Ford Freestyle harsh shifting problems

Filed Mar 12, 2020 · Transmission · 142,000 miles · TX

It started making like a whining growling kinda noise when not in hear and wen you put it in reverse and start to go back wards all of a sudden the car would come to a complete stop change gears to drive and you could go a little bit it would finally clunk real hard and you could go then all of a sudden the little wrench would pop up and I wouldn't be able to go any where at all

Filed Mar 31, 2019 · Transmission · SD

This is a complaint about the CVT transmission it seem to never shift right and traction control always acted funny shifts high or shift hard and then it finally gave out driving down the hight it made a loud clunk and I had no gears I costed to a stop

Filed Jun 18, 2017 · Fuel system, Transmission · 131,000 miles · VA

When pulling out of parking lot onto highway, lost all acceleration and check engine and check transmission lights came on, was lucky the vehicles behind me were paying attention and I was able to coast to side of road. Turned car off and restarted, when shifting into gear there was a loud clunk in d and r, with still no response from the throttle. After having to have vehicle towed home so my family and I were off of the busy highway, I tried to disconnect the battery to try and reset the system, still no luck. We just had the throttle body replaced last year at a cost of 700.00, similar to same issues with throttle but nothing with transmission at that time. After reading through multiple reviews there are numerous complaints of this CVT transmission and there was also a recall on the throttle body needing to be cleaned. What is the problem of why a recall has not been issued, these vehicles are not only family vehicles but death traps! Something needs to be done before some family gets killed from a faulty mistake that ford co. Is well aware of!

Filed Aug 21, 2015 · Acceleration, Engine · 130,000 miles · MO

April 2015, my vehicle started making knocking/grinding/ticking noises once it was started. Sometimes the transmission would fail to shift into gear(s). I prodeeded to physically move my shifter into gear(s) a few times. The transmission then shifted into gear(s), making a hard "clunk" sound. Sounding like the transmission had 'dropped' into gear; as if it had a low trasmission fluid level. Mind you, recently, a local shop changed my oil and all fluids were checked and refilled if needed. The shop informed me about code p0942, because they had never seen this code before in their life! Engine-codes.com states: "p0942 - hydraulic pressure unit" with a rating of 3/3 (3=high). I called a local ford dealership, and was informed about this code; which doesn't identify the actual problem/issue; resulting in no specifics. On thursday, august 20, 2015, while driving on the highway, my vehicle started to surge, and the RPM's continuously fluctuated (while the cruise was on). My vehicle then started to shake, and made a thumping/crunching noise, followed with the forward propulsion ceasing to exist. I frantically turned my fore ways on, and drifted until at a complete stop on the sholder of the highway. Again, while I physically shifted gear(s), the transmission sounded low on fluid, as if no (valid) shifting of gear(s)s and also maintained a humming noise. From the passenger seat, my 12 year old son, grabbed my hand and asked me to pray with him; pray that we'd make it home without getting hurt (our safety). Numerous times our vehicle shook tremendously when other vehicles passed by. Once home, I was still calming my son down, we both needed to sleep. That night, my son and I experienced a tramatic (nightmare like) situation. Now, ford customers are forced upon (a) safety hazzard(s). Yes, preventable safety hazzard(s), if dealt with asap.

Filed Sep 23, 2014 · Electrical, Engine · 55,383 miles · NY

This happened 3 times before they were able to do anything at the ford dealership because the lights would be off by the time I was able to reach the dealership, and their response was always technician was unable to duplicate symptom. While driving at 50mph on the interstate there was an intermittent idle surge while driving and then a loud "clunking" noise and then the transmission lost power and the vehicle crawled to a halt. There was no acceleration even though the engine revved up. The steering wheel became difficult to maneuver so I was unable to even get it into the emergency lane. I was stuck in the middle lane of the interstate with my child in the car. The check engine light, the wrench light for the CVT transmission, and the passenger air bag light also came on. I had to turn the car off, put it in park, and then restart the car, when I reached the dealership they were finally able to retrieve several fault codes. They performed an r&r transmission and overhaul. This happened 2 other times at (77004 miles, after shifting into park at 0 MPH. They replaced a faulty throttle body for this repair- and then at 77238 miles-they replaced the alternator for this repair). It's beginning to happen again. This was and still is a dangerous situation. I now have 3 kids. I thank god we weren't struck from behind while driving on the interstate. I am terrified to drive the vehicle to long distance locations or drive on any parkway, highway, or interstate because it took a while for the vehicle to start up long enough to get it to the dealership that was only 4 miles away.

Filed May 7, 2014 · Suspension · 112,000 miles · MI

I was traveling on a side street at approximately 30 MPH. I heard a loud clunk from the rear of the car.. I stopped the car and got out to check the cause. The right rear lower control arm was no longer connected to the vehicle structure. The attachment bolt and bushing is connected to the control arm. The attachment bracket that is welded to the sub-frame is deteriorated.

Filed Apr 24, 2014 · Transmission · 117,000 miles · PA

Last weekend the transmission went out in our 2005 ford freestyle. The car had been driving fine with no indication that there was a problem. We were traveling at about 45 MPH when we suddenly heard a loud clunking noise. Immediately after the clunking noise we heard the sound of metal clanging around under the car and hitting the road...the front wheels began skidding and it felt as if the back of the car lifted of the road. At this point I felt as if I had no control over the vehicle. We were fortunate that no one was driving behind us, as it is very likely we would have been rear ended. I pulled the car to the side of the road and the oil light came on. I immediately turned the car off, got out and looked underneath and saw oil running out of the car onto the road. We then noticed the trail of mangled metal in the road. At this point I knew we were in big trouble. We had the car towed to a local garage and were told that the transmission went out. Garage called on monday only to tell us that a used transmission for this car is very hard to find and that they were unable to find one locally...and further explained that replacing with a new transmission would cost $6000-$7000, maybe more since this transmission had been completely destroyed and we couldn't turn it in for a core. Something in the transmission actually came apart causing the transmission to bind and literally tear itself apart. We bought this car used for $6,500 and have only owned it for 11 months. I am seeing that this is a pretty common problem with this car. Not only can I not afford this repair, there is no way I am going to spend that kind of money on a transmission that is likely to fail just as this one did. So I am without a car with 4 children trying to figure out how I'm going to afford another one. This is obviously a defect with this car and ford should have done something to fix this.

Filed Jul 10, 2013 · Transmission · 35,621 miles · PA

12/10/09 mileage: 35,621 dealer service for rattling noise in engine on cold start up, diagnosed as defective tensioner assembly, but was likely the transmission as same noise was later heard when the transmission was repaired. 12/08/11 mileage: 53,401 dealer service for noise in engine at idle - much worse when cold, diagnosed as faulty automatic transmission. Dealer removed and attempted to repair automatic transmission and found input shaft bearing scores and input shaft scored. Differential shaft splines worn down and splines on ptu worn down and seized together. Transmission was then replaced with rebuilt unit. This was the second transmission installed in this car 3/28/12 mileage: 55,234 dealer service for excessive noise in transmission, described as a growl. Diagnosed transmission concern and noise was verified. Were asked to return unit to dealer at later time for further diagnosis 4/2/12 mileage: 55,338 dealer service for transmission problem, corrected by installing a rebuilt transmission. This was the third transmission installed in this car. Dealer explained that the replacement rebuilt transmission carried a one year warranty 7/1/13 mileage: 63,301 while driving on a street, vehicle produced loud clunk sound after which it would no longer respond to throttle inputs. Vehicle coasted to stop. Fortunately, street was empty. Transmission was inoperable, as vehicle would not move forward or backward in any gear under its power. Vehicle coasted in any gear, indicating that final drive line was no longer connected to transmission or engine. Vehicle towed to dealer. Diagnosed failed transmission. Dealer stated that a 4th transmission and replacement oil cooler were needed for $6,900. During the diagnosis, front wheels locked up rendering it impossible to move the vehicle and dealership had to drag it out of service bay.

Filed Oct 4, 2012 · Acceleration · 69,500 miles · FL

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 ford freestyle. While driving approximately 15 MPH, the contact noticed a clunking sound and an abnormal vibration coming from the engine. The failure was also noticeable when the vehicle was parked. Additionally, the vehicle would jerk forward or backward when switching gears. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing. There was an investigation under the federal safety agency action number: pe11018 (vehicle speed control) that could have been related to the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 69,500.

Filed Aug 12, 2012 · Transmission · 67,000 miles · MI

While driving on vacation to our destination in south carolina, with my wife, daughter, dog, and myself and a car full of luggage. Traveling at approximately 60 MPH in the hills of west virginia, I applied more throttle approximately 3/4 of the way up one of the large hills. The CVT transmission 'downshifted' (actually it doesn't downshift, rather it just adjusted it's ratio quickly to improve torque output to the wheels -- I'm an engineer) and there was a huge clunk and the accelerator no longer affected acceleration. Fortunately, I had enough momentum to crest the top of the hill and coasted down the hill on the other side. At 67,000 miles, our extended warranty of 5 years or 75,000 miles that we paid ford for had just expired months before. The outcome? A tow to a ford dealer, a 40 mile drive to the nearest car rental agency that was open (it was a saturday), certainly a big bill coming from the ford dealer, and a 6 hour delay in reaching our destination left me frazzled. Maybe this is a one-off, issue, I thought. However, when I got to our destination today, I went on-line looking to see about typical repair costs for ford's CVT transmission and instead I am finding dozens of similar stories on-line about the freestyle CVT. What's going on here, I thought? How can this be occurring at a mileage so far below the mileage that the oems design for (at ford this is typically 150,000 miles). Something seems amiss here to me with the federal safety agency regarding this component design at ford. I realize that you should and must prioritize the most serious issues first regarding injury and/or death but your mission also speaks of reducing economic losses. I encourage you to respond to me directly if at all possible. As an engineer in the automotive market for 20 years, I am very confident there is a design or manufacturing flaw that consumers are living with.