Problems with 2005 Ford Freestyle POWER TRAIN

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

Riding down road and car started lunging and trying to go on its own. then transaxle light came on. car would then only go 40mph but it would rev up and tac at 5 or more. took it to americus sunbelt ford, they said it needed transaxle fluid and put some in. light went off and it worked. very dangerous to be in road and car won't go fast enough to get out of the way. the a/c quit right after this. had a/c fixed and it was ok. next the throttle body in june 2012 messed up and i had it fixed at sunbelt ford and they charged me almost $900. ran for a while then ford had a recall on throttle body and i took it in and they cleaned it but would not reimburse me for what i paid to get fixed. may 2014 a/c compressor went out again got it fixed and on july 13, 2014 in atlanta ga on interstate 85 around norcross with the traffic flying 75 80 mph by me jerking along at 40mph and the transaxle light came on. it was extremely scary since i had my child and husband with me when this happened and we were not at an exit to get off but when we limped to one i turned into a parking lot and it quit going up the small hill. it would not go forward or backward therefore we were in harms way again. with the help of strangers we pushed it to safety. i had to have it towed 169 miles back to my home and the mechanic says that it is full of transmission fluid but it will not go. this is a safety hazard and an accident waiting to happen. ford should have to take these cars off the road and pay me for all the repairs and a car that won't go. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 ford freestyle. the contact stated that while attempting to accelerate after shifting from park to drive, the vehicle lunged forward abnormally. the contact mentioned that the failure recurred several times and the vehicle would sporadically stall immediately after the failure. the vehicle was taken to the dealer who was unable to diagnose the failure. the manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was 45,000 and the current mileage was 100,000.

Sitting at stop light, engine surges and lurches into "fail safe" mode. car slips out of gear into neutral, and limps to a stop. has occured multiple times, especially in the heat of summer. taken car into multiple shops, have never received consistent answer. answers range from transmission failure to a bad computer, or a sensor.

Car lunges in forward or reverse. usually in hot weather. idles low and stalled a few time. if it does not stall it is sluggish and no power. please lets have some service after the sale. *tr

Car sometimes feels like it is accelerating, or bucking, when the brake is on or slowing down such as pulling into a parking space or pulling up to a stop sign or traffic light. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2005 ford freestyle. the contact stated that the automatic transmission would suddenly go into safe mode which caused the vehicle to stall and lose power when he was driving. the failure occurred between speeds of 55 mph and 65 mph. the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealership where the dealer added transmission fluid. the failure occurred again however. the contact called the manufacturer who stated that the contact would be responsible for the repair costs associated with replacing the transmission. the current and failure mileages were approximately 64,000.

Loud noises coming from car, engine, transmission days prior to driving to work. driving to work car turns off and comes to stop in the middle of busy intersection. can start car but can't move it. car does not move forward or backward. having car looked at by dealer. reading message boards and finding out that there are many, no wait lots of other people experiencing the same thing. people being told to replace transmissions only to have them repeatedly break multiple times. make: ford model: freestyle transmission: cvt. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 ford freestyle. the contact stated that when shifting into reverse, the vehicle would lunge backward with the illumination of the fail safe mode error message. the vehicle would then stall. the vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that the throttle body was defective and needed to be replaced. the manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. the vehicle was repaired. the failure mileage was 43,824 and the current mileage was 60,100. this would also happen when stopped at a stop sign or light. although lunging forward. updated 09/29/2011 *ln *tr

Ford freestyle 2005 when put in reverse the car will jerk/throw you back and stall. a failsafe warning come on and the car shuts down. this has happened twice since may 11th after i had a car accident. i was told it was the throttle body and it wasn't covered under my extended warranty or insurance due to the accident. was told by two ford service managers they have never seen that before. then i find online the thousand of other ford freestyle owners that have the same problem. this should be a recall. *tr

Car experiences sudden surges and acceleration when idling (in forward or reverse), and will suddenly drop into failsafe mode at highway speed, requiring turning off the car and restarting in order to drive at speed. car drops into failsafe and will not reset - check engine light remains on. have replaced and cleaned air filter, air intake, maf sensor. suspect throttle body replacement needed, but the only manufacturer of ford throttle bodies has gone out of business and ford has failed to identify or provide replacement parts. *tr

The day i bought me car there was problems. the front passenger side was soak with water ands the dealerships response was to use the heating system to dry it. the car had a high pitch noise and the gears seemed to be tight. if my foot was not on the brake even on an up hill climb the car would roll forward. when i accelerate it revs very high and did not drop much and when you take your foot off the gas it plummets. at about odometer 129689 my car started to sound like a mack truck and it increase it noise level. i was told i need to replace the transmission and it is a special transmission...one of a kind so a used one will run about 2500, a brand new one from ford will cost around $5k and that does not include labor. also to rebuild the one you have will cost you because they have to buy another use transmission from another freestyle and then combine the 2. my odometer is at 136701 today my car is still running somewhat but any day it will explode and die. trust me ford is well aware of the problem(s) and will not recall the part(s) unless someone gets hurt or is killed. i will never buy another ford! they have lost me as a supporter! they only make junk cars or lemons. i wish i realized at the time of purchase that it was a lemon and transmission was already bad. the ford dealership knew and sold it to me with a smile. i had them fix one thing and they said they will fix that part and there was nothing else? why would they sell a damage car? if you have a freestyle get rid of it if you can!!!! ford does not take pride in their workmanship nor stand behind their product. *tr

My 2005 ford freestyle seems to have issues at the initial start position. in the "park" position the car will rev without compressing the gas petal, it then lunges forward as you are attempting to put the car in either forward or reverse. it shudders and shakes, causing the engine to shut down completely and operate is the "safe" mode. the check engine light usually comes on. the vehicle had been seen on 3 different occasions ranging from april of 2010 to july 2010, each time the symptoms became worse, at one point while waiting at a red light just before entering the on-ramp to the highway, it stuttered, revved high and lunged into oncoming traffic, embarrassed, i continued to proceed forward to the on-ramp when the car suddenly shut down completely causing the 4 vehicles behind me to break hard, again almost causing another accident, i drove it directly to the dealer. the dealer did work on the vehicle and thought to have solved the issue. the issues started to occur in the winter and early spring before the usage of the a/c and became progressively worse as the summer months approached and the a/c full was in usage. it has been a almost 2 years since i have needed to report anything to the dealer. the fix did appear to lessen the intensity of the issue, but did not fix it entirely. it has continued to act up, but is back to the same intensity as the summer of 2010. the engine surged 3 times in an hour period last week and shut the engine down twice. when i called the dealer to report it, they told me that it would be considered a new issue since it has been almost 2 years since they had worked on the car for the same issue. they may have cleaned the throttle body in 2010, which reduced the surging intensity, but it did not solve the problem. is ford waiting for a major accident, fire or death to occur before this problem is resolved or replaced?! *js

The car started showing hesitation when accelerating and making a strange noise early in 2010. this condition got progressively worse until one day, while driving on the freeway, the engine would not respond to the gas pedal being depressed, the wrench light came on, and i was forced to coast to the side of the road. i turned the car off for a few minutes and when i attempted to restart it, the gas pedal seemed to be working again. took the car to jones ford the next day and they told me the throttle body was bad and replaced it to the tune of $638.97. date of service was april 1, 2020. mileage at time of failure was 61,540 everything seemed fine for a few months but i started noticing the hesitation on acceleration again. took it to summerville ford on july 21, 2010. i didn't wait for a complete failure since it was extremely dangerous to lose power on the freeway with a whole car load of kids! jones ford said the throttle body was bad again and replaced it under warranty this time. checked for codes and got code #u0141. mileage at time of replacement was 65,207. within the last couple of weeks i have noticed similar conditions to the last two times the throttle body failed. yesterday i was parking and the car surged forward as i let my foot of the brake, almost causing me to hit the car in the spot in front of me. i have no choice but to keep driving it until something is done by ford about this dangerous condition. i was also told that the motor mount needs to be replaced. i also have replaced the 2/3 row seat pivot once during warranty but it failed again in 2010 and i haven't been able to afford to replace it. the a/c compressor stopped working this summer. still not fixed. i have replaced my tires twice in seven years. i have replaced both sets of brakes. ford needs to address these common failures. before someone gets hurt! *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2005 ford freestyle. the contact stated that at 60,000 miles, the oil pump and supply tube were replaced. then at 83,000 miles the side shaft gear began to malfunction. the contact felt that the failure was due to the lack of lubricant the oil pump received when it was replaced. the dealer advised the contact that the two failures were not related and the shaft gear would have to be repaired at his expense. furthermore, the contact stated that the transmission slipped and he was concerned that the vehicle might stall while he was driving. the failure mileage was approximately 82,500. the current mileage was approximately 83,000.

When vehicle is complete stopped with brake applied, the vehicle will lunge forward. this happened numerous times during my two years of driving this vehicle until the transmission went completely out. several times i barely missed hitting the car in front of me. luckily i never pull up real close. ford is now 90 days out on getting a new transmission and the cost to replace it is more than the vehicle is worth. *tr

2005 ford freestyle consistently surges both in drive or reverse. it is completely unexpected and is difficult to control when occurs. it can happen at a dead stop or when car is in motion. this is a safety hazard for driver, passenger and any one around car when this happens. it lurches forward or back as if it had a mind of its own. i have had the car surge forward in a parking lot with people around me who feel threatened by my car's actions. we feel ford should address this issue since we are aware of many, many others who are experiencing this problem. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2005 ford freestyle. the contact stated that the vehicles rpms decreased while the vehicle was in the drive position, it surged, jolted forward and then backwards. a local mechanic stated that the transmission needed to be replaced. the contact also took the vehicle to the dealer who confirmed that the transmission needed to be replaced. the contact attempted to file a complaint with the ford manufacturer but he was told to take the vehicle to the dealer first. the vin was unknown. the failure mileage was 77,000.

Purchased a 2005 ford freestyle brand new, after 34,000 miles the transmission went, luckily it was under warranty, another 30,000 miles later the transmission has gone again; as i was pulling out onto a highway! this technically will be the 3rd transmission in this vehicle. i have kept maintenance with this vehicle, had everything done at the dealership i purchased the vehicle, i had just had my 65,000/70,000 mile check and was told the car had nothing wrong with it, and 10,000 miles later the transmission is gone again! now they want me to pay $3000 to have it fixed again! this is more then just fix the vehicle and be done with it, who is to say it is not going to happen again and next time myself or my family will not be so lucky! this is a safety issue, when you are trying to pull out on a highway an your vehicle just creeps out. need i say anymore, there should be a recall on these transmissions. people pay alot of money to have a decent vehicle we should not be paying alot of money for a vehicle that is not going to make us feel safe! please note the original problem happened at only 34,000 miles. i was also asked about the speed, i had my foot all the way to the floor to pull out on highway and the vehicle would not hit any speed, but when it crept out it reach a speed of 30. thank you for your time and consideration in this matter. *tr

I bought my 2005 ford freestyle brand new and my cvt transmission went out when my car had only about 70,000 miles on it and i also had my throttle body replaced as well. i was driving on the free way when without any warning my car just died out causing me to panic and almost getting into a car accident. luckily that didn't happen. i brought it to the dealership 3 times and they couldn't find the problem causing me to not feel very secure about the car i bought. finally they found the problem and fixed it by putting on a new throttle body and a new transmission. now my car has 130,000 miles and it is starting to surge and make a helicopter type noise, and i took it to a mechanic and he says its my throttle body and my transmission again. the shop wants to charge me six thousand dollars to fix which i cant afford and i am gonna have to try to trade it in but dealerships don't want to give me anything for it because of its bad history of such a pricey repair. thanks *tr

Cvt transmission for 2005 ford freestyle had catastrophic failure at 65,000 miles. transmission fluid was fine and checked at 61,000. the failure included pieces of the transmission piercing the outer casing and depositing metal parts on the driveway along with a great deal of fluid. the vehicle did not show any indications (lights, shifting or anything else) that the transmission was in jeopardy. my worry would be for others is that if the core of the transmission pierced the case it could have entered the passenger cabin. *tr

I was leaving a parking lot, after stopping, to enter a two lane street with traffic both ways. somehow the cvt transmission seemed to remain in high gear. i crept out into traffic at a slow crawl with horns honking and tires screeching. i was luck it is a small town and i wasn't hit. *tr

Many times when i put the car in gear, whether it's forward or reverse, the car surges. i have almost gotten into accidents because of it. stepping on the brakes helps but doesn't completely stop the initial surge. *tr

Ford freestyle 2005 limited edition throttle body needed replacement however part was back ordered for 6 months and now they don't have the right part. i had a heated throttle body that i paid for on the car and now they are switching it to a non heated. so if i go to the snow im sol. *tr

2005 ford freestyle 3.0 liter v6. uncommanded high revs which can launch the car unexpectedly if one does not have their foot firmly on the brake. problem in linked to the autothrottle body. also activates engine light. part on order, however ford has pushed back the date of supply of part several times. i believe that the part should be recalled for safety reasons due to the possibility of accident by the car's uncommanded high revolutions and the possibility of the car lurching forward or back and impacting an object. *tr

There were no real events leading up to the failure, it just happened all of a sudden out of the blue. i was pulling out of the elementary school w/ my 2 children, and 3 other small children. i pulled out and when i pressed the gas it went and then started jumping and stalling in the middle of the road. i finally got it to go, but was almost hit by oncoming traffic. i took it to the local dealership and they listed it as a throttle body failure and that it needed to be replaced. this part is on a national backorder and they made me drive the vehicle home and did not offer me a rental car. it has been 6 days and i still have atleast 2 more before i find out if i will get a rental car. if i drive the car, i put my children and others at risk, and i definitely am very upset b/c i am still paying on this car, and i'm stuck with payments and no car. this is a huge safety issue and nothing is being done about it!!!!! *tr

05 ford freestyle shutting off, surging while in park, decreased power while driving, check engine light coming on, air bag light coming on, leaching and surging while driving. occurs every day at various times while driving. waited 7 months for a replacement throttle body ($600), did not resolve issue, paid $500 for new instrument cluster, problem still exists. *tr

Was maneuvering vehicle in a parking lot when all of a sudden the car surged forward. was able to apply brake before hitting anything. car engine also stalls and upon restart a check engine light came on and car did not want to accelerate. this has happened more than once. took to local ford dealership and was told that the electronic throttle body needed replacing. was told the part was not available until possibly in december. after reviewing complaints on the web, this seems to be a large problem with this vehicle. this is a serious safety issue with the car wanting to surge forward. *tr

Unexpected transmission failure in brisk traffic. no warning lights issued on the dash until failure, dealer saw no codes on the computer. *tr

My ford freestyle surges forward when put i put it in drive from park. it will also surge backwards when the car is put in reverse from the park position. sometimes it will even surge forward in the drive position if i have been sitting at a stoplight idling for too long. on occasion after this occurs the car will stall. sometimes when the car is started again, it acts like it will work fine but then will not drive over 40 mph. this forward surge is so powerful when it occurs that it will jump forward even when my foot is on the brake. it primarily happens after the car has been parked in a parking lot but also occurs while idling at a stop light. when the car jerks forward like this even with the foot on the brake i feel this is a safety hazard. i have read about this happening on the ford freestyle alot. i am concerned that my car will surge into an intersection and i will be in an accident. i am also concerned that i will run over a pedestrian in a parking lot because of this problem. ford says it is the throttle body assembly. the part is on national backorder. according to some accounts i have read this has been on backorder since last year! they know this is a problem yet they keep sending people home from dealerships with these defective dangerous cars. when i called ford customer service to complain they pretended like they were not aware of the problem, but i have seen pages and pages of consumer complaints about this dangerous situation. i am afraid they won't consider this important or dangerous enough to recall until someone is seriously injured or worse. this failure occurs every time i drive the car. the car has been taken to the dealership but no part was available to fix the car. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 ford freestyle. the contact was stopped at a traffic stop with the air conditioner activated when there was an abnormal increase in engine rpms. the consumer attempted to accelerate but the contact applied the brakes to avoid crashing into the vehicle ahead of her. the vehicle then stalled. the contact was able to immediately restart the vehicle and shut off the air conditioner. the dealer advised having a diagnostic performed on the vehicle but the contact declined. the failure recurred twice followed by the illumination of the check engine, check transmission and throttle control warning lights illuminated. each time, the contact would shut off the engine and when restarting, the vehicle would resume normal operation. in addition, the cruise control was no longer operable. the manufacturer advised that there were no related recalls and would not provide any assistance. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was approximately 60,000 and the current mileage was approximately 83,000. updated 10/21/10. lj the vehicle was diagnosed as having internal failure in the transmisson. updated 10/26/10

-component- throttle body!!!!! the car move up half a foot forward with out me doing anything and back as well? *tr

My family and i were on a summer vacation traveling on the interstate at about 70 mph. my van was set on cruise control. all of a sudden, the motor revved up extremely high and i tapped the brakes which disconnected the cruise control. i then stepped on the accelerator and the engine just revved up like it was in neutral but it was still in drive. i coasted to a stop along side the road. i tried reverse and drive and nothing. so i put it in park which did stop the car from rolling and waited for a tow. $3041.11 and 3 days later, i had a another transmission installed and headed home. *tr

2005 ford freestyle surging while in gear. has been happening for over a year and has been to the dealer for repairs but never fixed. dealer now tells me that it needs a throttle body but he is not able to get one from ford as they are back ordered. now i'm forced to use a car which the dealer service manager said was dangerous. i can no longer afford to rent and my ford esp won't reimburse until the repair is completed. *tr

Problem started about 2 yrs after buying vehicle used. wife shifted into reverse to back out of parking spot and vehicle attempted to move backwards fast. wife had to basically stand on brake to get it to stop. vehicle cut off and went into"fail-safe" mode. it scared her the first time it happened, but she learned quickly to expect it especially if it is very warm outside or a/c is running. it happened to her several more times then it happened to me(i rarely drive the car). the engine seems to rpm up and then there is a lurch -happens most often in reverse, even with your foot on the brake. brake must be pressed hard. my wife estimates it happens about 5% of the time. other than that has been a great car, very comfortable and roomy

The vehicle lurches after sitting in park. it happens in reverse and drive. the vehicle seems to be okay in the colder months, but when the heat/humidity hit the car begins to lurch uncontrollably. a few times it has gone into fail safe mode and i've had to restart it. this is extremely dangerous in parking lots and around pedestrians. *tr

I have a 2005 ford freestyle with a cvt transmission. the car did not show any previous signs of problems or engine indicator lights. in may of 2009 the car had approximately 42,000 miles on it. i was driving approximately 30 mph when the transmission "slipped a rod" causing the transmission to explode leaving pieces of the transmission on the road way. during the explosion, pieces from the transmission damaged other parts of the engine. a new transmission was required. *tr

My vehicle will jump ahead at different times. most of the time it is when you put the car in gear. it lunges very quickly so you have to be aware if it at all times. the first time it happened it took me by surprise it jumped ahead so quickly. i have noticed lately when the air conditioning is in use it will jump/lunge ahead numerous times. *kb

Ctv transmission in '05 ford freestyle models have been trouble since the day they were put on the market. what the dealers didn't divulge is that you are not likely to replace parts of this type of transmission, rather you need to replace the whole thing. the situations that arise, outside of being stranded, is that the engine is not reliable. it can make the car jerk, hesitate, jump forward and backward and some cases, the transmission pretty much disintegrated on the ground. there are many complaints about this abuse that ford has bestowed on it's customers. *tr

Previous issue that i had fixed at the ford dealer with my freestyle. vehicle would lunge as noted in your investigation. i contacted ford and they stated that there was no recall at the time and apologized for the issue but noted it in the records for my 2005 freestyle. i had the throttle body replaced and it fixed the issue, however, ford did not pay for any of t he repairs. repair was done at dovi ford dealership in cortland, ny. *tr

Component: power train:automatic transmission details: 2005 ford freestyle - i have had my vehicle back to the dealer 5 times for this issue, when moving from reverse to drive, the wrench light on the dash comes on and when pressing on the gas, the car does not move. finally, after "flooring it", the car moved slowly until approximately 20 mph. the problem seems to occur approximately every 6 months or 8000-10000 miles. ford has changed the same parts every time and the problem still recurs. it is in the shop for over 2 weeks again. i have an extended warranty but ford refuses to change out the transmission, only replace the same parts every time. i'm bewildered and disappointed in fords corporate customer service and the inability to fix the problem. *tr

We get a "awd malfunction" showing up on the dash. they want over $5,000 for the repair. the car is only 4 years old and value is only about $11,000. as i read online, there could be more wrong past this because some have the same issue and next the transmission has to get replaced also. so the fist "fix" cost us $500+ and then they said it would be another $5,000+. *tr

Transmission failure at 27k miles. i was driving at 40 mph. i accelerated slightly to maintain my speed up a slight grade. i heard a clunk from the transmission area under the dash and then the car lost all acceleration. i had enough speed to coast to a church parking lot where i parked. the engine was idling normally, but the engine would not rev higher when i stepped on the accelerator. the check engine light and check transmission indicator were displayed. i turned the engine off and then restarted it. it idled normally but i still couldn't rev the engine in park or neutral. the car would not move in drive or reverse. the check engine light and check transmission indicator were still displayed. i had the car towed to the ford dealership where i purchased it. the dealership replaced the transmission, clutch, and axle at a cost of $5885. the car is over 3 years old and out of warranty so i was liable for this cost. neither ford nor the dealer would assume any liability for this defective transmission. twice i complained to the dealer, while the car was under warranty, that the car was making a whining sound as i accelerated and the noise grew louder as the speed increased. he couldn't hear anything, either time. i have the work orders to prove it. i assumed it was probably road noise due to tire wear. the whining sound has disappeared since the new transmission was installed. *tr

I was driving down 2 lane road at approx. 40mph with my 7yr old daughter. the van suddenly went into neutral, there was no warning lights, noises etc. i was able to coast into parking lot, the van was running but would not go into any gear. was towed to my home and called ford dealership and was told that this is an ongoing problem with this van and probable need new transmission. quoted at approx $1,600.00-2,000.00. *tr

When driving my 2005 freestyle i lost all power while going 70mph and was able to pull it off the road after almost being hit from behind by a semi truck. turned key to off position and restarted and everything was fine. did the same thing a week later. took to dealer and they could not find anything wrong. was told it most likely was a bad "throttle body", but they could do nothing until it did it for them. has happened two more times since. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2005 ford freestyle. the contact stated that the vehicle would lunge forward when she attempted to slow down or stop. the problem became progressively worse since september 2008. the vehicle had not been inspected or repaired at the time of the complaint. the contact had not spoken with the manufacturer at the time of the complaint. the current mileage was approximately 70,000. the failure mileage was approximately 65,000.

While driving car gives a series of kicks, loss of power and car enters limp mode, message states failsafe mode. once you are able to get off the road and safely pull over normal reset by turning car off and turning back on and car is once again mobile under normal drive mode. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 ford freestyle. the contact stated that when shifting from park to drive or braking to a stop, the vehicle would intermittently lunge forward. in addition, the vehicle would lose power sporadically and would engage the safe mode. the dealer advised that the transmission would need replacing. the vehicle was not repaired. the vin was not available. the failure mileage was 45,000.

While driving with my 2 children in the car, the "throttle body" went, leaving me with no power to my vehicle. we were very lucky to not have been injured or involved in an accident. the vehicle was taken the next day to the repair shop and was fixed in 2 days, with a new "electronic throttle body" being installed. according to both the ford website and customer service representative, there is no recall on this vehicle for this problem. is there anything you can do as this is a definite safety issue?? *tr

The car was put into reverse, then it with my foot still on the brake, it attempted to throttle backwards. i applied more pressure to the brake and then the car stalled. i thought this was a fluke but this same thing has happened more than once now. this issue has happened now at least 4 times. biggest problem is determining the problem. when i restart the car the engine light that was on when the car stalled has now been cleared. i am attempting to capture the code so that i can get that information to the dealership, so that this issue can be fixed. until then the dealership can not do much. according to other experiencing the same issue it is the throttle body assy. http://www.myfordfreestyle.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=2354 http://www.myfordfreestyle.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=2197. *tr