Problems with 2006 Ford Freestyle POWER TRAIN

I own a 2006 ford freestyle and i have had many problems with it. the most prevalent and frustrating issues are ones i've seen many complaints about. the car lunging forward or backward (happens more when a/c has been on), high rpms with pedal to floor and the car going nowhere (wrench light comes on). the first time the rpm issue happened i was on my way up to lancaster, ca driving up a very steep hill. i had my 2 year old son with me and the car would barely go. i was able to put on my hazards and get off the freeway and made it to a park-and-ride. after i shut the car off for awhile and started it again it was fine. this has happened quite a few times since then; the most recent was last month (july 2011). also, mostly when getting on the freeway and having to accelerate into traffic, the car will rev at a very high rpm and not go down unless i pull over/get off freeway and try the acceleration a little slower. if the rpms stay high it sometimes causes the wrench light to come on and problem with the pedal to the floor and car going nowhere comes into play. i have not been able to have any work done on the car to try to aleve the problems due to financial issues. i know that a lot of other people have had these same problems and i just hope that something can be done before someone seriously gets hurt. *kb

Had to replace transmission right after warranty ran out. was major deal at the time but now have just been told we have to replace transmission again for the third time. after researching on the internet i have seen that this is fairly common problem. looking for answers or assistance on this issue has put poor taste regarding future ownership of ford vehicle, unless problem is only with c.v.t. transmission. *tr

The car accelerates without any prompting or warning. there are different scenarios this is happening in. one situation that has happened numerous times is sitting in a line such as a drive thru and idling with my foot on the brake and the car lurches forward. another scenario is putting the car in reverse and the car lurches backwards. sitting at a red light or stop sign behind the line of a crosswalk and the car has lurched forward with foot on brake and narrowly missed a pedestrian. i tend to put it in park when at a light or in a drive thru. i have reported it to ford and they discredited my claim saying it was an issue i needed to repair and did not constitute a recall. how when thousands of others have made complaints on this same issue since the purchase of their cars. this is not a system that wore out. it never worked properly in the first place. maybe the issue is it is a cost repair in the thousands. *kb

Tl* the contact own a 2006 ford freestyle. the contact was driving approximately 20 mph and stopped at a traffic stop. the contact attempted to accelerate from the stop bu the vehicle would not respond. the engine was turned off and restarted as the vehicle resumed normally. the dealer replaced the transmission with a rebuilt transmission yet the failure recurred within 1,000 miles and the vehicle was repaired a second time. most recently, the contact stated that while applying the brakes, the vehicle lunged forward abnormally. the dealer advised that the transmission throttle could possibly have contributed to the failure. the vehicle was not further repaired. the failure mileage was 34,000.

My vehicle when in gear and foot on the brake lunges forward and backwards when in reverse, causing me to almost hit 2 pedestrians and several vehicles when i am at a complete stop. this occurs daily when my vehicle is in the drive or reverse position. i have notified the ford dealership and they said it is the throttle body and the part is on backorder. this problem is very scary because i am afraid of hitting someone or something. this has been happening since i bought the vehicle in 2008 and i did take it back to the dealership where i bought it and they would do something to it and it would stop for awhile but would start doing it again and this has been like this for 2 years now. i cannot let my teenagers drive my vehicle because i am afraid they will not be able to stop the vehicle when it starts lunging forward again. *tr

2006 ford freestyle has 64,000 miles on it and was told that the throttle body is bad. after looking into this on line i see that the majority of owners of the 2005 and 2006 are having the same problem. this ais a safety issue because when waiting to go and move the care will lunge forward and could hit another car or yet a person. *tr

While curbside at the airport my 2006 ford freestyle started to accelerate by itself. and nearly plowed into the car and pedestrians in front of me. when the acceleration subsided i repositioned my feet (left foot brake, right foot on floor) because i thought my foot was on both the brake and the accelerator. a minute or so later the car did it again, i put the car in neutral and turned it off. when my passengers were re loaded i started the car and while leaving the airport noticed the car was very sluggish. i took it to the dealer that day. after more than two days, lots of phone calls (about what might be the problem "but we're not sure") and a lot of negotiation between the dealer and the extended warranty "provider" it was determined that the electronic throttle body was the culprit but "the part was on nationwide back-order" in fact "we have another freestyle out in the back that has been waiting for a month". the tune changed considerably when the dealer found out that i was not only considering a legal path for resolution, but my wife was a "consumer cop" for the state where we live. the parts (2)were "found" in california and air-freighted to our dealer who promptly fixed both cars that day. i was charged $550+ for the repair(neither ford or the 100k mile extended warranty "provider" covered the work). it seems that others have had this exact problem too, how many does it take? does someone have to get killed or injured for some one to figure out that this type of incident can't possibly be a normal wear and tear or consumer caused problem. *tr

Had a flat tire on my 2006 ford freestyle, awd, ltd and installed the space saver tire. while driving, the speedometer failed to operate, all fault indicators on the dashboard illuminated, and the transmission proceeded to erratically up and down shift. went directly to my local ford dealers service department wherein told by service advisor that this was not normal. told service advisor that i thought it had to do with the space saver tire. there was no information in the owner's manual to the vehicles eradicate behavior. later, service advisor reported that this was normal behavior with the space saver tire and the vehicles abs sensors. i disagreed on the normal behavior since i consider my speedometer a safety device - and since the space saver tire is speed limited, this made the vehicle behavior questionable. *tr

I own a 2006 ford freestyle, which i purchased, used,in 2007. i have had two throttle body assemblies replaced. the first was in july, 2008 @ 40,203 miles and the second in august, 2010 @ 84,731 miles. the characteristics of the problem are: 'when starting to move from a stopped position, the engine would surge, as if the accelerator had been depressed. 'sometimes when this surging occurred, the engine had no power 'when the "no power" occurred, it could be corrected by turning off and restarting the engine, this condition occurs most often when trying to move in reverse. the condition has occurred in the summer both times *kb

We bought a used ford freestyle in 2008. since that time, we have had recurring problems stemming from a defective throttle body. it has been in-and-out of the shop, while various mechanics tried to figure out the problem. finally, approximately two years ago, i did my own research (discovered the countless reports of problems with the freestyle) and specifically requested that the mechanic replace the throttle body. this was after having surges in rpms and lurching of the car (while sitting in traffic with no foot on the accelerator), and also dead stalls in the middle of intersections and oncoming traffic when attempting to accelerate. this fixed the problem until several months later. next, we replaced the entire transmission last spring (the vehicle would shift down to first gear at cruising speed, e.g., on the interstate, then go into "limp" mode). in addition, apparently there is also a systemic issue with the design of the ford's scroll compressor, which began showing symptoms this past spring. thankfully my (new) mechanic replaced a $40 valve in the compressor, instead of the entire $1000 compressor (which the ford folks recommended). approximately two years later, we are replacing the throttle body for a second time today (it is currently in the shop) because of issues with surges in acceleration and stalling in traffic and loss of power. the mechanic just told me, "as a friend, i'm telling you: as soon as this car is fixed, you need to sell it. you will continue to have recurring problems with it." we bought this vehicle for around $10,000, and i'd estimate we have spent nearly that much in repairs over the past four years. i'm just thankful that my wife and children were not seriously injured in the meantime. how can ford sell such an unsafe vehicle with no recourse? as soon as i can afford another vehicle, i'm selling this freestyle. *tr

Transmission failure requiring total new transmission in vehicle less than 3 years old. *tr

Car lurches forward in idle. catches me by surprise when i move from parked position to drive. i have to immediately and forcefully put on the brakes or will hit a park car or moving vehicle. the problem is worse when i have the air conditioner on "high" i keep the air conditioner fan low to minimize the problem... *tt

The engine seems to have power surges in reverse. it seems as though it is going to take off while my foot is on the brake. *tr

The car will surge on it's own at different times: sitting at a red light ~normal misc idling, while in reverse, while making full turns. it will also sometimes die right after the surge, but not every time. it is worse in the summer during high temps, but will sometimes do it in colder temps as well. it does this when you have your foot on the brake, also when it has been in parked (while idling). at a drive thru window on one occasion, it surged over 5 times and was restarted over 5 different times, all at same drive thru window. (maybe 10 minutes at the window) . additionally the driver front seat, seat warmer has stopped working, the keypad on the driver's car door to open the car doors will not function, several lights inside the dash do not light up and/or very dim, the middle row seat 2/3, the seat on the left side will not fold down. *tr

I have a 2006 ford freestyle which has been having a surging problem. this has been accruing everyday now. it happens more when put in reverse you need to hit the brakes and than it stalls. i have found out that many owners are experiencing this problem. the dealers seem to have a variety of solutions but no real fix. most say it is a throttle body issue, others a electrical one. it is only a matter of time before someone is injured or killed. *kb

My ford freestyle has been lurching for years. i have now started stalling when pulling into parking spaces, or making sharp turns. my air compressor needs replacing and i was told the erg valve may cause the lurching? my engine lights comes and goes sporadically and i have to go through carpool line or grocery store with one foot on brakes. i can't fully feel confident at redlights that i won't rearend the person in front of me. i can't understand how this is a issue we should all be stuck with when its obvious a defect. i filed a complaint quite awhile back but now the stalling and lurching has become quite a safety issue. i can live without air although the mechanic seems to think its all related... please recall the issued parts! i stall on hills, when pulling out into traffic, i lunge at random times and then....its fine for the next drive... then dangerous the next! *tr

Transmission failure. *tr

While driving along the freeway. the car made a hard shift, then the transmission failed. the car would not accelerate, and we had to coast across 3 lanes of traffic to get out of harms way. i have been on edmunds.com and there are other reports from people who have had the same problem with the same make and model. the transmission failed without any previous problems or indications of problems. during the repair, we found out the input shaft came unwelded, other people with similar cars have had the same problem. *tr

While accelerating up inclines, at highway speeds, with and without cruise control, traction control and power train wrench light would illuminate and the transmission disengaged. dealer initially unable to diagnose, then reports that it is an abs module failure. abs module replaced but failure continued. then dealer replaced a part in the cvt with continued failure. car currently with dealer awaiting new cvt. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2006 ford freestyle. the contact stated that while stopped at a traffic stop light with the brakes depressed, the vehicle suddenly accelerated. the engine exhibited a loud, racing and clicking noise as the rpm reading increased. in addition, the throttle warning light illuminated. the parked and powered the vehicle off. the vehicle was later taken to the dealer where a diagnostic was performed however, the technician was unable to locate a failure. the dealer replaced the throttle body twice however, the failure was not corrected. the vehicle continued to exhibit incidents of suddenly acceleration. the failure mileage was 21,049 and the current mileage was 80,000. updated 02/26/13*lj the consumer stated ford was contacted and did not offer any assistance. the vehicle has needed other repairs including two axles, one water pump, and brake repairs. on 12/20/2012 the vehicle was exhibiting unintended surging. updated 3/4/2013 *js

Vehicle is a 2006 ford freestyle limited all wheel drive...often, when idling with the transmission in drive and foot on brake, the engine rpms will increase without pressing the accelerator and the car will lunge forward until extreme pressure is applied to the brake pedal. sometimes, especially when in reverse and the car lunges as described, the car will stall after lunging and the check engine light will come on. upon restarting the engine, the car will run, but in a limited capacity with the check engine light on. stopping the car, turning the car off, and then restarting the car, clears the check engine light and the car will operate normally. this seems to occur more often when ambient temperature is around or above 90 degrees fahrenheit. since we purchased the car new in 2006, this has occurred at least 50 times. *tt

I bought my 2006 ford freestyle with 23,000 miles within 4 months i started experiencing a whining noise. the noise started getting louder and louder, i then started to feel the car wanting to accelerate while my foot was on the brake, this happened about 5 times. the car would stall and the wrench light would come on. i would turn it off and let it cool a little and it would start right up again. the problems continued especially in the heat. i live in miami florida and it was just about everyday that this would happen. then finally it happened, the car just died on me. i want to point out that i took the car to the dealer with 30,000 and they told me there was nothing they could do because no lights came on. i let them service the car and they told me everything was ok. the dealer told me i needed a new transmission. i could not believe it, he also told me the throttle body went and intake manifold had went as well. i asked if there was anything ford could do they said i would have to call. ford was the worst at customer service that i ever experienced. they said no to everything because i was out of warranty. after spending almost $6,000 the dealer told me that ford was now giving 100,000 mile warranty for remanufactured transmissions. to this day, i have replaced brakes, rotors, another throttle body, front engine mount and the car is now experiencing a whining noise again. i still have 15,000 warranty left on last tranny i put in. i'm thinking they may have to put a new tranny in again. ford knew about this recall and how dangerous it was and never asked for a voluntary recall, i am also very disappointed with the nhtsa. there have been thousand of complaints and they also did nothing about. *tr

I have two big problems with my ford, first i've had it for a year and a half and replaced the front and rear brakes four times. the rotors were supposed to have been replaced before i got the suv. for over a year i haven't had no help by ford, during the same time i've had a loud knocking noise from either the engine or transmission, they wouldn't even look at that problem. for being a 2006 there is so many things wrong with it and spend double in gas i'm very unsatisfied with my freestyle. *tr

I have a 2006 ford freestyle. every time i place the transmission in reverse. the car surges backward. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2006 ford freestyle. the contact stated that when shifting into reverse, the engine would exhibit an unusual increase in rpms and abnormally accelerate backward. the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where the transmission was repaired. the failure persisted and would the vehicle would also abnormally accelerate forward. the manufacturer offered no further assistance. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was approximately 54,000 and the current mileage is approximately 56,000. updated 01/06/11 *lj updated 01/24/11