RoadVitals

2005 Ford Freestyle Exterior lighting Problems

Owner-reported complaints naming the exterior lighting system, filed with NHTSA

Data refreshed

Exterior lighting reportsComplaints are reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers. NHTSA does not verify most reports before publishing them, and a complaint does not establish that a defect exists. Volume is influenced by how many of a vehicle were sold, how long it has been on the road, and how much attention an issue has received.
14
Latest Jun 30, 2019
Share of all reportsThis category as a share of every owner report on file for this model year. One report can name more than one component, so the categories overlap.
<1%
of 1,459 total
Crash or fire reportedReports in this category whose submitter recorded that a crash or a fire occurred. The reporter's own answer on the NHTSA form, not a verified finding.
0
Injuries or deaths reportedTotals the submitters entered on their own reports in this category. Not verified by NHTSA and not a casualty statistic.
0

What this page shows

Reports naming headlights, tail lights, turn signals and other exterior lighting. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2005 Ford Freestyle submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 14 reports on file name it.

Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.

Owner reports naming exterior lighting

Shown in the owner’s own words, exactly as filed

Driver assistanceElectricalExterior lighting
Filed Jun 30, 2019

WHILE I AM DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD, IT FEELS LIKE THE VEHICLE SHUTS OFF. I AM STILL ABLE TO ACCELERATE, STEER AND STOP; HOWEVER, THE LIGHTS, HEATER AND RADIO SHUT OFF AND ALL OF MY GAUGES QUIT WORKING. MY DASHBOARD SAYS "CHECK CHARGING SYSTEM" BUT THE SOURCE OF THE ISSUE HAS NOT BEEN FOUND. I HAVE ALREADY REPLACED THE STARTER (WAS MAKING A CLICKING NOISE AT TIMES), BATTERY AND ALTERNATOR. THIS HAS HAPPENED SEVERAL TIMES ON DIFFERENT ROAD TYPES AND VARYING SPEEDS.

NHTSA ID
11228563
Incident
Jun 21, 2019
Mileage
160,000 mi
Fuel systemExterior lighting
Filed Apr 5, 2019

LA GUAGUA SE APAGA EN PLENA RUTA LUEGO DE HABERLE SUPLIDO DE GASOLINA. NO APAGA LA LUZ INTERIOR DEL TECHO Y TECHO FRENTE AL CONDUCTOR. ESTE AUTO LO ADQUIR HACE UN AO MS O MENOS A TRAVS DE VENTA DIRECTA DEL DUEO. SOLICITO ME REGISTREN PARA TODA CORRESPONDENCIA.

NHTSA ID
11193987
Incident
Jan 4, 2018
Mileage
40 mi
Driver assistanceElectricalExterior lighting
Filed Nov 25, 2017

WHILE DRIVING ON A CITY STREET GOING 25 AND WHILE DRIVING ON THE FREEWAY GOING 55, THE LIGHTS IN CLUSTER OF GUAGES WENT OUT. THE WRENCH ICON LIGHTS UP AND ALL POWER GOES OUT TO THE GUAGES. ALL NEEDLES DROP. CHECKED THE FUZES. NOTHING BLOWN. WHEN THIS HAPPENS THE A.C. ALSO STOPS BLOWING COLD AIR.

NHTSA ID
11048378
Incident
Nov 25, 2017
Mileage
107,500 mi
Driver assistanceElectricalExterior lighting
Filed Oct 10, 2016

WHILE DRIVING CAR AT NIGHT LIGHTS ON DASHBOARD AND INSTRUMENT PANEL WENT OUT, ABS LIGHT CAME ON, HEADLIGHTS WENT OUT BUT BACKUP LIGHTS CAME ON WHILE CAR WAS IN DRIVE. TURN SIGNALS DID NOT WORK AND RADIO WENT OUT. CAR EVENTUALLY LOST ALL POWER.

NHTSA ID
10915147
Incident
Oct 9, 2016
Mileage
181,000 mi
ElectricalExterior lighting
Filed Feb 9, 2015

WHILE DRIVING THE WRENCH LIGHT AND ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON. LOST ALL POWER TO THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL, REFUSED TO GO ABOVE 2K ROMA. TURNED CAR OFF AND LET IT SIT FOR FIFTEEN MINUTES. TURNED IT BACK IN AND LIGHTS WERE STILL ON AND CAR WOULDN'T ACCELERATE. REPLACED THE THROTTLE BODY AND THE ACCELERATOR POSITION SENSOR. STILL GIVING THE SAME CODES AND WON'T ALLOW ME TO CLEAR THE CODES. PREVIOUS ISSUES WITH UNEXPECTED ACCELERATION IN THE PAST. NOW THE BATTERY WON'T HOLD A CHARGE, THE LIGHTS ARE COMING ON WHEN THEY ARE ALL TURNED OFF AND IT SEEMS THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM I'D GOING CRAZY. IT'S NOW FEBRUARY AND I'M BEING TOLD THE THROTTLE POSITION SENSOR NEEDS TO BE REPLACED. SINCE MY THROTTLE BODY HAD THE COLD WEATHER SYSTEM ON IT THAT MEANS ANOTHER THROTTLE BODY REPLACEMENT WITH NO GUARANTEE IT WILL FIX THE ISSUE. I CAN'T DRIVE THE CAR AT ALL. I CAN'T BACK IT OUT OF ITS PARKING SPACE WITHOUT IT STALLING OUT AND ALL THE LIGHTS INSIDE ABD HEADLIGHTS FLICKERING. THERE NEEDS TO BE A RECALL. I'VE SPENT TILL MUCH MONEY TO KEEP PUTTING MORE INTO IT WHEN REPLACING THE PARTS THAT HAVE THE CODE ISSUES ISN'T WORKING. *TR

NHTSA ID
10682392
Incident
Nov 7, 2014
Mileage
136,000 mi
ElectricalExterior lighting
Filed May 21, 2014

WE NOTICED THAT WHEN GOING OVER BUMPS IN THE ROAD, THE INTERIOR LIGHTS WOULD RANDOMLY TURN ON AND OFF. AT FIRST I THOUGHT IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN RELATED TO A DOOR SWITCH BUT AFTER SOME TROUBLE SHOOTING, I FOUND THAT IT WAS RELATED TO THE IGNITION SWITCH. I FOUND THAT WHILE DRIVING I COULD WIGGLE THE KEY AND THE LIGHTS MIGHT TURN ON OR OFF RANDOMLY. THERE WAS NO EFFECT TO THE ENGINE. DURING THE DAY I'D NOT NOTICED IT BUT AT NIGHT IT IS QUITE DISTRACTING. I'VE NOT YET REPLACED THE SWITCH BUT IT IS ON MY LIST. WE RECENTLY PURCHASED THE CAR. IT MAY HAVE HAD THE PROBLEM FOR SOME TIME BEFORE WE BOUGHT IT. AS PART OF MY FIXING THINGS, I'D ALSO REPLACED THE BRAKE LIGHT SWITCH THAT WAS STUCK ON, CAUSING DAMAGE TO THE LIGHTS ON THE TAIL GATE FROM HEAT. I CAN SAVE THE SWITCHES IF IT IS OF INTEREST. [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR

NHTSA ID
10593227
Incident
Apr 1, 2014
Mileage
113,000 mi
ElectricalExterior lighting
Filed May 21, 2014

THE INTERIOR LIGHTS CAME ON W/O TURNING THEM ON AND THE SWITCH WAS IN THE OFF POSITION. ALSO, NO DOORS WERE AJAR AT THE TIME OF THE INCIDENT. AT THE SAME TIME THE HEADLIGHTS TURNED ON AND OFF THREE SEPARATE TIMES WITHIN ONE MINUTE. THIS OCCURRED ON 05/14/2014, 05/17/2014 AND 05/20/2014. ALL INCIDENTS WERE WHILE DRIVING AT NIGHT. THE FIRST INCIDENT WAS WHILE TRAVELING ON THE INTERSTATE AT 65 MPH, THE ROAD WAS SMOOTH WITH NO ROUGH AREAS HIT AT THE TIME OF THE INCIDENT. THE SECOND INCIDENT OCCURRED WHILE TRAVELING AT 35 MPH ON A CITY ROAD WHICH WAS ALSO SMOOTH AND THE FINAL INCIDENT OCCURRED WHILE TRAVELING ON A LOCAL HIGHWAY AT ABOUT 60 MPH ON A SMOOTH ROADWAY. *TR

NHTSA ID
10593167
Incident
May 14, 2014
Mileage
112,980 mi
Driver assistanceElectricalExterior lighting
Filed Dec 1, 2013

THE DASH TURNED OFF. ALL OF THE DASH COMPONENTS ARE NOT WORKING INCLUDING THE MILEAGE, SPEEDOMETER, GAS, OIL, TURN SIGNALS ETC. IT IS NOT SAFE TO DRIVE. IT FAILS SEVERAL TIMES DURING THE DAY AND AT NIGHT KEEPING ME GUESSING IF I AM DRIVING THE SPEED LIMIT OR NOT AND IF MY TURN SIGNALS ARE WORKING. THE AIRBAG SAFETY LIGHT ALSO IS NOT WORKING, FLASHING ON AND OFF KEEPING ME WONDERING IF I HAVE ANY SAFETY AT ALL. THIS PROBLEM IS NOT JUST HAPPENING WITH MY CAR BUT OTHERS IN MY YEAR AND MAKE. IT IS NOT SAFE FOR THE DRIVER, PASSENGER, AND OTHER CARS ON THE ROAD. THIS NEEDS TO BE FIXED. AS OF NOW, THE BUG HAS NOT FIXED ITSELF. THE ELECTRONICS HAVE BEEN OFF FOR A FULL DAY AND I AM WORRIED THEY WON'T TURN BACK ON. PLEASE DO SOME FURTHER WORK ON THIS PROBLEM. THANK YOU. *TR

NHTSA ID
10554276
Incident
Sep 1, 2013
Mileage
120,000 mi
Driver assistanceElectricalExterior lighting+1 more
Filed Nov 11, 2013

I HAVE A 2005 SEL FREESTYLE WITH ABOUT 130K MILES ON IT. THIS MORNING WHILE DRIVING TO WORK WITH SPEED OF 55MPH ALL OF A SUDDEN THE ABS AND AWD LIGHTS CAME ON AND THE MESSAGE CENTER DISPLAYED "CHECK TRACTION CONTROL" AND "AWD MALFUNCTION", THEN ENTIRE PANEL WENT DARK (RPM, GAS, OIL, SPEED AND ODOMETER). I NOTICED THAT THE GAUGES WERE MAKING A TICKING NOISE AT THAT TIME AS WELL. I PULLED OFF THE MAIN HWY AND SHUT CAR OFF, I THEN TRIED TO RESTART THE CAR. ALL OF THE GAUGES LIT UP AGAIN, BUT CAR WOULD NOT START, ACTED LIKE BATTERY/ALTERNATOR WAS SHOT. HAD TO GET IT TOWED HOME AND WAS LATE TO WORK. NOT SURE WHERE TO START TO SOLVE THE ISSUE, HAVE SEEN TOO MANY POSTS WITH THE SAME ISSUES. I THINK THAT FORD NEEDS TO STEP UP AND TAKE THE APPROPRIATE STEPS TO RECALL THESE VEHICLES BEFORE FATALITIES BEGIN. *TR

NHTSA ID
10551756
Incident
Nov 11, 2013
Mileage
130,000 mi
ElectricalExterior lighting
Filed Nov 3, 2012

MY INSTRUMENT PANEL STARTED GOING OUT WHILE I WAS DRIVING DOWN THE HIGHWAY ONE NIGHT AND IT CAUSED MY REVERSE LIGHTS TO FLASH ON AND OFF. THIS IS A PROBLEM THAT FORD KNOWS ABOUT AND IT IS A PROBLEM DUE TO FAULTY SOLDER JOINTS ON THE BACK OF THE INSTRUMENT PANEL, THERE IS A TSB FOR THIS, BUT THERE IS NO RECALL ON THIS WHY? THIS PROBLEM HAS ALSO LED TO MY TRANSMISSION GOING OUT AGAIN, AND FORD WILL DO NOTHING ABOUT ANY OF IT. I AM NOT THE ONLY ONE WHO HAS HAD THIS PROBLEM EITHER THERE ARE TONS OF OWNERS OF THIS CAR THAT HAVE HAD THESE ISSUES. FORD NEEDS TO BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR THESE ISSUES THAT ARE A RESULT OF FAULTY MANUFACTURING. WE ARE A HARD WORKING FAMILY AND WE SPENT EVERYTHING WE HAD REPLACING THE TRANSMISSION IN OUR CAR SIX MONTHS AGO, AND OUR WARRANTY WAS UP SEVEN DAYS BEFORE OUR TRANSMISSION WENT OUT AND NOW THANKS TO THE FAULTY INSTRUMENT PANEL DOING WHATEVER IT WAS DOING TO THE COMPUTER WHEN IT WAS CUTTING IN AND OUT IT HAS TORE MY ALMOST $4000.00 TRANSMISSION UP AND NOW I HAVE NO CAR TO HAUL ALL OF MY CHILDREN AROUND IN. I ALSO CONTACTED FORD VIA EMAIL AND THE RESPONSE I GOT WAS SAVE YOUR RECEIPTS IN CASE OF A RECALL OR A FORGIVENESS PROGRAM IS STARTED UP. *TR

NHTSA ID
10483246
Incident
Oct 15, 2012
Driver assistanceElectricalExterior lighting
Filed Mar 25, 2012

WHILE DRIVING TO WORK ALL OF A SUDDEN THE CLUSTER LIGHTS IN THE INSTRUMENT PANEL ALL WENT OUT AND THE SPEEDOMETER, ODOMETER, CONTROL TEMP, AND GAS GAGE ALL ZEROED OUT AND A WRENCH AND AIR BAG LIGHT CAME ON. THEN AFTER ABOUT 10 MINUTES OF DRIVING EVERYTHING STARTING WORKING AGAIN AND THE TWO WARNING LIGHTS WENT OFF HOWEVER, THEN THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON. I HAD A DIAGNOSTIC DONE AND THE ERRORS WERE ALL ELECTRICAL. HAVE TO TAKE IT IN A FEW DAYS TO THE FORD DEALER AND BE CHARGED A $90.00 FEE UP FRONT JUST FOR THEM TO LOOK AT IT AND DIAGNOSE THE PROBLEM. ACCORDING TO ALL THE COMPLAINTS IT'S BEEN A VERY WELL KNOWN PROBLEM THAT FORD SHOULD HAVE DEALT WITH IN A RECALL. NOT JUST TRY TO SWEEP IT UNDER THE RUG. I'M SURE IT'S GOING TO COST ME AN ARM AND A LEG WHEN THEY GET DONE. I HAVE ALWAYS OWNED A FORD BUT NOW I THINK I'M GOING TO MAKE A SWITCH TO A CHRYSLER (SINCE I DO WORK THERE NOW) AND I KNOW I WILL BE TAKEN CARE OF NOT JUST TAKEN. *TR

NHTSA ID
10452894
Incident
Mar 22, 2012
Mileage
56,152 mi
ElectricalExterior lighting
Filed May 24, 2011

2005 FORD FREESTYLE COMPLETE SHUTOFF OF ELECTRICAL SYSTEM INCLUDING TURN SIGNALS. THIS IS THE SECOND PROBLEM. THE FIRST WAS THE SURGING THAT EVERYBODY IS COMPLAINING ABOUT. AFTER A WRONG DIAGNOSIS AND REPLACING THE THROTTLE BODY AND PCM, THE WHOLE PROBLEM WAS FIXED BY REPLACING THE ALTERNATOR. MY CONCERN IS THE COMPLETE SHUTOFF OF ELECTRICAL SYSTEM IS A SAFETY ISSUE. THIS SECOND PROBLEM IS CURRENT. *TR

NHTSA ID
10402503
Incident
May 23, 2011
Mileage
131,000 mi
ElectricalExterior lighting
Filed Oct 28, 2010

WHEN DRIVING MY 2005 FORD FREESTYLE DOWN THE ROAD THE ENTIRE CLUSTER WILL START CUTTING OUT ALL THE LIGHTS WILL COME ON. THE FIRST TIME THIS HAPPENED I WAS DRIVING 30 MILE PER HOUR. I PULLED OVER AND SHUT OFF MY VEHICLE, A FEW SECONDS LATER I RESTARTED MY VEHICLE THE LIGHTS STILL CAME ON THEY STAYED ON FOR ABOUT 20 MINUTES AND THEN STAYED OFF FOR ABOUT A 9 DAYS. THE SECOND TIME IT HAPPENED THEY STAYED ON FOR 4 DAYS. I CALLED OUR NEAREST FORD DEALERSHIP THE SAME DAY THEY CAME ON AND WAS TOLD IT COULD BE THE BATTERY CAUSING IT OR COULD BE THE CLUSTER CUTTING OUT. WE CHECKED AND CLEANED OUR BATTERY WHICH IS ONLY 9 MONTHS OLD. IT WAS NOT THE BATTERY. THEN ON THE 4TH DAY ALL THE WARNING LIGHTS IN THE CLUSTER WENT OFF EXCEPT THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT. AFTER A DAY OR SO IT TO WENT OUT. THE BIGGEST PROBLEM WITH THIS THE SPEEDOMETER DOES NOT WORK WHEN THIS OCCURS. ...I FEEL THIS IS VERY DANGEROUS, ESPECIALLY ON THE CURVY AND WINDING ROADS WHERE I LIVE. AND IT IS A PROBLEM I THOROUGHLY CHECKED OUT MANY PEOPLE ARE HAVING PROBLEM WITH THIS ISSUE YET FORD HAS NOT HAD A RECALL ON IT OR THE OTHER PROBLEM WITH THE THROTTLE BODY (LURCHING AND SURGING). BOTH ARE SAFETY ISSUES AND MANUFACTURING DEFECTS. BAD ENOUGH THE AC PROBLEM AND HAVING BOUGHT 5 SETS OF TIRES SINCE I HAVE BOUGHT THE 2005 FREESTYLE. I HAVE OWNED FORD PRODUCTS FOR MANY YEARS AND BEING THEY DO NOT BACK THEIR PRODUCTS I WILL NOT CONTINUE PURCHASING FROM FORD. *TR

NHTSA ID
10362755
Incident
Sep 25, 2010
Mileage
100,000 mi
Exterior lightingTires & wheels
Filed May 6, 2007

WHEN SLIGHTLY RAINING, THE LIGHT SENSOR SEEMS TO ONLY WORK INTERMITTENTLY THEREBY NOT ALWAYS TURNING ON THE LIGHTS IN AUTO MODE. THIS SEEMS TO BE A PROBLEM ONLY IN RAIN DURING THE DAY WHEN THE SENSOR HAS A HARD TIME DISTINGUISHING WHEN TO TURN ON AND WHEN TO TURN OFF. *TR

NHTSA ID
10189894
Incident
Nov 23, 2006
Mileage
15,000 mi

Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.

Other components reported on this vehicle

Categories with enough reports to have a page of their own

Elsewhere on this vehicle

Data sources

Data on this page last refreshed .