Problems with 2006 Ford Freestyle VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

Vehicle will surge or lunge when trying to park vehicle or you are moving slowly (not accelerating) - perhaps when you are just using the idling power of the engine to move. your foot is often over the brake, or maybe even braking slightly, using the vehicle's own power at idle to just move slowly or slightly into a parking spot or come to a stop. there have not been any accidents, as your foot is typically already over the brake and you can react quickly enough to stop the car. it started doing it 2 or 3 years ago, but just occasionally, so it wasn't a big concern. but it has become steadily more common, to the point that it is happening weekly or sometimes more often - every 2 or 3 days. the engine rpm seems to increase for just a second, and then subside. it is not clear to me if the air conditioning has any impact, as others have said. but the car runs fine and normally otherwise. we recently had a repair done to replace an egr tube, which was causing acceleration to be uncontrolled, which was at all speeds, and was unrelated to this surge or lunge condition. however, we hoped that it would improve or correct the lunge or surge, but it hasn't. the lunge or surge does not occur when you are touching the accelerator, only when you are already braking slightly and letting the idle speed of the engine creep the car along. it happens in both forward and reverse and is noticed when parking or when you are trying to park close to something, so you are creeping along with just idle speed into a parking position. we haven't had any other repairs performed, as it didn't happen often enough to duplicate for the dealer, but it is more often now that perhaps it could be duplicated with some attempts after a couple of days. i know that it has been discussed, and it seems to only affect cvt transmission equipped freestyles and may be a function of the transmission that causes it. *tr

When parallel parking, the car surged backward and i had to stomp on the brake to prevent it from crashing into the car behind me. i then began to pull forward and it once again lunged, this time i was quicker on the brake and noted that the rpms shot up momentarily before it settled down again. the problem continues to occur, always at low speeds, most often when in reverse. it has occurred a few times when pulling forward into our garage. i am afraid to park near other cars wary that it will cause a collision. *tr

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

On 7/31/2011, vehicle was in park with a/c running. upon putting into reverse, vehicle lunged backwards, approximately 10 ft., while brake was still depressed. pushing hard on brake stopped the vehicle's movement and the engine stalled. weather conditions were dry and approximately 87 degrees. over several days leading up to 7/31/2011, vehicle occasionally would accelerate itself when at slow forward speed (less than 15 mph) with brake depressed. tachometer confirmed acceleration (approx. 1700 rpm, normal for vehicle is less than 1000 rpm) which could be stopped by pressing hard on brake. after depressing brake and vehicle coming to a stop, normal rpm would resume. weather conditions were dry and approximately 95 to 100 degrees. this problem seems to occur mainly at low speeds in parking lots. it appears to be the same problem reported by other freestyle owners under investigation # pe11018.

Vehicle lurches and lunges forward when parking the vehicle or backing out of a parking space. i purchased the vehicle used nearly a year ago and have had the lurching problem at least a dozen times. it is sporadic and unexpected each time it happens. i have come extremely close to hitting other parked cars, parking barriers and even my own garage door. i am very thankful that i have not hit a person. today it happened as i was backing out of a parking spot at the mall. i had never had the problem in reverse and it caught me off guard. i was extremely close to hitting the car behind me. this problem is extraordinarily frightening and with very little research i was able to see that it is an extremely common problem. i am appalled that a problem this widespread and dangerous has not been addressed by ford. *js

2006 ford freestyle w/ approx. 40,000 miles. approx. 5 instances (so far) of the car lunging when in reverse, then loses power when shifted into drive. the "wrench" light comes on and the a/c stops working. this has seemed to correct itself when the car is shut off and allowed to sit for a few minutes. it also has started slightly lunging randomly when in drive. *tr

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

Tl* the contact owns a 2006 ford freestyle. the contact stated while driving in reverse the vehicle lunged backwards and stalled. while the air conditioner was on the throttle opened causing the vehicle to lunge. the contact was able to drive the vehicle to his residence. the contact did not take the vehicle to the dealer for diagnostic testing. the contact stated the vehicle was unsafe to drive. the failure mileage was 68,000. updated 08/17/11*bf updated 08/24/11

2006 ford freestyle lungs forward or reverse when car is put in drive or reverse and brake ir released it will set a orange wrench indicator that can be reset by shutting off car this is very dangerous in parking lots have nearly hit other cars. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2006 ford freestyle. the contact stated the vehicle lunged in drive and reverse. the vehicle was taken to the dealer who replaced the throttle body at the owners expense for $700. the manufacturer was not notified. the failure mileage was 65,344. updated 10/12/11 *bf updated 3/30/12 *cn

Tl* the contact owns a 2006 ford freestyle. the contact stated that whenever the air conditioner was activated, the vehicle would lunge forward or backward, depending on whether the vehicle was in drive or reverse. on one occasion, the vehicle lunged forward and nearly crashed. the check engine light illuminated on the instrument panel and the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the contact was informed that the throttle body was faulty. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact to take the vehicle to a dealer. the failure mileage was 75,000. updated 08/15/11 *bf updated 08/24/11

While driving into a driveway, my 2006 ford freestyle, suddenly revved and lurched forward. i had to compress the brakes hard to stop the car from hitting another car. later that day, i was in a drive thru (stopped) and the car revved up and lurched forward again. both times the ac was on full blast and the temp outside was over 100. after taking it into ford today, they found no codes but assume it's the throttle body. although i have a of the line ford warranty, it doesn't include this part. the part alone was almost 600 dollars. since there are so many near misses with the ford freestyles having the same mechanical problem, ford should be concerned. it causes quite a scare to have your vehicle do this while you are in such a slow mode. updated ivoq 09/08/11... updated 10/26/11 *bf updated 11/28/11*jb

I own a 2006 ford freestyle and as i was in rush hour traffic on a very hot day with the a/c on, my car suddenly lunged forward and i had to slam on breaks to prevent a rear end collision with the car in front of me. the car then shut off and the check engine light and wrench light went on. i have taken the car to a local mechanic for diagnostic and received code for a faulty throttle body. this did not surprise me as i have heard of this problem from other freestyle owners on edmonds website. my car has 59,000 miles. this a dangerous situation and this car should be recalled for this! *tr

Two separate incidents of ford freestyle engine revving without the driver's foot on the gas pedal. on 7/17/11 car lurched forward after engine revved as we were pulling into a restaurant drive through. almost rear ended vehicle in front of us. on 7/23/11 car lurched backward after engine revved as we were backing up from a parking spot. check engine light came on immediately following and now will not turn off. in both cases, the steering wheel was turned quite a bit but in opposite directions. temperature this entire week has been well over 95 degrees with heat index over 105 so air conditioning was turned on maximum for front and back areas of the vehicle. we were extremely fortunate no one got hurt in either incident. *tr

Car was stopped at a red light, while releasing brake pedal, car surged forward on its own. this took place at three consecutive stoplights in one afternoon. one week later, backing car up in parking lot, when brake pedal was released, car surged backward on its own. when changing from reverse to forward, car engine died. waited a few moments and car restarted. wrench light on dash was then on. took to dealership and they replaced etb electronic throttle body. *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 backing out of a parking place when my freestyle lunged backward, narrowly missing people walking. the red 'wrench' light came on indicating there was an engine problem. the motor ran very rough but we did get to our destination. i remember reading an article regarding this issue with the freestyle, lunging forward or backward. i researched this and concluded many other freestyle owners have had the same problem. we did have this problem corrected at a hefty price of $700.00. hopefully, the ford motor company will recall these freestyles before a fatal accident occurs.

2006 ford freestyle lunged forward suddenly while going thru a bank drive thru. it then stalled. after restarting the vehicle it would barely move. then it lunged forward again and stalled. the wrench light was on and i was able to get it to a ford dealership where it was diagnosed as needing a throttle body. that very night after "being fixed" the wrench light appeared again but there was no lunging or stalling. this is a serious safety issue and ford needs to address it. *tr

When backing 2006 ford freestyle ltd awd, approximate mileage 58,100, into a driveway at a speed of approximately 5 mph, with vehicle a/c running, vehicle speed suddenly increased without warning & without driver pressing on accelerator pedal. was able to stop vehicle by using brake pedal. vehicle speed increase could be described as a 'surge' or 'lunge.' engine malfunction light came on & stayed lit. problem repeated when backing into another driveway. took vehicle to ford dealership for repairs. repair description: diag tests, replace electronic throttle body assy per code p2106 p016b, reprogram pcm with fords latest running calibrations and retest to verify repairs. problem was repaired at a cost of approximately $960.

My 06 ford freestyle has been lunging forward for over a year very sparatically. this past week it has been doing it daily (sometimes 2-3 times a day) and the car just shut off twice in nyc traffic. when the garage checked it they just got an error code (the throttle control/transmission light was on). today at grocery store the car almost lunged right into a women. *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

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

Tl* the contact owns a 2006 ford freestyle. the contact stated the vehicle would surge intermittently without warning. the contact did not inform the dealer or manufacturer of the failure nor was the failure diagnosed or repaired. the current and failure mileage was 80,000. the vin was unavailable.

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

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

Tl* the contact owns a 2006 ford freestyle. while driving, the contact stated that the vehicle would surge back and forth and would stall sporadically. the dealer diagnosed that the throttle body needed to be replaced and the vehicle was remedied. the contact was uncertain if the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the failure mileage was 25,000 and the current mileage was 54,133.

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

Vehicle accelerates when the air conditioner is on. it accelerates on its own and there have been a few occasions when i have almost rear-ended people. i now know that i have to stay more than the usual distance from the car ahead of me, in order to avoid a collision. this happens all the time when the air conditioner is on. this is not an occasional occurrence. at times, it also seems like the car is going to stale out. i have not taken it to the dealership or to a repair shop, due to a lack of funds to try to diagnose and correct the issue. *tr

After driving (2006 ford freestyle) approximately 80 miles on the interstate on a hot day, we stopped at a fast food drive through window. while at the window, with the car in drive (foot on brake) the car lunged forward. i first thought that it was my foot hitting the accelerator until it happened again and again. after getting our food the car lunged forward again as ii released the brake and the vehicle lunged and lost power. we rolled forward luckily without causing an accident. this problem is very unsafe. drove the car home and we have not used it since. seems to likely be the throttle body assembly. *tr

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

Vehicle has surged at idle or very low speeds multiple times this and last summer. seems to occur on extremely hot days with a/c running full blast, and when tires are turned. has occurred in both forward and reverse gears. surging lasts a few seconds and is only controlled by very forcefully depressing brake pedal. no accidents or injuries have occurred thus far, but this is a definite safety concern for our family! could easily cause a wreck or injury in a busy parking lot. last summer the problem was lessened by having a mechanic cleaning the throttle body. will be taking vehicle to mechanic this week to perform similar maintenance. *tr

I have a 2006 ford freestyle. the car has been surging forward and backwards, for the last year and a half, with or without the a/c on. the first time i took it back to ford, they told me there was nothing wrong. now, we try not to use the a/c and drive/brake very cautiously. *tr

2006 ford freestyle experiencing "lunging" when parking at slow speeds. i see that a complaint file has been opened - pe11018. i would like to confirm that our freestyle is experiencing the same issue. we have ~40k miles and it is getting progressively worse. we have had the issue checked out by the dealership 1 year ago but they "could not replicate" the issue. we would like to add our complaint to the 250+ complaints you have received on this issue. *tr

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 purchased my ford freestyle about a month ago and began struggling almost immediately with the car lunging forward (or backward) unexpectedly when at a stop. if my foot is on the brake, my engine races as if the car has a mind of its own and is overriding my will to remain stationery, and greatly increases the rpm's . if my foot is not on the brake or is lightly on the brake, the car lunges forward (or backward if in reverse), putting pedestrians or cars in our path at risk of being run over. please advise as to how to repair this problem. thank you. *tr

Ford 2006 freestyle is accelerating on it own in reverse and drive. i do not have my foot on the gas .the car lunges forward and then stalls. *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 both 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. *tr

My 2006 ford freestyle has an issue where the rpm stays at 1500 allowing my vehicle to move at speeds of 25 - 30 mph with my foot off of the gas pedal. while stopped at a traffic light, the rpm was at 1500 then dropped all of a sudden causing the engine to almost stall. the rpms then jumped up again to avoid the engine stall causing my vehicle to move forward. in researching possible causes on the internet, i found that many ford owners have experienced the same issue and had to replace the throttle body (throttle position sensor). i called ford customer service and despite the numerous consumer complaints, there was no recall or no issue reported related to this serious acceleration issue. i was told to take the vehicle to my local dealer, have it repaired, and if ford decided to put out a recall that i may be reimbursed for this issue. my concern with ford's approach is that if every owner pays for this repair without anyone in the consumer safety board being made aware of this that there will be no recall. someone could get injured or killed with such a serious vehicle defect. *tr

2006 ford freestyle wants lunges even when the brakes are depressed and also in reverse dealership is unable and unwilling to find, and fix problem... *tr

When driving my 2006 ford freestyle when running the air conditioning, the vehicle will lunge either in drive or reverse. i have not taken this in yet to be looked at, but is seeming to worsen. i am in fear for my children, family and whom ever happens to cross the path of this vehicle when it "acts up". i have even had it happen at stop signs and red lights. i am afraid my car will run someone over or ram into another vehicle at its discretion. there needs to be a recall on this vehicle to resolve this problem long term. the vehicle is becoming unsafe to drive. this problem happens randomly without any pre-indicators as to when it will occur, except for the vehicle rpm's revving immediately before it happens. *tr

On saturday, july 2, 2011 we had been driving the car for about 40 minutes to our destination when the vehicle started acting up at a stop. i was idling at a stop with my foot on the brake when the vehicle suddenly increased rpms to 3 ' 4k. i had to turn the car off to get it to stop. the indicator light that looks like a wrench and an engine came on during this time. i had a difficult time starting the vehicle shortly after tuning it off. the temperature on that day was right at 100 degrees and i had the air conditioner running while driving and at the stop when this occured. *kb

The car has on numerous occasions lunged forward while in drive with a foot firmly on the brake. it was occurring somewhat intermittently; however, the problem seems to be occurring on a regular basis. the car used to only jump forward while in drive, but now also lunges backward while in reverse. it has also started to power off after lunging, which can make backing out of a parking space nearly impossible. we have also noticed that after the car dies (which can happen multiple times), it is nearly impossible to accelerate despite a foot being firmly planted on the gas pedal. the wrench light comes on, and sometimes all of the lights come on after dying while trying to start the car back up. the car has become increasingly dangerous and has nearly pulled into traffic while trying to exit a parking lot at points. this car has become a death trap very quickly. *tr

Car lurches randomly. this happens when i pull into my garage or parking space, back out of the garage or a parking space. when i am stopped at a traffic signal i have to make sure that i have my foot planted firmly on the brake pedal for fear that the car might choose that opportunity to lurch ahead, especially if i am the first car stopped at an intersection. i do not feel safe in my car now. *tr

Engine rpm will suddenly increase during low speed maneuvers such as parking or backing out of driveway. this sudden change can vary between 500 to 1000 rpm and seems more pronounced when the air conditioner is on and the vehicle is turning