Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2006 Ford Freestyle owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
My car will try to surge forward while at a stop with my foot on the brakes. It will happen while driving, in parked position, and while no gas or brake pedal is pressed. This happened in a pick up line and I could have hit a child if I hadn't hadn't my foot in the brake and done all I could to not move forward. Sometimes I'm in reverse and this happens and it's like I put my foot down hard on the gas. There seems to be a connection to the ac unit, because when that is on it is making a loud sound. I went to carmax 3 years ago (in 2015) with this issue and they replaced the throttle body. Now they are saying it needs to be replaced again. There is clearly an ongoing issue with this part in the car and it is a major safety concern. Sometimes after the surge, my car will 'die'. This happened in the middle of 6 lanes of traffic while stationary at a red light. …
Safety complaint for Ford Freestyle 2006. The wrench and engine light appear on the dashboard and the engine goes to limp mode and the speed drops to 30 miles per hour from highway speed of 60 to 70 miles per hour with no warning other than the quick drop in speed and wrench light. Driving on a highway with trucks and cars going 70 miles per hour or more is beyond dangerous and asking to get hit. We have had Ford service on this car but they did not have recalls for this problem. Vehicle in motion on highway. Have had car towed, pulled over to breakdown lane and traveled side roads for fear of getting hit by another vehicle. Please do something to Ford corp to fix this problem before there is tragedy.
I just buy a 2006 Ford Freestyle and since day one I have savety problem with this car , some time the speed change with out my knowledge , it goes from 40 to 45 or try to spedd wit out me hitting on the gas . Everyday the car stop and turn off no matter speed I`am driving on. I went to many garage and Ford dealer and they told me is a problem they having with most Ford 2006 Freestyle . I think for the safety of all people who using this 2006 Ford freestyles with their family on borad , with their kids on board and to save a lifes we have to recall this cars . This 2006 fordstyle can`t be fixe or repair .....
Was driving check engine light came on and then a wrench showed up in far left hand corner .my vehicle quit accelerating goes to limp mode while I was still in motion on w butler rd in mauldin sc 29662 doing 40 miles an hour. It scared me.I am 70 yrs young and have been licensed to drive for 52 yrs. This situation was by far one of the worst I have ever been involved in. What if anything is being done about this situation if anything to save lives.
Tl* the contact owns a 2006 Ford Freestyle. When the accelerator pedal was depressed, the traction control and wrench warning lights illuminated. In addition, the engine rpms revved, the vehicle decelerated and failed to accelerate over 40 MPH. The contact mentioned that the traction control warning light dimmed and the wrench warning light remained illuminated. The failure occurred intermittently. The failure mileage was 112,000.
My mom's 2006 Ford Freestyle, surges forward when using the air conditioner or defroster. There has been many times it has done this almost rear ending the vehicle in front of hher.this has been going on since beet and my deceased father have own it.(2010?) her instrument panel goes bonkers now, and sometimes the car won't start and the panic alarm goes off when we get out of the car.
Shortly after we purchased the car on jan 01, 2008 we began to have issues with lunging and high idling. Car was taken to dealership several times before they cleaned the throttle body sensor. It was OK for a few months and started back. We took it back and they replaced the tbs and another part. Car worked great for a while, but had to have the tbs cleaned again in 2011 and 2012 and is now doing the same thing again and more. Now it is extreme. I work about 6 miles from home and have to stop several times to turn the car off and back on to reset the wrench that comes on in order to reset the high idle. If I don't, when I hit the gas, the RPM's go up to 4 and 5K only doing 30 MPH. The check engine light is also on. I have had it checked and the error code is p0701 indicating transmission and tb issues. …
I'm writing again. I've had a throttle body issue twice. The customer satisfaction program that Ford did was a temporary fix. Ford knew this. Ford dealership mechanics have told them it doesn't solve the issue. Less than a year after I had to the c. S. P. On my car I was stranded on side of road only to find out it was the throttle body I could have it cleaned and reprogrammed again at my cost which was nearly the same cost to replace. I had it replaced at my cost. In my situation the 1st time my car lunged forward toward wall of my home. I had to use both feet and all my weight to stop it. The 2nd time I lost power and control . All while trying to get out of heavy traffic. I could not get my car off the road and in a safe position. After this problem my ac will not work unless accelerating. And my motor went out. All this before I hit 100,000 miles. …
Cruise control caused traction control light and wrench light to come on. Transmission went into a variance of neutral. Fixed by turning off car and turning it back on again. Vehicle worked fine without using cruise control until throttle body was replaced via recall. Ever since then battery has had an undue amount of buildup at terminals and sequence above happened at irregular intervals. Interval never more than 100 miles. Always fixable by turning car off and turning it back on. Ford says maybe $7100 will fix it. As of 3/1/2014 transmission went out but restart didn't fix it. This is not only dangerous, but thousands of these cars are doing the same thing. Please help. Most trannies cost maybe $2000, Ford should have a better fix. Otherwise I like the car and wouldn't mind paying a reasonable amount for a transmission replace. …
We have had or Freestyle since 7-6-2006 and not an issue until the throttle started acting up on a road trip this year. The car has ~46K miles and has been maintained every 5K miles with synthetic blend oil. The trouble started when we drove to utah from seattle and hit the heat. It was not bad at first but continued to get worse if the car sat while running. For is well aware of the issue and has issued two TSB's for dealers the number are TSB 05-25-12 and 06-21-1 (www.justford.com). This failure cause the car to surge forward or reverse without touching the gas pedal. Ford is aware of the issue and recommends not driving the car due to the risk of injury but contends it's not a "defect" that they are required to cover. Guess they are waiting until enough people complain or someone is killed to own up to the issue.
Traction Control complaints in other Freestyle years
Frequently asked questions
How common are traction control problems on the 2006 Ford Freestyle?
NHTSA has 20 complaints about the stability & traction control of the 2006 Ford Freestyle, 2% of the model year's 1,300 complaints.
Is there a recall for 2006 Ford Freestyle traction control problems?
No. NHTSA lists no stability & traction control recall for the 2006 Ford Freestyle, though it has 1 recall for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2006 Ford Freestyle traction control problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 99,000 miles, and 5% before 25,000 miles.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.