On several occasions, the most recent being may 28, 2011, my 2005 ford freestyle has had sudden acceleration issues. on saturday, may 28, 2011, this occurred when i was backing out of a parking space. i have found that only by turning the car off and restarting it will this correct the issue. i have had this happen in both drive and reverse. luckily it has always been immediately after i have started the vehicle and i am moving at a low rate of speed either in my driveway or in a parking lot. i have not had the misfortune to be involved in an accident but hearing on the news that this is a reported issue with my vehicle encouraged me to do more research as there has not been a common denominator that would allow me to have a dealer replicate the issue. *tr
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 ford freestyle. the contact stated that while stopped at a traffic light with the brakes depressed, the vehicle lunged forward abnormally. the contact stated that the failure would also occur while in reverse or sporadically when the air conditioner was activated. the vehicle was not taken to the dealer for diagnosis or repairs. the failure was experienced numerous times. the vin was not available. the failure mileage was 99,000 and the current mileage was 100,000.
Ford freestyle 2005 experiencing the lunging issue pretty much since car was purchased new. just figured it was a "touchy" engine that i needed to get used to. after hearing that there were many people experiencing the issue, took it to dealer. first dealer couldn't find anything wrong. second dealer insisted that it was a safety issue and replaced the throttle body for $900 - my expense. since then air conditioner has not worked and east coast has had 5 heat waves - staring down the throat of #6. dealer claims that there is no relation to previous work done (30 days ago). i do realize that air conditioning is a luxury, but am learning from other posts that dealers are pushing complete replacement of compressors ($800 ++) while other people are getting their fix with a valve replacement ($30). these overcharging practices are unacceptable and with so many people reporting the same problems, it is apparent that these are manufacturer's defaults and should be recalled. *tr
For the past month or so, my 2005 ford freestyle will surge in speed, when shifted into either drive or reverse, during low idle. in all situations when the speed surge has occurred, i did not have my foot on the accelerator pedal, only on the brake. this condition is most pronounced after a cold start. the amount of time to start the engine has also increased since this problem has been first noticed. also, at highway speeds, the rpm's can fluctuate 200 to 300 rpms even while the cruise control is active, the car is being operated on a relatively flat and straight surface. this issue of rpm fluctuation has been going on for approximately 6 months or greater. this issue has been subltly getting worse over time. when i first noticed the fluxuation, it was barely noticable. now, you can feel yourself rocking back and forth slightly with the acceleration and deceleration of the vehicle during a fluctuation occurrance. the occurrances can last anywhere from 10 seconds to 30 seconds. and sometimes can be replicated again while driving along using similar road conditions. i post two issues within this complaint only because i believe they are related. should information arise to indicate a seperate issue, i shall resubmit the 2nd paragraph. *tr
When i back out of a parking space, the car lunges backwards without me pressing on the gas. this started about 6 months ago. originally it was intermittent. now it happens all of the time. originally, it only happened when the car was in reverse. now after i have backed out of my parking space and put the car into drive, the car lunges forward. now that i know what to expect, i'm very careful because especially in a small parking lot, it would be very easy to hit another car. this is an ongoing incident. *tr
2005 ford freestyle that lunges unexpectedly and kills the engine. this has happened two times in which both times the ac was on. *tr
My 2005 ford freestyle lunges forward while sitting idle often. it is difficult to stop it once it lunges. ford wanted to replace parts on my freestyle which they said might correct the problem. *tr
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 ford freestyle. while traveling 5-10 mph with the air conditioning system functioning, the contact noticed that the vehicle would abnormally accelerate without warning. the vehicle was neither diagnosed nor repaired. the current and the failure mileages were 130,000. the vin was not available.
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 ford freestyle. the contact stated that while at a complete stop, the brake pedal was firmly engaged and the vehicle began to lunge forward unexpectedly. the failure occurred on five different occasions. the authorized dealer was notified and informed the contact that there was not a recall pertaining to the failure. also, the dealer advised the contact to bring the vehicle in to have the failure diagnosed. there was an open investigation associated with nhtsa action number pe11018 (vehicle speed control). the vehicle had not been diagnosed or repaired. the manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 70,000. the vin was unavailable.
First, let me start by saying that i like my ford freestyle. it is a comfortable car with a smooth ride. the event occurred one week ago on sunday may 15th. it was a sunny day, good driving conditions at about 1pm. i was exiting the church parking lot with the radio and air conditioner on. i was in a line of cars waiting to turn onto the main street. the vehicle was in gear in the "d"(drive) position. the car was not moving, and my foot was in mid-air (neither on the accelerator nor on the brake) as i was anticipating the car in front of me to move in a few seconds. suddenly, the engine revved slightly and the car lunged forward about one foot before i could apply the brake. i was very surprised, as this was the first time it had happened. fortunately, i had left about 10 feet room between my car and the car in front of me. ( i am absolutely positive that i did not touch the accelerator pedal, nor did the floor mat) ironically, a few days later, i read an article in our newspaper about a current investigation of about 200 ford freestyles with similar problems. i am very concerned about this potentially serious safety problem that seems to be affecting the ford freestyle. thank you for investigating this matter. *tr
2005 ford freestyle lunges forward when stopped. if foot isn't on the brake good and firm, the lunge almost rear ends the vehicle in front of you. i have had this vehicle since 2006 and it has done this since day one. ford garage always says that they cannot find anything wrong. *tr
I have had numerous instances where, when either at a stop light, or parking or waiting in the carpool line my freestyle has lunged forward while my foot was on the brake pedal. some instances are worse than others with more force, but i am able to stop the car by pressing harder on the brake pedal. i have almost hit a couple of cars in the drive thru lanes at restaurants. i have also experienced my freestyle cutting off while at a light, and even once when i took my foot off the gas to coast into a parking lot. the car just died. i called the local ford dealership and they stated that there have been issues with the throttle body sticking and its way of correcting itself is to lunge the car and attempt to right the issue. they quoted anywhere from $100 to try to clean the throttle body and possible have to replace it to the tune of about $700. if this problem is so well known that my dealer knows about it, why has it not been addressed and recalled? *kb
Sudden acceleration- vehicle will lunge forward or backwards when vehicle is stopped or when first put into gear. this happens more frequently when the weather is warm. the vehicle can be stopped with extra brake application. this happens all the time in warm temperatures. i have not had this problem looked at, the vehicle is out of factory warranty and after researching this online it seems like people who have had this repaired continue to have issues. *tr
The car continually wants to take off on its own when in an idle situation or moving slowly. mainly happens when air conditioner is running. will pretty much happen once car has been running for a little while and you slow to a stop at a light, stop sign, or any other situation that you would move very slowly or idle in. when the vehicle was bought, vehicle was taken back to ford dealership to investigate, but were told they could find nothing wrong. first couple of years, did not happen that much, but as it got older, happens quite a bit. when the issue occurs, it throws the vehicle into a fail safe mode if you do not turn the air conditioner off in time. never have gotten the vehicle fixed. *tr
2005 ford freestyle awd limited, car surges forward, when stopped and when steering wheel is turned. car also stalls while driving or if hitting the gas. *tr
My 2005 ford freestyle took off in reverse at high speed as soon as i put it in reverse, my foot was not on the gas pedal. i almost hit a large tree. *tr
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 ford freestyle. the contact stated that while at a stop light with her foot on the brake pedal, the vehicle would lunge forward. the vehicle was not inspected by a dealer nor had it been repaired. the manufacturer was not notified of the failure. the failure mileage was approximately 86,000.
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. check engine light stays on after occurrence and failsafe engine mode was solved by pulling over, killing the motor, waiting, and then restarting. *kb
Without applying my foot on the accelerator my car's rpm tends to increase on it's own. it is usually when i have my foot on the brake and switching between gears (i.e. park to reverse or park to drive). it has occasionally revved when sitting in traffic as well. thankfully i have had my foot on the brake at the time. took it to the local dealership with this complaint and they could not duplicate. this incident happens often enough (several times a week) that i am concerned that if this doesn't get addressed that it may cause injury to someone walking behind my car (or vehicles in front or passing behind me) when i switch to drive or reverse. i am very cautious when i do switch gears because of this fact. also my car also can be very fast when backing up (which is usually what i do when leaving my driveway) even when i don't have my foot on the accelerator. it doesn't happen all the time but i think it must be associated with the revving issue. *tr
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 ford freestyle. the contact stated that whether in drive or reverse, the vehicle would lunge abnormally. the failure was experienced numerous times. the vehicle was not taken to the dealer to be diagnosed or repaired. the failure mileage was 76,000 and the current mileage 82,600.
Vehicle lunges when coming to a stop or attempting to park while the air conditioning is on. *tr
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 ford freestyle. while the vehicle was parked the contact placed the gear shift in reverse and the vehicle suddenly lunged backwards. the failure also occurred when the gear was placed in drive. the contact had to apply excessive pressure to the brake pedal in order for the vehicle to stop. the failure occurred intermittently. the vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing. the technicians were unable to duplicate the failure. there was an open investigation under nhtsa action number:pe11018 (vehicle speed control) that may be related to the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 100,000.
2005 ford freestyle. stalling out in traffic jams and also surging when a/c is on at lower speeds. *tr
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 ford freestyle. the contact stated that when sitting idle with the brakes depressed, the vehicle would surge forward. when releasing the brake, the vehicle would then accelerate abnormally without the accelerator pedal being depressed. the vehicle was not inspected by a dealer nor repaired. the manufacturer was contacted and they offered no assistance. the failure mileage was approximately 85,000. updated 07/08/11*lj
When manuevering in parking lots the vehicle has lunged forward when trying to park the vehicle. after it lunges forward it stalls and comes up with an error message. it starts back up fine afterwards. sometimes during regular travel it will speed up unexpectedly. *tr
My 2005 ford freestyle "surges" when the engine is running but my car is not moving. i have to keep my foot on the brake when starting up the car for fear it will lunge forward, or backward, without any pressure put on the gas pedal. i am afraid to let anyone drive the car, even with me telling the person about the surges, since it is not what you would normally be thinking about when starting a car and putting it into gear. i am concerned about the safety of this situation. i have not taken the car to the dealership yet since i don't know what the charge will be for repair. the surging has occurred at least 10 times over the last 2 months. each time i think it is just a one time thing, but now i know it is not. *kb
The vehicle unexpectedly surges when turning into a parking space or sitting at drive through. also having issues with engine dying when reversing. *tr
My 2005 ford freestyle limited all wheel drive vehicle lunges forward unexpectedly. having my foot on the brake doesn't seem to do anything sometimes. it happens sporadically, as soon as my foot is off the brake or i put the car into gear is happens. this is very dangerous and i hope it will be resolved soon. i have seen hundreds of complaints on this issue. *tr
My ford freestyle accelerates without having foot on the accelerator. *tr
I have a 2005 ford freestyle that has been surging forward when i am at a complete stop & the engine fail safe mode with a wrench has shown up. i have 4 kids & this has happened on the highway with them in the car on the highway & it is very scary to lose power on the highway & try to get to the shoulder without getting hit by another car. *kb
When parking, driving very slow (under 10mph) or backing up my car lunges forward with surge of power and foot on brake not gas. sometimes it dies and gave error code engine failsafe mode. worse when acon, don't remember it being an issue in the winter. took to dobbs and was told it was my throttle body and my computer would need reset. cleaned throttle body to see if that would correct issue. improved, but did not correct. very scary and dangerous in traffic, approaching stop signs, especially if pedestrians nearby. fear could lunge at them. *tt
Vehicle surges/lunges unexpectedly while engaging the transmission into drive or reverse. applying the brake has been effective at stopping however, this is an unsafe condition as it happens sporadically and again quite unexpectedly. vehicle has stalled out on several occasions in the middle of moving traffic and service light "wrench" illuminates. we have experienced these issues for the last several months and i have since taken the vehicle to the ford dealership for service where they just informed me that the throttle body must be replaced.
When stopped or moving slow to make a turn the engine accelerates on its own , this happens going forwards or in reverse and happens more with the ac turned on. *tr
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 ford freestyle. the contact stated that while stopped at a stop light with the brakes engaged, the vehicle would suddenly lunge forward. the vehicle was inspected by an authorized dealer, who stated the throttle body needed to be replaced. the vehicle was repaired. the manufacturer was notified and they offered no assistance. the failure mileage was approximately 65,000.
Unintended acceleration of my 2005 ford freestyle. it would happen most often when backing out of my garage or turning into a parking space. noticed it more when a/c was running and wheel was turned. i took the car to the dealer and they replaced the throttle body. no old parts are available because i did not know this was a wide spread problem until i saw the news release today. *tr
My 2005 ford freestyle will lunge at low speeds, usually while parking in the driveway or parking lot. this happens quite frequently while the car is in drive or reverse and even caused the front end to lunge into a concrete wall of a parking garage causing minimal damage before the brakes could be applied. *kb
Tl*the contact owns 2005 ford freestyle. the contact stated when the vehicle was idle the rpms increased and the vehicle lunged forward. the contact stated the failure occurred intermittently. the vehicle was not inspected. the vin and failure mileage were unknown. the current mileage was 150,000.
Scary car. a couple of times when car is idle/foot on brake the car would surge forward on its own. this is creepy. first time happened when parking in front of a wall. luckily, i had enough room to not hit the front. i just came home and rolled into parking space. my foot was still on the brake but out of nowhere it just went by itself so my natural response was to brake really hard. it slowed the surging, but dang it! it scared the begezzy out of me. if i wasn't alert, i think that wall would damage the front car...let alone hit someone(s) if they are in front of this idle car. second time when my husband rolled into the mall's parking space and it did it too. i sat next to him and it was just freaky weird. it happened 3 other times also. ford better recall on this problem seeing how many complaints are posted online already. i had to look it up online and found a major car magazine stated it was a major problem. if they don't do anything about this, i think i will have to switch to another car maker. this ford freestyle 2005 awd limited is a scary car. *tr
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 ford freestyle. while driving approximately 45 mph, the contact approached a traffic stop signal and upon engaging the brakes, the vehicle began to surge forward. the engine was turned off and restarted with an illumination of the wrench warning symbol. the warning indicator illuminated intermittently. the failure progressed and also occurred when shifting the gear selector into drive or reverse position. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 80,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 ford freestyle. the contact stated that the vehicle would lunge forward and backward at anytime. the dealer was not notifued. the manufacturer denied any assistance with repairs of the failure. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was 70,000 and the current mileage was 100,000.
The car lunges/lurches (accelerates suddenly) on it's own randomly, usually right after putting into gear, especially in reverse, but also in drive. completely unpredictable. i have to keep my foot firmly on the brake when i start to go because i am afraid that it will lurch and cause an accident or injure someone. it seems to be worse when the ac is running, but that isn't always the case, either. my 17 year-old son is experiencing it, too, and is uncomfortable driving it. *tt
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 ford freestyle. the contact stated the vehicle would surge unexpectedly when placed into gear. the contact had the vehicle inspected by a mechanic who was unable to determine the cause of failure. the failure mileage was 80,000 and the current mileage was 90,000. updated 07/20/11*lj updated 08/01/11
Tl*the contact owns a 2005 ford freestyle. the contact stated that while parking her vehicle at a low speed the vehicle suddenly accelerated, crashed into a tree and two vehicles. the driver was not injured. the police were called, but did not arrive. the vehicle was then towed to an independent mechanic . the dealer rebooted the throttle body computer system. the manufacturer was then contacted and offered no assistance. the failure mileage was approximately 63,400. updated 6/8/11 *cn updated 06/13/11
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 ford freestyle. the contact stated the vehicle would suddenly surge forward while driving. the failure occurred when the vehicle was traveling forward or in reverse. she noticed the failure while the air conditioner was activated and the temperature outside was hotter than normal. the current mileage was 93,000. the approximate failure mileage was 85,000. the vin was unavailable.
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 ford freestyle. the contact stated that the vehicle would intermittently surge forward until the brakes were engaged. the failure occurred while driving various speeds. the failure was not diagnosed nor was the vehicle repaired. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. the failure mileage was 100,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 ford freestyle. the contact stated that when the vehicle was idled momentarily with the air conditioner activated, the vehicle would lunge forward unexpectedly. the contact stated that the failure only seemed to occur when the a/c was activated or when the wrench warning light was illuminated. the vehicle was inspected by the dealer and they advised the contact that the throttle body needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired and the manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. the failure mileage was approximately 50,000. the vin was unavailable.
Parking vehicle in lot and vehicle accelerates on its own. front of car hits concrete stop and cracks skirt. *tr
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 ford freestyle. the contact stated that the vehicle suddenly lunged forward and backwards without warning, but more forcefully when in reverse. the vehicle was taken to the dealer who informed the contact that they would need two days fully to inspect the vehicle but the contact declined. the manufacturer was notified who informed her that they were investigating the failure. they offered no other assistance. the failure mileage was 117,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 ford freestyle. the contact stated that when starting the vehicle with the brakes depressed, the vehicle would lunge when in drive or in reverse. the vehicle was not inspected by a dealer nor repaired. the manufacturer was contacted and they offered no assistance. the failure mileage was approximately 50,000. updated 07/20/11*lj the dealer stated the problem was fuel related and the vehicle had to be reprogrammed. the consumer stated the vehicle seems to perform much better. updated 09/01/11
I am experiencing a sudden acceleration when idling, parking, and placing the car in reverse that results in the car lunging forward unexpectedly. the problem seems to be more noticeable when the air conditioning is on. today for the first time when the car was put into reverse, the car accelerated, lunged, stalled and the engine fail-safe warning light appeared on the instrument panel. in each case, the movement of the car is significant and has been stopped by quickly stepping on the brake pedal.