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Ford Freestar Transmission Problems

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

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


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Messages Page 98 of 190

#967 of 1889 Another victim? by aacyjemael1

Dec 19, 2009 (9:57 pm)

Well here we are visiting my son in OK for Christmas (we live in VA) and we had some weird issues on our trip here, ie. overhead dash temp reading 90's and 100's (only in 30's most of the way), and our heating system doing strange things, driver side seat turned blazing hot even though the control was off. We thought maybe some computer or sensor glitch. This evening my daughter-in-law, son and myself went out to eat and when we entered our 2005 Mercury Monterey to go back home, the van didn't seem to want to accelerate in the drive position. It was sluggish but eventually did move. When I got to the traffic light, same thing happened and I feared being stranded on a very busy highway and it was dark. It did manage to finally pick up some speed and we made our way back home. I had to pull up in a driveway to turn vehicle around to park in right direction on street and it did not want to move in reverse. I only have 49,000 on this vehicle and purchased it from Carmax with an extended warranty. We are 1,200 plus miles from home, it is Christmas week coming up and my husband has to return to work on the 30th. We are going to take it in to Ford dealer on Monday as we are not close to any carmax. I am now in a state of panic after reading this blog. I don't know if we are experiencing the problem with the tranny but the stories are eerily familiar. What confuses me is the other issues we were having, could they be related and how???? I am sick to my stomach and fear driving back home with my young son and dog.

#968 of 1889 Re: Another victim? [aacyjemael1] by oilandwater

Dec 20, 2009 (11:22 am)

Replying to: aacyjemael1 (Dec 19, 2009 9:57 pm)
You might have a stuck thermostat for heat issue, and a bad seat heater sensor. Go to a AutoZone or Advance auto and ask them to read your computer codes, this is usually done for free. Might save some money up front. If the code comes up for Torque Converter then you have the tranny (transmission) problem that many have experienced....

#969 of 1889 Re: Who wants justice for the PCM issue? [nadineb] by shocked1

Dec 20, 2009 (2:44 pm)

Replying to: nadineb (Dec 09, 2009 10:52 am)
There's NO JUSTICE for it. How long have we reported thispicec of crap? My guareente has already ran out for tranny! FORD, NSAH, or gov. couldn't care less.We're kidding ourselves. Im sorry, but it's true, we're stuck with their junk......

#970 of 1889 Confusing... by aacyjemael1

Dec 20, 2009 (6:32 pm)

now today my husband took the van out and it was fine. I know however it is not fine after what happened to me yesterday. This is even worse, I am 1200 miles from home and we planned on taking to ford dealer in the morning. No telling if the van will be "fine" there only to break down on our way back home cross country. I am feeling very uneasy about this upcoming trip as I know I can no longer trust this vehicle. I have knots in my stomach.

#971 of 1889 Re: Another victim? [aacyjemael1] by sunburn

Dec 21, 2009 (1:52 pm)

Replying to: aacyjemael1 (Dec 19, 2009 9:57 pm)
Maybe the water in the PCM problem? That can cause strange electrical/engine/transmission problems that can come and go.

#972 of 1889 Re: Confusing... [aacyjemael1] by coneflower1

Dec 21, 2009 (3:33 pm)

Replying to: aacyjemael1 (Dec 20, 2009 6:32 pm)
When our torque converter problem happened, it was without warning. Maybe your problem is that other issue with the PCM. We were out on a family trip and pulling out of a drive thru McDonalds. The car just died as I pulled into 45 MPH traffic. I had to coast into a parking lot. Great feeling with 2 kids in the vehicle. I hope those responsible for not responding to this in a timely manner at Ford and NHTSA get theirs one day.

#973 of 1889 Re: transmission problems [lloydcyn] by barrybeck1

Dec 22, 2009 (7:04 am)

Replying to: lloydcyn (Apr 11, 2006 4:16 pm)
I have a 2004 purchased brand new freestar now with 115,000 miles on it. It was in the shop 15 times in its first 16 months of life. The dealer tried to get it returned under the lemon law but Ford refused saying it had 2 many miles on it! I use it daily as I am a repair person and have to use my own vehicle. Fortunately my trans went out at about 65,000 and it was under warranty so Ford had no option but to fix it. Something about the pump shaft going thru the torque converter. I haven't liked the way it shifts since they fixed it 2 year ago untill a mechanic friend of mine found something very interesting. The right rear brake caliper was frozen and the right rear brake was always engaged so it was causing wheel drag. He tried to fix it but eventually he had to replace the caliper. This was just found after 4 years and 110,000 miles, why didn't Ford find this lots earlier, I complaigned about the brakes making a scraping noise when the Van was new and was told thats normal when they are cold and it will go away when the vehicles warms up. It did but when we found this the right rear brake inside pad was worn on an angle and was down to the metal backing, funny how the left side was OK and wearing normally. I had to have both sides done but now the new caliper had to be added as the caliper piston was sticking. My machanic said probably from over heating and it became warped. I fully now believe that was the main reason for the transmission problem since now it shifts so smooth I can't even feel it and the highway milage went up almost 2 miles per gallon.

#974 of 1889 PCM by barrybeck1

Dec 22, 2009 (7:19 am)

Again my Freestar is a 2004, purchased new and spent the first 16 months of its life in the Ford garages 15 times. But they finally found the problem. And may be the majority of PCM problems with the rest of yours, even the Mercury guys. There was a virus in the computer. The freestar has 3 of them and the Ford dealer kept replacing one when I would come in with electrical problems. That would fix it for a short time but the problems always came back till one day the Ford dealer called me and said they got a TSB about a computer problem and from the symtoms it sounded like my van, it really has fixed my van. They said a virus has been discovered and they had to order 3 brand new computers from Ford and install them at the same time. They did and ever since then my Van had virtually been problem free with the exception of the brakes and transmission.
I still think my van should have been replaced under the lemon law but hey what can you say about the American car companies, they don't care. I like the van now and it works great but from this experience I will probably buy my next vehicle from a foreign maker. My wife switched from Ford to Toyota and couldn't be happier. They take good care of her and so far has had little to no problems with her toyota, she is now on her second one!

#975 of 1889 Re: Confusing... [coneflower1] by jgenovese

Dec 22, 2009 (9:25 am)

Replying to: coneflower1 (Dec 21, 2009 3:33 pm)
I saved the panicked voice mail that my wife left for me the day that our transmission failed without warning in the middle of an intersection, with my wife and 5 of our six children in the van. I intend to play it one day for all of the world to hear. If only a mdeia outlet would pick up this story and run with it...........I guess they need the ad revenue more than they need to inform an unsuspecting public-families in grave danger.
 
It seems that the old adage, "The more things change, the more they stay the same", holds true to this very day. Wasn't it a Ford rep who stated, "Let 'em burn" during the Pinto fiasco?
 
There is one difference however; today we have the internet and this great forum on Edmund's. I still believe that if we keep this going, keep informing people, and keep the faith, that, not only will Ford get theirs, but we will also get some form of justice.
 
As for the folks at NHTSA, at least they have initiated an investigation, even if it took them over 2 years. Let's withhold judgement for a while until they complete their investigation. Then, if the result is anything but a recall, we take it from there, first by publishing, for all the world to see, Ford's predictable and cowardly response to NHTSA's request for information.
 
In the meantime, keep the faith, stay safe, celebrate the Holidays according to your faith, (for my family it's Christmas), and remember, GOOD GUYS really never finish last.
 
Best Wishes,
Jim Genovese
Annapolis, MD

#976 of 1889 Joining the club as well.... by ifer

Dec 23, 2009 (8:22 am)

Tranny failed last year, 12/19/08, splines striped off torque convertor and through metal into the tranny yada, yada, yada.....cost $1900 to fix (did not have tranny fixed at a Ford dealer and they did not use the Ford spec'd torque convertor). When it went out, I had no tugging, warning or nothing....just went out while driving up a hill in a busy city in holiday traffic! Thankfully I had enough momentum to get me over the hill and I coasted down and parked at a bank. Van sat for 5 months (April 2009) until I could fix it.
 
Fast forward to now....approx. 2wks ago I was driving along I-75 about 75mph (had been for almost 2hrs) and my van tugged.....about 5 minutes later, did it again. My husband said to put some fuel injector cleaner in it...did that and it seemed alot better. About 1-1/2 wks later, IRONICALLY on 12/19/09 (exactly 1yr after it originally failed) I had alot of last minute running around to do and it started tugging really bad...I swore I wasn't going to make it home, but I did. Drove it yesterday to the dentist and no issues. Drove it this morning to get groceries and just before getting off the expressway, the dash lights flashed and then went off BUT the van didn't tug....
 
Since reading alot of similar stories on this forum, I've discovered that I've been having alot of the same issues as everyone else but I've just written my concerns off as the van's "getting older" etc....
 
When I read about the PCM, it reminded me of a time driving down the expressway with my husband, in the rain and all of the sudden the van lost power for just a second and then was fine....5 minutes later, same thing happened.....when it lost power, all lights, radio etc. went dead but then came right back on....This was just a couple of months before our transmission failed....
 
This past spring, about 3wks after getting the tranny fixed, the traction control light would come on the dashboard and it'd say "check traction control" or "traction control off"....I didn't think anything of it because I didn't need it on at that time anyways.....Also, the same time that light started coming on, my cruise control wouldn't always work?
 
This went on from the time I got the tranny rebuilt until about 3wks ago...ironically, just before I felt the first "tugs" again....Mysteriously, the traction control lights do not come on anymore AND my cruise control is working like a charm?!?!
 
Also, the "check tires" warning keeps coming up on my dasg as well....I check them all the time and they're fine....
 
My question is: Is it possible that all of these things are related to the transmission failure? Could the traction control be a culprit??? Could it be the PCM that's causing the "tugging" and not the actual TC failing again??? Would the PCM cause these issues???
 
I just don't want to keep sinking thousands into this van only to have the same outcome!
 
Oh, and of coarse there was a warranty on the rebuilt tranny BUT it was only 12,000 and I had gone to MN twice so it shot my mileage up this past year....so, no more warranty....
 
I'm just wondering if I should take it into a dealer or back to the tranny people???? Is it really another tranny problem???
 
HELP!

Messages Page 98 of 190

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