Investigations
| NHTSA ID | Manufacturer | Date open | Date close | Subject | Recall campaign | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | ||||||
| PE10033 | FORD MOTOR COMPANY | 08/23/2010 | 07/15/2011 | Engine Stalling | ||
| The subject vehicles suffered from a design issue whereby water could run down onto the cowling under the hood and located in the area of the windshield wipers and then drip onto a computer module, the powertrain control module (pcm), which could be manifested in a variety of symptoms depending on which part of the circuit board became wet or which of the connector pins shorted out.in addition to causing an engine to stall, which may or may not then restart, the water intrusion could also cause the transmission to shift poorly, the vehicle to have erratic power, a malfunction indicator light to come on, or result in an inability to start the vehicle, an inability to shift the vehicle into either forward or reverse. also the problem could cause a higher than normal idle rpm in park, or for the radio to malfunction, or the interior lights to stay on.during this investigation odi was concerned with the effect of the engine stalling or a drastic and sudden loss of power either of which may create a safety risk.in reviewing the actual number of these types of incidents, collectively referred to here as engine stalls, the number was found to be below what would be considered a defect trend.for example, the number of engine stalls identified in ford's warranty claims for the model year (my) 2004 subject vehicles, the my with the most failures, was 200 out of population of 125,865, for a failure rate of 0.16%.the one crash recorded by a complainant to nhtsa, voq 10311522, alleged that the engine stalled, due to water intrusion into the pcm, while the road was turning causing her to go off the road and according to the police report the vehicle then hit an embankment and a tree stump. ford reported in their response that there were three alleged crashes but none of these were validated as being caused by a problem with water intrusion into the pcm causing a stall.accordingly this investigation is closed.the closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by nhtsa that a safety-related defect does not exist.the agency will continue to monitor complaints and other information relating to the alleged defect in the subject vehicles and take further action in the future if warranted. | ||||||
| PE10033 | FORD MOTOR COMPANY | 08/23/2010 | Engine stalling | |||
| This preliminary evaluation (pe) is being opened based on information obtained during the investigation dp09-004, which was specifically related to model year (my) 2004 ford freestar vehicles.the manufacturer's numbers presented on the failure report of the opening of this pe are for my 2004 ford freestar vehicles only, the odi number represents 15 my 2004 complaints and 12 my 2005 complaints; the scope of this pe investigation for my 2004 to 2007 freestars and montereys is based on complaints received to odi and on ford's technical service bulletin tsb 06-14-10. the one crash noted is for a my freestar, voq #10311522.this pe has been opened to assess the scope, frequency, and potential safety-related consequences of the alleged defect. | ||||||
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | |||
| 01/01/2013 | 109121 | 1 | |
| I was traveling down the highway when my transmission completely quit working and my rpm's shot up to 5000. i coasted to the side of the road and the transmission would not engage. i had it towed to a local shop where i was referred to cottman transmission to get it evaluated. cottman transmission said the transmission was full of water and completely burned up. they said that these vans have a problem with water leaking through the wiper vents onto the top of the pcm and water entering into the transmission. upon more investigation i have found out that ford has even acknowledged the problem and still has not issued a recall. they have issued a recall on some of the 04 and 05's for torque converter issues that sound like the same problem with the 06's. something has to be done about this because i was traveling on a busy highway with my wife and kids and had the transmission locked up i could have caused a serious, possibly even fatal, wreck because of ford's failure to correct a problem that they know exists! thankyou. *tr | |||
| 01/01/2013 | 109121 | ||
| I was travelling down the highway when my transmission completly quit working and my rpm's shot up to 5000. i coasted to the side of the road and the transmission would not engage. i had it towed to a local shop where i was referred to cottman transmission to get it evaluated. cottman transmission said the transmission was full of water and completly burned up. they said that these vans have a problem with water leaking through the wiper vents onto the top of the pcm and water entering into the transmission. upon more investigation i have found out that ford has even acknowleged the problem and still has not issued a recall. they have issued a recall on some of the 04 and 05's for torque convertor issues that sound like the same problem with the 06's. something has to be done about this because i was travelling on a busy highway with my wife and kids and had the transmission locked up i could have caused a serious, possibly even fatal, wreck because of ford's failure to correct a problem that they know exists! thankyou. | |||
| 12/28/2006 | 1 | ||
| I bought the vehicle in jan. 06, starter went 11 months later. van has never started up correctly. it doesn't run smoothly. runs rough when it rains. found info online regarding water leaking into the pcm which can create misfires, shift late, engine can run rough. i have taken it back to echelon ford several times. they still won't admit to it being a problem. couldn't find a code. however, now that i am out of warranty, they were able to find a code. ford are not backing up there product! there hundreds of complaints about these vehicles and nothing is being done! i have 1 year left to pay, and can't afford to make repairs that ford should be fixing since it started when i had the original warranty...why will ford not do something..? i have a wife who drives it with 4 kids. what are they waiting for, an accident...? what has to happen to get them to fix this problem on there vehicles. ford is saying it's miss firing in cylinder 3. probably because of all the water that has effected the pcm, and the ignition coil pack & ignition wires needs to be replaced, why would need to be replaced in a 5 year old vehicle... is that getting wet too...? i am extremely tired of dealing with this van. it's not fair to have a company not stand behind there product. i have had it! *tr | |||
| 12/28/2006 | |||
| I bought the vehicle in jan. 06, starter went 11 months later. van has never started up correctly. it doesn't run smoothly. runs rough when it rains. found info online regarding water leaking into the pcm which can create misfires, shift late, engine can run rough. i have taken it back to echelon ford several times. they still won't admit to it being a problem. couldn't find a code. however, now that i am out of warranty, they were able to find a code. ford are not backing up there product! there hundreds of complaints about these vehicles and nothing is being done! i have 1 year left to pay, and can't afford to make repairs that ford should be fixing since it started when i had the original warranty...why will ford not do something..? i have a wife who drives it with 4 kids. what are they waiting for, an accident...? what has to happen to get them to fix this problem on there vehicles. ford is saying it's miss firing in cylinder 3. probably because of all the water that has effected the pcm, and the ignition coil pack & ignition wires needs to be replaced, why would need to be replaced in a 5 year old vehicle... is that getting wet too...? i am extremely tired of dealing with this van. it's not fair to have a company not stand behind there product. i have had it! | |||
| 04/01/2011 | 90000 | ||
| Vechicle just stopped. got it going again after turning off and restarting. code showed it needed to be reflashed. cost 110 at dealership and no improvement. code showed ignition coil. replaced and no improvement. finally replaced pcm april 2011. also experience intermitent electrical problems (radio, clock reset) with no battery failure | |||
| 01/16/2011 | 103000 | ||
| Tl. the contact owns a 2006 ford freestyle. the contact stated while the brakes were applied the vehicle suddenly accelerated and crashed into a drive-thru sign. the vehicle was not destroyed. the contact stated the vehicle lungs forward very often the contact took the vehicle to the dealer and the dealer stated they could not find a problem. the contact stated this occurs when the air conditioner is active. the contact stated the sudden acceleration is getting worse and could cause a crash. the failure 103,000. jo | |||
| 06/07/2010 | 61190 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2006 ford freestyle. while stopped at a traffic light, with his feet on the brake the vehicle accelerated. he engaged the brakes harder and the vehicle stopped. the contact stated the failure has happen approximately 4 or 5 times. the contact stated he called the dealer and was advised the vehicle was no longer under warranty. the vehicle has not been repaired. the contact purchased the vehicle used in june of 2010. the failure mileage was 61,190 and the current mileage was 63,330. | |||