Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford freestar. The contact was accelerating at 30 MPH when the transmission failed without warning and the vehicle would no longer accelerate. The contact was able to push the vehicle off the roadway. The vehicle was towed to a local mechanic and the mechanic stated that the failure was not from the timing chain but he was unable to determine the exact cause of failure because he was unable to take apart the entire transmission. The transmission was replaced. The failure and current mileage was 119,000.
2004 Ford Freestar transmission complaints
Page 15 of 30: complaints 401 to 430 of 851, newest first, as owners wrote them.
On december 23, we were driving our 2004 ford freestar limited, and while making a left hand turn across traffic, the vehicle simply fell out of gear, and the rpms increased, thus causing the van to coast to a stop. Luckily the van was not in a collision during the incident. After being diagnosed by the mechanic, it was determined that the splines to the output shaft (female side) of the torque converter were stripped, thus not driving the transmission pump due to lack of pressure. As this is a known issue, it appears that the initial manufacturer of the part had a metallurgy flaw and this issue should be corrected. The repairs to the vehicle were $2300 and not covered by ford.
At highway speed drive to tires was lost. Torque converter moth vanes and spindle were destroyed upon removal and inspection.
Was driving home from school with my husband and son. Approximate speed was 40 MPH while pressing gas slightly to go up small incline motor revved as if it was in neutral. Van had no power to move, not even reverse. Had to had towed. Mechanic states pump in transmission is out and transmission is completely gone. There was no warning or anything. It was 12 degrees outside when we were stranded. After reading other complaints my story sounds the same as everyone else's. The costs not counting labor to fix will be approximately $2500.00. Almost equal to what we owe. Very frustrated with ford- this needs to be looked into.
Ford freestar 2004- going down hwy, engine suddenly revved loudly then we had no gears whatso ever. The engine was running fine but couldn't propel the vehicle. Mechanic told us this is a recurring problem with this make/model.
My wife was driving 2004 freestar van when just pass a intersection when transmission went out, she is ok but, had to replace converter in transmission cost $838.34 only 72925 miles on van this should not have happen , I think ford should recall this van.
2004 ford freestar van. Consumer writes in regards to transmission pump failure. *tgw the consumer stated as she was driving, the vehicle suddenly lost power without warning. The transmission and a transmission switch range was replaced.
I purchased a 2004 ford freestar with 28,389 miles on 6/16/08. In october 2009 my wife was driving the van and when she stopped at a stop sign & tried to turn on the next road, the van wouldn't go. The van acted as if it were in neutral. The van was still running but wouldn't go in to any gears at all. She called me & we had to have the van towed. We had bought an extended warranty/insurance policy on the car so the dealership told us which transmission shop to have the van towed to. We took the van & after almost 2 weeks, the van was repaired. We had to pay for a rental car during the time & pay the deductible for the warranty/insurance to have it repaired. The repair shop said they had to put a rebuilt transmission in the vehicle because the one in it had water. Six months later, in may 2010, the transmission did the exact same thing. We contacted the repair shop that had worked on the transmission previously said the transmission appeared to have water in it and the insurance/warranty wouldn't cover it. We had to take the vehicle to another shop for repairs. We took it to a repair shop in our neighborhood that we have known the owner for a long time & know to be very trust worthy. He looked at the transmission as well & said some how there was water in the transmission. He had to put another transmission in the vehicle also. Since he has put the rebuilt transmission in the vehicle, we are still having problems. The van does fine until after it has been driven for a few hours. It seems the warmer the transmission gets, the more it begins to shift hard, start jerking, & acts like it doesn't want to go. We have had 2 rebuilt transmissions put in, had to rent a vehicle twice, had to have it towed twice, still have payments for another 3 years, & aren't any better off than we were before the vehicle was fixed the first time. The vehicle only has 62, 173 miles on it. I don't know how a vehicle with such little mileage can have the same problem with 2 transmissions.
Transmission went 82,000 miles for freestar 2004 cost for new transmission $2400 which I paid.
During normal operation of the vehicle, without warning, the vehicle lost all power as I pulled off the road. Ford diagnosed and recommended replacing the transmission. Transmission is currently being rebuilt by aamco transmissions.
Ford transmission is slipping out of gear at highway speeds.
2004 freestar- traveling down road when car's engine just started revving and car would not go forward or backwards- had to call tow truck to tow us to shop. This could have been even worse if would have happened on highway, or in bad weather- as my husband is disabled unable to walk very well!!! Car did not have alot of mileage for this to have happened- very disappointed will cost us over $2000 to get repaired- very difficult on a fixed income. Have owned many ford vehicles and have never had anything like this happen. Always felt a ford was a very dependable vehicle- questioning that now!
I own a 2004 ford freestar. On wednesday, december 22, 2010 I proceeded to back my van into my garage after running errands for the day and after backing up about a foot, the vehicle ceased movement. It would not move forward as well. I had my local mechanic stop by my home to take a look, and he informed my husband and I that the transmission went on our van. He suggested that we have it towed to the ford dealership where we purchased it. So, this is what we plan to do. The van only has around 60, 000 miles on it!! I understand, after doing lots of research, that this is a common problem with this make and model, and I am infuriated that my husband and I will have to cover the expense associated with the repairs! Unacceptable! Shame on ford! I will never purchase another ford vehicle again.
Coming into town in busy traffic, our vehicle suddenly slipped out of gear and then would not switch back into gear above 20mph. We were 30 miles or so from home, so we went at low speed out of town and down highway continuing to see if it would kick into gear. It did not go over 20 to 25 MPH until about 10 miles from home, we stopped for gas and then when we started up again it shifted as normal into gears as needed for highway travel. Took it to mechanic and ended up needing new transmission. A rebuilt one cost us almost $3000. Would love to know if this will be a recall and our money refunded from ford?
My 2004 ford freestar van transmission slips, have replaced tranny fluid and filter, still having the same problem. Eventualy going to have to replace tranny.
While driving approx. 70 MPH on the freeway with out warning the power to the wheels ceased to work. The engine would rev up but there was no power going to the wheels. We were able to coast to the side where we had to be towed. The torque converter had to be replaced at a large cost. The failure happened at approx. 100,000 miles.
2004 ford freestar engine control module computer die @ about 80000 miles tranmission fail at about 65000 miles defective oe conformal coating is removed from the entire ECM board including underneath chips and replaced with upgraded conformal coating; corrects an oe design flaw and ensure chips will not lift from the board causing the unit to fail.
Bought new, 2004 ford freestar minivan. At 60,000 miles, my wife and daughter experienced a sudden loss of power and coasted to a stop into a parking lot. No power in any of the gears including reverse. Towed to dealership and found out that torque converter pump shaft broke. Had to replace torque converter, pump and pump shaft. Cost of $2125.00 to repair. Thankfully it did not happen on the highway at high speeds. Considering the number of reported occurrences at such lower mileage and nature of failure, I would like to see a refund of the repair costs from ford. This type of failure should not be the burden of the consumer.
2004 ford freestar transmission died at 48,100 miles. I was driving and all of a sudden there was a loss of motive power. The engine was running with absolutely no acceleration. I almost got hit by a car because the mini van stop moving at an intersection. Had the 2004 ford freestar checked and there was water in the transmission. No rain, no flood. Only very cold weather. $4000 to fix and extended warranty don't want to cover.
My wife was driving our 2004 ford freestar yesterday with our 10 year old son in the car. At speeds around 35-45 MPH, she felt some shuddering as if the transmission was "shifting in and out of gears". She was able to maintain control while driving and drove the car home and parked it fearing that driving it further would result in losing control and ending up in a potentially fatal motor vehicle crash. At this point and time, the vehicle will not shift into any gear which again, thankfully ended up parked at home as opposed to what could have occurred. With research, I discovered that this likely is a manufacturer defect that results in failed transmissions that ford is aware of but has not addressed. Must somebody die before the issue is addressed?
We own a 2004 ford freestar with a 4.2l motor. Thank god we bought an extended warranty when we bought the vehicle new in october 2004. At approximately 55,000 miles the vehicle stopped suddenly in traffic and needed to be towed. The transmission would not engage in any gear. I had the van towed to rodman ford in foxboro ma where I was told the transmission fluid was contaminated with water. The warranty covered the entire repair except for a $50 deductible, also covered rental and the tow. Great, right. The only problem is that at 67,000 miles the same thing happened. Same coverage, paid for the whole thing again. Well here we are at 82,000 miles (no longer under 75,000 covered under warranty) and the tranny goes again. Now the last one was replaced last december at rodman ford again. They are now trying to tell me that there is no coverage and a new tranny is going to cost me $3500 to replace. Huh? Your kidding right? There seems to be another issue at play here. After reading some info on the web, I see there are several hundred reports of this same thing happening in this particular vehicle. There is an e-mail on line from stephen mchenry of the federal safety agency stating that water has been getting into the PCM or transaxle vent. If this is a known problem then why is ford not following the detailed repair instructions outlined in this e-mail. Why do they continue to replace transmissions several time in these vans when they know the cause of the problem. Are the service departments not busy enough and are they trying to create repeat customers. I am not going to pay a nickel toward this repair. I also have noticed several attorneys soliciting clients online for class action suits trying to get these other people their money back for the repairs that for them were not covered by an extended warranty. Thanks for your time.
Tl*the contact owns a 2004 ford freestar. While driving approximately 55 MPH, the transmission failed without warning and the vehicle began to hesitate. The dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer was not notified. The vehicle was not repaired. The VIN was not available. The current and failure mileages were approximately 76,000.
Tl*the contact owns a 2004 ford freestar. She attempted to accelerate from a stop sign but the vehicle hesitated momentarily before accelerating. The vehicle picked up speed to approximately 45 MPH when and began to lunge forward. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the transmission was replaced. The failure recurred and the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where the computer system was repaired. The failure continued to occur after the vehicle was repaired. The failure and current mileages were 129,000. The VIN was unavailable. Updated 01/11/11
I replaced the torque converter at 80,000 miles in july of 2008. The cost was $1,600. I was driving down a main street in our city at around 40 MPH when the car just acted like it was in neutral. I had my 7, 6 and 3 year old children in the van along with my niece and nephew and my mother. We were lucky to coast into an apartment complex drive (blocking it) and waited over an hour on the hottest day of the year for a tow. Now, 2 years and only 40,000 miles later, we are replacing it again. We yelled and screamed and got the price down to $1,200, but we shouldn't have to pay one cent for this. Ford should be accountable for ripping people off.
My wife was driving our 2004 freestar down a busy road and she said it made a revving noise and then would not move. She coasted to the side of the road and the van would run but not move. We had to have it towed. She had kids in the car.
11/26/2010: ford freestar 2004 minivan driving city street at about 30 MPH lost power. Pulled over to side of street. Vehicle would not go into drive or reverse, if attempted, engine would race. Vehicle towed to ford dealership - torque converter is said to be the failure. Bill est to be $3,900 to repair transmission. *tr updated ivoq 12/30/10
2004 freestar lost all power driving home from errands in rush hour traffic. Thank god traffic was only going 35mph. My vehicle coasted to the side of the road. I can only imagine what could have happened under different circumstances. The loss of power came from transmission failure according to ford dealer ship. Vehicle only has 80,000 miles on it. Looks like this is a common problem for this vehicle and ford knows it.
Tl*the contact owns a 2004 ford freestar. The contact stopped at a traffic light and when the accelerator was engaged, the rpms increased excessively but the vehicle did move. The vehicle was towed to a local mechanic who stated that the failure was caused by the torque converter in the transmission. The VIN was not available. The failure and current mileages were 89000.
Tl*the contact owns a 2004 ford freestar. While driving approximately 35 MPH, the vehicle suddenly stalled. The contact stated that the gear shift selector remained stuck. The contact called the dealer who offered no assistance. The manufacturer had not been notified. The vehicle had not been repaired. The current and failure mileages were approximately 62,000.
Tl*the contact owns a 2004 ford freestar. While driving approximately 55 MPH, the contact noticed that the vehicle would not move but the engine was still running. The vehicle was towed to a local repair shop where the transmission pump was replaced. The failure mileage was approximately 110,000.
VIN decoder
See the problems and recalls for an exact car
Buying a used 2004 Ford Freestar?
Check the exact car before you pay: accidents, salvage or flood titles, odometer readings and previous owners.
Check its history