10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
104,101 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.

2005 Ford Freestar engine problems

engine problem

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2005 Ford Freestar Owner Comments (Page 3 of 3)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #13

Jan 172013

Freestar 6-cyl

  • 151,000 miles

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

The contact owns a 2005 Ford free star. The contact stated that while driving 25 mph, the vehicle vibrated and failed to accelerate with the illumination of the check engine light. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The approximate failure mileage was 151,000.

- Painsville, OH, USA

problem #12

Jun 062013

Freestar

  • 113,000 miles
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.

- Steubenville, OH, USA

problem #11

Mar 232013

Freestar 6-cyl

  • 157,000 miles
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.

- Federal Way, WA, USA

problem #10

Jan 112013

Freestar 6-cyl

  • 70,102 miles

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

The contact owns a 2005 Ford Freestar. The contact stated that while driving 10 mph, the vehicle stalled and all of the warning lamps illuminated. The contact mentioned that the failure occurred multiple times. The vehicle was taken to the dealer. The technician was unable to diagnose the failure. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 70,102 and the current mileage was 70,373. Updated 03/15/13 updated 04/23/2013

- Tulalip, WA, USA

problem #9

Jan 192010

Freestar 6-cyl

  • 102,455 miles
Engine stutters, won't run steady, idles over 2000rpm in neutral, continually dies, when engine dies steering hard(naturally), won't go in reverse, this problem causes numerous problems that are not safe when it does it on the road. The problem is apparently in moisture in the PCM. Torque converter was replaced in 2012. Has not done the problem for a year and did it again today( has not rained in more than a week) just going down the road and starts cutting out and dies! has done this many times since 2010. Ford knows about it! information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Broken Arrow, OK, USA

problem #8

Jun 042012

Freestar

  • 68,000 miles
This information is a collection of incidents that ultimately fit together. I have notice that the floor board of my van was wet. Since I have 3 kids I just shrugged it off. This past week I notice the floor mats weren't wet only the carpet beneath it was soaked. My kids don't spill just under the mats. The water must be entering from the outside in. The van was acting weird on and off -no check engine light until it started happen more frequently. June 2012, I got the P1340 code that the camshaft position sensor had gone bad, I replaced it, went out again, I was told it could have been a faulty part, changed it again, went out again, decided this is beyond me. I took it to the dealership and they "fixed" the camshaft position sensor and another part that was causing the camshaft position sensor not to work. ($900) it broke again because the part they put in was defective. They replaced the defective part and the check engine light came back on again. After they had the car for 2 weeks they found another small problem. ($130) I insisted at the time that they didn't make the proper repairs. They assured me that it all still needed to be done. (caught some double talk) I experienced a few more issues with the van losing power. (July, September, October -check engine light did not turn on.) I:N December the car turned off and I was only able to get about 25ft per restart and the light came on. I've noticed other features not working properly or working intermittently. (power locks, power windows, radio, power doors, key remote...) I have learned that other 2005 Freestar owners have experienced similar incidents caused by water leaking into the car through the windshield wiper blades and running down the wire harness causing multiple parts to short out from time to time. Please look into this. I have 3 children and no more money for "let's try this repairs".

- Yorktown, VA, USA

problem #7

Nov 042012

Freestar 6-cyl

  • 103,000 miles

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

Was driving home from store (about 20 miles) when engine cut off while driving at about 45 mph, pulled over and was able to get it started again. A little further down the road it cut off again but this time the engine just revved by itself then went back to normal without completely cutting off. About 3 miles from home it cut off again while driving at about 40-45 mph and I coasted to the side of the road and then started it again. Decided to take it to the dealer since it needed the torque converter replaced due to recall. Drove it another 20 miles with no problems and left the van with my son to take to the dealer. Van cut out on my son several times within the 2 miles to the dealer. Also cut off on the mechanic at the dealer. Dealer replaced torque converter, overdrive transmission shaft sensor, and replaced the plugs and wires to the tune of over $800 not including the torque converter which was replaced at no charge due to the recall. Drove over the next week for a total of less than 200 miles. Then today the engine cut off on me again exactly like before and I once again had to coast over to the side of the road and restart it. This is very scary when it happens and could cause a very serious accident. Luckily when it has happened to me it has not been on a busy highway. So I have paid over $800 to the local Ford dealer and still have the problem. It scares me to death to drive this car now and it is our sole vehicle as my husband is disabled and doesn't drive. We are in no position to buy another vehicle now, we live 20 miles from town and now this car is unsafe to drive.

- Lovettsville, VA, USA

problem #6

Oct 222012

Freestar

  • 40,000 miles
The contact owns a 2005 Ford Freestar. The contact stated that water penetrated through the windshield and the engine covering. The engine covering clips failed to sustain and the water penetrate the power control module, causing the engine to stall. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was 40,000.

- Romulus , MI, USA

problem #5

Oct 182010

Freestar 6-cyl

  • 56,000 miles
I have had the car stop after and during rainy days. Most recently the car would not start or move during a heavy rain. I have had to wait days until the car dries out for the car to move. Have taken it to the shop after several instances of this same occurrence. They can not find out what is wrong as the car runs ok" after researching on the internet I have come to the conclusion that it is water leaking on and into the PCM causing the car to not start or move. Ford dealership has not been able to solve the problem or have a solution"

- Ada, MI, USA

problem #4

Aug 062012

Freestar 6-cyl

  • 131,369 miles
Car stalls when it stops, shuttering while it drives, the car has been to the shop twice know. The second time it was left outside the auto shop and it rained over night. When the mechanics went to start it and look at it they noticed there was water dripping out of our ECM. They did some research and found that there were design flaws in the ECM and that it wasn't sealed right. There should have been a recall but there never has been. I have looked online and there are all sorts of people reporting the exact same thing.

- Belleville, IL, USA

problem #3

May 012012

Freestar 6-cyl

  • 113,000 miles

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

I was driving 45 mph in a heavy rain when my vehicle began to sputter and check engine light began flashing. I started to pull over, but light went off and engine ran fine. After several days of rain engine would hesitate in acceleration and would feel like it was missing. It began only occasionally and usually when traveling up hill. It progressively got worse, especially after rain or being washed. Investigated and found this to be a common problem with this model with the power control module getting wet. Today while driving on the interstate check engine light began flashing and engine hesitated, then check engine light stayed on. Very dangerous situation to feel like my van was going to stall at 70 mph with my family in the car.

- Morganton, NC, USA

problem #2

Oct 082010

Freestar 6-cyl

  • 47,395 miles
After driving in or after a hard rain, the engine light comes on and the engine runs very rough and often stops. Has happened while driving on highway at 55mph. Cowl was removed at dealership to prevent water intrusion in oct2010, but same problem started happening again in 2012...

- Wallingford, PA, USA

problem #1

Jun 212012

Freestar

  • 128,000 miles
I was driving my Freestar home, pulling into my complex when the battery light came on, then a second later the brake light, then all the power to the van was lost. I had no control, the entire electrical system went out, the engine shut off, I had to rub the van up against the curb to stop it. When I got it going again and parked in my parking spot the battery light came on again and I lost all power again. The next day I replaced the battery as I was told it could be a battery issue, but even with the new battery the light was still on. I had the alternator and the battery cables checked and it was fine. Then I was told it maybe the PCM which is a known issue with this model and what I experienced is the identified issue...this is very serious as I was bring home my family home and we just got off the highway like 5-10 minutes before this thing shut down on me, if this was the highway we could have been seriously hurt. Plus now I can't even drive because the part is not available, it's on back order, so this must mean a lot of people are having this issue. We need to have a recall on this before people get hurt or killed, especially when it's a known issue nhthqnwws111.ODI.NHTSA.dot.gov/acms/docservlet/artemis/public/pursuits/2009/dp/insl-DP09004-35644P.pdf !!!!!

- Brampton, FL, USA

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