Ask the Car People.SM


Ford Freestyle Maintenance and Repair

1415 messages,  Last post on Nov 28, 2012 at 11:27 AM

You are in the Ford Freestyle Forum.

What is this discussion about? Ford Freestyle, SUV

Messages Page 120 of 142

#1186 of 1415 Re: More brake ISSUES... [jsr1] by tpbc

Aug 11, 2008 (5:30 pm)

Replying to: jsr1 (Aug 11, 2008 2:25 pm)
Someone with mechanical expertise may be of help. My guess is that your Brake calipers are faulty (Ford sent me a letter that my 2005 Freestyle rear calipers may have been exposed to heat and damaged. When my mechanic said "there is a slight DRAG" on my calipers and seepage, I assume he means that the caliper is gripping the pads prematurely and causing premature wear on the brakes. I am outside the 3 year warranty and trying to decide what to do. Ford is almost bankrupt. There is a rear brake caliper repair kit out there. Does anyone know if this kit might be useful?

#1187 of 1415 Re: More brake ISSUES... [jsr1] by hault

Aug 12, 2008 (7:42 am)

Replying to: jsr1 (Aug 11, 2008 2:25 pm)
I had an 05 since new. I put "ceramic" pads on rear at 15,000, when original pads were down to 2mm. I now have 36,000. I checked the pads prior to trip and they had over half of pad left. My calipers/rotors are still original. I highly recommend the "ceramic" pads. Of course the rear tires wore as fast as the fronts, do to more braking being done by the rear ie."swollen original pads" according to Ford. I won't know for sure until I see how long the ceramic pads last, but I have 20,000+ already. The Freestyle with the CVT gets good gas mileage around town not as good on the highway. Very few problems to date(3 years.)

#1188 of 1415 Re: More brake ISSUES... [tpbc] by coldcranker

Aug 13, 2008 (10:54 am)

Replying to: tpbc (Aug 11, 2008 5:30 pm)
tpbc,
Have you noticed a drop in MPG? I'd think those all-too-common problems with the rear brakes on some Freestyles cause some vociferous complaints of poor fuel economy that we hear of once in a while. I'm keeping an eye on mine, but I think they are good.
 
For all you Freestyle owners out there, you rear wheels (of 2wd freestyles anyway) should spin freely when you jack the rear up. This is a test.

#1189 of 1415 Re: More brake ISSUES... [coldcranker] by tpbc

Aug 13, 2008 (6:42 pm)

Replying to: coldcranker (Aug 13, 2008 10:54 am)
I get 22.5 miles per gallon in mostly town driving-40 mph. I guess that is still pretty good. I would expect closer to 24 mph on highway but have not used it much tht way. The car has been very good with the exception of the rear brake issue.

#1190 of 1415 Re: Seat back issue [catmoura] by freestylegal

Aug 15, 2008 (7:42 pm)

Replying to: catmoura (May 16, 2008 2:49 pm)
Thanks for your suggestion RE: that blasted seat. I'm glad yours is fixed. My husband has checked out every moving part. My husband is bringing a copy of the TSB on it from Dec. 2006 and is demanding that they do what the TSB says. We'll probably ending up having to pay for it, even though I started bringing it in way before the warranty was up. They denied any knowledge of a TSB, even up to two weeks ago. It has really affected how I feel about the car. I had my family in it and we had to crawl out the back hatch. That's been a big part of the problem: it's intermittent, but it has gotten so much worse. The reason I'm driving such a big car around is so I can haul my family around, and all of my student's equipment. The 60% side HAS to work. Jeesh.

#1191 of 1415 Re: More brake ISSUES... [tpbc] by barnstormer64

Aug 17, 2008 (6:01 am)

Replying to: tpbc (Aug 11, 2008 5:30 pm)
but is it normal for rotors also to wear out in one year of driving at about 23 000 Km (14 000 miles)?
 
I'd have to say NO, given that I have over 25k on my Freestyle (and another 25k on my Five Hundred) without having had rotors go bad.

#1192 of 1415 CVT Fluid and filter change cost by saabturboid

Aug 22, 2008 (9:52 am)

Our '05 Freestyle hit 60k miles so it was time for the CVT fluid and filter change. I do most of the other maintenance myself so all I had the Ford dealer do is change the CVT fluid and filter, and the fuel filter. I figured at most this would cost about $200 even at dealer prices. I was in for a shock when my bill came to $433. In my opinion $433 is highway robbery for changing fluid and two filters. Here is how the cost broke down:
 
2.5 hours of labor (yeah right!) $70/hr total $175
$96 for the CVT fluid
$97 for the CVT filter
$65 for the fuel filter
 
I understand the dealer needs to make a profit on service, but this all seems way overpriced to me. Am I off base?
 
- Chad

#1193 of 1415 Re: CVT Fluid and filter change cost [saabturboid] by steve_ HOST

Aug 22, 2008 (10:24 am)

Replying to: saabturboid (Aug 22, 2008 9:52 am)
Edmunds says the 60k Freestyle service should cost $423.53 in my zip code. That includes an air filter, cabin filter, oil/filter change and some inspections.
 
So, yeah, that's a bit high.
 
The Edmunds Maintenance Guide
 
I got burned a bit last month on some service when I didn't get the price nailed down good first, including excessive parts mark-up. I haven't decided whether to dispute the charges on my VISA yet - the owner didn't bother to return my phone call when I left a message with the service writer. Maybe a trip to small claims court would be a fun, educational experience.
 
Meanwhile, Dealer Ratings and Reviews is going to get a nastygram about them from me in the near future.

#1194 of 1415 Re: CVT Fluid and filter change cost [steve_] by coldcranker

Aug 22, 2008 (3:03 pm)

Replying to: steve_ (Aug 22, 2008 10:24 am)
steve,
The BBB is a good way to go if you think you were charged for things you did not actually get or ask for. Otherwise, they can charge you whatever they want, when they have no agreement or contract ahead of time that you authorize items.
 
saabturboid,
Like steve's experience, I'm afraid they can charge whatever they want to. Need to find out what prices are before going in there. Many dealerships will call you after they have a list of parts/labor to clear it with you. They are not trying to make friends. There is more than one Ford dealership around. I plan on shopping between 4 Ford dealerships to see what their prices are for the 60k mile service. Since our Freestyle has the unique CVT, with its own fluid, we have to buy that from Ford, and they know it. The parts departments at Ford dealerships will charge whatever the market will bear.

#1195 of 1415 Re: CVT Fluid and filter change cost [saabturboid] by coldcranker

Aug 22, 2008 (3:20 pm)

Replying to: saabturboid (Aug 22, 2008 9:52 am)
saabturboid,
I got curious and looked up a Fram fuel filter for an '05 Freestyle, and a Fram G8018 goes for $11.34 plus tax. I recently got a set of Ford's Shop Manuals and Wiring Diagrams for the Freestyle, so I'm going to try to crawl under the car, under the front passenger seat, to change that filter. I'm thinking of pulling the high pressure CVT filter as well. However, I doubt if we can get CVT fluid anywhere but at a Ford dealership, unfortunately. Lets see if I can do all this without injuring myself...
 
Looking further at Checker Autoparts website (also Kragen Autoparts and Schucks, I think) I see a high-pressure CVT Motorcraft filter & O-ring kit for $64 at
CVT high-pressure filter/ring kit Motorcraft part.
 
You know, a trick that makes the dealerships upset, but is fun to do, is to just get the parts yourself on the open market (Motorcraft brand is acceptable to Ford dealerships) from www.partsamerica.com or your local discount autoparts store and tell the dealership to "Put these on my car, and what labor charge is that?" I've done that in the past, and in the rare case they won't do it (seldom), just go to another dealership until one bites.

Messages Page 120 of 142

To POST a message, please Sign In.

Advertisement

Browse by Category

Browse by Vehicle
   View All Vehicles

Browse by Board
Browse by Topic
View All Topics

Edmunds Community

Advertisement