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Ford Freestar- Should I Buy One?

22 messages,  Last post on Jul 16, 2012 at 4:25 PM

You are in the Ford Freestar Forum.

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

Messages Page 2 of 3

#3 of 22 Re: Would you recommend purchasing the Freestar? [dudette3] by lesmark

Jun 14, 2006 (3:10 am)

Replying to: dudette3 (May 14, 2006 8:06 am)
I purchased a 2004 Freestar in Feb. On June 2, 2006 I came out of a store, started the van, put it in gear and nothing. To make a long story short, the transmission was gone (with 45,000 miles on it)! Apparently this is not an uncommon problem. (check out some of the other postings. I would not recommend the Ford...

#4 of 22 Re: Would you recommend purchasing the Freestar? [lesmark] by donnie2494

Sep 29, 2007 (5:12 am)

Replying to: lesmark (Jun 14, 2006 3:10 am)
THE ONLY WAY I WILL EVER DRIVE ANOTHER FORD IS IF I WIN IT IN A RAFFLE. LIFE IS TOO SHORT TO DEAL WITH ALL THE MECHANICAL PROBLEMS. TRY A SIENNA. IT'S A MASTERPIECE COMPARED TO THE FREESTAR.

#5 of 22 Another Ford Transmission bites the dust!!! by cowboys59

Jan 04, 2008 (11:21 pm)

On December 15, 2007 while driving at approximately 40 mph the transmission on my 2004 Mercury Monterey went into neutral. No warning, no nothing. Luckily I was able to coast onto a smaller side street and call my husband for help. My van has just over 46,000 miles on it. I had the van towed to two different Ford dealerships. Both refused to pay for the repair even though I purchased the "Easy-Care Gold" extended warranty. My husband changed the transmission fluid at 30,000 miles just as the warranty called for. The dealership wants proof. How do you provide proof of maintenance performed at home? And after the research I have done regarding this particular problem there is absolutely nothing the owner can do to prevent the transmission from failing. Of course neither dealership said a thing about this being an ongoing problem. Does anyone know what I can do to get Ford to pay the $3500 for the new transmission? Also, shouldn't there be a recall for these transmissions before someone is hurt or killed? I filled out the complaint form with NHTSA. Is there anything else I can do to help get some action?
Thank you.

#6 of 22 Re: Would you recommend purchasing the Freestar? [dudette3] by tbrown61

Jan 06, 2008 (2:06 pm)

Replying to: dudette3 (May 14, 2006 8:06 am)
NO!!!! do not buy this piece of junk. unless you own stock in a transmission shop, you will after you repair your freestar.

#7 of 22 Re: Would you recommend purchasing the Freestar? [dudette3] by msq1224

Feb 12, 2008 (9:25 am)

Replying to: dudette3 (May 14, 2006 8:06 am)
Hopefully you did NOT buy a Freestar. As you will see if you search on Freestar Transmission they are prone to potentially dangerous catastropic transmission failure. (No warning...surprise, you're permanently in neutral!)

#8 of 22 Re: Another Ford Transmission bites the dust!!! [cowboys59] by dtownfb

Apr 16, 2008 (10:01 am)

Replying to: cowboys59 (Jan 04, 2008 11:21 pm)
I'm sure you have gotten this resolved but you should have a phone number on the contract to call. If not, call customer service.

#11 of 22 As Amy Winehouse would say. . . . by cocohead

Jul 21, 2008 (11:49 am)

NO, NO NO!!!!!!!!

#12 of 22 Freestar Seating by old89lsc

Jul 26, 2008 (6:40 am)

My family has 4 children, and we currently own a 2001 Windstar. It has been very reliable but now has 100,000 miles on it. Our two youngest are twins, 2 yrs old, and sit in latched car seats in the middle captain chairs of our current van. The older two climb into the third row, going around the captain chairs, and sit in booster seats. Our twins are occasionally prone to do what 2 yr olds are prone to do: fight. We have friends with a van in this configuration, but had to put one of their twins in the back row and one in the middle. Since that is so much less convenient when they fall asleep or even in helping them get buckled in, it is still our preference to keep them in the second row. As such, we need some space between their car seats to prevent world war 3 when traveling.
 
I have seen some affordable Freestars, but they almost always have a middle bench seat. I have found used captain chairs available, but not having been inside a Freestar I am not sure that I can swap the bench for them.
 
Does anyone know if you can swap out the middle bench for captain chairs?
 
If not, how much spacing is there between the car seat positions in the middle bench?

Messages Page 2 of 3

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