CarComplaints.com Notes: The Freestar was introduced in 2004, but it was essentially just a rebranded Windstar. While there was a redesign of the interior and exterior, the Freestar still inherited some of the design flaws of its predecessor.
10.0
really awful
Crashes / Fires:
3 / 2
Injuries / Deaths:
5 / 0
Average Mileage:
77,610 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.
Driving down the highway at about 50 miles per hour in my Ford Freestar van and I lost all power for a second and the my transmission was gone. I barely got it to the shoulder on a busy highway. Engine was still running but it would not go into gear. I had to walk back (on the busy highway) to my residence and call a tow truck. I was lucky to get it to the side of the road without causing a wreck. Ford has a problem and they know it and wont do anything about it. This is a very dangerous problem they know about.
I had driven 20 miles to do some shopping with my husband and father. When we got back in the car and started it everything worked until I took it out of park and into reverse. It wouldn't move. I tried drive and it wouldn't move. I called and had it towed to the local Ford garage. The next day they said it was the splines in the torque converter. The next day they said the oil pump had frozen up. When they called to say it was ready they said the ABS indicator was on...had it done it before? no..just the tire reset indicator. I picked up the car and the ABS light was still on and brakes felt strange. Informed them that it had never come on so must have happened there. They said to bring it back Monday. When I returned home I put the van in park and it rolled backwards again and the brake wouldn't hold. I got it stopped and pulled emergency brake, and called them. They said they would have checked on Monday. On the way back to the dealer I stopped for gas and I had actually gotten out of the car and it rolled away on its own. A witness watched me chase it. I told the dealer. When they called they said it was the parking pawls and was ok now, but the sensor in the hub of the right wheel was malfunctioning. When I picked it up today with my neighbor and got to her driveway it rolled backwards when I put it in park and she was almost knocked over by the door. It did the same in my drive again so I called and they said to bring it back. We tested it both back and forward on inclines and it rolled and even in the dealer's parking lot. The manager witnessed it and jumped in and it did it for him. He took it for a test drive up a hill and it wouldn't do it but back in the lot he got it to roll again. I don't know if old parts are available. They replaced torque converter, valve body, shaft and teflon seals. They adjusted shift cable. This is common for this vehicle and a recall is in order. Lives could have been lost and property damaged.
I passed a vehicle going home from work7/20/2011, I just got back on my side of road, when I lost all power, like the transmission slammed into neutral.the vehicle I just passed al most hit me in the back inn, because I could not get off the road.
I own a 2004 Ford Freestar. Last night, under normal driving conditions, the transmission disengaged suddenly and without warning while my two children were in the car. The car had no power, as though it was in neutral. Thankfully, it was going downhill so it was safely rolled to a side street. However, under other circumstances, it could have been very dangerous. I have seen many postings on line about this same problem with the 2004 Ford Freestar and hope that the NHTSA forces Ford to recall and repair these vehicles. My vehicle has since been towed and I expect it will cost me $1,000 - $3,000 to repair, not withstanding the danger that Ford has created by putting a defective product on the road without so much as a warning to the vehicle owners.
The contact owns a 2004 Ford Freestar. The contact stated while driving 15 mph the vehicle failed to accelerate, as a result the vehicle lost power, and came to a complete stop. The vehicle was towed to local mechanic who diagnosed that the transmission failed due to the splines truck converter being stripped. The manufacturer was notified and informed the contact that the vehicle was not qualified, for any recalls. The vehicle was repaired. The failure mileage was 63,640. The current mileage was 72,000.
- Barrington, IL, USA
Search CarComplaints.com for these popular complaint phrases...
Failure of transmission. I had my transmission overhauled 35,000 miles ago on my Ford Freestar and now I'm going to have to do it again or replace it entirely. I've noticed online that many others have had the same problem with the same year and model as mine.
On Sunday, July 17, 2011, I had just driven onto the freeway, and was getting up to freeway speeds of about 50, when I noticed that the van felt like it was not wanting to accelerate and the transaxle light started flashing on the left side of the control panel. The van felt like it was stuck in mud and didn't want to pick up speed, and when I tried to accelerate, even the slightest bit, to maintain my speed on the busy freeway, the rpms went way up and it made a squealing sound, so I didn't want to push it. I let the van coast and got off the freeway at the next exit. Once I was off the freeway, the van would drive without the rpms going up, as long as I kept it under 35 miles an hour, and didn't have to accelerate to go up a hill, so I dropped off my son's girlfriend at her house and slowly drove the van back to my house and parked it. A quick search on the internet produced dozens if not hundreds of stories just like this. The cost to fix the transmission is likely to be as much as the trade-in value on the car so I'm not sure what I'll do with the van now.
Transmission failure. Torque converter failure. Transmission failed 07/10 at approx 110,000 miles while driving at speed of approx. 45-50 mph. Had previously had intermittent hesitation, attempted trouble shooting what was thought to be engine performance issues (replaced spark plugs, fuel injectors, various connections). Vehicle currently at repair facility.
Traveling at highway speed, rpms began to race, car slowed down-no warning. Towed to transmission shop. Transaxle assembly removed and replaced. Torque converter was stripped out, needed to be replaced.
Vehicle lost transmission power in the while traveling in the middle of the road with no prior warning signs. Able to move it out the road before causing a crash. Currently at shop waiting to be repaired.
No previous problems, just driving down 101 towards san francisco with my 2004 Ford Freestar with my cruise control on when suddenly the RPM's raced and the transmission failed completely! no drive or reverse in any gear. Luckily I was in the right hand lane and had reached the top of the grade and was travelling down grade through the waldo tunnel. I was able to get the vehicle off the shoulder of the road without incident. I had not had any transmission problems with this vehicle, no loss of fluid, no shifting issues, no sluggishness. No inclination there was a problem, it just failed.
Driving on the tollway when suddenly the van's RPM revved up but the van would not go into any gear. The van was towed three times because of the easter holiday. We were told by Ford that the transmission imploded. 0 we had to have the transmission replaced.
About six months ago our 2004 Ford Freestar had the water getting into the PCM. My mechanic said they new about a service notice/alert, whatever you might call it, stating that Ford knew this was and issue and that it was not a recall. They actually poured water out of the module. He stated that it did not drip out, it "poured out". he explained to me that the water was getting in between the windshield and hood. He showed me the spot. It took them 5 days to dry out the PCM and they sealed it, the best they could. Sunday, July 3rd, the "sprocket with an exclamation point" light came on in the bottom left corner of the dash as I was driving home from church with my wife and four children...12, 8, 6, and 1. then the transmission just disengaged. We were stranded on one of the busier roads in buffalo, New York. We called a friend to take my wife and family home. My wife got our 1998 pickup and brought it back and we towed the van to our shop. I called today, and they have not started working on it yet, but now I know what it is!!! we were supposed to leave for vacation from July 8th through July 17th in Virginia. My kids were looking forward to spending the week with their grandmother for the week. I can take a broken down car, but not my family being put in danger and my children being crushed for the loss of a vacation to their grandmothers. I will file a complaint with the NHTSA, as you suggest. I doubt Ford will do anything. Unfortunately our 1998 pickup is a Ford with a leaking break line in the right rear. I was just about to put it in the shop. No more Ford for me. "found on road dead" truly fits my opinion of Ford now.
It happened to me on wed April 13, 2011. Driving along step on gas, RPM"S rise but my 2004 Ford Freestar van wasn?T going anywhere. The van has only 91,000 miles on it. My transmission shop said there where two problems, first the main seal on the transmission failed. It warping which caused the seal to tear, secondly the main shaft from the transmission to the torque converter would not come out of the torque converter. He stated that both of these issue are factory defects. After spending $3,175 transmission is totally rebuilt. Ford should pay for this. Does anybody out there know how to attach pictures to this class action lawsuit" if you do please put post here how to post them. I would like to post the pictures of the problems that my transmission shop took.
The contact owns a 2004 Ford Freestar. The contact stated the vehicle suddenly stalled immediately after it stopped. The vehicle was towed to the contacts home. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing. The vehicle was not repaired. There was an open investigation under NHTSA action number: PE10033 (vehicle speed control power, train:automatic transmission control module (tcm, PCM)) that may be related to the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 116,000.
Our 2004 Ford Freestar limited without warning suddenly lost power in heavy traffic. The vehicle started to slow down, and the engine RPM raced. We were able to coast to the side of the roadway, where the vehicle had no forward or backwards power. We were stuck until a repair garage could be reached and arrangements made for retrieval. The vehicle had to be loaded on a trailer and towed from the side of the roadway. The vehicle is now at the repair facility awaiting disassembly and diagnosis of the failure.
2004 Ford Freestar transmission failure with no advanced warning (ie. No transmission slipping, no noise, no shaking etc...) on expressway with wife and two children. Deceleration in traffic traveling 65 mph with no brake warning to those behind us could have been catastrophic!!!
2004 Ford Freestar van, replaced the transmission and torque converter. Loss power and rpms increased, gears in torque converter were stripped. New certified transmission doing some of the same issues.
The contact owns a 2004 Ford Freestar. While driving approximately 5 mph, the contact depressed the accelerator pedal and noticed that the engine exhibited an increase in rpms but the vehicle would not accelerate. The vehicle was towed to the contacts home and later inspected by an independent mechanic who advised that the torque converter needed to be replaced because it had detached from the vehicle. The repairs were performed yet the failure recurred while driving approximately 55 mph and the torque converter was detached from the vehicle. The vehicle was not further repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 40,000.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Independence, MO, USA