Problems with 2006 Ford Freestyle POWER TRAIN

I have a 2006 ford freestyle. months before i went to 2 ford dealers about a problem of the car surging at stop lights and also when i took my foot off the brake at stop signs. the third dealer in august that i had went to stated the throttle body had to be replaced, my extended warranty had just expired in april of 2011. the car had just turned 60,000 miles. they would not cover it under the warranty. there was a recall on the surging problem but this car dealer said it did not fit my vin number. i want to put on the record that my car and vin fit the recall and could have been taken care of under warranty but the first two dealers in the jacksonville area ignored the matter. i will never buy another ford vehicle and i have been faithfully riding in them for years. i hope this helps others to be adamant and to have their vehicle checked for the throttle body problem as maybe a solution for their car surging at stop signs . i am very disappointed in the american ford dealership. i hope no one has the close calls of hitting the vehicle in front of them due to this car surging forward problem as i have. *tr

I have a 2006 ford freestyle and when ever i drive it, it accelerates when your stopped at stop signs, traffic lights,coasting through parking lots, etc. i have just recently hit the car in front of me while waiting at a traffic light i was slowing down to stop when the car accelerated causing the car to lunge forward hitting the car in front of me before i had time to stop. this has become very dangerous. i took it to a ford dealer with no results. i called the ford mfg. and they told me they were aware of the problem but nothing was being done about it. i have ask several owners of the freestyle about this and they said they were having the same problem. i have checked on the internet and found complaint after complaint about this problem and the high cost of trying to fix it. i have went to several repair shops with no guarantees. the ford dealer i took it to charged me $140.00 then told me there was nothing wrong with the car. i feel this should be something the ford motor co. should be recalling. thank you. *kb

I own a 2006 ford freestyle and have begun to notice a surging/lunging of the vehicle while the a/c is running. i've noticed this lunging more when the car has been running for some time and i am driving and/or reversing at slow speeds, like in a parking lot. when this happens, the rpms go up and the car surges even with the brakes being applied. this sounds like a common problem with the throttle body in freestyles. the vehicle has been doing this consistently since the a/c has been needed. *kb

Vehicle surges forward in low idle or when stopped. will happen also in reverse. seems worse on hot days or with a/c running. service "wrench" light will come on and car will almost stop running and has stopped on some occasions. *kb

Driving down the road, press on the gas pedal to accelerate - the traction control and wrench light come on, the engine revs, rpms go up, car decelerates and won't go over 40 mph. traction control light goes off, wrench light stays on. have to pull off the road to stop and restart the car - wrench light goes off. happened 5 times when i was driving over the mountain on i-40 from tennessee to north carolina. not a lot of room to be stopping on the side of the road. puts everyone in a very dangerous situation. have been living with this for over 2 years. have seen many other freestyle owners with the same problem. it is time for ford to recall the car and fix the problem. *tr

Vehicle surged forward while parking and backward while exiting parking space. has continued to occur since.

The engine surges all the time, and if the brake pedal is not firmly stepped on, the vehicle will lurch forward 6 to 12 inches. this week the engine surged twice while backing out of my driveway, then once again after shifting into drive, then the engine stalled in the middle of the road. ford diagnosed it as the throttle body needing replacement, but it is not covered under the extended warranty and will cost $805 to replace it. this has been a known problem to ford for several years. *tr

First sign was when leaving a mall parking space; placed car into reverse to back up, motor surged and car leaped backwards unexpectedly nearly striking a passing car and pedestrians. put transmission into'd' to pull back into space and transmission dash indicator illuminated and the car died. various iterations of restarting the engine, putting the car in gear and then either surging under full power or dying until we got to an auto parts store to see if they could read any codes for the problem. the shop was very nice but unable to determine anything conclusive so we limped along to the nearest ford dealership where we learned the throttlebody had failed. *tr

Trying to park my car in a crowded parking lot, the car suddenly surged forward and then stalled. i tried to restart the car and it would not start. i waited a minute, turned off the radio, a/c, etc and then was able to restart. i have had a similar problem on two other occasions since. *tr

I was waiting on my wife in mall parking lot with the ac running when i pulled out to pick her up car accelerated and i hit the brakes and the car stalled and the wrench light came on. it has done this about 50000 miles ago and they replaced throttle body. i cant believe it is happening again. we are going on vacation in 2 weeks and i need to get it fixed before we go but do not need this added expense. ford needs to do something about this. i will be at dealership monday morning. *tr

My ford started jerking backwards when i put reverse or lunging forward when i start driving forwards. this happened twice, once in the jekyll island when we were on vacation (all three days) in july 2011 and also when recently like three months ago, oct 2011. i first noticed when i was backing out from a hotel parking lot. i thought i am going to it the other cars. also, i changed the brakes twice, once from the dealer and once from the auto mechanic. my mileage so far is 50k and this is a 2006 ford freestyle. i constantly face brake problems in this vehicle. and also other problems.(like front axle) could someone do something about these problems, please!!! *tr

Unintended acceleration when moving transmission out of park. car lurches and accelerates covering distances of 5-20 feet depending upon terrain. movement can be arrested with braking, but is very sudden and intermittent so difficult to expect and control. *kb

My 2006 ford freestyle lately has been having some problems with high rpms at a stop while in drive. with the high rpms it sometimes wants to lunge forward. about 80% of the time a wrench is displayed on the dash. once the indicator wrench light is on the vehicle it will only accelerate to about 30 to 35 mph and the rpm go to about 3500. i know it is a cvt but the description is as if it does not want to change gears. *tr

Car lurches (in drive or reverse) when at low speeds. this issue is much more pronounced while air conditioning is on. engine revs from 1,000 rpm to 2,500 rpm. on occasion the "fail-safe" will engage and the engine will shutdown completely when brakes are applied to stop the car from lurching. the only unusual light that comes on is "throttle system" light. *kb

First, during a family vacation the wrench light kept coming on and the 2006 freestyle would have no acceleration like the transmission would not engage to get the required speed to pass. this results in slowing traffic down causing road rage with other drivers in the vicinity. on one occasion one of our teenagers who is learning to drive experienced this and will not drive the car for this reason. also, on several occasions while i was driving in route to work or the grocery store, my 06 ford freestyle sel limited seemed slow and sluggish to respond as i would be waiting at a red light for the green. when the light did turn green and i would press the gas pedal to go, the car would stall/shut off. a few times there were close calls as the car behind me would be unaware i was having trouble and almost rear-end me. when the car would cut off, i would proceed to restart the car and then press the gas to go. the car seemed to respond extremely slow like i would have the gas pedal pressed to the floor and would only be able to go 20 - 25 mph. on other occasions, the car would seem to lurch forward or backward (depending on if i had the car in drive or reverse) the wrench light coming on my 2006 ford freestyle creates a very dangerous situation because the engine will accelerate without applying the gas pedal and will not accelerate at times when the gas pedal is pressed. people at ford tell me that the company making the valve body part went out of business without notice, which does not help my situation any. so what is to be done? i have notified my state and federal highway safety commissioners, nhtsa, and my friend who also owns a 2006 ford freestyle of the problem and i would like to ask everyone with a similar problem to do the same. please explain,what is to be done? *tr

Drove car about 10 miles, no problems. sat in parking lot for about 10 minutes idling, outdoor temperature about 90 degrees. put car in reverse, engine surged and car died. took three tries to get car to start and the wrench light came on. was able to begin driving, however the car did not seem to accelerate, even with pedal pushed to the floor. on the way home, engine would "herky/jerk" a little, but did begin to accelerate better and get up to speed. turned off car in driveway and started a little later to take to garage to get checked. car started easily this time, and the wrench light was off. absolutely no issues on way to the garage. will find out tomorrow what, if anything garage tells me. this problem seems to be similar to other issues described in internet search. *kb

2006 ford freestyle will accelerate, or lunge forward, when brake is engaged while in drive. *tt

Purchased a used 2006 ford freestyle in july of 2010. a few weeks after we bought it the car started lurching forward and backward when brakes were applied. it is really bad when the ac is running. at first i thought my wife was crazy but then it started to get really bad and i noticed that when backing out of the garage, after putting it in reverse and letting off the gas, that the car would just propel itself backwards. took the car into the dealer today and was quoted $850 to fix the throttle body which is what they are saying is causing the problem. after reading about all of the other people having the same problems with this particular vehicle i was stunned to find out that ford has not issued a recall on this. this is definitely a safety issue. if myself or my wife were to get in an accident due to this fault you could bet your bottom dollar i would file a lawsuit against ford. *kb

i own a 2006 ford freestyle which i love but, i am having a problem with the car accelerating when i move forward or back up. it has been on going for the last year. i have visited many mechanics who are unable to locate the problem. i felt the need to file a complaint because i have four children and this problem has almost caused an accident more than once. *kb

I have a 2006 ford freestyle. it has begun taking off while backing out of my driveway and lurching forward without pressing the accelerator. this is a safety issue of highest urgency. upon research on the web, i see numerous recent complaints about this very same issue for this particular style, make & year. there is even a facebook page requesting throttle body recall on ford freestyles, with 214 likes to date. i have 2 children ages 7 & 5. i fear for the safety of my own children and others around as this is the "family" car & used for school and activity pick ups and drop offs. these surges occur at stop lights, parking, and easing out of parking. all of these times have the propensity to cause major accidents. if it does cause an accident, i will have my lawyers contact ford. this is a well documented issue. i am assuming as a reputable car maker- ford needs to be made aware of such issue in order to issue recall to correct. i hope this complaint speeds up the process. *kb

The car developed a whine at 52k mi with no apparent vibration or performance issues. during the 60k service (performed at 57k), the dealer identified the whine as coming from the transmission and wanted permission to open the case to investigate and possibly perform an input shaft bearing replacement. while waiting for parts, the transmission failed at highway speed. the car coasted to a stop unable to move but could not fully get off the road due to armco on the shoulder. law enforcement was called to warn approaching motorists and prevent a collision until a tow truck could arrive. the dealer recommended replacing the transmission for $6300 minus a contribution from ford and the dealer supplying parts and labor at cost. repairs were authorized and the final bill was $3000. *tr

I drive a 2006 ford freestyle. i would like to report that when the car has been running and it is a hot day when placed in reverse it will accelerate on it's own and then the motor will die causing the check engine light to come one. typically if i turn it off and wait a few minutes it will come back on light free, but there has been two occasions when it has not. the first i took it for a diagnostics where i was told to take it to ford that it seemed to be a transmission issue, ford told me that they were not sure but they cleared out the sensor to give it a good wash if it happened again. it has happened again only this time the engine dying to acceleration ration has increased and a good car wash has not helped the issue. i am becoming very concerned before the acceleration was only in reverse now it is occurring in drive as well and happening more frequently. i have plans to take it to my local ford dealership however i do not have high hopes for answers as they were not all that helpful the first time. *kb

My 2006 ford freestyle lurches and surges. when put into gear my freestyle will lurch violently and while driving it will surge power. while sitting and in gear power surges and lurches forward forcing the driver to press the brake hard to keep the car from jumping forward. while cruising power will surge without input from the driver. *kb

2006 ford freestyle lunges occassionally when slowly pulling into the garage or parking space or when backing out of the garage or parking space. my foot is on the brake when this occurs. *kb

2006 ford freestyle while sitting still at idle, in gear, suddenly surging causing unintentional vehicle movement. *tr

Car suddenly accelerates on its own. happens in very hot weather, a/c on, in idle, no contact is being made with accelerator pedal, car stalls, when restarted engine light and wrench lights are on and car does not run properly. feels like it is in first gear and doesn't go above 60mph. *tr

My 2006 ford freestyle has had a lunging problem for the past couple of years. there have been many times that it has lunged in reverse/drive and almost hit another car or object. *kb

We have had persistent acceleration problems with our 2006 ford freestyle. starting in july 2009, the car started lunging when pulling in or out of parking spaces - i.e., at low speeds. a repair shop completed an induction cleaning which took care of the problem temporarily. in june 2011 the problem reappeared and we completed another induction cleaning which took care of the acceleration problem for a few weeks. now, a few weeks later, the wrench and engine symbols have started appearing when we start the car. if we try to drive while the wrench symbol (indicating powertrain issue) still appears, the car does not accelerate at lower speeds. yesterday at the shop they performed a throttle body cleaning which has not taken care of the problem. i am very concerned about the unpredictable nature of this car's issues which appear to be related to other complaints about sudden acceleration/lunging and the related investigation that has been reported. i would appreciate any information about the status of this investigation and what responsibility ford will take if i should need more extensive work to correct this issue. note that we filed a related complaint in may 2010 ((odi number 10328630) but have received no direct response. thus the purpose of this complaint is to indicate that the problem continues to be a serious concern. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2006 ford freestyle. the contact was driving 35 mph when the vehicle stalled and became resistant to acceleration attempts. the check engine and transmission warning lights were illuminated. the contact was able to immediately restart the vehicle. the vehicle was taken to the dealer who was unable to diagnose the failure. the manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. the failure mileage was 69,000.

Put car in reverse and as soon as the brake was released the car jumped back as if i had quickly pressed on the accelerator. i quickly applied the brake and then the car shut itself off. since july 12 i have had a few other instances both when putting the car in reverse and when the car was in drive. i was waiting in a line with the brakes applied. as i lifted my foot off the brake to idle forward the car jumped forward with a quick burst of acceleration and resulting in almost hitting the car in front of me.

2006 ford freestyle over the past year my car has been accelerating and stalling for no reason. i have had to brake suddenly many times when pulling into a parking space and or backing up. its really scary. last week it accelerated so fast and i slammed on my brakes so hard that it quit, i started it, it quit and when i started it again, my engine light was on. i just spent over $1600 dollars to have the problem corrected at the local ford dealership. i bought this car new and gave over $34,000 dollars for it and it has had many issues. i just paid it off in december and now i'm still spending so much money to keep it going. i am a teacher and can not afford this but i can't afford to trade it in and have car payments all over again. please, isn't there anything you can do to help me? *kb

Hot day - 101 degrees and we had the air conditioner on. while backing up the vehicle "surged". put the vehicle in park, again surged. while stopped at a stop light the wrench light came on and the vehicle started losing power acting as if it wanted to shift, but couldn't. it sputtered the whole way home. we turned off the car, waiting for a couple of minutes and turned the car back on and the wrench light was gone. we took it for a drive and it drove just fine. another hot day, driving for awhile and it started surging when backing up and then surged again before the wrench light came on. again, we turned off, turned on, everything is ok. this is a dangerous problem with this vehicle that we now know is the main complaint and many others have complained about the same problem. *tt

Tl* the contact owns a 2006 ford freestyle. the contact stated that the transmission was making a knocking noise and experiencing difficulty while changing gears. the vehicle was inspected at two separate locations and the contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. the contact was not given a reason as to why the transmission needed to be replaced. the failure mileage was unknown and the current mileage was 107,000.

2006 ford freestyle lunges with foot on the brake and not on the accelerator. this is unpredictable and random. it happens in reverse and drive. *tt

I experienced an unexpected movement of the vehicle when i wasn't pushing the accelerator either moving forward or backwards. an increase in the rpms is evident in both but worse in reverse. when stopping at the light and gear is in "d", after a full stop, the engine increases the rpms. when you release the brakes to start moving again, the car abruptly moves without pushing the accelerator. in reverse, with brakes lightly applied, the engine increases the rpms more dramatically than in forward. it is even worse if you turn the steering wheel, in my case, to the left. you have to apply firmly the brakes to stop the car from moving without control but the rpms still running high. one of the times, even when applying firmly the brakes, the car still moved up to the point that it shut down the engine. that happened in a parking lot and almost hit another car. that's when i decided to take it to the dealer. this is very dangerous. we park the car inside our garage and it became unsafe to pull in and out as space is tight and you could hit the walls or my other car or the kids. you do not know when it will happen and how severe the sudden increase in speed will be. the dealer said it was the electronic throttle body that failed and changed it. i have a 2006 freestyle se. *kb

I was backing up and my car unexpectedly surged into a utility pole. thankfully nobody was behind me, just the pole. my bumper has a gouge in it. this is not the first time my freestyle surged. this is very dangerous, and i expect at some point in time, ford or nhtsa will certainly have to fix/recall this vehicle. i had my car in for service on multiple occasion for this. they keep replacing parts, but they are not correcting the problem. *tr

2006 ford freestyle will surge when car is put in reverse and pulling into parking spaces - need to quickly apply brakes to prevent crashing into someone or something. have not had vehicle in for repair - afraid of how much i will need to pay out of pocket - and will it actually correct the problem??? 82,000 miles on vehicle. i do not feel safe driving this vehicle. was considering giving it to our 17 year old daughter who recently received her driving license, but don't want to take the chance giving her a vehicle she literally cannot control with the newly acquired driving skills under her belt. as a seasoned driver, i feel very uneasy driving this vehicle. *tr

While driving down the freeway with my young family. the cvt stopped working. i lost power to the gas peddle. after about an hour on the side of the road it began working again. it does this alot now. i was in heavy traffic and was very lucky to be a firefighter with emergency driving skills. we could have been killed. the vehicle also lunges forward when my foot is on the brake.i believe a recall is in order. *tr

2006 ford freestyle is experiencing sporadic lunging (engine racing) when shifting from park to reverse or park to drive. has happened more frequently in the last month. 65500 miles on odometer. *kb

Tl* the contact owns a 2006 ford freestyle. the contact stated that the vehicle would surge while in drive or reverse. the failure became progressively worse and the vehicle would intermittently stall when the brakes were applied. the vehicle was taken to a repair shop, where the contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. the manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. the failure mileage was 67,000. the current mileage was 69,000. updated 09/27/11 *bf the consumer stated the vehicle is now fully operational. updated 10/05/11

Car surges without pressing the gas pedal either in reverse or drive. *tr

Car lunges at low speeds or when parking or backing out of parking spot. *tr

My 2006 ford freestyle started accelerating on it's own (my foot not on the gas pedal) when in reverse about 6 months ago. recently it has started accelerating on it's own in bothe the drive and reverse and it will lunge anywhere from 1 to 6 feet. applying the brake does not always work immediately. i have to press the brake much more firmly than usual to get the acceleration to stop. *kb

2006 ford freestyle sel suddenly lunging forward at idle speeds in either reverse or moving forward. i almost ran over a child, had it not been for my quick reflex with the brakes. don gasgarth's ford dealership in port charlotte, florida ford wants $550 for the new version of the throttle body non heated which they are 100% in agreement has a faulty design and is making this problem and have already replaced hundreds at the owners' expense but has not recalled anything yet. this is a very very very quick fix (under 30 minutes work) and they are just dragging their feet... someone will die as a result and ford needs to fix this asap!!! *tr

My ford freestyle 2006 lunged backward approximately 2 to 4 feet while the transmission was in reverse, my foot was fully applied to the brake, and the vehicle was not moving. this has occurred many times in the same manner, and in similar situations over the past year. the temperature outside is usually in the 90's or above, i usually have the air-conditioning running, and the car will start to loose power with the tachometer visibly dipping down to zero. the car will then suddenly race to 2000 rpms, and the car will lunge backward (or forward) while my foot is on the brake. when this happens in reverse, it is impossible to apply the brake hard enough to stop movement. when this happens in drive, it is possible to apply the brake hard enough to stop movement, and the car engine will die. *tr

Have 2006 ford freestyle with 55,000 miles on it. it recently lunged forward while i was in driveway. and engine has been revving up for no reason what so ever. *kb

We own a 2006 ford freestyle. in 2008, at 36,730 miles we had the throttle body replaced because the vehicle lurched & the wrench light came on. problem fixed. however, 2011 @ 88,356 we had the car in again because it lurched and engine & wrench light would come on again, and it would lose power. if we turned the key off and back on, it would temporarily go away. they replaced an electronic sensor in the transmission. this was at a ford dealer. they had to call their mechanic help line & work on it several days to figure out the problem. apparently, that was not the problem, because it had to go back in two weeks later for the same issue. they claimed the new part was faulty and they replaced the sensor again. fast forward 2.5 months. we are in june @ 92,744. vehicle was again lurching, wrench & check engine light would come on and had a loss of power. this all seemed to happen when the engine was under strain/load: ac on high, turning the wheel. it would happen in reverse or drive. i had a foot on/over the brake - so lurching never caused any incidents. this time, i took it to my mechanic. he didn't believe me - because as i said - if you turned the car off, it would all go away until the next random time it happened. so, after 2 days i picked the vehicle up from him. it happened again 2 days later. i took it to autozone and had them plug it in to get the codes out of it - before i turned it off. i took the vehicle and the codes to my mechanic. he had the car for a couple days and was able to get it to behave as i described to him. he replaced the throttle body and it seemed to fix it. we took it on a road trip for 6,000 miles and there was no problem. it is now just over 100,000 miles and the warranty has now expired. until now - warranty has covered the bulk of the cost. about 2 weeks ago, there was one instance of surging but no other symptoms ...

My ford freestyle jumps forward or backward when driving. very scary when in parking lot. now stalling after jumping. *tr

I own a 2006 ford freestyle. i have experienced the sudden acceleration that the agency is investigating. i would like to participate in this investigation. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2006 ford freestyle. the contact stated that while driving approximately 35 mph, the vehicle suddenly lunged forward. the failure occurred at different speeds and while driving in reverse. in addition, the vehicle would stall while depressing the brake pedal and the engine would exhibit a lose of power while accelerating. the failures occurred intermittently and with time became constant. the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer for diagnostics, where the technicians stated that the transmission needed to be replaced. there was an open investigation under nhtsa action number pe11018 (vehicle speed control) that may be related to the failure. the vehicle was not repaired. the approximate failure mileage was 65,000.