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.
I was driving along the road with my children in the car when my car just lost the gear. The car was still on but when I pressed on the gas pedal it would do nothing but stall. I had to roll to a stop in the middle of the highway. I found out after this problem that my van had a recall in Jan 2012 for the torque converter which needed to be replaced. I got the van in Oct 2012 and I had no idea that was one of the recalls on this vehicle until I had this problem. I took it in to the Ford dealership and they told me that would not solve the problem the bad torque converter, but when taken to another shop they said the bad torque converter caused the problem and now there are pieces of metal in the transmission which they are calling internal transmission failure.
My wife had just left work. On a very busy street the van up and died. Restarted it and had no power to get up to speed. Kept shutting down. Managed to get in to a parking lot. Had it towed to the dealership. At first was told it was the transmission. Now, they say it is the PCM. PCM has been on back order for some time. Ford said it was shipped on Nov. 13 2013. Called the dealership on the following Friday and no part. No was told that there is an even longer wait time for the PCM. Having a aftermarket PCM installed. Two weeks without our van is long enough. Hope to have it back on Friday the 22nd of 2013. Have talked to Ford customer care, they know there is a problem. Have read that the seal under the cowling lets go and water will drip down onto the PCM connection and mess up the PCM.
I have a 2005 Ford Freestar that I have had for 2 long long years. I am on my 3rd transmission, I have had the recall work done to it for the torque converter but its not the issue. Its the transmission. I don't have time nor money to keep putting into this car and work two jobs as it is and I need a car. Just cant do it anymore and I know a lot of others who are having to go threw the same thing and also so tired of being stranded on the side of the road. Please just fix it already. I am going to file a law suite against them soon.
The contact owns a 2005 Ford Freestar. The contact stated that while driving approximately 40 mph, the vehicle independently decelerated to 30 mph. The contact applied the brakes for a traffic stop but as he accelerated from the stop, the transmission failed to operate with a rapid increase in engine rpms. The vehicle was towed to an independent transmission center. The mechanic stated that the failure was related to the torque converter. The transmission was rebuilt by the mechanic. The contact referenced NHTSA campaign id number 12V006000 (power train) however, the VIN was not included in the recall campaign. The manufacturer was notified of the problem. The approximate failure mileage was 96,780.
Using an on ramp from S.R. 87 South to highway 98 West in navarre fl. And suddenly lost the vehicle drive train. I was able to coast out of traffic to safety to await towing.
- Navarre, FL, USA
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I have had two incidents with this van. The first incident I was driving and heard a clicking sound and then lost all power to my vehicle. I called a tow truck and took it to a mechanic who said it was the transmission which had shavings from my torque converter of my van. He stated that he had fixed transmission and torque converter in Ford 2005 Freestars vehicles. This was in March 2012. I had it fixed with an expenses of 1, 985, but after checking on Freestars it was in the process of being evaluated. I could not wait for the resolving of this by Ford. I fixed my vehicle and assumed the cost. I received a recall notice for the torque converter/transmission. I also received a recall for the back seat. Before I had a chance to take it in for repairs. On, July 30, 2013 while driving on the highway to work my van went from 65 to 20 within a matter of seconds. I placed my hazards and looked for the access road. I then drove my van into the nearest dealer. I told the dealer rep that the symbol indicated that my power train was having problems he offered to do a diagnostic for $106. I agreed and mentioned the recalls. When I received the diagnostic results stating that the fuel pump, the eg valve, and the fuel rail pressure sensor needed to be replaced.
Engine light came on car stalled several times, would not shift. You people know what the problem is fix it or I will go buy something other than a Ford. I took it to a Ford dealership service and found out that water got into the pmc module and terminals were corroded. Mechanic blow dried interior of pmc best he could silicon to seal the best he could and told me it was a temporary fix. Water keeps getting into the module. Why doesn't Ford stand behind their mistakes and resolve the problem" I love my Freestar but why should I pay for the manufacture engineering mistakes"
I am having transmission issues with high revving, soft shifting and what feels like slipping. And then today when I drove the van there was smoke coming out from under the dash board along with the other issues. After doing some research on line it seems as though it is the control module and as it gets wet things start to go wrong with the van. The design is faulty and needs to be fixed as water gets into the module and the connector. I have included a video link from youtube for you to look over regarding this problem and how bad design is leading to all these small complaints and problems. I am taking the van to my local dealer or shop to see if this could be the cause of my problems. This is the youtube video link www.youtube.com/watch?V=lhjevbmuxjw
2005 Ford Freestar. Consumer writes in regards to transmission failure recall notice. The consumer stated in November 2010, the transmission failed, with no symptoms of failure. The transmission was replaced. In August 2012, the torque converter was replaced. The consumer believed only the torque converter should have been replaced in 2010, and not the entire transmission. The consumer is seeking reimbursement for the transmission.
The contact owns a 2005 Ford Freestar. The contact stated that the vehicle was included and repaired under NHTSA campaign id number: 12V006000 (power train). However, after the repair was performed the vehicle would not accelerate and stalled sporadically. The contact stated that prior to the recall repair he had not experienced a failure. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnosis where the technician found that the PCM would have to be replaced. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 79,000.
After rain all night on wed.6/4/2013 went to take van to pittsburgh started hesitating and vibrating while on highway could not speed up and tried to get in slow lane lot of traffic almost collision. Tried to go up small hill no power vibrating trying to stall, turned off wouldn't startfor 15 minutes very scary. Looked online bulletin for PCM gets wet and causes this, someone could have been killed.
I became aware of other customer complaints about the transmission/PCM related concerns in 2011 when experiencing a vibration when shifting from 2nd to 3rd (it seemed) and researched my vehicle and possible related concerns. I also discussed with a local dealer and I followed a dealers recommendation by having my transmission fluid changed as recommended to Ford specs. The vibration seemed to calm somewhat. Around this same time I noticed my cruise control would work only off and on at different speeds and times. No check engine light ever came on. I sent my an email to Ford of Canada at which time I was advised that a torque converter recall was coming and that I should contact the dealer. I was advised to wait for the formal recall which I received and booked my recall and it was completed in approximately late 2012. I also had another recall done for a seat concern just in May 2013. While driving to the us May 19th 2013 at 100km/hr my vehicles cruise was acting suspicious (hard shift up) and I disengaged it for this reason. I then noticed my vehicle was at 3000rpms so seemed to be stuck in 3rd gear or something. It then failed (was like I was in neutral) and I was barely able to get off at an exit and had to push my vehicle into a spot at a service station. I was very concerned for my safety and my family at this time. I was in total shock that there was no real warning and if I know if I was in the fast lane I hate to think of the end result. I checked the dipstick for the tranny and there seemed to be enough fluid however slight amounts of smoke came from the dipstick reservoir. No signs of leaking below the vehicle whatsoever. It was towed to a Ford dealer and I was left with no real option other than replace the tranny for $3200. My home dealer in Canada was closed for the holiday.
The contact owns a 2005 Ford Freestar. The contact stated that while driving approximately 15 mph, the vehicle would not accelerate. The vehicle was towed to the dealer for diagnosis. The technician stated that the transmission and torque converter would have to be replaced. The contact referenced NHTSA campaign number: 12V006000 (power train) but was advised by the manufacturer that the vehicle was not included in the recall. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 66,000.
Traveling on highway at 70 mph when without any warning lost all power. Coasted to stop and had no gears forward or reverse. No prior noises, warning lights or any indication of problems. Very dangerous situation. Had I been passing it could have been tragic. Torque converter is covered under recall but dealership I had vehicle towed to stated from their diagnostics and discussions with factory the problem was not the torque converter. I am having them install rebuilt transmission for $4,185. There are many similar complaints on various websites, including this one.
The contact owns a 2005 Ford Freestar. The contact stated that while driving at 55 mph, the RPM in the tachometer fluctuated rapidly and the engine revved. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the recall repair for NHTSA campaign id 12V006000 (power train: Torque converter malfunctions) was performed. The failure recurred every time the contact drove the vehicle. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 149,000. The current mileage was 150,000.
I have had my van back for three days since having the recall repairs done on the torque (which I filled a complaint about after being told mine wasn't recalled by the dealership, which it actually was) and seats. It has been raining heavily for a couple of days here. While driving down the road, and coming to yet another stop sign, my van stalls out and completely dies with no warning. I had no control over brakes, steering wheel, nothing. My husband comes and gets me, our daughter, and the van. The van started right up when he got there after approximately 15 min after I had repeatedly tried to get it start with no success. We let it idle for a bit because he thinks I'm crazy, and it dies again. Same problem with it getting it to start. Come to find out, the computer and PCM are getting wet, causing total power failure... ugh! is there anything on this van that was made right?! very dangerous van!
I was driving my car, the same as any other day. I came to a stop light and my car wouldn't go, as if I had it in neutral. There was some vibration and it was extremely hard to turn my car. I nearly hit a business that was on the corner of the turn. Then, it started working again, just to soon quit working again. I had my mechanic look at it to discover it was the torque. I am having the same issues as the other Ford Freestars that were recalled, but mine specific van was not for some reason but showing the exact same issues as the recalled ones.
Recalled torque converter replaced in 2005 Freestar by dealer. ( no warranty paperwork given for this part.) 5 months later, while driving 40 mph, experienced total power loss including power steering and power brakes. Struggled to pull car off the main road. Towed to often used and nearby repair facility. Trusted mechanic pulled car apart and replaced transmission ( including new torque converter) for total of $2225. Van had been carefully maintained and had 83,000 miles on it. Ford dealership ( tom's Ford of keyport, NJ) refused to reimburse just for cost of 2nd torque converter that failed since "the work was not done at Ford dealership." ( how would I know this was required w/out ever receiving warranty paperwork" and I remembered the original recall form from Ford stated part replacement by outside mechanics would be reimbursed??") local dealership "couldn't help." Notice, I did not even try to get Ford to acknowledge transmission failure caused by recalled part or to cover the new transmission costs. Followup through Ford's consumer division also denied reimbursement for 2nd failed torque converter. Interesting quotes from them: "we have not received many complaints about transmission failure for that vehicle" and " the failure of the torque converter does not cause transmission failure." Hmmm beware of total loss of power with this minivan when the transmission fails!!! dangerous and Ford is playing dumb. Unfortunately, lives at risk with this denial strategy. I used to be a "Ford" man. Drove only Ford for decades: F150 truck + $$$ Ford rv + Explorer + escape, etc. No longer.
First we had the transmission failure that was unsafe and had to pay for the repair ourselves then finally Ford issued a tsb to repair and recovered our money. Along with that is the more dangerous situation of the van stopping jerking speeding up the driving on the road especially when it rains or even a slight mist. This need to addressed by the NHTSA and pressure Ford to repair this before they are sued for a death caused by the lack of attention to this highly safety related failure.
Driving down the road in heavy traffic, without warning suddenly had no power, at 40mph, put it in neutral and restarted only to die again 3 more times. I thought I was out of gas but the gage said 1/8th of a tank. Pulled off the road and had friends bring gas. Started up fine and drove maybe a block when it started sputtering and bucking. The check engine idiot light came on so I pulled over again. I reset the battery connection and light went off. I pulled off to drive around in the parking lot and it died when I cranked the wheel turning every corner. Started again, this time it was hard to turn over, and it sputtered and the transaxle idiot light started flashing, the radio came on by itself and the eve player ejected. Interior lights were on but switch was turned off. Checked the tranny fluid, it looked a little low in the dark(midnight) so put in half a quart. Light went out but the van refused to go forward. I dropped it manually into 1st and it slowly moved. Parked it and tried other gears, all unresponsive but when shifting into neutral the engine jumped and the rpms revved up to 3000!! afraid it would jump into gear and run over my friend, I cut off the ignition while in neutral. I waited until midnight for no traffic, then drove the van home, keeping the emergency flashers on. Was able to travel about 25 feet per restart, each time the van would die when speed exceeded 15mph or 2000rpms. Took an hour to get the 1.5 miles home. This van had just gotten a full service oil change/lube/filter service and I had the transmission serviced at sears upon purchasing it just 6 months ago and had no other issues at all. Upon researching, this is a known issue that Ford published but refuses to fix/recall. There is a recall on my van's torque converter, this is a serious safety issue and a major defect that will get someone killed or serious injured.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Titusville, FL, USA