Noises During Shifting Problems of Ford Freestar

The vehicle started shifting roughly and within a matter of hours, failed to move when in reverse. I took it to my mechanic and after inspecting, water was found in the transmission. The transmission had to be pulled and rebuilt. Approximately six months later, I heard a whinning noise then a clicking when accelerating, coming from the left front side of the vehicle. I took it in to be inspected and once again they found water in the transmission, which was not covered under the warranty.

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Tl - the contact owns a 2005 Ford Freestar. The contact had experienced difficulty with the gears shifting intermittently and had heard a grinding noise multiple times. The contact stated while traveling 60 mph, the vehicle had jerked violently and the transmission was slipping more than once. The vehicle was taken to a repair shop who diagnosed and replaced the torque converver. The vehilce was repaired and the failure recurred. The contact was included in 12v006000 (power train) but had been told more than once by the local dealer that the part was not available for the recall repair. The contact had experienced the failure multiple times while waiting for the part for the repair. The vehicle was to be inspected, diagnosed and repaired. The VIN was not available. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 100,000. Dyd.

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My husband was the driver of the vehicle at the time of the problem and he narrates the events below. I was coming out of a baseball game and after a stop sign I started moving out from an intersection turning right with traffic from the left. Suddenly, the 2005 Freestar made a noise and acelerated (as I had my foot on the gas) and like shifted to neutral gear. I tried to get it in gear again only to notice that it wasstill in drive. I tried to steer it to the side of the road but as I was just moving out didn't roled enough to clear the traffic lane. Cars from the left started avoiding me going close to the middle of the two lane road as uncoming traffic homked their horn. Regardless of the gear it stood like if in neutral. Finally after a while the traffic slowed down so I got out and started to push the van to the side of the road. I had it towed to my house and couple of mechanics that had come by have qouted me over $2000. 00 which I cannot afford since I just got a job. I had to rent a car until I can figure out what to do.

I have a 04 Ford Freestar that continues to have transmission problems. It started early around 40k. Fmc service stated “just a leak�. Repeat complaints equaled “nothing found, etc, etc�. Beginning last year it would lose power and backfire while the transmission would not engage and almost caused my wife and daughter to be broadsided when she tried to pull out in traffic and the van did not go forward. The transmission would slip and not engage to second gear. I took it to aamco and paid $1800 to have it fixed. They said they had to basically replace everything. Now, a year later and it is doing it again, but this time by not engaging into second gear, it caused a person behind me to get hit in the rear because he thought I would turn as a normal car would, but I couldn't accelerate due to the trans. Additionally now it will shudder, shake and lose power at 40 to 50 mph. It is not even drivable as I tried to go out to the store today and it made terrible noises and shook like crazy when put into reverse. Tried to go up my driveway and it shook even harder and made terrible grinding noises in drive, 3rd and 1st gear. Does not matter what position the shifter is in, it has problems. Looked at the dip stick for the trans and it is rusted showing that obviously now some type of water is in the system too. I am disabled and on a disability income and do not have the funds to have this repaired again. Ford will do nothing for it unless of course I want to pay to have it rebuilt at $4000. This van is a danger to all on the road and luckily no one has been killed as a result of it not pulling out into traffic as it should. Please force Ford to buy back these vans and refund the expenses of people who had to pay to have it fixed. For me, it looks like it is going to be a double trouble problem. I do not know what to do, I know it will just break down again if I do have it fixed. The van needs to be taken to a junk yard and crushed to save lives.

On March 19th, I traveled to port lavaca (30 miles) to see my aunt and take her out to eat. After picking her up at her home we were on hwy. 35 travelling about 45 mph when the vehicle dropped to 20 mph and would not accelerate. I was able to maneuver it enough to move right into a driveway. The vehicle was on, but would not drive. I sat in shock with my mother, my daughter, and my aunt. I never had any warning that the transmission was going out. No noise, no trouble shifting gears, nothing. I had the van picked up and taken back to victoria and it is now at the local Ford dealership waiting for us to gather the money for a new transmission (a little over $3000).

On wed, Dec 2, 2009, my wife was driving our 2005 Ford Freestar during rush hour. She turned a corner, onto a busy blvd, and continued to go up the hill, suddenly the car acted as if it had been shifted into neutral. There was no prior vibration, noise, stall, stutter, smell, engine light or other occurrence to alert us that the vehicle had any issues at all. The engine revved and the car lost all acceleration, mid-hill, in very busy traffic. She was able to Dodge traffic and coast to a shoulder. If this had happened 30-60 seconds earlier, she would have been t-boned by oncoming traffic as she turned onto the blvd. After reading the online forums and NHTSA site, I am shocked to learn that the 2004/2005 Freestars are known for their transmissions going out with no prior symptoms or notice of any kind. I am equally shocked to learn that Ford knows about this, and the NHTSA is supposedly investigating the many many complaints of same issue, and yet neither Ford nor the NHTSA have chosen to notify current owners of the impending danger. A recall is certainly in order. And at the very least, all current Ford 2004/2005 Freestar owners should be made aware of this danger. The quote we received today, for a refurbished transmission, was $2,800. This is a huge problem for our family in a horrible economy where our household income has dropped dramatically and it's 3 weeks till christmas. Thank you Ford and NHTSA for leaving customers and citizens in the dark, and in danger!.

2005 Ford Freestar, with 49,000 miles, suddenly loss transmission power while driving. After safely pulling over to the side of road (with kids in car), could not engage the transmission in any gear (drive, reverse, 1, 2). No axel or transmission noise was observed when shifting into any of the gears.

We were driving in the outskirts of town at about 40 mph or so, getting ready to slow down when I tried to accelerate but I couldn't. At first, I thought I had not brakes but I was able to brake. I parked the vehicle and tried to shift the gear in reverse to see if it would work. The vehicle was running but I could not drive or reverse. I turned the vehicle off and I restarted it but it wouldn't budge. My husband & I had to push the car to the side and wait for someone to tow us back to town. The engine was still working as we left the air conditioner on due to the heat outside. We had recently had the alternator repaired, now the mechanic we had look at our vehicle stated that the transmission is no longer working. This vehicle has 77769 miles. There was no warning that the transmission had given out. No noise or warning to let us know that it would leave us stranded in the middle of nowhere. From what I have read online, we are not the only people who this has happened to. Our vehicle is now no longer under warranty. I have the vehicle parked and it will probably remained parked until I can afford to purchase a new transmission. I am still paying for this vehicle.

The contact owns a 2004 Ford Freestar. When attempting to drive, he cold not shift the vehicle into any of the gears. Prior to the failure he heard a very peculiar noise. The dealer was notified, but because the warranty expired he was not provided with any assistance. The failure mileage was 83,000.