Problems with 2006 Ford Freestyle POWER TRAIN

I was driving on the highway when suddenly the vehicle started surging and was losing power last wednesday 11/13/19. another time, was with my whole family, the ac, cruise control, and car stereo was on when suddenly the vehicle lost power all of a sudden. i got scared because i did not want to get into an accident particularly on the highway. ford motors please, do something about my vehicle. also, the vehicle does not stop when it should every time i apply the breaks. whether on the streets, the highway, making turns, and at a stoplight, it always goes an extra distance before actually coming to a full stop. the brake pads are all oem from the ford dealer in my town. i'm always worried that my vehicle will one day give me the slip and get me into a vehicular accident. ford motors, we only have one vehicle in my family and preventing a possible vehicular accident is something your company can do especially when you have the capability and the means to do so.

Tl* the contact owns a 2006 ford freestyle. while the vehicle was at a complete stop, it stalled and eventually shut off. the contact stated that the throttle body transmission warning indicator illuminated. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the vehicle's program computer caused the failure. the manufacturer and dealer were not notified. the failure mileage was 157,000.

Hello, i was driving 60 mph on us highway 2, driving from snohomish, wa to monroe, wa, which is a 2 lane highway with no median (death highway) suddenly, the car seemed to lunge and i lost acceleration with the yellow service wrench dash light coming on. my speed significantly decreased and the car pulled at the same time. rpm's jumped to 5000+ but i was dropping speed. i avoided the car coming up behind me and the oncoming traffic by quickly pulling into an area on the side of the highway. this was a very scary experience that could have turned out very badly if i would have been hit from behind and pushed into oncoming traffic. i sat on the side of the road, stunned for 5-10 minutes, not knowing what happened. it had also happened once earlier that day at much lower speeds and then seemed to reset itself. again the wrench light reset and i was able to pull out onto the highway and drive to a transmission shop for diagnosis. as of now, i don't know exactly what the damage may be other than i'm being told it's a bad transmission and that i need a new one, with really no guarantee that the same thing won't happen again. since this incident i have done a great deal of research on this car and specifically the 05-07 ford freestyle with this cvt. it is nothing but problems how can ford get away this and why hasn't this transmission been recalled and ford made to finally resolve the issue safely or made to reimburse all affected parties the purchase price of the severely unsafe vehicle. i am thankful that i had a place to turn off, rather than the potential of an accident on that highway!! no physical injury, but definitely an emotionally charged event!! thank you. (xxxx) parts of this document have been redacted to protect personally identifiable information pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6)

Tl* the contact owns a 2006 ford freestyle. while driving 35 mph, the contact heard an abnormal noise coming from the transmission. there were no warning indicators illuminated. the vehicle was taken to dean sellers ford (2600 w maple rd, troy, mi 48084, (248) 221-2368) where it was diagnosed that the transmission needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired and the failure recurred. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact that the vin was not included in a recall. the failure mileage was 100,000.

When traveling down the road with cruise on while going up hill or down hill the tool light will come on and the transmission will shift to neutral. also occurs when cruise is off and going at a steady pace the try to accelerate to pass someone. very dangerous on the interstate.

On multiple occasions, while car is braked but in gear (d), car lunges forward despite brakes being applied. i notice the engine revs suddenly increase when this happens. this has happened sporadically over the last few months. on thursday nov 22 around 7.30pm, i stopped at a stop sign in woodburn, oregon as pedestrians were crossing. suddenly the car lunged forward, but thankfully did not hit a lady who was crossing and thought i was intentionally trying to scare/run her over. not sure if this is related, but in two occasions the car completely shut down while in motion and driving around 35 - 45mph range. the brakes naturally stiffened and i told power steering. luckily, i was able to maneuver to the side of the road and restart. another issue is sometimes i lose throttle control of the car. on few occassions, this happened as soon as i started the car, and sometimes when i was stopped at stop sign. all three of these symptoms started showing up around the same time, which is why i believe they may be related. the problems started approximately when the engine had 128,000 miles and currently it has 140,000miles.

Tl* the contact owns a 2006 ford freestyle. the contact stated that the transmission malfunctioned and the vehicle could not exceed 30 mph. the vehicle failed to accelerate. when the vehicle was shut off and restarted, it returned to normal. jones ford (2410 ocean hwy w, shallotte, nc 28470, (888) 826-3208) were contacted and attempted to find a used transmission. the manufacturer gave the contact several leads to call for replacement transmissions, but the contact was not having success. the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. the failure mileage was 220,000.

Tl* the contact owns a 2006 ford freestyle. while driving approximately 20 mph, the vehicle suddenly stalled in a busy intersection. the vehicle was restarted, but would not drive forward or in reverse. the failure was not diagnosed or repaired. the manufacturer and local dealer were not notified of the failure. the failure mileage was 181,472.

When i turn on the air conditioner the car gets a power surge. it will start jumping i have almost ran over someone in a parking lot! i will sometimes be setting at a red light and it will get a power surge just setting still i have almost rear ended several cars at red lights. the car can be in motion or just setting still when it gets the surges but it is always when the air or heat is on. i can turn the air off or heat off and it will stop.

Tl* the contact owns a 2006 ford freestyle. while driving 45 mph, the throttle control transmission warning indicator illuminated and the vehicle stalled. the contact coasted the vehicle to the side of the road and powered off the engine. the contact attempted to restart the vehicle, but was unsuccessful. the vehicle was towed to the contact's residence. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the surge needed to be reprogrammed. the contact's husband called coughlin ford of johnstown at (740) 967-2086 (670 w coshocton st, johnstown, oh 43031) and was informed that the vehicle was included in an unknown recall that had been closed. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was not notified of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 161,000.

Tl* the contact owns a 2006 ford freestyle. while the brake pedal was depressed, the vehicle independently lunged forward. there were no warning indicators illuminated. a local dealer was not contacted. the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to nhtsa and the dealer. the vin was unknown. the failure mileage was approximately 165,000.

Transmission surges or lunges forward dangerously at low speeds, and often when stopped at a light or a crosswalk. this has been happening for about 7 or 8 months. twice the surging or lunging has resulted in a near accident, once while stopped for a pedestrian in a crosswalk, and a 2nd when stopped behind another vehicle, nearly resulting in an impact with the front vehicle.

Tl* the contact owns a 2006 ford freestyle. while driving 60 mph, the wrench warning icon illuminated and the vehicle's speed decreased with the accelerator pedal depressed. the contact pulled the vehicle over, turned off and restarted the ignition, but the failure recurred. the vehicle was towed to an independent shop (lona brothers car sales in kansas city, mo, 64108) where it was diagnosed that the transmission failed and needed to be replaced. the manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. the failure mileage was approximately 120,000.

Tl* the contact owns a 2006 ford freestyle. while driving, a grinding noise was heard when the accelerator pedal was depressed. the vehicle decelerated without warning. the contact shifted into low gear and drove the vehicle home. when the vehicle was shifted into reverse, it moved slowly. the vehicle was later taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that there was no replacement kit to repair the failure and the transmission needed to be replaced. the contact was also informed that the 2006 transmission was failing. the vehicle was not repaired. the contact called maplecrest ford of mendham (located at 102 e main st, mendham, nj 07945, (800) 797-7259) and was informed that they could replace the transmission for $9,000. the vehicle was not repaired due to the cost. the manufacturer was not notified of the failures. the approximate failure mileage was 69,000.

While driving the wrench light will randomly come on and the rpms go crazy and the car struggles to shift gears. after restarting the car, it will drive fine for a while - sometimes weeks - before it happens again. after it happens a few times, the engine light will turn on but will go back off after driving a little or restarting it a few times. now, a few days ago it started jumping and struggling to move from a complete stop, no wrench light this time. turning the car off & letting it sit for a couple minutes helped & i got to work. then on my way home, i made it 5 of the 7 miles before it started acting up again. this time sluggish acceleration from a complete stop. after sitting for a couple days, the car drove smoothly for 3 miles, stopped at a light and car jerked again then limped forward. pulled over & restarted the car and it drove smoothly for a little then very sluggish acceleration again. once it got moving, it was good, until the next complete stop. i managed to get a block from home and park the car and i'm waiting to take it to the repair shop 2 blocks away. hopefully after letting the car sit for a day it will make it there with no problem...

Transmission noise

Vechicle surges or rave forward with pressing gas pedal on shifting forward or reverse,loses drive power,wrench light on!

Tl* the contact owns a 2006 ford freestyle. while the vehicle was being operated, the rpms revved up and down although the speed remained the same. during the failure, the wrench indicator illuminated. in addition, after the engine was restarted, the vehicle failed to accelerate over 25 mph. the contact mentioned that the failure recurred intermittently. the cause of the failures was not diagnosed. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was not notified. the manufacturer was not notified of the failures. the failure mileage was 190,000. the vin was not available.

While driving, vehicle goes into limp mode without warning. happens in both city and highway driving. wrench indicator and check engine indicators light on dash. vehicle slows and can barely accelerate causing near-accident. resetting code p0701 allows normal operation till cycle repeats in short and random time of driving. engine shut down/restart clears wrench light till cycle repeats. took car to 2 ford dealers and independent transmission specialist. all advised that the cvt transmission cannot be rebuilt or repaired and that replacement transmissions are generally not available. all advised not repairing the car because even if a new transmission were available, cost is $4500-$5500 for the unit plus over $1000 labor to remove/replace transmission. research shows this is a common complaint about this car and it's similar models (ford 500) of all years (2005-2007).

Tl* the contact owns a 2006 ford freestyle. while idling, the vehicle experienced a complete loss of power. the check engine and maintenance warning indicators illuminated. the vehicle was able to be operated after a few minutes, but the failure recurred. the vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the transmission failed and needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was not notified of the failure. the failure mileage was approximately 105,000.

Tl* the contact owns a 2006 ford freestyle. while driving below 20 mph, the vehicle suddenly failed to accelerate. on occasion, the vehicle would stall or not move at all when depressing the accelerator pedal. the vehicle was taken to the dealer who was unable to diagnose the cause of the failure. the manufacturer was not notified. the failure mileage was 128,700.

Transmission was replaced at 36000 miles, car now has 99750 miles an transmission is broken again. car is out of warranty new transmission is $6000

Transmisson whine, , ford claims it must be replaced at my cost 5 to 6 grand.

We own a 2006 ford freestyle and are only the 2nd owners of this car! we bought it in 2011 and are at our boiling point with it! the previous owners had to get the transmission rebuilt, we had owned the car for less than a year and had to get the transmission rebuilt again at almost $4,000! now 3 years after we fixed the transmission we are back at the same juncture where our transmission is causing us a problem again! i took it in because it was overheating and i ended up having to have the radiator and a portion of the water hose replaced at almost $1000! two days later i'm driving and as i pull off from a light i notice the car does a pretty heavy jerk forward! i thought i hit the pedal too hard so i didn't think much of it! but on my way back home each time i take off at a light my car is heaving forward and then it starts jerking a little violently and finally as i'm heading to the shop it starts stalling out and feeling like it's not catching gears to change! i have checked against other complaints for this same car and apparently this is a common issue, unfortunately, it looks like it's time for ford motor company to step up to the plate and stop making your faithful car owners go for broke fixing an issue that is clearly a manufacturing issue/defect! they need to look into all the complaints and issue a recall and fix this problem once and for all free of charge! most people do not have thousands of dollars sitting around to fix their transmission every 3 years! we need our car fixed immediately as this is our only family car! please fix this issue for us!!!!!

Tl* the contact owns a 2006 ford freestyle. while the gear shifter stick was placed in reverse, the rpms rapidly increased with a loud noise. the vehicle independently lunged backwards without the accelerator pedal being depressed. the contact immediately depressed the brake pedal to stop the vehicle. as a result, the vehicle stalled and the check engine and wrench warning lights illuminated. the vehicle was able to restart. the failure recurred intermittently. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed, but the cause of the failure was not found. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was made aware of the failures. the failure mileage was 44,000.

Throttle body in car check engine and wrench lights come on , the vehicle will not move even when put in gear i have to let car warm up for at least 45 min then cut car off n on a couple times the rpm not moving speedometer not moving

Tl* the contact owns a 2006 ford freestyle. while driving at 35 mph, the vehicle stalled without warning. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the transmission failed and needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was not aware of the failure. the failure mileage was 150,000.

Tl* the contact owns a 2006 ford freestyle. while driving over 60 mph, the vehicle independently downshifted and then jerked forward. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic; however, the mechanic declined to diagnose the failure because he thought it was recalled. the dealer stated that there were no recalls for the failure. the manufacturer was not alerted of the failure. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was 176,000.

Tl* the contact owns a 2006 ford freestyle. while driving at any speed, there was a loud noise coming from the transmission. the faster the vehicle accelerated, the louder the noise sounded. in addition, when the gear shifter was in all gears except reverse, the noise became louder. the failure recurred numerous times. the vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the cvt transmission failed and needed to be replaced. the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 124,000. updated 06/15/16*lj the consumer has since sold the vehicle. updated 06/29/16.*jb

Tl* the contact owns a 2006 ford freestyle. the contact stated that when the transmission was shifted to the drive position, the contact noticed an abnormal noise underneath the vehicle. the power train warning light illuminated. the contact also stated that while driving, the vehicle would lunge forward. the vehicle was towed to a dealer and diagnosed for transmission throttle failure. the vehicle was repaired. the manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 85,000. updated 11/18/15*lj updated 1/14/2016*js *cn

Tl* the contact owns a 2006 ford freestyle. while driving approximately 50 mph, the vehicle jerked and accelerated when the brake pedal was depressed. the failure recurred ten times. the vehicle was towed to a dealer where the failure was not determined. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was not notified of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 162,000.

Tl* the contact owns a 2006 ford freestyle. while accelerating from a complete stop, the transmission exhibited a delay. as a result, the vehicle lunged forward. the failure occurred whenever the vehicle was in operation. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the transmission would need to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was not notified of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 140,000.

Car jerked and hesitated trying to put in reverse. engine light came one. had more issues with transmission while driving with hesitation and jerking. 3 mechanics unable to identify codes issued caused by engine light or identify cause of problems. took car back 2nd time to transmission shop and did an indepth inspection which found little metal shavings in the fluid in the transmission. the mechanic researched and found that was an inherent issue with the cvt transmission which is why they stopped making it. difficult/expensive to repair due to parts not available. from 2nd mechanic that is a master ford mechanic, this car is not repairable. 1 of the mechanics said that these cars should not be sold and are, or should be, on a list of unsaleable cars by dealerships. we bought ours from a dealership just 9 months ago and not our money is down the drain. did not check reliability before bought vehicle and found that this transmission has many complaints. if this was such a bad transmission that it is no longer made, why is it not recalled and the vehicles that have it. this is deceptive practices for dealers to sell these vehicles with such a known issue for a part that will eventually fail in all vehicles at some point. especially when the transmissions are not able to make it to 100k miles. that is a bad transmission and these should be recalled before more consumers spend their money foolishly or someone is injured when the transmission causes issues while driving. we have been advised by the mechanics not to drive it on the freeway so as to prevent crashes due to the transmission failure.

I was driving my car and the wrench indicator came on, my car would not accelerate. i've taken my car to the repair shop and was infromed there is a known issued with ford freestyle 2005-2006 and the cvt transmission. i reviewed and it appears ford knows this is an issue, but refuses to recall/repair it. i will be seeking legal action if ford does not pursue a recall on this vehicle and it's known issue with the cvt transmission.

Tl* the contact owns a 2006 ford freestyle. while driving at approximately 55 mph, the vehicle stalled without warning. the vehicle was able to restart. the failure recurred on one occasion. the vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that there was a throw away transmission. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. the failure mileage was 200,000.

Tl* the contact owns a 2006 ford freestyle. while driving approximately 55 mph, the vehicle decelerated to approximately 30 mph followed by an abnormal noise. there were no warning lights illuminated. the dealer stated that the vehicle needed to be replaced. the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 200,000.

Tl* the contact owns a 2006 ford freestyle. while driving approximately 60 mph, the vehicle jerked and slowed down independently. in addition, the check engine warning light illuminated. the failure recurred numerous times. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the transmission needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was not notified of the failure. the failure mileage was unknown.

Tl* the contact owns a 2006 ford freestyle. the contact stated that the transmission slipped and hesitated. the vehicle emitted an abnormal noise and made a jarring movement when changing gears. the vehicle was not inspected by a dealer or mechanic. the failure mileage was 112,000.

Tl*the contact owns a 2006 ford freestyle. the contact stated that the transmission failed. the failure occurred on three occasions. the vehicle was taken to a dealer on three occasions where the transmission was replaced. the vehicle was not repaired for the most recent failure. the failure mileage was 150,000.

I was about to exit the parking lot and when i pressed the gas to exit it didn't respond. the wrench light and check engine light came on. a passerby tried to help me move it since it was blocking traffic but it wouldn't move even in neutral. it did however roll back without having to press the gas. the days before i also noticed that when i was parked the car would jump forward while i held down the brake. a mechanic diagnosed it and said it was the throttle body. he replaced it but it was good for only a day. *tr

The traction control system kept car lunging- applying the brakes intermittently. felt like transmission was trying to shift gears but sharp lunging. almost cause accident and should be of concern during winter or wet driving. the wrench light lights up on the dash and this should be of concern if someone is unaware of this potential. might cause an accident if not aware of it. *tr

While driving on interstate highway the transmission went into low gear, wrench light came on. this is the 4th time something like this has happened. have to pull over shut car off and restart. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2006 ford freestyle. the contact stated that while driving approximately 30 mph, the vehicle stalled without warning. the vehicle was able to restart. the dealer diagnosed that the transmission needed to be replaced. the vehicle had not been repaired. the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 76,000. updated 01/15/15*lj updated 01/15/15*jb

I stopped at a stop light and my car would not function when i went to go, motor was running but vehicle wouldn't go. *tr

Vehicle speed decelerated and wrench light came on took to ford dealership (on vacation trip) had to leave the vehicle as they said needed new throttle body----at approx. 103,767 mi. approx 107,178 miles speed decelerated on trip and wrench light came on.when turn the vehicle off wrench light goes off and desired speed can be resumed. took to ford dealer and said they could put in new "brain" or new transmission. took vehicle to mechanic for second opinion and they said it was transmission and suggested taking to transmission specialist. transmission specialist agreed transmission had to be replaced.the vehicle was taken out several times by these mechanics and verified that it was shifting okay and okay to drive. left the mechanic place of business and was sitting stopped at a traffic signal with foot on brake pedal and vehicle lurched forward and rammed the car in front of the vehicle. looking for another vehicle and so scared to drive this anywhere. *tr

i bought this car 2 years ago and had a sudden loss of forward propulsion and delayed acceleration once shortly later. it did not reoccur until recently it experienced cvt transmissions malfunctions three times while on a family vacation. this resulted in a "sudden loss of forward propulsion and delayed acceleration" after slowing down for traffic from cruzing speed and then attempting to reaccelaerate back to highway speed. the check engine light, the wrench light and the traction control dash lights came on and the engine experienced high rpm's with little forward movement. i took the problem to an authorized ford dealer who told me the codes were p0701 , p0715 , p2765 which indicated a cvt transmission problem. it would cost about $400.00 to pull and diagnose the transmission and about another $5000 to repair it but then the dealer told me the parts are obsolete or not available. what is the point of attempting a repair if the parts are obsolte ? why would parts be obsolete after 7 years of discontinuing production ? is ford making excuses so as not to have to work on defective transmissions ? the service writer admitted that it was not a good transmission for ford. ford knew about these issues and needs to be held accountable for them. the car is not safe to drive. *tr

The vehicle lunged twice while i went from park to drive. i immediately put my foot on the brake to avoid hitting the car in front of me as i was in carline picking up my children from private school. on 8-23-14 as i was in reverse pulling out from a parking space, the vehicle lunged backwards and lost power. i turned off the engine . i started the engine and began to drive the vehicle which felt as if it was losing power. i continued to drive 2 miles home and prayed the entire time that i would make it safely. after doing research, we discovered the nhtsa action number pe11018. we were never notified of this recall and feel that ford should reimburse owners of all monies spent on the defective throttle body system. so far we have spent $600. *tr

Takata inflators surging, transmission bad

Was sitting in car in a parking lot with ac running waiting for my wife. as i began to back up i put foot on brake to let car go by when the car began to surge and my foot was no where near gas pedal. then the car shut off by itself and check engine light came on. later we were waiting in a line at a drive-thru as we waited in line i had car in drive but foot on brake. then the car lunged forward and i could have hit the car in front of me. the car died again. this happened another time. i took it to auto part store to diagnose check engine light. it gave me code p2106 and which is throttle actuator control system-forced limited power. *tr

Our 2006 ford freestyle (approx 110,000 miles) began making a loud knocking noise from under the hood. our local mechanic isolated the noise to the transmission but feared the job would be too big for him to tackle. we had the vehicle towed to a highly-rated local shop specializing in transmission repairs. their diagnosis was that the transmission would need to be replaced *if* they could find the parts, since this was a common problem with the ford cvt transmissions and that ford had stopped using this particular transmission. their quote was approx. $5000, but since that's about what the book value is, we elected not to proceed with the work and had the car towed home. i've since done much research on-line and have found reports of hundreds of other owners who have the same issue, but nothing about a recall (or even a tsb)! in fact, there is a class action suit underway in california regarding this issue, but since i live in ma, i don't qualify for their class. how can this issue, which impacts hundreds if not thousands of owners, not be addressed by a total recall? *tr