Transmission failure.

- Montgomery, AL, USA

2005 Ford Freestar, 72,147 miles. Entered hov and car came up to speed then rpms increased and no engagement of transmission. Had to avoid traffic, coast to stop. Put vehicle in park, then tried to re-engage transmission. Tried rev, D, 3, 2, and engine seemed to only be in neutral. Stranded two hours during rush hour on DC beltway waiting for tow truck. Car at repair shop waiting for estimate.

- Stafford, VA, USA

After leaving a stoplight and accelerating to 25 mph, the vehicle's engine started to race and the transmission stopped working. I was able to roll to a stop at which time I found that none of the gears would work, including reverse. I was towed eventually by aaa and have a "ballpark" estimate of over $1,100 for replacement of a torque converter. I just returned from a drive from boston to D.C. and back, and cannot imagine the danger to myself and others had this happened at highway speed on that trip. There was no indication of anything being wrong, no warning lights, no change in performance, it just stopped working.

- Reading, MA, USA

2005 Ford Freestar van - same failure - about 2 years apart - transmission torque converter and shaft failure. December 2007, just came up to a stop sign and lost power. We did not have any warning. After stopping, the engine still ran but the forward or reverse gears would not engage. The engine would just rev up. Luckily it was under 75,000 miles and our extended warranty covered this repair. On April 27, 2010, my wife was driving the van and again coming to a stop sign, went to proceed, after stopping and no power. We had to have it towed but know our warranty is no longer in effect, we have approximately 85,000 miles on it. Plus, due to the economic times in our small town, our Ford dealer is out of business. We took it to a repair shop and they stated that it's our torque converter once again. This defect happens without warning and luckily we didn't have any accidents because of the loss of power.

- Rensselaer, IN, USA

Car is kept in garage. All recommended services are up to date. Drove it fine yesterday. Today, vehicle started fine, gear shift works fine but automatic transmission not engaging. Transmission seems locked in neutral. When a gear is selected, the car just revs without going anywhere. Same in all gears.

- Saline, MI, USA

Transmission failure 2005 Freestar - 49000 miles.

- Ballston Spa, NY, USA

I was driving along in my 2005 Ford Freestar minivan at about 40 mph and the engine suddenly surges and revs out. There was no power and the van coasted to a stop. The transmission would not go into drive or reverse and the van would no longer move.there was no warning or check light no sounds or smells nothing. The thing just died suddenly for no apparent reason.this is a well maintained vehicle with relatively low mileage.

- Georgetown Ontario, 00, USA

I am filing this complaint on my 2005 Ford Freestar. Two days ago without warning the transmission failed. The van only has 75,000 miles on it. While driving down the road the van just lost power. This is a very dangerous situation and could have been much worse (caused an accident). I have researched the issue and have found thousands of complaints of this problem with Ford Freestars. It is currently at the dealership and will cost approx. $3000 to fix. This unacceptable for such a new vehicle and seems to be very common for this make and model.

- Mitchell, IN, USA

On Friday, 4/16/10, I was driving down the interstate at 65 mph when my 2005 Ford Freestar van suddenly spiked in RPM's and then started coasting. In the middle of rush hour traffic...I had to make it safely onto the shoulder. I turned off the engine and let it sit for a few minutes, in hopes that it would be fine after cooling down. It cranked up fine, but when put into gear, it did nothing. It wouldn't go backward or forward. I had to have it towed to the shop where I found out this is a common problem with the transmission on this make and model. In fact, its so common, that the transmission is hard to come by and if I do find one the cost will be about $2500 to repair. Do you see a problem here? also, I was told that Ford hasn't figured out how to fix the problem yet, so the vehicles that are getting a new transmission are getting another faulty one. So not only do you have to replace it once, but every few years. Can we please do something about this. Ford needs to be held accountable.

- Hammond, LA, USA

2005 Ford Freestar, transmission. On Saturday 4/17/2010 my van worked fine. On Monday morning I went to take it to work and the transmission was slipping. And reverse would not work. I was able to get it back home. But today when I tried to fine out what was wrong. The engine would just stall. And I could not get it back home. I was able to push it back home but do not want to drive it. This problem had no warning of anything being wrong. I have read other peoples problems that they have had and mine is the same.

- Genoa, IL, USA

I was traveling down I-77 in rock hill SC when with no warning the van felt like it popped out of gear. Luckily I was beginning to exit when the failure occurred or me and my 3 children could have been killed. Turns out the transmission blew! no warning, nothing. $2200 later I have a new transmission. After researching I found that this is a very common occurrence with Ford Freestars. I also understand that there are hundreds of complaints filed with your Agency. There needs to be an investigation. By the way, my van only had 71,000 miles.

- Rock Hill, SC, USA

Accelerating onto the interstate and the transmission failed without warning. Fortunately I had enough acceleration to pull off to the side of the road. Was at the Ford dealership the week before for routine oil change and maintenance check at which time they told me transmission fluid checked out fine and was told it would be good for another 10,000 miles. Transmission only has 66,500 miles on it currently. Have done routine maintenance regularly on vehicle at same dealership since we bought it new with less than 100 miles on it in 2005.

- Omaha, NE, USA

2005 Ford Freestar 70,000 miles wife was driving vehicle on highway when vehicle lost power. Luckily she safely coasted over to the shoulder. Local Ford dealer inspected vehicle and stated the transmission needed to be replaced and price was $3000. Vehicle had no noticeable problems with shifting or any transmission issues prior to this problem.

- Trenton, MI, USA

2005 Ford Freestar limited -- vehicle stalls while driving and loses power steering and brakes. Vehicle has had acceleration and revving of engine when idling in neutral, and also sometimes no reverse gear. Sometimes it just fails to start. All of these problems have been attempted to be repaired by two different Ford dealership maintenance departments and another local mechanic. All problems appear to be related to the computer (PCM) and/or transmission. The computer (PCM) has been replaced twice by Ford in the last eight months but the problem persists. Water keeps getting into the PCM compartment and causing havoc. They don't seem to know how to stop it, and the problem keeps repeating itself. Last time, two weeks ago, we had to call 911 when we stopped for a red light on a busy highway. When the light turned green, I stepped on the gas, but the van did not go forward. Cars were now racing past our stopped van, on both sides, at high speed. We were sitting ducks. We called 911 to get police out to stop traffic for fear of being rearended at high speed. Myself, wife and three kids (10,7,2) were stuck there. Good samaratin risked his life and stopped all traffic behind us while I carried kids out of van to safety. Others helped push the van off the road. Van has been at dealership since then for the last two weeks, but they say "can't duplicate the problem" (when they know exactly what it is). I asked them to open computer again to check for water but they refuse -- saying it's too difficult and it can't be in there (even though it has proven to be the problem on numerous previous instances). I reported issue to Ford national "customer care" hotline several times. I have asked them to recall the van for safety issues and to help me. They refuse (citing "out of warranty"). the vehicle has about 42K miles on it now. Problems began spring 2009 (at about 35K miles) when heavy rains happened all year. Many other owners with same dangerous problem.

- Haddonfield, NJ, USA

I had just left my driveway. As I was pulling onto calabash drive from a stop sign at maplewood drive my vehicle lost speed. Although the vehicle was running I lost connection with the transmission. Since I was only traveling approx. 25 mph I was able to drift into a driveway. I tried all the gears and had no response from any. I shut the vehicle off and waited approx. 2 minutes and restarted it. I was able to move the vehicle approx 100 feet before I again lost contact with the transmission. I repeated this procedure 4 times before I was able to pull back into my driveway. I contacted a transmission repair shop and had the vehicle towed there. I had to have a new torque converter installed which cost me a total of $991.84 I had no warning of this occurrence as the vehicle had been driven earlier that day without incident.

- Calabash, NC, USA

The contact owns a 2005 Ford Freestar. While driving at speeds of 45 mph, the contact depressed the accelerator pedal and the vehicle would not accelerate accordingly. The vehicle was dragging as if it were in neutral gear. The vehicle was towed to a local mechanic who replaced the torque converter. On a separate occasion, while depressing the brake, approaching a traffic light, the vehicle downshifted and accelerated without warning. The approximate failure mileage was 94,826 and the current mileage was 127,000. The VIN was not available.

- Lexington, VA, USA

I was driving along I-55 in central Illinois at 65 mph. All of a sudden, with no warning whatsoever, my 2005 Ford Freestar minivan revved up - the tachometer needle flew up to between 5000 and 6000 RPM - and all power was lost immediately. All I could do was coast over to the shoulder of the road. Luckily, there were no vehicles traveling very close behind me - with the loss of power, any vehicle near me would have crashed into my vehicle. I ended up spending 2 hours on the side of the road - waiting for a tow truck... and had the van towed approximately 60 miles to the Ford dealership back in the town in which I live. The Ford dealership informed me that the main input shaft was broken and the van would need a new transmission installed - to the tune of approximately $3400. My husband and I are still trying to determine at this point whether we want to put this much money into fixing this car and after reading the discussion forums about the trouble that many consumers are having more than one time, whether we will ever trust this vehicle again.

- Bartonville, IL, USA

Driving at 65 mph under cruise control RPM surged up. Tapped brakes and engine appeared disconnect from drive wheels. Coasted to the shoulder and stopped. Complete transmission failure. Could not move in any gear including reverse. Transmission fluid mark was above full mark. Result was failure in the torque converter spline.

- Mount Prospect, IL, USA

On Wednesday, March 31, 2010 my wife went to leave the driveway with our 2005 Ford Freestar with my two sons. The minivan would start then die. Roadside assistance took it to the dealership. Dealership called and told me that the PCM had water and corrosion and needed to be replaced. Regardless of the current tsb for this issue they say it is not covered under the premium warranty that I purchased and that I must pay in full for this problem which is approximately $940. Thankfully this happened at home and not somewhere out on the road. This is an issue that Ford is fully aware of and refuses to remedy so the owner is stuck holding the bill. This safety issue should be addressed by the nhsta board to force Ford to fix this before someone gets killed.

- Lake Hopatcong, NJ, USA

2005 Ford Freestar - my wife was driving on the highway with my kids and the car just started losing its accileration. And then would not move. She is right now on the highway waiting for a tow truck. This is the second time this has happened, it happened to me a couple of months ago and I took it into Ford and they told me they fixed the problem. A recall should be issued on all these vehicles.

- Staten Island, NY, USA