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.
Per Ford service: Water in PCM 5/03/11 similar problem 7/15/10 although at the time Ford service was unable to find the cause. At about 20 miles per hour while making a right hand turn the engine stalled, the power steering and power brakes failed causing me to temporarily lose control and swerve into the on-coming lane. Luckily there was no traffic or pedestrians there at the time. Ford service found the cause to be water in the powertrain control module (PCM).
Stopped at stop sign and as soon as I took off the gears would not shift and I could not accelerate. I had coasted to a side street where I sat until my van was towed to my mechanic. After mechanic's review he stated a faulty torque converter caused damage to all parts inside the transmission rendering the transmission useless. The transmission had to be completely rebuilt.
The contact owns a 2005 Ford Freestar. While driving 30 mph, the engine exhibited an abnormal increase in rpms. The contact attempted to shift the gear into drive but gear failed. The vehicle was towed to the contacts residence and the dealer was contacted. The dealer stated that they were not aware of the failure and offered no further assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was 133,000.
While traveling on I-94, going 70 mph, I attempted to accelerate and the vehicle did not respond. The transmission was completely gone. I had to pull over to a safe location on the side of the busy highway without the use of a transmission. My husband and 2 small children were in the van with me at the time. It was very unnerving and dangerous. We had the van towed to a local Ford dealership and they stated that it needed a new torque converter. They quoted $1400 for the repair but we were able to get them down to $1100. The van has only 66000 miles on it. This is not acceptable. Ford needs to recognize that this is common problem and a recall needs to be made.
My son drove the Freestar home the night of 3/20 and stated it was running a bit rough. The next morning my wife had a hard time starting the care to drive our daughter to school. Once she got the vehicle started and backed it out of the driveway the vehicle stalled in the middle of the street and was unable to restart. I had the vehicle towed to the Ford dealer and was actually able to start the van but it now had no reverse. The dealer had the van for 12 days and replaced the PCM. We got the van back and the check engine light came on immediately. The dealer now states that the wiring and connectors to the PCM are all soaked and they need to be dried and cleaned. After doing some research it appears that this is a known issue with the Freestar and that I was quite lucky as to the timing and location of the vehicle when it failed. I truly believe that this design flaw in this vehicle needs to be resolved by Ford prior to anyone getting injured.
- Roseville, MI, USA
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Water leakage through the left windshield wiper cowling caused our power train control module to go bad. This repair is costing us almost $1,000 dollars to fix. Upon researching this issue on the internet we have come to realization that this is a very prolific problem with this make and model of van. Just for them to get the part is going to take a month. That shows you just how prolific it is. Ford is not taking responsibility for this faulty cowling that leaks directly on to the PCM even though tens of thousands or more people are having to have this part replaced multiple times costing them thousands of dollars out of their own pockets. There needs to be a government forced recall on these vehicles cause it's apparent that Ford is not going to take responsibility for their faulty equipment design on their own.
Traveling on busy 2-lane highway at night..approx 50 miles an hour..suddenly car revved up and went into neutral..engine running fine. Transmission would not shift into any gear. There were cars everywhere..dark highway..no street lights. This could have been a very serious situation. Luckily, I was able to coast to a pull off point without any injuries. There was no warning of any kind that this was going to happen...no warning lights, no transmission shifts or slippage, no smoke, no smell. Since this occurred out-of-town--vehicle had to be towed over 100 miles. Quoted cost of repair at local Ford dealer--$3,000. Needless to say, it has been sitting since this happened because I do not have funds to get it repaired.
While driving the 2005 Freestar the vehicles engine started to rev and quickly began losing speed. I managed to get the van off the road before coming to a complete stop avoiding a near rear end crash. The vehicles would not move in any gear and was towed to a Ford dealership. Was told that the output shaft of the torque convertor was stripped and charged $1730.47 for the replacement of the torque convertor. Was told by the dealership that this was not a uncommon failure for this vehicle. This failure could have easily resulted in a serious accident.
Pulled away from stop sign and vehicle reached approximately 30 mph when vehicle suddenly would not accelerate. Vehicle was in drive. Vehicle came to a stop at the side of the road. Attempted to put vehicle in other gears including reverse to no avail. Vehicle was towed to mechanic. Mechanic determined the problem was with the splines on the torque converter. Mechanic replaced torque converter at a cost of $1168.68.
Driving the van on a four lane highway when the engine started to rev and the van slowed down was lucky to find a exit and coast safely to a stop had the van pulled to a local repair shop shaft broke in the transmission repair 0ver two thousand dollars
The van lost all automotive power suddenly and we almost got hit by oncoming traffic and had to wait for the police to push us out of the street. We had the van towed to the Ford dealership and had to replace the torque converter for $1700. We were told that it was a problem with the spline of the torque converter. The Ford dealership knew about the defect investigation and told us we had to have it repaired at the dealership to be eligible for a refund if a recall was issued. It could have easily lost power in an busy intersection or on a train track and we would have been seriously injured. Please issue the recall on this already. It has been under investigation for over two years. What is the holdup?
Sudden, premature failure of transmission that had been properly maintained and operated while in parking lot at work, fortunately nominal speed at time. Vehicle stopped dead, towed to local certified mechanic who diagnosed problem as torque converter failure where converter splines where practically shredded due to inadequate hardening of metal parts; Ford has known about this problem for years and chooses to ignore this safety issue. Cost to repair, not including lost work time, of $1,700. Classs action lawsuit applicable in this case. Likely to be my last Ford product unless I receive some form of reimbursement, compensation in this matter. Rises to level of reckless endangerment.
I have a 2005 Ford Freestar with 43,000 miles on it. While leaving the parking lit, the vehicle would not go forward or reverse. Had vehicle towed to Ford garage. They said I needed a torque converter. The cost is $1500 dollars.
I was traveling down the highway at 45 mph, when the van suddenly went down to 20 mph. I was traveling on the inside lane of a two lane highway, and I was having a hard time getting over to the right. The left side was a median. I finally managed to get over to the right and pulled into a driveway. Once in the driveway, the vehicle would not move any more. There were no indications anything was wrong prior to this. I had just traveled to this town 30 miles away from my home. No noises, no difficulty shifting gears - nothing. The vehicle is currently in the shop it happened on Friday today is Sunday and I won't hear anything from the mechanic until Monday. The reason I am filing this complaint is - I travel to houston on a regular basis in this vehicle. I cringe when I think about what would have happened to me and my family if this would have happened to us while we were in houston's traffic. The normal speed on a highway in houston is 80mph. If nothing is done -death is ultimate.
Van just stopped in the middle of driving down the highway. It just cut off. The mechanics are saying the computer went out. We had to get a new transmission not even 6 months after we got the van in 2006.
I was driving at 10:30pm preparing to enter the interstate when the engine revved and the motion of the car going forward began to stop. There was a sudden and complete loss of power to the wheels. Being on the inside lane of a 4 lane street, there was no way to make it to the rt lane or shoulder. The street was very busy and several times we were almost hit by screeching cars. We called 911 and got police help. Upon calling the Ford dealership I was told it was the torque converter and it would be a minimum of $3,500 to fix even though my van only has 52,000 miles on it. I am disabled and a single parent. I thank god my 2 young children were not with me.
On Saturday, July 18, 2009, my family and I were traveling on hwy 9A (in jacksonville, fl just off of I95). We were traveling at approximately 70mph when our 2005 Ford Freestar simply stopped accelerating. My husband attempted to shift from drive to neutral and back to drive but nothing happened. The transmission simply lost power. We coasted as far as we could off the busy highway and contacted roadside assistance. Today we finally got an estimate from our repairman. He says it is the torque converter and pump and it is going to cost $1100 to replace them. We are a family of 7. my husband is in the navy and deploying soon. I need reliable transportation! my van has 128000 miles on it and has been cared for very regularly. Upon researching the issue, I see that this is a very common problem with 2005 Ford Freestars and it has been reported numerous times here. Supposedly there is an investigation going on by ODI in regards to this same problem. The old part can possibly be available depending on how soon I hear that you need it.
The contact owns a 2005 Ford Freestar. While driving various speeds, the vehicle does not go into gear and the RPM's go up and down. When driving more than 15 mph, the vehicle begins to jerk. When driving more than 20 mph, the interior lighting illuminates and the vehicle stalls. The vehicle was towed to an auto body shop, but they could not locate the cause of the failure after approximately four diagnostic tests. Currently, the vehicle is still at the repair shop. The first three repairs were at the contact's expense, but the failure still persists. The failure mileage was 20,710 and current mileage was 20,986. Updated 05/05/09 updated 05/06/09
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Great River, NY, USA