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Comments
Previously, I only had problems at low speeds. The light would come on and there was a lack of power.
bellaspop :confuse:
Thanks for taking the time. Unfortuantely the 05 has a 3/36,000 as standard coverage and I didn't opt for extending. Guess I was hoping I wouldn't jinx myself It looks like with parts and labor it's going to be about $1300.00 Ford customer service was no help. :mad: But, I guess if you don't pay for extra coverage you don't get extra coverage.
I've informed the dealer that it's time for Ford to step up. So hopefully we can come to an agreement without invoking the lemon law.
Good luck with Ford. They turned me back to the dealership and said it would be their call as to whether I could get my car fixed at no/little cost out of pocket. In these financial times I coudn't find anyone ( 2 closest dealerships) who could charge me money based on my warranty coverage but were willing to opt not to. Can't really blame them but only 57k miles. I was hoping to have the car for 200k! Icontinue to check back to see how your story plays out. Good Luck.
Again I wish you the best.
Apparently the 2005 & 2006 CVT had issues, where the later versions seem to be holding up. Anxiously awaiting a "fixed" car!!
I am in the market to buy a 2006 Limited AWD. I browsed this forum and am concerned about all the CVT questions/issues.
Do the 2006 models suffer from any known CVT issues? Did Ford make any changes to the 2007 model?
Thanks!
It appears that there may be a dirty little secret about the CVT-you either have a great transmission or get one like I had. Thank goodness I still had warranty and my dealer was persistent.
The CVT is more reliable than the average of all automatic transmissions out there in the same model years, according to surveys done by Consumer Reports over thousands of owners. A fewer percentage of all Freestyle CVTs go bad than the average automatic transmission on the road for the '05 to '07 model years. My '05 Freestyle has had zero problems, but thats just one case. Thats the important point: A statistical sample of one is no good, but a big survey tells the whole story regarding your chance of failure.
Yes, either one will break or it won't. Thats the way it always goes with all cars on the road. The Freestyle with CVT is no exception. Cars carry a certain risk. The risk of failure for a Freestyle CVT is less than other automatic transmissions according to a survey.
1) Did Ford make any changes to the 2007 model? In terms of reliability, am I better off buying a 2007 vs. 2006?
2) What type of transmission does the 2008 Taurus X use? Is there any data to indicate this is better than the CVT used in the 05 to 07 models?
One problem I have with the '08 TaurusX with the newer more powerful V6 and 6-speed transmission is that fuel economy is worse than in my '05 Freestyle with the CVT. Another reason I like the CVT Freestyle better is that it effectively is an infinite speed transmission, always choosing the optimal ratio for best fuel economy and power demand. Fantastic up and down mountains/hills. The 6-speed approximates that task pretty well, but you can still feel the shifts and relative mechanical violence inside the 6-speed compared to the CVT. Nissan (Murano, Altima, Maxima, etc.) uses a CVT and advertises the absence of jerkiness, called "shift shock" in the parlance. The Freestyle CVT, made by ZF, is similar to the CVTs found in MiniCoopers and Audis.
Carsten
FS with CVT
Pros
-Better fuel mileage
-Smoother transmission
Cons:
-Requires 60K maint. which can cost $400+ at the dealer
-CVT not being used in other Ford vehicles i.e. discontinued part
-Unclear how long the spares will be available for CVT. Does Ford provide a end-of-life date?
TX with 6 speed
Pros:
-Transmission being used in multiple product lines
-Trackrecord indicates good reliability
-Does not require 60K maint.
Cons:
-Fuel economy not as good as CVT
I did think the 60,000 mile CVT (filter + fluid) service is $300, though. I bought the FT-178 part number filter myself from rockauto.com for about $40, and the special unique fluid for the CVT you can only get from a Ford dealer for about $100 in fluid alone. Then its about 2 hours labor, which puts the total at $300. (It is true that a 6-speed transmission only needs a service stop every 100,000 miles.)
Actually, the fuel economy of a 6-speed is about the same as with a CVT. In fact, in the Ford500 / Montego, which is the sedan version of the Freestyle, the Aisin-brand 6-speed gets better MPG than the CVT version in that same car. (Freestyle only gets the CVT, though.) The drop in fuel economy of a TaurusX vs. the Freestyle is largely due to the bigger 3.5L V6 in the TaurusX, not the lack of a CVT.
On another forum a while back, somebody took a look at how many Ford Freestyle/500/Montego CVT-equipped cars were sold 2005-2007, and the figure turned out to be about 300,000. I don't know when parts will no longer be produced, but there is a pool of spares for old Freestyles in 7+ years. Ford technicians might be the only people out there specifically trained on this CVT, although Audi and MiniCooper technicians are accustomed to a variation on Ford's CVT (all made by the German ZF company).
So that is where we are at....I'm aware of the Lemon law but it's 2 days short of being in for 15 days and we were told the car had to be in three times for the same problem. It was the same problem on our end but ford turned it into a different problem everytime--I don't think they even mentioned the word transmission.
We did pay extra for the extended warranty and even went into the dealership to have them buyback the car and put us into another ford or my same car without the CVT and after they ran the numbers, we would have been screwed.
I know this is long, BUT I called another Ford dealership to see if they would offer me more than our local dealership for a buy back and after I gave him the info and VIN he told me my car is a liability and he could only auction it off, not resell it on his lot.
So my question is, do I have any other recourse? For us, this is a safety issue. I drive my children around (all under 9) and I cringe everytime I get into the car. The dealership claims the've "never heard of these problems".
I owe $20,000 on the car (bought it new for $32,000). I'm not asking for everything back....I did drive the car for two years before this started. However, I need to get out of this car for our safety but can't do so with the $20g hanging over our head.
Any ideas?? :confuse:
Thanks!!
If I were in your shoes, I would go ballistic.
Your car still appears to be under the basic 3/36000 warranty? I believe the Powertrain warranty for Freestyle is even longer. If this is true you have a very strong case to aks the dealership to change the transmission. Do you have any written documentation from the dealership. It is important that you get an receipt/inovice/evaluation every time you visit.
I would do the following:
-Get the name of the Service Manager or the top guy at this dealership.
-Write a one page letter stating the symptoms and the downtime you have experienced. Please stick to the facts and avoid any emotions in this letter. You should end this letter by forcefully stating that your CVT transmission should be replaced. Send a photocopy of this letter to your regional Ford Sales Manager.
-Browse the Freestyle CVT and repair forums. Cut and paste all the CVT complaints in a Word document. Two pages worth of info is good enough. Attach this to your one page letter above.
-Few days later, follow up with a phone call. See if the Service Manager is willing to cooperate. Be firm that the CVT must be replaced -nothing less will suffice. Remind him that this is a known problem and you have attached other FS customer complaints.
-Do you have a small claims court in your county/state? I would try find out the max. monetary award. For example in Virginia, the small claims court can only award $1000 max. If the dealership does not cooperate, you have the option of filing a claim in small claims court. This is why you need to correspond in writing and use certified mail. Keep copies of ALL emails and letters. The Judge will want to see that you made good faith efforts to work with the dealership. Trust me - been there, done that! This will make the dealership realize that you are not going to go away.
This is a great forum. I am sure you will get feedback from others too. Be persistent and please post an update so others can learn from your experience.
I will type a letter along with the complaints. We did file the paperwork on the lemon law even though according to ford the incidences weren't transmission problems.
We filed a complaint through BBB and the AG arbitration. I'm not sure about the small claims but I will look into that as well.
Thanks!
Thanks for sharing. Very scary. It might be the Engine Computer, which is a box that contains the computer that takes in all the sensor readings and directs the engine and transmission to react. Also, I've heard that some people have had trouble with the "throttle-by-wire" parts on the Freestyle. Ask the dealer service dept. about throttle-by-wire, and they will know what that is. Basically, its when you press the accelerator pedal, and what you produce down there with your foot is actually an electrical signal (not mechanical linkage) that will then signal the engine to go faster or slower, and that accelerator pedal electrical assembly might go bad, or the engine sensor which receives the go-faster/go-slower command from the pedal might not be listening properly to the command.
Your best bet is to work with the dealership. The Small Claims Court should be the last resort. Meanwhile, you need to document and save all your emails/letters in case you have to go to court.
Send all letters via Certified Mail otherwise you have no proof it was mailed.
Good Luck!
I mailed the defect notification form into them express mail with return recipt and every other "proof" they offered on it. Their were two options on the form, the vehicle had to be in 3x or 15 days and we have met both.
Just remember each dealer has to go through the same order. If you can get the dealer to step up the process and tell Ford this has all the classic symptoms of a bad CVT, you will come out ahead.
Good luck. Don't forget you can always go to another Ford dealer.
Looking for guidance
Can you document that? If the problem existed before the warranty expired there's a chance you would still be covered. Of course, the question then becomes why the repair wasn't made then.
tidester, host
SUVs and Smart Shopper
Don't give up, make the dealer go to bat for you, mine did and it runs like a champ. Too bad you didn't pay for the extended warranty.
The dealership tells me my 2006 Freestyle with only 23,000k miles, which started making a loud buzzing noice (like a 2 stroke motorcycle), and which is just 4 months past the 3 year warranty, needs a new transmission at a cost of $5,200. I am LIVID and they seem unwilling to do anything, even though this is the second new vehicle Ive bought from them.
Any ideas or suggestions?
How can a tranny with only 23k miles just go unless its defective?
This is insane!
I don't have any suggestions but the fact that your mileage is very substantially lower than the average for a car of that age is a pretty good indication that you haven't abused the vehicle. That makes it all the more astonishing that you would have such troubles.
tidester, host
SUVs and Smart Shopper
One point to argue with Ford is that maybe it was a little low on transmission fluid, and they make the thing so hard to check the level, its unreasonable for Ford to expect a customer or mechanic to see that in time to top it off. A slightly low level might starve the chain for lube enough to slowly wear it down. Check the transmission fluid level (a mechanic has to do it, as it depends on temperature and a special dipstick, etc. )and complain loudly to Ford that they failed to put enough fluid in it, if it proves to be low.
I guess you can say there was premature, accelerated wear inside the transmission, possibly caused by the chain or similar part in there slightly off the ideal measurement specs.
Sully 320
Warranty booklets for model years 2005-2006-2007 Freestyles are available at: Warranty Booklets in PDF downloadable format -- click here. .. I noticed the longer powertrain (engine/tranny) warranty was introduced in the '07, but not '05-'06 as I'd thought.
I went through this October, 05 Freestyle SEL. The saving grace for me came when I needed to renew my auto insurance policy. I noticed (in February!) I had something called "mechanical breakdown" coverage with a $200.00 deductible. I did look over my policy at the time of the breakdown but somehow I over looked it - possibly because I didn't really know what I was looking for. The repair had already been made - incidentally the original quote was about $5200.00 and when I balked I was put on hold and then told it would cost me $4800.00 out the door. The happy ending for me was even though i filed a claim after the repair was made my insurance company (Geico) reimbursed me - and didn't even take the $200 deductible.
Check your auto policy - there may be some relief there.
Good Luck
We're three payments away from being out of car debt on a 2006 Freestyle. It is almost four years old with 59,000 miles. We have gotten the "idiot" wrench and check engine lights to come on. This has happened not more than ten times. The warning lights go away once the car is turned off, which made it difficult to follow up on. The last few times the car's CVT seemed to slip into neutral when travelling at 60-70 mph. RPMs soar and vehicle cannot keep speed. This caught our attention.
Took it into dealer... One hour later, we get the good news bad news. Good news is that the whole transmission does not have to be replaced for $5000. Bad news is that it will be $1700. This was delivered as if we needed a $30 oil change.
Decided to take it to another dealer to get a 2nd opinion. This dealer is where we have bought cars for last 30 years (probably 25+ cars), but now has new ownership. After three hours, same diagnosis, but delivered better from service department. So, I decide to talk to sales to see what I could get on a trade in. I told sales about the CVT diagnosis and to make me a great offer (as this could be the last Ford that I ever buy brand new). Sales came back with $2500 (net of my last three payments). Needless to say, I blew a gasket! I looked the sales guy in the eye and said why should I buy another Ford product? After four years of paying off my Freestyle, I am left with $2500. There was a long period of silence. He said that I should have bought the extended warranty! Ya think...
Keeping my fingers crossed, but car has driven well since. Any advice out there?
My vote: Keep the car. Fix it for $1700. Cars do break. Consumer Reports says our Freestyles fail less often than the average. The $2500 offer for your car was intended to be a starting negotiation for your car, since the sales team is in business to make as much money as possible. The actual worth of your Freestyle is somewhere around $13,000, U.S. dollars.
Thanks again.
Also, I'm not sure what you paid for the Freestyle initially, but if you paid $28,000 you can think of the $1700 as an initial cost, so would it have been worth $29,700 for the car?
And if you paid $1200 for an extended warranty to get the repair for free, you're still only out the difference or about $500.
Not that this will help much, but something to think about. My case is just the opposite.
I wonder if the transmission shop will own up to their mistake, since a new transmission CVT is about $5,000.
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!
Same thing happened to me in October '08. Luckily I was on the entrance ramp and was able to pull over. They put in a new tranny for $4300. I have a three year warranty on it. But you are right - it happened once and there was no good explanation for why it failed and it could easily happen again. This is the car I drive my kids to school in everyday.
Good Luck
Does anyone know how to actually start a post, I want to 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!