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Ford Freestar Transmission Problems

1900 messages,  Last post on Jun 14, 2013 at 12:47 PM

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


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Messages Page 31 of 191

#293 of 1900 Discouraging Information by 3forme

Jul 07, 2008 (6:20 pm)

I own a 2004 Ford Freestar with almost 80K miles. About 2 months ago, the transmission began to shudder. At first, I thought it was because I changed my driving habits. I try to accelorate keeping the tach about 2K in an effort to save gas. The shuddering only happens sporadically now. After reading these posts (from May 2006 to present), I know the transmission is defective because of Ford, not because of my slower acceleration. I suppose I should be grateful that my van has made it this far, but I fear I'm living on borrowed time. When (not if) the transmission goes, I will file my complaint with the NHTSA(?). What does that stand for? I'm a single mom and student with 3 kids living on $1200 a month, so my financial options are limited. Life will be extremely difficult when the van doesn't run anymore. I wish I could trade in the Freestar and buy a Prius. Oh well.

#294 of 1900 Let's be clever, FORD IS JUNK by skinny62

Jul 08, 2008 (10:22 am)

I need to know what to do, and I am asking for your assistance. We all know that FORD(found on roads dead) is covering this crap up! My 2004 Freestar tranny failed at ~60K(costing me $1850, mechanic is a friend and said that there are a ton of updated parts) and now the 3.9 wristpins failed, so I had to dump $2200 for an engine swap. Detroit customer service just feeds you BS that there are no documented problems, I know everyone out there has a tranny on borrowed time but the engine blew me away(3000 mile MAX oil change interval with FULL synth. Mobil 1). By the way, the 3.9 failed at ~85K. Class action on tranny is a given, motor may be in the future. Where do I go and what do I do to get satisfaction from the WORTHLESS BASTARDS FROM DEARBORN? Rcc823comcast.net

#295 of 1900 Re: Discouraging Information [3forme] by dtownfb

Jul 08, 2008 (10:23 am)

Replying to: 3forme (Jul 07, 2008 6:20 pm)
I would get the transmission shuddering looked at before a complete failure. Right now, they can probably replace the torque converter. later it will be the entire transmission.

#296 of 1900 Re: Discouraging Information [3forme] by skinny62

Jul 08, 2008 (10:36 am)

Replying to: 3forme (Jul 07, 2008 6:20 pm)
Sorry to say that my tranny just plain let go at 60K, consider yourself lucky. Now the 3.9L engine has let go and I had to replace it with 85K miles on the POS now. Fortunately for me, my buddy is a mechanic and I got all the work done for $4050(engine and tranny). Ford in Detroit was no help at all. We need to file a class action lawsuit, but I don't know how. Rcc823comcast.net

#297 of 1900 Re: Another Ford Freestar Transmission Victim [patjackson] by jgenovese

Jul 09, 2008 (7:14 am)

Replying to: patjackson (Jul 05, 2008 4:19 pm)
As far as I know, theoretically yes. Practically, no. When you do pull the tranny to get to the torque converter, you will likely find the reason why it won't be that simple. The reason is that, when the torque converter fails, the splines on the shaft within it, (this is what fails), come apart and disperse metal "filings" throughout the rest of the transmission. When this happens, due to the extremely close tolerances of the parts within the transmission, the filings cause irrepairable damage to many of the parts that will have to be replaced as a result. The chancesof this not being the case are slim at best. One way or another, be sure to report your failure to NHTSA on their website. Also, report your situation to Ford via their Customer Relationship Center which is really a big sham and an insult to the intelligence of the vaerage consumer however; at least this way, when somebody gets killed as a result of one these transmission failures, it will be 1 more documented reason why they won't be able to claim that they were not aware that was a problem. (They stiil will deny any knowledge, but they will be proven to be the liars and cowards and criminals that they really are.) That may sound harsh, but these are the facts. They sold you and me and tens of thousands of other FAMILIES a product that they knew in advance would fail, putting FAMILIES in harms way. In my opinion, this dispicable and reprehensilble and a case can be made for criminal negligence at the very least. Oh, and by the way, I just heard on the news that Ford has 29 BILLION DOLLARS IN CASH ON HAND. You would think that they would step up and spend some of that money to try and salvage their reputation and their business, especially if they seriously want to compete against the true winners like Toyota. Toyota, as a matter of fact, is backing up their Tacoma line of trucks with a $100,000,000.00, (Yes, that is 100 MILLION DOLLARS), program to fix or buy back at a very generous price, over 800K trucks with defective frames. They are also extending the warranty on these trucks to 15 years-basically the life of the truck. That is a leader, That is a winner. That is a company that will get my business for the rest of car-buying years. That will be many because I am still pretty young. They will also be the first company that I recommend to evry single person I come in contact with in the context of purchasing a new vehicle. Please report your failure to NHTSA and Ford and let us know what the outcome of your repair is.
 
Jim Genovese
Annapolis, MD

#298 of 1900 Re: Discouraging Information [3forme] by jgenovese

Jul 09, 2008 (7:39 am)

Replying to: 3forme (Jul 07, 2008 6:20 pm)
God bless you for making it happen with your limited resourses and 3 children. When I read a post like yours, it literally sends a shiver down my spine because I know that you and your children are in harms way and Ford put you there. I know this because we lived through this nightmare. My wife andf 5 of my 6 kids were in our Freestar, in an intersection with traffic when ours failed. we are just palin lucky that nobody was injured or killed. It has become my mission in life to try and inform as many people as I can of this defect so that they can try and avoid the inevitable failure and financial hardship that follows when your only means of transportation is suddenly a 4000 pound pile of worthless plastic, metal, and rubber that you still have to make payments on and insure. We may never fully recover from the financial harm this has caused our family. Because we were not in a good position financially, we had to initially borrrow money to have ours fixed at a rate so high that we are paying over $250.00 per month since December of 2007 and still havn't even put a dent in the principal. Yes, this happened right before Thanksgiving and ruined our Christmas as well. Christmas for 6 kids is a struggle as it is let alone when you have no money as you know. Anyway, please be ever mindful while you are driving that your van could suddenly become immobile and that it will happen without warning so you should always have a plan in case this happens. Try and travel in the lane closest to the shoulder so that you can pull off out of traffic with whatever momentum you may still have going. Also, if you can help it, try not to travel in front of a tractor trailer or somebody who will insist on tailgating you. If you can afford it, have a qualified TRANSMISSION mechanic look at your van for you. This will be costly so be prepared. Also, NHTSA stands for the NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION. They are the government agency that is supposed to be protecting people like us from comaanies like Ford and their defective product. It is critical that you go to their website and file your complaint. It will be helpful for you to review the complaints that are already on the site so that you can formulate your complaint. After we all report our complaints, NHTSA can't say that they didn't know about this problem when somebody gets killed and the finger pointing starts. I know that sounds grim but it is just a matter of time. This is a serious defect and a serious problem that Ford is attempting to deny knowledge of and NHTSA, so far, doesn't seem to want to do anything about. However; we still need to do oir part and keep the pressure on by being vocal and reporting these failures and the pattern of behavior of Ford.
 
Jim Genovese
Annapolis, MD

#299 of 1900 Re: Let's be clever, FORD IS JUNK [skinny62] by jgenovese

Jul 09, 2008 (7:47 am)

Replying to: skinny62 (Jul 08, 2008 10:22 am)
Review all 298 of these posts to see what to do. Basically, report your problems to NHTSA and Ford, As of now, this seems to be a waste of time because Ford, UNBELIEVABLY, still denies that there is a problem at all and, for whatever reason, NHTSA doesn't seem to want to their job and force a recall of these defective transmissions. It leaves me with the impression that big business has some untoward, unethical influence on this federal agency. Absent any other logical explanation, this is the conclusion I have come to and I consider myself to be a reasonably intelligent and infromed consumer. I know why the media doesn't want to touch it because I pressed the issue and got an off-the -record expalnation - MONEY. Advertising dollars are apparently more importatnt than the lives of the tens of thousands of families who rely on these vans for their transportation every day. Stay vocal. stay active. Stay tuned. it will take some time but I believe that, at the end of the day, Ford will ultimately be held accountable. Unfortunately it will probably take a loss of life for this to happen, though.
 
Jim Genovese
Annapolis,MD

#300 of 1900 2004 Monterey transmission out at 34,000 by qfamily

Jul 09, 2008 (11:18 am)

I am in a state of disbelief reading all these messages. My 2004 Monterey has only 34,000 miles and just "went into neutral" going 45 mph. with my husband, myself and two small children in the car. My husband was able to pull into the middle turn lane and avoid an accident. Same story so far as most of you. I am waiting for the "2 day" call back from the Ford Reps to see if they will cover some or all of the new torque converter (same story, splines stripped).
This van was purchased new in June 2004, so the warranty expired on the 3 years last year. However, I am arguing that at 34,000 miles, it is still under the 36,000 miles. This van is top of the line Premier and has been babied from day 1. Until now, I was really in love with my Ford product. If they are not going to help, then I will change my mind. It's funny, my husband's family is GM all the way (Flint area and both worked there). I have bragged about how I love my Ford Monterry ......until this. I am dismayed and saddened to see all the people who have had this problem. I am AMAZED none of us has gotten seriously hurt by this. We were in busy traffic when this happened with NO WARNING whatsoever. We were planning on taking a 200 mile trip 4 days later and had to shell out $400 to rent a minivan. I am just sickened by the whole thing. My van is like new, now I am wondering about my kids safety in the future.
I really appreciate all the information everyone has written. I have my notes ready about the AX4N transmissions not Requiring a transmission flush at 30,000 miles in case they pull that one on me. I am NOT picking up my van until I hear back. So, I am home for the next 2 days (off work) with no car and 2 small kids.
I will let you know what transpires.

#301 of 1900 Bit by Ford Freestar Tranny Bug by teber

Jul 10, 2008 (11:03 am)

The Ford Freestar bug bit me last week, after 68,000 miles. The usual problem of losing forward and reverse mobility. All most rear-ended by the car behind me. Repair cost was $2400, which included towing and a 12 Month/12,000 Mile warranty. Warranty can be upgraded to 36/36000. I am going to file complaints with NHTSA, State Attorney's General Office for Ohio and West Virginia, Ford Motor Company, and a courtesy letter (?) to the dealer. I would consider joining a class action law suit. Keep me posted

#302 of 1900 Re: 2004 Monterey transmission out at 34,000 [qfamily] by jgenovese

Jul 10, 2008 (7:03 pm)

Replying to: qfamily (Jul 09, 2008 11:18 am)
Once again, a family is needlessly placed in harms way because of the criminals at Ford. These cowards probably won't do the right thing even if, God forbid, somebody does get seriously hurt or killed. Just to give you a heads-up; unless they cover you under the "36K" which I doubt, especially if you didn't have the USELESS WASTE OF TIME AND MONEY 30K flush, in the "2 day" callback, you will be told that they have never heard of this problem and that, unfortunately, your vehicle doesn't qualify for coverage under your original warranty and it is your fault because you didn't have the 30K flush done. In case you havn't figured it out by now, the "2 day call back" period is designed to get you that much more desperate to get your car back so that you just cave in and pay for the repair. these crooks have all the angles figured out, believe me. They have hundreds of crooked lawyers on the payroll teaching them all of the dirty little tricks to save them money. It will be those same crooked lawyers that will defend Ford when somebody gets killed or we finally get it together and get a class action going. In the meantime, register a complaint with NHTSA and write to the CEO of Ford, contact your loacl media outlet and your local representative, as well as your local Office of the Attorney General for your state. Based on the information contained on this website alone, I know there is ample evidence of a criminal conspiracy. EVERY SINGLE ONE OF US HAS THE SAME STORY AND HAS HAD THE SAME EXPERIENCE WITH FORD. You seem like the kind of person we can count on to roll up your sleeves and join us in our fight. By the way, tell everyone you know that drives a Freestar or a Monterayto beware of this problem. A minute of your time just might save someone's life. Please let us know what the outcome is for you.
 
Jim Genovese
Annapolis, MD

Messages Page 31 of 191

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