Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (accelerator pedal, throttle, sudden acceleration, cruise control).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2007 Ford Freestyle owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
Tl* the contact owns a 2007 Ford Freestyle. The contact stated that while driving at an unknown speed, the vehicle surged forward and crashed into the rear of another vehicle. The contact mentioned that the passenger seated in the rear seat sustained injuries to the shoulders, but did not require medical attention. A police report was filed. The contact stated that the failure occurred twice before. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer to be diagnosed. The failure mileage was 120,000.
I purchased this vehicle 01/20/15 from a used lot in raleigh nc, 'something you should never do in the first place''. I had just got off maternity leave and I needed a car so I could be able to get to work. On the 4th of April 2015. I was driving the car on the highway when it started to jerk back and make a very loud roaring sound. The car started to slow down and jerk back and forth if you went over 20 miles per hour. I pulled over to check the car and I could not figure out what was wrong with it so I called my husband and he came. The car could still drive but very slowly while making the same sound so he drove very slowly behind me. Keep in mind I had my two month old in the back seat when all of this craziness was happening. Next day I couldn't even drive the car because of the poor condition it was in. …
The car is self accelerating!! It is very scary. It does it when I am on drive trying to slow down and stop or when I have been parked and try to backup slowly to move in reverse. It therefore, happens mostly at red lights, stop signs, and in parking lots. I am terrified the car will run over a person crossing the street or walking behind my car in a parking space. When the car self accelerates, it does it suddenly and forcefully. In that split second I slam on the brakes to avoid running over a crossing pedestrian or winding up at crossroads and cause an accident. When I step on the brakes, the car shakes and dies. I have to quickly restart the car again. This constant dying and restarting of the car at red lights and parking lots had drained my battery. This exact self accelerating problem happened in 2011. It was "fixed" at the maxwell Ford dealership in 5000 south I-35 78745. …
Unknown reason: on dec.28 2016 I@ 1535 I was driving on interstate #30 in arkansas. I was driving @ a speed of 70 MPH when all the power went off in my car. I was unable to turn on flashers or restart car. Behind me was a 18 wheeler and on my right side was a car. I immediately began to lose speed. It just so happened that the other drivers noticed I was in trouble. Both drivers put their hazard lights on and slowed traffic enabling me to steer the car ( with no power) to the shoulder. I put the car in park turned the radio and heater off and tried to restart it. It did restart but I left the radio and heater off. I was 34.1 mi from home. I prayed all the way home and did not drive over 60 MPH.( I could have been killed !!!). When I finally arrived at home, I put my car in park and the car turned itself off. The car keys were still in the on position! …
Several times my vehicle surges forward when moving at slow speeds or braking. This has happened while driving forward and reverse. More noticeable when the A/C is on. Even when my foot is on the brake . I can hear the engine revving when this is happening - even though my foot is on the brake.it also loses power on the freeway and becomes very sluggish in acceleration.the vehicle would lose power unexpectedly when driving 10 MPH and up. Also I had a minor accident,the vehicle accelerated by itself and I hit a wall in my garage. Also, it would not go forward and when put in reverse it would accelerate--this happened in the middle of traffic during rush hour. We finally took it to the dealer to have it looked at, they told us it was the throttle body and our master tech guarantee did not cover the expense. …
My Freestyle accelerators/ lunges forward for "no reason" when I'm pushing on brake to park. This has happened numerous times at grocery store, wal-mary etc. Last Tuesday was the scariest. I was with my mom driving to the bank and as I was parking it accelerated much more than it normally does. We hopped the curb and almost crashed into the bank wall. My foot was on the brake! I have seen several mechanics who have no clue and can't find anything wrong. I went immediately to seen another recommend seasoned mechanic who said he had no idea what it could be and saw nothing wrong. I'm scared to drive my cat or even park it. I only park away from other cars now. If someone would have been in front of my cat at the bank, they would have been seriously injured. …
Well I noticed this issue a couple months ago, I bought the car back in July of 2019 with 123,000 miles. Whenever I go to park or reverse with the A/C on or anything my car lunges without me even touching the acceleration and I have to slam on the brakes not to hit anything. And today I reversed out of a parking spot and it lunges as usual and when I started driving down the road a wrench light flashed on and I wasn't getting as much acceleration as usual. I've been researching and this seems to be a problem a lot of people have had with this car. It just scares me with it lunging and speeding up on its own in drive thrus, parking lots/spots, and simply when I'm sitting and turn my wheel just a little bit it decides it wants to accelerate on its on! All this happened mostly when I just start driving, or pulling in somewhere or reversing, and sometimes when I'm stationary at a drive thru.
Tl* the contact owns a 2007 Ford Freestyle. The contact stated that the check engine warning lamp flashed several times and then went off. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who was not able to replicate and diagnose the failure. When the vehicle was in reverse, it independently surged backwards and the contact had to quickly apply the brake pedal each time the failure occurred. The contact also stated that the vehicle hesitated numerous times upon starting and then stalled. The contact had to apply the brake pedal while at a stop due to the vehicle independently moving forward. The vehicle was not inspected and diagnosed. The contact was not able to drive the vehicle for several months due to the intermittent failures. The manufacturer was not notified of the failures. The approximate failure mileage was 12,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2007 Ford Freestyle. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds above 50 MPH with the accelerator pedal depressed, the vehicle decelerated below 30 MPH independently causing an abnormal knocking sound from the transmission. The powertrain warning senor illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local hertrich Ford-Lincoln dealer of milford located on 1427 bay rd, milford, de, 19963 where it was diagnosed that multiple error codes internally with the transmission, and that the transmission would need to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and stated that they would record the failure, however there was no recall for the failure but were aware of the high volume of complaints. The failure mileage was approximately 98,897.
The issue of "unintended acceleration" has been an issue with this vehicle when I first used the air conditioner in March of 2008. I ran into the back end of another car at a drive through fast food restaurant when the car surged and the brakes did not hold the vehicle back. There was no damage to either vehicle. I took it to a Ford dealer to check out the issue. They said there was nothing wrong. Over the years I have taken to other Ford dealers who also said their was nothing wrong - most recently 02/15/11. Over the years the vehicle has jumped over parking spaces concrete stops. The "unintended acceleration" happens dozens of times every day. I will not let anyone else in the family drive the vehicle. This vehicle is dangerous and Ford doesn't care!
NHTSA investigations
Idle instability
On November 29, 2012, Ford Motor Company (Ford) initiated Customer Satisfaction Program 12N03 to extend warranty coverage terms for repair of engine idle RPM surge caused by throttle body deposits in all model year (MY) 2005 through 2007 Ford Freestyle, Five Hundred and Mercury Montego vehicles.The program extends the coverage for up to 10 years of service or 150,000 miles from the warranty start date of the vehicle…
Acceleration complaints in other Freestyle years
Frequently asked questions
How common are acceleration problems on the 2007 Ford Freestyle?
NHTSA has 428 complaints about the speed control & acceleration of the 2007 Ford Freestyle, 48% of the model year's 893 complaints. The component named most often is accelerator pedal (1 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2007 Ford Freestyle acceleration problems?
No. NHTSA lists no speed control & acceleration recall for the 2007 Ford Freestyle. 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 2007 Ford Freestyle acceleration problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 65,000 miles, and 3% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 16 crashes, 0 fires and 2 injuries to speed control & acceleration problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
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.