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.
2004 Ford Freestar brakes complaints
Page 2 of 3: complaints 11 to 40 of 59, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Abs warning light comes on and then sometimes it goes out. Is ABS system not working properly or electrical?
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford freestar. The contact stated that while driving between 35-60 MPH, the brakes were applied but the brake pedal was abnormally depressed into the floorboard. The traction control warning light was illuminated at the time of the failure. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where they advised that the traction control module needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not completely repaired. The failure mileage 77,566 was and the current mileage was 81,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford freestar. The contact stated that the ABS light remained illuminated. The contact had not experienced a failure while braking, but the light constantly illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local mechanic and the mechanic stated that the ABS sensor failed. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and stated that the failure could not be corrected because that sensor was no longer available. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileages were 81,401.
This has been on an on going problem for several years now (this is the 4th time ford serviced the vehicle). After a rain storm my freestar does not start or will start & stall. Today, after raining all night, I was driving my 3 kids to school apx 0800hrs, as I was turning onto rochelle ave from chestnut st in rochelle park, nj the vehicle stalled in the middle of the intersection with loss of all power including the brakes which caused me to roll into on coming traffic. Luckily the garbage truck was able to stop before hitting my vehicle. I have found that you had an open case under id number pe10033 the PCM has been changed 3 times and repaired once, on the following dates at the following locations: 5/13/2010 all american ford, 520 river street, hackensack, nj 3/19/2011, 12/13/2011 & 1/13/2012 all american ford, 375 rt 17 south, paramus, nj on all these occasions it was water from rain that effected the PCM.
Driving and the car shut down: no power steering, no power brakes, nothing worked. There were no warning lights or other indication of failure. Was able to steer to the side of the road and stop vehicle using emergency brakes.
My mini van is making a weird noise and when I drive it on the highway the steering weal shakes a lot .
Bought van in june 2007 nothing but problems since. Replaced battery within 2 months of purchase. Replace o2 sensors 3 times and need done again. Replaced transmission, radiator, egr valve, brakes 4 times, tie rod 2 times, calibers 2 times, rotors 3 times, fuel line, you name it, we have had to fix it. Nothing but problems. We have spent close to 8k since feb 2008 on this vehicle and we can not get ford to help us at all. Now the axles need replaced as well as sensors again. The dvd player quit working after 4 months, driver side heated seats quit working after 4 months. Back passenger door sometimes won't open or unlock and sometimes it won't close when you try to close it. This vehicle has put my family in serious harm and we almost got into major accident do to most of the issues ie transmission stalled on interstate and had no warning at all. Worst vehicle of all times. I can not trade in becasue I owe over 11k on this piece of crap. Ford needs to refund me all of my money and suffering as well. I have thought about suing them for damages and selling this crap to us especially with 3 small children and having to travel to see family due to husband being a marine and always being deployed. Almost missed seeing my grandpa for the last time before he did back in sept because of the transmission. This vehicle needs to be off of the roads forever. All of them. Everyone that we know that has these vehicles have the same problems as us.
The brake proportioning system (front/rear) does not function properly causing premature failure of the rear brakes. This allows the calipers to overextend and freeze causing rear brake failure and hydraulic fluid loss. This requires the replacement of the rear calipers every 15k miles this has occurred several times at approximately 15k intervals. This is the reverse of most vehicles that do the majority of their stopping with the front brakes.
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.
Two transmission failures without warnings in our 2004 ford freestar. No accidents just exhaustion and sunburns due to 112*f in the mojave desert for 6 hours of waiting for tow truck to tow 5 family members to closest transmission repair place.
I purchased a 2004 ford freestar. Within 1 year after purchase, I heard grinding noises from the rear brakes. The brakes would also "squeal" while I was driving down the road. In 2007, I had the rear rotors replaced by a dealship because of gouging and pitting that they felt was not normal wear and tear. I had 29,600 miles on the vehicle at the time. Now, from the day I drove it home from being repaired, I would have the same squealing and grinding noises. I took the van in to have the brakes inspected again and was told that the rotors or extremely ground down due to excessive pitting and gouging. I now have 50,000 miles on the vehicle and only 20,000 miles on these rotors. The dealership would not replace them at no charge because they are not under warranty and said that this is due to normal wear and tear. I should not have to replace the rear brakes every 20,000 miles or so. I have followed up with ford corporate and they refuse to acknowledge that this is a problem or to do anything about it.
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.
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.
Does anyone read these? My daughter posted a complaint over a year ago. I just read through a number of complaints about the 2004 ford freestar's transmission problems. My son-in-law purchased this van for my daughter for mother's day of 2006 because they were expecting another son and outgrowing their jeep grand cherokee. In the winter of 2006 it started acting up. We had to go get them on christmas eve as they were broke down on the side of a country road on their way to our house for christmas. It was diagnosed a crank shaft sensor. After coming up with the money to replace that, it worked fine for a while. Started again. They were told they most have got a faulty crank shaft sensor and replaced it again. Some time later, it started again. They took it to a transmission specialist that replaced some more sensors. It ran fine all summer. Winter of 2007 started again. Replacing more sensors. Again this winter, it is doing the same thing. This time it was diagnosed as the ABS box on the undercarriage of the van. $400 for the part alone. My daughter was so excited because it ran better than it ever had and they thought they figured out the problem. Now it is doing it again. It sometimes will not go in reverse. Acts like it is taking off in 3rd gear. Stalls out. This is their only vehicle. He is laid off. She is on the verge of losing her job due to attendance as a result of transportation issues. They are struggling like the rest of us to keep their home our foreclosure and their utilities on. The sad thing, they are still paying payments on this van! Someone have a heart here! Do something! It is the first ford they have ever owned. My son-in-law says he will buy foreign from now on. I own a ford also, I will never own another one either. They have contacted the ford dealership as well as the manufacturer and got no response. This is how they treat their customers. I guess they deserve to go in bankrupt in this economy!
Last week, in order to prepare for a trip away I had my 2004 ford freestar serviced and got new tires, etc., and then the mechanic said I needed new brakes and rotors and spent $1,000.00 on parts and labor (including the tires). He showed me the rotors and explained how bad of shape they were in, there were deep grooves in them. At least feeling confident that all this work was completed and I was ready for my trip, off I went. Then all of a sudden driving at 70 MPH on the pa turnpike I realized the power had gone from the gas pedal and the van would not go forward. I quickly pulled to the side and turned vehicle off, then tried again, it would not go in drive or reverse or any lower gear. My van is now in the transmission shop and the mechanic has just informed me that the torque converter is totally shot and he explained to me that this seems to be a problem with these vehicles and now I have to spend another $1,000.00 or more to have this problem fixed. So within one week, I have now spent $2,000.00 on this vehicle. If it was an old piece of junk I would have just bought a new vehicle. But it's only four years old. This is totally unacceptable and I will never buy a ford again.
In addition to the complaint submitted earlier today. I was contacted by the service repair dept at our ford dealership and was told that we are in need of brakes. This will be the second time that they will have been replaced and adjusted. They tacked on an additionally $540 min. And the vehicle will not be finished until possibly tomorrow morning. They have had the vehicle since early monday morning. We are so very disappointed with the overall function and reliability of this vehicle. Thankfully, when we were driving it, it was not full of children.
Tl*the contact owns a 2004 ford freestar. The brakes and rotors were replaced three times. The front end was shaking and the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic. The hub was squealing and was taken to another independent mechanic. The brakes were replaced a second time. The hub was found faulty and the federal safety agency campaign id number 04v446000 (wheels:cap/cover/hub) was discovered for that year, make, and model vehicle; however, the manufacturer stated that her VIN was not included in the recall. The VIN was unknown. The failure mileage was 13,000 and current mileage was 36,050.
Tl*the contact owns a 2004 ford freestar. The dealer took the vehicle to be inspected and passed. The very next day, while driving 20 MPH, the vehicle failed at 73,941 miles. The contact took the vehicle to a tire and auto garage for inspection, in which the vehicle did not pass due to the failure with the rotors. The technician stated that the stamp that is on the rotors indicated that it was shaved below the minimum tolerance, and is now a safety issue. The dealer attempted to repair the rotors, but shaved them too low without replacing them with new rotors. The dealer will not repair the failure. The failure mileage was 73,941.
Right rear brake caliper frozen after just one year.
Excessive front brake noise. Sometimes accompanied by a grinding noise. I can not begin to describe how loud this is. It is not even near the level of normal brake squealing. Dealership reports that nothing is wrong with the braking system. There has got to be some type of defect in the workmanship of this braking system and the manufacturer should be held accountable. This has been on going since purchase of vehicle.
12/06 front driver-side brake froze on while driving, causing van to want to pull into other lane. Dealer said faulty master cylinder. On 1/07 same thing happened on rear passenger side again causing van to pull. Different dealer says again a faulty master cylinder. Both incidents could have serious consequences. It seems more than coincidental. I feel this could be a potential design/recall problem.
I've been asking about the weird brake noise (grinding) each time I've taken my vehicle in for service at ford dealerships. I was always told nothing was wrong and that my pads were fine. I took car to another repair shop because my brakes were obviously shot and they said the calipers were bad. They also said it seemed premature for my car. The ford dealership said the same thing to me over the phone and a third repair shop said they shouldn't have been bad in the 2 years that I've owned the car. I've searched the web and found many others complaining of the same problem.
While on vacation, grinding noise was heard from the left rear brakes, brought van to a local ford dealer. It was determined that the inner brake pads wore uneven and were metal to metal on the rotors. New pads were installed and rotors turned at a cost of $215 and loss of a vacation day with family.
Tl*the contact owns a 2004 ford freestar. The contact received a recall notice in 2004, which stated that two rotors and the front hubs of the vehicle needed to be replaced. The two rotors were replaced, but the front hubs were not. The contact began experiencing failures with the front hubs and contacted both the service dealer and ford. The failure was noticed while driving 3 MPH. The dealer stated that they were not responsible because the hubs were not replaced at the time of the recall. The recall # was unavailable. The current mileage is 45,574 and failure mileage was 45,400.
While applying brakes,a grinding noise was heard coming from the rear of the vehicle. Upon getting the vehicle checked it was discovered that the inner brake pads were worn down to the bare metal, while the outside brake pads were in new condition. The front brakes were assessed at 80% remaining life. New pads, calipers, and rotors were required to fix the problem. The cause of the problem: the brake caliper bracket (caliper slide) seized up, causing the caliper to sit offset, and thus wear the brake pads prematurely and unevenly. The van had 30,000 miles on it, and was just off of bumper to bumper warranty. Ford was not willing to cover any cost of repairs.
Unknown, problem just occurreds under certain conditions. While driving the brake pedal, when depressed for braking, dropped giving the driver the inpression that the brakes might have totally given out. Myself driving the vehicle. The pedal seemed to drop aproximately one inch prior to braking normally sevaral times in a two mile test drive. Others driving with the full compliment of passengers stated that the brakes went entirely to the floor and only then engaged in a totaly locked panic stop , no sign of anti-lock pumping, and pulled violently to the side. Having experienced similar syptoms I made the assumtion that the passenger load effected the degree of severity. Another factor appeared to be rain, no such symptoms were reported until the day of, or the day immediately following rain. Dealer was unable to locate problem or duplicate brake pedal drop. Second dealer held vehicle for evaluation for close to a month, but very little rain has fallen during that time. Since this vehicle services handicapped individuals I could not place back in service with the potential problem, and three reports of failure.
Tl*the contact owns a 2004 ford freestar. While driving speeds ranging from 50 to 60mph, there is a grinding noise and the brake pedal is extended to the floorboard when depressed. The dealer stated that the rear calipers needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. Approximately one week later she experienced the same failure. The contact stated that the problem has occurred on 4 occasions and it is worse when it is raining. The current and failure mileage were 9,558. The consumer has provided a copy of repair invoice. Updated 06/07/07
On 4/11/07 ford service department. Informed me the rear brakes & rotors on the 04 freestar were shot and needed immediate replacement at a cost of $575.00.I thought they were lying to me because I had more than 20 different cars,trucks,& vans, but never had factory installed brake pads wear out at 20000 miles ,and especially rotor damage so bad that they had to be replaced. Also there was no warning signs like a grinding noise or a pulsating brake pedal. Nothing. So I mentioned the 3/36 bumper 2 bumper warranty ,and the 6/75000 esp plus deluxe extended warranty w/$0 deductible , and I was told this was a wear item , and was not covered. They said I probably rode the brake pedal or drove with the parking brake on. I didn't drive with 2 feet and never used the parking brake. I asked how long were the brakes designed to last under normal use, .they didn't know. So I left the dealer, and went to an independant ex ford mechanic , who determined to find a frozen caliper or something else defective.what we found was not what I was expecting.the calipers were not frozen, and the pads were not completely worn down although the outer pads were twice as worn as the inner pads,there was no metal to metal contact(rivets or pad backing).it seems that the metallic or semi-metallic pads themselves would rust a bit and since the front brakes do most of the stopping,t he rust on the rear pads never completely wore off each day and the pads and rotors never heated up enough to built up the glaze like the front pads.so the rotors were gouged by the rust build up on the pads. When examined closely,the deep gouges on the rotors lined up with the rust build up on the pads.
Tl*the contact owns a 2004 ford freestar. While driving at 5 MPH the contact heard a grinding noise in the rear of the vehicle when ever the brake were depressed. The mechanic stated that the grinding noise was due to the rear brakes. The mechanic replaced the rear brake pads, rotors, and calipers. There have not been any occurrences since the repair. The failure and current mileage was 40,000. *ak updated 05/04/07.
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