2006 Ford Freestyle: stuck in gear or won't shift

Filed Nov 19, 2019 · Driver assistance, Electrical · 215,000 miles · SC

Was driving check engine light came on and then a wrench showed up in far left hand corner .my vehicle quit accelerating goes to limp mode while I was still in motion on w butler rd in mauldin sc 29662 doing 40 miles an hour. It scared me.I am 70 yrs young and have been licensed to drive for 52 yrs. This situation was by far one of the worst I have ever been involved in. What if anything is being done about this situation if anything to save lives.

Filed Dec 14, 2018 · Acceleration, Engine · 194,000 miles · MO

Tl* the contact owns a 2006 ford freestyle. While driving 70 MPH, the check engine indicator illuminated and the vehicle went into limp mode. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the throttle body needed to be replaced. The throttle body was replaced; however, the failure recurred. Joe machens capital city ford (located at 807 southwest blvd, jefferson city, mo 65109, (855) 929-5900) was notified of the failure. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 194,000.

Filed Aug 31, 2016 · Driver assistance, Electrical · 105,400 miles · MA

Safety complaint for ford freestyle 2006. The wrench and engine light appear on the dashboard and the engine goes to limp mode and the speed drops to 30 miles per hour from highway speed of 60 to 70 miles per hour with no warning other than the quick drop in speed and wrench light. Driving on a highway with trucks and cars going 70 miles per hour or more is beyond dangerous and asking to get hit. We have had ford service on this car but they did not have recalls for this problem. Vehicle in motion on highway. Have had car towed, pulled over to breakdown lane and traveled side roads for fear of getting hit by another vehicle. Please do something to ford corp to fix this problem before there is tragedy.

Filed Jun 1, 2016 · Transmission · 126,000 miles · PA

While driving, vehicle goes into limp mode without warning. Happens in both city and highway driving. Wrench indicator and check engine indicators light on dash. Vehicle slows and can barely accelerate causing near-accident. Resetting code p0701 allows normal operation till cycle repeats in short and random time of driving. Engine shut down/restart clears wrench light till cycle repeats. Took car to 2 ford dealers and independent transmission specialist. All advised that the CVT transmission cannot be rebuilt or repaired and that replacement transmissions are generally not available. All advised not repairing the car because even if a new transmission were available, cost is $4500-$5500 for the unit plus over $1000 labor to remove/replace transmission. Research shows this is a common complaint about this car and it's similar models (ford 500) of all years (2005-2007).

Filed Sep 20, 2014 · Acceleration, Engine · 125,000 miles · OH

Was going home after visiting with a friend and on way back was driving normal speed limit on i75 north (65mph) when all of a sudden the car would not accelerate and AC started blowing warm, the wrench light came on. The car was still running but very poorly. I had to carefully get over into the right lane and drove on the side of the interstate to get off at the visible off ramp just a few yards away. I was able to get the car up to a mcdonalds at the top of the ramp. I shut it off and decided to go inside and eat. About 25~30 minutes later, I decided to try and start the car and see what would happen, the car started right up, everything worked as normal, no warning lights at all. We drove it the last 2 hours home without any concerns. We ran a code tester on the car the next day and nothing came up. That was in september 2013. Almost a year later, this september 2014, I had the same thing happen again, but I do not remember the light coming on this time and it happened after only driving the car 6 miles to my local home depot. Again once I got back into the car after about 45 minutes, everything seemed to be operating normal again. This is normally my wife's grandson mobile, she now says that there is opportunities with surging while stopping and taking off and the AC is blowing warm when she is at stops or not driving with engine running. I read a couple forums about why the AC may be acting up but this doesn't explain the limp mode thing and the new surging going on. We have no engine or warning lights at all. I will tell you I test drove it after her concerns and they are real, the surging thing is a concern and I don't like her driving it. At a local garage guys said it sounds like its that "ford's" problem, but don't see recall for this vehicle....is this a ford problem that is known? I can't spend a lot of money trying to find the root cause.

Filed Jun 25, 2014 · Electrical, Engine · 110,000 miles · MI

Driving up to 55, engine gets to 4000 rpms, and wont shift. Codes suggest bad mechatronic.

Filed Nov 26, 2013 · Acceleration, Engine · 79,957 miles · FL

Tl* the contact owns a 2006 ford freestyle. The contact stated that while driving approximately 68 MPH, the cbt transmission caused the vehicle to accelerate without warning. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed that the PCM transmission control had exceeded the current condition. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the problem. The approximate mileage was 79,957. The consumer stated two days after the vehicle was purchased, the wrench light illuminated. When the wrench light illuminated, the vehicle sounded and acted like it was stuck in gear. So, the only way to alleviate the issue, was to pull over, turn the vehicle off and back on again.

Filed May 31, 2013 · Transmission · 92,000 miles · OH

Tl* the contact owns a 2006 ford freestyle. The contact stated that the vehicle would not shift out of second gear. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the contact was told that the control variable transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and the current mileages were 92,000.

Filed Oct 16, 2012 · Brakes, Electrical · 128,750 miles · MI

So many issues with the transmission not sure where to start. Car was running fine yesterday and then today car had the wrench light on and lost power on the expressway at about 75 MPH. Turned the card off and the light was still on but at least I got partial power. The car shudders and won't shift and sometimes when I push the gas pedal nothing happens. When I am stopped car will lunge forward even with my foot on the brake. Called several ford dealerships and they said they are not certified to work on that type of trans but they will replace it for 7000.00!!!! I have read so many posts with the exact same issue. Why is there no recall?? I could have been killed!!! Or worse my kids could have been hurt. Doesn't anyone care enough to do something?

Filed Aug 12, 2012 · Engine, Fuel system · 62,000 miles · NJ

I was stopped and in a line of vehicles in a parking lot with my foot on the brake and the engine surged. Fortunately, I had my foot on the brake with sufficient pressure to keep the car from lunging forward. This occurred several times while in the parking lot with the engine going into (limp mode) forced limited power mode. I drove the car directly to the ford dealer where the car was purchased. The mechanics did not detect any diagnostic trouble codes and sent me on my way. Since then there have been probably six (6) more events without the engine going into forced limited power mode. In all events the engines surges to approximately between 1500rpm and 1800rpm with the car in drive and the foot securely on the brake. The event generally lasts less than 5 seconds. All events occurred during summer months. Last event was this past wednesday when my son was driving the car. I witnessed the event as a passenger. The two codes that came up are p2106 and p061b. I purchased a tester to read the codes. Current mileage is 77995. Researching the potential cause of this problem LED me to your site and prompted me to file a complaint.

Filed Nov 1, 2011 · Transmission · 69,000 miles · GA

2006 ford freestyle with 69,000 miles, while putting in forward or reverse vehicle would lurch and RPM's would rise to around 3500 ford states it's an throttle body module problem.. Replaced throttle body module and now vehicle will not go into gear. Dealership now states its a transmission problem. Many reported problems with the freestyle for exact problem. This is a safety problem and a recall should be issued.

Filed Jul 20, 2011 · Acceleration, Electrical · 57,000 miles · PA

Early july 2010 car would surge after started when placed into drive or reverse. July 17,2010 about 95 degrees ambient. Driving 55 MPH car started to lose power and stall. Restarted and it went into limp mode with check engine light and occasional surges. I found a ford dealer about 5 miles away. Diagnosis was a bad mass air flow sensor. Replaced and we were on our way again. Early june 2011 it was surging after starting when placed in drive or reverse. June 11,2011. Car stalled and went into limp mode again with check engine light on. Bought a new mass air flow sensor, installed it myself and cleared the code. July 5,2011 while driving to baltimore at 65 MPH and 100 degree ambient, car stalled, restarted and it went into limp mode with check engine light on. I found a parking lot with shade and let it idle for about 20 minutes. Shut it off and restarted. Check engine light was off and it ran fine to baltimore. This appears to be an issue with the mass air flow circuit. The federal safety agency cannot ignore this flaw.