Problems with 2005 Ford Freestyle ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

It started with the instrument cluster acting funny the guages dropped to 0 and jittered after a few seconds they went back to normal ... now my reverse lights stay on and the cluster doesn't work for longer periods of time. *dt

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

I was driving the veh normal and all of a sudden the rmp jumps really high following this my veh shuts down, wrench light comes, and the fail safe engine mode displays. also, when the veh is put in park and shut off, then back on again the light disappears, and everything appears normal. today would be twice this has happened so after reading other reviews with same issue found out its throttle body that needs replaced. i will call dealer tomorrow to find out more, but why isn't this part on recall. hope its covered under powertrain :( *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 ford freestyle. after starting the vehicle, the entire instrument panel and headlights failed without warning. the failure occurred intermittently. the vehicle has not been inspected at this time. the failure mileage was 60,000. the current mileage was 63,000. updated 01/05/10 *bf updated 01/06/10.*jb

We bought a new 2005 ford freestyle in october 2005. we had no problems until our 3 year warranty expired in october 2008. beginning in 2009 we began to notice that our instrument panel would lose power. all dials would go down to zero, flicker and the entire panel would be dead for a short time. it happened intermittently and we lived with it for a year before taking the vehicle back to the san leandro, ca ford dealer, paying $250 for an engine diagnostic in january 2009. the diagnostic which took all day, revealed that there was a short in a wire in the instrument panel which meant the panel would have to be replaced in its entirety ($700). not having the $700 to pay for the solution i came home to do some research. i found that per ford tsb 06-17-9 all ford dealerships were told about this defect. it was investigated by the nhtsa and because the problem did not involve the operation of the exterior functions of the vehicle, there was no recall. i would like to know why ford mc is taking $250 from its customers to diagnose a problem that it already knew about. also, if it were your vehicle, would you be satisfied in paying $700 for a replacement part that ford readily admits to having been soldered incorrectly during the manufacturing process? i can testify that there is a safety issue involved here. when driving home from yosemite np at night, along steep mountain roads, my family of 4 children, mom and dad nearly drove off the road when our entire cabin went dark because the instrument panel shut down. we had to brake hard and cars behind us and in front had to do the same in response. i could not tell how fast we were going, nor how much gas was left in the tank for a period of 10 minutes. reverse lights come on whilst driving in forward direction causing drivers to brake behind us. the investigation should be reopened because this problem is ongoing and will cause loss of life for the sake of a replacement part that was badly made. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2005 ford freestyle. she stated that the speedometer gauges failed intermittently as well as the dashboard, air conditioner, tail lights and rpm gauges. while driving approximately 25 mph she attempted to make a right turn into a garage and the turn signals failed to operate. due to the failure a vehicle following her nearly crashed into her. she has reviewed the technical service bulletins and nhtsa action number: pe07058 investigation which was closed in 2008. the contact is aware of the safety risk and the possibility that a crash could occur. the vehicle has not been repaired. the current and failure mileages were under 41,000.

Instrument panel went dead. *tr

The instrument panel flips on and off at random intervals causing the car to jump into "safe mode". if this occurs at high speed the car bucks and becomes uncontrollable until it slows down below 40mph. in a possible related issue the battery light continuously flickers on and off even with a brand new battery installed. the alternator appears to charge when ever it feel like it and not continuously. there are so many electrical issues in this car i will not let anyone in my family drive or ride in it. with on 64000 miles on the vehicle none of these problems should be occurring. i fear a major accident each day i get in and drive it work.*tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2005 ford freestyle. he stated that while driving approximately 35 mph and making a turn the entire instrumental panel stopped working. the rpm needle began moving rapidly, yet the panel did not illuminate. the failure has occurred twice a day on a daily basis. the dealer stated that there was no warranty and they were unable to duplicate the failure. there were no repairs made to the vehicle. the failure mileage was 38,000. the current mileage was 57,222. updated 11/16/10*bf the consumer stated he has ran out of gas several times, because the gas gauge was not accurate. also, the instrument panel would become dark. updated 11/23/10

We recently purchased a 2005 ford freestyle. the dashboard gauges will randomly all bottom out for a few seconds, and then come back on. this happens at least once nearly everytime we drive. occasionally the gauges will 'freeze' where they are and the dashboard lights (including odometer) will go out. this lasts for a few seconds, and when the lights come back on, all of the gauges bottom out for a few seconds and then come back on. while trying to figure out what the problem is, we discovered that there is a common defect in the gauge cluster and an online search reveals hundreds of complaints about this. there is an open investigation, but no recall to date. this is a safety hazard despite what ford says, not knowing how fast you are going (even if it is just for a few seconds) is dangerous, but the worst part is the distraction when you see your gauges going crazy out of the corner of your eye. distracted drivers are not safe drivers. the dealer tells us they've changed dozens of these, and the cost is nearly $900! for and the nhtsa know this is a problem, ford should take responsibility and make it right. *tr

The dashboard instrument panel fails regularly and all gauges (speed, gas, temp, etc.) fall to zero. the dashboard and other interior lights also do not work when this happens. at first, it happened intermittently and would work most of the time, but not all. now, it happens regularly and i have driven several times without knowing my speed or fuel level. sometimes the computer resets. at times, the gauges resume working within a minute, other times, they do not work for the entire drive, leaving me with no way of knowing my speed or fuel level and now way of seeing inside the car when it is dark. i did some research and found a tsb on the issue at ford, but it is expensive to fix and really is a safety issue that should be covered because of the lack of knowing the speed and fuel levels. i brought it in yesterday and it will cost $750.00 to fix. *tr

While driving the instrument cluster and lights would randomly go on and off and engine would shut down. this occurs on a regular basis, making the vehicle unsafe. the problem is a cold solder joint on the "crystal" located next to the four sided processor chip on the printed circuit board. ford is aware of this problem and sent out a tsb to all of it dealers in feb 2006. there is currently a 6 month backlog of the part to repair this problem due to so many occurrences. the problem also locks out the shift locking mechanism preventing the vehicle once placed in park to going into gear or neutral for towing. the problem starts out with just the dash instruments flickering but progresses to the problem i have outlined above. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2005 ford freestyle limited. while driving approximately 50 mph at night, the vehicle suddenly lost power. the instrument panel was not lit and all lights turned off. the contact was able to be restarted after ten seconds. the failure occurred intermittently and the contact replaced five batteries due to the problem. the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer but the failure could not be duplicated. the vin was unavailable. the failure mileage was approximately 59,000 and the current mileage was approximately 100,000.

Tl*the contact owns a 2005 ford freestyle. the vehicle was parked when the contact noticed that the door latch on all four doors would not close securely which resulted in the doors opening even when in motion. the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer four times where they sprayed a solution on the door latch mechanism. also, the vehicle was repaired under the nhsta campaign id number 06v383000 (latches/locks/linkages: doors: latch); however, the failure continued to occur. the failure mileage was 5,000. updated 03/16/11 *bf the consumer stated the doors do not close when the temperature is 20f or lower. when they did close, they would open while making a turn. the consumer has returned to the dealer several times for the same problem. the dealer sprayed the inside door. also, the alternator was replaced. updated 08/31/11...update 01/20/12 *bf status update. update 01/25/12

2005 ford freestyle_- bought in 2007 has approx 19,000 miles on it bought extended service warranty for upto 100,000- approximately june 2008 check engine light came on and information center said "half fuel life op" took to dealer they changed out the fuel pump and the light came back on about 1 week later while on vacation. took it back to the shop they changed out the other fuel pump as it has 2. it did it again shortly afterwards. they have changed the sending unit and then the fuel gauge started freaking out- showing half a take when full and going up instead of down after driving it. it has had the software redownloaded in the computer and i don't even know what all. it has been in the shop well over 30 days and is in there again for the same issue. *tr

Over a period of about 2 summers, the 2005 ford freestyle would surge while sitting at an intersection or slowing during the approach. the surge was a rapid acceleration of the vehicle which required a heavy, or a quick brake. a quick response was required to avoid a rear-end collision, entering an intersection, or striking a pedestrian. the surges seem to be related to the operation of the air conditioner. the car had gone into a "fail-safe" mode while sitting in a drive-thru. i began using the ac sparingly and would turn off the ac completely when driving in the city or approaching and intersection. however, while approaching a turn on a state route, with a speed limit of 55, the vehicle unexpectedly shutdown leaving the vehicle exposed to on-coming traffic. the date listed below is an approximation. around the same time toyota was having problems with "run-away" vehicles, i contacted the ford motor company alerting them of this hazard. i was told to contact a dealership. the dealership replaced the throttle body. i was told that the "computer" could not/did not show any information about the "fail-safe". on-line, it appears that many people have had these problems. due to the season, i will not know if the problem was corrected. i'm hoping that the family isn't in the car if it wasn't. *tr

While driving my car the instrument gauges will loose power and all read zero for approx 10 seconds. the air bag light will also come on. this has happened approx 20 times in the last 4 weeks. the car as a result of this has stalled 2 times. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2005 ford freestyle. the instrument cluster shut off and all of the warning lights illuminated which also caused the headlights to flash on and off. he noticed the malfunction on a frequent basis and over time it has become progressively worse since may 2008. he had not taken the vehicle to the dealer when the complaint was filed. a local mechanic stated that the instrument cluster needed to be replaced. he called the manufacturer and was told that because there was no safety recall, they could not assist him with the repairs. the current mileage was approximately 88,000. the failure mileage was approximately 50,000.

Instrument cluster had several power interruptions - all gauges momentarily went to zero several times and the check engine light illuminated. vehicle would surge until instrument cluster power returned to normal. dealership replaced instrument cluster - not under factory warranty. *tr

Lost operation of instrument cluster and when this occurs the back-up lights operate. the danger is when power is lost in the instrument cluster you do not know your speed, this is crucial when driving through school zones. the back-up light cause people behind my car to believe i am backing-up. also when driving at night, the instrument cluster looses power. all this is a distraction to driving. i have ordered the part to replace instrument cluster. the dealer informed me it will take over a month to receive the part. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2005 ford freestyle. on march 30, 2008, while driving 50 mph, all the instrument panel gauges dropped to zero. approximately 1/3 of a mile later, the failure recurred, but the gauges returned back to normal. the failure recurred for the third time a short while later and the wrench light illuminated. the contact took the vehicle to have the oil checked and was informed that there was no error code. approximately three days later, the failure recurred. the contact took the vehicle back to the service center, but they found no failures. on april 9, 2008, the failure recurred for the fifth time and the vehicle began to jerk. afterwards, every red warning light illuminated. the mileage dial began moving sporadically. the contact took the vehicle back to the dealer and they could still not find any failures. they finally concluded that the failure was related to the instrument cluster. the vehicle is currently at the dealer. the vin, purchase date, engine size, number of cylinders, and powertrain were unknown. the current mileage was 67,000 and failure mileage was 66,000.

2005 ford freestyle. intermittently turns off (engine stops, loss of electrical power) while the vehicle is being driven. most often occurs while turning. reported to ford dealer, they state they cannot fix because they cannot duplicate the event. corporate and got same response. i requested that ford dealer install video-data recorder and assign vehicle to service technician to drive daily, so that event data can be recorded and analyzed. service manager stated that he would not place the life of his service technician in jeopardy by driving a vehicle that looses operational power while driving. evidently, ford does not have a problem placing my life or the lives of my family in jeopardy, however. *jb updated 01-14-08. *kb

Instrument cluster and pcm failure with 2005 ford freestyle (tsb06-17-9). both items need to be replaced. manufacturer, ford motor company, will not assume or acknowledge responsibility or liability for replacement of defective parts. *tr

2005 ford freestyle is having intermittent dash board problems. gauges on digital dashboard will go to zero for no apparent reason while driving. speedometer will show zero even though the vehicle is traveling at 60 mph. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2005 ford freestyle. while driving 65 mph, the vehicle shut off completely and had to be restarted. the vehicle was taken to a dealer, who stated that the vehicle had several error codes. the contact stated that the vehicle was now repaired. the current and failure mileage were 48,000.*ak

3/28/2007 while driving down the freeway at 65 the wrench light came on and the car completely lost power, i had to pull over to the shoulder. i shut the car off and re-started it and the problem was gone. this was the third time. second was yesterday my wife was backing out of the driveway and the car did the same thing. also 3/25/2007 while pulling into my subdivision i made a left turn and got to about 15 mph and the car shuttered and the wrench light came on again, i drove it with almost no power for another 15 yards to my driveway, shut the car off and restarted it and no problems. i purchased this car used on 3/23/2007 with 55000 miles on it. i have contacted the ford dealership where i purchased it. *jb

I have more than one complaint. 1) shortly after buying my used 2005 freestyle i would be driving both at higher and lower speeds and i would loose all control of the vehicle. it would not respond to gas or steering. it was like it was losing power but it was still running. i had several near misses when this would happen. i was lucky that when i bought my freestyle it was "certified" and under warranty, otherwise the repairs would have cost me over $1200. my ford dealer replaced the kind of sensor/brain as they called it. has been working sense. 2) air compressor needs to be replaced now. i thought the a/c wasn't blowing cold enough, i finally told it to a repair shop i trust and he said he couldn't understand i had any cool air at all. 3) brakes, rear most of all, have been replaced several times. way too soon and anytime it's wet they squeal like crazy. guess i need to have them changed again. 4) transmission issues are starting now. i roughly have 90k miles and hoped this would be my last car for several more years. i hate to trade it in and start another car payment and let this car get back out to some other unsuspecting soul. *tr

I've had problems with this vehicle numerous times over the past few years. i filed a complaint on here once but do not remember the dates or the username/password i used. this vehicle is the worst car i have ever owned. i've sunk thousands into repairs in the last couple of years. i've had instrument cluster replaced 4 times, replaced engine mounts, my a/c compressor went out on it, throttle body replaced. and now it sits on blocks we thought was the fuel pump went out so replaced it. didn't do any good. not sure what it is the instrument cluster still doesn't work correctly, it was surging til the day the other day when it just wont go anymore, it will start and run but won't go. i was told it could be numerous things, throttle body again, instrument cluster still not right, might be my transmission, could be my pedal throttle sensor, fuel switch out..........so what do i do nickel and penny everything i have into a lemon that obviously the nhtsa nor ford care about. i'm a single mother with two children, we live 7 miles from town...and now i have no transportation. i bought this vehicle in 2005 and paid quite a bit for it. its like toilet paper or diapers....disposable! i will never purchase a ford again. *tr

My 2005 ford freestyle was purchased used, under factory warranty in may of 2006. since that time it has been in the shop eight times for the same problem. it started right after the purchase of the vehicle. after the car had been parked and the engine turned off, when trying to restart the vehicle it would click when the key was turned but not start. it would take two or three tries to get the car to start. the dealer was unable to determine the problem. then after the car would not start on the first try, when it did start the oil light was on, the parking brake light was on, the back-up lights were on when the car was in drive, the left blinker light was on and could not be turned off, the air conditioner would not work and once the car was turned off the battery would drain and the car would not start. the dealership witnessed the problem on multiple occasions, had someone from corporate come down to work on the car and it seemed fine for about two months. then on christmas morning we started the car and the same thing happened. it was towed to the dealership and they replaced the battery but were unable to duplicate the problem. they are now flying in a "technical engineer" to work on the car. *nm

Dt*: the contact stated after the vehicle was shut off, intermittently it would not restart. the vehicle was towed to the dealer on several occasions, however the problem could not be duplicated. according to the service papers there was a short in the starter. the consumer also experienced hesitation upon acceleration. updated 12/28/06. *jb

Tl*the contact owns a 2005 ford freestyle. the contact stated that the vehicle stalls intermittently. while idling, driving at high speeds, or turning at low speeds, the vehicle shuts off. the instrument panel lights illuminate when the failure occurs. on three occasions, the vehicle was towed because it failed to restart. while driving 60 mph, the safe mode engine indicator light illuminates. the dealer has performed multiple diagnostics and cannot duplicate the failure. the current mileage is 49,000 and failure mileage was 43,000.

Dt*: the contact stated while driving 50 mph on dry roads, the instrument panel gauges raised up to the highest readings, then dropped down to the lowest and subsequently did not function. also, while stopped at a traffic light, the vehicle surged forward without warning while the brake pedal was depressed. finally, even though the vehicle has a continuous transmission, there was still a moderate shift shock between gears. the vehicle was taken to a service dealer, where the cause of the problems were unable to be determined. the manufacturer was also notified.

Dt*: the contact stated while driving at no particular speed, the air bag lamp illuminated and the instrument gauges fell to zero. this lasted for a few seconds, but occurred intermittently on several other occasions. the vehicle was not taken to the dealer for inspection. updated 10/06/06.*jb

Dt*: the contact stated the vehicle was modified to allow the driver to be seated in a wheel chair. shortly after the modification a problem began while attempting to open the door to lower the ramp. the door does not open automatically to engage the ramp for exit or entry. the vehicle was taken to the local dealer were the mother board was replaced. the replacement of the part did not remedy the problem. the vehicle was returned to the local dealer where the keyless entry remotes were replaced. the replacement of the remotes did not remedy the problem. the vehicle was taken to the original modification dealer were it was inspected and was determined the remotes were obstructed by a foreign body which was removed. this did not remedy the problem. the vehicle was then taken to an independent mobility dealer who determined the entire flooring materials needed to be removed in order to secure the lock down for the front seat wheel chair. this procedure was completed to remedy a second problem the contact was unaware existed. additionally, the independent mobility dealer recommended replacing the mother board because of unpredictability. the dealer determined the original and replacement boards were not the appropriate application for use in the conversion. the dealer recommended the use of a completely different brand of mother board. the dealer ordered the new mother board and is awaiting shipment. currently the only way the door and ramp can be used is by someone manually opening the door and pulling out the ramp. this process renders the vehicle impossible to use by the contact alone.

When vehicle is unoccupied at night, the headlamps blink on and off, the headlamps illuminate for milliseconds and then shut off. all power is off in the vehicle and no key or person is in the car. this happens about 10 times a minute. the battery in the morning is weak. *jb

When lowering rear door windows above 30 miles per hour wind noise is unbearable it hurts all the passengers ears to the point you think it is going to burst your ear drum plus you can't hear unless passenger yells at you pain in ears is some severe. on steering wheel their is two places to blow horn left area is no longer working will put in shop oct.18,2005 for repairs. also fuel mileage stinks we have averaged approximately 20 miles per gallon have spoken to dealer about problem but no results yet.

Dt: 2005 ford freestyle - the vehicle stalled while driving. this usually happened when driving up hill. also, it happened while trying to take off from a red light. after leaving the red light it happened three more times in a span of two miles. this happened seven times to consumer, and once for the dealer. it has been to the dealership four times for repairs. the dealer was able to duplicate the problem only once, and they were unable to tell what was the cause the problem. therefore, they were unable to fix the problem. the dealer said it might be a problem with the computer in the car. the dealership has been in contact with the manufacture , and they were unsure what the problem was. the dealer told the consumer to contact the manufacturer and consider this car a lemon. had not contacted the manufacturer yet, but i planned to do so. *ak

I own a ford freestyle. since the first days i drove it, i cannot see the information lighted panels on the dash when outside light is normal brightness. these lighted letter panels should be made bright enough to read at a glance, so that you do not need to take your eyes off the road for long when you need the information. other cars, in the past, and now have panels that can be read easily enough. i believe accidents are being caused by people studying these dim panels and not watching the road at a critical time. i have placed a separate compass on the dash to help myself, for example, so that i don't have to try to see the lighted compass. ford made cars in years past that had readable panels. they should do so again. the service people at ford garages can do nothing to help this condition. sincerely, *jb

I am leasing a ford freestyle. we have found that with the child lock off, that the rear passanger doors will not open unless the driver or passange unlocks the doors with the electronic switch at any time - with the mortor running, the car in park, or the motor off and the car in park. if there should be a crash or both the front dseat driver and passanger be unable to open the door, the rear seat passangers would not be able to get out. the windows are electric which with the motoor and key in off are inoperable. we have taken the car to the local ford dealer. they tell us that they are unable to do any thing about this issue. they claim to have been into the computer and can not find any way to change the way the rear doors open. this is a definite safety issue, especially in a front end or front side crash. i have sent a description of the issue to ford through their web site.

Consumer was able to pull the vehicle off the road until the local fire department arrived to extinguish the fire. vehicle was towed to the dealer, who informed the consumer that the cause of the fire was the alternator. *ak