1891 messages,
Last post on May 22, 2013 at 1:13 PM
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Ford Freestar Forum.
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Ford Freestar, Mercury Monterey, Transmission, Van
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Jun 06, 2011 (6:11 pm)
I have a 2004 freestar 3.9l with 84967ms on the dash which my family & I took on our vacation. The drive down & around was great but the trip home was something different. Without any warning my transmission went up. I notice that the van was losing power, the rpm damn near did a whole lap and massive smoke started coming out of the exhaust & from under the hood. I pulled over to get my family out & safe then I pop the hood when a small flame shoot out. I never had a vehicle that did anything like this and reading some of the other posted forums ford has some serious problems they need to address. How can you "FORD" have a vehicle on the road that's catching on fire or even having faulted transmission
#1491 of 1891 Same thing happened to us!
by idbumpkin
Jun 08, 2011 (7:47 am)
I was leaving a softball game, and turned onto a busy road when all of a sudden I was no longer moving, like my Freestar was put in neutral. I immediately put my hazards on and tried putting it in reverse to see if I could get out of the road. No such luck! I called a girl on the team who was still in the parking lot, and she called over a family friend who was gracious enough to help me. He ended up having to bump my car accross 4 lanes of traffic so that I could park in a lot across the street. I was nearly hit by a motorcycle and another car!! I had the van towed to the dealership who said it was the torque converter. The cost to fix it is $1700, but he recommended that we rebuild the transmission because when there is one problem, it is likely the whole thing will go later. That is a mere $3400. We called a local place who said he could do it for $1100. He also said we should look online because he heard there was a class action lawsuit filled for this. He is right!! Here is the link! http://www.courthousenews.com/2010/08/10/Ford.pdf
We are now having to tow it to the local guy to have it fixed, and Ford is charging us $200 because they spent 2 hours looking at it. They didn't even try to match the local guys fees to keep the business. Maybe it is because they know about the lawsuit and really aren't saying much at all!! I should also mention, the family friend who helped me push my car through traffic and waited with me for the tow truck.. the same thing happened to his sister a week earlier. He said it would be about $1500 to fix if it was the same thing!! I am going to forward the same information to them, maybe they can get their money back too!!
It sounds like most of us were fortunate enough to not get hit by oncoming traffic!! We are supposed to go on vacation in 5 days, driving this vehicle!! This is setting us back quite a bit as you all know!!"
#1492 of 1891 Re: Same thing happened to us! [idbumpkin]
by tervmom
Jun 08, 2011 (6:07 pm)
It's just frustrating to see the lawsuit end at the 2005 model when my 2006 Freestar did exactly the same thing with about the same mileage of the original claimant.
#1493 of 1891 2006 freestar transmission
by bambam12
Jun 09, 2011 (1:56 pm)
My 2006 freestar broke down June 2. Took it to the dealership and they checked it out. After six days they called to "regretfully" tell me the radiator line running through the transmission caused the problem. Now the radiator also needs to be replaced and the warranty will not cover the expenses because the radiator caused the problem. Any feedback on these issues is greatly appreciated.
Jun 10, 2011 (10:00 pm)
I am writing this because I have every problem listed here the transmission, the computer issue which was sealed again after paying 600.00 and it is doing it again, my back hatch door doesn't work either. I can't believe that this is allowed we were in contact with dot about the transmission issues and recalls but apparently that is not going to happen. I can't believe that so many have the same problems and ford still thinks there is no problem. If anyone knows of a way let me know I will tell my story to anyone and everyone.
Thaks,
JoAnne
#1496 of 1891 Re: PCM repair [jetmech03]
by dxcboston
Jun 14, 2011 (10:34 am)
Hi
Good info. Are you saying that if the transmission is not engaging that it may after the electronics dry out?
#1497 of 1891 Re: PCM repair [dxcboston]
by tortugabuzz
Jun 17, 2011 (11:09 am)
We had the exact same problem on the interstate yesterday with our 2004 Freestar. On cruise RPM's went to makes and it quit going. After pulling over, it would not go into any gear including reverse. I filed a complaint also.
Thanks,
Greg
#1498 of 1891 problems continue
by klp470
Jun 18, 2011 (8:26 pm)
I have had so many issues with this van. It is a 2005 freestar. I noticed that the transmission was slipping - had the garage look at it. oh and ever since the dealer tried to rip me off with my rotors I have used a different garage. Then the issue stopped until recently when it started again but this time the check engine light blinks at you and the van seems to slip constantly and does not want to seem to go - this happened in the rain storms. The garage and this time the ford dealer said the check engine code wasn't written to the system for them to see what the problem was. Today was a beautiful day. My husband told me that the transaxle light came on, the rpms went real high and then it was slipping a lot, wouldn't shift and didn't want to seem to go. When I drove it later, it seems to slip a lot but now the light isn't on. I am going to try to get it fixed this week if possible. I leave for vacation soon. How can you take such a vehicle on any kind of road trip? I wouldn't trust it today to take it on a 1 hour trip for fear of it letting us sit on the highway with a family of 5. My tire rims are an issue also. I pump so much air into those tires on a weekly basis. That is one issue that I took back to the dealer (different from the one I bought the car from) - so far knock on wood it seems to be fixed. I truely hate this van and all of the problems. I have had Ford/Mercury vans since 1994 - this is the worst of all of them!
#1499 of 1891 Re: problems continue [klp470]
by carranoa
Jun 19, 2011 (3:25 am)
My engine light started flashing during a rain storm. I had a cracked ignition coil that was causing water to leak in and causing cylinder #3 to foul within 5 mind of a new plug being put in. The dealer didn't believe that I just put new plugs in recently. They told me they couldn't believe how fast they fouled. Replaced the transmission 2 uses ago. Now my engine lights on again with a code for a pressure problem in my gas tank. It's driving fine and my gas mileage is still a crappy 18 mpg, so I'm not worrying about it now. Fan blower in the middle/back doesn't blow and drivers side slide door doesn't always unlock when I try.