2006 Ford Freestyle problems & reliability
1,300 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2006 Ford Freestyle, alongside 1 safety recall campaign. Last verified Aug 7, 2026. Complaints are unverified reports submitted by owners to the federal Office of Defects Investigation.
Each complaint is counted once (by NHTSA case number), even when it names several vehicles.
10 complaints report injuries (18 injured).
Federal crash records (FARS 2020–2023): 2006 Ford Freestyle vehicles were involved in 26 fatal crashes with 18 occupant deaths. Involvement counts are not adjusted for how many are on the road and do not imply fault or a vehicle defect.
Most reported problems
| Component | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Vehicle Speed Control → | 602 | 46% |
| Power Train → | 484 | 37% |
| Engine and Engine Cooling → | 144 | 11% |
| Engine → | 114 | 9% |
| Fuel System, Gasoline → | 85 | 7% |
| Electrical System → | 84 | 6% |
| Unknown OR Other | 74 | 6% |
| Fuel/propulsion System → | 53 | 4% |
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic → | 49 | 4% |
| Structure → | 28 | 2% |
Component groups as classified by NHTSA. A complaint can name more than one component, so shares may sum to more than 100%.
Common symptoms owners describe
Keyword analysis of complaint narratives; one complaint can describe several symptoms.
Mileage when problems occurred
Half of the failures with a reported odometer reading occurred by 75,000 miles (middle 50% between 57,000 and 100,000 miles), based on 1,169 complaints that included mileage.
Complaints by incident year
What owners report
“I recently got my transmission replaced for my 2006 Ford Freestyle in December 2025. Yet, I am having transmission issues on my car now. Bates Ford was the dealership who replaced my transmission, but I feel as if where they got my replaced transmission from was not honest about the product it sold to me. Please help!”
Electrical System · filed Jun 12, 2026
“Transmission is slipping not getting power when gas is pressed down Rpms are jumping not going into gear. Making a terrible sound in park. Passenger door not closing”
Power Train · filed Jan 11, 2025
“Car struggles to change gears. ABS, ENGINE, and THROTTLE warning lights on. Rough idle, car does not accelerate when shifted into drive.”
Electrical System · filed Feb 2, 2023
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Federal defect investigations
- Idle instability
Preliminary Evaluation PE11018 · opened May 11, 2011 · closed Feb 7, 2013
Technical service bulletins
23 manufacturer communications (TSBs, service campaigns, warranty extensions) are on file with NHTSA for the 2006 Ford Freestyle. The 10 most recent:
Motorcraft® Continuously Variable Chain-Type Transmission Fluid (XT-7-QCFT in non-Canadian markets, CXT-7-LCF12 in Canada) is no longer manufactured and will only be available until inventory depletes. The recommended…
SSM 52567 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued May 24, 2024
The Powertrain Control/Emissions Diagnosis (PC/ED) manual has been revised for diagnosing electronic throttle bodies (ETBs). The ETC_ACT and ETC_DSD PIDs should not used to diagnose possible ETB concerns. The IDS has a…
SSM 46085 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Sep 21, 2016
Ford: see document search button for owner letter. Momentary engine idle rpm surge may be intermittent and may occur, due to deposits buildup in throttle body, at low speeds, while parking or entering driveway and check…
CSP-12N03 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Nov 29, 2012
Ford mercury service campaign: see document search button for owner letter. Certain 2005 through 2007 fwd and awd ford five hundred, freestyle and mercury montego vehicles - rear brake wear. Also have an owner's letter…
0710 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Nov 28, 2007
MIL WITH DTC P0106 AND/OR P0109. *KB
19722 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Apr 1, 2007
Battery light illuminated. *kb
19312 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Aug 1, 2006
Continuously variable transaxle (cvt) noise diagnosis. *tt
06114 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jan 1, 2006
Intermittent instrument cluster gauge sweep/reset - multiple warning lights on - reverse lights on - vehicles built before 2/17/2006. *tt
0662 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jan 1, 2006
Second row seat recline concern. *tt
0664 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jan 1, 2006
Heated seats inoperative. *tt
06211 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jan 1, 2006
TSBs are repair guidance manufacturers send to dealers — they are not recalls and repairs are not automatically free. Full documents are available on NHTSA’s site.
Safety recalls
The 2006 Ford Freestyle has 1 NHTSA recall campaign — recall repairs are free at franchised dealers regardless of the vehicle’s age.
Check whether your specific vehicle is affected
Recall campaigns often cover only certain VIN ranges. Enter your VIN on the official NHTSA site to confirm whether your vehicle is included and whether the repair is still open.
Check VIN on NHTSA →Buying a used 2006 Ford Freestyle?
- · Decode the seller’s VIN with our free VIN decoder to confirm the exact year, engine and trim.
- · Check for unrepaired recalls by VIN on NHTSA’s official lookup — recall repairs are free.
- · Owners most often reported problems around 75,000 miles — budget accordingly if the car is approaching that mileage.