2005 Ford Freestyle

2005 FORD FREESTYLE W/87,213 MI., PURCHASED USED WITH 87090 MILES. DRIVING APPROX 40 MPH, SLOWING TO STOP, PUT TURN SIGNALS ON, NO TURN SIGNALS. NOTICED CHECK TRANSMISSION & AIR BAG LAMPS LIT. PULLED OVER, SHUT THE ENGINE OFF & TOOK KEY OUT, SPEED STILL REGISTERING A SPEED OF 40 MPH. CYCLED THE CAR ON & OFF 3 TIMES & THEN THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON. IN TRANSIT TO DEALER & THE ENTIRE INSTRUMENT PANEL LIGHTS, THEN SWEEPS THRU ALL THE WARNING LAMPS, THE REVERSE GEAR TAILLIGHTS & THE BRAKE LIGHTS LIGHT, THEN THE CHECK ENGINE LAMP LIGHTS & NO GAUGES REGISTER, INCL SPEED!! DANGEROUS!! THIS CYCLE REPEATED APPROX 3 TIMES BEFORE CHECK ENGINE CAME ON STEADY. CALLED DEALER & TOLD TO PUT ON HAZARD LIGHTS & BRING CAR IN ASAP. WAS TOLD TODAY THAT THE ENTIRE INSTRUMENT PANEL MUST BE REPLACED, BUT THAT THIS IS NO GUARANTEE THAT THE PROBLEM WON'T OCCUR AGAIN. WEATHER AT TIME OF INCIDENT WAS DRY, TEMPS IN UPPER 40'S. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 FORD FREESTYLE. THE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER SHUT OFF AND ALL OF THE WARNING LIGHTS ILLUMINATED WHICH ALSO CAUSED THE HEADLIGHTS TO FLASH ON AND OFF. HE NOTICED THE MALFUNCTION ON A FREQUENT BASIS AND OVER TIME IT HAS BECOME PROGRESSIVELY WORSE SINCE MAY 2008. HE HAD NOT TAKEN THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER WHEN THE COMPLAINT WAS FILED. A LOCAL MECHANIC STATED THAT THE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. HE CALLED THE MANUFACTURER AND WAS TOLD THAT BECAUSE THERE WAS NO SAFETY RECALL, THEY COULD NOT ASSIST HIM WITH THE REPAIRS. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 88,000. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 50,000.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 FORD FREESTYLE. AFTER STARTING THE VEHICLE, THE ENTIRE INSTRUMENT PANEL AND HEADLIGHTS FAILED WITHOUT WARNING. THE FAILURE OCCURRED INTERMITTENTLY. THE VEHICLE HAS NOT BEEN INSPECTED AT THIS TIME. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 60,000. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 63,000. UPDATED 01/05/10 *BF UPDATED 01/06/10.*JB

THE INSTRUMENT PANEL FLIPS ON AND OFF AT RANDOM INTERVALS CAUSING THE CAR TO JUMP INTO "SAFE MODE". IF THIS OCCURS AT HIGH SPEED THE CAR BUCKS AND BECOMES UNCONTROLLABLE UNTIL IT SLOWS DOWN BELOW 40MPH. IN A POSSIBLE RELATED ISSUE THE BATTERY LIGHT CONTINUOUSLY FLICKERS ON AND OFF EVEN WITH A BRAND NEW BATTERY INSTALLED. THE ALTERNATOR APPEARS TO CHARGE WHEN EVER IT FEEL LIKE IT AND NOT CONTINUOUSLY. THERE ARE SO MANY ELECTRICAL ISSUES IN THIS CAR I WILL NOT LET ANYONE IN MY FAMILY DRIVE OR RIDE IN IT. WITH ON 64000 MILES ON THE VEHICLE NONE OF THESE PROBLEMS SHOULD BE OCCURRING. I FEAR A MAJOR ACCIDENT EACH DAY I GET IN AND DRIVE IT WORK.*TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 FORD FREESTYLE. SHE STATED THAT THE SPEEDOMETER GAUGES FAILED INTERMITTENTLY AS WELL AS THE DASHBOARD, AIR CONDITIONER, TAIL LIGHTS AND RPM GAUGES. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 25 MPH SHE ATTEMPTED TO MAKE A RIGHT TURN INTO A GARAGE AND THE TURN SIGNALS FAILED TO OPERATE. DUE TO THE FAILURE A VEHICLE FOLLOWING HER NEARLY CRASHED INTO HER. SHE HAS REVIEWED THE TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETINS AND NHTSA ACTION NUMBER: PE07058 INVESTIGATION WHICH WAS CLOSED IN 2008. THE CONTACT IS AWARE OF THE SAFETY RISK AND THE POSSIBILITY THAT A CRASH COULD OCCUR. THE VEHICLE HAS NOT BEEN REPAIRED. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGES WERE UNDER 41,000.

I WAS DRIVING THE VEH NORMAL AND ALL OF A SUDDEN THE RMP JUMPS REALLY HIGH FOLLOWING THIS MY VEH SHUTS DOWN, WRENCH LIGHT COMES, AND THE FAIL SAFE ENGINE MODE DISPLAYS. ALSO, WHEN THE VEH IS PUT IN PARK AND SHUT OFF, THEN BACK ON AGAIN THE LIGHT DISAPPEARS, AND EVERYTHING APPEARS NORMAL. TODAY WOULD BE TWICE THIS HAS HAPPENED SO AFTER READING OTHER REVIEWS WITH SAME ISSUE FOUND OUT ITS THROTTLE BODY THAT NEEDS REPLACED. I WILL CALL DEALER TOMORROW TO FIND OUT MORE, BUT WHY ISN'T THIS PART ON RECALL. HOPE ITS COVERED UNDER POWERTRAIN :( *TR

THE DASHBOARD INSTRUMENT PANEL FAILS REGULARLY AND ALL GAUGES (SPEED, GAS, TEMP, ETC.) FALL TO ZERO. THE DASHBOARD AND OTHER INTERIOR LIGHTS ALSO DO NOT WORK WHEN THIS HAPPENS. AT FIRST, IT HAPPENED INTERMITTENTLY AND WOULD WORK MOST OF THE TIME, BUT NOT ALL. NOW, IT HAPPENS REGULARLY AND I HAVE DRIVEN SEVERAL TIMES WITHOUT KNOWING MY SPEED OR FUEL LEVEL. SOMETIMES THE COMPUTER RESETS. AT TIMES, THE GAUGES RESUME WORKING WITHIN A MINUTE, OTHER TIMES, THEY DO NOT WORK FOR THE ENTIRE DRIVE, LEAVING ME WITH NO WAY OF KNOWING MY SPEED OR FUEL LEVEL AND NOW WAY OF SEEING INSIDE THE CAR WHEN IT IS DARK. I DID SOME RESEARCH AND FOUND A TSB ON THE ISSUE AT FORD, BUT IT IS EXPENSIVE TO FIX AND REALLY IS A SAFETY ISSUE THAT SHOULD BE COVERED BECAUSE OF THE LACK OF KNOWING THE SPEED AND FUEL LEVELS. I BROUGHT IT IN YESTERDAY AND IT WILL COST $750.00 TO FIX. *TR

WE RECENTLY PURCHASED A 2005 FORD FREESTYLE. THE DASHBOARD GAUGES WILL RANDOMLY ALL BOTTOM OUT FOR A FEW SECONDS, AND THEN COME BACK ON. THIS HAPPENS AT LEAST ONCE NEARLY EVERYTIME WE DRIVE. OCCASIONALLY THE GAUGES WILL 'FREEZE' WHERE THEY ARE AND THE DASHBOARD LIGHTS (INCLUDING ODOMETER) WILL GO OUT. THIS LASTS FOR A FEW SECONDS, AND WHEN THE LIGHTS COME BACK ON, ALL OF THE GAUGES BOTTOM OUT FOR A FEW SECONDS AND THEN COME BACK ON. WHILE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT THE PROBLEM IS, WE DISCOVERED THAT THERE IS A COMMON DEFECT IN THE GAUGE CLUSTER AND AN ONLINE SEARCH REVEALS HUNDREDS OF COMPLAINTS ABOUT THIS. THERE IS AN OPEN INVESTIGATION, BUT NO RECALL TO DATE. THIS IS A SAFETY HAZARD DESPITE WHAT FORD SAYS, NOT KNOWING HOW FAST YOU ARE GOING (EVEN IF IT IS JUST FOR A FEW SECONDS) IS DANGEROUS, BUT THE WORST PART IS THE DISTRACTION WHEN YOU SEE YOUR GAUGES GOING CRAZY OUT OF THE CORNER OF YOUR EYE. DISTRACTED DRIVERS ARE NOT SAFE DRIVERS. THE DEALER TELLS US THEY'VE CHANGED DOZENS OF THESE, AND THE COST IS NEARLY $900! FOR AND THE NHTSA KNOW THIS IS A PROBLEM, FORD SHOULD TAKE RESPONSIBILITY AND MAKE IT RIGHT. *TR

WHILE DRIVING THE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER AND LIGHTS WOULD RANDOMLY GO ON AND OFF AND ENGINE WOULD SHUT DOWN. THIS OCCURS ON A REGULAR BASIS, MAKING THE VEHICLE UNSAFE. THE PROBLEM IS A COLD SOLDER JOINT ON THE "CRYSTAL" LOCATED NEXT TO THE FOUR SIDED PROCESSOR CHIP ON THE PRINTED CIRCUIT BOARD. FORD IS AWARE OF THIS PROBLEM AND SENT OUT A TSB TO ALL OF IT DEALERS IN FEB 2006. THERE IS CURRENTLY A 6 MONTH BACKLOG OF THE PART TO REPAIR THIS PROBLEM DUE TO SO MANY OCCURRENCES. THE PROBLEM ALSO LOCKS OUT THE SHIFT LOCKING MECHANISM PREVENTING THE VEHICLE ONCE PLACED IN PARK TO GOING INTO GEAR OR NEUTRAL FOR TOWING. THE PROBLEM STARTS OUT WITH JUST THE DASH INSTRUMENTS FLICKERING BUT PROGRESSES TO THE PROBLEM I HAVE OUTLINED ABOVE. *TR