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Ford Freestar Transmission Problems

1889 messages,  Last post on May 07, 2013 at 10:10 AM

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Messages Page 165 of 190

#1633 of 1889 about PCM/ motor cutting off at hwy speeds by jamesbailey08

Feb 15, 2012 (12:28 am)

#73 of 75 Re: frustrated lighting problem [dayspring] by nankerphlege
Nov 08, 2011 (1:47 pm)
 
Replying to: dayspring (Sep 17, 2011 8:44 am)
 
FORD FREESTAR (2004 & 2005) PCM and related issues. I too have a Ford Freestar. It is a 2005. Loved this vehicle until the TRANSMISSION FAILED (I had it replaced). Then the van l LOST ALL POWER WHILE ON A HIGHWAY DOING 65 mph.) I was smart enough to shift to neutral, restart van and lunged and lurched it off the road to safety just before a semi rammed into us from behind. I left the van in Norton, Ohio (near Akron) with a nearby garage. I was able to hustle a ride for my 3 year old daughter and myself. I picked up the van the next day after the garage replaced the fuel filter ($150.00). IT WAS NOT THE FILTER. Several weeks later I took van out to run errands. Van ran fine until it decided to NOT START. THEN IT STARTED BUT WOULD NOT ACCELERATE. I had it Towed back to the garage that installed the new transmission and they took it apart and checked it out. IT WAS NOT THE TRANSMISSION. We then towed van to Electrical repair shop. After reading these posts we replaced the PCM. Van drove fine for a few days and then IT WOULDN'T START. WHEN IT DID START IT DID NOT HAVE DRIVE OR REVERSE. RPM'S WERE GOING CRAZY EVEN THOUGH VAN WAS IN PARK. Again had van taken to transmission shop. Again he checked it out. When they disconnected the PCM the van was fine. So we towed back to electrical shop and put in another PCM. Got the van back after electrical shop owner and friend drove van for 2 weeks with no problems hoping to make sure problem was solved. I got van back on Friday, November 4. Drove fine. Drove van from Cleveland to Canton on Sat. Nov. 5. Van drove fine (2 hours round trip, plus errands). Drove van back to Canton on Sunday, Nov. 6. van ran fine all day. HOWEVER at 7 PM when I went to start it to drive one hour home to Cleveland the VAN WOULD NOT START, THEN IT WOULD START AND IDLE ROUGH. IT WOULD NOT SHIFT INTO DRIVE OR REVERSE. IT JUST REVVED. I left the van overnight. Got a ride home and drove back to Canton (1 hour away) on Monday, Nov. 7. Freestar started but WOULD NOT SHIFT INTO DRIVE OR REVERSE. I had van towed to electrical shop. THIS TIME VAN DISPLAYED THE SYMPTOMS FOR THE TECH THAT IT DID FOR ME. HE FINALLY FOUND THE PROBLEM!!! Water in the wire harness to and from the PCM! He drained it and dried it out and van runs PERFECT. SO HE CAULKED THE LIVING HELL OUT OF THE ENTIRE AREA WITH SILICONE. HE ALSO CAULKED THE RUBBER SEAM ON THE OUTSIDE OF VEHICLE JUST BELOW THE WIPERS. HE USED THREE TUBES OF SILICONE AND ALSO DRILLED HOLES TO ALLOW WATER TO RUN OUT AND AWAY FROM PCM. In the end it appears that water would build up and rest in the wire run. Then when I would drive at high speeds the capillary action would force the water down the line eventually shorting out and wreaking havoc with the PCM. PROBLEM APPEARS TO FINALLY BE SOLVED. WATERPROOF THE SEAL BY THE WIPERS. WATERPROOF THE COWL THAT LEADS DOWN INTO THE MOTOR. WATERPROOF THE WIRES TO AND FROM THE PCM!!!!!!!! FORD SUCKS!! THEY KNOW THIS PROBLEM EXISTS AND CHARGE CONSUMERS HUNDREDS IF NOT THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS TO "SEAL" THE PCM. MOST REPORT HAVING TO COME BACK SEVERAL TIMES. These problems are in addition to the transmission failures and torque converter failures that owners are experiencing!

#1634 of 1889 update on 2006 freestar by memmad2

Feb 17, 2012 (1:41 pm)

I AM ONCE AGAIN UPSET DUE TO THIS PILE OF JUNK THAT FORD HAS SOLD ME (SEE MESSAGE# 79 ) I FIRST TOLD OF HOW I WAS CHARGED $3200,00 AS WATER HAD GOTTEN INTO MY TRANSMISSION FLUID? WELL THAT WAS AUGUST 2011 AND I STILL OWE $ 451.27 AFTER EVERY PENNY I HAVE HAS GONE TO PAYING OFF THE CREDIT CARD I HAD TO PUT THE BILL ON.... I GOT THE CAR BACK NOVEMBER 11TH 2011, NOT LONG AFTER THE ENGINE LIGHT WENT ON AND I CALLED THE SERVICE CENTER AND THEY SAID IT MIGHT BE THAT I HAD GOTTEN GAS AND THE GAS CAP WAS NOT PUT BACK ON CORRECTLY SO DRIVE IT AND SEE IF IT WOULD RESET IT TOOK A WHILE BUT IT DID NOW TODAY I WENT TO WARM UP THE CAR AND THEN GOT IN TO GO WHEN I NOTICED IT SOUNDED LIKE A DRUMMER WAS IN THE ENGINE I HAD HEARD THIS SOUND B4 BACK B4 THE WATER PROBLEM I HAD NOTICED THIS SOUND COMING FROM THE CAR I TOOK IT TO FORD AND THEY SAID IT WAS FINE THEY HEARD NOTHING I HAD IT THERE 2 TIMES BECAUSE OF THIS NOISE BUT WAS ASSURED IT CHECKED OUT OKAY....HERE I AM AGAIN AND I CALLED THE SERVICE CENTER AND HAVE AN EARLY APPOINTMENT TO HAVE IT CHECKED OUT TOMORROW I AM SO SCARED AS I AM BROKE AND I HAVE EVERY PENNY SUNK INTO THIS FORD I STILL OWE 7300.00 ON THE LOAN AND I HAVE NOT MISSED ANY PAYMENTS AND THEN HAVE PAID OFF ALMOST ALL OF THE COST FOR THE TRANSMISSION AND WATER LEAKAGE THAT FORD MANUFACTURED IN SUCH A SLOPPY WAY SO WE ALL CAN BE FOREVER PAYING TO HAVE THESE LEMONS FIXED BY FORD ONLY TO FIND OUT THAT THEY NEVER ARE FIXED AND WE ARE ALL DRIVING AROUND IN TIME BOMBS ... I NEED THIS CAR AS I AM A FOSTER PARENT AND WITHOUT A CAR I CAN'T HAVE A CHILD IN MY HOME I WENT THROUGH THIS JUST A FEW MONTHS AGO I DO NOT THINK I CAN DO THIS AGAIN I NEED AN INCOME I LOVE MY JOB I AM WORKING ONLY TO PAY FORD IT IS SO WRONG!!!!! THE KICKER HERE IS THAT I HAVE ONLY 56227 MILES ON THIS 2006 FORD FREESTAR........... I WAS WITHOUT MY CAR FOR 3 MONTHS AND STILL MANAGED TO PAY IT OFF WITH MY SAVINGS BUT I HAVE NOTHING LEFT AND I CAN'T PAY AGAIN WITH NO INCOME IF IT HAS ANY MORE PROBLEMS SO SOON AFTER I JUST HAD IT DONE I AM SO WORRIED I AM IN A BAD PLACE AND FORD PUT ME HERE RUN FROM FORDS AND THEIR DEALERSHIPS THEY DO NOT STAND BEHIND THEIR WORK PRAY FOR ME TOMORROW IS COMING..................AND I HAVE TO DRIVE THERE

#1635 of 1889 ford freestar recall by difrentman

Feb 25, 2012 (10:27 pm)

i wish i would have found this forum before i bought my used 2004 freestar 2 days ago, it seems to be fine but i havent drove it much yet. it has 161000 miles on it but i drove it today out of town about 65 miles hit the highway cruising at 75 and i see this little light flashing, i had my wife look in the owners manuel to see what it meant and it states to check the transaxle. the van never stalled or gave me any problems but when i got to my destination i checked the fluid and it seemed to have some crude down in the trans because it was on the dipstick, i think tomorrow i am going to buy some royal purple and do a trans filter fluid change and see if the keeps my light off, if anyone gets any more info on this recall can you let me know i hope im not screwed out on buying this van my wife loves it so far but i dont want any problems, or if there is anything else i need to know please leave me something thanks a bunch and i hope you all who bought a freestar new or fairly new and had to put money into it get a big reembursement or a class action lawsuit.

#1636 of 1889 Transmission Recall by hockeymom03

Mar 05, 2012 (12:13 pm)

here is what I found out. Ford customer service number: call 8003923673 Recall # 11s25, I can either have dealership submit receipt or send it myself. I plan to send myself, as dealership was as helpful as ..... hmm, now that I think about it, the Walmart Greeter would have been more helpful.
 
Address to send in, Ford motor Co.
po box 6251
 Dearborn, MI 48121
 
Do not send original receipt, send copy, send VIN number and recall number.
 
will need to submit recept for reimbursement, I don't know if I will get reimbursed d/t my receipt says "rebuilt transmission" but I do know that when the tranny went, I had no warning, just went out. as I was over the Mississippi River, no exit ramp nearby, temp was around 5 below. My only blessing is that it was 10:30 at night, light traffic, instead of on my way to work w/rush hour. Kids in car. Scared I was going to get hit, and if I was hit hard enough, would they have sent me over the bridge????. I plan to send a statement as to what happend with the reciept. i don't know it if will help. I do know, if I don't get reimbursed, I will tell everyone I know how I was treated by Ford, and Im thinking of buying a Honda right now. Dont know if I will trade in vehicle or junk it. Financially, need to trade, morally, I would not wish this vehicle on anyone.
 Sounds like there are many more issues that Ive yet t experience.
 
All I can do is send it in and see what happens. I am beyond being mad. But, Ford is back on the bottom of my list for cars to pick from. They hit the bottom in the 80's. Can we say Escort. That was a joke too.

#1637 of 1889 Sending in Receipts to Ford by motheye

Mar 05, 2012 (1:00 pm)

Like many of us, I called and was told to send in my transmission repair receipts directly to Ford for possible reimbursement. I'm guessing that my Ford receipt is like many of yours--just a single line item that says "rebuilt transmission". Nothing more (except the few hundred dollar charge to check the main board first!).
 
Is it possible the dealership repair people were thinking ahead and purposely just writing "rebuilt transmission" as an out down the road? FYI--my failure was just like everyone else--driving along--just stopped--no warning-no symptoms, etc.

#1638 of 1889 Re: computer [04mercurymess] by upsetatford

Mar 14, 2012 (6:14 pm)

Replying to: 04mercurymess (Feb 09, 2012 12:56 pm)
My van is currently in the shop as we speak with PCM issues and it needs to be replaced. This is after I have had $760.00 worth of work already last week. I have already replaced a tie rod, the a/c unit and the torque converter a few years ago. I also have had issues with the driver side automatic sliding door not closing at times ( it will just pop back open ). I have also had the rear latch rust shut on me so that I could not open it. I had to take the panel from the inside off and spray WD40 or some other rust remover to get it to open again. This van was a complete design flaw and the engineer must have been on something when he/she did. Terrible, why oh why would you put the PCM under the windshield where water could possibly drain into it?? AND then have the audacity to charge me to fix a flaw in the design! We need as many people possible to file a complaint to https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/ so that this really starts to get attention. I did this a few years back when my torque converter failed and now they are issuing a recall on it. File complaints, do not let FORD win this one. The 2004 freestar was piece of crap from the start and they charged alot of people alot of money for and are still making money off of it from repairs. Go to https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/ and file!

#1639 of 1889 Re: no warranty?????? [heartlander] by spanteechr12

Mar 16, 2012 (4:36 am)

Replying to: heartlander (Feb 07, 2012 9:07 am)
I have a 2006 Ford Freestar. Ive always been a ford customer... My van has only 58,000 miles. We were on the highway when it stopped responding to any gear Once I had it towed, they found that the trasmission stick was rusted and had broken off. Ford company told me that I was on my own. Trasmission will cost me $$$$3,500 really What a with this low mileage I didnt expect that!!! Ford just lost a dedicated customer. Does anyone have any positive outcome on this issue???

#1640 of 1889 Youtube video of PCM by upsetatford

Mar 18, 2012 (6:14 pm)

I found this video about the problems with the freestar, it's worth a shot and hope it helps someone.
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhjEVBMuxJw

#1641 of 1889 Re: Youtube video of PCM [upsetatford] by nadineb

Mar 19, 2012 (3:21 pm)

Replying to: upsetatford (Mar 18, 2012 6:14 pm)
Great video. Thanks for posting. Did this help to fix your issue?

#1642 of 1889 Re: Youtube video of PCM [nadineb] by upsetatford

Mar 19, 2012 (6:07 pm)

Replying to: nadineb (Mar 19, 2012 3:21 pm)
I just got my van back tonight and took it all apart and going to leave a fan blowing on the PCM to dry it out. It seemed to have some moisture in it, but not as much as I was expecting. I will let you know in a day or two when I put it all back together. I am crossing my fingers that this works and if it does I am going to seal everything I can with silicone.
 
If you are worried about taking the thing apart on your own, as I was, it was actually pretty easy. I am by no means anything close to a mechanic, but it really is just taking off 10-15 bolts, disconnecting the wipers and tubes and it all pretty much pops off.
 
If you all have not emailed the Ford corporate office and let them know of the issue (water in the PCM, which may lead to the issue with the transmission problems) I encourage you to do so. Their email is crcfmcford.com
 
This is all the info that they need:
 
Registered Owner of Vehicle Information
Last Name:
First Name:
Address:
City:
State:
Zip Code:
Daytime Phone Number:
Home Phone Number:
Vehicle Identification Number:
Odometer Reading:
Servicing Dealership:

Messages Page 165 of 190

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