NHTSA Complaint #10871941 — 2006 FORD FREESTYLE

WHILE DRIVING, VEHICLE GOES INTO LIMP MODE WITHOUT WARNING. HAPPENS IN BOTH CITY AND HIGHWAY DRIVING. WRENCH INDICATOR AND CHECK ENGINE INDICATORS LIGHT ON DASH. VEHICLE SLOWS AND CAN BARELY ACCELERATE CAUSING NEAR-ACCIDENT. RESETTING CODE P0701 ALLOWS NORMAL OPERATION TILL CYCLE REPEATS IN SHORT AND RANDOM TIME OF DRIVING. ENGINE SHUT DOWN/RESTART CLEARS WRENCH LIGHT TILL CYCLE REPEATS. TOOK CAR TO 2 FORD DEALERS AND INDEPENDENT TRANSMISSION SPECIALIST. ALL ADVISED THAT THE CVT TRANSMISSION CANNOT BE REBUILT OR REPAIRED AND THAT REPLACEMENT TRANSMISSIONS ARE GENERALLY NOT AVAILABLE. ALL ADVISED NOT REPAIRING THE CAR BECAUSE EVEN IF A NEW TRANSMISSION WERE AVAILABLE, COST IS $4500-$5500 FOR THE UNIT PLUS OVER $1000 LABOR TO REMOVE/REPLACE TRANSMISSION. RESEARCH SHOWS THIS IS A COMMON COMPLAINT ABOUT THIS CAR AND IT'S SIMILAR MODELS (FORD 500) OF ALL YEARS (2005-2007).