Problems with 2005 Ford Freestar POWER TRAIN

Our 2005 ford freestar ltd minivan has experienced sudden loss of power symptomatic of a transmission failure, which no warning or signs of a pending failure. this occurred while my wife was driving, and although it did not result in an accident or serious incident, it could have. the van has been taken to a local mechanic shop for diagnosis and repairs. the symptoms experienced seem very similar to those articulated by others in a pending nhtsa investigation of faulty torque converter input shaft splines on this model year vehicle. *tr

My wife was taking my kids to school when she pulled out of our drive way and drove about a 1/2 mile and the car just stopped going forward. she tried pushing the gas and they engine just revs up. luckily a neighbor was coming up and took her home. we you start the car it will not go into gear. it won't go in drive or reverse. we have not had any transmission problem up until this point. *tr

2005 ford freestar. consumer writes in regards to a complaint to ford motor company for a refund for repairs due to a faulty design *tgw the consumer stated moisture was seeping into the computer. the pcm wire harness had to be reflashed/reprogrammed. *jb

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 ford freestar. the contact was driving approximately 25-30 mph when the vehicle experienced a loss of power. the accelerator was engaged yet the vehicle did not respond. the vehicle was later towed to a local mechanic shop where she was advised that the transmission needed to be replaced. the vehicle was repaired with a re-manufactured transmission from the manufacturer. the failure mileage was 55,800 and the current mileage was 55,942.

2005 ford freestar se has approx. 70,000 miles bought it for a retail of 9,400 dollars and 4 months later the transmission goes out (in march of 2011). thank god it my wife and kid didn't get into a crash on the highway with it. we just recently took it back to the dealership to look at it again because it won't run in gear and they said its the torque convertor. so we took it back to where we got it repaired and they say theres water in the transmission. this was the worst 9,400 dollars ive ever spent! we havent even had this car for 9 months and it been in the shop 50% of the time besides the out of pocket money cost. how can ford sell such a piece of crap? *tt

My son drove the freestar home the night of 3/20 and stated it was running a bit rough. the next morning my wife had a hard time starting the care to drive our daughter to school. once she got the vehicle started and backed it out of the driveway the vehicle stalled in the middle of the street and was unable to restart. i had the vehicle towed to the ford dealer and was actually able to start the van but it now had no reverse. the dealer had the van for 12 days and replaced the pcm. we got the van back and the check engine light came on immediately. the dealer now states that the wiring and connectors to the pcm are all soaked and they need to be dried and cleaned. after doing some research it appears that this is a known issue with the freestar and that i was quite lucky as to the timing and location of the vehicle when it failed. i truly believe that this design flaw in this vehicle needs to be resolved by ford prior to anyone getting injured. *tr

My wife was on the interstate with my 2 and 4 year old traveling 70 mph today(3/15/11). van lost power to transmission and thankfully she was able to reach the safety of the shoulder by way of dodging to semi trucks coming up fast behind her. van is at the dealership now to figure out what has caused the failure of power. i have read about all of the issues other owners are having and find this very dangerous and disturbing. something needs tp be done by ford to rectify the issue. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 ford freestar. the contact stated that while driving approximately 45 mph, the vehicle suddenly lost power abnormally with an increase in engine rpms. the vehicle was then towed to an independent mechanic where he was advised that the torque converter, shaft and a pump would need replacing. the vehicle was repaired for all components. the failure and current mileage was approximately 146,000. updated 05/24/11*lj updated 05/26/11

I own a 2005 ford freestar minivan. over the last couple of days i noticed it would shift hard when i put it into drive. then on tuesday, 3/8/11 me and my family was on the highway, my husband driving, and noticed the van would not shift into 3rd gear. we pulled over and checked transmission fluid and added just a bit. we then started driving again and then the van would not shift into 2nd gear. we were able to get it to a mechanic and was advised that the transmission needed to be either replaced or rebuilt. we are having it rebuilt with at least $1600 or more expense. *tr

We were running some errands on 3/4/11. it was raining . different times i notice a little bit of hesitancy when leaving the malls & pulling away from stoplights & stopsigns. on 3/5/11 we were backing out of our driveway & proceeded to put in drive, van kind of chug a lug and went maybe 30 ft & stop. restarted van and it would do this all over again. finally after about 5-6 times ,went around the block & parked it in driveway. mileage is 80,939. we had trouble like this in jan 2011. had it towed to lynch ford, dealer charged us $150.00 & could not find anything wrong. maybe because it was inside the dealership & got dried out. mileage approx 77800 back in march 2010, the transmission was doing the same type of thing chug a lugging & then stop. had it towed to a local shop who then had to tow it to the ford dealer. ford did have a recall issue on tcm , replaced it,the cowl panel & new key fobs. we had to pay for labor due to ford motors fault what supposedly didn't cover. mileage approx 65,000 not sure on this. at this time. i believe it is the same trouble again. *tr

Vehicle stopped having any forward and very limited backward power in my driveway. there was no warning and the vehicle had only 23,000 miles. there was no warning or previous indication of a problem. no transmission leaks, the fluid was a normal color. the transmission had to be rebuilt. *tr

The day after a heavy rain, my 2005 ford freestar started stalling out and the engine light coming on. i thought it was a sensor as i had the same problem last year after a heavy rain & took it to the local mechanic who replaced the cam sensor which solved the problem. this time the mechanic said it was the transmission & he could not fix it. we had it towed to the ford dealer we bought it from who confirmed that it is the transmission & will cost us $2,200 to have it fixed. why is such a new, low mileage vehicle having this problem? i have been reading many complaints about the transmission on this very same vehicle. why hasn't ford recalled it? we cannot afford this and i need my van. it is so frustrating. especially knowing that i am not the only one having this problem. isn't there something we can do??? i still owe over $2000 on this van that i expected to last me for years without having to repair the transmission. please help! *tr

Driving on interstate at 75 mph with cruise control on, engine rpm rapidly increased and vehicle slowed in speed. cruise control was disengaged, depressing the accelerator caused an increase in rpm, but vehicle had no motive power. pulledto shoulder of interstate, vehicle would not move in any gear. towed for repairs-cause of failure attributed to torque converter current mileage-77069. parts required to effect repairs-torque converter overhaul kit, bushing kit, outside diameter band, pump rotor kit, clutch completer. *tr

First and foremost i am a mother of three and use my van daily taking my daughter to school. this is my second time having to report transmission failure the first being in june/2010 we was driving and without any warning the van's transmission went out we had it fixed in july 19 2010. then again 2/26/2011 i was driving about thirty miles from my home to visit my brother in the hospital i had got word he was not doing well from surgery and i did not make it i heard a noise and felt a surge so i pulled off into a parking lot and called my father that was at the hospital to come and pick my daughter and me up. he checked everything under the hood and did not see a problem. my husband showed up a few hours later in which he heard a noise in the transmission when he went to put in gear it started rolling there was nothing it had done went out. so we called the wrecker man to come get it we had done spent $45.00,$50.00 and now this cost $90.00 on tow bills. i will not know until later this week what went out. i got on the internet last night and day after day someone is reporting this same problem here we are. in less than a year ours has went out twice what will it take before ford does something to fix this losing a family member or a whole family. we still owe on our van and with the economy was hoping to pay it off and enjoy life without payments for a while but who knows.i do not feel safe even getting in this vehicle i just feel it will take a death before ford wises up and does something this is so sad i reported my problem in june of last year hoping to get something done and now here we are again 8 months later with reports coming in everyday and nothing is being done. i am contacting other media to try and get word of this unlike toyota trying to say this or that there is too much information about these ford freestar transmissions reports page after page when you put 2005 ford freestar in the search. so why hasn't something being done before it is too late? *tr

The transmission failed without warning 200ft.before railroad crossing. *tr

I purchased my 2005 ford freestar new and with 72,082 miles i had to have the torque converter, banner kit, hardened pump shaft with pump gears replaced. we were accelerating from a stop and felt a thump like we had run over something. prior to that the van would shake at 30 to 40 miles per hour. the cost of the repairs were $14450. the repair shop stated that the transmissions in the freestar's are not built for van's. 72000 miles is to low for something like the transmission to have to be repair. this is a major problem and needs to be addressed by ford. *tr

I was driving my 2005 ford freestar van to work. my trip to work was just like any other day. no problems and worry free. i was at work pulling into my parking place and it was just like someone had put the vehicle in neutral. the vehicle will not move in any gear, or in any direction. this has been an issue for many people now including myself. *tr

My husband was the driver of the vehicle at the time of the problem and he narrates the events below. i was coming out of a baseball game and after a stop sign i started moving out from an intersection turning right with traffic from the left. suddenly, the 2005 freestar made a noise and accelerated (as i had my foot on the gas) and like shifted to neutral gear. i tried to get it in gear again only to notice that it was still in drive. i tried to steer it to the side of the road but as i was just moving out didn't rolled enough to clear the traffic lane. cars from the left started avoiding me going close to the middle of the two lane road as oncoming traffic honked their horn. regardless of the gear it stood like if in neutral. finally after a while the traffic slowed down so i got out and started to push the van to the side of the road. i had it towed to my house and couple of mechanics that had come by have quoted me over $2000.00 which i cannot afford since i just got a job. i had to rent a car until i can figure out what to do. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2005 ford free star. the contact noticed that the gear shift selector would not move into any gear. the vehicle was taken to the dealer and the contact was awaiting a response. the contact called the manufacturer who stated they will send a letter to the local dealer on the contact's behalf. the current and failure mileages were 63,000.

Water leakage through the left windshield wiper cowling caused our power train control module to go bad. this repair is costing us almost $1,000.00 dollars to fix. upon researching this issue on the internet we have come to realization that this is a very prolific problem with this make and model of van. just for them to get the part is going to take a month. that shows you just how prolific it is. ford is not taking responsibility for this faulty cowling that leaks directly on to the pcm even though tens of thousands or more people are having to have this part replaced multiple times costing them thousands of dollars out of their own pockets. there needs to be a government forced recall on these vehicles cause it's apparent that ford is not going to take responsibility for their faulty equipment design on their own.

Driving at 55mph, transmission suddenly disengaged. transmission would not engage after stopping. no fluid leaks, high amount metal flakes in fluid, high fluid level (not circulating) also sudden and slight whining noise from trans as well. torque converter, or pump has gone bad. *tr

I am the original owner of this vehicle,and i have had the same problem occur twice. the first time was at ~30k miles on a local road. the second was at ~65k miles on the interstate. both times i was on a gently increasing slope and suddenly lost drive power. in the first case, i did not have enough speed (~25 mph at failure) and thus time to react to get the vehicle to a safe position. i was forced to glide backward down the slope to get to the side of the road. in the second case, i had enough speed (~70 mph at failure) and the experience from the first time to get the vehicle safely to the breakdown lane before losing momentum. both experiences were very discomforting, as i was carrying two young children. the second time was especially unsettling because it was at night on the interstate in the middle of the winter, not to mention that it was second time with the same symptoms. in both cases, all other engine functions appeared to operate normally. in both cases there was neither forward nor reverse power. i have always had this vehicle repaired and maintained at the dealership where i purchased it new. for the first failure, the dealership diagnosed and repaired the torque converter. they told me that the splines had been stripped off. the second failure happened only a week ago, so it is currently in the shop being repaired. the diagnosis is that the torque converter splines were again stripped and also that the pump needs to be replaced. *tr

In 2006 i purchased a 2005 ford freestar van used with 23,000 miles on it, and in 2007 the transmission stopped suddenly while i was driving. the 2007 transmission repair cost me approx. $3600. today 02/05/11, i was driving at 65 mpfh on a 2 lane highway(both lanes going one way) when my van stopped accelerating without warning. i nearly was struck by an 18 wheeler in traffic as i attempted to safely get off the roa, i would have been killed. this is twice a transmission has failed in this vehicle! nhtsa please do something to force ford motor co. to be honest about the defective transmissions they put in this vehicle. please , before someone is killed - perhaps people have already died because of this. please help me. *tr

Stalling out of nowhere. *tr

February 1, 2011. 2005 freestar, 110,000miles. as i was driving 45mph on parkway i accelerated into middle lane when without warning the car would not accelerate. i hit the gas, tachometer revved but no response. i quickly coasted to shoulder and managed to avoid getting hit! after putting van in park, i tried changing gears but van would not engage in drive or reverse. no warning signals at all! not even a check engine light. had van towed to shop. still troubleshooting failure. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2005 ford freestar. the contact was driving 55 mph when the transmission failed; the engine was still running but the vehicle would not move. the contact had an oil change and the vehicle serviced prior to the failure. the vehicle had not been inspected or repaired. the vin was unavailable. the current and failure mileages were 108,000.

2005 ford freestar transmission problem - car just stalled on me while driving at a very busy time pulling into a driveway up hill. in addition, any time i tried to put it in a gear it would roll back. i almost hit the cars/people behind me. plus, i was blocking the middle of the intersection. *tr

While driving the 2005 freestar the vehicles engine started to rev and quickly began losing speed. i managed to get the van off the road before coming to a complete stop avoiding a near rear end crash. the vehicles would not move in any gear and was towed to a ford dealership. was told that the output shaft of the torque convertor was stripped and charged $1730.47 for the replacement of the torque convertor. was told by the dealership that this was not a uncommon failure for this vehicle. this failure could have easily resulted in a serious accident.

My wife and i own a 2005 ford freestar (78,000 miles). this morning (1/20/2011) on her way to work the car lost power without warning. what she explained to me over the phone i suspected it was a problem with the transmission. we had it towed to the local ford dealership in vernon, ct. mechanic inspected the vehicle and said the 'torque converter' was shot and would cost $1,700 to replace. the other option would to replace the entire transmission at a charge of $3,700. i explained to him that while doing research about that this seemed to be a common issue with this specific model year. mechanic claiming that this was the 1st freestar he has even had with this specific issue. *tr

I was driving west on kimberly rd in davenport,ia. in our 2005 ford freestar. on 1/17/2011 approximately at 1230pm. at the intersection of division st and kimberly the stop light was red and there were three cars in front of me. when the light turned green, my freestar wouldn't move. it has only a little over 117,000 miles on it, and didn't give any warning of going out. after reviewing edmunds.com for ford freestar transmission problems, i see this is a common occurrence and i was luckier than most. the worse part of this was when the transmission went out, it was on a busy road in winter snow conditions and came close to being rear-ended a few times. lucky i didn't have my family with me, because this could of turned into a serious accident. a davenport officer showed up to give me a safety barrier before a tow truck showed up, but i was there over an hour before the officer showed up. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 ford freestar sel. the contact stated that while the vehicle was parked he attempted to shift into reverse but the gear shifter would not respond. he was unable to shift from park and the vehicle was towed to a local repair facility. the independent mechanic replaced the torque converter low stall, performed a master overhaul, and replaced the filter, pump shaft, over drive band, manual lever position sensor, transmission fluid, and the oil pump. the failure did not persist. the failure and current mileage was 66,309. updated 02/23/11*lj updated 12/06/2011 *ln

Transmission failure on 2005 ford freestar with only 61,000 miles and all manufacturer suggested services done to stay in warranty. died with no forward propulsion on highway. very dangerous!!! no warning signs and was just serviced the week before. please investigate, as i have found many other complaints on the internet. thank god that my children were not in the car and that no accidents were caused, but it could have happened. please find out why this is happening before someone is seriously hurt. *tr

I was driving my 2005 ford freestar and suddenly loss power, it felt like it was in newtral and coasted out of the road to a parking lot where it was tow to a shop. bad transmission, it will cost me about 3,000 to repair. *tr

I have a 2005 ford freestar. we bought it in 2008 and enjoyed driving it all over texas but the rear brakes have always has made a moaning sound no matter what is replaced and the front brakes rattle. dec 2010 replaced the water pump, alternator, ilder pulley and belt tensioner before i found the solution on youtube that it was the camshaft sychronizer that was making a shrieking noise. then without warning three weeks later the transmission completely failed at a traffic signal 83230 miles, left my wife stranded in rush hour traffic luckily it wasn't at night or my kids in the van. no cause could be determined by mechanic other than tranny pan was full of metal and had to be completely rebuilt for $2000. i have owned an f150, aerostar, and explorer all went over 180,000 miles and still working when i sold them. the freestar has been a let down. next minivan will be nissan or toyota. hopefully ford will recall the tranny on these van since most of the comments i have read experience tranny failure around 80k miles hopefully no one get hurt because of it. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2005 ford freestar. while stopped at an intersection, the contact attempted to accelerate when the vehicle lost all power suddenly. the vehicle was towed to the dealer who stated that the torque converter needed to be replaced. the contact did not inform the manufacturer nor was the vehicle repaired. the current and failure mileages were approximately 64,000. the vin was unavailable.

The torque converter went out on my 2005 ford freestar 4.2l. it has 83,586 miles on it. i had no warning signs of transmission failure. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2005 ford freestar. while driving approximately 65 mph, the transmission suddenly failed to operate without warning. the contact was able to pull over to the side of the road safely. the vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who stated that there was an internal problem within the transmission. the transmission was in the process of being replaced. there were two open investigations regarding the transmission under nhtsa action numbers; ea09016 (power train:automatic transmission:torque converter) and pe10033 (power train:automatic transmission:control module/tcm, pcm). the failure mileage was approximately 51,000.

Transmission failure on 2005 ford freestar. no warning, failed unexpectedly while driving on the highway. luckily no other vehicle was behind us or it might have caused an accident. have to replace the transmission at a cost of $3500. *tr

We have a 2005 ford freestar van, i was pulling out of a parking lot and started down the road got up to 40 mph and all of a sudden my van coasted to a stop no gears. this never happened before, brought the van to a transmission place and they had to replace the torque converter costing me $810. i have read other complaints about this happening to other people. *tr

Driving 70 mph on i-75 in northern michigan, transmission quit without warning, stranded my wife, three children and myself in the middle of winter on the highway. *tr

I was driving at 65 mph when the transmission failed on my 2005 ford freestar. resulted in a loss of control of the vehicle. there were no previous warning sighs such as grinding of the gears, slipping of the fears or loss of transmission fluid. car acted as if it was in neutral through all gears. subsequent investigation with a mechanic revealed a failure of the torque converter. *tr

Tl - the contact owns a 2005 ford freestar. the contact stated that while driving the vehicle stalled. the contact was unable to shift gears. the vehicle was towed to a local garage and was diagnosed the failure was located at the torque converter. the vehicle was repaired. the manufacturer was contacted and they stated their was not a recall for the failure, therefore they are not responsible. the current and failure mileage was 80,150. pm

While driving down highway without warning my 2005 ford freestar transmission went out. *tr

In december 2010 i was at a stop light, when i went to accelerate the car wouldn't move. had it towed to a transmission shop and they rebuilt it. it has gone back 3 times due to continuing of problem and the check engine light keeps coming on after they turn it off. since last visit, now the air bag light is on, check engine light is on and the horn no longer works when pushed but it occasionally has gone off for no reason. still have problems accelerating, is sluggish, and makes a horrible noise. it needs to be smogged but will not pass due to these issues. *tr

2005 ford freestar - 2nd transmission failure. in march 2009 the transmission went out on our 2005 freestar. no warning, like all others with problems, it was like it was in neutral & would not go into gear. service tech informed us that 2005 freestars have transmission issues/torque problems. our warranty had expired, & we had to pay $3200 for new transmission. complaint was filed with nhtsa. thankfully, we purchased a warranty w/ the new transmission - because it has gone out again! van has been sitting at ford dealership for over two weeks now, waiting on ford's approval to replace transmission for 2nd time, due to same problem. i don't understand why ford will not address this issue, or at the very least, repair the transmissions that are failing at no cost. i strongly encourage everyone to not purchase another ford, i know i won't. class action lawsuits have been mentioned, i would definitely be interested in participating in one! i guess ford is not going to do anything until someone dies in a horrific crash due to this problem. *tr

Drove about an hour and then the transmission felt like it was slipping a bit around 65/70. had never felt it before. called mechanic when we got home who said bring it in 2 days later. within that two days, the transmission completely let go and we had to have it towed to mechanic. he said he found water in the pan. ended up replacing transmission with a rebuilt. got car back. within a week the converter let go and he said it went through transmission and he found metal shavings in pan. had to drop transmission again and repair. (hope this all makes sense, i believe this is what he described to me but if not, i can get a better explanation from the mechanic). *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 ford freestar. the contact stated that while traveling 10 mph the vehicle failed to accelerate when the accelerator pedal was depressed. the vehicle was taken to the dealer. the manufacturer was not contacted. the vehicle was repaired. the failure mileage was 104,392 and the current mileage was 119,000.

Driving the van on a four lane highway when the engine started to rev and the van slowed down was lucky to find a exit and coast safely to a stop had the van pulled to a local repair shop shaft broke in the transmission repair 0ver two thousand dollars

Bought this van used at 43,000 miles in 2010,,,concerned because transmission had been rebuilt...bought extended warranty for 12 month/12,000 miles...had trouble in dec. 2010 took to dealer...they replaced sensor....warranty went out in feb. 2011....had to rebuild transmission in 7/2011 3rd transmission ...$1300 my expense....today the check transaxle light came on again!!! ....called the ford company....so_o_o_o sorry!!! can't do anything for you....53,000 miles. *tr

Pulled away from stop sign and vehicle reached approximately 30 mph when vehicle suddenly would not accelerate. vehicle was in drive. vehicle came to a stop at the side of the road. attempted to put vehicle in other gears including reverse to no avail. vehicle was towed to mechanic. mechanic determined the problem was with the splines on the torque converter. mechanic replaced torque converter at a cost of $1168.68.