2006 Ford Freestyle

OUR '06 FREESTYLE LURCHED FORWARD WHILE ATTEMPTING TO ALLOW A PEDESTRIAN TO PASS IN A PARKING LOT. THE ENGINE SPEED INCREASED AND MORE BRAKE PRESSURE HAD TO BE APPLIED TO STOP THE CAR. SLIGHT ENGINE REVVING WAS FIRST NOTICED AT A MILEAGE OF ~60,000 MILES AND GREW OVER THE NEXT 10,000 TO THE POINT OF THE CAR ACTUALLY LURCHING FORWARD UNLESS HEAVY PRESSURE WAS APPLIED ON THE BREAKS. EVENTUALLY, I LEARNED THAT IF I HAD THE A/C ON MAX, VEHICLE STOPPED AND IDLING, LIGHT PRESSURE ON THE BRAKES, A TURN OF THE STEERING WHEEL WOULD MAKE THE CAR LURCH EVERY TIME. THE LURCHING MADE PARKING, ESPECIALLY PARALLEL PARKING, WHICH REQUIRES THE STEERING WHEEL TO BE TURNED RIGHT AND LEFT, A RISK TO NEARBY PEDESTRIANS. ON-LINE POSTS AND FORUMS LED ME TO CLEAN THE THROTTLE BODY AND THE PROBLEM HAS BEEN FIXED FOR THE PAST FEW HUNDRED MILES. *TR

98 DEGREES (103 WITH HEAT INDEX), SAT IN PARKING LOT WITH AC ON HIGH FOR 3 - 5 MINUTES. BACKED OUT OF PARKING STALL, AND APPROACHED STOP SIGN. WHEN HIT BRAKES THE CAR LUNGED FORWARD. PULLED OUT OF LOT AND 'WRENCH' LIGHT CAME ON AND CAR WOULDN'T RUN RIGHT. TONIGHT TESTED THE CAR AGAIN AND IT RUNS FINE. AFTER READING ONLINE IT SOUNDS LIKE THIS MAY BE A COMMON OCCURRENCE RELATED TO A THROTTLE BODY FAILURE/MALFUNCTION. *TR

AIR TEMPERATURE WAS 100 AND MY 2006 FREESTYLE WAS IDLING. THEN, WHEN STOPPED IN CITY TRAFFIC, CAR SURGED UNEXPECTEDLY REQUIRING ME TO PRESS HARD ON THE BRAKES, THEN STALLED. THIS HAPPENED TWICE. AFTER SITTING AND COOLING FOR 2+ HOURS, THE CAR RAN FINE. HOWEVER, CHECK ENGINE LIGHT REMAINED ON. BECAUSE I AM ON VACATION, I TOOK THE CAR TO A DEALER. THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT DETERMINED THE PROBLEM WAS RELATED TO THE THROTTLE ASSEMBLY, WHICH HE SAID WAS PRETTY COMMON. REPLACED THE ASSEMBLY FOR $1300 FOR FEAR THE PROBLEM COULD HAPPEN AGAIN ON THE HIGHWAY. *TR

WHILE FOOT ON THE BRAKE THE CAR LURCHED FORWARD LIKE THE GAS WENT BY ITSELF. THEN AT A STOP LIGHT THE LIGHT TURNED GREEN AND APPLIED THE GAS. THE CAR WOULD NOT GO. THE GAS PEDDLE WAS ALL THE WAY TO THE FLOOR. LATER I PUT THE CAR IN REVERSE AND THE CAR STALLED AND DIED. MY WIFE IS SCARED TO DEATH AND IS AFRAID IT IS GOING TO CRASH INTO ANOTHER CAR. I TOOK THE CAR TO MY TRUSTED AUTO REPAIR PLACE. THEY STATED THIS IS A KNOW PROBLEM WITH THE FREESTYLES AND SURPRISED IT WAS NOT RECALLED YET. *TR

AFTER FILING A COMPLAINT ON OR ABOUT 6/28/12 (ODI NUMBER 10463545) IN REGARD TO ANOTHER 2006 FORD FREESTYLE I OWN AND OPERATE, I NOW HAVE TO REPORT THE IDENTICAL DEFECT WITH MY OTHER 2006 FREESTYLE. AFTER PARKING MY FIRST FREESTYLE UNTIL REPAIRS CAN BE MADE, THIS FREESTYLE (NOW BEING REPORTED) HAS BECOME THE MAJOR TRANSPORTATION VEHICLE OF THE HOUSEHOLD. NOW THIS VEHICLE HAS BEGUN SURGING IN RPMS AND 'LUNGING' WHENEVER THE BRAKE IS RELEASED. THIS OCCURRENCE WAS IN 95 DEGREE WEATHER WITH THE AIR CONDITIONER RUNNING. I DON'T KNOW IF THE OUTSIDE TEMPERATURE PLAYS A ROLE IN THE DEFECT OCCURRING BUT BOTH VEHICLES WERE AT MAXIMUM OPERATING TEMPERATURES, HAD BEEN RUNNING FOR A LENGTH OF TIME WHEREAS A HIGHER 'COLD ENGINE' IDLE WOULD HAVE NO BEARING ON THE OCCURRENCES. SINCE I HAVEN'T AN EXTENDED WARRANTY ON THE FIRST VEHICLE I REPORTED ON 6/28/12 (A RECENT PURCHASE), I HAVE ORDERED AN ELECTRONIC THROTTLE BODY W/TPS (NON-HEATED WHICH IS OBVIOUSLY A FORD SUPERCESSION) AND WILL ATTEMPT TO REPLACE IT MYSELF AS A COST SAVINGS MEASURE. SINCE FILING MY ISSUE I'VE FOUND VIA THE INTERNET THAT OTHERS WITH THE SAME PROBLEM HAVE PAID UPWARD OF $1,200.00 TO HAVE THIS WORK PERFORMED. AFTER ORDERING MY PARTS I HAVE DISCOVERED THAT THIS PARTICULAR THROTTLE BODY WAS INSTALLED ON 2005-2007 FORD FREESTYLES AS WELL AS THEIR FORD FIVE HUNDRED (OF WHICH I ALSO OWN A 2007 MODEL YEAR OF WITH APPROX 20K MILES). IS THERE ANY TRUTH TO THE RUMOR THAT BAD LUCK ALWAYS COMES IN THREE'S? I CERTAINLY HOPE NOT!! AS OF EARLIER THIS MORNING (7/01/12), WITH A COOL TEMPERATURE OF 75 DEGREES F., THIS DEFECT DID NOT RE-OCCUR, BUT MY OTHER VEHICLE ALSO BEGAN TO 'ACT UP' AS AN INTERMITTENT PROBLEM THAT EVENTUALLY WOULDN'T GO AWAY. *TR

AFTER PURCHASING (AS A USED CAR) FOR MY DAUGHTER, VEHICLE BEGAN RAPID ACCELERATION AND 'LURCHING' UNEXPECTEDLY WHEN SHIFTING INTO FORWARD OR REVERSE. AFTER SEVERAL DAYS, THIS WAS COMPOUNDED BY OCCURRING WHEN STARTING AND STOPPING IN TRAFFIC DURING BRAKE APPLICATION. I HAD THE FILTERS REPLACED (AIR AND GAS) AND THE PROBLEM SEEMED TO HAVE GONE AWAY. I ASKED MY DEALERSHIP, DURING MY FIRST INSPECTION AFTER IT'S PURCHASE, WETHER THERE WAS A TSB IN REGARD TO THIS ISSUE AND WOULD THEY PLEASE CHECK IT OUT. THEY ALLEGED THAT THEY HAD NO RECORD OF ANY DEFECT REGARDING THIS ISSUE AND NO TSB HAD BEEN ISSUED. THEY DID HOWEVER REFUSE TO COMPLETE THE INSPECTION UNTIL I ALLOWED THEM TO OVERHAUL THE REAR BRAKES W/NEW ROTORS FOR QUITE A KINGLY SUM! (SO MUCH FOR A PROMOTIONAL 'FREE INSPECTION'.) LAST NIGHT I HAD TO VENTURE OUT AND RETRIEVE THE VEHICLE FROM MY LITTLE GIRL AFTER THE CAR KEPT 'LURCHING' EVERYTIME SHE USED THE BRAKE. WHILE SHE WAS WAITING IN AN INTERSECTION ATTEMPTING TO MAKE A LEFT TURN, THE CAR 'LURCHED' AND STALLED IN FRONT OF ONCOMING TRAFFIC. AFTER RESTARTING THE CAR AN ENGINE LIGHT AND A 'WRENCH' WAS NOW VISIBLE ON THE DASH, AND THE CAR HAD ABSOLUTELY NO ACCELERATOR! DUE TO OUR FLAT TERRAIN I WAS ABLE TO BRING THE CAR HOME ON AN IDLE AT A SPEED NO GREATER THAN 10 M.P.H. ONCE SAFELY HOME I TRIED A TRICK THAT USED TO WORK ON THE FLEET BUSSES I ONCE WORKED ON. THAT WAS RAPIDLY TURNING THE IGNITION SWITCH ON-OFF, ON-OFF REPEATEDLY ABOUT 10 (TEN) TIMES, THEN LEAVE SWITCH ON AND START IT. THIS SEEMED TO HAVE CLEARED THE 'WRENCH' AND THE ACCELERATOR WAS RESTORED. THE ENGINE LIGHT DID NOT CLEAR. I'VE PUT TIRES, STRUTS, STRUT MOUNTS ETC. INTO THIS CAR TO MAKE IT SAFE FOR MY DAUGHTER TO DRIVE, YET I CAN'T ALLOW HER TO USE IT. 4 OF 5 CARS I OWN ARE FORDS, 2 BEING 2006 FREESTYLES, AND THIS IS THE ONLY ONE THAT I HAVE HAD A PROBLEM WITH. WHAT RECOURSE DO I HAVE NOW? *TR

WHILE DRIVING THE FORD REVS UP AND DOWN, WHILE IT IS DOING THIS IT LURCHES FORWARD AND I LOSE ALL DASHBOARD INSTRUMENTS, I CANNOT USE THE AIR CONDITIONING BECAUSE IT MAKES THE PROBLEM WORSE.THE SCARY PART IS I HAVE MY FAMILY IN THE CAR WHEN ALL THIS HAPPENS. ON THURSDAY JUNE 21 I WAS DRIVING DOWN THE HIGHWAY AT 50MILES AN HOUR WHEN SUDDENLY THE CAR RPM REVVED UP AND DOWN ON ITS OWN THE SPEEDOMETER WENT OUT, THE LIGHTS ALL FLASHED. THE CAR WAS LURCHING FORWARD, AND IT WAS WORSE WHEN I WAS ATTEMPTING TO SLOW DOWN. MY DAUGHTER STATED"I AM SCARED" I CANNOT BELIEVE THAT THIS HAS NOT BEEN RECALLED, WHEN WE WERE AT THE FORD DEALERSHIP WE BOUGHT THE CAR FROM WE TOLD THEM WHAT WAS HAPPENING, THEY DIDN'T EVEN OFFER TO LOOK AT THE CAR OR SEEM TO CARE. THE PROBLEM IS VERY UNPREDICTABLE, ONE DAY IT RUNS GOOD THEN ALL OF THE SUDDEN IT FREAKS OUT. *TT

MY FORD FREESTYLE HAS HAD ENGINE SURGING ISSUES FOR APPROXIMATELY A YEAR KNOW. TODAY 6/21/2012 MY CAR STARTED SURGING AT EVERY STOP LIGHT SO SEVERELY IF WE WEREN'T HOLDING DOWN THE BRAKE WE WOULD OF HIT THE CAR IN FRONT OF US. THE PROBLEM BECAME SO SEVERE WE HAD TO PUT THE CAR IN NEUTRAL AT EVERY INTERSECTION TO KEEP CAR FROM TRYING TO JUMP INTO THE INTERSECTION AND STALL. TODAY'S TEMP WAS IN THE HIGH NINETIES AND WE WERE USING THE AIR CONDITIONING. TODAY'S INCIDENT WAS THE WORST ITS BEEN. WENT ON LINE AND SEARCH THE SYMPTOMS AND FOUND THAT A LOT OF FREESTYLE OWNERS ARE HAVING THE SAME ISSUE. WITH THE SAFETY OF THE CAR OWNER AND PEDESTRIANS THAT COULD BE NEAR THE CAR IN JEOPARDY. FORD SHOULD BE RECALLING THESE CARS AND TRYING TO FIND A PERMANENT SOLUTION TO FIX THIS RATHER THEN CHARGING THE OWNERS HIGH DOLLARS TO REPLACE A DEFECTIVE DESIGNED PART WITH THE SAME DEFECTIVE PART. *TT