10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
2 / 2
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
96,423 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2006 Ford Freestar drivetrain problems

drivetrain problem

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2006 Ford Freestar Owner Comments (Page 2 of 11)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #184

Oct 162017

Freestar

  • 111,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Where to start.... every time its raining my van starts to putt and stall out I have almost had 3 accidents due to my van stalling on a main road trying to get home...issue #2. I use my key pad to unlock my vehicle on nights that im working and lately it will unlock then re lock N unlock over and over with out being touched. I was driving down a road and it would unlock and lock.. its not safe if its unlocking its self and my 2 year old reachs he could open the door while driving... issue #3.. my van says I have 1/2 a tank of gas yet my digital gas reader continues to say 0 miles..

- Winsted, CT, USA

problem #183

Oct 042017

Freestar

  • miles
I have problems with transmission when shift, some times is really hard shifting and also I have problem with battery light in the cluster is always on but the charging system works normally, this happen all the times

- Locust Valley, NY, USA

problem #182

Sep 202017

Freestar

  • 90,000 miles
The contact owns a 2006 Ford Freestar. While attempting to accelerate from a standing start, a loud clicking noise was present from the front driver's side and the vehicle hesitated to accelerate. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the chain inside the transmission was faulty. The vehicle was not repaired. The local dealer (ronnie walkins Ford in gadsden, al) was notified of the failure. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was 90,000.

- Attalla, AL, USA

problem #181

Aug 282017

Freestar

  • 135,024 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Transmission not working, slipping, like in neutral while in park or reverse. Was driving when the van acted like it was in neutral. Got it stopped. Tried to get it in gear (drive or reverse), but would not work. The car was in motion on street at time of failure.

- Olathe, KS, USA

problem #180

Aug 102016

Freestar

  • 56,000 miles
2006 Ford free star torque converter. Vehicle lost power in traffic. Very unsafe. Recall is for 2004-2005. 2006 has same issue

- Inkster, MI, USA

problem #179

Jul 072017

Freestar

  • 106,250 miles
I left burger king, drove a few blocks to menards, I was just parking when the little wrench starts blinking, I drive to autozone as slow as 30/mph, they couldn't tell me with their little computer what the problem is, the light starts blinking after about half a mile driving.

- Lyons, IL, USA

problem #178

May 312017

Freestar

  • 20 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Was heading down a highway heading home when the van revved up and stopped shifting all together. Only T hing that was there was park. Got it home and was checking to see if it was a tourque converter or the pump. Took a tranny line off and no fluid came out. Pump went out without warning.

- Lyons, MI, USA

problem #177

May 082017

Freestar

  • 140,000 miles
Transmission failure. Complete. Very dangerous situation on freeway.

- Clearwater, FL, USA

problem #176

Jul 312016

Freestar

  • 140,000 miles
The contact owns a 2006 Ford Freestar. While driving approximately 55 mph, the vehicle stalled without warning. The vehicle was towed and a certified mechanic diagnosed that the motor and transmission failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and stated that there were no recalls on the vehicle regarding the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 140,000.

- Altus, OK, USA

problem #175

Apr 222017

Freestar

  • 78,000 miles
While driving 40mph on a city street, vehicle suddenly had no acceleration. It made no sound, and just stopped accelerating. I was able to pull down a side road, and call a tow truck. The van turns on, but as you switch gears it doesn't drive forward, or reverse. It will, however, go forward while in park, if the ebrake is not on, althought it will not accelerate. Van has 78K miles.

- Saint Petersburg, FL, USA

problem #174

Mar 122017

Freestar

  • 100,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Torque converter failure. Vehicle made 2 months after recall cutoff for that item. Failure happened on the hwy with my wife and 2 kids in the car.

- Hamilton, MS, USA

problem #173

Jan 252017

Freestar

  • 160,000 miles
Abrupt total loss of power transfer ;without warning. Faulty torque convert design likely to blame. Traveling along at 25 mph in dyersville Iowa, on 1st ave w, on 1/25/2017. Van has ~160K miles. No one was injured, no accident, safely made it to the side of the road. Its my personal option, that had I been in congested heavy traffic, I would pose a safety risk. If your occurring a breakdown, your mostly likely to be given some type of warning. You have time to engage hazards lights, merge over and slow down. However this 06 Ford free-star gave no warning, and this concerns me.

- Cedar Rapids, IA, USA

problem #172

Jan 092017

Freestar 6-cyl

  • 51,036 miles
While driving in houston Texas, 1500 miles from home, minivan suddenly stopped. We were in hov lanes on highway 290, only one lane because of construction. No warning, suspect torque converter.

- Riverton, WY, USA

problem #171

Nov 232016

Freestar 6-cyl

  • 85,300 miles
My wife was driving down the interstate and loss all propulsion to the wheels. The engine continued to run, but when applying the accelerator to attempt to apply power to the wheels she experienced no response. Once towed from the shoulder of the interstate and delivered to a certified mechanic's shop, it was determined that the torque converter had failed. We were informed that this is as common a problem with the 2006 model Freestars as it is for the 2004 and 2005 models since they share the same design and material composition. I'm curious to know why the 2006 model was not recalled when the 2004 and 2005 models were recalled since these model years are identical when considering the torque converter issue. Our Freestar has been impeccably maintained over the years with only 85,300 total miles on this car. The design life of the average transmission far exceeds 85,000 miles, thus it is clearly obvious that material, fabrication, and/or the design elements of this vehicle's torque converter assembly were substantially deficient. Our experience, along with all the other 2006 Freestar owners filing complaints on this web page provide ample evidence for expanding the Freestar recall notice to 2006 models. I earnestly implore the NHTSA to dutifully exercise its authority in reconciling this matter as stated above.

- Houston, TX, USA

problem #170

Nov 212016

Freestar

  • 95,558 miles
Transmission fails without warning, causing loss of power and control of vehicle. Driving at 70 mph in traffic on interstate, engine revved to 5000 RPM's and we had to coast through traffic to the shoulder and coast to a stop. Transmission would not engage in any gear. Had to be towed. Lucky to get to the shoulder alive.

- Omaha, NE, USA

problem #169

May 172016

Freestar

  • 105,000 miles
Transmission died while driving on a busy avenue, just before an intersection.

- Brick, NJ, USA

problem #168

Nov 012016

Freestar 6-cyl

  • 65 miles
Mom was driving on the highway when all of a sudden the transmission slipped, she was on the second lane so their is cars going by at 60 miles plus on the sides, the van came to a slow stop and with cars barely missing us and causing a horrible accident. We finally had a tow truck driver that is a friend of mine come to our rescue. Mom is scared to get on the highway ever since. I got on the internet that same day and found out Ford recalled the torque converter on the 2004 and 2005 Ford Freestar but that same woman torque converter used on the 2006 model was not, the same one me and my mom were not only us but other drivers could have been seriously hurt or worse. And if I may say the van only has 77,000 miles on it. And I've seen many many complains online about this issue with the same 2006 model with different owners, please help make this right.

- Chicago, IL, USA

problem #167

Oct 032016

Freestar

  • 100,000 miles
The transmission and acceleration fail to respond on a ramp to the highway. Switching manually to 1 or 3 won't make a difference. If I go to neutral when it still rolling the gas pedal works. On the other gears it stays at about 60kph, 2000 RPM. I can't gain any speed to merge to the highway, so I have to go to the shoulder, turn on hazard lights, turn off engine, wait a moment and then everything is ok. It has happened always on the same spot going downhill the ramp. At least 5 times. On the area there is a stop light controlled by radio for the main traffic and about 200 meters there is an hydro transformer station, otherwise just regular buildings. I don't recall it happening on another place. I wonder if it could be radio interference that affects the computer and makes it fail to respond and when the engine is turned off, it resets by itself.

- Hamilton, AL, USA

problem #166

Oct 062016

Freestar

  • 98,000 miles
Torque converter failure without warning. I was driving northbound on interstate 380 on 10/6/2016 at roughly 70 mph in the left lane of traffic. I was not using the cruise control. Suddenly (around mile marker 13-14), the engine revved very high and the van decelerated. I was traveling up a hill and was dangerously decelerating in the left lane of the interstate. I managed to get over to the side of the road (cutting off a semi-truck) with absolutely no propulsion. It felt as though the engine was not connected with the drive wheels. There was no warning this was going to happen, the van just suddenly started decelerating rapidly on the interstate. I noticed quickly because the engine revved up when the transmission let go. I had the van towed to the local Ford dealership, where I left it for them to review the issue. The service person at the dealership called me back the next day and informed me that the torque converter had failed completely. I asked them if there was a recall involved with this component. They informed me that the 2006 Ford Freestar transmission was not included in the Freestar transmission recall. I looked it up on the NHTSA website and confirmed that my vehicle's transmission had not been recalled. The vehicle has roughly 98,000 miles on it, although it is a 2006 model. It appears to have the same problem as the 2005 models. The repair cost is roughly $1,400.

- Iowa City, IA, USA

problem #165

Oct 042016

Freestar

  • 190,000 miles
I was travel home and had just turn a corner. The vehicle was climbing a low hill and suddenly lost monument. I continue to press on the gas pellet and could hear the engine run up with out the car picking up any more speed. I pull to the side of the road as quickly as I could and as close as I could to the curb. This still did not make the stop comfortable. Cars continue to pass me at 40,45 to 50 mph as I sat on the side of the road waiting to be towed to the nearest transmission shop. I sat on the side of the road for an hour, before the tow truck arrived. Their were no sighs of a problem with the transmission up until the transmission stop working.

- Aloha, OR, USA

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