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Ford Freestyle Maintenance and Repair

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Comments

  • coldcrankercoldcranker Member Posts: 877
    Dragging rear brakes are a real possibility.

    There is a dedicated thread for brakes only:
    Freestyle Brakes Forum
  • coldcrankercoldcranker Member Posts: 877
    01taurussel asked: "PS - Anybody know where to get those H13 Silverstar Ultra? Advanced Auto parts didnt have them in stock "

    I don't think they come in that size. Odd. I picked up Sylvania H13 XtraVision, a twin-pack at Pep Boys.
  • 01taurussel01taurussel Member Posts: 43
    Car part stores around me have just the regular Silverstars in single bulb packages for like $23/piece! 1 place had regular halogens and that it is - very limited selection.....I just ordered some of those XtraVisions online from Amazon. I hear they are pretty good.
  • coldcrankercoldcranker Member Posts: 877
    If you can catch a good sale on those XtraVision twin packs at Pep Boys, you can get them cheap. I forgot what I paid for mine, but I remember it was a screaming good twin-pack sale. The same H13 went out on my '05 F150 2WD, so I figure I might as well get the twin pack because the '05 Freestyle will probably have an outage before too long. They say replace them in pairs, but I don't see why. So what if the older one is slightly less bright?

    What I really want for my birthday is to fit a pair of LED fog lamps to the Freestyle. Gotta have that. Anybody seen anything like that? LEDs would be cool because they draw so little current (amps).
  • 01taurussel01taurussel Member Posts: 43
    No PepBoys here in Wisconsin that I am aware of.....AutoZone, PartsAmerica (Advanced Auto) and Checker
  • stevedebistevedebi Member Posts: 4,098
    "I am only saying they could have pointed out a problem 5K miles ago so it would have been covered under the extended warratny"

    Pads are considered wear items, and I don't think they are covered by warranties.
  • romie5123romie5123 Member Posts: 1
    I also today took our 2006 ford freestyle in because of rear brake issues. The freestyle needs pads & rotors. (and a caliper on the right side.) $500.00 dollars. There is only 31,000 miles on the car. I am not happy to say the least. There seems to be a problem from what the other posts suggests. Any solutions???
  • 01taurussel01taurussel Member Posts: 43
    I think my 500 had a new caliper at about 25-30k....It was hanging and causing the brakes to be wrecked.......I was quoted around 300.00 for fronts on my 500 which I was told that needed to be replaced (also was told that my shocks are shot after 30k........so I will take the brakes with a grain of shot.....)

    500.00 doesn't sound that bad for new gear
  • coldcrankercoldcranker Member Posts: 877
    romie5123, See if a Ford dealer doesn't pick up the cost based on the recall. See Brake Discussion or google the words: ford freestyle brake recall 07N10
  • johnk6johnk6 Member Posts: 7
    can anyone advise me on how to get inside the mirror.
    it has stoped deicing and i want to check for broken wire.
    john from cor. canada.
  • dukhookdukhook Member Posts: 2
    Have '06 freestyle with 45K miles. Developed pattern of starting ahrd. And then just wouldn't start earlier this week. Would turn over but not start. Lights would dim some so I changed out battery 2 days ago. Started okay for 2 days then same problem. Took 8 minutes of cranking to start. Finlly floored and cranked until it started. THinking fuel filter any other thoughts?
  • bruneau1bruneau1 Member Posts: 468
    I don't know if my problem is the same as yours, but my Freestyle was having cold start problems. The dealer replaced the throttle body under our extended warranty. Works fine now. Good luck. Have your codes checked- we had two codes come up and there is a TSB on this problem.
  • dukhookdukhook Member Posts: 2
    Thanks for the info. When you are refering to check your codes, what are you refering to?

    TSB? Technical Service Bulletin right
  • coldcrankercoldcranker Member Posts: 877
    dukhook, The dealership service dept. should be told about TSB 06-20-7 by number so they can look it up, as it solves the problem:

    TSB 06-20-7

    10/16/06

    LONG CRANKING TIME OR NO START ON INITIAL
    START ATTEMPT - VEHICLES BUILT ON OR BEFORE
    6/6/2006


    FORD:
    2005-2007 Five Hundred, Freestyle


    MERCURY:
    2005-2007 Montego


    ISSUE
    Some 2005-2007 Five Hundred, Freestyle, and Montego vehicles built on or before 6/6/2006 may exhibit a long cranking time or a possible no-start on initial start attempt. This symptom may also be accompanied by the malfunction indicator lamp (MIL) on with diagnostic trouble codes (DTCs) P0300, P0316, P2107, and P2110. If the vehicle exhibits the long crank / no start issue, reprogram the powertrain control module (PCM). If the vehicle just exhibits these DTCs without the long crank / no start symptom follow normal Powertrain Controls/Emissions Diagnosis (PC/ED) manual diagnostics instead of this TSB.


    ACTION
    Reprogram the powertrain control module (PCM) to the latest calibration using IDS release 44.24 and higher or 45.3 and higher. This new calibration is not included in the VCM 2006.9 DVD. Calibration files may also be obtained at the website.
  • coldcrankercoldcranker Member Posts: 877
    About the above TSB mentioned, it is covered under the federal government's EPA Emmissions Warranty, and the dealer should be reminded of that in case they forget, as many of them have done.
  • carolmfcarolmf Member Posts: 5
    One other thing we noticed with the chime is that when the door is open, the light on the dash is on that indicates the keys are in the ignition. Could this be a sensor problem in the ignition? And no, the keys are not in the ignition when this happens.... :)
  • mymomstewartmymomstewart Member Posts: 2
    I have the exact same problem. Did the EGR Valve solve the issue?
  • plan_engineerplan_engineer Member Posts: 1
    Yup, the transmission behavior in the Freestyle is a bit unusual but it's no mistake.
    It downshifts (allows the engine to rev-up) when going down a steep hill to maintain a steady speed. It means you don't need to downshift into a lower gear, like you would in most cars, to allow the engine to do most of the braking. This prevents brakes from overheating will extend the life of the brake pads. So, if you are coming down a hill, it keeps the truck from go more than ~5 MPH faster than when you were at the crest. To defeat this feature and let it coast faster, simply hold the gas pedal slightly depressed for about 3 seconds. If you push it very slightly, you won't rev-up the engine, but you will signal the computer that you want to let the truck coast faster.

    The trans also downshifts when you go uphill greater than a ~5% grade so that the engine will be reving alittle faster, just in case you want to pass or accelerate, so the truck will have better throttle response. I don't know of any way to defeat this, unfortunately.

    I like the feature where it downshifts on the downgrade because I don't even need to touch the brake, even though everyone else on the road has their brake lights going on & off. Just sit back, and let the engine do it's thing. I wish I could disable the downshifting on uphills though--while the passing response is nice, I usually just want to maintain a steady speed up the hill and don't need any downshifting.

    (Yes, I was an automotive engineer in the past...)
  • zobeszobes Member Posts: 1
    I need to replace a brake light and I can't remove the lamp housing from the back of the car. I have removed the two screws from the inside of the door but the housing still appears to be attached. I'm not sure what it's stuck on but I'm afraid of applying full force and breaking something. Has anyone else had this problem? Any ideas? Thanks!
  • jenn71jenn71 Member Posts: 2
    Out of the blue, my rear hatch on my 2005 will not stay open. I wondered if anyone had any similar issues. It is not a power hatch, just the basic.
  • jenn71jenn71 Member Posts: 2
    You should simply have to pull it out. It will feel like it's going to break off, but you should be fine. There isn't anything else you have to do once the two screws are off.
  • curtisc63curtisc63 Member Posts: 10
    I had to replace the gas liftgate struts on my 2005 a few months ago. Struts and install from my local dealer would have been $85. Struts alone from Ford were $35+/- and install was only a couple minutes each side. Very easy to do, no tools needed (that I recall).

    BTW - I believe NAPA also had the struts but they were ~$30 - not much different.

    CC
  • bobnu75bobnu75 Member Posts: 21
    Also, there are two pins with heads on the front of the assembly that pressure fit into rubber grommets in the body. Once the screws are out, if you grip the front of the light housing (on the side of the car) with your finger tips and wiggle it back towards the rear (it eventually comes out) to get the pins released from the grommets.
  • bobw3bobw3 Member Posts: 2,989
    I just had to replace the power steering pump at 72,000 miles. It didn't fail, but it's been groaning pretty loud on hot days. It was covered under my extended warranty, so I didn't have to pay anything ($0 deductable) but I'm wondering how much I would have paid if I didn't have the warranty.
  • sycamorekensycamoreken Member Posts: 1
    Hello all.

    My wife and I bought our 2006 Freestyle with 80,000 miles on it last month. We love almost everything about it, the cargo space the comfortable ride, and its apperance. We have had a couple of things happen that I did not see addressed here in the posts I read. (I only read about half, but did do a 2006 search.)

    The first thing that has been happening is that after sitting at an idle for 5 minutes or more with the AC on it behaves strangely when put into gear. The warning lights come on and it revs and jerks. When truned off and then turned back on it is fine.

    The other issue is with the car surging as i did see on here. It does this at low speeds such as in a parking lot or when I slow down to park. This is disconcerting to say the least. I thought it was because I was hitting the acc. with my big foot while applying the break, but that is not the problem.

    Any help on how i can fix these issues would be greatly appreciated. I'm glad i found this board. It has a ton of great info. thanks to you all.

    Also, where can we get an owners manual? It was not in the car when we bought it.

    Thanks in advance for any help provided.
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    How To Find Your Car Owner's Manual Online will get you to a download link.
  • coldcrankercoldcranker Member Posts: 877
    There are occasional problems with the "throttle-by-wire" system on the Freestyle reported by some owners. That might be what you are seeing. Your foot on the accel pedal actually sends an electrical (not mechanical) signal to the engine. The accel pedal is directly connected to an integral transducer, and that might be the part that is going awry here. Also, the engine itself must receive the electrical signal via a sensor to command the engine throttle to move, so there might be problems on that end. A Ford technician is accustomed to these issues, since Ford has been using the throttle-by-wire system. I think there may be Technical Service Bulletins published by Ford for use by technicians to help guide them through diagnosis/replacement. A Ford dealership (service advisor) might be able to find that Technical Service Bulletin through a keyword search on their computers into that database.
  • coldcrankercoldcranker Member Posts: 877
    There was a discussion between myself and jrmust (among others) Click Here to view.

    The throttle body sensor (on the engine) and the accel pedal transducer are both possible failure points, and the discussion and Technical Service Bulletins cited may help you in a conversation with a Ford technician. Possible anyway.
  • carstenbcarstenb Member Posts: 37
    that part is worn/cracked on our 2005 FS (56k mls). It's in the repair shop right now and replacement will be around $500 as it is not covered by the ESP. I didn't find anything related on here but on another forum

    http://www.myfordfreestyle.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=2537

    Seems to be not uncommon and a bit early for them to wear out. Does anyone know if there's a TSB out (couldn't find one)? Should i complain and try to get some money back or do i just have to accept it?

    Thanks, Carsten
  • coldcrankercoldcranker Member Posts: 877
    I did a bing.com search (starting to like that better than google.com) and found a cool PDF file some Freestyle owners may want to peruse. Click Here for article.

    Back on carstenb's subject (#1293 above), rockauto.com sells a motor mount (articulated bushing) for $71. Couldn't find the torque strut or transaxle roll resistor for sale anywhere.

    Caution: It seems very unlikely that all three of these would suddenly go bad at the same time. I wonder if the repair shop is putting their thumb on the scales here. A little extra business for them. I'd ask for the old parts back, although, if this is fraud, they might be able to rough the old parts up a little to fake wear. Just suspicious. Those parts normally break if the vehicle is operated over rough roads, but even then its incredibly rare for all three to fail at the same time, and especially after just 56k miles. Has the car hit any severe bumps recently? Those mounts and torque structural elements get stressed heavily when curbs or railroad tracks are hit hard, or just rough roads.

    I think if you complain to Ford it will go nowhere.
  • carstenbcarstenb Member Posts: 37
    sorry, the title was a bit misleading. i was just talking about the one mount but found those three names for it.

    it's the one shown in the link in my first post.

    image

    the car's just back from the repair. $214 for the part (it is huge and includes the aluminum bracket) and $306 for the work :(

    the problem seems to be that if that one fails the other rubber mounts are going to fail soon as well.

    oh, the master brake cylinder was replaced as well. the brake pedal feel got really mushy over the past months and made a squeekie and grinding sound. fortunately that was covered by the ESP...
  • coldcrankercoldcranker Member Posts: 877
    OK, the Roll Restrictor is part number 6F055, thats the one you mean.
    I just looked at mine, 4 years and 51,000 miles in a Colorado 6,000 ft altitude climate, and it looks 90% new. Just a few millimeter-sized cracks starting on the intake manifold side, and zero cracks on the battery side of that chunky rubber bushing.

    Seems very cold weather could make it brittle and susceptible to cracking, or a manufacturing material rubber formula defect could make it crappy, too.

    Are you in a cold climate? Although mine is garaged at night, it has seen a few single digit Fahrenheit temps and doesn't show the excessive aging/stressing yours has.

    It would be nice if they made that piece of rubber replaceable, but they make you buy the whole aluminum bracket, too.
  • carstenbcarstenb Member Posts: 37
    thanks for looking that up. No, Houston is not really cold, more the opposite ;)
    I'd speculate that the poor and bumpy roads put some stress on the rubber :sick: Or my wife's driving style ;)
    The technician said they've changed the part number so the new ones might be more durable.

    I agree, it would be much easier and cheaper to just replace the rubber piece. You need to remove many parts to get to the bolts at the bottom of the bracket and the part seems to be only available through Ford.
  • coldcrankercoldcranker Member Posts: 877
    From carstenb's excellent pictures, both above and on his links to the myfordfreestyle web pages, it looks like the problem is the rubber formulation. I've worked on a few antique cars ('41 Chevies, etc.) and it looks like the small cracks in the high resolution photos, and crumbling bits on top of that, indicate this thing aged very quickly. Once aged, turning brittle, it then gave way and thats why we see the big cracks. This part opposes engine torque, so every time the car accelerates, the rubber in there gets stressed. Of course, Ford says its past warranty so there is no hope there.
  • ping8ping8 Member Posts: 2
    every time i use the cruise control the wrench light comes on and my rpms go up and my speed goes down like 6000rpms at 30mph i pull over and shut the car off it run fine as long as i don't use the cruise can any one help me with this problem with my 2006 thanks
  • tommyceetommycee Member Posts: 10
    I cannot clear the "change oil 0%" message permanently. I can reset using the controls on the wheel, however, the message reappears when re-start the engine. Can anyone provide guidance?
  • coldcrankercoldcranker Member Posts: 877
    Your engine computer is storing down codes that probably are telling exactly what is wrong. An Autozone parts store can tell you what the engine computer is saying (for free, or at least they used to do that). Or, any mechanic has a "scan tool" to read the codes off the engine computer. Ask them to plug the OBD2 Scan Tool in to your connector located under the steering wheel, which communicates with your engine computer and gets it to tell the story. Then, you can google the code numbers and/or just let a mechanic take care of it.
  • jolo3jolo3 Member Posts: 1
    I need to replace a brake light and I can't remove the lamp housing from the back of the car. I have removed the two screws from the inside of the door but the housing still appears to be attached. I'm not sure what it's stuck on but I'm afraid of applying full force and breaking something. Has anyone else had this problem? Any ideas? Thanks!
  • cmunizcmuniz Member Posts: 604
    I believe the housing pivots to the outside instead of coming completely off. Grab the inside vertical edge and see it will swing out on the outside vertical edge.
  • haulthault Member Posts: 130
    I have a 2005 Freestyle. After removing the two screws it "pops' out. Go by Autozone, O'Reilly, Autosource. They can show you for free. I have replaced my rear bulbs more than once.
  • wgroperwgroper Member Posts: 5
    What was the final resolution to this problem? Did you get a new accelerator or PCM? I'm having the same issue, it's out of warranty.
  • nutabugnutabug Member Posts: 8
    I am looking for anyone who would be willing to take ford on, this cvt issue needs to be addressed and I want to see how many people actually have an issue with this. I am willing to take this to an investigative reporter.

    I bought my car brand new 34,000 the tranny goes, 2 years later AGAIN! They say this is not a saftey issue, but that is ridiculous! I was going to pull out on the highway and my car would not go...then I got out and had to stop on the highway and I went to go and had my foot all the way to the floor and it crept along! What if? I crept out on the highway with my whole family in the car and a mack truck was coming?! How is that not a saftey issue!

    They took the CVT out of the newer models...obviously it is an issue and for those of us who bought a freestyle with the CVT in it are paying the price..

    I want to be compenstated for this, I don't think I should have to put a USED tranny in my vehicle...I had a brand new one and look where that has gotten me! Whose to say this is not going to happen again...next time I might not be so lucky!
  • nutabugnutabug Member Posts: 8
    I am looking for anyone who would be willing to take ford on, this cvt issue needs to be addressed and I want to see how many people actually have an issue with this. I am willing to take this to an investigative reporter.

    I bought my car brand new 34,000 the tranny goes, 2 years later AGAIN! They say this is not a saftey issue, but that is ridiculous! I was going to pull out on the highway and my car would not go...then I got out and had to stop on the highway and I went to go and had my foot all the way to the floor and it crept along! What if? I crept out on the highway with my whole family in the car and a mack truck was coming?! How is that not a saftey issue!

    They took the CVT out of the newer models...obviously it is an issue and for those of us who bought a freestyle with the CVT in it are paying the price..

    I want to be compenstated for this, I don't think I should have to put a USED tranny in my vehicle...I had a brand new one and look where that has gotten me! Whose to say this is not going to happen again...next time I might not be so lucky!

    If you don't have and 05 but you have a cvt issue please post year too please. Thank you!
  • jogumojogumo Member Posts: 8
    Here is my posting #1051 from 9/2007 and below it #1059. Read the posts from the naysayers with their heads in the clouds. They said I was in the minority with my issues. Pretty big minority!

    #1051 We really liked our 2005 Freestyle when we first got it but then the problems started. At 16,000 miles the CVT (continously variable transmission)failed. The dealer replaced with a remanufactured CVT. I'm at 40,000 miles and there are problems with the CVT again. Now Ford is renaming the Freestyle the Taurus X for 2008 and it comes with a 6-speed automatic transmission (they no longer offer the CVT). The rear brake pads and one rotor needed replacing at less than 20,000 miles. I complained that it was premature wear. The service tech agreed but said there was no recall so I had to pay over $400 for brakes. In July 07 I received a recall notice about premature wear of rear brake pads and rotors, and I need new brakes again. Who knows what is going to go wrong next.

    #1059 This was a problem I forgot to post (see #1051). My battery died at 22,000 miles. No warning signs. I stopped at a gas station on the way to work and it wouldn't start after I pumped the gas. It couldn't be jumped so I had to pay through the nose for a new one on site. There is enough lock protruding for your kids to manually unlock the doors and the front doors unlock when you use the handle.
    To recap, at 40,600 miles the CVT has been replaced twice, the brakes and rotors have been replaced twice, and my battery needed to be replaced. Any of you believers want to put your money where your mouth is and buy my Freestyle? I've done the research and this vehicle has more issues than a model normally has. A car manufacturer doesn't change the name of a vechile and re-engineer it (transmission) if it has been reliable. I'm trading it in for a Toyota Sequoia.
  • jogumojogumo Member Posts: 8
    We should try to put together a class action suit.
  • yoyo123yoyo123 Member Posts: 33
    My problems with my 2005 Ford Freestyle are long gone. I traded it in for a 2008 Mazda 5 in March of 2008. It had the first signs of the CVT problem as I was told that the CVT needed to be replaced.

    I had bought Fords exclusively since 1990 owning a 1990 Probe, 1992 Ford Escort, 1993 Ford Ranger, 1997 Ford Explorer, 1998 Mercury Mountaineer, 2000 Ford Focus, and the 2005 Ford Freestyle. Never again Ford!! I didn't want a new vehicle, but had little choice. The dealer I bought the Freestyle from also had 2 other CVT cars with the same problem and were fighting with Ford. They were hoping that if they got their hands on my car, the 3rd car would help to give them leverage with Ford. The dealer got no where with Ford.

    Good luck with your lawsuit.
  • mymomstewartmymomstewart Member Posts: 2
    Ours is sitting in the garage because we can not afford to fix it with the way things are today. Ours too is out of warranty - over 100,000 miles. Perhaps if you start with the safety board. Please keep us posted as to your progress. Thank you.
    Have had it to two shops - only resolution is replace the transmission at 3500 +.
  • nutabugnutabug Member Posts: 8
    Does anyone know how to actually start a post, I want this to really be noticed and try to get as many people on the post as possible, I want to show the news reporter that this is a BIG problem!
  • catmouracatmoura Member Posts: 29
    I have an 05 Freestyle and lately when I am going under 30mph I can hear a whining sound from the tranny. Is this the problem you have had? I haven't taken it back to the mechanic yet
  • bruneau1bruneau1 Member Posts: 468
    The whining sound is normal if everyting else is working ok.
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