2007 Ford Freestyle

THE CAR STARTED MAKING A NOISE WHILE IN PARK OR NEUTRAL. AFTER A FEW WEEKS, BEGAN MAKING A WHINING NOISE WHILE GOING IN REVERSE IN ADDITION TO THE NOISE IT WAS MAKING WHILE IN PARK AND NEUTRAL. IT IS NOW IN THE TRANSMISSION SHOP AND COSTING ME $2,500 TO FIX MANY OF THE COMPONENTS WITH THE TRANSMISSION INCLUDING THE BEARINGS; TORQUE CONVERTER, FLUSH KIT AND SOME OTHER THINGS; ALONG WITH LABOR. I HAVE READ WHERE THIS TRANSMISSION SHOULD BE RECALLED. *TR

AIR CONDITIONING DOES NOT WORK WHEN DRIVING UNDER 35 MPH OR ESPECIALLY WHEN AT AN IDLE. AIR IS NOT COOL AT ALL. THEN WHEN I SPEED UP, I HAVE AIR AGAIN ALTHOUGH OCCASIONALLY CAR WILL START TO DIE AND DASH LIGHTS UP AND THEN IT SURGES AND IS FINE AGAIN WHEN GOING DOWN THE HIGHWAY AT HIGHER SPEEDS. THIS IS MOSTLY WHEN IT IS HOT OUTSIDE. WHEN COOL OR RAINING, THE PROBLEM IS BETTER. *TR

CAR LUNGES WHEN HOLDING FOOT ON THE BRAKE WHETHER IN DRIVE OR REVERSE. THE LUNGING IS GETTING WORSE. VERY SCARY. ALSO, AIR CONDITIONING DOES NOT WORK WHEN IDLING OR STOPPED; HAS BEGUN ACTING LIKE IT'S GOING TO DIE AND THEN LUNGING WHILE DRIVING ON HIGHWAY NOW. THE CAR HAS DONE THIS SINCE I GOT IT IN 2008, BUT WAS NOT AS SEVERE AND BEING A WOMAN, WASN'T SURE IF THIS WAS JUST HOW THIS CAR ACTED FOR SOME WEIRD REASON. IT IS GETTING WORSE AND WORSE NOW. IT FEELS VERY DANGEROUS. NOW THE AIR CONDITIONER WON'T WORK WHEN CAR IS IDLING EITHER. IT WORKS GREAT WHEN GOING DOWN THE HIGHWAY OR IN COOL OR RAINY WEATHER. MY LIFE IS DRIVING. I AM A HEALTHCARE CONTRACTOR AND MUST DRIVE OFTEN. I NEED MY CAR. I UNDERSTAND FROM WHAT I HAVE READ (A LOT) THAT MANY PEOPLE ARE FILING CLASS ACTION SUITS. I JUST WANT MY CAR FIXED ASAP. *TR

WHILE DRIVING ON VACATION TO OUR DESTINATION IN SOUTH CAROLINA, WITH MY WIFE, DAUGHTER, DOG, AND MYSELF AND A CAR FULL OF LUGGAGE. TRAVELING AT APPROXIMATELY 60 MPH IN THE HILLS OF WEST VIRGINIA, I APPLIED MORE THROTTLE APPROXIMATELY 3/4 OF THE WAY UP ONE OF THE LARGE HILLS. THE CVT TRANSMISSION 'DOWNSHIFTED' (ACTUALLY IT DOESN'T DOWNSHIFT, RATHER IT JUST ADJUSTED IT'S RATIO QUICKLY TO IMPROVE TORQUE OUTPUT TO THE WHEELS -- I'M AN ENGINEER) AND THERE WAS A HUGE CLUNK AND THE ACCELERATOR NO LONGER AFFECTED ACCELERATION. FORTUNATELY, I HAD ENOUGH MOMENTUM TO CREST THE TOP OF THE HILL AND COASTED DOWN THE HILL ON THE OTHER SIDE. AT 67,000 MILES, OUR EXTENDED WARRANTY OF 5 YEARS OR 75,000 MILES THAT WE PAID FORD FOR HAD JUST EXPIRED MONTHS BEFORE. THE OUTCOME? A TOW TO A FORD DEALER, A 40 MILE DRIVE TO THE NEAREST CAR RENTAL AGENCY THAT WAS OPEN (IT WAS A SATURDAY), CERTAINLY A BIG BILL COMING FROM THE FORD DEALER, AND A 6 HOUR DELAY IN REACHING OUR DESTINATION LEFT ME FRAZZLED. MAYBE THIS IS A ONE-OFF, ISSUE, I THOUGHT. HOWEVER, WHEN I GOT TO OUR DESTINATION TODAY, I WENT ON-LINE LOOKING TO SEE ABOUT TYPICAL REPAIR COSTS FOR FORD'S CVT TRANSMISSION AND INSTEAD I AM FINDING DOZENS OF SIMILAR STORIES ON-LINE ABOUT THE FREESTYLE CVT. WHAT'S GOING ON HERE, I THOUGHT? HOW CAN THIS BE OCCURRING AT A MILEAGE SO FAR BELOW THE MILEAGE THAT THE OEMS DESIGN FOR (AT FORD THIS IS TYPICALLY 150,000 MILES). SOMETHING SEEMS AMISS HERE TO ME WITH NHTSA REGARDING THIS COMPONENT DESIGN AT FORD. I REALIZE THAT YOU SHOULD AND MUST PRIORITIZE THE MOST SERIOUS ISSUES FIRST REGARDING INJURY AND/OR DEATH BUT YOUR MISSION ALSO SPEAKS OF REDUCING ECONOMIC LOSSES. I ENCOURAGE YOU TO RESPOND TO ME DIRECTLY IF AT ALL POSSIBLE. AS AN ENGINEER IN THE AUTOMOTIVE MARKET FOR 20 YEARS, I AM VERY CONFIDENT THERE IS A DESIGN OR MANUFACTURING FLAW THAT CONSUMERS ARE LIVING WITH. *TR

I DRIVE A 2007 FORD FREESTYLE, AND MY CAR LUNGES WHILE MY FOOT IS SLIGHTLY ON THE BRAKES. I CANNOT HAVE MY AIR-CONDITIONING ON WHILE I'M ON A STAND STILL AND MY KEY IGNITION IS LOSE AND THE CAR LIGHT COMES ON OR THE CAR WILL JUST STOP. I TOLD IT TO THE DEALERSHIP AND ALL THEY SAY IS PAY FOR A DIAGNOSTIC AND GET IT FIXED! THIS CAR IS NOT SAFE TO DRIVE AND I'M SCARED TO CONTINUE TO DRIVE IT ON LONG ROAD TRIP WITH MY PRECIOUS CARGO. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2007 FORD FREESTYLE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING 30 MPH, THE CHECK ENGINE WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL. THE VEHICLE ABNORMALLY ACCELERATED AND THEN, LOST POWER. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER FOR DIAGNOSIS. THE DEALER ADVISED THAT THEY NEEDED TO REPLACE THE CONTROL MODULE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS CONTACTED AND STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS NOT UNDER RECALL. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 96,000.

DURING THE WEEK OF JULY 2, 2012, WE WERE IN CLEVELAND, OHIO, AND IT WAS EXCEPTIONALLY HOT. 100+ DEGREE TEMPERATURES EVERY DAY, SO WE HAD THE AIR CONDITIONING ON FULL BLAST. WHEN DRIVING THE CAR AT SLOW RATES OF SPEED -- IN PARKING GARAGES, FOR INSTANCE -- OR REVERSING OUT OF PARKING SPACES, THE CAR LUNGED AS THOUGH I'D ACCELERATED, BUT MY FOOT WAS EITHER NOT ON THE ACCELERATOR AT ALL, OR ON THE BRAKE. THE FOLLOWING WEEK, TEMPERATURES COOLED, AND THE LUNGING WAS NOT AS NOTICEABLE. THE WEEK OF JULY 16, 2012, IT WAS AGAIN HOT, AND THE SYMPTOMS STARTED AGAIN -- LUNGING WHEN DRIVING AT SLOW RATES OF SPEED, REVERSE, ETC. DURING THIS PARTICULAR WEEK, THOUGH, THE CAR WOULD STALL AS WELL. IT ALWAYS RE-STARTED, THOUGH. ON JULY 27, 2012, THE CAR AGAIN STALLED, AND THEN WOULD NOT GO MORE THAN 50 MPH. WHEN WE TOOK IT TO THE DEALER, WE WERE TOLD WE NEEDED A NEW TRANSMISSION. FOR THE LUNGING ISSUE, RESEARCH ONLINE SHOWS THAT MIGHT BE DUE TO A DIRTY BODY THROTTLE, BUT TWO SEPARATE DEALERS SAY THAT IT'S DEFINITELY THE TRANSMISSION. *TR