Problems with 2005 Ford Freestyle ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

I went in to my local mechanic for tire rotation and we discovered that the motor cradle was rusting out with a big hole in the cradle frame. *tr

When at a stop, our car lunges when you press on the gas pedal, forward or reverse. there is a hesitation after pushing on the pedal than it leaps forward or reverse. i was told from a dealer that it needed the throttle body cleaned and was told the same from a transmission shop. the transmission shop informed me of some problems ford was having with this transmission. i looked it up on line and seen many complaints. i cleaned it and it seemed to fix the problem. a couple of months ago, it started the lunging again. this morning, the car shuttered and stopped and several lights on the dash lit up, wrench, motor. the car wouldn't move, it wouldn't even rev up. it stranded my wife on the side of the road. i came to meet her and had it towed to our house. i cleaned the throttle body again. when i got in to try it, all the lights were no longer there but it still lunges. very afraid to let my wife drive it again with the possibility of being stranded.

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 ford freestyle. while at a stop with the brakes applied, the contact noticed that the vehicle had suddenly surged forward without warning. the following day, the contact was at a stop and shifted the vehicle into reverse and noticed that the vehicle had suddenly stalled without warning. the failure had not been diagnosed and had not been repaired. the vin was not available. the failure and current mileages were 134,000.

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 ford freestyle. while driving at any speed or while stopped, the contact noticed that the vehicle would suddenly accelerate followed by stalling. the vehicle was not diagnosed and no repairs were made to the vehicle. the current and the failure mileages were 129,956.

While stationary in my 2005 ford freestyle in the left turn lane at a red light, the engine suddenly accelerated moving the car forward approximately five feet into the intersection before it could be stopped. at the time of this occurrence, my foot was already on the brake and only by stomping harder on the brakes was i able to stop the car's forward travel into cross traffic that was traveling at over 40mph. the car then died and a warning came up on the information display on the dash panel stating "engine failsafe mode". i turned off the ignition and tried to start the car again. the car started, but still displayed the "engine failsafe mode" warning and when we were attempting to return home, the vehicle would not shift out of first gear or allow us to accelerate over 30mph. this incident took place at 9:35pm on january the 20th 2012. it was raining and the ac heat was on. *tr

Cvt transmission failed for the second time while driving. vehicle lurched and the wrench light came on, front end shuddered. restarted the vehicle and it would drive, but would only achieve 20 mph with very high rpms. dealer says transmission will have to be replaced. as i understand reading the numerous complaints, they don't make this unit anymore. i am faced with a vehicle that i can't drive. please do something. *kb

On tuesday, our car lost engine power in traffic. the check engine light came on and "engine in failsafe mode" appeared on the dash. she turned the car off and on, and it worked fine. she checked online and found identical problems, and solutions in turning the car off and on. i checked online, found identical failures, a longstanding shortage of throttle parts, presumed a defect in the throttle control, found no fhtsa recalls, but discovered surging documented in pe11-018 (opened may 11, 2011). our car has also had high rpm surges, occurring infrequently, but usually when the engine is cold. our au pair experienced surging 2 weeks earlier when she backed out of a garage parking lot and bumped another car. below are representative websites that document 21 instances of sudden power loss and engine warning "failsafe mode" in the ford freestyle described as sudden stalling, car going to idle, engine dying, running limp, and going into "neutral." my wife's experience is consistent with these descriptions. also, many complaints report surges (pe11-018) and loss of power in the same vehicle complaint, also consistent with our experience: http://www.myfordfreestyle.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=2197&sid=78cbeb4f4aaa7dd9c571f0cf9c804d74&start=0 ...

Car wont accelerate from a stop and will surge from a stop and when backing up. took it to mccarthy ford in chicago where they informed me it was the mass flow sensor, six days later i'm having same problem and now being told it's the throttle body. *tr

On the date noted, i was stopped at a traffic light with my foot on the brake when the car suddenly lurched forward (maybe 6-9 inches). i turned the corner to enter a parking garage and while stopped with my foot on the brake, the car lurched forward again, this time the car stalled. i restarted it pulled forward to the garage gate and stopped. it lurched a third time, stalling again and then the service engine light came on. i can best describe it as though i released the clutch (on a manual shift car) with my foot on the brake and not the accelerator. in such a situation, the car will lurch and stall. however this is an automatic and the reason the clutch would engage is from acceleration. i recall the motor revving up prior to the lurch which would explain the event. the ford dealership finally narrowed the problem to the throttle body and the electronics attached to it and required replacement ($700+). i would say this event occurred at least 6 times in the past year, always while the car was stopped but never 3 times ...

My ford freestyle 2005 has been lunging for months. i purchased this vehicle used from a private party. of course if the previous owner had any issues he did not share them with me.the vehicle did have some minor dings which he claimed occurred when he backed into a fence.he had been having some severe medical problems so i am wondering did he just think it was his fault, not realizing the car had lunged. i see a lot of other people on the internet are having the same problems. when are you going to recall this vehicle? it is very scary and does it in forward and reverse. i have been afraid to park in any tight spaces where it may lung and cause a accident or injure someone.i have a handicap parking tag but have been leary of parking in those spaces should this happen. also the air conditioning only operates when the vehicle is accelerating, i saw others have that issue also. please take action soon before these vehicles suddenly lunge on a interstate and cause serious injuries or death. thank you. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 ford freestyle. the contact was driving 65 mph when the vehicle stalled. the contact was able to coast to the side of the road and had the vehicle towed to a dealer. the dealer stated that the throttle body needed to be cleaned but the throttle body cleaning did not remedy the issue. the vehicle continued to stall. the contact took the vehicle back to the dealer who was unaware of the cause of the failure. the failure mileage was 76,000.

2005 ford freestyle surges at low speeds when foot is not on accelerator, or suddenly speeds up at low speeds such as parking or backing up.i have had several near misses almost drove into traffic , and rear ended car in front. this is the second issue with this event. first occurred in 02/july/2009 ford replaced throttle body motor this fixed the problem until this week. *tr

Update on odi 10419757: took car to ford dealer because engine light came on after car lunged (while backing up). said it was the throttle control actuator sticking was replaced at a cost of $895.00. two other customers with ford freestyle have had the same problem. *kb

Normal driving conditions-when backing out the car lunges and goes dead. fail safe engine mode is displayed. have had it lunge forward when foot is on brake and engine dies. happens more often when air conditioner is on. check engine light comes on. ford dealer said air compressor was no good. did not replace because we saw complaint about ford freestyle. *kb

I own a 2005 ford freestyle. i often experience a surge in my vehicles acceleration even when i have not touched the gas pedal. this occurs most often with the air conditioning off and just after i put the car in drive. today i nearly ran over a pedestrian after shifting my car into gear, and so i googled the problem when i got home. i see that you are investigating this problem with the freestyle. please demand a recall before someone gets hurt. *tr