2005 Ford Freestyle

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 FORD FREESTYLE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING OVER 5 MPH, ALL OF THE GAUGES ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL FAILED. THE VEHICLE MOMENTARILY SURGED FORWARD. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER ON NUMEROUS OCCASIONS WHERE VARIOUS REPAIRS WERE PERFORMED BUT THE FAILURE PERSISTED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE BUT OFFERED NO ASSISTANCE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 40,000. UPDATED 09/15/11*LJ

2005 FORD FREESTYLE SURGES AND ACCELERATES FROM A STOP OR LOW SPEED. IT IS PARTICULARLY EVIDENT WHEN SHIFTING THE TRANSMISSION FROM DRIVE TO REVERSE OR REVERSE TO DRIVE. THE ACCELERATION CAN LAST FOR MAXIMUM 5 SECONDS BUT YOU BETTER HAVE YOUR FOOT FIRMLY PLANTED ON THE BRAKE OR THE VEHICLE COULD LUNGE FORWARD OR BACKWARD INTO ONCOMING OR PARKED CARS AND PEDESTRIANS. IT DOESN'T HAPPEN AL THE TIME, OFTEN AFTER THE CAR HAS BEEN RUN AND PARKED FOR A 15-30 MINUTE PERIOD. *TR

REQUEST TO RE-OPEN NHTSA DEFECT INVESTIGATION #PE07058. THE ENTIRE INSTRUMENTAL PANEL STOPPED WORKING WHILE STARTING, STOPING OR DRIVING AT LOW SPEED AND ON HIGHWAY. ALSO WHEN IT HAPPENS, NO TURN SIGNAL ALARM, NO AIR CONDITIONER, AND CONTROLS ON THE STEERING WHEEL NOT WORKING. HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO CHECK OUTSIDE LIGHTS. IT HAPPENS FROM TIME TO TIME, COMES AND GOES, LASTS ABOUT 2-10 SECONDS. A FEW OCCASOINS, IT TRIGGED AIR BAG, COOLENT WARNING AND CHECK ENGINE LIGHTS TO COME ON. CHECK ENGIEN LIGHT STAYED FOR A FEW DAYS. I THINK IT IS A DESIGN OR PRODUCTION DEFECT SINCE FORD KNEW IT BACK IN 2006 ACCORDING TO ITS TSB. I THINK IT'S DANGEROUS, ESPECIALLY WHEN DRIVING ON HIGHSPEED, AT NIGHT AND IN BAD WEATHER, YOU LOSE THE INFO OF SPEED AND AIR CONDITIONER AND DON'T KNOW IF TURN SIGNAL LIGHT IS ON.

2005 FORD FREESTYLE UNEXPECTEDLY ACCELERATES WHEN CAR IS PUT INTO GEAR (FORWARD OR REVERSE), THIS SEEMS TO BE ALIGNED WITH OTHER COMPLAINTS ASSOCIATED WITH NHTSA INVESTIGATION PE11018. THE ENGINE WILL REV WHEN PUTTING THE CAR INTO GEAR AND WILL LURCH IN THE DIRECTION OF THE GEAR THAT IT WAS PLACED IN. THIS IS NOT DUE TO THE DRIVER INADVERTENTLY PRESSING ON THE GAS PEDAL AT THE SAME TIME AS THE BRAKE. THE DRIVER HAS TO FIRMLY PRESS ON THE BRAKES TO PREVENT THE CAR FROM MOVING. IF THE BRAKE IS ONLY PRESSED JUST ENOUGH TO PUT THE CAR IN GEAR THE VEHICLE WILL ACTUALLY MOVE 3-4 FEET. THE HAPPENS SPORADICALLY BUT DOES OCCUR AT LEAST 4-5 TIMES A WEEK.

OUR FREESTYLE HAS EXPERIENCED MILD BUT WORSENING UNINTENDED ACCELERATION FOR TWO YEARS NOW, BUT IT WAS ALWAYS "MILD" AND DID NOT CAUSE THE CAR TO LURCH FORWARD EVEN WHEN THE DRIVER'S FOOT WAS HARD ON THE BRAKE PEDAL. THEN WE HAD A NEW PROBLEM: NO COLD AIR FROM THE AC AT IDLE. WE RESPONDED (6/11) TO A MAILED PROMOTION FROM HERTRICH FORD (EASTON MD) FOR AN AC "TUNE UP." THEY DID NOTHING BUT ADD DYE TO OUR REFRIGERANT AND "CLEAN" OUR AIR DUCTS WITH DISINFECTANT. SO WE TURNED TO THE OWNERS' FORUM, MYFORDFREESTYLE.COM, AND QUICKLY DIAGNOSED THE PROBLEM: A SEIZED-UP PRESSURE CONTROL VALVE. APPARENTLY FORD DEALERS REFUSE TO PERFORM THIS SIMPLE REPAIR (PART COST $40) AND WILL ONLY REPLACE THE ENTIRE AC COMPRESSOR ($800 + LABOR). SO WE ORDERED THE VALVE ONLINE AND HAD A COMPETENT LOCAL MECHANIC REPLACE THE VALVE (1-HOUR LABOR PLUS COST OF REFRIGERANT). THE AC IS "GOOD AS NEW", BUT THE UNINTENDED ACCELERATION IS NOW MUCH WORSE. THE INCIDENTS ALWAYS OCCUR AT VERY LOW TO NO SPEED AND WHEN MANEUVERING THE CAR (I.E. PARKING, K-TURNING, ETC.). IN ALL OF THESE SITUATIONS, BOTH THE AC AND THE POWER STEERING PUMP ARE DEMANDING/DRAWING NEAR-MAXIMUM POWER FROM AN ESSENTIALLY IDLING ENGINE, NEARLY STALLING THE ENGINE; THE ELECTRONIC ENGINE/IDLE CONTROL THEN KICKS-IN AND HUGELY "OVER-REACTS" BY REVVING THE ENGINE TO 2,000+ RPM. EVEN WITH YOUR FOOT ON THE BRAKE, AN AUTOMATIC IN DRIVE IS GOING TO SURGE QUITE FAR AT 2000+ RPM. PLEASE LOOK AT THE MYFORDFREESTYLE.COM WEBSITE: NOTE THAT ALMOST ALL OF THE COMPLAINTS ABOUT UNINTENDED ACCELERATION COME DURING HOT WEATHER MONTHS AND A FEW ALSO NOTE THE PROBLEM IS MUCH WORSE WITH THE AC ON. IT TOOK US LESS THAN 30 MINUTES ON THE WEBSITE TO DIAGNOSE BOTH THE AC PROBLEM AND UNINTENDED ACCELERATION PROBLEM. IT IS INCONCEIVABLE THAT FORD HAS NOT BEEN AWARE OF BOTH OF THESE PROBLEMS FOR YEARS. (SURELY FORD'S CUSTOMER RELATIONS STAFF MONITOR OWNER FORUMS).

SITTING AT STOP LIGHT, ENGINE SURGES AND LURCHES INTO "FAIL SAFE" MODE. CAR SLIPS OUT OF GEAR INTO NEUTRAL, AND LIMPS TO A STOP. HAS OCCURED MULTIPLE TIMES, ESPECIALLY IN THE HEAT OF SUMMER. TAKEN CAR INTO MULTIPLE SHOPS, HAVE NEVER RECEIVED CONSISTENT ANSWER. ANSWERS RANGE FROM TRANSMISSION FAILURE TO A BAD COMPUTER, OR A SENSOR.

MY 2005 FREESTYLE IS MAKING LOUD RATTLING SOUND (COMING FROM TRANS) AND THE FAILSAFE MODE INDICATOR AS WELL AS THE YELLOW WRENCH HAVE BEEN APPEARING. I HAVE HAD IT IN THE SERVICE DEPT OF DEALERSHIP MANY TIMES FOR SURGING AND POWER FAILURES, ETC, AND THEY HAVE MADE NUMEROUS REPAIRS - (INCLUDING THE AC COMPRESSOR) AND REPLACED A HEAD GASKET (WHICH IS LEAKING BADLY NOW?), AND IT APPEARS THIS TIME IT MAY BE A THROTTLE BODY PROBLEM? THE DEALER WON'T LOOK AT IT TILL NEXT WEEK AND WANTS $200 TO CHECK IT OUT? PEOPLE WAITING IN LINE (AT THE SERVICE DEPT) TODAY TOLD ME THEY HAD THE EXACT SAME PROBLEMS (WITH FREESTYLES). THERE SHOULD BE A RECALL IF SO MANY PEOPLE ARE COMPLAINING.

I OWN A 2005 FORD FREESTYLE AND ABOUT 1 YEAR AGO, WHEN EVER I WOULD BACK OUT OF MY GARAGE OR PULL INTO THE GARAGE AT A SLOW SPEED, SOMETIMES THE CAR WOULD LUNGE UNEXPECTEDLY EITHER FORWARD OR BACKWARD DEPENDING ON IF I WAS BACKING OUT OR PULLING INTO MY GARAGE. IT OCCURRED AT LEAST 3 OR 4 TIMES PER WEEK UNTIL IT FINALLY GOT SO BACK THAT MY CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON. AT THAT POINT, I TOOK THE CAR TO THE DEALERSHIP AND THEY CHARGED ME OVER $600 TO REPLACE THE THROTTLE BODY ON THE CAR. THIS DID RESOLVE THE ISSUE SOMEWHAT, BUT AT LEAST A COUPLE OF TIMES A MONTH I STILL EXPERIENCE THIS LUNGING OF THE CAR, BUT IT IS NOT AS DRAMATIC AS IT WAS BEFORE THEY REPLACED THE THROTTLE BODY. I WAS REALLY WORRIED ABOUT THIS ISSUE AS WE HAVE A LOT OF KIDS THAT LIKE TO PLAY AROUND OUR HOUSE AND I WAS ALWAYS WORRIED I WAS GOING TO RUN INTO ONE OF THEM WHEN BACKING OUT OF THE GARAGE SO I HAD TO MAKE SURE I KEPT ONE FOOT ON THE BREAK JUST IN CASE. THIS IS A VERY SERIOUS ISSUE AND IT IS SOMETHING THAT IS DEFINITELY A SAFETY HAZARD TO THE PUBLIC. ALSO, MY WIFE HAS A 2006 FORD 500 AND IT EXPERIENCED THE SAME PROBLEMS AND WE HAD TO GET THE THROTTLE BODY FIXED ON IT AS WELL. I SPENT OVER $1,000 WITHIN THE SPAN OF A FEW MONTHS ON THE SAME ISSUE IN TWO DIFFERENT FORD VEHICLES. THERE IS DEFINITELY SOMETHING WRONG WITH THE THROTTLE BODY MECHANISM AND FORD NEEDS TO BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR THIS DANGEROUS SITUATION THEY HAVE PUT CAR OWNERS IN AND THEY SHOULD BE REQUIRED TO REFUND THE COST OF ANYONE WHO HAS ALREADY SPENT $600 OR $700 TO FIX THEIR THROTTLE BODY. THE FORD DEALER TOLD ME TO KEEP MY RECEIPTS IN CASE THIS ISSUE MADE THE RECALL LIST. *TR