Problems with 2004 Ford Freestar ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

I can not believer the number of complaints on the internet about the ford freestar's malfunction! there are 430 messages on edmunds.com alone on the one subject, but yet nothing has been done about it. if we want the workers in the u.s. car industry to have jobs, then they should resolve the issues and make their customers happy!! *tr

Issues noticed with electrical systems within a year of purchasing brand new vehicle. dealerships never found anything wrong. while driving down the road, vehicle would lose power. radio would go out, all lights on dashboard would go out etc. then all of a sudden they'd all come back on as if nothing happened. noticed mostly during rainy and humid days. then once in a while van would chug and act doggy. in december 2008, while driving down a busy city street, van just stopped "driving" and would rev. didn't have money to fix until april of 2009 so it sat in our driveway. had it towed to transmission shop after calling ford dealership and was told it was double the cost for them to fix. transmission shop told me that the splines stripped off the torque converter causing the transmission to fail. repair cost for tranny rebuild #1: $1,830.97. shortly after, the a/c stopped working (summer 2009). replaced condenser for price of parts as neighbor who's a technician provided free labor. van ran okay for about a year. then in summer 2010, started running sluggishly again and still had issues with power loss (as stated in beginning). found info online about everyone having issues with pcm so replaced that as well for $500. worked for a couple months but then in december 2010 van started having issues with power loss again and chugging. little did i know, this was the start of the tranny beginning to fail again! july 2, 2011 tranny failed again. doing 50mph in road construction zone. again, told by transmission shop (different shop as we were 9.5hrs from home), that the torque converter failed again and tranny needed to be rebuilt. cost to rebuild tranny #2: $1,850.00. still having issues with sluggishness, thinking water getting into pc still. tire pressure lights have been on for years, having issues with sliding doors, back up sensors, a/c etc. i'm tired of this lemon!!!!! *tr

The electrical has been wiggy ever since --just after the factory warranty ran out. this includes: back-up safety sensors stopped working, heated drivers seat stopped working(passenger still works), the stereo system doesn't have all of it's functions, passenger airbag light is on, van very noisy when backing up--we call it the moose. had to replace transmission and then we get re-call notice! and, it still doesn't feel 100% still waiting for a refund(?) brakes are squishy--even after replacement of front end everything! side electric doors will sometimes open and close several times until we just have to manually force them to stay closed. *tr

2004 ford freestar. consumer states vehicles drives rough, stating vehicle accelerates and decelerates on its own *tgw the consumer stated the vehicle would slow down and then speed up with rapid jerking. the consumer had the egr replaced at a cost of $289.97. also, the air conditioner compressor, ignition coil and main computer had to be replaced. *jb

Tl*the contact owns a 2004 ford freestar. while driving approximately 35-40 mph, the vehicle began to hesitate and the instrumental panel lighting flashed. the vehicle shut off a few minutes later and was towed to the dealer. the dealer stated that water penetrated through the windshield wiper motor area and caused the main computerized system to fail. the instrument panel had to be replaced, the gas line had to be blown out, and the spark plugs were replaced. the insurance company investigation concluded that the failure was due to a product defect. the manufacturer acknowledged receiving the contact's written complaint; however, they would not assist with the $1,200 repair cost that the contact had to pay. the failure mileage was 58,502.

We own a 2004 freestar that has had the transmission replaced in feb 2008 with less than 43,000 miles on it. in july 2008 we spend $450 on repairing part of the breaking system, and this week the van would not go into reverse and did not have any pull to it when it finally did after several attempts. once i got out of the parking space, i got an estimate of a block and onto a busy highway, only to have the van stall on me, almost causing a wreck. the dealership and ford paid for the transmission to be replaced, we paid for the caliper, drum, rotor, and break pad to be replaced on the front driver side brake. when having the van checked out this week, we were told yesterday that they did diagnostics on it, and the only thing that came back was a cam sensor and that there was probably moisture involved that would cause the stalling. nothing was repaired, and this could happen again, esp during the winter months, when winter driving is already dangerous. there is also an issue with the track control. it works most of the time but not all of the time. the light comes on at least 2 time per month. the reason can't be found for it. ford needs to be made to do recalls on these vans for the safety of the owners. *tr

The latch on the rear of the van has rusted closed on three separate occassions. it is presently rusted shut and the back hatch doesnt open as a result. there is a recall on the third row seat due to water leakage from the rear tire well. this has to be related as the carpet throughout the van gets wet. even the front drivers seat where it attaches to the floor is soaked, posibly leaking from front tire well.and all the way down the interior of the car to the third row. there is also a short in the dash lights due to water leaking into the dash area. the car radio stays on when it feel like it and you have to hit the drivers window button for the radio to shut off otherwise it drains the battery and the car will not start. the car was at the electrical shop a year ago and could not find the problem. *tr

Tl*- the contact stated that the 2004 ford freestar's transmission failed at 79,000 miles while driving at 40 mph and going up a hill, the engine revved, and the vehicle wouldn't accelerate at the normal speed, but she did get to the top of the hill. the contact stated that the engine continued to run ,but once she got to the top of the hill the vehicle wouldn't accelerate. the contact stated that some men pushed her to side the side of the road. the contact stated she had the vehicle towed to the dealership, and they informed the contact that the transmission needed to be replaced or reworked on. she was still under the 3 year warranty but had exceeded the miles under the warranty. the contact stated that the dealership replaced the transmission. she contacted the manufacturer, filed a complaint and was given case# 0417400577. the failure mileage was 78830 ,and the current mileage was 79000.*ak the front and rear brake lining and circuit breaker were replaced, the rear wiper was loose. updated 04/12/07. *jb

Electrical system had to be replace, ford said it was a design flaw. *tr

Wife's van. reported that in cold weather it would start hard. recently while driving to work it bucked several times. was able to get to work. informed me of the problem where i went to check van. it wouldn't start after 5 attempts, then it started up but was a hard start. at the same time check engine light came on. decided to tow it to dealer. flat bed came but couldn't get to van. to assist in positioning van for flatbed; van started on first try but now when it was put into gear, it didn't move. either forward or reverse. we pushed it into position. took to dealer where now it went into gear to offload it from flat bed. dealer stated when they depressed the brake, all dash lights lit up. stated it was a dead short they had to trace the wiring. received call 2 days later, dealer telling me they have to drop the transmission. which they did, i saw it on a stand, stripped of all inner components. was told since it's under warranty (26,000 miles), they are going to replace everything that looks remotely wrong. been a week and still waiting for answers. *jb

Upon leaving the interstate and coming into town (approximately 1 mile ) my vehicle made a slight noise, i looked at my gauges with no indicators on i proceeded into my driveway where my van began to erupt into flames within moments the entire front end was engulfed with 12 ft. flames i called the fire dept who extinguished the flames, i narrowly escaped the van. *jb

Tl*the contact owns a 2004 ford freestar. the contact started the ignition and placed the gear shifter into drive. the engine began to rev and the transmission immediately locked up. the contact had to make several attempts before the vehicle would operate. the vehicle was towed to an authorized dealer for diagnostic testing. the technician repaired the vehicle. in addition, the rear brake assembly failed, which was not covered under the warranty. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for repairs. on a separate occasion, the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer for identical failures. the vehicle also experienced electrical failures relating to the exterior lighting. the technician recommended that the transmission be rebuilt or replaced. the vehicle has not been repaired. the failure mileage was 250 and current mileage was 52,000.

For the first 16 months of ownership my ford 2004 freestar sel was in the shop 15 times for electrical failures. even the dealership tried to get the van returned under the lemon law and ford refused. i had also complained about vibration at highway speeds, and told all was normal until i demanded they check the front brake and then was told they were bad. at about 65,000 miles my transmission suddenly and without any warning went out. i was just leaving the intersection and fortunately i was not rear ended. now just last month, december 2009 it was discovered my right rear brake caliber has been dragging for some time as the inside brake pad was worn down to the metal. left side was fine. *tr

Problems with engine since 2005 with jerking, sputtering, engine lockup. transmission locks and jerks, airconditioner stopped cooling and won't hold freon. electrical issues also......has a mind of its own! several trip to the ford dealership, was told "could not diagnose, bring it back if it does it again, we can't find anything wrong with it". the issues are sporadic. drives fine one minute, next thing you know you are stalled on busy hwy. not enough space to list "expensive" problems. extended warranty? that's a joke, waste of $. scariest issue is when it locked up while driving. lost complete control of steering, acceleration, etc. was stranded in middle of road. have disability, very scary & frustrating especially since my husband bought it only a year old so kids and i would have a "safe" vehicle. did not take back to dealership since they'd probably say " can't diagnose". purchased a rebuilt engine had small town mechanic put it in. problems still going on. since there are still so many problems with engine, transmission, electrical, and no air conditioning, i'm afraid to drive it more than 5 miles. it is a very expensive lawn ornament. fyi, my husband had just had to replace the engine in his ford vehicle a month before mine went out, had to sell his vacation time for 2 years in a row just to keep those fords running for our family...he's a public safety officer. ford sold be ashamed. (dates are approximate, paperwork packed up from a move....sorry:-) ) *tr