Ford Freestyle - Taurus X

lateralg

For you CVT owners:

1) On continued steady up-grades, does the engine/transmission sound or feel distressed?

2) Do you get adequate engine braking on down-grades?

bruneau1

I don't know if the front and rear speakers are the same, but the the menu feature (driver's seat, rear, all speakers} makes a bit difference. Check out that.

spears2

As far as I know, that feature isn't available on the SEL 6-disc head unit. Only on the Limited.

bruneau1

Having done some driving in the conditions you describe, I can say that our FWD Limited never sounded distressed, in fact it did a great job, but of course we could hear the greatly increased rpms. The Duratec isn't as smooth as a Honda engine, but I have no complaints. There were two of us aboard with our dog. An AWD with a full load might sound and feel distressed under similar conditions. Our hill calibration seems to work fine; I have to brake a lot less. if i want some powerful acceleration, I take it to 4500 rpms (torque peak}. It does a great job there and doesn't make any ugly noises. I haven't floored it yet. When you do that, it goes to 5800 rpms instantly and is pretty loud (auto magazine reports} .

freestylegal

Steady up-grades, especially with any weight on board can be a little loud, but you don't feel like you're not gonna make it. Your mileage will suck, but you make that up on the downhill side (I drive my 2005 FWD SEL up to Truckee quite often).

On my work commute, I've got a long, fairly steep grade to get home. With my Expedition and my better half's F-150, you have to disengage the overdrive. The CVT does brake itself fairly well as compared to other large vehicles I've driven. You can see the RPMs rise at first, then steadies itself out. I really love the CVT--it's intuitive, responsive, and smooooooth.

blue05

Ford's Audiophile and MACH systems are made by Visteon Corporation some have 80 watt internal amp . This may allow you to upgrade and keep your controls. Ford also just signed a deal with Pioneer for some 06 and 07 models so maybe you can still get a real radio with controls.

ljl5

I have the 6 CD changer. It stinks. It's the same crappy unit in all the Freestyles at the dealership near me and in the 500's also. So far, Ford is playing dumb. These CD units are defective! Does anyone here have a solution? Is the single CD with cassette as good as the Explorer units?

xnappo

Just occured to me that perhaps the radio is set to "dual play"? The dual play feature mutes the rear speakers so that the front passengers can listen to music while the rear passengers listen to the DVD headphones.

Hit '2' and '4' at the same time to turn this feature on/off.

Regards,
xnappo

joemilx

Distressed, no. Rev up, yes. I keep a light touch on the throttle and the engine revs to 3,000 or above on a very long upgrade heading toward Santa Fe from Albuquerque. But it easily maintains 75 mph up the entire grade on I-25.

The CVT provides good engine braking on the long downgrades I experience: much better than our Escape's auto. Basically, I just have to stab the Freestyle's brake once in a while to maintain a reasonable speed. I was constantly on the Escape's brakes on the same downhills.

I live in northern New Mexico in the Sangre de Christo mountains (southern Rockies) and have no complaints. I average 22-23 mpg (18-19 around town and 25-26 on several mountain road trips).

'95 SEL AWD

kenibrew

We are looking for a used family car and had narrowed it down from the CR-V, Forester, Pilot, and many more to the Toyota Highlander--mainly for reliability and roominess (my son is 6' 3" and will still have a few more years in the back seat). Then we ran into a Ford Freestyle on a lot today. We had never heard of it, but it looked good, felt roomy, and the price for a 2005 Limited with 6K miles was less than the 2003 Limited Highlander with 25K miles we had our eye on. The Highlander ride seems smoother and the Highlander 3.0L V6 seemed a little more peppy than the Freestyle, but for the price difference, I think I could live with the differences.

Has anyone compared a Highlander with the Freestyle?

Also, another dealer we are working with just told me the Freestyle was going to be discontinued after this year. Anyone hear anything like that?

Thanks.

passat_2002

The Freestyle is not being discontinued. It's a bad rumor that someone started on one of these boards months ago that won't seem to die.

The Freestyle is built on a slightly modified version of the Volvo P3 chassis on which the Volvo XC90 is built. The Highlander is built on a Camry chassis. In addition, the Freestyle is a newer design, has far more room inside, gets better gas mileage, and has far easier access to the third-row seating. The CVT transmission is a big plus as well. And if crash scores figure in your decision, the Freestyle was awarded a 5-Star rating for both front and side impact. What is remarkable about this is that the 5-Star side-impact rating was achieved without the optional head-curtain or side-impact air bags. It's a Volvo at a Ford price.

bobw3

The main difference is that the Freestyle has a usable 3rd row and actual space behind row three. And it's cheaper than the Highlander.

dlaporte

Our final decision came down to the Highlander and Freestyle as well (in our case, an '05 Freestyle Limited vs the '06 Highlander Limited). Based on our criteria, seating capacity, price, and a general dislike of SUVs, there really wasn't much of a comparison. The interior of the Highlander felt much more chintzy and bare-bones than the Freestyle to me, and the third row of seats in the Freestyle was actually comfortable and usuable (I'm 6'2 and it wasn't too bad back there). The Freestyle interior almost reminded me of the Jetta I traded for it, which I think reflects Ford's new focus on improving the interior. As you mentioned, it's not as peppy as I would like, but I've found it's perfectly adequate.

From what I've read, it was reported that Ford would no longer make the Freestyle under the Ford name after the '07 model. It will then be re-styled and become a Mercury (with a higher price, no doubt). I don't believe Ford has acknowledged the report, but it hasn't denied it either. I remember reading somewhere that it's the least profitable of Fords models, partially due to the dollar's drop against the euro and its impact on the cost of the CVT transmission and AWD system (German and Swedish). Sounds reasonable to me, although I don't know if it's true.

I've had my Freestyle for about a week now, and bought it knowing about the discontinuation rumors and having to fight friends and family begging for me to buy the Toyota. I can't speak to long-term reliability, but I grow more fond of it every day I have it.

Dave

dlaporte

Is it just a rumor? This is a column from Forbes that talks fairly extensively about it and mentions the original Automotive News item:

http://www.forbes.com/columnists/columnists/2005/08/02/ford-gm-backseatdriver-cz_jf_0802fl- int.html
https://www.autonews.com/buyArchives.cms?articleId=53858

I certainly hope it is, but I'm not so sure.

dlaporte

Does anyone have any advice on the best path to run the XM antenna to the roof? I will be installing this bracket:

http://www.gbxdirect.com/store/satellite_radio_mount_kit.php?make=Ford&model=Freestyle

and using the built-in FM modulator. I'd love to be able to do a hard-wire modulator and tap directly into the vehicle power, but I'm a novice at all this. Any ideas for the cleanest install?

thanks!

elibruno

I have my XM antenna on the middle of top of front windshield- it should be near the radio antenna which is also in the front of vehicle. Plays Perfect!!! Had the XM Roady installed with modulator for under $50 at Best Buy and used the cup-holder adapter rather than what you have pictured. Thus able to rotate the unit while hard-wired without difficulty.

dlaporte

Do you have it on the inside or outside of the windshield? Are you using a wireless or wired modulator?

thanks,
Dave

manasota

The funny thing about those car marketing articles is they never mention the Mustang or the Explorer. Next time you at any busy intersection look around, you see several of each.

stmss

We compared the Highlander. I think the bottom line on these two vehicles is space. The Freestyle has more of it. It is a larger vehicle (I think a foot longer or so) and this certainly shows up in leg room in the back seats. The Highlander will have higher resale but you will pay for some of that up front. The Freestyle is less money for a similar equipped car. I will admit, I did not drive the Highlander. Once I compared the interior and matched it with my needs, I did not see the point.

spears2

I don't have the DVD player, so I don't have this feature enabled on my radio.">

cliffs1

PIE has finally introduced an Aux adapter for the Freestyle. The model number is FRD04-AUX, just google that part number and a ton of websites selling it will come up. Average price seems to be around $90.00

northlakes

It will be 6.5 weeks until my Redfire SEL Freestyle is one year old. Still love it! I saw two Freebies at work today. It takes some people a while to catch on. :shades:

edmeyer01

the first release of that adapter has had teething problems with the vehicle electrics, but PIE is working to get a revised design that addresses the problems out quickly. It should be out very soon.

pnewby

We must have purchased about the same time. Bought my Merlot Limited AWD on 11/29/05. As I have said before, traded a Y2K Lincoln LS, and I still don't know why the auto hacks continue to talk about "underpowered". I just haven't seen it.

saram

I read a post in here where someone had their cd player radio replace and the only thing that lit up was the clock/radio station, none of the other buttons lit up. Then someone posted that the new radio wasn't programed for the car?? How does the deal go about reprogramming it?? I had mine replaced and I really don't drive much after dark, but with the sun coming up later it is still dark when I go to work in the morning and I noticed that my new radio is doing the exact same thing. I took it to the dealer on Tuesday and they looked and looked and looked some more....Said they had to order a new radio??? But I am thinking if all this one has to do is be reprogrammed, how do they do that??
12,450 miles on our FreeStyle and loving it more and more every day!

northlakes

Though I picked mine up around December 1st, I was one of those who ordered in early September. A long wait...

I agree about the power. Freeway merging, passing, and such have been great. In addition, the four-wheel disc brakes are very good at hauling the Freestyle to a stop (especially at traffic lights with short duration yellows). It acts like a smaller vehicle than it is, and carries stuff like a larger vehicle than it is. And it is fun too. Nice work Ford engineers.

Pnewby, glad that your Merlot has been good to you as well. When the Anniversary comes around, I may celebrate by adding a fresh coat of wax. :shades:

nitromax

II took it to the dealer on Tuesday and they looked and looked and looked some more....Said they had to order a new radio??? But I am thinking if all this one has to do is be reprogrammed, how do they do that??

The dealer calls up Ford and says "Hello, Ford? Our technicians are idiots and don't have a clue how to service these Freestyles. In fact, our salesmen are idiots too....but that's another story....Could you please send us the instructions on installing the Ford OEM radio for the Freestyle correctly?
thank you"

oh, but I'm not bitter....
:-)

LOL

scootertrash

nitromax

It looks less like the Meta One concept and more like the current Freestyle.

cmuniz

I have had a repeat performance of your situation and was going to ask the same question when I saw your message. I had my radio replaced and now it won't light up although the skipping problem has been resolved. The dealer says they have to order another new radio. It's hard for me to believe that it is a defect with the radio, but they have ordered another anyway. If anyone has been able to successfully replace a radio that lights up please tell us what the trick is so we can educate the service folks. Someone mentioned a 16 pin vs 24 pin connection on the Fivehundred forum so maybe that's the answer.

On another note, just finished a 2,000 mile trip to New England and the Freestyle was the perfect vehicle for the trip. Four people and 10 pieces of luggage traveled very comfortably with 24.6 mpg according to the message center.

bruneau1

The Mercury looks elegant. Where is the photo from? The Meta One is chunky looking and overwrought. With a new engine, looks to be a winner.

cliffs1

What are teething problems? I've read about issues with the 500 and the Mustang but that was specifically related to the fact that those cars don't have an RES option so the radio is different...

volfangary

I have had my radio replaced. I made sure to print out a copy of the TSB that was referred to in a previous post on this board and taped it to old radio so they would see it. If they don't follow steps related to programing new radio exactly as described in TSB, lights will not work. Another example of poor service work by a "trained" ford tech. Do a search on this board for radio and /or TSB and you will find a previous post with TSB included.

cmuniz

Thanks!! You are right - I took a copy of the TSB to the dealer the first time I took it in and when they replaced the unit. They indicated that they knew all about it and didn't need the copy I gave them. Consequently, I didn't take it in or re-read it when I went in this time to get the backlight problem fixed. I have now re-read it and it clearly states that it must be programmed correctly or there will be no backlights. This was my mistake for not rechecking and for actually thinking that the Ford techs would know what to do. I'll go back next week with TSB in hand. Thanks again for reminding me of something I should have known but didn't take the time to verify.

tim156

I purchased a custom fit grey velour dash mat ($44.95) from autoanything.com in an attempt to reduce the windshield glare. It partially worked and reduced the overall glare maybe 30 to 40 percent. I noticed the same amount of glare when driving into the sun but less at other times. The velour has a bit of a shine to it. The fit and finish are very good. I altered it slightly by cutting off the portion nearest the windshield which surrounds the defroster vents and auto headlight sensor, leaving tabs on the front corners. I had to buy some 1" square adhesive back velcro because the velcro that came with the mat had less than adequate adhesive. It looks good, and will preserve the dash from sun damage so I'm happy with the purchase.

bruneau1

Thanks for the info. Does the mat cover any portion of the center console? What about the dash storage cover?

tim156

It only covers the top of the dashboard area. It's formed to fit above and around the hump of the instrument panel, and before my modifications, tucks into between the windshield the front of the dash. The center storage and release button, passenger side air bag and side defroster vents are precut.
I just visited www.dashmat.com and the cover is $5.00 cheaper, although there may be shipping charges. Shipping was included at autoanything.com. Hope this helps.

manasota

I bought the Dashmat brand and it doesn't fit worth a darn. It won't lay flat no matter how much double sided tape I use. It serves the purpose but really looks like crap. I'm returning it for a refund.

volfangary

2006 Ford Freestyle Earns IIHS 'Best Pick' Rating for Frontal Crash Test Performance

10-13-05 03:28 PM EST |

-- The 2006 Ford Freestyle crossover has earned the highest available
rating and a "best pick" designation in frontal offset crash test
performance by the IIHS.
-- Freestyle recently was recognized as the top performer in its category
in the government's 2005 NCAP rollover stability test.
-- IIHS also recognized Ford's Five Hundred family sedan, F-150 pickup and
Freestar minivan as other recent "best pick" performers in its frontal
offset crash test.

DEARBORN, Mich., Oct. 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The 2006 Ford Freestyle

has earned the highest available rating of Good, and a "best pick" designation in frontal offset crash test performance by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).

Following its recent 40-m.p.h. offset frontal barrier crash test, IIHS noted that Freestyle's occupant compartment experienced minimal intrusion by maintaining its integrity very well -- an essential factor in helping to protect vehicle occupants in a frontal crash.

According to IIHS chief operating officer Adrian Lund, the driver's side of the vehicle needs to absorb the energy of a crash and keep the occupant compartment intact. "The Freestyle's performance is what we like to see," Lund said. "Ford has done a good job of designing its newest vehicles to better protect occupants in frontal crashes."

IIHS also noted other recent good performers from the Ford stable including the Five Hundred family sedan, F-150 pickup, and Freestar minivan. All three vehicles -- as well as the Mercury Montego sedan and Mercury Monterey minivan -- previously earned the Institute's "Good-best pick" rating for frontal crash safety performance.

Freestyle and Five Hundred -- as well as Mercury Montego -- recently were recognized as top performers in their respective categories in the government's 2005 rollover stability test, and earned five star performance ratings in NHTSA's front and side impact crash tests.

"Creating safe, high-quality, affordable vehicles for our customers is part of our ongoing commitment to safety innovation," said Sue Cischke, vice president of Environmental and Safety Engineering, Ford Motor Company. "We are very pleased to see this recognition of Freestyle and our other vehicles."

Freestyle sets an impressive benchmark for safety with its available innovative Safety Canopy(TM) system, an industry-exclusive safety feature that offers enhanced head protection for all three rows of outboard occupants, should side impact collisions or rollover accidents occur.

Freestyle's side-impact protection raises the industry bar by using laser- welding techniques for side pillars that redirect crash forces underneath the vehicle's seats. This energy is further channeled through a cross-car tube.

Ford also breaks new safety ground with Freestyle's innovative adaptive steering column that collapses horizontally at two different load levels based on safety belt usage and seat position. Driver air-bag deployment level is tailored to the occupant, based on the position of the driver's seat track.

Its many accolades during its first year include being among Parents magazine's and AAA's best cars for families, as well as being named the Official Winter Vehicle by the New England Motor Press Association.

SOURCE Ford Motor Company

northlakes

Thanks for the great article. We have a winner here. Since the source is Ford, I hope the Ford marketers and product managers read it too. :shades:

globecanvas

Hmm, that looks like ... a Freestyle. With exactly 2 parts replaced (upper and lower grille). And some detail drawn above the headlights to make them look different, though I don't think the headlights themselves are actually different.

If this is really Mercury's Freestyle, I'd say the Freestyle isn't dead, in fact I'd say it's not really changing at all -- just a different emblem and new wheels.

(t also looks like a computer-generated image, I have to say.)

figueroafamily

Our Figgie Freebie :P became one year old on Sep 27. Man, time flies! (Although it's more pleasant while inside Freebies .)

Those of you that were around way back recall the pictures I did for both the New York Auto Show and the vehicle that would become ours. I was among the first on the forum to get one, and thus "my fifteen e-posts of fame" came forth .

For those new to the forum: Sam's photos

I must say the forum greatly helped my buying experience, and enjoyed it all a ton.

While our stillborn loss set back our second row occupation plans , we don't give up. We'll try again :shades: . After all, Freebies are best on family applications .

Sam

rbco

hi guys,

I have previously mentioned my city MPG issues. I just got back from a trip to Wash DC from NJ. Here is what I noticed, and was wondering if maybe I found my issue (i doubt it).

Highway MPG was between 24.0 and 24.3, totally awesome.

City again , just stinks, MPG less than 15. My kid tells me i would be better off with a Hummer. I have been very cognizant of driving style and have been keeping tach under 2. Here is what i think I might have found...... What does your tach idle at? I think mine is idling at 1? When idling, shouldnt it be much lower? If so, can dealer make an adjustment. I sure hope so, because so far I really like the car, except for the city mileage. I rarely drive on highway, hence a big issue for me.

thanks very much

ron

rbco

Hi,

Actually my tach is idling at 0.75.

thanks

ron

volfangary

Mine is at .75 when at idle.

tim156

I removed my Dashmat this morning while driving. The sun was behind me and I still noticed a lot of glare. I retract my previous statement that it reduced the glare 30 to 40%. After driving more with it installed, I now think it increased the glare. After I removed it, the glare disappeared almost completely (driving away from the rising sun). I cleaned my dash with rubbing alcohol before installing the mat which removed all factory shine and low shine Armorall. It left the dash with a dull finish, which I don't like, but the glare seems less.
The fit was fine on my Dashmat after I cut off the front portion which surrounded the defroster vents. Unfortunately, now I can't return it. If you want to save the dash from sun damage consider buying one. If you want to reduce glare, don't.

nitromax

Hi Sam,

I remember your original posts and followed your progress with the new car while I contemplated getting one myself.
thanks for being a pioneer!

I wish you the best of luck with your "second seat occupation plans". Your "family" time will come, and I'll bet that the first smile of your child will wash away all of the sadness that you may still have.

bruneau1

Sounds as though i may as well stick with the dark brown towel that I lay folded on the top of the dash. I chose the darkest color that harmonized and non-shiny material. Works great and I take it off easily if not needed.

cmuniz

Well the saga is over. I took the car back to the dealer today along with the TSB #05-10-19 and read the service writer the portion about programing the radio using the PMI procedure. After discussing with the service manager they apologized and in about 30 min had the back lights working again. All is well now!!

saram

Could you please tell me how to go about finding a copy of TSB#05-10-19 so I can print it out and take to the dealer when he calls me to let me know my second replacement radio is in? I have tried finding it and have had no luck on my own so far.

Thank you very much!!