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Ford Freestyle Meet the Members
Introduce yourself and get to know other Freestyle owners here.
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My name is Sara. I live in Ohio and have had my SEL FreeStyle since mid March of 2005. Absolutely love it!
Take care and looking forward to chatting with other FreeStyle owners!
My name is Tim and I live in Minneapolis, Minnesota. I purchased my Redfire Metallic Freestyle SE in early March and think this is the best car I've owned in my 33 years of driving. I chose the SE with Convenience Group and TC because of the price and it came with all the standard features I needed. I only wish it had a better stereo system.
The car seems the perfect blend of SUV, wagon, and minivan. I prefer the car-like, swinging rear doors like an SUV/wagon vs the sliding rear doors of van, I like the high seating position like an SUV/van vs the down-in-the-hole experience of most sedans/wagons, I like the huge amount of easily accessible (just fold down the seats) cargo room, and the ride and comfort are much more sedan/wagon-like than the more truck-like ride and noise that an SUV might give you.
I continue to love the CVT. In spite of other comments I've seen claiming that it takes getting used to, I don't find that to be the case at all. It just feels like a very smooth-shifting automatic. Mileage on the first fill-up was about 24 in combined city/highway.
When we bought, Ford was offering 0.0% financing for up to five years. We took it for five years (why would you ever not?).
We made one long trip to SC and the car was great to travel in, very comfortable to drive and entertaining (DVD) for the passengers.
This is Archie with greetings from sunny Chilliwack,B.C. Wonder why guys from HogTown would buy a vehicle with sunroof. I hear it's always raining out there and in the winter you get too much snow.Hehehe.
No no ... we do get nice weather here in Toronto for about three months (lol). Here we think you guys in BC get all the rain.
How is your Freestyle? Nice, eh? I feel kind of concerned when I hear about some folks with those tranny problems. Mine runs just great so I'm hoping that it's just the odd one ( 1 in 500,000) thats failing.
Oh .. I actually thought of you today when I put in a CD and the player gave me the artist and title. I'm wrong ... my SEL's radio has that capability to read the CD. It's just that I only have one CD that shows this (lol).
Still cheesed off about the failed tire ... but will vent on Ford survey when it arrives.
You got me beat on the number of cedars you packed in that other vehicle (Explorer) of yours ...
How ya doing? Yeah the Freestyle Ltd AWD runs great.It's the wife's car and i use every excuse to go buy a loaf of bread at the other end of town so i can rack up a few miles of enjoyable driving.The message center is kinda cool and i want her to learn how to get used to it and watch out for any warning signs.
Not very comforting to hear about some unlucky people running into CVT problems.I checked this site for recalls,etc.Fortunately none so far except for a few TSBs which I take it being a fixable thing and most likely software related.....
http://alldata.com/TSB/20/052088eh.html
The only thing that bothers me is that forum members reported the dealers REPLACED the CVT , and that means more serious stuff as mechanical failure of the CVT.
Although I'm guessing that some dealers are unfamiliar with the CVT, Ford is playing it safe to authorize a few replacements so they can analyse the problems and avoid a
huge disastrous recall.
BTW did you buy into extended service warranty? I didn't as the dealer quoted $2300 !!
Guys down south are buying it around $700+ which isn't too bad.I think we can still buy it within the first year , not sure, haven't checked it out yet.
Thanks for the link. Looks like minor problems so far. Lots of theories on why Ford replaced the whole CVT on some problem vehicles. I have a couple.
First , I have a brother who works at Ford Canada. He told me that Ford has very little tolerance with supplier quality issues. If there is a faulty part then Ford replaces it and returns the faulty part back to the supplier. So I can see the dealer wrap up the tranny and return to the supplier. This better not happen alot or you can imagine Ford's response.
Second, the tranny is pretty simple, but if a software glitch caused overheating of fluids, etc. then Ford won't take a chance and replace the whole thing. Who knows.
Regarding warranty ... I trade about every four years and am a low mileage guy so I don't really need extended warranty. My previous vehicle (2002 Explorer XLT) had ZERO problems in my four years of ownership and it was a new design. I expect the same with my SEL.
I love the CVT in my AWD model and the room is simply too much. I'm looking forward to discussing the Freestyle here.
Ron
I owned a 2002 Explorer XLT (V6) before this FS so I know what you mean. My XLT was one classy vehicle and still looks good when I see one. But I followed you and went to a crossover. No regrets. My FS is a bit more comfortable to ride in and the gas prices up here make it the right way to go.
Mark
I'm from L A area. My wife & me just got the SEL (green platinum) less than 3 weeks ago. To test it (I just love FORD) we took it for a ride to Steamboat Springs CO. All I will say is... what a comfort, smoothness and pleasure is to be on the Freestyle.
Plus before we leave. We did install a 12" Screen built in DVD/TV tuner, so the kids were happy all the way.
So fa">r around 3000 miles and very HAPPY!!
Will be taking it on a long driving vacation next week. Actually looking forward to driving the Freestyle (would prefer my RX7 but it won't fit the three of us). Much nicer to drive than her previous Dodge Caravan.
Picking up a Black AWD SEL later this week. Got the moonroof, 2nd-row bench (dealing with 2 car seats) and Cold weather group.
I had been back and forth on a Dodge GC with Stow-N-Go (my head) and the Freestyle (my heart ... or at least the part that knows what our budget was). BTW - lurking on Edmumds for owner experience was a large part of this. Employee pricing pushed us to move on it now. Wife actually was ok with Freestyle (although not the Titanium green - less optioned one I had initially driven and had priced), so that clinched it.
Cheers.
I am also dissapointed with the overall performance of the entire audio system. The sound feels like it is coming from the floor (which it nearly is) and the base does not seem to have any "resonance" or "presence". Considering the price of this vehicle it should have been much better.
If you have 6 CD's in the changer and you want to play a new one you must remove one of the stored CD's and then store the new one. The Chrysler Pacifica has both the 6CD changer and a single CD player. A much better set up.
There is adjustment in the bass and treble. Also fade and balance.
As for the funkiness in the CD changer setup, Ford has been that way with their changers since at least 2002 - my mother in law had an Explorer Sport Trac and it had the same setup. So far my CD/MP3 player is great, I even made a test CD with 200 MP3s and it plays them all fine.
I have reviewed all the messages in this Freestyle Forum. It appears that MOST of the owners are happy with their vehicles. I am sitting on the fence and unable to decide if I should buy the Freestyle. I have a few questions:
1) How is the "build" quality of this vehicle? Any rattles, squeaks or leaks in the first 60 days?
2) The CVT is a new/untested transmission. Ford has been selling this vehicle for almost a year now. However, only a couple of folks have reported problems with the CVT. From my viewpoint, the reliability of the CVT is still an open question. Any thoughts on this?
Thanks!
Since the CVT is a relatively new product for Ford I don't think you'll get any information on long term reliability. I wiill say that Ford has done an excellent job of matching the engine performance and CVT. They work great as a team to keep the Freestyle running smooth and with adequate power.
The only complaint I have is, being tall, the "conversation" mirror blocks part of the rearview mirror when it is down. I have a three year old in the back, so that mirror comes in handy. Also, I'd kind of like for the second row captain's chairs to have armrests, but maybe I should just buy a second row console.......
I'm really glad I went with the Freestyle for both the comfort of city driving and for the longer road trips we plan to take. The GC drives very much like a van (like it's supposed to - just not my preference) and it's noisy on the highway.
Here's the funny part - getting the dogs into the car. The rear seems a lot higher when you are lifting one 63 lb dog followed by a 68 lb dog. They were just too dang short to climb in! So I got to get my work clothes covered in dog hair and hound stink. The plywood worked great and they were too short to climb over the 2nd row seat backs.
Anybody remember Jerry Reed picking up Fred in Smokey and the Bandit? It was a lot like that. I'll post a follow up once I find something that gets dog snot off of Freestyle windows - I love my dogs, but man they are messy!
We both love the Freebie very much and I got to admit the 18" Pirellis really holds the road very well and IMHO has a slight edge in handling than the 17" Contis.I also notice when I put on my polarized fishing glasses it eliminates almost all the glare.The downside of our light interior is also the carpets tend to look dirty awfully fast. should have taken your advice.
BTW those Air France passengers were sure lucky to survive the crash landing at Pearson Intl. Airport during a fierce thunderstorm.
Like Willie above, my first choice int was the shale, bummer it doesn't come on the Limited. And I came "thiiis close" to buying a silver/shale SEL till I realized the no heated seats. My trade-in volvo xc had the heated seats, as does dh's Acura MDX, so although I felt petty, we decided we had to confine our search to the Limiteds. I wear polarized glasses and haven't had a problem with the glare. I would rather have that than the black, too hot in the summer, that was the only color in or out I put on the definitely do not want list.
The interior isn't as upscale as the xc or the mdx, the carpet is pretty cheap, but I'm getting about 1 mile less per gallon than the volvo in my two days of driving so far and assume it will rise after break in. That plus no longer needing premium gas and (knock on wood) lower maintainance costs with ford caused us to pick this over another xc. My requirements in a new car were:
-drives like a car (the mdx is too far from a car like experience for me)
-decent MPG, low 20's goal, 18-19 ok, most of my driving is highway
-awd
-capacity of a wagon
The incentives pushed us into action. The '99 volvo had 143k and was needing expensive repairs every time I brought it in for service. Some wear and tear items, some not. There had been close to $1500 worth of non-urgent things I had postponed. So it was time.
Got a decent trade-in value, decent salesperson considering they have buyers clamoring at their doors and don't have to go the extra step for you.
Jackie
Ya ... the Air France folks sure got lucky. I live near the airport and saw the smoke from the plane in my back yard, The airport guys are starting to clean up today.
With this weather lately ... winter seems a ways off.
Jackie
Another question is for the life of me, I couldn't determine whether the rental was the AWD model. I think it had the CVT. Does that mean it has to be the AWD? I couldn't see any "AWD" badge, so I wonder..... How else can you tell?
Overall, I can see its appeal. It could definitely use more motor though, which begs the question, why would someone buy it over, say, a Honda Pilot, which has similar capacity, but way more motor.
My name is John; I live in Allentown, PA. I just found this forum while searching the internet for Freestyle accessories. I replaced a 2002 XLT Explorer V8, was my third Explorer. I was planning on another Explorer, but decided to test the Freestyle. I purchased a Dark Shadow Grey SEL, FWD, Sunroof. I love driving the Freestyle and the gas milage is great. I have almost 10,000 miles on the vehicle - the only trouble was the auto window switch for the driver window. Would not work on hot days. I don't think the interior is a well put together as the XLT Explorer, but I can live with it. I would like to have the back window open on the tailgate like the explorer.
John
Whatever the clearance though, it could use a bit more. I went over a bigger-than-normal speed bump, and the car bottomed out on some component under the front axle. And we didn't have a big load in the vehicle.
One thing I do have to say is the CVT seems to be a good marriage with the engine. Very smooth, and seems to put power to the ground very well, in view of the engine's moderate power output.
Best 3rd row I've seen in an SUV/crossover.
As others have complained, the auto-locking feature is annoying (in that it doesn't automatically unlock all doors).
Intermittent wiper switch is awkward to use.
Quality of interior is average at best. Too much plastic, with even metal showing at spots. Maybe Limited version is better.