Problems with 2005 Ford Freestyle FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE

The vehicle started surging without foot on the gas pedal. this occurs at low speeds or when stopping. have had to rapidly press the brake pedal and hold it to avoid accidents. when the surging occurs, many times the vehicle goes into fail-safe engine mode which does not allow one to shift into higher gears. this caused a problem on the interstate when caught in stop and go traffic. could not accelerate after surge-engine dying-failsafe engine mode. check engine light stays on after occurrence and failsafe engine mode was solved by pulling over, killing the motor, waiting, and then restarting. surging is causing a stress on the transmission which now appears to have slack in it. *tr

Vehicle surges in hot weather. throttle gets stuck. *tr

My complaint is about a 2005 ford freestyle that has some acceleration problems when it idle and at slow speed forward and reverse. it will accelerate it self specially when using the ac and also when the front wheels are turned. it has been going on for about a year and ford service center claims that there is nothing wrong with the vehicle. *tr

2005 ford freestyle with 64,879 miles has started to surge in and out of park and when stopping for traffic. it also surges from park when in reverse and i am going to back out of my garage. i have had this freestyle since it was new and have maintained all regular maintenance as required. i also continue to have problems with the middle passenger seat where it will not work and have had it repaired at least 4 times now. ford has not charged me for these repairs but it is very inconvenient to have this ongoing problem with my seat. my main concern is with this sudden surging especially in light of the recent problems that toyota has had with its vehicles. i would welcome your investigators to my home to experience first-hand. i have not yet contacted my local ford dealer but intend to do so this week. this problem with surging has just begun within the past 2 weeks. *tr

2005 ford freestyle surges since about 20,000 miles. now has 100,000 and surging around 5 feet, mostly in and out of parking or in stop/go traffic. my car lunged aprrox. 5 feet backwards and almost hit ladyas i was pulling out of parking space at grocery store; she screamed, jumped, and yelled at me (understandable). i would have hit her if my foot was not on the brake. no dealer could find the problem from 2006 until now, 2010. ford has offered no help or recall on this "throttle body" problem. nor did they offer any help on the poor design of the double back seat that gets stuck in the up position and will not lie down. they "negotiated" a $400 cost to fix down from $1,000, even though ford has a paper on this problem. at 99,000 miles, now the dealer reports i need new throttle body assembly; transmission pan is wet; a/c compressor leaking and needs replacing. i drove my 240 dl volvo for 10 yrs/340,000 miles. i have had all of my services and oil changes. there should be no reason this car is falling apart like this. i was a court reporter for 25 years. how can ford not be responsible for replacing parts and gratuitously doing proper service to correct their poor design, especially when it involves products liability problems for ford? will they become another toyota before taking responsibility? i have never received one piece of paper warning me about the throttle body problem, which i view as quite serious; and i know the legal outcome if someone is injured or killed. this leads me to believe that ford has a weak legal advisory committee or perhaps a legal liability dept. that may desire to know about the problems before they have to defend them in court. something does not make sense to me here. very disappointed and will not buy another ford. *tr

I have 2005 ford freestyle. the problem is that with your foot on the brake it will surge forward or reverse depending on what gear you have it in. i've researched this online and found many people with the same problem. something needs to be done before someone gets hurt or killed. *tr

I began having a problem with my freestyle surging with my foot on the brake or idling when backing out of a parking place, while stopped at a traffic light and while waiting on pedestrians to cross in front of me. it's very scary when the car starts lunging and you're afraid you're going to hurt someone. this problem first started happening in 2010. after reading about the problems with the throttle body on the internet, i took it to the shop and had them clean it. that fixed the problem until the past couple of weeks (september 2011) and now it is starting to do it again. last year i also had a problem with it bogging down on the interstate not knowing if we were going to get rear ended or not. i hope you finish your investigation soon. ford should be responsible for this problem and correct it before someone gets hurt. *tr

Vehicle ford freestyle se 2005, 45,000 miles on vehicle. purchased vehicle in may 2009. in april 2010 while reversing my car stalled and "fail safe engine mode" came on with wrench symbol. immediately turned off car, restarted car, wrench symbol was gone and fail safe engine mode was gone. a couple of days later, same thing happened when i put into reverse, fail safe engine mode came back on. after i turned car off, then back on the check engine light was on along with the symbol for emission system. took to my dealer and had them check it out. i was told the problem was a bad throttle body, cost to fix $900 parts and labor. we told them not to fix at this time and did some research. spoke to a mechanic friend and he recommended cleaning throttle body first to remove any carbon that could be causing blockage. we did that and problem went away. while doing this research found many online forums of other ford customers with same make and model that have the same issue. seems to pertain to 2005/2006 models. the problem has come back in august 2010. we are now researching buying a new throttle body and having this problem corrected. *tr

I have a 2005 ford freestyle. a few months ago i started noticing that it did not accelerate properly. i would go to pull out of an intersection and the car would sluggishly move forward which was extremely dangerous. as time went on it seemed to get worse. lately when i try to accelerate it will all of a sudden jerk forward. finally, today when i was driving down the freeway i completely lost the ability to accelrate although the engine was still running and the "fail safe engine" signal came on. i pulled off tto the side, turned the car off and restarted it which seemed to temporarily solve the problem. i got to where i was going but on the way home it seemed very jerky and unreliable. i called a local ford dealer and they told me it was probably the throttle body and to bring it in tomorrow. it seems as if this is an ongoing and extremely dangerous problem that the freestyle is having. thank god i wasn't pulling out in front of oncoming traffic when it decided to not work! i have three kids and carpool all the time. if ford doesn't do something now they will not only have parts to replace but lawsuits to settle as well when people are seriously injured or killed as a result of their inaction.

I have a 2005 ford freestyle purchased in 2009. my wife has had the car 'stall' in busy traffic 4-5 times over the past two months (feb-mar 2010). the ford dealership in waldorf maryland diagnosed the problem as a throttle body assembly needing replaced. i've consulted the internet regarding this failure and found that hundreds of ford freestyles have the same issue. my car has 105k miles on it. we bought it with 80k miles on it. please force ford to recall this car and fix this part. it is unsafe for a family style vehicle like the freestyle. ford wanted $800 to replace the part. i believe this is a travesty and is exactly why american car manufacturing is in the straits they are in. please do something for the country and force ford to be responsible. *tr

On 1/25/10 while driving car begins to studder and then shuts down. wrench light came on and was able to coast to emergency lane. unresponsive to throttling when running. eventually restarted and was able to limp home (problem occurred 2 more times before arriving home 10 miles down the road). took to dealership next day (after 4 occurrences in 3 miles). diagnostics ran, bad throttle body but none available yet. should be able to order and be in dealership in about a week. while going home from dealership, car began to surge at times and studder at others, eventually stalled and vehicle had to be turned off and restarted before throttle would respond. this is a very unsafe problem as i have been in fast moving traffic each time its happened (45-55 mph) with out 4 children in the car. i have to quickly turn on the flashers and hope to get off the road but i haven't been lucky every time, getting stuck once in the lane while going up hill and vehicle attempted to roll backwards due to loss of throttle. i do wonder how many complaints and documented problems at dealerships have to be seen before ford can issue a recall. *tw

2005 ford freestyle surges and lunges forward while foot is brake. sitting at a red light with my foot on the brakes the rpms surge and the car starts lunging forward pulling me out into the intersection. the car then shutdown for a second and went into limp home mode. luckily i was able to put the car in reverse and backup before i was hit by the oncoming traffic. took the car to the dealer and was told the throttle body assembly would have to be replaced but the part was on a 3 month back order. dealer would not advise me the car was safe to drive! *tr

Car would "surge" when shifted into reverse. had to break to stop. also, would stall out when shifted back from reverse into drive. this happened repeatedly over the course of a year. ultimately had to have entire throttle body assembly replaced to correct problem.

Fuel gauge will drop to zero and the check engine light stays on. i paid $109 for ford to tell me it will cost $500 to fix faulty fuel modules which is known by ford to be faulty in 2006. they will not fix it at there cost. *tr

My 2005 ford freestyle has a bad throttle body. see the other 1000 complains for the same problem. ford is aware that this is a major problem. ford refused to do anything. they want me to prepaid for a part that is not available. ford has no replacement parts until sometime in december. my car is unsafe to drive. it will go in fail safe mode while driving down the highway. *tr

2005 ford freestyle has a serious surging problem similar to other 2005-2007 ford freestyles. when you put the car in reverse, it revs extremely high and it is "extremely" difficult to stop. then when you put it in drive, it does the same thing going forward. sometimes it shuts off completely. ford dealers tell me the new revised "throttle body" will not be available until december and at full charge ($580). *tr

Car would hesitate when pushing on gas pedal, then suddenly catch and accelerate after some time pressing on the accelerator. had it checked previously with the suggestion to replace fuel filter. after a few months, problem got worse, another service station found the throttle body needed to be replaced, the throttle position sensor was bad. had it replaced at a cost of $672.33 parts and labor. found out this problem is shared by many ford freestyle owners, checked with local ford dealer if a recall had been done or a technical service bulletin, was told not and they would not do anything for me about it. *tr

When my wife started our 2005 ford freestyle to leave her place of employment, the engine surged in "reverse" and stalled. she restarted the engine and the car surged forward when she shifted into "drive", the "wrench light" came on "indicating engine operating in safe mode". she noted a significant loss of power and balky response. she recognized the severity of the problem and immediately drove the car to our mechanics garage. the garage in question, an independent, diagnosed the problem to be a "throttle body" issue and has determined the car is unsafe to drive as the mechanic also experienced the car surging forward. to date, the garage has been unable to locate replacement parts and i'm being told by ford customer care solution center that needed parts are on "national back-order". in the meantime, my vehicle remains undriveable and is sitting awaiting parts that may not be available for weeks or perhaps months. ford states they are unable to do anything, other than to expedite parts on an "emergency basis". i requested that ford furnish a courtesy vehicle while my car is disabled. ford refused to do so. *tr

2005 ford freestyle locked up a year ago and was told it was a throttle body assembly that needs replacing but it's on national backorder. we were told it was safe to drive but it surges some and still no part! after research, this seems to be happening to everyone. what is ford waiting for, people to die before they get this resolved????? *tr

When the vehicle was put in reverse the car would jerk and almost stall, then when shifted to drive the car would stall, when the car was shut off and the put into drive the car ran rough, i had taken it to the dealer the first time , they told me there was water in the box, i am a certified mechanic, and i never heard of this, i had taken the car back, to the dealer and they had the car for two weeks before they found out it was the throttle body, they didn't have one in stock, they searched across the country , not one to be found , they called ford motor company , they didn't have one either, they said they are trying to find someone to make the part, , it is a die cast part, then it has to be machined then fitted with the sensors, , wire ports and vacuum sockets have to be machined, they are supposed to call me sept 30, 09 to let me know the status, i have a very bad feeling about this, i can almost guarantee the part is not going to be right, as of sept 30 09 they have had my car two months, i think they are going to wait until my extended warranty expires, then the car is good for nothing but a planter in the front yard, i have terminal brain cancer and need my car to carry my wheel chair around, the dealer first gave me a focus, then a taurus, i still cant lift my wheel chair to lay it flat in the trunk, i have asked for something comparable to my 2005 ford freestyle, , which i just lift my chair strait up and put it in, but what this whole problem has created, is a serious safety problem, if this part lets go on the freeway the car will jerk the wheels will lock up and hopefully the car behind is watching , otherwise , this is going to be a serious accident. *tr

2005 ford freestyle is having the same problems toyota is having. our car started accelerating on its own. dale jarrett ford replaced the computer. and since than the problem stopped. they told us that they didn't replace the computer. but we received a card in the mail from them that our computer module is in and ready to be installed. *tr

2005 ford freestyle, we went to florida back on 07/2009 it was very hot. the car started jerking, than it accelerated on its own. than it almost stopped. than it would not go faster than 35. and than it accelerated unexpectedly which we almost ran into the back of someone. when we arrived back home to nc we took it too the ford dealer who said it was the computer module. we took it in and left it for repair. the service manager called and said that we had a walmart air filter, and it needed a ford air filter. they tried to say that was the problem. but before we got the car back, we received a post card from the dealer saying our computer module that was ordered from the dealer has arrived. so the dealer told us it was the air filter when in fact it was the computer module. we beleive the dealer replaced the computer module but told us it was the air filter to avoid a costly recall. i have found on this website that this vehicle was recalled it certain parts of the usa for this reason but not in our region. the recall was due because in warmer climates this problem may occur. all of this vehicles should be repaired, because someone with this vehicle may travel to areas that are warmer than other during business trips or vacation trips. *cn

sitting at a red light and the car lurched forward when foot was on the brake. almost got hit in the middle of an intersection. car then immediately went into failsafe mode and would not go over 30 mph. took it to dealer and was determined that throttle body assembly needed to replaced. then was told a week later that the part was backordered and would not be available for over 90 days. dealer then told me it was ok to drive. no way i'm putting my family in this car which could gas forward on it's own as it is a drive by wire system. many people reporting the same problems. ford even has a technical service bulletin issued regarding this problem--tsb 05-25-13. same problem happened to volvo's which use same parts. hopefully more reports of this will cause ford to recall the part! and also after every two fill ups the fuel level sending unit goes bad. *tr

2005 ford freestyle engine idles up by itself. almost ran into someone because of the problem, it also did it twice in which i was traveling in heavy traffic and it idled down to an almost complete stop in which we just about got ran over, the check engine light comes on. i had a mechanic to plug in a obd scanner which it displayed a code which read p061b, said internal control module calculation and performance and torque. after doing a google search, i found there are more than 1000 people with the same vehicle having the same problems. ford needs to recall these cars. nhtsa needs to contact ford about recalling such defective cars. im in the process of contacting the more than 1000 people who are having the same problems and address them too a class action lawyer. to pursue against ford, and nhtsa if they do not contact ford about a recall, also contacting my local congressman, and my local attorney generals office. *tr

2005 ford freestyle. engine stops without warning while vehicle is in motion. usually could be restarted after vehicle stops and is placed in park or neutral. *tr updated 08/19/10*bf the consumer stated the vehicle was taken back to the dealer and they replaced the catalytic converter. they also discovered a wiring harness from the engine compartment to the engine control computer had rubbed against one of the air conditioner hard lines. the friction had worn away the insulation on the harness and caused the cam position sensor signal to act erratic. according to the technician, the loss of the cam position sensor signal caused the vehicle to stutter/stall. additionally, the loss of the cps signal inhibits the firing of the spark plugs. the loss of firing signal to the spark plugs caused raw fuel to exit the engine directly to catalytic converters, damaging them permanently. the consumer stated that inserting raw fuel into an operating catalytic converter, at some temperature measured in the hundred degree celsius would be a fire hazard. updated 08/23/10 the event happens randomly. after first occurrence, vehicle was taken to ford dealership for diagnosis. result was "no fault found." no advice from dealer to remedy problem or refrain from operating the vehicle. after some number of occurrences while traveling out of town, the "check engine" light was turned on. vehicle was taken to ford dealerships. first dealership confirmed the engine shutdown symptoms and reprogrammed the engine control module. did not solve the problem. after further occurrences, vehicle was taken to a second dealership. there the technician was instructed not to turn the vehicle off when check engine light was illuminated and to read engine codes. dealer determined that throttle body assembly was defective, no spare available. vehicle failed again next day while being driven on expressway. failed to restart at all. required tow.

Car surges forward in reverse and forward at low speeds. have had several near misses in parking lots and at traffic lights. you must be ready to apply brakes very quickly at all times when traveling a low speeds. took to ford dealer they have determined it is a bad throttle body , they have informed me it is on backorder and do not know at this time when it will be in. *tr

Sitting at a red light and the car lurched forward when foot was on the brake. almost got hit in the middle of an intersection. car then immediately went into failsafe mode and would not go over 30 mph. took it to dealer and was determined that throttle body assembly needed to replaced. then was told a week later that the part was backordered and would not be available for over 90 days. dealer then told me it was ok to drive. no way i'm putting my family in this car which could gas forward on it's own as it is a drive by wire system. many people reporting the same problems. ford even has a technical service bulletin issued regarding this problem--tsb 05-25-13. same problem happened to volvo's which use same parts...go to vexedvolvo.org for more information. hopefully more reports of this will cause ford to recall the part! *tr

Normal driving. lunges forward and in reverse. replaced throttle body at my expense ($800.00). *tr

Freestyle loses power while driving on interstate, engine failsafe mode is displayed on dash, will not go over 25 mph. nearly taken out by a semi truck when try to make it to shoulder. shut car off, restarted and it appears to work normally. take it to mechanic who diagnoses a bad throttle position sensor (tps). had mechanic clean the tps, but problem occurred again soon after. took it to another mechanic for replacement of tps and found out part is on national backorder because manufacturer of the part is bankrupt. ford is now re-engineering the part and it is due to arrive in late september, 2009. have ordered the part twice, both times ford has cancelled the order. the typical reason is we did not take it to an authorized ford dealer for the repair. the closest dealer is an hour away on the interstate and we do not feel safe driving at highway speeds and cannot afford the towing charges, especially to have it sit on their lot while we wait for the part to be built sometime in september. we are able to drive for short distances on city streets with speed limits of 30 mph or less. car goes into engine failsafe mode quite regularly, approximately 80% of the time. simply want ford to supply a car for us to use until the freestyle is safely drivable with a tps that will work 100% of the time. we have not been able to use the car for normal driving since june, when school let out. very disappointed in the responses from ford customer service. do the right thing and get this problematic tps fixed as a recall item. in the meantime, give us a chevy or toyota to drive so we can take our kids to school now that it is back in session. *tr

Approx. 4 weeks ago my vehicle began surge on rpms, about 3 to 4000, while my foot was on the brake. it lunged backwards while in a parking lot and came approx. 5 feet from a pedestrian. then the entire vehicle shut down. it then had a failsafe engine mode and check engine light on the dash. we took it to the ford dealership and was told that the issue had been fixed. however 2 days later it does the same thing while in a fast food drive-through, except this time it surged and lunged forward while my foot was on the brake. i had to apply both feet to the brake and it continued to try to drive forward while cars were in front of me. we took it back to the ford dealership and this time we were told that the throttle body needs to be replaced. after having my vehicle for 10 days i was notified that the part is on backorder and is unavailable to be fixed until november of 2009. i was also told to come pick up my car because it is safe to drive. however while backing out of my driveway later on the same day, it surges in rpms and lunges backwards. i don't understand how ford can say that it is safe to drive.

2005 ford freestyle, car has unexpected acceleration when placing car in reverse and/or drive. car inspected at ford garage. nothing reported. *tr

On may 2009, the car stalled while driving after hitting a bad pot hole. car would not restart. on july 1, 2009 the car would not start after being turned off for a brief time. mechanic said it was the same problem as before and said it appeared to be a problem with an oversensitive fuel shut off valve. whenever we hit a bump now, the car threatens to stall and then surges. it is an ongoing problem. it stalled recently, in august 2010, when backing up very slowly, but restarted. the car does not feel reliable. also, when the car is parked on an incline and it rains, the back of the car is flooded due to a problem with the drainage around the moon roof. this has led to rusting in the spare tire area, which we were told is a safety hazard. *tr

2005 ford freestyle surges. if brakes are not immediately applied, the vehicle will hit the care in front. this occurs while stopped and waiting for traffic or traffic signal. this has been happening off and on for the last two years. *tr

Fuel level sending unit fails every 2 fill ups. *tr

I filled up my gas tank on november 6, 2008. thirty minutes later, while driving, my gas gauge dropped to empty and the fuel warning light came on. i was so frightened by this, so i do not know if anything else on the instrument panel was affected. my son was screaming at me to pull over and stop, but there was nowhere to stop. on november 7, i took my vehicle to the dealership to explain the problem. i have owned my freestyle for 3 years and 4 months. it only has 28,405 miles on it. i also have the new basecare extended warranty. they charged me $94.00 for the diagnostics. i was told the fuel sensor is bad. it will cost $400.00 to replace it, and the extended warranty does not cover it. i had to refuse this costly job. i am troubled that the freestyle has a defective fuel sensor, and even more upset that the extended warranty is useless. *tr

Sometimes when i put the car in reverse or drive and i take my foot off the brake and the car will lunge forward or backwards without even touching the gas. this has happened on several occasions. it is uncontrollable and someone can get hurt. i took it to the ford dealership the first time it happened and they said they didn't find any problems. this problem has been going on for years. now, in addition to the original problem, the car will just lose power while i am driving down the road and i have to hope to find a safe place to get off the road. i have to turn the truck off and then try restarting a few times to get it going again. these are continuing problems for myself and many other owners of this vehicle and ford is doing nothing about it.

2005 ford freestyle, twice failed to accelerate as merging into traffic, warning lights came on, indicating immediate need for diagnostics-taken to dealer-failure of electronic throttle body assembly-none available until nov. of this year, told to just take vehicle home and try to drive it-even though unsafe due to unpredictable nature of failure of ability to accelerate. *tr

My 2005 ford freestyle, 54k miles, would intermittently surge or hesitate when pressing the accelerator. this weekend the car would go into fail safe mode and shut down, when starting from a stop or slowing to a stop. the dealer has replace the throttle body today and i posted a note on the freestyle forum to warn others about this potentially dangerous situation. i was contacted by don willson, of the vexed volvos.org about this same issue in volvos!!!! i was told that the engine in my ford was designed by volvo. it appears that they are still have the same issue with faulty throttle bodies that tell the car to shut down. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2005 ford freestyle. when attempting to start the vehicle, it would sporadically fail to start. the vehicle was towed to a local repair shop and the technician stated that the fuel pump was the cause of the failure. the manufacturer would not assume responsibility because the vin was excluded from nhtsa campaign id number 05v515000 (fuel system, gasoline:storage:tank assembly:mounting). in addition, the representative added that the parts were on back order so they were unable to replace the component. the vehicle has not been properly repaired. the failure mileage was 49,500 and current mileage was 55,000.

I first noticed a surge in the car just as it was out of warranty. the problem has gotten progressively worse with time. whenever the car comes to a stop (e.g. in a parking spot) the car surges in the direction the transmission is selected. additional brake pressure is immediately required to keep the vehicle from moving forward. likewise... when first selecting reverse from a stopped position the vehicle surges drastically which also requires prompt additional braking to keep the vehicle under control. the vehicle has always been well maintained by the dealer. the surging may be coming from an issue within the function of the throttle body, but not 100% sure of that. the addition of fuel cleaners seems to help, but only a little... and then only temporarily. symptoms occur year round, but seem to be worsened by high ambient temperatures. the vehicle is a threat to safety in it's design and should be recalled.

Accelerating on it's own and lunges forward with foot on brake. vehicle tries to lunge mostly when going in reverse. this has been happening off and on for over the past 3 years and has gotten worse in the past months. also, while driving on the highway, the car sputters and goes into failsafe engine mode, the car must be restarted in order to have acceleration resume. holding off on replacing the throttle body due to high cost. *tr

2005 ford freestyle sudden accelerations and motor revs while at slow speed or at a full stop. motor revs and then stalls also the car goes into "safe" mode. i have owned the car since new 9/05 and every summer we go through this the problem has be mis-diagnosed by ford dealers several times capitol ford in san jose ca, has put a "patch" in computer, litha ford in fresno, replaced m.a.f sensor, and future ford in clovis blamed incorrect air box installation after the car was serviced and air filter replaced. each warm season the car does this. drove the car 2 miles from future ford only to have it repeat the same problem we came in with. *tr

Dt: the contact states there is nhtsa recall campaign 05v515000 concerning the fuel system. the parts needed to repair the vehicle are not available at the local dealership. she spoke to the manufacturer, who confirmed the parts were not available. *ak

Dt*: the contact stated a recall letter was received in december 2005. the nhtsa recall, #05v515000 was regarding the fuel system, gasoline: storage: tank assembly: mounting. the parts needed to repair the vehicle were not available at the local dealership. the vehicle has not been experiencing problems related to the recall however the contact expressed that the recall is a safety issue and needs to be addressed. the manufacturer has not been notified.

Dt: on june 24, 2005 consumer was driving when gas gauge went from almost full to empty. consumer stopped at gas station, and the vehicle only took a couple dollars of gas. consumer then drove down a mountain to get to ford dealer and fuel gauge went to empty again. consumer continued to the dealer, who told consumer that the fuel pump was not working properly. dealer replaced fuel pump. but it still did not work properly. when vehicle attempted pull out it hesitated for a while before taking off. consumer stated that ford gave her an extra mileage warranty, extending it to 75,000 miles. consumer picked car up on july 8, 2005, and there was still a problem will fuel gauge until july 10, 2005. consumer said that after fueling vehicle she noticed that gauge did not work. vehicle did not accelerate. she assumed that the fuel pump was defective again.*ak