I left work, got 3 parking spots away, lost steering, brakes and gas. Engine was still running. Transaxle light came on, shut off van, tried again and it drove maybe a few feet and it was as if it was in neutral. Engine light, battery light and oil light came on. Shut it down tried again, drove about 10 feet and it died. Had it towed to vip who had no answers, towed to ford who said it there was water in the PCM. They dried it out and said give it a go. Got it home drove it one day and the next(after raining) it would not move out of driveway. It would go into gear but hitting the gas was again like in neutral. It would move maybe a few inches and then no longer. The engine light came back on and the van bucked some. Towed to ford again and they said it is defiantly water getting in the PCM. I have been searching online and I see many people complaining about this issue. I am worried because there is another recall coming in a month or so for the torque converter and I have 2 small children that rely on that van. I can't trade it in cause they are only will to give us $1000 when we owe 6. We are without vehicle again, with my husband and I having jobs and two kids. I feel unsafe in my van, even if we are to get it fixed, we have to hope the torque converter does not go while we are driving before the recall.
2004 Ford Freestar electrical complaints
Page 4 of 5: complaints 71 to 100 of 118, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Driving and battery light, ABS and brake light all illuminated. No issues with braking. Replaced PCM in nov 2011 for similar issue. Car at dealer for a week so far and indicate needs an alternator (maybe) and PCM. Multiple PCM issues reported on this make and model. Tsbs, etc. When is action going to be taken. Dealer indicates part is on back order from ford. Please take some action this is in addition to a torque converter issue already under recall. The PCM controls everything and could have caused this car to fail and hurt someone.
Power control modual (PCM) gets wet due to poor design and transmission fails to work.
Abs warning light comes on and then sometimes it goes out. Is ABS system not working properly or electrical?
Water keeps getting into the PCM. Common problem with this vehicle. Van will stall out, not have power in drive or reverse, and anything electrical acts up.
Pcm wet and engine will die when under load. Turn on power option will cause the engine to die.
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!!!!!
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford freestar. The contact stated that when starting the vehicle, she would occasionally become locked inside the vehicle or locked out of the vehicle by the anti-theft system. The vehicle would also sporadically fail to start. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the trans receiver was replaced and the computer was updated however, the failure persisted. The current and the failure mileages were 135,000.
While on the highway, at about 35 MPH, my 2004 ford freestar died. I was able to coast into a side street without power. After about 10 minutes, I was able to restart the vehicle, but it ran roughly for several minutes and then behaved normally until two days later when the transmission would not engage in any gear. I thought it was a transmission problem. The vehicle was towed home and the tow truck driver said it was behaving like there was a problem with the computer. Apparently he has seen this problem before. Examination of the computer (PCM) and the attachment plug showed significant water entry. Water actually ran out of the plug and there was water in the PCM enclosure. After several days of drying time, the PCM was put back into the vehicle and the vehicle ran normally. Ford has issued a tsb that covers the problem of water getting into the PCM and cable, so I am sure it is a common occurrence. I believe that if the vehicle is allowed to set idle for a number of days, the PCM will dry out by itself and then run normally until the next rain storm. No doubt, many transmissions have been replaced in error, and the problem reoccurs when the PCM again gets wet. Loss of power on the highway means no power steering or power brakes, which can lead to loss of control of the vehicle. The location of the PCM lends itself to water entry and appears to me to be a design defect that ford should address more forcefully than just to issue a technical service bulletin.
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.
We bought our 2004 freestar new. Wife now is unable to drive it due to safety concerns. It stalls, misses, and bucks while driving. It is much worse after rain. We have taken to dealership and they want to do a tune-up. Took to local mechanic and he says that there is water in PCM. Have located hundreds of complaints in forums. Very expensive fix and it looks as though many people have had fixed several times.
Drove vehicle to store, went in to do shopping came out to leave vehicle would start but wouldn't accelerate. Two days before incident it had been raining in grand junction colorado. Had vehicle towed to ford and was told today that the pmc is full of water! It's going to cost me over 1500.00 to fix this! What would of happened had it decided to go out as I was driving down the road with my two kids in the car? Or when rushing my severe asthmatic to hospital?
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.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford freestar. The contact stated that while driving 35 MPH, the vehicle suddenly stalled and all electrical systems stopped functioning. The contact did not take the vehicle to the dealer for a diagnostic test. The failure mileage was 111,000.
I was driving down the highway at 55 MPH and my van starting cutting out really bad and died. I was a mile from anywhere I got it to a safe place eventually and then could no longer start the van. This is the third time this has happened and have had to replace the computer already once. It was raining heavily so I know it is the computer because the mechanic who replaced the computer 3 months ago said this is a known problem with the 2004 ford freestar. Every time it rains I have trouble with my car. It was raining last night so I know water has once again gotten into my computer. When is there ever going to be a recall on this. I am a single mom of 4 kids and feel like ford should be held responsible for this vehicle. I can't afford to just go out and buy a new vehicle because ford messed up. I have owned this vehicle for 4 years now and it has been in the shop or broke down for at least 2 years of this time for the same issues.
It started with my driver side window working erratically. Simultaneously, the buttons on my radio quit working, although it randomly kept trying to reprogram "preset 2". Without warning, at 65mph on a busy road, I abruptly lost power and could not maintain speed or accelerate. I also experienced erratic RPM. Currently vehicle will chronically not start due to power failure, even though battery and alternator have been checked and are functioning properly. The sudden and unexpected loss of acceleration and erratic RPM is dangerous. I am unable to drive this vehicle because I fear for my safety.
Transmission issues had to be replace, check engine light will not turn off. I have read many reports online about issues with the transmission in the 2004 ford freestar, sensor light issues, tracking light issues. No warning transmission just died 200 miles from home.
The van began to jerk and lose power. I was able to make it home and was told that the PCM was wet. I contacted the ford dealership where I purchased the van and learned about the service bulletin. I emailed ford and was told there was no recall and I would need to fix this issue myself.
The main engine computer (ECM, PCM, aka eec) constantly gets wet due to a design flaw. Water drips down on the computer and will cause the engine just to die while driving the car on the highway. This causes a very dangerous situation!
2004 ford freestar RPM's 3000 at idle. Diagnosed as water intrusion in original PCM (powertrain control module) in april of 2011. Water intrusion occurred on replacement PCM as well within 3 months because rain kit per service bulletin ( # tsb-06-14-10) was not installed at the ford dealer. Second incident occurred with the replacement (new) PCM on 9/8/11. On 9/8/11 vehicle stalled out while in traffic. Replacement PCM diagnosed as water intrusion as well by different ford. Second dealer noted rain kit had not been installed by 1st dealer when new PCM was put in. Second dealer installed kit, but vehicle stalled out in traffic once again on 9/17/11. Replacement (new) PCM had been contaminated prior to rain kit installation. Vehicle is now at the ford dealer (that installed tsb rain kit) for 3rd PCM unit. Contact was made with the original dealer that installed the replacement PCM as well as ford warranty department, and as of this date of 9/23/11 neither has accepted responsibility for failure to install the recommended tsb rain kit that caused the replacement (new) PCM failure. We were very fortunate that no one was hurt during the 2 incidents when the vehicle stalled out while in traffic. We will continue to pursue action to make the first ford dealer / ford motor company financially responsible for neglecting to install the rain kit per fords service bulletin upon installation of the first new PCM unit.
My husband was driving on a 4 lane hwy in pensacola, fl when my 2004 ford freestar suddenly stopped pulling. No forward, no backwards, neutral, nothing and the rpms went extremely high. Zero warnings, and in heavy rush hour traffic. It is only due to my husbands race car driving experience and quick reaction time that he was immediately able to get the van on the side of the hwy. My husband and our two boys thankfully were safe but they were stranded in intense florida heat. I have had a lean fuel, various electrical, coil pack and PCM issues since I got the van june 2007. The ford dealership, and the easterns dealership I purchased the van from, could not figure out the problems. While under warranty, easterns worked on it but none of the issues were ever able to be fixed. I choose the freestar for its safety features so I knew I had a safe way to transport my children. This is no longer the case, I do not trust ford to take care of their defective products and I will not purchase another ford.
Just exited interstate, van simply stopped moving forward, needed to replace transmission spline, cost 1385.76 plus towing. Front window also stopped working, various electric problems including battery draining for no reason, locks work sporadically, damp weather causes problems with electrical, chugging of engine ect.
Transmission went out while driving. Thankfully we were not on the highway. No grinding or slipping, the engine just revved and would vehicle would not move. Had 3 children in the car at the time. Very dangerous to trust this car. Got the car to a parking lot, now it has been towed to a mechanic to be checked out. We previously had problems with something in the ignition or something where the car would just sputter and die while driving. Replaced driver side window motor, but passenger side does not work either. Please get these off the road!
Rear window popped / shattered while parked. No vandalism. Car was running and rear defroster was on. Weather was 60 degrees and cloudy.
My 2004 ford freestar engine light and other lights came on, and the minivan started to stall, each time I would have to restart and drive with hazards on trying to get home, it became dangerous and had to take my chance and pull off the road into a business driveway, and leave the van. The brakes would not work, they stiffened up as did the steering wheel. I was lucky I wasn't in an accident as it started out of the blue. It had been sitting in my driveway for two days and the weather had been rainy for those two days, and I think it was caused due to some water leakage into the transmission area. I had a similar issue a few years ago and took it to the ford dealer where I bought the van and they said it was a water getting into the system and they fixed the problem at the time. Now I am being told that I have to have it put onto a machine and pay 85 dollars to have it checked out. I know this is an issue with these minivans and I don't feel I should have to fork out a lot of money to get it fixed when it is a problem with the model, and ford should do something about it. It is a safety issue and one day someone will get hurt or worse from this. Someone needs to issue a recall so that these concerns are dealt with!!!
I to own a 2004 ford freestar. I never had any trouble with the van until febuary 2011. I was pulling out in an intersection the van started to go but decided not to. I tried to put the van in reverse to get out of traffic and it wouldn't go. Then all of a sudden it decided to go in a big hurry squealing tires. I was pretty happy there wasn't another car at the stop sign waiting to get out. I finally got the van home and it wouldn't stay running. We towed it over to a local dealer. He finally looked at the computer and dumped water out of it. He had called the ford dealer parts department and they told him it was a common problem with the freestar vans. I ended up taking it to the same ford dealer and I was told they had never seen this problem. They put a new computer in it and a wiring harness. $1,800.00 dollars of work. They test drove it and it threw 2 more sensors. That would be another 500.00 to fix that and they wouldn't guarantee that if I fixed that it wouldn't happen again on another sensor. Apparently the water from the computer and down the wiring harness and followed down to the sensors and corroded most of them. They suggested I just hurry and get rid of my van. Of course, after I pay them the 1,800.00. I called ford, the manager at the ford dealership and they are really sorry but there is nothing they can do to help me. I paid 26,000.00 for this van and I had it for 7 years and ford just basically said get rid of it. I have the van back with the 2 sensors still bad it runs alright now but they said it wouldn't for long.
This is the second issue I have had with water getting into the PCM(computer). The first occurrence (03/10) I had the car towed to the ford dealership and was advises per the obdb scan codes that the transmission needed an overhaul. I told the dealership that I had just pulled the car out of my driveway and had no reverse and had slippage in other gears, it was raining very heavily that day- I asked the dealership if it could be an issue of moisture getting into PCM(computer), the dealership said that that was not the issue. I then had the car towed to a reputable transmission repair shop, there I was told that my car was the third to freestar to have been brought in with an issue of water getting into the PCM(computer). The owner of the transmission shop was able to let the PCM dry out for three days and reinstall with no transmission issues. The second event (04/11) happened after several days of rain; while driving to work the instrument panel displayed the following lights: check engine, brakes, ABS, fuel, battery, and trans axle light. The vehicle stalled out in the middle of traffic, and I had the car towed back to my mechanic who advised that the fuel pump and fuel pump module was defective and replaced. However, the trans axle light was still appearing intermittently. I took the vehicle back to transmission shop for second time, and through careful trouble isolation, they determined that the pcu was telling the torque converter to shift into fourth gear while coming to a stop. They allowed the pcu to dry out, but then determined that the transmission module had shorted out and that it need to be brought to dealership to reprogram pcu. I contacted the dealership who stated that they are not aware of any moisture/water issues with freestars and I advised them that I am filing a complaint the federal safety agency and will also forward letter to ford motor company.
Repeated problems with moisture/rain getting into PCM(computer). Car is back at transmission shop again due to car stalling during braking. I have had fuel pump/module replaced in error, due to false check engine codes due to moisture/rain getting into PCM, owner of transmission said issue is with water in PCM causing torque converter to engage during braking.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford freestar. The contact stated that the vehicle would stall without warning when driving various speeds. The vehicle would restart sporadically or the contact would have the vehicle towed. In addition, the vehicle would also start independently without the key being in the ignition. The vehicle was taken to a local mechanic who advised that water had entered the computer corroded the system which caused the failure. The contact confirmed that the failure would most recur when there was rainy weather. The manufacturer was contacted who offered no assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The current mileage was approximately 90,000 and the failure mileage was approximately 87,000.
While driving the traction control disingages for no apparant reason. Also the cruise control will be working fine and after the traction control disinages the cruise control also stops then sometimes after you press resume it reingages and sometimes in doesen't if you shut off the car and restart it the traction control liight goes off again. It may come on again a few miles later or it may not problem seems to be intermitttent same with the cruise control. There are also times that the radio controls in the steering wheel work fine other times if you press the volume control it will change the stations. Van purchased in july of 2010 problem bagan sometime in october of 2010.
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