- The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has opened an investigation into 170,000 2005-'07 Ford Freestyles after receiving 238 consumer complaints about unintended lunging at low speeds "when the driver's foot is not on the accelerator."
- Ford told Inside Line that it will "cooperate fully with the agency" and that the Ford Five Hundred, the sister vehicle to the Freestyle, is not part of the investigation.
- NHTSA says throttle-body malfunction in the 2005-'07 Freestyle may result in unexpected vehicle movement.
WASHINGTON — The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has opened an investigation into 170,000 2005-'07 Ford Freestyles after receiving 238 consumer complaints about unintended lunging at low speeds "when the driver's foot is not on the accelerator."
"Complainants allege that the vehicle brakes are effective in either preventing or stopping the movement, but in some cases the vehicle has moved as much as 10 feet if the brake was not applied, lightly applied or applied late," said NHTSA in its defect investigations summary. "The movement resulting from the unexpected idle speed increase, often described as a 'lunge,' is alleged to have resulted in 18 minor crashes."
One crash involved a minor impact with a pedestrian in a residential driveway, resulting in a bruised knee that did not require medical attention.
NHTSA said complaints allege that the lunge is "sudden and unexpected and generally of brief duration.... There is some indication that the condition may be made worse during air-conditioning operation or when the steering wheel is turned a significant amount, as may occur during low-speed parking-lot-type maneuvers."
NHTSA has opened a preliminary evaluation into the alleged defect. Such a move is sometimes the precursor to a recall.
"We will cooperate fully with the agency," said Susan Krusel, a Ford spokesperson in a phone conversation on Monday with Inside Line.
When asked if the condition affects the Ford Five Hundred, the sister vehicle to the Freestyle, Krusel said "not to our knowledge."
Inside Line says: If you own the 2005-'07 Ford Freestyle, be aware that the feds are looking into complaints of lunging.
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rayzor says:
02:32 PM, 05/17/2011
Not again! Just when I feel like buying a Ford...First the F150s, now the Freestyles...I'll wait...
exinobel102 says:
02:10 PM, 05/17/2011
AS much as I like to Bash American vehicles, truth of the matter is that all manufacturers foreign or domestict are all plagued with recalls at one point or another. Look at recent headlines here on edmunds and other auto magazines and Columns. Off of the top of my head I can list, Honda, Toyota, Lexus, Hyundai, Nissian, Kia, Mazda to name a few. The auto industry as a whole needs to instill better quality standards in production and thourough engineering as to avaiod design defects that can potentially place drivers in harms way.
tbone85 says:
10:21 AM, 05/17/2011
"That,s way I will never buy a ford..."
Cool. What brand do you buy that never has any issues or recalls?
ihad1 says:
09:40 AM, 05/17/2011
Yep - we've got an 2006 and it does this. I don't usually get 10k before it's cleaning time again. Luckily all the guys with 2005's figured out you can clean the TB instead of replacing it or else I would have been buying several TB's. If you let it get bad enough, the car won't even idle. The other bad thing is the electronic nannies seem to keep things in check while the crud is building up, then when they can't keep up any more it's like a on switch for surging and rough running. It's definetly worse with in town driving only. Just more proof cars like to be driven hard!
wikiwiki says:
06:37 AM, 05/17/2011
There was a major issue with this in the Ford Escapes as well. They were recalled for the throttle body/cable thing (don't remember the specifics). We had a 2003 Escape and after a lot of research I found out that the cars still had problems even after the recall issue was "fixed." My friend's cousin had her Escape fixed for the recall and then was in the hospital after the car just kept accellerating and went off the road (not driver's fault. not floor mat issue). I got rid of the car immediately since my wife drove my kids around in it. And that is one of the many reasons I will never buy from the 3 "American" car companies ever again. All manufacturers have recalls here and there but the American ones seem to have the most recalls and the most serious recalls of them all.
srt8maniac says:
08:29 PM, 05/16/2011
That,s way I will never buy a ford...
tbone85 says:
07:53 PM, 05/16/2011
No, they didn't. The fine was for hiding information relating to quality issues. If Ford is found to have done the same thing, they will also be fined. Attempting to revise history doesn't change it.
fhwulala says:
04:27 PM, 05/16/2011
Probing?! Back when Toyota had this problem, they went straight to a million dollar fine.
So much for Free market
salo1983 says:
02:53 PM, 05/16/2011
This issue also happens with Five Hundred's, believe me, I own one. I got tired of replacing the Throttle Body over and over again, and found out that the solution for this quite scary problem is to keep your throttle body pristine, by cleaning it every 10,000 miles.
A recall is due, and a refund for all of us who have paid dearly to get our cars fixed.
atenza94546 says:
01:00 PM, 05/16/2011
Are they sure its not a Toyota and its a Ford ??!!!