2006 Ford Freestar: shudder or vibration when accelerating

Filed Dec 13, 2015 · Transmission · 97,000 miles · CT

Replacement torque converters continued to fail after replacing original transmission and failed torque converter at 97k miles. Replaced torque converter four times in 37k miles under warranty for "shudder". Ford dealership refused to diagnose or determine the continued failures. Independent diagnosis stated failures were due to the introduction of debris from the original failure, during the installation of the replacement transmission, or the replacement was defective when installed. Ford dealer and company would not replace the transmission. Ford warranty ended on 12/12/15 and the situation remains unresolved. Fortunately shudder failures occurred on the road, but vehicle could be driven to dealership for repair. The first original failure occurred on a off ramp and other motorist's assisted in pushing it to the side, avoiding a possible rear end collision! The newest torque converter can fail at any time and could result in a serious accident. Vehicle is used only in local driving as safety considerations have to be considered first. Ford customer service in detroit refused any consideration of the situation. You cannot contact anyone with authority at ford as they are shielded by customer service. The consumer has to consider legal options at what cost to them? There is also a problem with hard shifts from into a drive gear(r,od,d, 1) from "n" or "p". This is an indication of failure of the internal neutral to drive accumulator. Resulting from a stuck piston or seals, or springs damaged or missing. When demonstrated to the dealership service manager and mechanic they ignored it and refused to accept it and properly diagnosis the situation. The independent diagnosis said the transmission had to be replaced and the installation done under proper clean conditions and flushing of the cooler and lines. If not done properly the the situation would reoccur .

Filed Jan 13, 2015 · Engine, Steering · 114,000 miles · GA

Sudden loss of power to wheels @ 114,000 miles; ford dealer: "you need to purchase a rebuilt transmission" this is the torque converter as known to the federal safety agency; demanded ford refund, refused. Second ford remanufactured transmission warranty not being honored with failure @ 93,000. Ford dealer: "replaced fuse, torque converter shudder; your van has over 200,000 miles on it!!" significant transmission vibration with steering shudder, re-diagnosed january 10, 2014; continuation of 93,000 failure and claimed repair. Pcm failed at aprox. 85,000 miles; power steering leaks year after purchase @ 53,000 original miles. Ford dealer refuses repair/refund. All documents in possession.

Filed Mar 22, 2012 · Electrical, Engine · 67,600 miles · PA

Every time it rained, my engine would shudder, shake, sometimes knock, the transmission would shift for no good reason, and I stalled out in traffic once. The vehicle became non-drivable when it rained (and only when it rained). I took the vehicle to my ford dealer (schults ford of harmarville, pa), where technician pat sand indicated that this is a known problem with ford freestars, and said a ford service bulletin indicates that because of a manufacturing problem (incorrect sealer application to the PCM and poor position of PCM in relation to windshield run-off) water leakage into the program control module causes it to issue random commands and errors. They followed the ford bulletin and by simply better sealing against moisture / blocking the water flow, resolved the problem. This is a safety issue and a known manufacturing defect.

Filed Mar 8, 2012 · Transmission · TX

While driving home from work on a rural single lane highway with no shoulder, my 2006 ford freestar mini-van completely lost acceleration. I was traveling 70 MPH and going up a large hill when everything just shut down. There was absolutely no warning, no lights, nothing! When pushing the gas to the floor, the RPM's revved but I had no acceleration. I coasted to a stop at the top of the hill, trying to maneuver the van off the road and out of the way of the 18 wheeler that was not far behind me. After trying repeatedly to get the transmission to engage, I had it towed to a ford dealership and was told the transmission needed to be replaced at a cost of over $3000. I had to take it back to this dealership twice to have them fix small things that they had not properly put back together. Less than a year later, the powertrain warning light for the transmission came on and I had to take it back to a different ford dealership. I was told it was the transmission again, and because it was thankfully still under warranty I wasn't out any money, but I was without my primary vehicle for our family of 5 for almost two weeks. The transmission feels like it is starting to slip again, and I have taken it back to the dealership twice to have them look for the problem before it goes out, but I keep getting told it is nothing. When my husband rode with the mechanic to see if it would slip, the torque converter started shuddering, but the mechanic said, "it's just the torque converter shuddering, don't worry about it". Now I am reading that a faulty torque converter may lead to more transmission trouble, but I feel the ford dealership is just waiting for the warranty to go out again so they won't have to fix it yet again. This is the only vehicle we have that will transport our whole family, and I'm not sure how safe it is for me to continue to drive it.

Filed Feb 10, 2012 · Transmission · 102,544 miles · IL

Van started shuddering and shaking upon acceleration brought the van to a transmission shop and they told me the transmission torque converter was faulty and about ready to fail totally. The transmission repair shop replaced the torque converter and shaft in the transmission. I called ford and they told me they are currently only recalling the 2004's and 2005's. My van is a 2006 and according to the transmission shop it has the exact same defective components in the transmission as the 2004's and 2005's. Ford needs to recall the 2006's. This repair cost me $1700.00 and I feel ford should have to pay for the repair on my vehicle. If you have a 2006 or 2007 and are having transmission torque converter issues you need to file a complaint with the federal safety agency. So they can make ford recall the rest of the defective transmissions!

Filed Dec 28, 2011 · Lights, Transmission · 54,624 miles · KY

On nov. 18, 2011 while on a trip of approximately 600 miles round trip this 2006 ford freestar shuddered a few times which was presumed to be rough road. On nov. 23 the van did not go into reverse. After a few tries it did slip into reverse. The following day nov. 24 the same thing happened. The van was in another town about 60 miles away, my daughter had borrowed it, so on dec.06, 2011 she took it to a ford dealership for diagnosis. The dealership gave me a paper stating the oss was bad. I picked up the van (after the ford dealership told me it could be driven home), and on the way home it started to jerk when changing gears while going up or down hills. The lights inside and out went out also. I took the van to a transmission shop and after they checked it over it was determined the transmission was bad. There was nothing wrong with the oss sensor. A washer had broken inside the transmission, the fluid was full of metal, bushings were worn, and gears needed replacing. I trust this transmission place totally and since I had experienced the reverse and gear jerk problems myself I felt this was the correct diagnosis. I had the transmission repaired. Now, this may be reasonable for some 2006 vehicles which may had been driven hard, however.. This van had 56683 miles when taken to the dealership. This vehicle is used mostly for transportation for a disabled person. Which makes it twice as frightening about the transmission. I keep thinking about the possibilities of breaking down miles away from home. When is it acceptable for a bought new, gently treated vehicle with 56683 miles on it have a bad transmission? Even though it is 5 years old the mileage is not great. I cannot think what might have been if it had gone totally while on the road transporting a disabled person.