Investigations
| NHTSA ID | Manufacturer | Date open | Date close | Subject | Recall campaign | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES | ||||||
| PE11039 | FORD MOTOR COMPANY | 12/21/2011 | 04/27/2012 | Corrosion of Third-Row Seat Attachment | ||
| Odi has received 18 complaints on the subject vehicles from the salt belt states that allege severe corrosion at the rear wheel wells.additionally, odi identified 4 similar reports from ford's response to the investigation.ford submitted a total of 10 reports to odi (6 of 10 ford reports are duplicates of odi reports).the complaints indicated difficulty or inability to latch the rear seat as some of the complaints reported the entire anchor plate completely detached from the vehicle (rear wheel well).the first report of this condition was received in march 2011 and subsequent reporting frequency indicates a potentially increasing trend over time.odi seeks to evaluate the potential occupant safety risks resulting from structurally degraded seat anchorages.in addition to the subject vehicles, odi also will collect and review information on my 2005-2007 freestar/monterey vehicles that appear to have a seat design identical to the subject vehicles.to date, odi is not aware of any similar complaints on the my 2005-2007 vehicles.odi also will collect and review information on freestar/monterey vehicles used outside of the salt belt states.this preliminary evaluation has been upgraded to an engineering analysis (ea12-003) to further assess whether a safety defect exists in the subject vehicles.the odi reports cited above can be reviewed online at www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/complaints under the following identification (odi) numbers: 10454977, 10453826, 10452933, 10450587, 10450559, 10450295, 10446564, 10442809, 10441641, 10441489, 10440616, 10438529, 10436592, 10433928, 10424850, 10420028, 10410491 and 10399896. | ||||||
| PE11039 | FORD MOTOR COMPANY | 12/21/2011 | Corrosion of the Third-Row Seat Mounting | |||
| The stowable third-row seat is secured to the vehicle by two latches or anchors on each side of the seat cushion and also by two hinges/supports on the rear face of the seat cushion.the side anchors are mounted to the rear wheel wells.odi has received seven complaints on model year 2004 ford freestar and mercury monterey vehicles which were in use in salt-belt states.the complaints allege that the rear wheel wells were severely corroded with some complaints indicating that an anchor mount completely detached from the vehicle.an investigation has been opened to assess the alleged defect in the subject vehicles. | ||||||
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES | |||
| 09/01/2011 | 1 | ||
| Letter from senator grassley on behalf of constituent problem with the locking mechanism for rear seat of his 2004 ford freestar *tgw the locking mechanism for the rear seat rusted from the inside.*jb | |||
| 12/11/2010 | 114000 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2004 ford freestar. the contact stated the front axle assembly fell off in the driveway. the vehicle was not in any collision or road hazard. the vehicle was towed to a mechanic shop who repaired the vehicle at a cost to the contact. then the rear latch on the cargo door that lifts in the air cannot open. the vehicle was taken to the dealer who stated it will cost $650 for the repairs on the door. the manufacturer was contacted who stated to contact nhtsa. they offered no other assistance. the failure mileage was 114,000. mw | |||
| 11/22/2010 | 57000 | ||
| 2004 ford windstar intermittent problem with driver's side passenger door automatic retraction feature. automatic door will start to close or open when passengers are entering or exiting vehicle and will not retract. once door open with-out warning while vehicle in motion. | |||
| 02/26/2008 | 102000 | ||
| Bought van in june 2007 nothing but problems since. replaced battery within 2 months of purchase. replace o2 sensors 3 times and need done again. replaced transmission, radiator, egr valve, brakes 4 times, tie rod 2 times, calibers 2 times, rotors 3 times, fuel line, you name it, we have had to fix it. nothing but problems. we have spent close to 8k since feb 2008 on this vehicle and we can not get ford to help us at all. now the axles need replaced as well as sensors again. the dvd player quit working after 4 months, driver side heated seats quit working after 4 months. back passenger door sometimes won't open or unlock and sometimes it won't close when you try to close it. this vehicle has put my family in serious harm and we almost got into major accident do to most of the issues ie transmission stalled on interstate and had no warning at all. worst vehicle of all times. i can not trade in becasue i owe over 11k on this piece of crap. ford needs to refund me all of my money and suffering as well. i have thought about suing them for damages and selling this crap to us especially with 3 small children and having to travel to see family due to husband being a marine and always being deployed. almost missed seeing my grandpa for the last time before he did back in sept because of the transmission. this vehicle needs to be off of the roads forever. all of them. everyone that we know that has these vehicles have the same problems as us. | |||
| LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES - DOORS - LATCH | |||
| 04/04/2008 | 52000 | ||
| Tl*the contact owns a 2004 ford freestar. the contact stated that the mechanism for the rear door handle was defective. the door handle came off in her hand when she was opening the latch. ford is not repairing the failure under warranty, although the contact signed up for the most expensive coverage. she feels that this is a safety issue because her three year old child can open the door. the parts have been on back order for two months. the parts for the repair have just arrived at the dealer. the repair will cost between $500 to $1,000. the failure mileage was 52,000. | |||
| 11/10/2007 | 9000 | 3 | |
| In nov, 2007 my 7 year old granddaughter started to exit the back passenger van door. the door opened and she was about half way out the door when it started to close on her. my husband had already got out of the van and was able to stop the door from closing on her. it did not automatically stop and go back on contact. then in dec my sister-in-law was also starting to exit the van from the same door and the same thing happened to her. the door opened, hesitated and then started to close on her. on april 6, 2008 my 80+ mother opened the rear passenger van door and started to enter the van. the door started closing on her. her left foot was already in the van and the door closure caused her to fall backwards onto the pavement. her left foot was tangled under the passenger seat. her cousin was already seated on the other side and was able to get the door stopped before it hurt her leg any worse. she had landed on her lower back and was sore, stiff and unable to sit comfortably for about a week. i made an appt with the local ford dealer to see if they could find a problem. the first time i took it in, they could not duplicate the problem. i told them it was intermittent,most of the time it worked. when i picked the van up i had the service manager walk out with me, and i showed him how we opened the door from the outside and the door opened and immediately started to close. the service group was testing it by using the buttons on the remote. they tested the van again and found codes of b2589, b2592 and b2594 in the computer for the sliding doors. they then found the latch and sensor assembly were sticking and shorted out. they told us they found the codes in both doors, even though we hadn't had any problems with the sliding door on the drivers side. the only way to fix the problem was to replace both sides rear sliding door cables and latch assemblies. this is for a 2004 freestar van with only 10,072 miles! it cost us $736.41 to have this fixed. *tr | |||
| 01/01/1901 | 1 | ||
| 2004 ford freestar with no rear door sensors. consumer believes that the rear sliding door should have sensors on the rear of the door. *kb the consumer's son walked towards the rear of the vehicle. her son grabbed the back edge of the door, which ultimately closed on his fingers. the consumer's son suffered bruised and swollen fingers. *jb | |||
| 12/27/2004 | 11000 | 1 | |
| Consumer complained about an automatic sliding door problem. consumer contacted the dealership, who inspected the vehicle, and told consumer that the sensors for the door were operating properly. however, the passenger injured her shoulder and lower arm because the automatic sliding door did not retract when hitting an object. *ak | |||
| 05/01/2004 | 1 | ||
| The 2004 ford freestar minivan has two safety issues. unfortunately, the first affected a family member. i e-mailed ford quite some time ago and there has been no follow-up response. the passenger door lock automatically locks (retracts) once the vehicle begins motion and sucked in a family members skin on the middle of the lower arm as the right passenger's arm rested on the right door that was made for the purpose of serving as an armrest. instantly my mother's arm was bruised and she is not a large person...this was not an issue of extra body mass. simply put, her skin was sucked into the lock pull when it automatically retracted. in addition, if a passenger rests his/her arm on this armrest-designed door with fingers between the rest and the window where there is a well of space, and the driver happens to put down the passenger window, the passenger's fingers can be sucked down with the window. *ak | |||
| 06/01/2004 | 4000 | 1 | |
| The automatic sliding sensor failed. as a result, a six year old child was caught between the doors. the child sustained bruises on both knees. *ak | |||