2006 Ford Freestyle Problems: Cruise / speed control (1,288 Complaints)

The most-reported problem on the 2006 Ford Freestyle is Cruise / speed control (37% of 1,288 owner reports). There are 1 safety recalls. Check the VIN and inspect Cruise / speed control — this is the NHTSA file, not a score.

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-10-16 1,288 complaints · 1 recalls

What problems show up on the 2006 Ford Freestyle?

476 of 1,288 filings named Cruise / speed control (37% of the file). That is what owners wrote, not a shop diagnosis of the vehicle in the driveway.

Second is Transmission / driveline (360 reports).

This snapshot lists no safety recalls for this year. That is not a clean bill of health. Still check the VIN at nhtsa.gov.

The 2005 has 1,448 reports on file; this year has 1,288. A smaller lifetime total is not a clean bill of health. If you need a fairer comparison, use the equal-time view.

What to check before you buy a 2006 Ford Freestyle

A useful visit to this page takes five minutes. YearTell does not score years and cannot see the vehicle in front of you.

  1. Look up the VIN for open recalls at nhtsa.gov. This year has 1 campaigns on file below.
  2. Cruise / speed control. Test cruise control and ask about unintended-acceleration reports on this year.
  3. Transmission / driveline. Have a shop drive it and check the transmission: hard or delayed shifts, burnt-smelling fluid, and 4WD engagement if equipped.
  4. Engine. Have a shop check for oil consumption, coolant leaks, rough idle and unusual engine noise.
  5. Skim a few owner reports below for Cruise / speed control. Look for the same symptom repeating.
  6. Take that list to a mechanic. Do not turn the complaint total into a score.

What owners reported

System named most often: Cruise / speed control 476 complaints · 37.0% of the file
Crashes, fires, injuries and deaths in those filings:
  • Crashes 42
  • Fires 10
  • Injuries 18
  • Deaths 0
All Ford Freestyle years →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-10-16 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Which systems owners named

Share of owner complaints filed against each vehicle system. These shares are not adjusted for how many vehicles were sold.

Which systems owners named Cruise / speed control (VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL) appears in 476 of 1,288 owner complaints (37.0%) in this vehicle snapshot. Cruise / speed control (VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL): 476 complaints, 37.0% of reports Cruise / speed control (VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL) 21 crash reports 476 · 37.0% Transmission / driveline (POWER TRAIN): 360 complaints, 27.9% of reports Transmission / driveline (POWER TRAIN) 9 crash reports 360 · 27.9% Engine (ENGINE): 131 complaints, 10.2% of reports Engine (ENGINE) 2 crash reports 1 fire reports 131 · 10.2% Fuel system (FUEL SYSTEM): 90 complaints, 7.0% of reports Fuel system (FUEL SYSTEM) 1 crash reports 90 · 7.0% Electrical (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM): 42 complaints, 3.3% of reports Electrical (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM) 3 fire reports 42 · 3.3% Brakes (SERVICE BRAKES): 37 complaints, 2.9% of reports Brakes (SERVICE BRAKES) 37 · 2.9% Body / frame (STRUCTURE): 20 complaints, 1.6% of reports Body / frame (STRUCTURE) 1 crash reports 20 · 1.6% Suspension (SUSPENSION): 10 complaints, 0.8% of reports Suspension (SUSPENSION) 10 · 0.8% Airbags (AIR BAGS): 8 complaints, 0.6% of reports Airbags (AIR BAGS) 2 crash reports 8 · 0.6% Unclassified NHTSA leftover: 332 complaints, 25.8% of reports Unclassified NHTSA leftover 11 crash reports 3 fire reports 332 · 25.8% 0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

“Unclassified NHTSA leftover” is not a car part. It is a filing bucket and always sits last.

View component data as a table
System / Component Complaints Share of Reports Safety Reports (Crashes / Fires)
Cruise / speed control (VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL) 476 37.0% 21 crashes · 0 fires
Transmission / driveline (POWER TRAIN) 360 27.9% 9 crashes · 0 fires
Engine (ENGINE) 131 10.2% 2 crashes · 1 fires
Fuel system (FUEL SYSTEM) 90 7.0% 1 crashes · 0 fires
Electrical (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM) 42 3.3% 0 crashes · 3 fires
Brakes (SERVICE BRAKES) 37 2.9% 0 crashes · 0 fires
Body / frame (STRUCTURE) 20 1.6% 1 crashes · 0 fires
Suspension (SUSPENSION) 10 0.8% 0 crashes · 0 fires
Airbags (AIR BAGS) 8 0.6% 2 crashes · 0 fires
Unclassified NHTSA leftover 332 25.8% 11 crashes · 3 fires
NHTSA Consumer Complaints, NHTSA Safety Recalls, and NHTSA Defect Investigations Snapshot 2026-10-16 Open source record

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

When reports and recalls showed up

When owners filed reports, and when recall campaigns showed up.

When reports and recalls showed up Owner reports in this snapshot begin in Oct 2005; the first recall shown was reported in Oct 2006. 2005-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2006-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2006-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2006-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2006-Q4: 6 owner reports 6 2007-Q1: 7 owner reports 7 2007-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 2007-Q3: 5 owner reports 5 2007-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2008-Q1: 5 owner reports 5 2008-Q2: 5 owner reports 5 2008-Q3: 10 owner reports 10 2008-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2009-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 2009-Q2: 5 owner reports 5 2009-Q3: 24 owner reports 24 2009-Q4: 11 owner reports 11 2010-Q1: 14 owner reports 14 2010-Q2: 27 owner reports 27 2010-Q3: 150 owner reports 150 2010-Q4: 21 owner reports 21 2011-Q1: 13 owner reports 13 2011-Q2: 152 owner reports 152 2011-Q3: 261 owner reports 261 2011-Q4: 37 owner reports 37 2012-Q1: 28 owner reports 28 2012-Q2: 65 owner reports 65 2012-Q3: 104 owner reports 104 2012-Q4: 35 owner reports 35 2013-Q1: 21 owner reports 21 2013-Q2: 23 owner reports 23 2013-Q3: 22 owner reports 22 2013-Q4: 10 owner reports 10 2014-Q1: 13 owner reports 13 2014-Q2: 17 owner reports 17 2014-Q3: 16 owner reports 16 2014-Q4: 12 owner reports 12 2015-Q1: 7 owner reports 7 2015-Q2: 20 owner reports 20 2015-Q3: 14 owner reports 14 2015-Q4: 10 owner reports 10 2016-Q1: 9 owner reports 9 2016-Q2: 7 owner reports 7 2016-Q3: 10 owner reports 10 2016-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2017-Q1: 5 owner reports 5 2017-Q2: 5 owner reports 5 2017-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2017-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2018-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2018-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2018-Q3: 5 owner reports 5 2018-Q4: 7 owner reports 7 2019-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2019-Q2: 7 owner reports 7 2019-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 2019-Q4: 6 owner reports 6 2020-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2020-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2020-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 2020-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2021-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2021-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2021-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2022-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2022-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2023-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2025-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2026-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Oct 2005 Apr 2026 Recall campaign 06V383000 ◆ Recall campaign 06V383000 Investigation PE11018 ● Investigation PE11018
  • Campaign 06V383000 was reported 346 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
2005-Q4 Owner reports 1
2006-Q1 Owner reports 2
2006-Q2 Owner reports 2
2006-Q3 Owner reports 1
2006-Q4 Owner reports 6
2007-Q1 Owner reports 7
2007-Q2 Owner reports 4
2007-Q3 Owner reports 5
2007-Q4 Owner reports 3
2008-Q1 Owner reports 5
2008-Q2 Owner reports 5
2008-Q3 Owner reports 10
2008-Q4 Owner reports 1
2009-Q1 Owner reports 4
2009-Q2 Owner reports 5
2009-Q3 Owner reports 24
2009-Q4 Owner reports 11
2010-Q1 Owner reports 14
2010-Q2 Owner reports 27
2010-Q3 Owner reports 150
2010-Q4 Owner reports 21
2011-Q1 Owner reports 13
2011-Q2 Owner reports 152
2011-Q3 Owner reports 261
2011-Q4 Owner reports 37
2012-Q1 Owner reports 28
2012-Q2 Owner reports 65
2012-Q3 Owner reports 104
2012-Q4 Owner reports 35
2013-Q1 Owner reports 21
2013-Q2 Owner reports 23
2013-Q3 Owner reports 22
2013-Q4 Owner reports 10
2014-Q1 Owner reports 13
2014-Q2 Owner reports 17
2014-Q3 Owner reports 16
2014-Q4 Owner reports 12
2015-Q1 Owner reports 7
2015-Q2 Owner reports 20
2015-Q3 Owner reports 14
2015-Q4 Owner reports 10
2016-Q1 Owner reports 9
2016-Q2 Owner reports 7
2016-Q3 Owner reports 10
2016-Q4 Owner reports 3
2017-Q1 Owner reports 5
2017-Q2 Owner reports 5
2017-Q3 Owner reports 3
2017-Q4 Owner reports 3
2018-Q1 Owner reports 2
2018-Q2 Owner reports 2
2018-Q3 Owner reports 5
2018-Q4 Owner reports 7
2019-Q1 Owner reports 2
2019-Q2 Owner reports 7
2019-Q3 Owner reports 4
2019-Q4 Owner reports 6
2020-Q1 Owner reports 3
2020-Q2 Owner reports 2
2020-Q3 Owner reports 4
2020-Q4 Owner reports 1
2021-Q1 Owner reports 1
2021-Q2 Owner reports 1
2021-Q3 Owner reports 1
2022-Q1 Owner reports 3
2022-Q2 Owner reports 1
2023-Q1 Owner reports 1
2025-Q1 Owner reports 1
2026-Q2 Owner reports 1
Recall campaign 1 06V383000
Defect investigation 1 PE11018
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-10-16 Open source record

Safety Recalls (1)

Official campaigns. Each one says what could go wrong and what the dealer was told to fix.

  1. Recall campaign 06V383000

    Safety recall 06V383000

    Report date
    Component:
    Unclassified NHTSA leftover
    Consequence:
    AS A RESULT, THE DOOR LATCH PAWL MAY NOT RETURN TO THE LATCH POSITION WHEN THE DOOR IS CLOSED, AND THE DOOR COULD OPEN WHILE THE VEHICLE IS MOVING.
    Remedy:
    DEALERS WILL INSTALL A SHIELD OVER THE FRONT LATCHES; SEAL A DRAIN HOLE IN THE REAR WINDOW TRIM MOLDING ON THE FREESTYLE REAR SIDE DOORS; AND APPLY GREASE TO ALL FRONT AND REAR SIDE-DOOR LATCH MECHANISMS FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON NOVEMBER 8, 2006. OWNERS MAY CONTACT FORD AT 1-800-392-3673.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-10-16 Open source record

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

What owners actually wrote

Short excerpts from the public NHTSA file. Look for the same symptom repeating.

Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · snapshot 2026-10-16
Safety incident filters
Showing 10 of 1,288 complaints · page 1 of 52
2026-06-12Unclassified NHTSA leftover
NHTSA ODI 11743751
CrashFireInjuryDeath
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!
2025-01-11Unclassified NHTSA leftover
NHTSA ODI 11635407
CrashFireInjuryDeath
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
2023-02-02Transmission / driveline (POWER TRAIN)
NHTSA ODI 11505221
CrashFireInjuryDeath
Car struggles to change gears. ABS, ENGINE, and THROTTLE warning lights on. Rough idle, car does not accelerate when shifted into drive.
2022-05-27Body / frame (STRUCTURE)Unclassified NHTSA leftover
NHTSA ODI 11466341
CrashFireInjuryDeath
Took the vehicle in to local Ford for 120000 mile service and was informed the subframe was rusted and starting to separate. The part is no longer available and maybe they could find a used one as they have had to do in other cases. Not sure why just the front subframe is bad and no other part of the frame structure also the car has had rustproofing done on it. Reading on the internet this seems to be a common problem with these subframes.
2022-03-27Engine (ENGINE)
NHTSA ODI 11458536
CrashFireInjuryDeath
I was driving down the road and my car just stopped like it went into Neutral but it was in drive the car starts up but when I’m Drive doesn’t go anywhere
2022-02-03Unclassified NHTSA leftover
NHTSA ODI 11450202
CrashFireInjuryDeath
The contact owns a 2006 Ford Freestyle. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the rear driver’s and passenger’s side doors would not close securely. The vehicle was not taken to a local dealer to be inspected however, the local dealer was contacted by phone and the contact was informed that the vehicle was not included in a recall. Upon investigation, the contact associated the failure with NHTSA Campaign Number: 06V383000 (Latches/Locks/Linkages) however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was informed of the failure and confirmed that the VIN was not included. The failure mileage was approximately 160,000.
2022-01-21Engine (ENGINE)
NHTSA ODI 11448360
CrashFireInjuryDeath
The contact owns a 2006 Ford Freestyle. The contact stated while driving approximately 25 MPH, the vehicle inadvertently stalled with the battery, oil pressure, and check engine warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer but was not diagnosed. The manufacturer was informed of the failure but offered no assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 210,000.
2021-09-10Body / frame (STRUCTURE)Unclassified NHTSA leftover
NHTSA ODI 11432476
CrashFireInjuryDeath
The contact owns a 2006 Ford Freestyle. The contact stated that she noticed that after it rained, the front passenger’s side floor would fill up with water. The contact was unsure where the leak was located. The contact called the local dealer and made them aware of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 139,372.
2021-06-22Brakes (SERVICE BRAKES)
NHTSA ODI 11421913
CrashFireInjuryDeath
The contact owns a 2006 Ford Freestyle. The contact stated as she was driving 5 MPH and coming to a stop, the brake pedal was depressed but failed to respond and the vehicle kept accelerating. The brake pedal was soft. The contact stated she continued to depress the brake pedal until it responded, and she was able to pull to the side of the road and park the vehicle. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact stated the dealer was made aware of the failure and advised to schedule an appointment to get the vehicle diagnosed. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and did not provide assistance. The approximate failure mileage was 175,600.
2021-01-05Unclassified NHTSA leftover
NHTSA ODI 11386693
CrashFireInjuryDeath
THE WRENCH LIGHT AND CHECK ENGINE LIGHT COME ON OUT OF NOWHERE AND THE CAR ISN'T DRIVABLE. WE KEEP REPAIRING THINGS BUT THEN IT COMES UP WITH DIFFERENT CODES.

Frequently asked questions

What are the most common problems on the 2006 Ford Freestyle?

Owners named Cruise / speed control most often — 476 of 1,288 reports (37%). That is the NHTSA file, not a diagnosis of every vehicle.

Are there recalls for the 2006 Ford Freestyle?

NHTSA lists 1 safety recall campaigns. This snapshot lists none, which is not a clean bill of health. Check the VIN at nhtsa.gov; a campaign on this page can still be open on a specific vehicle.

What should I inspect before buying a 2006 Ford Freestyle?

Look up the VIN for open recalls. Test cruise control and ask about unintended-acceleration reports on this year. Then skim owner filings for the same symptom and take that list to a mechanic.

Does a high complaint count mean I should skip this year?

No. Counts are reports people chose to file and they are not adjusted for sales volume. YearTell does not publish scores or a list of years to skip. Inspect the vehicle.

EPA Fuel Economy Database Snapshot 2026-10-04 Open source record

Estimated Ownership Cost

EPA fuel economy ratings and annual operating cost estimates

Data: US EPA Fuel Economy Guide · snapshot 2026-10-04
Supported range: 1,000–60,000 miles per year
Supported range: $1.50–$10.00 per gallon
55% city45% highway
Estimate unavailable

EPA fuel-economy data is unavailable for this vehicle.

No estimate is shown when required EPA values are unavailable.

 Open Ownership Cost Calculator →

Adjacent Model Years

Immediate preceding and succeeding model year records

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-10-16 Open source record

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Methodology & Data Integrity

Source: NHTSA ODI / recalls, snapshot 2026-10-16. YearTell is not a government agency.

Read our complete data methodology → Sources