Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| POWER TRAIN - AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION - CONTROL MODULE (TCM, PCM) | |||||
| 07141 | 10023292 | Damaged spark plug electrode/mil dtc p030x, rough idle, engine knock/ping on acceleration. *nj | 11/08/2007 | ||
Investigations
| NHTSA ID | Manufacturer | Date open | Date close | Subject | Recall campaign | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| POWER TRAIN - AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION - CONTROL MODULE (TCM, PCM) | ||||||
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| POWER TRAIN | |||
| 12/29/2009 | 75000 | 1 | |
| Driving on freeway and suddenly car would not accelerate! it was rush hour and i was terrified. miraculously, i was able to coast to the shoulder without major incident. at that time, car would not enter any gears. upon acceleration the car would just rev, but would not move, even in reverse. fortunately, i hadn't picked up my children from school yet! i couldn't imagine being stranded on the side of the freeway with them. it was scary enough for me! car was towed to local ford dealership, where it took them a week to rebuild/replace the torque converter. thankfully, it was covered under warranty, but it still cost me $100 deductible, plus the enormous inconvenience of not having a car. i had 3 young children and a full time job and no car for a week. ford refused to provide me a rental. considering some of the other horror stories, i guess i got off pretty lucky. too many of these stories out there, ford needs to recall!! *tr | |||
| 12/29/2009 | 75000 | ||
| Driving on freeway and suddenly car would not accelerate! it was rush hour and i was terrified. miraculously, i was able to coast to the shoulder without major incident. at that time, car would not enter any gears. upon acceleration the car would just rev, but would not move, even in reverse. fortunately, i hadn't picked up my children from school yet! i couldn't imagine being stranded on the side of the freeway with them. it was scary enough for me! car was towed to local ford dealership, where it took them a week to rebuild/replace the torque converter. thankfully, it was covered under warranty, but it still cost me $100 deductible, plus the enormous inconvenience of not having a car. i had 3 young children and a full time job and no car for a week. ford refused to provide me a rental. considering some of the other horror stories, i guess i got off pretty lucky. too many of these stories out there, ford needs to recall!! | |||
| 11/24/2010 | 137191 | ||
| Ford's recall 11s25 says it pertains to 2004-05 model years on the torque converter failure. mine is a 2006 freestar and it has the same exact problem. the torque converter failed on it driving down the highway. why is year not covered ? | |||
| 09/17/2009 | 69375 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2007 ford freestar. the contact was stated that while driving 20 mph, he depressed the accelerator pedal and the vehicle decelerated. there was an increase in the engine rpms during the failure. the vehicle was taken to the dealer and the dealer stated that the transmission torque converter needed to be replaced. the manufacturer was not notified. the vehicle was repaired. the failure mileage was 69,375 and the current mileage was 114,000. sm. | |||
| 09/17/2009 | 69375 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2007 ford freestar. the contact was driving 20 mph when the accelerator pedal was depressed the vehicle de-accelerated despite the engine revving. the vehicle was taken to the dealer. the dealer confirmed the transmission torque converter needed to be replaced. the manufacturer was not contacted. the vehicle was repaired. the failure mileage was 69,375 and the current mileage was 114,000 . rds | |||
| 08/01/2011 | 120000 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2007 ford freestar. the contact stated that the vehicle would loose power while driving on the highway. a local mechanic diagnosed that metal shavings transferred into the transmission, causing the torque converter to become defective. the dealer was contacted, but the contact refused to do business with them. the manufacturer was notified, but denied any assistance with repair to the failure. the vehicle was repaired. the failure mileage was 120,000 and the current mileage was 130,000. nw | |||
| 12/17/2011 | 125700 | ||
| I was making a left hand turn from the middle lane of a busy 5 lane highway when i lost all power to the drive train. fortunatly i had gained enough speed from the drive train to barely avoid on coming traffic. three seconds earlier and this could have been a tragedy. there was no warning or indication of failure. there were no sounds, smells, or eradict motions. i immediantly had the vehicle towed to a ford dealership garage. after an inspection the service advisor stated that the torque converter had come apart and would need to be replaced. since then i have done some investigative research into ford freestar torqure converter failures. it appears that this is a problem that started with the 2004 freestar. i hope that ford takes care of this problem before injury or fatality. in my case, three seconds made the difference. | |||
| 10/19/2011 | 82600 | ||
| Sudden failure of the transmission | |||
| 05/10/2011 | |||
| My ford freestar has speratic issues, i have noticed that this issue only happens when it rains. i have taken it to mechanic and they are not able to locate the problem. i have been doing research online and notice that there is a lot of complaints about this issue and nothing is being done about it. we get the pcm replaced and then because of the defect it gets wet again. when will this issue be resolved? | |||
| 11/01/2010 | |||
| I have noticed that this issue only occures when it rains. i have take it to several mechanic and they where not able to pin point th issue since it does not happen regularly. while doing some research on the interent i have noticed that this is a common thing among ford free star. i plan to take my vechile to a mechanic with the information regarding pcm issue, if this a common defect i hope there will be a recall. this is afamily vechile i drive my children in it everyday and this is a potental hazard if my van was to die on the intersate | |||
| POWER TRAIN - AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION | |||
| 07/19/2012 | 100000 | 1 | |
| Driving at highway speeds in traffic with three children in the car, when the torque converter/transmission failed with no warning or indication of previous problem. vehicle would not respond to accelerator. fortunately,was able to coast off exit ramp safely. would not go forward or backward. 300 miles from home. towing, car rental and repairs. dealer said recall not applied to this year but same problems as previous years. ford should fix this before someone is killed. they are aware of the situation. | |||
| 06/21/2011 | 68520 | ||
| My 2007 ford freestyle had been surging forward. i thought i was crazy. then 6/21/11 it would only drive 35mph. i had to replace the throttle body. | |||
| 01/23/2011 | 90000 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2007 ford freestar. the contact was driving in reverse at approximately 5 mph into a parking space with the brake pedal engaged when the vehicle began to lunge unexpectedly. the failure occurred sporadically while driving at low speed. the vehicle recently stalled with the illumination of the engine warning indicator. the vehicle restarted and resumed as normal. the contact notified the dealer and they recommended the vehicle be diagnosed to determine the cause of failure. the contact planned to take the vehicle for diagnosis. the manufacturer was not made aware of the defect. there was an open investigation related to the failure under nhtsa action number pe10033 (vehicle speed control; power train: automatic transmission: control module/tcm,). the failure mileage was 90,000. rk | |||
| 06/21/2011 | 68520 | ||
| My 2007 ford freestyle had been surging forward. i thought i was crazy. then 6/21/11 it would only drive 35mph. i had to replace the throttle body. | |||
| 01/23/2011 | 90000 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2007 ford freestar. the contact was driving in reverse at approximately 5 mph into a parking space, and when the brake pedal was engaged the vehicle began to lunge unexpectedly. the failure occurred sporadic when driving at low speeds. most recent the engine stalled with the illumination of the engine warning indicator. the engine restarted and resumed as normal. the contact notified the dealer and they recommended the vehicle be diagnosed to determine the cause of failure. the contact planned to take the vehicle for diagnosis. the manufacturer was not made aware of the defect. there was an open investigation related to the malfunctions under nhtsa action number pe10033 (vehicle speed control; power train: automatic transmission: control module/tcm,). the failure mileage was 90,000. js | |||
| 06/21/2011 | 68520 | ||
| My 2007 ford freestyle had been surging forward. i thought i was crazy. then 6/21/11 it would only drive 35mph. i had to replace the throttle body. | |||
| 01/23/2011 | 90000 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2007 ford freestar. the contact was driving in reverse at approximately 5 mph into a parking space, and when the brake pedal was engaged the vehicle began to lunge unexpectedly. the failure occurred sporadic when driving at low speeds. most recent the engine stalled with the illumination of the engine warning indicator. the engine restarted and resumed as normal. the contact notified the dealer and they recommended the vehicle be diagnosed to determine the cause of failure. the contact planned to take the vehicle for diagnosis. the manufacturer was not made aware of the defect. there was an open investigation related to the malfunctions under nhtsa action number pe10033 (vehicle speed control; power train: automatic transmission: control module/tcm,). the failure mileage was 90,000. js | |||
| 06/21/2011 | 68520 | ||
| My 2007 ford freestyle had been surging forward. i thought i was crazy. then 6/21/11 it would only drive 35mph. i had to replace the throttle body. | |||
| 01/23/2011 | 90000 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2007 ford freestar. the contact was driving in reverse at approximately 5 mph into a parking space, and when the brake pedal was engaged the vehicle began to lunge unexpectedly. the failure occurred sporadic when driving at low speeds. most recent the engine stalled with the illumination of the engine warning indicator. the engine restarted and resumed as normal. the contact notified the dealer and they recommended the vehicle be diagnosed to determine the cause of failure. the contact planned to take the vehicle for diagnosis. the manufacturer was not made aware of the defect. there was an open investigation related to the malfunctions under nhtsa action number pe10033 (vehicle speed control; power train: automatic transmission: control module/tcm,). the failure mileage was 90,000. js | |||
| 10/08/2010 | 97000 | ||
| Ford freestar 2007, transmission went out, while i was driving down the road, the pump went out and the vehicle just stopped going, no longer under warrenty, and very costly 1269.99. alot of owners having the same issue. | |||
| 10/25/2009 | 77000 | ||
| This is my second complaint form submission for the problem. last fall my 2007 ford freestar broken down due to transmission malfunction. i was told that ford has alot of problems with transmissions. i need to know what else i can do to reimbursed for the failure of the transmission. i was on my way to college classes when the van broken down. | |||
| 12/15/2009 | 85000 | 1 | |
| I have a 2007 ford freestar van. on or about 12/15th i was driving to class at caldwell community college in lenoir, north carolina during rush hour. i was in the far left lane and all of a sudden the van lost power however the lights worked and i was not able to get over in the right lane to pull into a parking lot. after putting the van in park i tried to then use the gas pedal and nothing happened. i had the van towed and after a week or so a repairman took the transmission apart and had to replace it along with rebulding the compressor. *tr | |||
| 05/30/2008 | 50000 | 1 | |
| My 2007 van has stopped driving on over 6 occasions while i am driving, it has been repaired 4x and always told it was a new issue. on the last occasion i left the van on the road got my mom to pick me up. i have 3 kids that i drive in the vehicle and ford will not take any responsibility, i think 4 attempts to fix a van is more then fair on my part, it is evident that ford does not know what the problem is, and i will not be their guinea pig. *tr | |||
| POWER TRAIN - AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION - TORQUE CONVERTER | |||
| 07/19/2012 | 100000 | 1 | |
| Driving at highway speeds in traffic with three children in the car, when the torque converter/transmission failed with no warning or indication of previous problem. vehicle would not respond to accelerator. fortunately,was able to coast off exit ramp safely. would not go forward or backward. 300 miles from home. towing, car rental and repairs. dealer said recall not applied to this year but same problems as previous years. ford should fix this before someone is killed. they are aware of the situation. | |||
| 12/22/2007 | 55200 | 1 | 10/24/2006 |
| While traveling on i-81 southbound, my 2004 ford freestar van went out of gear and the van lost power. when we coasted to the shoulder the van would not go into gear. the ford dealership that is working on the van believes it is the trans torque converter. *tr | |||