Ask the Car People.SM


Ford Freestar Transmission Problems

1891 messages,  Last post on May 22, 2013 at 1:13 PM

You are in the Ford Freestar Forum.

What is this discussion about? Ford Freestar, Mercury Monterey, Transmission, Van


Go to NHTSA to file a safety complaint.
Or call Monday-Friday (8 am to 8 pm ET) (888) 327-4236 TTY: (800)424-9153

Messages Page 26 of 190

#250 of 1891 Yet another by mom0f2

Apr 16, 2008 (7:07 am)

I am posting this to vent my frustration just as much as agreeing with what other's have said. Here it goes:
 
I bought my 2005 Freestar used at a non Ford dealership in August of 2006. On the way home we noticed a shutter. At first we thought it was the road and never driving a van thought it was just it's reaction to the road. About a week later we were on a new road and it did it again. I noticed a pattern, when the van reached a certian rpm it would shutter so I took it in the shop since it was still covered under the warn. They said it was the torc converter they replaced it and a few days later I got it back. That very day it started again. This began a process that resulted my taking the van in over and over sometimes not getting the van back for up to 2 months at a time. The first year of ownership my minivan was in my drive for what totaled 3 months, the loaner Tarus was in it more. It also included multiple torc converters, rebuilt transmissions, and 2 NEW TRANSMISSIONS, a reventing of the transmission, and 1 will not start because the repair allowed water in the tranny cilinoid (spelling) During this mess I asked if I continued to drive this vechile with the shutter what would happen. I was told nothing. That it is just a inconvenance. Well it started again but my Aunt died back home in Mississippi so I had to have my van for the trip from Kansas. I get back and was paying bills around town, by now I knew the schedule of the techs and the tranny guy wouldn't be in til Monday and this was Friday, and the tranny made a grinding noise and my transaxile light and check engine light came on. I called Ford last Friday after I dropped it off and said I wanted to talk about a buy back, seeing that I have given them 22 times to fix the issue and it is obvious that there is no fixing it. Yesterday I got a call that they would rather keep repairing the issue. I am to pick up the van today and forgive my doubting but I just don't want to, I know that it is going to do it as soon as I pick it up and have to turn around.
 
Since Kansas has no lemon laws for Used cars I have to go to the Better Buisness Bureau (spelling again) and have them abertrate a deal. If I do get my case accepted I will still not get the loan completely paid off since they take off mileage. I owe like 13K on it and with the mileage gone I will still owe 3K. As with 75% of the nation times are hard and I can't be without a car but I can't afford another let alone paying for one that would not be in my driveway. please forgive the gramar and spelling...........

#251 of 1891 WOW... Sooo many of the same Problems!! Add me too!! by rae4kma

Apr 16, 2008 (7:10 am)

This is absolutely ridiculous!!! My 2004 Ford Freestar SE has 40,100 miles on it and WAM the transmission up and died!!! No warning, nothing!! I was getting on the interstate and vrrrrrrrrrrroooooooommmmmmmmm nothing,.... just the RPM were going up but my car was NOT moving!!! I was able to down shift and go back into drive and move really slow until it kicked in, but it did it 6 more times before I got it to the dealer. They told me to drive it there since it was only like 10 miles. So they called me and said it needs a full overhaul!! They said I have to agree to pay $1000 for them to take the Trani out and inspect it and if they determine it is MY fault not theirs I have to pay that plus $2800!!!!!!! I do have the extended warranty but I am not sure what they are going to tell me, I feel like they are just going to blame it on me!!!!!!! Thankfully I have record of getting my transmission serviced at 22K, which is crazy that it needed it then.
 
 Do you think that since I have records of that service and the Extended Warranty that it will be covered??? Please help!!! It is at the dealer right now and I have not given them approval to take it out yet cause I do not have the money. HELP PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!
 
I also had the back rotars go out at 24K which cost me $1000!!!!!!!!! Front brakes were 1/8" worn.... Back brakes were shot... front wheel drive car!!! WTF!!!

#252 of 1891 Re: Someone to write to at Ford [cowboys59] by dtownfb

Apr 16, 2008 (10:42 am)

Replying to: cowboys59 (Feb 16, 2008 2:55 pm)
I know this post is a couple of months old but the current Nissan Quest does not share any parts with the Monterey or Freestar. The current Quest was re-designed in 2004 ans is solely a Nissan design. The Quest has it's own issues but not the transmission failures.
 
Good luck with your battle with Ford. Unfortunately, I doubt Ford will stand behind their product. And they wonder why the company is fighting to stay alive.

#253 of 1891 Re: Yet another [mom0f2] by jgenovese

Apr 20, 2008 (9:57 pm)

Replying to: mom0f2 (Apr 16, 2008 7:07 am)
mom0f2,
I wish you were in MD where we do have a lemon law and your dealer would have to buy the van back. Since you are not however, my advice to you would be to pursue your claim with the BBB and if that gets you some financial relief-take it and cut your losses. You are right, times are tough everywhere. we are paying $1000.00 a month just to put gas in our vehicles! You can't put a price on your safety though and your van is unsafe for you and your family. Keep us posted on your progress.
Jim Genovese
Annapolis, MD

#254 of 1891 Re: WOW... Sooo many of the same Problems!! Add me too!! [rae4kma] by jgenovese

Apr 20, 2008 (10:07 pm)

Replying to: rae4kma (Apr 16, 2008 7:10 am)
I'm sorry but you made me laugh. Your reaction is absolutely right. What the heck?!?! Welcome to the world of cheated Ford Freestar owners. I would be very surprised if they don't try and blame it on you. They blamed mine on me and our van doesn't even have the transmission that the manual said required the service at 30K miles! They even LIED TO THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE STATE OF MARYLAND! IN WRITING! about my situation. The nerve of Ford and Koons Ford of Annapolis is unbelievable! What a bunch of crooks and cowards. They knowingly put a defective vehicle on the market and sold it to families-all the while marketing it on its SAFETY RATING! What a joke. Only the joke is on us. I can't wait to have my day in court. Please let us know what happens in your case. I intend to be a thorn in the side of Ford until they accept responsibility for this fiasco and compensate us for our losses! God forbid someone should get killed in one of these things. Ford will find a way to blame them.

#255 of 1891 Re: Someone to write to at Ford [dtownfb] by jgenovese

Apr 20, 2008 (10:13 pm)

Replying to: dtownfb (Apr 16, 2008 10:42 am)
After the way they have handled the Freestar situation, I am no longer a Ford customer. Too bad. I have been a Ford loyalist my whole life and they just threw it away like it didn't even matter and I was replaceable. Well, I am no MBA but I'm pretty sure that this is not the way to conduct business or build a loyal customer base. What a bunch of losers. I hope Ford goes down in flames. In the meantime, as soon as I get my Freestar and my F150 sold, I will be purchasing a Toyota Sienna for my wife and kids and a Toyota Tundra for myself. I know for a fcat that Toyota has stood behind their product because I have friends who own them and would never buy anything else.

#256 of 1891 add me too by skihigh

Apr 29, 2008 (9:17 pm)

Wow! I am still at a loss... why can't anybody diagnosis this thing?
I have 2004 Ford Freestar. Around Christmas last year it started acting up. Almost acted like it wasn't getting gas. I stopped a couple different times while the check engine light was on & got different codes. It ran fine for a while, & then would act up. Of course, it would never act up for the mechanic. I finally managed to call my (Goodyear) mechanic & long time friend while it was making that ungodly high pitch noise some of you spoke of. He immediately said it was the "crank shaft sensor". We replaced it ($200). All seemed well. Almost a year later, it started it again. We assumed it was the same part? But he adjusted it, it seemed to do the trick. Had trouble again. They did a full diagnosic scan. Goodyear referred it to a transmission specialist because they were stumped. The transmission shop replaced "sensor trans oil temp axode" & "temp sensor to transmission". That seemed to do the trick. I got it back on a Wednesday, that Saturday it acted up. It would not take off in drive. We had to manually shift it & baby it home. The next day it ran fine & has ran fine for about a month. I leave for work tonight & can not get it to move in reverse! I am struggling to make the payments on this thing & still have many more to go. I can not afford repairs. I am at a loss of what to do?

#257 of 1891 Re: WOW... Sooo many of the same Problems!! Add me too!! [jgenovese] by rae4kma

Apr 29, 2008 (9:38 pm)

Replying to: jgenovese (Apr 20, 2008 10:07 pm)
They actually ended up doing right by me. Since I had proof that I had the transmission serviced at 22K they couldn't blame me for lack of maintenance. They rebuilt the transmission (which I am leery about cause I am worried about the same problem happening again). But they had it a week and gave me a Toyota 4 Runner brand new to drive in the mean time, free. I wanted to keep it!!!!!!! They ended up being really cool about everything and even fixed something on the Wheel berring free of charge. I was shocked and impressed by there good service. Maybe it is the good old southern way.... I am outside of Nashville, TN.
 
I hope you all have the good luck that I did.

#258 of 1891 Re: WOW... Sooo many of the same Problems!! Add me too!! [rae4kma] by jgenovese

May 06, 2008 (9:04 pm)

Replying to: rae4kma (Apr 29, 2008 9:38 pm)
You are lucky. I have proof that my transmission is NOT THE ONE THAT MY MANUAL SAID NEEDED THE SERVICE YET, THEY STILL WOULDN"T HELP ME OUT. They even lied, in writing, to the Office of the Attorney General in my state of Maryland about this issue. Consider yourself lucky and let us know how the repair holds up.
Jim Genovese
Annapolis, MD

#259 of 1891 Shuttering in Transmission by westpeterson

May 09, 2008 (7:34 am)

I have a 2004 Freestar, bought in Spring 2005. The transmission was replaced at aroud 70,000 miles, costing about $3,200. Less than 10 months and only 13,000 miles later, I started noticing a "shuttering" between high and overdrive. This lasted for about a second, but became quite frequent. It took several days before the Ford dealer was able to "replicate" the problem, but they finally said they did.
 
Their first statement to me was that it was the torque converter. However, after further investigating, they told me that the CAMSHAFT SYNCHRONIZER and CAMSHAFT BEARINGS needed replacing, adding that the problem was showing up through the transmission, but it wasn't a transmission problem. Cost to me for this repair will be around $700.
 
I will be picking the van up shortly. I'm wondering if Ford has finally realized where the problem originates, or is this just a snipe hunt that I've gotten dragged into.

Messages Page 26 of 190

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