Mid/rear Seats Assembly Problems of Ford Freestar - part 1

The part that has the clip for back seat fell out and now there is a 5 by 5 inch hole going into the wheel well and the seat has nothing to clip onto and be secure, this was recalled in this model.

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The contact owns a 2005 Ford Freestar. The contact stated that when the latch was released to secure the rear seat, the latch failed allowing the seat to fall. The dealer anderson Ford of grand island (120 n diers Ave, grand island, ne 68803, (308) 384-1700) was contacted and informed of the failure however, the vehicle has not diagnosed. The contact referenced NHTSA campaign number: 13v081000 (seats) as a possible solution to the failure however, the VIN was not included. The failure mileage was approximately 240,000.

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I wrote on this yesterday but did some more research on this vehicle. There have been numerous recalls on these type of vehicles. Recall #12v006000 on the torque converter output shaft. Recall began August 9 2012. This is a serious matter I just recently purchased this vehicle to take my 8 grandchildren around. Now I won't even put them in it. I also found out there was a recall on the back seat. Recall # 13v081000. This is also a problem when your hauling around children. The undercarriage of the vehicle is really rusty. I wish I would of never bought this vehicle. It sure is going to be a money pit for sure. It only has 141000 miles on it. Very sad that Ford could make such a unsafe vehicle. I bought the vehicle and it seemed fine. 5 days into ownership the torque converter light came on while I was driving it. Drove it back home and started reading about how Ford has a recall on this situation and now I'm afraid to drive it anymore. This situation on these transmission has gone to court and Ford lost.

Tl the contact owns a 2004 Ford Freestar. The contact stated that the back seat near the rear wheel well became detached and the contact smelled an exhaust odor. The contact stated that the vehicle exhibited the same symptoms as listed in NHTSA campaign number: 13v081000 (seats). The vehicle was not taken to a dealer to be diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 168,867.

Tl-the contact owns a 2006 Ford Freestar. The contact stated that while driving 25 mph, the bracket that holds the rear left seat in place fractured. Larson motor company of nebraska city, nebraska was made aware of the failure and replaced the bracket. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 101,000. Ad.

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The contact owns a 2004 Ford Freestar. The contact stated that while driving at 35 mph, the rear seat anchor mechanism fractured and caused the driver's side rear tire to puncture. The vehicle was taken to the dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the fractured seat anchor had punctured the inside sidewall of the driver¿s side rear tire. The vehicle was repaired under NHTSA campaign number: 13v081000 (seats) however, the contact was concerned that the rear tire was not also replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 87,000.

"rear seat latches subject to corrosion". After original sale, this van was modified by ride-away(richmond) to transport wheelchair-dependent passengers in the rear area. The entire floor of the vehicle was lowered, fuel tank etc. Moved to below rear seat area, and a hinged bench seat was installed over the spare tire compartment. The original rear seats no longer exist, nor do their attaching points. The car was serviced at battlefield Ford, manassas, va. , on at least three occasions wherein they were requested to remove this vehicle from the rear seat latch replacement recall. Battlefield Ford has elected not to comply, and I keep getting notices of non-compliance with the recall. Help!.

The contact owns a 2004 Ford Freestar. The contact stated that the vehicle's third row rear seat was unattached to the anchor. The contact stated that the VIN was excluded from NHTSA campaign number: 13v081000 (seats). The manufacturer was contacted. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was unknown.

Once again, Ford refuses to acknowledge their vehicle defects. Our third row rear seat will not lock in place. The floor latch is corroded and broken and our children can no longer safely ride in our only vehicle. Ford recalled many other Freestars for this exact same problem but refuses to include our vehicle despite the similarities. Our vehicle has now broken down on on us numerous times due to power train issues (later recalled), transmission issues (later recalled), and now this safety issue. I am extremely disappointed that they continue to disregard safety for their customers.

I have a 2004 Ford Freestar that has this exact problem 13v081000. I called the dealer and since I'm in kansas they will not take care of the repairs. I have photos and this is exactly what is described in the recall. My back seat cannot lock forward. This is a safety issue. Can you please help.

The contact owns a 2004 Ford Freestar. The contact stated that she received a notification of NHTSA campaign number: 13v081000 (seats) and was concerned for her safety because the dealer stated that the parts were no longer available and in order to repair the vehicle, they would need to either use parts from a different manufacturer or permanently remove the rear seat. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was 147,000.

The contact owns a 2006 Ford Freestar. The contact stated that there was mold under the middle rear seat. The contact also mentioned that the vehicle was previously treated under NHTSA campaign number 13v081000 (seats). The manufacturer was notified about the failure. The failure mileage was 6,000 and the approximate current mileage was 75,000.

As stated with other 2004 Ford Freestars, rear rust on driverside rear, rear seat will not lock because the safety lock is rusted away, not safe to any passenger to sit there.

The problem is the same that is described in ea12003. The attaching bracket for the rear seat fell out while the seat was folded into the floor. It became lodged in the inner portion of the rear wheel assembly. If this would have happened at high speeds, somebody could have easily been killed, by the rear wheel becoming restricted or this heavy plate bouncing down the road at another vehicle. The bracket is a u bracket attached to a plate that is welded flush to comprise part of the wheel well. To temporarily keep from losing the bracket, I held the bracket in place while setting the seats upright again so that the seat itself is holding the bracket in. There is now water from the road getting up into the passenger compartment. I hope that Ford issues a recall or offers a bolt on replacement soon. I've been mostly happy with this vehicle otherwise. (there are no other prices rusting or falling off obviously).

The contact owns a 2004 Ford Freestar. The contact stated that water was building up in the wheel well brackets for the third row seats. As a result, the seat exhibited rust and corrosion. In addition, the rear seat anchor plate was completely detached from the vehicle. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, who advised the contact that the vehicle was not included in any recalls. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 144,000.

Tl- the contact owns a 2004 Ford Freestar. The contact stated that the left side of the rear seat is not bolted to the floor. The contact stated that the plate that holds the seat in place rusted and broke away from the vehicle leaving a hole near the left rear wheel well. This caused the seat to move. The contact stated that the place on the right side is rusted, but had not broken away from the structure of the vehicle. The vehicle had not been repaired. The failure mileage was 119,000 and the current mileage was 119,300. Rl.

I own 2004 Ford Freestar. While attempting to latch the third row rear seat, the latch failed due to severe corrosion on the floor panel ,side panel and attachments which holds the third seat latch bracket the third row seat latch bracket slides out and extrudes to rear driver side wheel which is very dangerous and can burst the rear driver side tire while running car. I am entering this complaint in relation to other complaints that have been filed. There is a defect investigation taking place (ea12003 and pe11039) for this issue already. I attempted to put my 3rd row seat back up and lock it into place. On the drive side I noticed that it would not lock into place. After further review, I know noticed that the whole latch had broken off because of rusted panel. The whole plate rusted thru .

The driver-side wall bracket that locks the third row seat into the upright (usable) position is loose. It appears that it is welded to the inner shell sheet metal of the vehicle and that the inner shell around the bracket has rusted sufficiently to cause the bracket to be loose. We have discontinued use of the back seat, fearing insufficient protection during a potential crash.

Noticed a panel loose in the rear driver's side wheel well while removing the wheel. The panel was completely rusted and separated from the wheel well, with only something attached to it on the interior keeping it from falling off. Took it to a body shop, where it was determined that this panel is the rear seat anchor and the seat latch was the only thing keeping it from falling off. The estitamate for repair is $906. 99. The rear seat anchor was removed and the hole temporarily taped closed, and the rear seat is not safe and cannot be used. Contacted the dealer to see if any recalls exist for this condition and was told there are none. Currently trying to decide whether or not to repair the vehicle. The vehicle is well maintained and the condition of this panel/anchor is unusual when compared to the rest of the vehicle.

The 3rd row rear seat on my 2004 Freestar does not latch into seated position properly. Upon further inspection, I realized that the driver's side support ring which the 3rd row seat latches into was pushed back into the trim. I looked underneath the driver's side rear wheel well and noticed that a steel plate which the support ring is mounted has completely rusted through the body of the vehicle. Also, when it is not latched it has a tendency to interfere with the rear driver's side tire. While there is a small amount of metal holding the mounting plate in place, it requires two people to latch the seat in order to keep the metal plate from scoring the sidewall of my tire. The passenger's side mounting plate continues to be secure, yet there is a noticeable amount of rust on that side as well. If someone stows the 3rd row seat and tries to flip it back into seating position without knowing that the support ring is loose, they could end up scoring the sidewall on the rear tire and causing a complete failure. Further, the proper function of the seat belt in the third row seat could be compromised during an accident; the seat could pitch forward or flip back because it is not solidly secured to the van's structure.

The left rear seat anchor has detached from the body due to excessive rust in the rear quarter panel by the left rear wheel well. The third seat is no longer usable and there is a hole through the body that lets air and water into the passenger compartment. The right side wheel well area shows rust as well but the seat anchor has not yet detached from the quarter panel. Two Ford dealers have said they are not aware of this problem occurring and do not know if it can be fixed. My concern is safety while driving the vehicle, noise and water entering the passenger compartment, and the loss of use of the third seat. This vehicle is too young and useful to be scrapped.

Our son was in the rear seat and complained that as we turned corners, his seat moved. He said it felts as if it were not latched. Upon investigation, we found the seat did not latch on the drivers side. We tried without success to relatch it and found the latch anchor was loose. Being dark and 30 miles from home, we drove on. We then heard loud noise coming from that wheel well and began to smell "burning rubber". Having no other option, we pulled to the side of the dark highway and saw a piece of metal hanging out of the van, onto the tire. We pulled it the rest of the way out and found that it was the seat latch anchor. The area seems to be completely rusted. . . From the inside. The metal did not look rusted from the outside. We now have a hole in the side of the van (in the wheel well) and a van which is incapable of hauling our family of five. Even using it as a four-passenger van, we have concerns about exhaust entering the interior of the van. (mileage noted is approximate).

Our two daughters where in the rear seat and companied of a bad smell as if something burning. At about that same time I noticed hearing a rubbing noise every time we turned left. When we got home shortly after I looked up under the inner fender of the rear left wheel and found a large steel plate loose and rubbing the tire. It was so rusty you could see the interior plastic panels and insulation. At that time I put away the rear seat and noticed the left side anchor was totally loose and when I asked the girls if they noticed that the seat moved they stated that they did notice it move but never said anything about it. There is now a hole in the car wheel well and we cannot use the back seat. We have a bungee cord latched to the two seat anchors holding them inward to keep the metal plate from rubbing the tire. The van is now limited to four passengers and I am concerned about carbon monoxide entering the car.

Tl-the contact owns a 2004 Ford Freestar. The contact stated the rear seat support corroded causing the seat to fall forward and also push pieces of metal into the rear tire. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who did not offer any assistance. The manufacturer was notified who did not offer any assistance since the vehicle was not included in any recalls. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 113,000. Pmb.

I was rotating my tires and noticed that inside each rear wheel well there was a panel patched in from the factory that was rusting terribly, with the drivers side being much worse and almost completely falling off the body. With some further investigation I discovered that the panel actually holds the anchors for the rearmost folding seat. As I stated, the drivers side is almost rusted off the car and there is a giant hole that is letting water and snow inside the van and ruining the carpet and padding. I frequently carry multiple children,some in child safety seats, and could not imagine what would happen during a collision if the rear seat anchor were to separate from the van. I seriously hope that there is some kind of recall, as this vehicle is not yet 10 years old and the rest of the body is still in great shape. This is not just a surface rust issue, it is a safety hazard to anyone owning this type of van and the manufacturer should be held responsible for fixing it as I'm sure the repair is not easy or cheap.

Left rear seat anchor was loose, so we looked. A large hole had rusted out of the inner fender causing the anchor to completely detach from the body. We took it in to get checked out and they agreed it had completely rusted through and the right side is also rusting out, although not the point of completely rusting through, yet. We are just thankful this was noticed when we were parked and not driving 65 mph causing an accident.

We had the 3rd row seat folded down for cargo space. Upon pulling the seat back up, the left side of the seat wouldn't latch and the seat moved when someone was sitting on it. When my husband tried to secure the latch by folding the seat back down and then back up again - the entire left side latch and plate it's attached to fell into the wheel well. He had to reach up over the left rear wheel to remove the part and saw that there is now a hole in the wheel well that goes right into the van - you can literally see in the van! the latch unit: the plate it's bolted to and the metal section of the wheel well that the plate is welded to were completely rusted out. We can no longer use the back seat due to safety reasons. We are having a hard time finding someone to repair it. One person said we'd have to replace the entire wheel well. We read on line that Ford has responded that there are no replacement "parts" for this issue because it wasn't manufactured to be replaced. Now we have a van we can't get fixed, we can't use the 3rd row seats (we haul the neighbor's 2 kids in addition to our 2 kids to and from school), and gets wet on the inside when it's raining because of the open hole in the wheel well.

The rear left metal u-shaped post that is used to secure the front of the rear bench seat and is attached through the body by a metal plate in the rear wheel well fell out of the vehicle as the vehicle was moving at a speed of 10 miles per hour. The rear seat was folded into the floor at the time of the incident. The post and the attached plate fell out into the wheel well and then fell to the roadway. Upon inspection, the edge of the metal plate, and much of the surrounding wheel well had rusted away causing the incident. The incident resulted in a large hole in the wheel well that goes clear though to the interior of the van. We brought the van to a local Ford dealer for repair. They acknowledged seeing this issue recently in the same make, model, and year of van. They said they were unable to make a repair. They suggested taking the issue to a body shop. Two local body shops were unable to make the repair. As it stands, the rear bench seat is unusable as it can't be secured in the upright position, and there is a hole near the exhaust system that makes the van unsafe to drive. It is frustrating that the same issue has been seen by Ford, yet no suitable repair or solution has been provided.

The rearmost seat in my minivan will not latch down on the rear drivers side. The rear axle 'moans' at times and makes a rotational shimming sound. Upon inspection, I am told there is severe rust in the wheel well where it locates to the seat attachment. The dealership says it is unusual, although I understand your agency is investigating just this thing in 2004 Freestars.

The contact owns a 2004 Ford Freestar. The contact stated that the vehicle was used as a taxi and a customer complained that the rear seats were loose. The contact then noticed that the rear seats were out of place and the rear driver’s side wheel well was rusted. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer or repair shop for repair. The manufacturer was notified and referred the contact to NHTSA. The failure and current mileages were 269,359.

Inability to latch the rear seat, entire driver side anchor plate completely detached from the vehicle,.

We were returning home from weekend trip when I noticed rubbing noise and hot rubber smell coming from rear of van. Two children in rear seat said seat was vibrating badly. I am a state certified master mechanic so I pulled over to investigate. I found that both rear seat strikers had rusted loose and the seat pushed the metal and striker against the left rear tire. I feel this could have been a very dangerous situation if the metal rubbing on the tire had caused a blowout. The children in the rear seat could have been seriously injured from the tire and from the seat not being secured.

While turning a corner we heard a loud noise coming from the left rear tire. After getting home we pulled the left rear tire off to inspect the brakes, which were fine. We did notice that the wheel well was rusting out around the third row seat latch. The latch was loose and upon further inspection did not lock the third row seat into place. When carrying passengers in the back seat the latch is pushed out far enough that it actually rubs on the rear tire, which could result in tire failure.

The contact owns a 2004 Ford Freestar. The contact stated that the floor mounts for the rear seating rusted and rendered the rear seating inoperable. The dealer was not notified. The manufacturer was not notified. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 89,000.

Rear 3rd row seat latch is completely rusted through making the rear seat completely unsafe and unusable. Could cause serious injuries in a accident if rust goes undetected, vehicle is kept in garages and well maintained. Updated 05/31/lj.