will not go into any other forward gear without shifting into 'park', shutting down the engine, waiting a minute, and re-starting the engine. This can be quite dangerous on a fast moving freeway! In normal city driving, the truck runs fine. On long road trips, the transmission may do this dozens of times before reaching my destination. It is especially a problem going up long grades. It can also occur when overtaking a slow-moving vehicle, decelerating, and then speeding back up to pass. I checked a forum for freestyle problems and there have been several instances of others having the same problem. Some paid hundreds of dollars to have their transmissions fixed, but the problem persists. I talked to a ford mechanic about the problem and he said that the freestyle (made only in 2006 and 2007) has been known to have problems with the CVT transmissions. He said there is a faulty temperature sensor in the housing of the transmission that sends a problem signal to the computer that 'locks the transmission into 'limp' mode so the driver can pull over'. To replace it requires buying the housing because the sensor is part of the housing. But, the company that made the part for ford went out of business in 2008. So no part has been available. I was told that ford had contracted another company to make the part in december 2014 and the part would be available in june 2015. In june, I checked, and now the part will not be available until the end of 2015. I complained on the ford website and they deny any problems with the transmissions so no recall has been issued. I can't use the cruise control because the transmission will go off and the high RPM can blow the engine.

Filed Mar 20, 2014 · Driver assistance, Transmission · 98,642 miles · CA

Cruise control caused traction control light and wrench light to come on. Transmission went into a variance of neutral. Fixed by turning off car and turning it back on again. Vehicle worked fine without using cruise control until throttle body was replaced via recall. Ever since then battery has had an undue amount of buildup at terminals and sequence above happened at irregular intervals. Interval never more than 100 miles. Always fixable by turning car off and turning it back on. Ford says maybe $7100 will fix it. As of 3/1/2014 transmission went out but restart didn't fix it. This is not only dangerous, but thousands of these cars are doing the same thing. Please help. Most trannies cost maybe $2000, ford should have a better fix. Otherwise I like the car and wouldn't mind paying a reasonable amount for a transmission replace. Ford is saying $4500 in labor, there's no way it takes a week for a competent qualified mechanic to replace a transmission.

Filed Aug 27, 2012 · Acceleration, Engine · 73,000 miles · FL

My husband used the cruise control on the highway and experienced a loss of power. We are unable to use the cruise control at all. This is also a problem when getting on the highway or passing. Trying to pass can be terrifying when you are in the left hand lane and lose power,you have to find a way to pull to the right hand lane ,get off the road, and shut off the engine.when you start back up you have power again. I know that we are not the only ones with this problem I also know that they have had a recall for the same problem with a different model.

Filed Jul 24, 2012 · Engine, Fuel system · 113,000 miles · MI

While traveling home from holiday, my wrench light came on in the car and we could smell the engine beginning to overheat. My engine was trying to lunge forward even though I had the cruise control on. My vehicle then started to decelerate and I barely made it off from the highway via an exit ramp. Pulled over, turned off the car and opened the hood to let the engine cool off. I thought the problem may be gear or transmission related or perhaps bad gas. I tried a trick told to me by mechanic friend to back up the car and go forward approximately 40-50 feet, stop the vehicle and repeat the movement again to reset the transmission controls. I also added fuel injection cleaner and filled the tank again. After fuel injection and letting the car sit, it was okay for the rest of the trip. Had another incident just recently (july 2012). The same wrench light came on and my car once again lunged and decelerated and I had to pull off. Luckily, there was a gas station at exit again. And, luckily, I was able to maneuver through traffic when decelerating without harm to my family. I bought more fuel injection cleaner and filled the tank. I then let the car sit again. That seemed to help. We made it home after another rest stop for the car. Shortly after, my husband used throttle body cleaner to clean out my fuel injection pathway. He removed air connection and found the throttle body to be clogged with gunky material and sprayed a good dose of the cleaner into it while I gunned the engine to clear it out. I am now using fuel injection cleaner with every gas fillup to mitigate the problem. I know I probably need to replace the whole throttle body, but I am leary from what I've read on internet with others having same problem, replacing throttle body and then it having to do it again a year later. I am going to fix car and then probably sell it. Not safe anymore.

Filed Nov 29, 2011 · Acceleration · 80,000 miles · TX

Tl* the contact owns a 2006 ford freestyle. The contact was driving up an incline with the cruise control set at 70 MPH. The contact applied the brakes to disengage the cruise control function but the engine rpms continued to increase and the vehicle did not respond. The engine had to be shut to correct the failure. The failure was experienced several times. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer to have a diagnostic performed nor repaired. The failure mileage was 80,000 and the current mileage was 82,000. Updated 03/23/12*lj updated 04/09/12

Filed Jun 22, 2011 · Electrical · 50,000 miles · KY

2 months in (cruise control causes car to shut down) continues to do so when used at 35 MPH or less. 3 mo. In (car looses power and surges randomly mainly in parking mode. Also power lost while driving down road between 30 MPH and 60 MPH 6 months in all lights surge when used. A/c usage agitates all symptoms but does not have to be in use for occurrence. One or all occurrences happen everytime driven, air filter changed(no help) car is now harder to start. Plans for throttle body cleaning in the next week though. Will update on results.

Filed May 17, 2011 · Transmission · 110,000 miles · FL

2006 ford freestyle. Lunges at idle speed, often with brake pedal depressed. Vehicle has been taken to numerous repair facilities, including ford dealerships, and none can determine the cause of the problem. Considering the number of identical complaints, when will ford be owning up to this issue and issuing a recall to fix it at their expense? We also have a problem with the car stalling while in cruise control at speeds of 60mph or higher. Consider being on a freeway with no power steering or brakes at 60-70 MPH, semi trucks and other vehicles speeding around you, and trying to get the vehicle off the roadway safely. Again, no repair facility can determine the cause.

Filed Nov 29, 2010 · Acceleration · 68,000 miles · OH

Tl*the contact owns a 2006 ford freestyle. While the contact was driving 65 MPH with the cruise control activated, the rpms increased to 5,000 and would not move. The contact pulled to the side of the road and turned the vehicle off. The contact then restarted the vehicle. The vehicle had not been repaired. The contact also stated that when the air conditioner was on and the vehicle was coming to a stop, the rpms increased to 2,000 and the vehicle stalled. The failure mileage was approximately 68,000.

Filed Aug 23, 2010 · Acceleration, Transmission · 40,000 miles · VA

Tl* the contact owns a 2006 ford freestyle. The vehicle was stopped with the contact depressing the brakes as the vehicle abnormally accelerated. The contact applied abrupt pressure to the brakes and was able to stop the unintended acceleration. The wrench and engine service warning lights illuminated during the failure. The contact shut off the vehicle and when restarting, it resumed normal operation. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where they were unable to diagnose the failure. The failure recurred while the contact was driving with the cruise control set at approximately 65 MPH. The entire dashboard illuminated during the failure. The contact shut off the vehicle and when restarting, the vehicle resumed as normal for approximately one hour until the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the contact was advised that there was a malfunction within the transmission control. The vehicle was then taken to an authorized dealer where she was advised that the transmission would need replacing. The vehicle was not repaired. The VIN was unavailable. The failure mileage was 40,000 and the current mileage was 41,000.

Filed May 29, 2010 · Acceleration · 56,290 miles · NY

My ford freestyle 2006 keeps surging forward in low speed and out of park conditions. 1st time it happened I thought my foot hit the gas pedal accidentally. But it happened the 2nd time a couple of days later as I was leaving a gas pump. As soon as I realized that the car was jumping forward, I slammed my foot on the brakes which caused the car to die. I restarted it and went on my way thinking it was just a weird occurrence. The 3rd time it happened I was driving 5miles per hour in my children's school parking lot. Car surged suddenly and I had to veer for the soccer field to avoid other traffic. As soon as I slammed on the brakes, the car died again. I immediately called the ford dealership and was told that I couldn't be seen until 5days later b/c they were booked. I was incredulous b/c this seemed to me to be a dangerous matter. I called another dealership where the service person insulted me by intimating that 1) I must have had my cruise control on - I did not or 2) that my mat was tangled in my accelerator or 3) "sometimes ladies have their purse by their feet and maybe my purse was pushing on the accelerator without me knowing." I had to ask him if he thought I was an idiot for calling since he wasn't taking my concerns for a mechanical safety issue seriously. I called a friend who's a mechanic who went onto the ford website and found out that several customers were having the same issue with sudden acceleration and posted their concerns on the ford website. I would have thought that a problem which could result in a major accident for the car's occupants or passers-by would have been taken more seriously and ford would have had letters mailed to all the affected customers of that malfunction. At this point, I made the appointment and await what they plan on doing about it but, was already forewarned that I still have to pay for the diagnostic and repairs b/c my car is out of warranty since its 4yrs old and standard warranties are for 3yrs.