Ford Freestyle adaptive cruise 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 May 28, 2017 · Transmission · 94,000 miles · NC

On may 27th, 2017, we were traveling at 50-55 MPH with cruise control engaged on the highway when our ford freestyle began lurching badly and the RPM began surging. In a a few minutes the wrench light came on along with the engine light, battery light, ABS light and airbag light. Our speedometer began flipping back and forth uncontrollably. At that point the vehicle would not exceed 25-30 MPH even at full speed. We could have been rear-ended! We immediately pulled off at a gas station to check the oil levels and check to see what was wrong. We started the vehicle back and returned home cautiously. We took the vehicle to the nearest lube place and got the oil changed. We returned home and researched about the issue. My husband (who is very mechanically inclined) decided to follow a mechanic's advice and cleaned the throttle body thoroughly with seafoam and a toothbrush. It was filthy and had lots of deposits built up on it. He unplugged the battery to reset everything and reinstalled the throttle body. It proved ineffective so we purchased a new throttle body for $320 from advanced auto parts. He installed it today and the problem has not been solved. We are at a loss and are not sure what to do. This issue should have been recalled. I am a mother of 3 and am currently pregnant with my fourth child and I do not feel safe driving this vehicle!

Filed Mar 2, 2016 · Acceleration · 86,060 miles · GA

Was traveling on a highway. When I set the cruise control I had to push the button 15x for it to engage. After it was set the increase and decrease buttons wouldn't work. When I tried to cancel out cruise control the button did not work. Only way to stop the cruise control was to tap the brakes.

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 Dec 22, 2014 · Acceleration, Tires · 70,000 miles · MA

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 ford freestyle. The contact stated that the vehicle accelerated when the brake pedal was depressed. The contact also stated that the vehicle accelerated at a high speed while in cruise control. Additionally, the tires were wearing out prematurely. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failures. The failure mileage was 70,000.

Filed Dec 8, 2014 · Engine · 65,000 miles · MA

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 ford freestyle. The contact stated that there was a sudden increase in engine rpms while the brake pedal was depressed. While the vehicle was in cruise control mode between 60-65 MPH, the cruise control would deactivate independently and the engine would rev up without the contact accelerating. The dealer was notified, but the manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 65,000.

Filed Dec 8, 2014 · Acceleration, Engine · 115,000 miles · IN

A little over 3 years ago, I filed a complaint regarding a surging with my ford freestyle. We had our vehicle serviced and the throttle body cleaned. The problem was resolved for a while, but we recently started experiencing issues again. This time the freestyle would lose acceleration, the rpms dropped, and a wrench-shaped warning light activated. At first it seemed to be an issue only when cruise control was activated, but has since happened during normal driving. We took our car into the dealer, and they completely replaced the throttle body for a total of $900, but we are still having issues.

Filed Mar 31, 2014 · Electrical · 20,000 miles · IA

Owned vehicle for three years. 4-7 times while driving at highway speed only in cruise control the car would completely turn off. Switching the ignition off and then starting it again would result in normal function. Got so that I did not even have to pull to side of road as I could complete the switch off on in neutral and restart whole still in motion. Occurrence was random. Always weeks or months apart. Had dealer check system three times but no cause could be found.

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.