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Ford Freestyle CVT Transmissions

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Comments

  • kgudenschwagerkgudenschwager Member Posts: 1
    I bout my 06 Dec. of 2012 it now has been 9 months and my freestyle has 111000 miles. I live 3 hours from any real town (by that I mean a town with fast food or even a walmart). On my way back with my family from the civilized world my car started to jolt and cut off my cruse control and dropped my speed down to a max of 50 mph. My check engine light came on and as well as the wrench and traction control light. If I stop and restart my car only the engine light stays on. I can’t believe that a car with so little miles the newest car I have ever had would have such problems. Also to find out that I’m not the only one gives me mixed feeling happy I’m not the only and pissed that ford won’t do anything about it. I would also like to become part of this lawsuit. Please let me know how.
  • newt001newt001 Member Posts: 1
    I have a 1 income family of 5, a I'm horrified, to see I'm stuck in the same nightmare as everyone else in this forum, I got online to get to the bottom of this due to the exact same symptoms everyone is experiencing, I actually thought I could fix on my own by changing all trany filters and putting actual CVT fluid back in. I now see tthat's a waste of time and money that we as a family don't have. I'm highly scared for us because were at the stages where the whinning is real profound until its put into drive, but once its put into reverse and movement is engaged the whinning is increased 100 fold. How long do we have and is there anything I can do to prolong its life with anadditive of some sort, with as much as we depend on our vehicle, I need help as we all do.2007 Freestyle, nothing free about it
  • prkiddprkidd Member Posts: 1
    I have a 2005 Ford Freestyle w/ 150k+ on it and just found out my transmission is going bad as we'll with the issue being the CVT. What is Ford Motor Company doing to fix this issue? It make the 'helicopter' sound.
  • trishaiamtrishaiam Member Posts: 4
    They are doing absolutely nothing but sending you to the nearest Ford dealership so you can fix your car at your expense. I reported them to BBB also but they are taking the complaint but that's all. I vowed to never buy another Ford again in my life. I've had a mustang, expedition, tempo and etc. and everyone one of them I've had major problems with. I sold the Freestyle online for $2k to someone that was willing to get it fixed. A new transmission was $6k and a used one was between $2k-$3k and I could not and would not put another penny into it. The car was very beautiful and fully loaded but that doesn't get me to and from my job daily. Ford does not stand behind their raggedy cars and I promise to never buy another one. I now own a Nissan Pathfinder and actually did my research and goggled it BEFORE buying it. If I would've done this with the Freestyle I would've seen all the complaints that people had already reported on it. LESSON WELL LEARNED!
  • trishaiamtrishaiam Member Posts: 4
    No they have not recalled them and not going to. What the DNV is saying is since nobody has died behind the wheel and it's not considered a safety risk then they won't recall it. But actually my transmission went out on me while I was driving on the highway. Thank God it was at night time and traffic was not heavy. So me and my daughter was stranded in the middle of the highway........ Ford is doing absolutely nothing but sending you to the nearest Ford dealership so you can fix your car at your expense. I reported them to BBB also but they are taking the complaint but that's all. I vowed to never buy another Ford again in my life. I've had a mustang, expedition, tempo and etc. and everyone one of them I've had major problems with. I sold the Freestyle online for $2k to someone that was willing to get it fixed. A new transmission was $6k and a used one was between $2k-$3k and I could not and would not put another penny into it. The car was very beautiful and fully loaded but that doesn't get me to and from my job daily. Ford does not stand behind their raggedy cars and I promise to never buy another one. I now own a Nissan Pathfinder and actually did my research and goggled it BEFORE buying it. If I would've done this with the Freestyle I would've seen all the complaints that people had already reported on it. LESSON WELL LEARNED!
  • phidgetyphidgety Member Posts: 1
    Just got the bad news! Our 2006 Ford Freestyle needs a complete transmission replacement for $6,000.
    We have just 46,000 miles of light-duty driving and had no indication of any problems till an abrupt breakdown.
    I'd appreciate contact information for the top Ford managers in charge of such matters, as well as for any class action lawsuit.
  • rgalligherrgalligher Member Posts: 1
    There are a lot of complaints on the Ford CVT's here but what you don't realize is that there are many other auto makes and models other than Ford with CVT's and similar if not same issues. With that said, there are older autos with CVT's and no issues. With today's autos being mechanically complex, is is well worth it to purchase extended warranties. I have one and will not fret should my CVT go out. Everything else on my '05 Freestyle Limited is in mint condition and runs great too. I've had some noise in my CVT but the dealership says there is nothing to fix, at least right now, so, I'm not going to worry about it.
  • really13really13 Member Posts: 1
    Please call Ford at 800-392-3673 without reports they will not recall the part/s.
  • aeaf13aeaf13 Member Posts: 1

    I've had the same sporadic Freestyle problems as other posters here and am at the 'to fix or not to fix' stage. Getting the wrench more frequently now and the vehicle stops sooner without letting me limp to the side of the road and won't restart as easily. For those that have paid for a new tranny - was it worth it or are problems still occurring? $6k is a lot but still cheaper than a new car.

  • musicalmerlinmusicalmerlin Member Posts: 4

    We bought ours new in 2005 with the full knowledge that the Mercury salesperson I trust warned both myself and my father that several people including the engineers at Ford had serious misgivings about the transmission. We chose to buy the extended warranty to cover ourselves just in case. Everyone I've talked to believes the Freestyle is just too big a car for a CVT. Our transmission went the first time about 1 year into ownership. The car was in at the dealership shop for a full month waiting for O rings because the regional service manager wouldn't open a rebuild kit for them and they weren't available separately yet. It took pointing out to the service manager we were within 2-3 days of my being able to file on the lemon law in NH (30 business days in the shop) to get the logjam unstuck.

    Transmission finally started acting up again @ 125k miles just before Christmas. So we got about 100k miles out of a rebuilt transmission (rebuilt by the dealership no less). It seems like the transmission light only comes on when it is slogging through snow so far. I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop. 9 years, while I'm not thrilled about, at least I got 5 years of payment free driving out of the car. We're still deciding whether to drive the car until the tranny goes completely or proactively replace it now.

    I would like to point out Ford isn't the only company putting CVT transmissions into their cars. Regardless of the manufacturer if you see a car with a CVT back away, especially if it is semi-high mileage or you intend to drive the car into the ground. The fluid is expensive and apparently they are much more costly to repair (if at all!) than an automatic. I know I'll never look at another one until empirical evidence proves to me they are no more expensive to maintain, repair or replace than an automatic. In the meantime I'm looking for a manual transmission car.

    I won't join in the lawsuit because I purchased the car in spite of my forehand knowledge of the reservations regarding the transmission on the part of trustworthy salespeople and Ford engineering. And for all you waving the Honda banner out there, my wife and I don't fit into the front passenger seat of any recent model Honda we've tried in the past several years. Glove compartment swoops down too low. Even in the Odyssey and Pilot. :P I had problems with a VW 1.8T Passat blowing blue smoke whenever it got cold and the dealership not knowing what to do with it; and we can't trust local Subaru dealerships further than we can throw one of their cars. Toyota - I haven't had any personal issues with them but until they've proven they know how to produce quality given their current size I'm going to steer away from them as well. Everyone is going to have their personal automobile manufacturers they hate for good reason.

  • vahagvahag Member Posts: 1

    Can someone tell where located transmission control module(TSM) on Ford Freestyle 2005.I know that my car's problem TSM but i don't know where it is so i can change it.

  • cfenschcfensch Member Posts: 3
    I am heartbroken.

    Three months ago, we sold my wife's 2001 Ford Explorer and purchased a 2007 Ford Freestyle for my wife. My wife has had Multiple Sclerosis for 17 years. There are very few vehicles that she can actually get in and out of to drive...the Ford Freestyle was an ideal choice for her.

    The Freestyle we purchased has only 43,000 miles on it and a clean Carfax report. She's only put 800 miles on it since we bought it.

    Last week, the transmission gave out. We were quoted anywhere from $1,200 to $5,000 from our local Ford dealer to take care of it...something we simply cannot afford because we are a one-income family, and we still owe on the vehicle.

    I opened a case with Ford to beg for some financial assistance to get it taken care of. Today, we found out that they are unable to provide any. My wife no longer has a vehicle to drive, and I have to use mine to get to work. We don't have a third vehicle.

    This is a horrible blow to my family. I have had many Ford vehicles in my life, and I have never heard of a problem like this. I am at a total loss as to what to do. I would certainly like to hear some sort of response from Ford other than "we have nothing to offer you to help get it taken care of."

    I have owned many Fords, and have never had any problems like this...especially with a vehicle with only 43,000 miles on it. I've been loyal to the brand (and by the way, I work for a Chevrolet dealership). It's not an isolated incident.

    Is there anyone at Ford who is willing to look into this and maybe give us some help? And I definitely would like to join a class action lawsuit.
  • danallandanallan Member Posts: 32
    My transmission was flawless. You can get it somewhat cheap now.
    These guys have it now..2007 year. http://www.kirchhayn.com/
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    Ouch - your son was lucky. :o
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