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 purchased my 2005 Ford Freestar new and with 72,082 miles I had to have the torque converter, banner kit, hardened pump shaft with pump gears replaced. We were accelerating from a stop and felt a thump like we had run over something. Prior to that the van would shake at 30 to 40 miles per hour. The cost of the repairs were $14450. The repair shop stated that the transmissions in the Freestar's are not built for van's. 72000 miles is to low for something like the transmission to have to be repair. This is a major problem and needs to be addressed by Ford.
The contact owns a 2005 Ford free star. The contact stated that the transmission failed and was replaced with a rebuilt transmission. Within 18 months, the rebuilt transmission failed. The vehicle was not repaired and neither the dealer nor the manufacturer were contacted in regards to the failure. The failure mileage was 88,109. Updated 04/08/11
First and foremost I am a mother of three and use my van daily taking my daughter to school. This is my second time having to report transmission failure the first being in June/2010 we was driving and without any warning the van's transmission went out we had it fixed in July 19 2010. Then again 2/26/2011 I was driving about thirty miles from my home to visit my brother in the hospital I had got word he was not doing well from surgery and I did not make it I heard a noise and felt a surge so I pulled off into a parking lot and called my father that was at the hospital to come and pick my daughter and me up. He checked everything under the hood and did not see a problem. My husband showed up a few hours later in which he heard a noise in the transmission when he went to put in gear it started rolling there was nothing it had done went out. So we called the wrecker man to come get it we had done spent $45, $50 and now this cost $90 on tow bills. I will not know until later this week what went out. I got on the internet last night and day after day someone is reporting this same problem here we are. In less than a year ours has went out twice what will it take before Ford does something to fix this losing a family member or a whole family. We still owe on our van and with the economy was hoping to pay it off and enjoy life without payments for a while but who knows.I do not feel safe even getting in this vehicle I just feel it will take a death before Ford wises up and does something this is so sad I reported my problem in June of last year hoping to get something done and now here we are again 8 months later with reports coming in everyday and nothing is being done. I am contacting other media to try and get word of this unlike Toyota trying to say this or that there is too much information about these Ford Freestar transmissions reports page after page when you put 2005 Ford Freestar in the search. So why hasn't something being done before it is too late?
I was driving my 2005 Ford Freestar van to work. My trip to work was just like any other day. No problems and worry free. I was at work pulling into my parking place and it was just like someone had put the vehicle in neutral. The vehicle will not move in any gear, or in any direction. This has been an issue for many people now including myself.
I am the original owner of this vehicle, and I have had the same problem occur twice. The first time was at ~30K miles on a local road. The second was at ~65K miles on the interstate. Both times I was on a gently increasing slope and suddenly lost drive power. In the first case, I did not have enough speed (~25 mph at failure) and thus time to react to get the vehicle to a safe position. I was forced to glide backward down the slope to get to the side of the road. In the second case, I had enough speed (~70 mph at failure) and the experience from the first time to get the vehicle safely to the breakdown lane before losing momentum. Both experiences were very discomforting, as I was carrying two young children. The second time was especially unsettling because it was at night on the interstate in the middle of the winter, not to mention that it was second time with the same symptoms. In both cases, all other engine functions appeared to operate normally. In both cases there was neither forward nor reverse power. I have always had this vehicle repaired and maintained at the dealership where I purchased it new. For the first failure, the dealership diagnosed and repaired the torque converter. They told me that the splines had been stripped off. The second failure happened only a week ago, so it is currently in the shop being repaired. The diagnosis is that the torque converter splines were again stripped and also that the pump needs to be replaced.
- Lebanon, NH, USA
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The contact owns a 2005 Ford free star. The contact noticed that the gear shift selector would not move into any gear. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the contact was awaiting a response. The contact called the manufacturer who stated they will send a letter to the local dealer on the contact's behalf. The current and failure mileages were 63,000.
2005 Ford Freestar 62,665 miles. Transmission went while driving with no warning. After researching this repair will cost between $2500 and $3500 dollars U.S. lost all power control to the vehicle. Going up hill started to roll backwards only option was to stop.
Driving at 55mph, transmission suddenly disengaged. Transmission would not engage after stopping. No fluid leaks, high amount metal flakes in fluid, high fluid level (not circulating) also sudden and slight whining noise from trans as well. Torque converter, or pump has gone bad.
In 2006 I purchased a 2005 Ford Freestar van used with 23,000 miles on it, and in 2007 the transmission stopped suddenly while I was driving. The 2007 transmission repair cost me approx. $3600. Today 02/05/11, I was driving at 65 mpfh on a 2 lane highway(both lanes going one way) when my van stopped accelerating without warning. I nearly was struck by an 18 wheeler in traffic as I attempted to safely get off the roa, I would have been killed. This is twice a transmission has failed in this vehicle! NHTSA please do something to force Ford Motor Co. To be honest about the defective transmissions they put in this vehicle. Please, before someone is killed - perhaps people have already died because of this. Please help me.
February 1, 2011. 2005 Freestar, 110,000miles. As I was driving 45mph on parkway I accelerated into middle lane when without warning the car would not accelerate. I hit the gas, tachometer revved but no response. I quickly coasted to shoulder and managed to avoid getting hit! after putting van in park, I tried changing gears but van would not engage in drive or reverse. No warning signals at all! not even a check engine light. Had van towed to shop. Still troubleshooting failure.
The contact owns a 2005 Ford Freestar. The contact was driving 55 mph when the transmission failed; the engine was still running but the vehicle would not move. The contact had an oil change and the vehicle serviced prior to the failure. The vehicle had not been inspected or repaired. The VIN was unavailable. The current and failure mileages were 108,000.
2005 Ford Freestar transmission problem - car just stalled on me while driving at a very busy time pulling into a driveway up hill. In addition, any time I tried to put it in a gear it would roll back. I almost hit the cars/people behind me. Plus, I was blocking the middle of the intersection.
Drove about an hour and then the transmission felt like it was slipping a bit around 65/70. Had never felt it before. Called mechanic when we got home who said bring it in 2 days later. Within that two days, the transmission completely let go and we had to have it towed to mechanic. He said he found water in the pan. Ended up replacing transmission with a rebuilt. Got car back. Within a week the converter let go and he said it went through transmission and he found metal shavings in pan. Had to drop transmission again and repair. (hope this all makes sense, I believe this is what he described to me but if not, I can get a better explanation from the mechanic).
My wife and I own a 2005 Ford Freestar (78,000 miles). This morning (1/20/2011) on her way to work the car lost power without warning. What she explained to me over the phone I suspected it was a problem with the transmission. We had it towed to the local Ford dealership in vernon, ct. Mechanic inspected the vehicle and said the 'torque converter' was shot and would cost $1,700 to replace. The other option would to replace the entire transmission at a charge of $3,700. I explained to him that while doing research about that this seemed to be a common issue with this specific model year. Mechanic claiming that this was the 1st Freestar he has even had with this specific issue.
The contact owns a 2005 Ford Freestar sel. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked he attempted to shift into reverse but the gear shifter would not respond. He was unable to shift from park and the vehicle was towed to a local repair facility. The independent mechanic replaced the torque converter low stall, performed a master overhaul, and replaced the filter, pump shaft, over drive band, manual lever position sensor, transmission fluid, and the oil pump. The failure did not persist. The failure and current mileage was 66,309. Updated 02/23/11 updated 12/06/2011
I was driving West on kimberly rd in davenport, ia. In our 2005 Ford Freestar. On 1/17/2011 approximately at 1230pm. At the intersection of division St and kimberly the stop light was red and there were three cars in front of me. When the light turned green, my Freestar wouldn't move. It has only a little over 117,000 miles on it, and didn't give any warning of going out. After reviewing edmunds.com for Ford Freestar transmission problems, I see this is a common occurrence and I was luckier than most. The worse part of this was when the transmission went out, it was on a busy road in winter snow conditions and came close to being rear-ended a few times. Lucky I didn't have my family with me, because this could of turned into a serious accident. A davenport officer showed up to give me a safety barrier before a tow truck showed up, but I was there over an hour before the officer showed up.
Transmission failure on 2005 Ford Freestar with only 61,000 miles and all manufacturer suggested services done to stay in warranty. Died with no forward propulsion on highway. Very dangerous!!! no warning signs and was just serviced the week before. Please investigate, as I have found many other complaints on the internet. Thank god that my children were not in the car and that no accidents were caused, but it could have happened. Please find out why this is happening before someone is seriously hurt.
Driving 70 mph on I-75 in northern Michigan, transmission quit without warning, stranded my wife, three children and myself in the middle of winter on the highway.
I was driving my 2005 Ford Freestar and suddenly loss power, it felt like it was in newtral and coasted out of the road to a parking lot where it was tow to a shop. Bad transmission, it will cost me about 3,000 to repair.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- New Port Richey, FL, USA