- #3 of 207
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Re: love not hate [sb93lx50]
by fordwrench
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Jul 01, 2006 (11:46 am)
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Replying to: sb93lx50 (Jul 01, 2006 8:40 am)
As a fellow Ford tech I am in full agreement with sb931x50. The Freestyle is a great product but the factory support can sometimes be alot to be desired. There have been times when a trans replacement is the only proper repair only to be scrutinized by someone at Ford that really doesn't know the inner workings of that trans. They are only doing their jobs by keeping costs down but actually cause more trouble by not allowing us techs to do what is right. Ford is not as rich as they used to be so they are watching everything very closely. The other problem is there just aren't many rebuilt transmissions available for the Freestyle. I personally don't see nearly the troubles on the Freestyle as I have in past new vehicles that Ford has brought out. Mine is ordered right now if I can unload my Explorer! If Ford would only get the word out on this product there would be alot more Freestyles out there.
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- #4 of 207
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Re: love not hate [sb93lx50]
by volfangary
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Jul 01, 2006 (11:53 am)
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Replying to: sb93lx50 (Jul 01, 2006 8:40 am)
WOW, your a Ford mechanic and you have given up on Ford. A previous posting of yours said,
"feel your pain, we just traded our FS in on a used Suburban. We had started the process for the buyback with the BBB but Ford flat out said they would send it to another dealer to have it repaired before they bought it back....our complaints were a bad bearing in the CVT making a LOUD noise, seems to be common now, there is a TSB for it... our engine would surge under certain conditions, 6 repair attempts and still not fixed."
Doesn't sound good if you couldn't work with Ford in getting yours fixed and you work for a Ford dealer. Would they not let you repair your own FS since you are a certified CVT technician, or could you not even fix it? I just thought if it was a loud bearing, that you could have fixed it.  Just curious??
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- #5 of 207
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Re: love not hate [volfangary]
by sb93lx50
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Jul 01, 2006 (5:47 pm)
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Replying to: volfangary (Jul 01, 2006 11:53 am)
That's a good point that you bring up and I will be more than happy to discuss. We paid cash for the Freestyle, meaning we owned it good or bad...it was bought with the intention of being the vehicle for my wife to get around in with the kids and being able to deal with the winter weather here. At 5,000 miles we began to have problems with the engine as stated above, at 10,000 miles the transmission started to make the noise I described which I noticed before my wife. At this time we also noticed the paint beginning to wear away in the locations I had described earlier. As a mechanic I know exactly how to fix the transmission, that was never an issue. I worked directly with Ford's Field Service Engineer's to try to correct the engine problem with no luck. It's not like I'm just some shade tree guy turning wrenches...Explain to my wife however that her brand new car not only needs a transmission overhaul, an engine problem that we can't isolate with even Ford's best engineers but a new paint job down the side of her vehicle after just one winter season here. She lost all of her confidence in that vehicle being a reliable means of transportation for her and our kids. My family comes first and I am looking out for my wifes best interest regardless of how minor Ford my deem my problems with my vehicle. The paint erosion is that bad. That was my primary complaint , not the mechanical side. I held off on doing the other repairs until they (FORD) made a decision on the paint issue. We had no intention of keeping the vehicle if they were not going to stand behind it. "Just a loud bearing" is a complete teardown of the transmission with unknown parts availability, Murphy4 had issues getting their vehicle back, I guarantee it was because of parts availability, not damaged parts. I am not about to rip the transmission out of ours just to let it sit for the next six weeks and wait on parts. Once you tear it out of the vehicle the customer, i.e. my wife, does not perceive the vehicle the same anymore....Just because I work for Ford it does not mean that I am obligated to be a happy customer......
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- #6 of 207
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Re: love not hate [sb93lx50]
by volfangary
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Jul 02, 2006 (9:54 am)
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Replying to: sb93lx50 (Jul 01, 2006 5:47 pm)
Great information. Thanks for the reply!
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- #7 of 207
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Re: Lemon [vicenac]
by murphy4
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Jul 05, 2006 (2:40 pm)
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Replying to: volfangary (Jul 02, 2006 9:54 am)
We finally were able to meet with the VP of our Ford Dealer on Monday (07/03). Without any hesitation he said apologized and said he will be contacting Ford about a buyback on our behalf.
We just heard from him again today and he confirm that the paperwork should be coming through by Friday. It has been 35 days since we dropped off our car and it looks like it will be finally over.
Good luck to others who are having issues. The CVT is causing Ford problems because dealers are not up to speed on them and parts are not available. Beware.
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- #8 of 207
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:lemon: and sunshine!
by vicenac
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Jul 10, 2006 (1:54 pm)
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Replying to: murphy4 (Jul 05, 2006 2:40 pm)
Good news everybody!
After all kind of weird things with my car I averaged 11.7 MPG - city driving. The CVT is defective, but runs. At the slightest touch of the accelerator pedal the car jolts into motion and feels zippy. I filled the tank and headed off to Big Bear Lake. I drove an 2005 4 cyl Accord behind our FWD FS driven by my wife. The road goes uphill and it is very twisty.
I could barely keep up with my wife in this Accord. I watched my FS going into turns very fast and barely tilt while the Accord, at the same speed, complained and threatened to go off the road!!! At one point after a quick stop I watched my FS going away while the accord struggled at 6.000 RPM to keep up but did not succeed.
At the end of the climb my wife looked like a happy kid at the end of rollercoaster ride. She said - "this car is glued to the road! And I barely touched the accelerator".
At the end of the downhill trip the combined MPG was 18.6.
I called the dealership and they said that the buy back process has begun. It looks like they are going to buy back to avoid a law suit. In the sunny California there is no arbitration process. If the car meets some conditions – it’s a buyback! They said it is going to take about 2 months, at which point they'll give me a 2007.
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- #9 of 207
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CVT end in sight:
by buckwheat
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Jul 31, 2006 (8:49 am)
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From the last paragraph of 7/31/06 Automotive News:
"Ford is dropping the continuously variable transmission offered in the Ford Freestyle, Five Hundred and Mercury Montego at the end of the 2007 model year."
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- #10 of 207
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Re: CVT end in sight: [buckwheat]
by saabturboid
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Jul 31, 2006 (9:54 am)
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Replying to: buckwheat (Jul 31, 2006 8:49 am)
That is very sad news. Nissan is expanding their CVT models and advertising which is creating a greater awareness of the benefits of the CVT transmission. Ford should also be doing this rather than jumping ship.
I find it a dumb move by Ford that just as awareness of the CVT is gaining momentum with the general public they decide to drop it. They really need to re-think the closing of the Batavia transmission plant. It seems they are tripping over dollars to save pennies.
- Chad
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- #11 of 207
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Re: CVT end in sight: [buckwheat]
by rwolsonn
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Jul 31, 2006 (3:21 pm)
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Replying to: buckwheat (Jul 31, 2006 8:49 am)
Definitely sad news. I considered purchasing a new FS to replace my Explorer, but decided not to make the purchase because I had read about the plant closing. I didn't want to buy a car and run into problems getting parts.
BTW, second Explorer and no problems. I'll turn 60k in a couple of weeks. I wanted to FS because I do a lot of kayaking and frankly, tired of lifting boats onto a higher roof line.
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- #12 of 207
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Re: CVT end in sight: [buckwheat]
by passat_2002
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Jul 31, 2006 (3:32 pm)
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Replying to: buckwheat (Jul 31, 2006 8:49 am)
The development of the CVT at Ford was begun in the late 90's during the Jac Nasser era at Ford. Mr. Nasser was shown the door in Oct. 2001. The CVT he was responsible for developing didn't actually make it into any vehicles here in America until the fall of "04 when it appeared in the Freestyle and Ford 500. Despite it's technical superiority over a conventional automatic transmission, it's future was sealed by it's cost of production. It's a luxury item that Ford simply cannot afford any longer. The new 6-speed trany that was co-developed by Ford and GM is going to be the future at Ford for the forseeable future. I'm sure we'll see it in the '08 Freestyle. None of this takes anything away from the CVT itself. It's a wondrous transmission in my book.. and I will miss it greatly when I buy/lease my Fire-Engine red '08 Freestyle.
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