Transmission Failure problems of the 2004 Ford Freestar - part 1

The vehicle was in motion on a highway at a speed of 55 mph when it had instant transmission failure. Pulled over to the side of the road. Vehicle wouldn/t move in any direction or gear. Transmission was in proper fluid level range.

Tl the contact owns a 2004 Ford Freestar. While driving approximately 65 mph, the vehicle lost power without warning. The vehicle was able to coast to the side of the road. The contact stated that the vehicle needed to be restarted; however, the vehicle failed to drive. The vehicle was towed to the contact's residence. The vehicle was later taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the transmission failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer. The vehicle was not repaired. The VIN was not included in NHTSA campaign number: 12v006000 (power train). The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the VIN was not included in any recalls. The approximate failure mileage was 99,862.

My van has a problem with water, that is when it rains the vehicle starts having problems with several components. (ie engine misfire, transmission fails to shift properly, door looks refuse to operate properly, among other weird things) this happens every time it rains. The problem as I have being able to trace it, is that the water that comes off the front windshield and into the plastic that covers the cowl area ( where the wipers are) drips on to the main electric wire harness connection that comes from the inside of the car and connects to the engine bay wire harness. As the wire harness connector gets wet, the vehicle starts acting up. I took the van to my mechanic but he was unable to find a problem, it was dry. I took the vehicle to a Ford dealer and, to my surprise, they knew about the problem but told me I had to pay the repair because its covered on a technical service bulletin (TSB 06-14-10) but its not a recall. How can this not be a recall when the van is going along well and as soon as it starts raining, I start having drive ability issues, transmissions starts acting up, engine starts acting up, some times stalls, in general I have a vehicle that appears to be "allergic to water. " this issue happens any time it stars raining heavily whether on the highway or city street or my driveway for that matter, if its raining I have to take my wife's car because if not I know will have to be dealing with an uncooperative vehicle. Ps. I put a date on the "when did this happen" field but this is an ongoing issue.

On the way home from picking up my grandchildren, my vehicle was in motion but it started to slow down until it came to a stop. Towed to a shop for diagnosis and repairs. They determined that the transmission failed and needed to be replaced. Cost was nearly $4k . . I am a senior citizen on a fixed income . . . This was a big hit to the pocketbook. Started looking on the internet and, from what I am reading, it seems that there was a recall on this but I never received any type of notice on this. Do I have any right to appeal to Ford for some type of relief after the fact???.

Tl- the contact owns a 2004 Ford Freestar. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle failed to accelerate then stalled without warning. The vehicle was pushed over to the side of the road by a couple of the contact friends. The contact restarted the vehicle but it failed to drive. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the transmission failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer. The manufacturer was not contacted and made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 170,000. Aw.

The contact owns a 2004 Ford Freestar. While driving at various speeds, the vehicle stalled without warning in a major intersection. The vehicle was able to restart shortly after and be driven for a couple minutes, but the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the transmission failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure recurred. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

The contact owns a 2004 Ford Freestar. While driving approximately 40 mph, the transmission began to hesitate and slip gears without warning. In addition, the transmission failed to function in reverse. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 92,000. The VIN was unavailable.

The contact owns a 2004 Ford Freestar. The contact stated that while attempting to park, the transmission failed without warning. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed that the torque did not pump the fluid, which caused the transmission to fail. The contact was made aware of a recall notification of NHTSA campaign number: 12v006000 (power train) however, the vehicle was not included. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 140,000. Updated 08/28/lj.

Hell my wife and I were driving on a hiway at 55 mph,and out of nowhere the transmission failed I:e no notice just quit working. Wehad to hav it towed back to the nearest town and to spend $3900 to have it repaired!!!@ months later it went out again?/Ford needs to step up to the plate and repair this transmission at no cost to the owners. I did alot of checking on this problem on the internet and found hundereds of articales about other people having this same problem wit there 2004 and 2005 Freestars. Do I have any recourse in this matter ? sincerely, herbert elofson.

The contact owns a 2004 Ford Freestar. The contact was driving approximately 30 mph when the vehicle stalled without warning. The vehicle was towed to the dealer for diagnostic testing. The technician advised the contact that the power train control module and the transmission would have to be replaced. The vehicle was included and repaired under NHTSA campaign id number: 12v006000 (power train:automatic transmission). The contact stated that the recall repair was related to the transmission failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 80,000.

The contact owns a 2004 Ford Freestar. The contact stated that while driving approximately 70 mph, the vehicle stopped accelerating. The contact was able to safely coast to a stop. The vehicle was pushed home by another vehicle. The contact examined the vehicle and noticed that the engine seized in addition to the transmission failure. The vehicle had not been inspected by a dealer, nor had it been repaired. The manufacturer had not been notified. The failure and current mileages were approximately 90,000. Updated 04/27/lj the consumer was informed, the transmission could not be looked at, until the engine was replaced. Updated 04/27/12.

Transmission power failure- since it will not shift. I contacted Ford-was told to take it to dealer for recall repair. . They said converter replacement. But no parts- don't know when? bring 4-1-12 and leave it. I asked ,what will you do? I said was running fine till this- what if converter doesn't fix? sorry; that's all we can do. I asked; w/ the trans out why wouldn't you fix it? well we don't have the trans out -our mech knows how to make the change w/o removing it! if it is not right -then what? then it might cost you 2,000. 00 or more for a transmission! we are 80 plus years old- we live on little social security and public aid. . I am disabled with problems - our only means of transportation to doctors ,ect frequently. . I can't pay for this faulty trans and can't be w/o car, waiting till ???? the local trans shops seem to have no trouble getting these parts at all. I just have no money to pay them!!please help if you can.

Without any warning transmission fails. I take it to a Ford dealer ,of course it is not under the recall. So I had to replace transmission out of pocket to a cost of $3327.

Daughter's were driving 55 miles an hour when the transmission failed / no power in traffic. Car acted as if it was in neutral . Turned onto side street to avoid being rear ended slid into brush and rocks . Paint scratches,towing,transmission replacement and possible deadly condition !.

Fire in engine. Mechanical assessment right now is transmission failure. Don't have specifics outside of that, but I see transmission failures this month by Ford for my vehicle, and I'm naturally concerned.

Traveling on interstate in far left lane and the transmission suddenly failed leaving us without ability to accelerate. Only because there was not much traffic at the time, we were able to coast to the right hand lane.

While traveling on very busy highway with three children and infant aboard, transmission suddenly failed. All drive power suddenly lost.

No previous problems,just driving down 101 towards san francisco with my 2004 Ford Freestar with my cruise control on when suddenly the rpm's raced and the transmission failed completely! no drive or reverse in any gear. Luckily I was in the right hand lane and had reached the top of the grade and was travelling down grade through the waldo tunnel. I was able to get the vehicle off the shoulder of the road without incident. I had not had any transmission problems with this vehicle, no loss of fluid, no shifting issues, no sluggishness. No inclination there was a problem, it just failed.

2004 Ford Freestar transmission failure with 93,000 miles. The transmission just stopped working while driving on I-895, a major interstate through baltimore, MD. The van had to be abandoned, but caused two other accidents while we waited for a tow truck. This seriously put my family and the safety others in jeopardy.

Letter from senator graham on behalf of constituent re the transmission failure in his 2004 Ford Freestar.

The contact owns a 2004 Ford Freestar. While driving approximately 60 mph, the transmission failed to respond. The failure occurred three times. The vehicle was towed to an independent transmission repair shop where the transmission was rebuilt on two separate occasions. The vehicle had not been diagnosed or repaired for the most recent transmission failure. The manufacturer was not made aware of the problem. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000. The VIN was unavailable.

Tl-the contact owns a 2004 Ford Freestar. The contact stated while driving 65 mph the transmission failed. The vehicle was taken to a mechanic shop who replaced the transmission. The manufacturer was notified who stated there are no recalls or warranty and he should keep his receipts in case of a recall. The VIN was unknown. The failure mileage was 76,000. Mw.

The contact owns a 2004 Ford Freestar. The contact stated that the while driving out of a parking lot she put the vehicle into drive and it would not move forward. The vehicle was taken to a local mechanic who diagnosed that the transmission needed to be replaced. Forty five days after the repairs were done the transmission failed again. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 76,000 and current mileage was 77,000.

Transmission failed at highway speeds (55mph). Total loss of motive power. After coasting to a stop I was unable to get the car to move in any gear (drive, reverse, 1, 2, etc. ).

2004 Freestar van going down road at 60 miles and car lost power transmission failed. Now we need a new transmission because Ford built a faulty design and won't recall them.

On 3/5/11, my husband, myself, and 2 of our children were travelling uphill on route 79 in upstate NY. Suddenly our 2004 Ford Freestar minivan acted as though it were in neutral. My husband pushed on the gas pedal, the engine revved, but the car just wouldn't go. We had to coast backwards down the hill and into someone's driveway. Fortunately, it was the driveway of a local mechanic who quickly diagnosed the problem as transmission failure. . Read more...

My 2004 Ford Freestar had a catastrophic transmission failure while I was on the freeway with my family in the car. My car has only 88k miles and gave absolutely no indication of anything mechanically wrong prior to the failure. I have since learned that this is an extremely common problem for Ford Freestar owners; I am appalled that the n. H. T. S. A. Has done absolutely nothing about this. Ford has made a lemon with an extremely dangerous safety issue; we were fortunate to have made it across five lanes of busy highway before our car came to a complete stop. This is unacceptable. Ford needs to make restitutions to its owners. It is unacceptable that you, the entity that is supposed to protect consumers, is doing nothing.

2004 Ford Freestar transmission failed.

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.

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.

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.

The contact owns a 2004 Ford Freestar. The contact stated while driving 15 mph the vehicle failed to accelerate, as a result the vehicle lost power, and came to a complete stop. The vehicle was towed to local mechanic who diagnosed that the transmission failed due to the splines truck converter being stripped. The manufacturer was notified and informed the contact that the vehicle was not qualified, for any recalls. The vehicle was repaired. The failure mileage was 63,640. The current mileage was 72,000.

No events leading up to the transmission failing at about 90,000 miles on the highway. $3500. Repair for radiator and full re-build of trans.

I drove my Ford 2004 Freestar to church on Saturday about 15 miles from home. After finishing services, I could not take the family home because the van refuse to move without any warning, and none of the gear selection engaged. I called technician to check, and I was told the transmission failed at 83,000 mile just like that. I checked the complaints about this problem, and it was astronomically stoning. My expenses for repairing this is estimated @ $2,250. 00. I thank god it happened in the church premises. Ford authorities are not going to help either, and I do not know what to do. It is absurd for all this problem in a van that conveys the whole family. What a shame!.

While 2000 miles from home, transmission suddenly failed without warning ,(52,000 original ml. )in our 2004 Ford Freestar van while sitting @a busy California 4 lane intersection. As cars sped by on all sides, we had to manually push vehicle through the intersection putting ourselves in dangerous,scary situation. The results are a complete transmission failure requiring new replacement at a cost of $3500. 00 for parts and labor. 7 day delay to returning home as vehicle sits in the shop waiting for parts ordered. Stranded 2000 mls fr home with no vehicle.