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SUVs Ford Freestyle Ford Freestyle CVT Transmissions
203 messages, Last post on Oct 23, 2009 at 6:23 PM
You are in the Ford Freestyle Forum. Your Hosts are steve_ & tidester
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Replying to: loveourgolden (Dec 05, 2008 6:21 am) If I were in your shoes, I would go ballistic. Your car still appears to be under the basic 3/36000 warranty? I believe the Powertrain warranty for Freestyle is even longer. If this is true you have a very strong case to aks the dealership to change the transmission. Do you have any written documentation from the dealership. It is important that you get an receipt/inovice/evaluation every time you visit. I would do the following: -Get the name of the Service Manager or the top guy at this dealership. -Write a one page letter stating the symptoms and the downtime you have experienced. Please stick to the facts and avoid any emotions in this letter. You should end this letter by forcefully stating that your CVT transmission should be replaced. Send a photocopy of this letter to your regional Ford Sales Manager. -Browse the Freestyle CVT and repair forums. Cut and paste all the CVT complaints in a Word document. Two pages worth of info is good enough. Attach this to your one page letter above. -Few days later, follow up with a phone call. See if the Service Manager is willing to cooperate. Be firm that the CVT must be replaced -nothing less will suffice. Remind him that this is a known problem and you have attached other FS customer complaints. -Do you have a small claims court in your county/state? I would try find out the max. monetary award. For example in Virginia, the small claims court can only award $1000 max. If the dealership does not cooperate, you have the option of filing a claim in small claims court. This is why you need to correspond in writing and use certified mail. Keep copies of ALL emails and letters. The Judge will want to see that you made good faith efforts to work with the dealership. Trust me - been there, done that! This will make the dealership realize that you are not going to go away. This is a great forum. I am sure you will get feedback from others too. Be persistent and please post an update so others can learn from your experience. |
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We have talked with the service manager--he actually took our car home last night. My Husband spoke with the owner yesterday and was told he would call back in the morning. It's 11:30 and we haven't heard back. I will type a letter along with the complaints. We did file the paperwork on the lemon law even though according to ford the incidences weren't transmission problems. We filed a complaint through BBB and the AG arbitration. I'm not sure about the small claims but I will look into that as well. Thanks!
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Replying to: loveourgolden (Dec 05, 2008 8:38 am) Thanks for sharing. Very scary. It might be the Engine Computer, which is a box that contains the computer that takes in all the sensor readings and directs the engine and transmission to react. Also, I've heard that some people have had trouble with the "throttle-by-wire" parts on the Freestyle. Ask the dealer service dept. about throttle-by-wire, and they will know what that is. Basically, its when you press the accelerator pedal, and what you produce down there with your foot is actually an electrical signal (not mechanical linkage) that will then signal the engine to go faster or slower, and that accelerator pedal electrical assembly might go bad, or the engine sensor which receives the go-faster/go-slower command from the pedal might not be listening properly to the command. |
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Replying to: loveourgolden (Dec 05, 2008 8:38 am) Your best bet is to work with the dealership. The Small Claims Court should be the last resort. Meanwhile, you need to document and save all your emails/letters in case you have to go to court. Send all letters via Certified Mail otherwise you have no proof it was mailed. Good Luck!
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Replying to: vrm (Dec 05, 2008 9:36 am) I mailed the defect notification form into them express mail with return recipt and every other "proof" they offered on it. Their were two options on the form, the vehicle had to be in 3x or 15 days and we have met both. |
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You can get this fixed by the dealer, but they must go to Ford. You have all the "calamities" of myself and others. Since replacing my transmission, the car runs great. Just remember each dealer has to go through the same order. If you can get the dealer to step up the process and tell Ford this has all the classic symptoms of a bad CVT, you will come out ahead. Good luck. Don't forget you can always go to another Ford dealer. |
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I am having problems with the tranny in my 2006 Freestyle. Did not realize my 3yr-36000 ran out January 2009. March 2009 started hearing a strange noise in the transmission. usually when idling sometime, shift into gear and drive...no noise. took it into the dealership and realized that the warranty had expired. At 34,000 miles they told me that the problem was my transmission, something about the pump going out and that it would cost $6300.00 to replace. With this problem I figured that Ford had a recall on this transmission, no luck there. I am having a little difficulty understanding why a sealed transmission would fail at 34,000. Looking for guidance |
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Replying to: kid532 (Jun 22, 2009 2:44 pm) Can you document that? If the problem existed before the warranty expired there's a chance you would still be covered. Of course, the question then becomes why the repair wasn't made then. tidester, host SUVs and Smart Shopper
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Replying to: tidester (Jun 22, 2009 3:15 pm) Don't give up, make the dealer go to bat for you, mine did and it runs like a champ. Too bad you didn't pay for the extended warranty. |
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Here is my tale of woe: The dealership tells me my 2006 Freestyle with only 23,000k miles, which started making a loud buzzing noice (like a 2 stroke motorcycle), and which is just 4 months past the 3 year warranty, needs a new transmission at a cost of $5,200. I am LIVID and they seem unwilling to do anything, even though this is the second new vehicle Ive bought from them. Any ideas or suggestions? How can a tranny with only 23k miles just go unless its defective? This is insane! |
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