Bought in 2004, and I noticed first day the transmission was sloppy when putting into reverse, and switching from reverse to drive. But I thought since it only had 9,000 miles on it it must be the way it is supposed to be. Last few years while driving, could feel the transmission slipping occasionally. Then started to happen more often. in winter, wife would say I was hitting patches of ice on the highway. Finally, while we were both in car and it was warm out, she agreed it was transmission and not ice on road. Thanked our lucky stars when the torque converter recall went out. Had to wait 4-5 months (while van sat) for the "parts to come in". Torque converter finally replaced, and van runs just as bad as ever. We picked up from local dealer, who we bought the van from and has been absolutely no help at all, drove home, and van has sat in driveway since. We cannot drive it without taking the risk of it puking on us. Was told by my local mechanic, who I have taken my autos to for 25 years, it needed transmission and would would run about $3,000. Ha! Can't even trade the darn thing in now! The torque converter being bad certainly caused damage to the transmission (how could it not?). So, I figure I have what should be a $4,000 van (to me), that I can't drive or trade, that is worth nothing. So, it sits while we wait for a recall on the transmission. Van had nice ride to it, and was well maintained, and would still be being used as a daily driver. I am trying to get the balls up to have someone follow me while I drive the van to the local dealer repair shop, and park in their parking lot so it is there when the recall is issued. Taking up space in my driveway. Every day that passes is another day I get more entrenched in the attitude of never another Ford product. Too bad though cause I like what I see and hear of the Ford Fusions. But alas, customer service and standing behind your product is worth paying out more dollars for a Toyota Camry. And I love our Camry!!

In January, I was going to work and backed out of my parking space at home. Put my van in drive and could not move. Everything was gone, no drive, no reverse. I called a tow truck and had it towed to a transmission shop. It was there for about 3 months, because I had to have a new transmission put in. I had to save the money to get it put in. The mechanic and I both checked for any recalls available for this problem. Neither of us found one. About a month later I heard about a recall that Ford would be sending out on a torque converter. I contacted Ford and was told that my van was not included in that recall. I replied that they should be thankful that I was in my parking space at home and not out on the highway when the vehicle stopped and if it happens again who is going to be responsible for the damages and medical payments if it happens out on the highway and micracuoulsy my van was included in the recall. I was told I would be notified when the part became available. It is now October and I just got my van back from the shop with a new (hopefully) torque converter. The dealership where my recall was handled had my van for 3 days and I had to rent a car. I was told by the dealership that Ford would not give me a loaner vehicle to drive while the van was in the shop. That was another $300 expense. I was also informed in the recall letter that I received that I would not be reimbursed for the transmission I replaced in January. I do believe that this is unacceptable and I hope that I can get some advice or help in recovering some or all of my expenses for this problem.

THIS HAS HAPPENED SEVERAL TIMES.I WAS OUT HUNDREDS OF DOLLARS ON TOW FEES.YOU WOULD GET IN TO GO SOMEWHERE AND DEPENDING ON WHAT IT WANTED TO DO,YOU MIGHT HAVE A TRANSMISSION OR NOT.I WOULD HAVE IT TOWED HOME,AS SOON AS IT WAS UNLOADED I COULD GET IN AND DRIVE IT WHEREVER,THE NEXT DAY OR TWO I WOULD GET IN AND NO TRANSMISSION.FINALLY AFTER A COUPLE MONTHS I TOOK IT TO FORD WHERE THEY SAID IT NEEDED $3,700 IN REPAIRS,TOWED IT HOME AND DROVE IT ABOUT 4 MONTHS THEN ONE DAY NO TRANS! SO IS IT REALLY THE TRANSMISSION OR SOME OTHER PROBLEM THEY CANT FIGURE OUT? ALL I KNOW IS WHEN MY FREESTAR ACTS UP,I CAN DO ONE SIMPLE LITTLE THING,WHICH COSTS ME ABSOLUTELY NO MONEY,TAKES LESS THAN 5 MINUTES,AND IT DRIVES PERFECT FOR ABOUT 3 MONTHS.I CANT TELL YOU WHAT I DO TO IT,CAUSE ITS MY SECRET,BUT IT WILL GET ME BY TILL ITS PAYED OFF.IM NOT PUTTING ANOTHER PENNY IN REPAIRS.IT WAS THE FIRST FORD IV'E OWNED AND IT WILL BE THE LAST.

I've been a supporter of Ford for years, but they've let me down too many times. I'd ready about Ford Freestar Transmission problems after people told me my car would have a problem.

The transmission light has gone on several times, but no codes were recorded. Now, a transmission shop has discovered that, at a minimum the torque converter needs to be replaced ($1,500) and possibly, the transmission wil need a complete rebuild $3,000.

This problem is exactly what has caused a class action lawsuit which was filed in Maryland.

There are way too many similar problems for this to be a result of driver abuse. Ford built a defective transmission and has refused to do right by its owners.

I will consider a Ford product in the future only if they do the right thing and pay for the problems and aggravation they have caused their loyal customers.

I was pulling up to an intersection with my 2 kids in the van and started to make a left turn to have the vehicle not move when i pressed the gas. The intersection is a fast moving and on a sudden curve and found myself in the path of an18 wheeler struggling to stop. Lucky for us it stopped with about 6 feet to spare. I looked online to see if this has happened to anyone else and found many cases of this condition. I contacted my local dealer for a price and they seem to be well aware of the problem and it seems Ford chooses to ignore it. I consider myself lucky that today we were not the first reported deaths of this problem that would lead to the necessary action to see that this does not happen to someone else.

On Sunday, July 17, 2011, I had just driven onto the freeway, and was getting up to freeway speeds of about 50, when I noticed that the van felt like it was not wanting to accelerate and the transaxle light started flashing on the left side of the controls panel. The van felt like it was stuck in mud and didn’t want to pick up speed, and when I tried to accelerate, even the slightest bit, to maintain my speed on the busy freeway, the RPMs went way up and it made a squealing sound, so I didn’t want to push it. I let the van coast and got off the freeway at the next exit. Once I was off the freeway, the van would drive without the RPMs going up, as long as I kept it under 35 miles an hour, and didn’t have to accelerate to go up a hill, so I dropped off my son’s girlfriend at her house and slowly drove the van back to my house and parked it.

A quick search on the internet produced dozens if not hundreds of stories just like this. The cost to fix the transmission is likely to be as much as the trade-in value on the car so I’m not sure what I’ll do with the van now.