Problems with 2005 Ford Freestyle ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

While i am driving down the road, it feels like the vehicle shuts off. i am still able to accelerate, steer and stop; however, the lights, heater and radio shut off and all of my gauges quit working. my dashboard says "check charging system" but the source of the issue has not been found. i have already replaced the starter (was making a clicking noise at times), battery and alternator. this has happened several times on different road types and varying speeds.

Dash cluster died unexpectedly while driving. found problem to be shoddy solder work on the circuit board causing multiple failures in the dash cluster and fuel system. happened during highway driving at 60 mph.

Vehicles says awd malfunction and traction control sensor won't shut off while driving on highway. the power locks also malfunctioned shortly before the awd malfunction, making it where it was unable to shut. the power lock was unlocked/locked a couple times fixing the issue for now.

All engine lights come on at various times with no working gauges, but car drives. withing past year, had instrument cluster replaced 2 times, alternator replaced twice, injector coils & spark plugs, cleaned/replaced, battery replaced, throttle body assembly & gasket, . had diagnosed at 2 ford dealers in different states and neither can figure out what is causing all the dashboard lights to stay on. both dealers were adament it was the instrument cluster, which clearly it is not since the error lights are still on. have been told it could be electrical or rcm, but there is no way to test for either. dealer wants me to foot the (hourly / union) labor rate while they try to figure it out. currently car is currently with local mechanic who is going over the car to figure it out. nothing has been determined yet.

I am having the issues that the investigation with the electric throttle body. they have a customer satisfaction program called 12n03 and it didn't last long enough for me to get the car that i purchased (this year) fixed. i have 66k miles on the car and the dealerships are using the 10 years or 150000 miles to mean that since my car is older than 10 years i don't qualify to get my car fixed to working order. when i use the key to start the car, it doesn't accelerate. the rpms lurch like the car is going to go somewhere and it doesn't and the wrench light comes on. i got this car 3 weeks ago and the dealership isn't fixing it and the ford dealerships aren't fixing it. i had no control over whether the previous owner got the message to get it fixed or not or whether they took the car to get fixed. now i have a car that i cannot drive and if it does "reset" (because turning it off and waiting a while used to kind of reset it to where it would work) there is a chance it will turn off on me/no longer accelerate.

About 1 week ago in my ford freestyle 2005, the instrument panel glitched and stopped working mid drive. all the odometers, fuel and lights on my dashboard turned off and wont come back on. no way to tell what speed you are going on. this seemed to have been a reported problem to ford but nothing has been done. very unsafe. will be taking it in to dealership to asses it.

While driving on a city street going 25 and while driving on the freeway going 55, the lights in cluster of guages went out. the wrench icon lights up and all power goes out to the guages. all needles drop. checked the fuzes. nothing blown. when this happens the a.c. also stops blowing cold air.

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 ford freestyle. when the vehicle was started, the heating fan would alter in speeds despite the heat temperature being adjusted. in addition, the headlamps fluctuated simultaneously. the contact took the vehicle to christian brothers ford inc (1975 highway 2, east crookston, mn 56716; 218-281-1338) where it was diagnosed that the alternator needed to be replaced. the vehicle was repaired two separate times within one month, but the failure recurred. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 11,000. *bf updated 8/24/18*jb

Instrument cluster failure nhtsa preliminary evaluation #pe07058 status: closed date opened: november 16, 2007 date closed: march 11, 2008 recall: no recall issued component(s): electrical system: instrument panel summary: the subject vehicles experience a loss of proper instrument cluster operation.typically, the problem appears as the needle on the gauge (speedometer, tachometer, fuel, and/or temperature) sweeps and resets intermittently.ford reports the problem as "momentary power interruption causes the gauges to sweep and then recover to normal function."in august 2006, ford issued a technical service bulletin (tsb 06-17-9) to provide guidelines to service technicians for diagnosis and repair of this condition.odi's review of ford's response to the agency's informationrequest letter reveals that the majority of the reports to ford (63%) indicate that the instrument cluster would experience intermittent loss of power.ford reports that thislasts for only a few seconds.also ford states, "the vehicle's exterior lighting would not fail to illuminate even in the event of power interruption to the cluster because the exterior lights are powered separately and do not rely on any signal from the cluster."additionally, odi contacted complainants who affirmed the intermittent condition and that none of the exterior lights on the subject vehicles would be affected by power interruptions to the instrument cluster.odi last received a report regarding this issue in august of 2007.the closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by nhtsa that a safety-related defect does not exist.further use of agency resources does not appear to be warranted at this time.odi will however continue to monitor the issue and will take further action if warranted by the circumstances. nhtsa: this is what happend to me lastnight on a dark hwy at 55 mph

When trying to start car. all instruments go out and battery light goes out. nothing works. interior lights,locks heat radio.has been in shop 6 times and have battery replaced alternator twice. cluster repaired and smart junction box. car is still not fixed. has been a complete nightmare . they said had tsb out for it and it would have fixed. didnt. please help. am a mother and grandmother who needs reliable car and cannot have this to keep happening . everytime i get back from mechanic it will work for 3 days. then dies again. last time it broke which was yesterday it workrd for over 2 weeks.

While driving car at night lights on dashboard and instrument panel went out, abs light came on, headlights went out but backup lights came on while car was in drive. turn signals did not work and radio went out. car eventually lost all power.

I just bought my vehicle and started noticing some issues with the car racing/idling fast. several times it would lung forward while driving and while foot was on brake almost hitting a car, then stalled & reduced speed and wouldn't accelerate. the wrench light came on. took it too oreillys and found it is the throttle and throttle sensor. this is a serious issue and dangerous. i want it fixed by ford asap!

When i turn on the ac in my vehicle the vehicle starts to lunge all of a sudden and i can be at a complete stop and it does it. also when i have my ac on my truck just turns off and it is scary because there is no warning it just turns off. i have two children and this is very scary to go through. please help me in trying to resolve this problem so that i do not have to go through this and cause an accident. also there is no way i can be driving without my ac with these three digit weather climates.

Recently purchased my car through an independent dealer. started to accelerate when in park or when reversing. battery light comes on and goes off randomly. if i cut it off and turn it on it goes away. car jumps (accelerates) during driving. it does it all the time no matter where i am driving. run system diagnostic on steering wheel and everything comes back okay. purchased car for a family car and upset that this is a persistent problem with this model.

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 ford freestyle. while driving approximately 45 mph, the vehicle failed to accelerate. the instrument panel illuminated intermittently. the failure recurred several times. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was not diagnosed or repaired. the manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. the failure mileage and vin were unknown.

While driving, my '05 ford freestyle awd limited the air & radio turn off, along with all of the lights on the dash, all gauges bottom out & the turn signal does not work. this lasts for about 30-45 repeatedly, in quick succession. you cannot signal a turn or know speed when this occurs which is a safety issue. the battery and check engine light come on & sometimes it reads check charging system. this happens on local streets and highway driving. i believe it coming from the instrument panel itself. i have seen this same complaint from many others has i research the issue on the internet. i'm not aware of any recall, even though ford is well aware of this safety condition. this started happening january 2016.

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 ford freestyle. while driving 5 mph, the vehicle lost power, stalled, and the air bag indicator illuminated. the vehicle was towed to the contact's residence. the vehicle was then taken to the dealer, but was not diagnosed or repaired. the manufacturer was not notified of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 197,000. updated 01/10/17*lj updated 01/11/17.*jb

The instrument panel won't work.. my reverse light stay on and i can't tell what the gauges are reading seeing as they wont work. the only light that illuminates is the air bag light on the panel. my radio lights work but nothing else. i can't tell what the speed limit is nothing. how can one drive a car with the reverse lights constantly on and no dash lights? this is a family car i'v only had it a year with about 73,000 miles on it. i just spent 4,000 to have my engine fixed 4 months ago! how can this car be safe? it started 12-27-15 and is still not working today. motion the car was in motion extremely rainy for ohio this time of year.

I got into the car to start it and the engine light was on, and i smelled smoke, the car was parked in my garage

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 ford freestyle. while driving 35 mph, all of the instrument panel lights failed to illuminate. the fuel, speedometer, and oil temperature gauges stopped working. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. the failure mileage was 131,596.

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 ford freestyle. the contact stated that the vehicle lost power. in addition, the instrument panel stopped working and all the warning indicators illuminated. the vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the alternator and battery needed to be replaced. the vehicle was repaired; however, the failure recurred. the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the failure mileage was approximately 130,000.

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 ford freestyle. while driving approximately 40 mph, the vehicle stalled and the power steering failed. the vehicle was unable to restart. the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. the vehicle was left on the side of the road. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was not notified. the approximate failure mileage was 150,000.

All gauges lost power for a few seconds and reset to left. also lost lights on inside of vehicle did not effect outside lights has happened multiple times since first noticed. *tr

Traveling on hwy at approx 60 mph, wrench light came on, "failsafe engine mode" message appeared and car powered down. pulled over, turned car off, waited 1 min, restarted car. message was cleared and car drove as normal. about 20 miles later, same problem, except check engine light and message appeared. pulled over, turned off car, restarted. check engine light and message remained. very low power upon acceleration. problem continued intermittently. received engine code p2111, p2112 relating to throttle body problem. etb had been cleaned 11/13 by dealer per technical service bulletin issued by ford. no problems until 12/14. service performed to reprogram etb, no cleaning was needed. problem recurred 12/23/14. check engine light is on and no power upon acceleration persists. codes indicate etb needs to be replaced. *tr

Own a 2005 ford freestyle, v6, 3.0, all wheel drive, limited edition. i started hearing loud grinding and knocking noises from the cvt transmission. the vehicle will start, and the rpms will increase and decrease uncontrollably. this is the reason the cvt transmission in these vehicles are going bad, malfunctioning, and breaking continuously. the rpms are delayed in the decreasing rpms process, which tells the computer to shift prematurely, or to quickly, causing any internal parts and external parts to be damaged. these vehicles are equipped with a computerized throttle positioning sensor that is attached to the actual throttle body. the computer is sending improper commands to the throttling position sensor, rpms, shifting delay and synchronized shifting sensors. this is putting too much of a load on the gears, bearings, clutches, and other parts pertaining to the functioning of the cvt transmission shifting and everyday use. ford motor company (as stamped on the vin and vehicle information sticker inside and on the driver side door jam of the vehicle) should have perfected and or recognized these issues during the manufacturing, testing, and or dino sessions. all vehicle designs are to be tested, diagnosed if any issues occur, and are to be fixed, redesigned, and replaced. ford should take recognition to the customers and dealers that own these vehicles. people are purchasing these vehicles without the knowledge of possible failure and technical difficulties of these units. these issues can cause the vehicles, especially the vehicles that are all wheel drive, to lock up, brake, break, accelerate uncontrollably, and cause wrecks, fender benders, or more severe injuries, and even the lives of people of this great nation. the united states government will need to take action immediately, before ford motor company vehicles kill, eliminate, and or decease people. *tr

While driving the wrench light and engine light came on. lost all power to the accelerator pedal, refused to go above 2k roma. turned car off and let it sit for fifteen minutes. turned it back in and lights were still on and car wouldn't accelerate. replaced the throttle body and the accelerator position sensor. still giving the same codes and won't allow me to clear the codes. previous issues with unexpected acceleration in the past. now the battery won't hold a charge, the lights are coming on when they are all turned off and it seems the electrical system i'd going crazy. it's now february and i'm being told the throttle position sensor needs to be replaced. since my throttle body had the cold weather system on it that means another throttle body replacement with no guarantee it will fix the issue. i can't drive the car at all. i can't back it out of its parking space without it stalling out and all the lights inside abd headlights flickering. there needs to be a recall. i've spent till much money to keep putting more into it when replacing the parts that have the code issues isn't working. *tr

While driving, the instrument panel cluster stopped working correctly. the odometer was reading off the charts, but the engine seemed - at least sounded like it was - working just fine. this has happened in warm weather (we live in utah) and cold. it doesn't seem to happen in only one temperature and happens frequently. we also experience issues with the interior panel lights not working, as well as, on occasion the exterior brights do not work. this happened to me during a rain storm and was extremely inconvenient. another recent issue that has popped up is the awd malfunction light appearing when nothing seems to be wrong. i had the car in park, and when i put it in reverse to pull into traffic, the light appeared. i was not going over 40 mph and it is august in utah (not rainy, snowy or any kind of elements that you might have to drive in).

Vechicle was parked, no one in or near it when all by itself the headlights started to turn off and on rapidly at about half bright for about 30 to 40 seconds i had the control that unlocks and locks the doors in my pocket. i don't have a car starter for this car. i used the lock unlock remote and the problem stoped. i have never noticed it before and i bought the unit new in 2005. i think that the problem is electrical in nature and i'm wondering if a fire could be started by this problem, and if there is something that can cause this problem and what to do to fix it'

Awd malfunction light started coming on occasionally last fall. it is now on all the time. talked to a mechanic and was told it was either a sensor or a wheel bearing. in the process of replacing the wheel bearing right now. *tr

I was driving on the freeway roughly 65-70 mph and the failsafe engine mode came on, which disabled my gas pedal. i could not accelerate. i was in the far left lane, and had to "coast" with my hazard lights on so i could turn the car off while in park on the shoulder. i restarted the car and it went away. thankfully traffic was light! earlier in the week this same thinghappened on my way to work i was on a 35 mph rd, and it did this, lost all use of the gas. had to kill the car and restart but that time the check engine codes p2106 and p061b were drawn.(not the first time i've had these codes i know they mean throttle body'sbad) i've kept my obdii scanner in the car cuz these codes come up once a week at least. i just keep erasing them, restarting the car, and drives fine till it randomly goes off again. thus was the first time it has happened to me on the highway. it scared me to death that i would have been rear ended on a highway. these should be recalled. ford claims there's no safety issue. i barely avoided a potential fatal crash! *tr

This vehicle looses complete power while driving. runs sluggish and hesitates.. took it to the dealership for possible recall (throttle body) dealer says not the issue need to replace alternator, and transmission, etc.. called ford motor company customer service for assistance to see if this was a known issue. *tr

The interior lights came on w/o turning them on and the switch was in the off position. also, no doors were ajar at the time of the incident. at the same time the headlights turned on and off three separate times within one minute. this occurred on 05/14/2014, 05/17/2014 and 05/20/2014. all incidents were while driving at night. the first incident was while traveling on the interstate at 65 mph, the road was smooth with no rough areas hit at the time of the incident. the second incident occurred while traveling at 35 mph on a city road which was also smooth and the final incident occurred while traveling on a local highway at about 60 mph on a smooth roadway. *tr

We had problems with it revving up wanted to go forward when parking. we had the throttle body cleaned , helped for a little while.problems with the air conditioning had compressor replaced, then starting having electrical problems (failure safe mode engine would shut down) while driving . had alternator replaced because all electrical starting shutting down and turning off while driving also transmisson was trying to go in reverse while driving reverse lights would come on very dangerous. replaced body computer still didn't fix the problem to afraid to drive it . it was paid off but no one could fix the problems, how can you have a vehicle that no one can fix,we have been informed that ford knew of these problems but would do nothing about them. very disappointed we really liked the car when we got it.

We noticed that when going over bumps in the road, the interior lights would randomly turn on and off. at first i thought it might have been related to a door switch but after some trouble shooting, i found that it was related to the ignition switch. i found that while driving i could wiggle the key and the lights might turn on or off randomly. there was no effect to the engine. during the day i'd not noticed it but at night it is quite distracting. i've not yet replaced the switch but it is on my list. we recently purchased the car. it may have had the problem for some time before we bought it. as part of my fixing things, i'd also replaced the brake light switch that was stuck on, causing damage to the lights on the tail gate from heat. i can save the switches if it is of interest. [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6). *tr

The entire instrument panel went dark while drving at night, headlights included. the gauges all dropped to zero, then went back up, back to zero. this happened a few times within a minute. then all the lights on the panel lit up including airbag , abs, everything. very scary to have this happen while driving in the dark. i am very thankful that it was me driving and not my 16 year old daughter -- it really could have caused an accident. this happened again last night while i was driving to pick up my 12 year old from church--- same exact thing. the engine was running fine, though. i researched the problem and saw many, many complaints and it's a known issue for this model year. why isn't there a recall? this is a serious safety issue - do you want a oncoming vehicle to have there lights flashing on/off and instrument panel failing while they are driving straight toward you or someone in your family? *tr

Car lunges when sitting still with engine running both forward and reverse and is worse when air cond is on. loud noise i believe is coming from transmission while parked and running and sitting still. system was overcharging and caused my battery to explode. check light comes on intermittently. *tr

I have a 2005 sel freestyle with about 130k miles on it. this morning while driving to work with speed of 55mph all of a sudden the abs and awd lights came on and the message center displayed "check traction control" and "awd malfunction", then entire panel went dark (rpm, gas, oil, speed and odometer). i noticed that the gauges were making a ticking noise at that time as well. i pulled off the main hwy and shut car off, i then tried to restart the car. all of the gauges lit up again, but car would not start, acted like battery/alternator was shot. had to get it towed home and was late to work. not sure where to start to solve the issue, have seen too many posts with the same issues. i think that ford needs to step up and take the appropriate steps to recall these vehicles before fatalities begin. *tr

Gauges bottom out occasionally and the lights on the gauges will also go out for a few seconds. i googled this and found several forums and articles where others have run into this. a defect/short in the gauge cluster. to date though the nhtsa or ford have not done anything. driving at 50mph and at night time has to be considered a dangerous situation for myself and others. *tr

Purchased used-when the weather is cold the doors will not shut-appears to be some type of electronic problem-even when car is warmed up the doors will not latch shut. *tr

We have had this car for over two years now. in those two years our instrument cluster has been replaced by the ford dealer 4 times now. when driving the instrument cluster goes off and sends fuel shutoff codes to the fuel system which causes the vehicle to shake. other items replaced were the onboard computer and alternator. the computer has been reprogrammed once, but no help. i have seen the technical release for this issue, but this has been a huge safety concern for my family. when the car starts to shake and you are doing 65/70 mph it could cause an accident. *tr

While driving, my ?05 ford freestyle awd limited the air & radio turn off, along with all of the lights on the dash, all gauges bottom out & the turn signal does not work. this lasts for about 30-45 repeatedly, in quick succession. you cannot signal a turn or know speed when this occurs which is a safety issue. the battery and check engine light come on & sometimes it reads check charging system. this started fall 2013, no one found the problem. it stopped over the winter & started again this spring. again 2 shops including the dealer again cannot find the problem. battery & voltage readings were normal. dealership says it could be the instrument console ($999.99) or a frayed wire but could not validate either issue & admitted the instrument console would not explain the radio & air turning off. the dealer recommended that i replace my relatively new battery, but couldn't give a reason & did not find something wrong with the battery or the wiring to the battery so i took my car home with no answers this is an issue i see all over the internet, i have 2 young children & do not feel safe driving while the instrument panels turn on and off repeatedly. i don't know if it impacts the exterior lights because it has been daylight. will it take congressional inquiry like gm is facing before ford takes responsibility or issues a recall for these problems? they must not care since they stopped making the vehicle shortly after it entered the market, i do not trust ford. *tr

The dash turned off. all of the dash components are not working including the mileage, speedometer, gas, oil, turn signals etc. it is not safe to drive. it fails several times during the day and at night keeping me guessing if i am driving the speed limit or not and if my turn signals are working. the airbag safety light also is not working, flashing on and off keeping me wondering if i have any safety at all. this problem is not just happening with my car but others in my year and make. it is not safe for the driver, passenger, and other cars on the road. this needs to be fixed. as of now, the bug has not fixed itself. the electronics have been off for a full day and i am worried they won't turn back on. please do some further work on this problem. thank you. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 ford freestyle. the contact stated that while driving at various speeds, all of the gauges failed as the check engine warning light illuminated. the vehicle was not taken to the dealer. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure and current mileage was 120,000.

I took my car in to be serviced for maintenance (power steering service and transmission service) to the ford dealership in thomasville, ga. after a few days my 2005 ford freestyle started to display transmission data error, check track control, and check engine lights. i called the company and was advised to bring it in and i did. the alerts were not on at the time but the service man jerry and josh told me they would check my vehicle and let me know what - if anything was wrong. they kept it all day and when i returned to pick it up i was informed that it was fine and they re-serviced my transmission. about two weeks later my car started the same thing all over again while in traffic it seemed not to want to pull off normally with all these alerts lighting up after church one sunday. i called ford of course they were closed but the next day was monday i called and was asked to bring the car back in. this time once it started to do the same things jumping in gear and knocking hard this time the service man who answered my call says they are looking for a transmission and advised me that ford would pay for half the work and parts. i asked if they didn't cause it why would you offer to pay half. the last time they got my ford freestyle they gave me a borrowed vehicle and told my husband 4 days later that the car has electrical problems that they will pay none of the repair. i was told twice my car was fine now my husband just got a new job and no way to get to it because i believe ford damaged my vehicle and refuses to right their wrong. what can i do now?

Where to begin.... the brakes are shot. don't work at all. during the summer and fall the car will randomly go into "failsafe mode" and just stop. it has to be turned completely off for several minutes before attempting to turn back on and will generally do this up to 8 times before i just shut it off and leave it until the next day. during these months it will also get a mind of it's own and just leap forward. i have to stop 2 car lengths behind any car in front of me when i'm coming to a stop, otherwise it will lunge forward (even though i have my foot firmly applied on the brake) and hit the car in front of me. oh, and will jump curbs, hit garage doors, all that good stuff too when it gets this surge. then, during the winter months the door latch gets stuck and the car doors are literally frozen open. i can't drive anywhere with two small children and car doors that won't shut. oh, and my vehicle wasn't included in the recall so i can't get it fixed. oh and did i mention the brake system doesn't work? like won't hold brake fluid, air is all in the lines, and hardly no brakes. have you ever tried driving with no brakes?? it sucks! and forget driving on the highway with my kids in this car. i don't trust it at all!! *js

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 ford freestyle. while driving approximately 50 mph, the entire instrument panel began to fluctuate. the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer for diagnostic testing where they stated the instrument cluster would need to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was not notified of the failure. the approximate mileage was 122,946.

Car leaks when it rains. third row driver side cup holders stay full of water, i pulled plug below spare tire to keep water from filling up and rusting the tire. many complaints online about this car leaking. now the electrical system is damaged, the reverse lights stay on, and the taillights sometimes have water in them. *tr

Engine sputter then failure. then computer error states, fail safe engine mode. diagnostic reveals throttle body failure. common problem according to service department recall pending, why won't u act. web full of this complaint. *tr

Engine sputter then failure. then computer error states, fail safe engine mode. diagnostic reveals throttle body failure. common problem according to service department recall pending, why won't u act. web full of this complaint. *tr

My instrument panel started going out while i was driving down the highway one night and it caused my reverse lights to flash on and off. this is a problem that ford knows about and it is a problem due to faulty solder joints on the back of the instrument panel, there is a tsb for this, but there is no recall on this why? this problem has also led to my transmission going out again, and ford will do nothing about any of it. i am not the only one who has had this problem either there are tons of owners of this car that have had these issues. ford needs to be held accountable for these issues that are a result of faulty manufacturing. we are a hard working family and we spent everything we had replacing the transmission in our car six months ago, and our warranty was up seven days before our transmission went out and now thanks to the faulty instrument panel doing whatever it was doing to the computer when it was cutting in and out it has tore my almost $4000.00 transmission up and now i have no car to haul all of my children around in. i also contacted ford via email and the response i got was save your receipts in case of a recall or a forgiveness program is started up. *tr