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Vans & Minivans Ford Freestar Ford Freestar Transmission Problems
949 messages, Last post on Dec 04, 2009 at 12:50 PM
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Well, I went and had the codes read from our 2004 Freestar transmission this morning & low and behold it's the torque converter clutch. At highway speeds the fluid overheats and the clutch remains in the stuck position and the transaxle light will flash. Normal city commuting no problem, no flashing light, but it's just a matter of time I believe. I'm curious though if a complaint is filled out & we decide not to get the transmission replaced and decided to trade it in, will we have issues trading it in? 54,000 miles and the transmission is shot & the AC quit this past summer. This is completely unacceptable.  I'm at a lost where to even begin. If you have experience the same or similar, please advise me some options. Thanks.
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Replying to: kisskrazed (Oct 31, 2009 7:35 am) Now that you know your trade in price - do a cost calculation. How much do you have to put in the van? Lets say it is $3500 for a rebuilt transmission from Ford with a warranty, and $300 for the A/C. You probably need tires? Then you can figure the Van is going to last another 54k at least because the rebuilt transmission probably doesn't have the defect. The only dealer that knows transmissions go bad on this vehicle are the Ford/Merc dealers. Reporting the problem to NHTSA or Ford I personally doubt would affect trade in value since they probably check CarFax to make sure it isn't wrecked, then a Kelly Blue book to see what it will sell for at the auctions. |
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The Freestars with 2 different engines - are they with 2 different transmissions ?
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Replying to: ballkan (Nov 01, 2009 8:36 pm) |
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Replying to: jroyse (Oct 27, 2009 5:07 am) For Ford to say that loss of motive power is not a safety issue because braking and steering are not affected and the the vehicle can still be parked, is nothing short of obscene. What good are the brakes and/or steering if the vehicle is not moving?!? How do you steer a car that is not moving? The brakes are useless because, again, the vehicle has stopped moving! Hey Ford, what happens when the vehicle loses "motive power" in a tunnel on a freeway in front of a tractor trailer that is traveling even at the posted speed limit? Here is what happens; a fatal collision. It is just a matter of time before this scenario plays out; if it hasn't already. Also, how dare you suggest that the main motivation for the complaints we have filed is financial. My main motivation, and that of every other decent citizen who has taken the time to file a complaint, is that you put our families in danger. In my case, my wife and 5 of my 6 children were put in harms way when our Freestar lost "motive power." Steering and braking didn't matter at all when my family was a sitting duck in the middle of an intersection! My wife had to get out and push the vehicle to the side of the road! My secondary motivation is the fact that every Ford representative, from the dealership on up to Corporate, and especially the clowns at the Customer Relationship Center, lied to me and my family, disavowed any knowledge of this problem, and treated us like we are garbage. And yes, money is an issue to a blue collar man with 6 children. Your defective transmission cost me and my family nearly $4K that we had to borrow jsut in time for the holidays. How would you like to have to explain to your children that Christmas will be sparse because Daddy had to fix the family car that only has 45K miles on it? I am so sick and tired of corporate thugs who prey on working families and don't back their product. All Ford has accomplished with this ridiculous, disingenuous, preposterous, obscene, and dispicable response is motivate me even more to see that justice is done. Ford, maybe you could use some of nearly BILLION dollar profit you just reported to redeem yourselves and recall this vehicle before someone gets killed. What do you say? Jim Genovese Annapolis, MD
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It was Halloween night 2009 and I packed my husband, two oldest daughters, my son-in-law and my granddaughter into my 2004 Freestar to take the 2 1/2 hour drive back home from a day of festivites. We were driving down a very rural two lane road, in total darkness when it started. We were leaving the town of Elizabeth and accelerated from 30 to 55. Everything was fine until I hit 62. The van seemed to misfire and lunge. Everyone asked what it was. I had let off the gas a bit and tried not to go over 60. As we continued the van lunged again, but now I was only going 55, and then again and again, going slower and slower. My husband assumed I had a problem with the gasoline or something and told me to floor it and try to push the gas through. But then it got very bad. I could see headlights coming up in my rear view mirror and the van started to sputter. I was pumping the gas pedal and the van wasn't reponding, but would intermittently respond by lunging and the pausing, just like the "bucking bronco." I managed to put my flashers on but I couldn't get off the road, as there was no shoulder and we were driving through a very hilly area with terrific drop offs. I am amazed that we weren't killed because we could have been, because then the van totally shut off. I managed to put in neutral and get it started again, only to have the same thing happen about four more times. A few times I managed to pull off the road, but had to continue to the next town, as there was nothing until then. We did manage to get to the next town safely and I am now dealing with getting the van fixed, HAHHHHHH!! My dealer told me "you should have gotten the extended warranty." He said the van was so far away, he wasn't going to get it. He recommended I have a service/repair place out in that rinky dink town look at it. He didn't even recommend a Ford dealer out that way. After finding this information, I realize that I had the van towed to the dealer in April 2009 for the same thing. My hubby went to move the van cause it was sitting out for a while and it was hard to start. It wouldn't stay started and the idle was very high and would rev up and then die out. He kept starting it and it would die. Then he managed to start it but it wouldn't go into reverse or drive. He had it towed to the dealer and on Monday they said it started right up, nothing wrong, NON ISSUE!!! Not to mention, every time I would run errands on rainy or wet days, the van was harder to start. It wouldn't catch the first or second time. Also, if I started the van with the a/c on it made a loud clunk sound. Even if I turned the a/c on shortly after starting it, same thing CLUNK. Amazing piece of junk. If they can't find the problem, there's nothing wrong. AMAZING! NEVER AGAIN!!! I could afford to fix it but I would never have been able to replace members of my family or, God forbid, leave my 17 yr old daughter without her family.
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Replying to: nonissuebs (Nov 02, 2009 6:22 pm) If it was raining I would take this print out to the dealer. Link for the PCM correction: TSB
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