Check Engine Light On problems of the 2005 Ford Freestar

Vehicle loses power, erratically shifts gears, rpm gauge bounces around and check engine light comes on. I later find that the error code is p1740 (torque converter clutch inductive signature malfunction) after further research I see that there was a recall for this model and year of vehicle for this exact problem yet my specific vehicle is not covered under the recall. I bought this vehicle from a used car dealership and I believe they knew about this problem beforehand and kept it from me, telling me how good and reliable this vehicle is. The vehicle still drives for now but who knows how long and whether any additional damage may be done just by continuing driving it. I bought this because we needed a safe family vehicle and now I'm out all the money I spent on it without enough left to fix it. I obviously can't drive my family around in it and risk it just shutting off in the middle of driving down the road.

While driving at normal speed the engine shuts off. This has happened five times in the last week. When the engine shuts off there is no power steering, brakes, or control of the vehicle. The first time it happened, I was driving my family down the road at 60 mph when the motor just died. I was able to pull the van off the side of the road and stop. I restarted the motor and it ran fine. When I got home I put the van in neutral, and revved the engine. It shut off again. My wife was driving and it happened to her with the children with her. She said she could not steer the van when it died. It scared her very badly. There is no check engine light, therefore there is no code to tell me what is wrong. The motor just shuts down without warning. If this happened at the wrong time it will result in a very bad traffic accident. I have research this problem online, and have found several Ford Freestar vans having the same problem. So this is not an isolated incident.

In the morning the vehicle battery had been drained and we had it towed to the dealer. They replaced the alternator. We picked it up and the check engine light came on. They said it was the mass air flow sensor and replaced it. Two weeks went by and one day the vehicle wouldn't start. We had it towed to the dealer and they said it was the mass air flow connector and replaced it. The next day the vehicle wouldn't start. We had it towed to the dealer and they said nothing was wrong. The engine always idles very rough and no one can correct it. It has stalled in traffic. I have done research and have been made aware of a problem with the pcm module on these vehicles. Apparently rain gets it and soaks the module causing all sorts of electrical and transmission problems. Ford is aware of the issue and has issued a service bulletin and repair kit for this problem, but no recall.

Driving down the road in heavy traffic, without warning suddenly had no power, at 40mph, put it in neutral and restarted only to die again 3 more times. I thought I was out of gas but the gage said 1/8th of a tank. Pulled off the road and had friends bring gas. Started up fine and drove maybe a block when it started sputtering and bucking. The check engine idiot light came on so I pulled over again. I reset the battery connection and light went off. I pulled off to drive around in the parking lot and it died when I cranked the wheel turning every corner. Started again, this time it was hard to turn over, and it sputtered and the transaxle idiot light started flashing, the radio came on by itself and the eve player ejected. Interior lights were on but switch was turned off. Checked the tranny fluid, it looked a little low in the dark(midnight) so put in half a quart. Light went out but the van refused to go forward. I dropped it manually into 1st and it slowly moved. Parked it and tried other gears, all unresponsive but when shifting into neutral the engine jumped and the rpms revved up to 3000!! afraid it would jump into gear and run over my friend, I cut off the ignition while in neutral. I waited until midnight for no traffic, then drove the van home, keeping the emergency flashers on. Was able to travel about 25 feet per restart, each time the van would die when speed exceeded 15mph or 2000rpms. Took an hour to get the 1. 5 miles home. This van had just gotten a full service oil change/lube/filter service and I had the transmission serviced at sears upon purchasing it just 6 months ago and had no other issues at all. Upon researching, this is a known issue that Ford published but refuses to fix/recall. There is a recall on my van's torque converter, this is a serious safety issue and a major defect that will get someone killed or serious injured.

The contact owns a 2005 Ford free star. The contact stated that while driving 25 mph, the vehicle vibrated and failed to accelerate with the illumination of the check engine light. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The approximate failure mileage was 151,000.

This information is a collection of incidents that ultimately fit together. I have notice that the floor board of my van was wet. Since I have 3 kids I just shrugged it off. This past week I notice the floor mats weren't wet only the carpet beneath it was soaked. My kids don't spill just under the mats. The water must be entering from the outside in. The van was acting weird on and off -no check engine light until it started happen more frequently. June 2012, I got the p1340 code that the camshaft position sensor had gone bad, I replaced it, went out again, I was told it could have been a faulty part, changed it again, went out again, decided this is beyond me. I took it to the dealership and they "fixed" the camshaft position sensor and another part that was causing the camshaft position sensor not to work. ($900) it broke again because the part they put in was defective. They replaced the defective part and the check engine light came back on again. After they had the car for 2 weeks they found another small problem. ($130) I insisted at the time that they didn't make the proper repairs. They assured me that it all still needed to be done. (caught some double talk) I experienced a few more issues with the van losing power. (July,September, October -check engine light did not turn on. ) I:n December the car turned off and I was only able to get about 25ft per restart and the light came on. I've noticed other features not working properly or working intermittently. (power locks, power windows, radio, power doors, key remote . . . ) I have learned that other 2005 Freestar owners have experienced similar incidents caused by water leaking into the car through the windshield wiper blades and running down the wire harness causing multiple parts to short out from time to time. Please look into this. I have 3 children and no more money for "let's try this repairs".

I was driving 45 mph in a heavy rain when my vehicle began to sputter and check engine light began flashing. I started to pull over, but light went off and engine ran fine. After several days of rain engine would hesitate in acceleration and would feel like it was missing. It began only occasionally and usually when traveling up hill. It progressively got worse, especially after rain or being washed. Investigated and found this to be a common problem with this model with the power control module getting wet. Today while driving on the interstate check engine light began flashing and engine hesitated, then check engine light stayed on. Very dangerous situation to feel like my van was going to stall at 70 mph with my family in the car.

The contact owns a 2005 Ford Freestar. The contact stated that the vehicle would not accelerate forward or in reverse. The vehicle could only be driven in drive one or drive two. The vehicle was taken to a mechanic where the crankshaft and speed sensors were replaced. After the repair, the contact stated that there was an abnormal noise coming from the engine as if water was splashing around. The mechanic advised that somehow, water was getting getting on the sensor, but the mechanic could not find where the water leak originated. In addition, the check engine warning light was illuminated and the vehicle would sporadically stall. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was unknown and the current mileage was 80,000.

After driving in or after a hard rain, the engine light comes on and the engine runs very rough and often stops. Has happened while driving on highway at 55mph. Cowl was removed at dealership to prevent water intrusion in oct2010, but same problem started happening again in 2012. . .