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.
2005 Ford Freestar electrical complaints
Page 4 of 4: complaints 71 to 85 of 85, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Failed component #1: 8/9/10 - transmission failed - replaced transmission - $1,732.32, failed component #2: 10/9/10 - remove and replace alternator - $442.00. Failed on route 95 south ct headed to nj, battery failed, alternator failed, power surge, power lost, coasted to a safe place off of exit where I was stranded with 2 children late at night. Had to get towed and fixed, stayed over night in seedy part of city. Failed component #3: 11/1/10 - remove and replace alternator - $297.68, failed on route 113 again, power surge and power failed, alternator died, lost power and managed to get home a few miles down the road, had to get towed to shop, new battery failed as well. Had it in the shop for almost 2 weeks total.
I have a 2005 ford freestar sel, while driving down the road the van will stall with no warning. I have pulled the van over to the side of the road and placed the van in neutral and restarted the van. While the van is in neutral the RPM's will go up to around 2000. While placing the van back in drive it seems fine after attempting to drive the van it jerks and after getting up to about 20 MPH the van will stall again. I took to the van the ford dealer ship and they found that there was water in the connection plug for the PCM, the dealer ship cleaned the plug and connection. The dealer ship resealed the connection with silcone, they also sealed the plastic guard that covers the PCM with silcone. So far we have not had any problems yet.
I was driving on hwy 36, approximately 50mph, when my ford freestar's engine failed, resulting in loss of all control. I was able to restart the vehicle, but the transmission would not engage.
2005 ford freestars apparently are subject to a leak that allows water to enter the electircal system during rains and cause shorts and transmission failure. We have experienced this problem three times - the third time, after combing through service bulletins, our dealer discovered a bulletin that precisely described our problem. When the transmission is affected, the car stalls while driving, fails to shift gears (including shifts into reverse) and other times, when stopped, alternately races and slows. The sudden stalls obviously can occur in traffic when a failure could put drivers into danger. Our dealer has repaired the problem by sealing the leak. However, while ford is well aware of this problem, as indicated by the service bulletin, the company will not reimburse drivers for repair under extended warranties, claiming that it is a "body" and not a mechanical or electrical problem.
Van stalls at lights. Just cuts off. Mechanic said it has some thing to do with the PCM. Trans has been replaced. But still having problems with that. Rear brake calipers ceased up . This van is a road hazard. Never know what it is going to do or when it is going to fail .
2005 ford freestar limited -- vehicle stalls while driving and loses power steering and brakes. Vehicle has had acceleration and revving of engine when idling in neutral, and also sometimes no reverse gear. Sometimes it just fails to start. All of these problems have been attempted to be repaired by two different ford dealership maintenance departments and another local mechanic. All problems appear to be related to the computer (PCM) and/or transmission. The computer (PCM) has been replaced twice by ford in the last eight months but the problem persists. Water keeps getting into the PCM compartment and causing havoc. They don't seem to know how to stop it, and the problem keeps repeating itself. Last time, two weeks ago, we had to call 911 when we stopped for a red light on a busy highway. When the light turned green, I stepped on the gas, but the van did not go forward. Cars were now racing past our stopped van, on both sides, at high speed. We were sitting ducks. We called 911 to get police out to stop traffic for fear of being rearended at high speed. Myself, wife and three kids (10,7,2) were stuck there. Good samaratin risked his life and stopped all traffic behind us while I carried kids out of van to safety. Others helped push the van off the road. Van has been at dealership since then for the last two weeks, but they say "can't duplicate the problem" (when they know exactly what it is). I asked them to open computer again to check for water but they refuse -- saying it's too difficult and it can't be in there (even though it has proven to be the problem on numerous previous instances). I reported issue to ford national "customer care" hotline several times. I have asked them to recall the van for safety issues and to help me. They refuse (citing "out of warranty"). The vehicle has about 42k miles on it now. Problems began spring 2009 (at about 35k miles) when heavy rains happened all year. Many other owners with same dangerous problem.
My family and I pulled into the bank to get some money then when we were pulling out across a four lane highway our van acted like it was pulled into nutrual. I coasted it back into parking lot. We called ford and they said it was not covered under warranty because it had 50,800 miles on it and the warranty ran out at 50,000 miles. I had an independent mechanic fix it. Also it has been up at our local dealer 5 times since 10/1/2009 because it was shuting off in the middle of the raod whne it rained.they changed the computer and said that was what the problem was but it did it again. I was informed the next time it was the trans. Again. It turned out that the fire wall was leeking water on the wiring harnes.
Purchased a 2005 ford freestar march 2009. Has suffered from repeated loss of motive power with the computer often recording "no codes" per the dealer. Has been to the dealer atmultiple times for various supposed repairs including new computer, alternator, etc., but the problem continues. The vehicle shuts off unexpectedly while driving causing a loss of power steering and brake control. This has occurred at least 8 times in the last 12 months and we left the vehicle at the dealer from 9/10/09 through 11/12/09 and again from 11/15/09(?) through 2/5/2010 due to our concerns about the vehicle's safety. On 2/10/2010 an accident occurred where the vehicle lost power, the road turned and the driver was unable to make the turn or brake adequately and hence ran off the road sustaining neck injuries.
I was driving about 60mph and slowed down to make a left hand turn. Upon completing my left hand turn I started to try to accelerate but the van didn't go any were. I immediately pulled off the side of the road and realized that I had no transmission. I tried all the gears and could not go any were. I had the van towed to my house only to call a dealer and find out that my transmission was going to have to be replaced. I asked how much and found out that the tranny was more then my van was worth. The van sat in my yard for 9 months before I could save enough to replace the tranny. I had no signs or symptoms that the transmission was going out at all. I am glad my family was not in the van with me. This seems to be a routine problem for ford. I have seen more ford tech. Bulletins for this model van then any other car of theirs. How is this van considered a family vehicle if it can leave you stranded on the side of the road? Looks and sounds like deceptive advertising on fords part.
I own a 2005 ford freestar minivan. This august my instrument panel quit working. I took it to the dealership and was advised that my ABS module failed and as a result it melted my wire harness. I just discovered that ford previously had this problem with their windstars. I'd like this to be looked into as this is a hefty repair ($3,000.00 +) that I cannot afford. As a result, I am driving in a vehicle with no ABS and no working instrument panel - including speedometer. Thank you.
Tl*the contact owns a 2005 ford freestar purchased in 2008. He stated that the vehicle would continue to stall without warning. An independent mechanic confirmed that the computer was damaged. An authorized dealer stated that the computer and entire wiring harness needed to be replaced since the components were wet and the seal was damaged. No repairs were made to the vehicle. The manufacturer would not take any liability for the failure. The current and failure mileages were under 51,100. Updated 12/9/09 *cn the dealer replaed the wiring harness and computer as the termnal ends of the harness were corroded. The computer was damaged from water. The deaerl stated the upper seal failed on both sides which allowed water to seep in fromt he top cover. Updated 12/10/09
Twice our 2005 ford freestar experienced water leakage through the cowl grill on the hood. After heavy rain in march 2008, the first of several breakdowns and fix attempts occurred, resulting in 3 months out of service, and replacements of the wiring harness, the PCM computer, several other computers and sensors, and the entire transmission, equaling nearly $5,000 in tow, rental car, and repair bills--some of which the dealership talked my insurance to pay for as a "water damage claim." in between, we've had multiple electrical system problems and breakdowns, and then this past march 2009, also during heavy rain, the car experienced the water damage breakdown. This time the water only ruined the PCM computer, but the dealership refused to honor the repairs that were less than 12 months old and we took it to a private licensed repair technician. He found the technical service bulletin online that described the known water leakage problem in some 2005 freestar models and did the recommended fix twice. In his opinion and in the geico insurance adjusters opinion, this is a serious problem that ford needs to address. This time we had no coverage for the damage and were out of a vehicle for two months and out of pocket over $3,000. I've begged ford's corporate offices to take the vehicle back and just let me out of the financing but they refuse due to the number of miles. Also, the attorney general's lemon law office said there were too many miles. In addition to these problems, in 90,000 miles, I've had to replace the rotors now four times because they are warping dangerously. The pads are ok, but the rotors are continually warping and it costs $800 each time to have the brakes fixed.
Tl*the contact owns a 2005 ford freestar. While driving various speeds, the vehicle does not go into gear and the RPM's go up and down. When driving more than 15 MPH, the vehicle begins to jerk. When driving more than 20 MPH, the interior lighting illuminates and the vehicle stalls. The vehicle was towed to an auto body shop, but they could not locate the cause of the failure after approximately four diagnostic tests. Currently, the vehicle is still at the repair shop. The first three repairs were at the contact's expense, but the failure still persists. The failure mileage was 20,710 and current mileage was 20,986. Updated 05/05/09 *bf updated 05/06/09
When accelerating at about 1800-2000 RPM, the tachometer makes a noise since day one.
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