Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SERVICE BRAKES, AIR | |||||
| 0710 | 11/28/2007 | 0710 | 10023294 | Certain 2005 through 2007 fwd and awd ford five hundred, freestyle and mercury montego vehicles - rear brake wear. also have an owner's letter. *nj updated 1/25/08. *nj | 11/08/2007 |
| SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC | |||||
| 0547 | 03/07/2005 | 10014650 | Thumping noise or roughness from rear brakes. *tt | 05/05/2005 | |
| SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC - FOUNDATION COMPONENTS - DISC - PADS | |||||
| 0759 | 10021463 | Rear brake drag, noise, dust, and/or premature pad wear. *kb | 04/27/2007 | ||
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| SERVICE BRAKES | |||
| 04/02/2012 | 94500 | ||
| The car lunges forward. it happen in forward or reverse gear. ac in on position. it has happen when car starts moving or while it is moving at lower speeds. no accidents, just close calls. in driveways, drive thru's. moving on streets and parking lots. having to apply brakes harder. car stalls at hotter outside temperatures. | |||
| 07/18/2012 | 99000 | 1 | |
| We were backing up in a parking lot and the car accelerated to where we had to slam on the brakes, luckily no one was behind us or we could have caused an accident. it is lurching forward when we are at slow speeds for no reason, i am worried that if someone is in front or back of us we will hit them. this happened about 2 summers ago but a part was replaced and it had not been a problem again until now. i have noticed that it becomes an issue on hot days when my a/c is on. *tr | |||
| 07/18/2012 | 99000 | ||
| We were backing up in a parking lot and the car accelerated to where we had to slam on the brakes, luckily no one was behind us or we could have caused an accident. it is lurching forward when we are at slow speeds for no reason, i am worried that if someone is in front or back of us we will hit them. this happened about 2 summers ago but a part was replaced and it had not been a problem again until now. i have noticed that it becomes an issue on hot days when my a/c is on. | |||
| 07/10/2012 | 85500 | 1 | |
| Our ford freestyle will randomly surge backward/forward at a high rate of speed when going from park to reverse, or going from reverse to drive, or going from park to drive. this has caused my wife to almost hit several cars. it will also surge forward when sitting at a stop sign or red light. this has caused us to have to slam on our breaks several times to avoid a accident. there needs to be a recall on this vehicle before someone is injured or killed because of ford's failure. *tr | |||
| 07/18/2012 | 99000 | ||
| We were backing up in a parking lot and the car accelerated to where we had to slam on the brakes, luckily no one was behind us or we could have caused an accident. it is lurching forward when we are at slow speeds for no reason, i am worried that if someone is in front or back of us we will hit them. this happened about 2 summers ago but a part was replaced and it had not been a problem again until now. i have noticed that it becomes an issue on hot days when my a/c is on. | |||
| 07/10/2012 | 85500 | 1 | |
| Our ford freestyle will randomly surge backward/forward at a high rate of speed when going from park to reverse, or going from reverse to drive, or going from park to drive. this has caused my wife to almost hit several cars. it will also surge forward when sitting at a stop sign or red light. this has caused us to have to slam on our breaks several times to avoid a accident. there needs to be a recall on this vehicle before someone is injured or killed because of ford's failure. *tr | |||
| 07/10/2012 | 85500 | ||
| Our ford freestyle will randomly surge backward/forward at a high rate of speed when going from park to reverse, or going from reverse to drive, or going from park to drive. this has caused my wife to almost hit several cars. it will also surge forward when sitting at a stop sign or red light. this has caused us to have to slam on our breaks several times to avoid a accident. there needs to be a recall on this vehicle before someone is injured or killed because of ford's failure. | |||
| 07/18/2012 | 102153 | 1 | |
| 1. pulling into parking space, vehicle surged forward, steering was turned sharply at the time and foot on brake 2. pulling in garage and vehicle surged while foot on brake. *tr | |||
| 07/18/2012 | 102153 | ||
| 1. pulling into parking space, vehicle surged forward, steering was turned sharply at the time and foot on brake 2. pulling in garage and vehicle surged while foot on brake. | |||
| 07/18/2012 | 28504 | 10 | |
| When driving at low speeds (5-10 mph), whether in forward or reverse, the car will lunge forward (or backward if in reverse). this has happened at least 10 times over the last 4 days, resulting in several near-miss accidents with vehicles, as well as almost hitting a pedestrian multiple times. the engine lunging has only occurred at low speeds, mostly when the temperatures are above 85 degrees. the engine lunging occurs when i'm driving at low speeds, such as when i'm backing out of a parking spot, or driving in traffic in which i'm driving at a low speed. the time before last, it was in the school parking lot when i was picking up my son from summer school. both these times, a pedestrian was almost hit when the car lunged forward. today, i was in traffic in the walmart parking lot when the car lunged forward, almost causing me to hit the car in front of me. when this happens, the check engine symbol lights on the dashboard, as well as the engine failsafe mode coming on. i have to turn the car completely off and back on to get these lights off. *tr | |||
| SERVICE BRAKES, ELECTRIC | |||
| 08/03/2010 | 79000 | ||
| When brakes are engaged, vehicle attempts to speed up. have to bare down on brakes to slow down. sometimes this causes the engine to go into a back up safety mode. twice vehicle cut off and had to be restarted | |||
| 08/21/2008 | 83000 | 1 | |
| In july of 2005 i purchased a new ford freestyle. since then, i have had to have the rear brakes replaced every 6 months, or approximately every 20,000 miles (it's been to the dealer 6 times for this very issue). ford has acknowledged that there is an engineering issue where the rear calipers are not releasing and causing premature wear on the rear brake pads. they issued a recall fix for this in november of 2007. well . . . 20,000 miles later- it's still not fixed. the dealer, now on 8/21/08, refuses to repair the rear brakes even though faulty engineering or faulty parts (or both) were used. this problem is ongoing and the following is a list of dates the car was taken in to have the rear brakes replaced: 2/22/06, 7/20/06, 4/4/07, 8/2/07, 9/17/07, 11/26/07. *tr | |||
| 05/05/2008 | 12521 | 1 | |
| Brakes were going out, car wobbling back and forth, grinding sounds. this is the 4th time that this has occurred over the last 15 months. we have had to replace the brakes on the back twice now and the front twice, the rotors twice also. *tr | |||
| SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC | |||
| 10/07/2012 | 86000 | ||
| Was coming up to a stop light and the car started to accelerate. when i put on brakes, it accelerated more. to avoid hitting 3 cars in front of me, i went over a curb, up a hill and over and embankment. the car finally stopped in the middle of a side street. the impact of coming off the embankment blew 2 tires and totaled out the bottom of my car. the insurance company has totaled the car. as far as the speed of the car, i was doing 35 until the acceleration failed and when i put on the brakes, it went faster. i read on your website where ford was having problems with lunging and this sounds like what happened with my car. especially when i read from others that have posted there problems with this. i do believe that ford needs to do a recall before someone gets hurt bad. i did go to the er to get checked out but besides seat belt burn, i was fine. | |||
| 09/27/2011 | 40000 | ||
| Scary car. a couple of times when car is idle/foot on brake the car would surge forward on its own. this is creepy. first time happened when parking in front of a wall. luckily, i had enough room to not hit the front. i just came home and rolled into parking space. my foot was still on the brake but out of nowhere it just went by itself so my natural response was to brake really hard. it slowed the surging, but dang it! it scared the begezzy out of me. if i wasn't alert, i think that wall would damage the front car...let alone hit someone(s) if they are in front of this idle car. second time when my husband rolled into the mall's parking space and it did it too. i sat next to him and it was just freaky weird. it happened 3 other times also. ford better recall on this problem seeing how many complaints are posted online already. i had to look it up online and found a major car magazine stated it was a major problem. if they don't do anything about this, i think i will have to switch to another car maker. this ford freestyle 2005 awd limited is a scary car: air conditioner and idle/foot on brake = surging or lunging forward. | |||
| 01/01/2009 | 300 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2005 ford freestyle. while driving at approximately 35 mph the contact depressed the brake pedal but noticed the brakes would not respond. the contact continued to pump the brake pedal applying excessive pressure until the brakes responded. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for diagnostic. the mechanic was unable to diagnose the failure but suggested the brakes be replaced. the brakes were replaced three different times. the failure continued. the contact stated there was a manufacturer recall but the vin was not included in the recall. the vehicle was not repaired. the approximate failure mileage was 300. ds | |||
| 11/01/2008 | 57000 | ||
| This freestyle has surged several times since purchase. we replace a failed throttle body in 2010. recently in shop in 9/11 for nonstart. | |||
| 06/01/2011 | 120000 | ||
| Tl* the contact owns a 2005 ford free style. the contact was driving 20 mph when the wrench failure light illuminated and the engine stalled. the vehicle also experienced abnormally high rpms prior to the failure. the contact also stated that on a separate occasion the brakes were depressed but the vehicle failed to stop. the vehicle was towed to a private mechanic where the mechanic confirmed that the transmission needed to be replaced. the manufacturer was contacted but the vehicle was not repaired. the failure and the current mileages were 120,000. | |||
| 06/01/2011 | 120000 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2005 ford free style. the contact was driving 20 mph when the wrench failure light illuminated and the engine stalled. the vehicle also experienced abnormally high rpms prior to the failure. the contact also stated that on a separate occasion the brakes were depressed but the vehicle failed to stop. the vehicle was towed to a private mechanic where the mechanic confirmed that the transmission needed to be replaced. the manufacturer was contacted but the vehicle was not repaired. the failure and the current mileages were 120,000. kmj | |||
| 06/01/2011 | 120000 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2005 ford free style. the contact was driving 20mph when the wrench failure light illuminated and the engine stalled. the vehicle also experienced abnormally high rpms, prior to the failure. the contact also noted on a separate occasion the brakes were depressed the vehicle failed to stop properly. the vehicle was towed to a private mechanic. the mechanic confirmed the transmission needed to be replaced. the manufacturer was contacted. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure and current mileages were 120,000. rds | |||
| 07/22/2005 | |||
| I purchase my 2005 ford freestyle in june 2005. july 2005 traveling to georgia between 55/60 mph, the check engine light and transmission icon appeared. upon trying to accelerate, i could not move no more than 30-40 mph with the rpm's racing. i had to pull over and let the car rest approximately 15-20 minutes. upon starting the car and putting into drive gear it was very hard and lunged. the car sounds like you're racing the engine with the vehicle in park. the frequency of the engine/transmission light with trying to accelerate and can not is a persisent issue. it also lunges when the air conditioner is turned on. once the car is shut off and started again, while your foot is on the brake which has to be with more pressure than usual to control the lunge. sitting in traffic with the air on with cars ahead of you is frightning since it will lunge then also. this has been an ongoing issue since the purchase of this vehicle. i've also had the brakes repaired more than normal. since acquiring this car. recently, i've gotten the brakes done in february, may and currently need another repair with all the squealing. | |||
| 08/05/2011 | |||
| Vehicle lurching when idling or low speeds. repeated excessive wear on rear brakes. front brakes working properly. | |||
| 05/16/2006 | |||
| Tl*the contact owns a 2005 ford freestyle. the contact stated whenever the air conditioner was on for a long time and the vehicle was shifted into reverse gear it would lunge forward. the vehicle was inspected by a dealer who advised her that they were unable to diagnose the failure. in addition, she also experienced brake failure when driving at low speeds and decelerating; the vehicle would not stop. the vehicle was inspected by an independent mechanic who advised her that the metal part of the brake pedal fractured through the calipers causing it to leak the fluid. the vehicle was repaired. the failure mileage was unknown. | |||
| 05/16/2006 | |||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2005 ford freestyle. the contact stated that when letting the a.c run for a long time, when going in reverse she noticed that it would lunge. the vehicle was inspected by a dealer and they advised her that they were unable to diagnose the failure. in addition, she also experienced brake loss when driving at low speeds and decelerating when the vehicle would not stop. the vehicle was inspected by a independent mechanic and they advised her that the metal part of the brake fractured through the calipers causing it to leak the fluid. the vehicle was repaired for the brakes. the failure mileage was unknown. tb | |||
| 04/12/2011 | 37000 | ||
| Rear brakes on my 2005 ford freestyle have gone out again. have approx. 100,000 miles on the car and this is the 2nd time i have had to replace, not to mention that i have had to replace the tires 5 times on this car. it is an odd size tire so it is hard to find decent ones for the snow and they can be really expensive if you do find them. | |||
| 06/15/2007 | 16590 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2005 ford freestyle. the contact stated that there is a lot of dust coming from the rear brakes. the vehicle was taken in for inspection at 11,000 miles the local technician informed him the rear brakes pads were defective. they were replaced by a ford dealer and the vehicle was inspected. one year later the pads were defective again and needed to be replaced again. the contact stated that tsb 10021463 is in effect so this failure is a known problem. the failure mileage was approximately 16,590. the current mileage was 29,652. rd | |||
| 09/20/2010 | |||
| I bought my 2005 ford freestyle new in january 2006. by november 2008 the rear brakes began grinding. i had them replaced at my local ford dealership; it was still under the 3 year/ 36,000 miles warranty. now, a year and a half later the brakes are grinding again and need to be replaced. the vehicle has less than 30,000 miles on it but is no longer covered under the 3 year warranty. the brakes shouldn't have to be replaced this often. however, in july 2007 we received a letter from ford stating that the rear brakes would be covered under the original 3 year/ 36,000 miles warranty. this raises a red flag that ford knew about the brake issues but did nothing about it, and still hasn't done anything. | |||
| 06/15/2007 | 16590 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2005 ford freestyle. the contact stated that there is a lot of dust coming from the rear brakes. the vehicle was taken in for inspection at 11,000 miles the local technician informed him the rear brakes pads were defective. they were replaced by a ford dealer and the vehicle was inspected. one year later the pads were defective again and needed to be replaced again. the contact stated that tsb 10021463 is in effect so this failure is a known problem. the failure mileage was approximately 16,590. the current mileage was 29,652. rd | |||
| 09/20/2010 | |||
| I bought my 2005 ford freestyle new in january 2006. by november 2008 the rear brakes began grinding. i had them replaced at my local ford dealership; it was still under the 3 year/ 36,000 miles warranty. now, a year and a half later the brakes are grinding again and need to be replaced. the vehicle has less than 30,000 miles on it but is no longer covered under the 3 year warranty. the brakes shouldn't have to be replaced this often. however, in july 2007 we received a letter from ford stating that the rear brakes would be covered under the original 3 year/ 36,000 miles warranty. this raises a red flag that ford knew about the brake issues but did nothing about it, and still hasn't done anything. | |||
| 06/15/2007 | 16590 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2005 ford freestyle. the contact stated that there is a lot of dust coming from the rear brakes. the vehicle was taken in for inspection at 11,000 miles the local technician informed him the rear brakes pads were defective. they were replaced by a ford dealer and the vehicle was inspected. one year later the pads were defective again and needed to be replaced again. the contact stated that tsb 10021463 is in effect so this failure is a known problem. the failure mileage was approximately 16,590. the current mileage was 29,652. rd | |||
| 09/20/2010 | |||
| I bought my 2005 ford freestyle new in january 2006. by november 2008 the rear brakes began grinding. i had them replaced at my local ford dealership; it was still under the 3 year/ 36,000 miles warranty. now, a year and a half later the brakes are grinding again and need to be replaced. the vehicle has less than 30,000 miles on it but is no longer covered under the 3 year warranty. the brakes shouldn't have to be replaced this often. however, in july 2007 we received a letter from ford stating that the rear brakes would be covered under the original 3 year/ 36,000 miles warranty. this raises a red flag that ford knew about the brake issues but did nothing about it, and still hasn't done anything. | |||
| 06/15/2007 | 16590 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2005 ford freestyle. the contact stated that there is a lot of dust coming from the rear brakes. the vehicle was taken in for inspection at 11,000 miles the local technician informed him the rear brakes pads were defective. they were replaced by a ford dealer and the vehicle was inspected. one year later the pads were defective again and needed to be replaced again. the contact stated that tsb 10021463 is in effect so this failure is a known problem. the failure mileage was approximately 16,590. the current mileage was 29,652. rd | |||
| 09/20/2010 | |||
| I bought my 2005 ford freestyle new in january 2006. by november 2008 the rear brakes began grinding. i had them replaced at my local ford dealership; it was still under the 3 year/ 36,000 miles warranty. now, a year and a half later the brakes are grinding again and need to be replaced. the vehicle has less than 30,000 miles on it but is no longer covered under the 3 year warranty. the brakes shouldn't have to be replaced this often. however, in july 2007 we received a letter from ford stating that the rear brakes would be covered under the original 3 year/ 36,000 miles warranty. this raises a red flag that ford knew about the brake issues but did nothing about it, and still hasn't done anything. | |||
| 03/25/2010 | 50000 | 4 | |
| My left rear brake heats up and smokes. i have taken rides of less then 10 miles. i will be replacing the brake shoes for the 4th time. i have about 50,000 miles on the car. i'm afraid that on a long trip the wheel will lock up and cause an accident. 2005 ford freestyle vin#[xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6). *tr | |||
| 11/20/2009 | 64000 | 1 | |
| The rear brake pads no my 2005 ford freestyle continue to fail, i am on my 4th set with only 64,000 miles . interestingly the front brake pads appear almost new. ford will not cover the cost of these brakes and hold that replacing the rear brakes every 15-20,000 miles is normal for this model. *tr | |||
| 03/01/2007 | 34000 | 1 | |
| 2005 ford freestyle rear brakes replaced at 15k in march of 07 per customer and tsb then one year later at 8k more down to yellow and ford noted to watch. year later in september 09 now 8k more brakes once again in red! *tr | |||
| 06/02/2009 | 57000 | 1 | |
| 2005 ford freestyle on third rear passenger side caliper after only 57,000 previous calipers froze needing replacement to the tune of $350.00 per occurrence. ford aware of problem but will not do anything as not in warranty period. *tr | |||
| 12/23/2008 | 40000 | 1 | |
| While driving in heavy traffic with snow and slushy streets, the traffic ahead of me stopped. i applied the brakes and the abs activated for about 1 second and then i had no brakes at all. no matter how hard i pushed the brake pedal, there was no abs activity and no brakes. fortunately i was only going about 5 mph. i struck the vehicle in front of me. it had no damage but i had a broken bumper cover ($1300 to repair). i took the vehicle to the dealer i bought it from to have the abs and brakes checked. they found nothing wrong. i wrote a letter to ford, explaining what happened. they said they were forwarding my letter to their engineering department for evaluation. i have heard nothing from them yet. *tr | |||
| 12/05/2008 | 48900 | 1 | |
| I own a 2005 ford freestyle which have rear brake issues, i received a letter in july 07 telling me of a possible problem with my rear brake pads that they may have gotten wet and expanded which would cause the pads to drag on rotors and wear out sooner. so i took into a ford dealer they replaced my pads and rotors for the rear brakes only, this was at around 30000 miles. i now have 48900 miles on the car and my rear brakes are completely worn to the metal on the pad. i tried to talk with ford customer service but was sent right back to the dealer which said they would not help me with the replacement the rear brake pads. i understand by reading your website that brake pads are not considered safety relate issue but searching the internet relate to ford free style rear brake issues i was very surprise to find others that are having the same problems. they are even talking about rear calipers that are locking up and not allowing the pads to move away from the rotors, so there not dragging and wearing out which is what i belief has happen in my case. i am trying to find help in resolving this problem because of all the cost related to this repair having to be done in a short amount of miles between repairs and before it does become a failure and does cause someone to lose there life. oh i do have to say that my front brakes which take most of the braking has 48900 miles on them and i am just replacing them. through my own research i understand that gm escaped this rear brake design that the 2005 ford freestyle has because of all the issues and problems associated with its design. thank you for any help that you can give use ford freestyle owners. *tr | |||
| 12/22/2007 | 36800 | 1 | 03/01/2006 |
| On december 22, 2007 my 2005 ford freestyle car was making noise on my entire 30 mile trip to work. i took a guy from work for a ride and he told me he was pretty sure it was my rear brakes. the car warranty had just expired, i had approx. 36, 800 miles on it. we took it to the closest place who could look at it right away, this was an independent shop. they informed me that my rear brakes, rotors and 1 caliper required replacing. the caliper had locked up and i had no brake pads left. they also told my husband that i was very lucky i didn't drive much farther as it was very dangerous. the shop said it looked like i had been driving around with the parking brake on. i never use my parking brake and there is a large light that comes on the instrument panel when it is on! upon urging from friends who couldn't believe how early the rear brakes needing replacing i did a little research and found so many forums and complaints about the exact problem. i shudder to think what could have happened to my family and i had i not gone to the closest place. ford customer support told me they had a customer satisfaction plan in place for this issue. i was told to take my receipt for the repair to my ford dealer and they would submit it for reimbursement because it happened prior to dec. 31, 2007. even though i was over 36k. ford customer support just informed me today that they will not reimburse me because the dealer did not do the repairs. i can not believe ford knows of this major safety concern and has not issued a voluntary recall. when the supervisor at ford customer support told me i should have taken it to the dealer instead of the closest place i asked him what if i would have had an accident and died on the way to the ford dealer? his response was...i don't know, i don't have a crystal ball. safety and concern for their customers is obviously not a big concern. *tr | |||
| 01/05/2008 | 15000 | 3 | |
| Rear brakes replaced 3 times by dealer in less than 37,000 miles. *tr | |||
| 08/15/2006 | 27000 | 1 | |
| 2005 freestyle- at aprox 25,000 miles the rear brakes were worn down to metal, resulting in a total brake job done at the dealer. pads, rotors, everything. i complained that these should last longer than this, and service checked to see if it could be under warranty. no such luck. results $400 repair bill. some 6 months later i received a letter from ford stating that there was concern for the rear breaks and if you still had the original receipt for repairs they would refund your charge on this repair. i contacted our local dealer concerning this lette. they told me without this letter ( i can not find now) they can not do anything for me. sorry!!!. where can i receive a copy of this notice? *tr | |||
| 01/02/2006 | 7000 | 2 | 06/01/2005 |
| Tl*the contact owns a 2005 ford freestyle. within six months of purchasing the vehicle, the contact has had to replace the calipers, rotor, and rear brake pads. the same failure occurred a second time on april 14, 2007 while driving 10 mph. the dealer was unable to diagnose the cause of failure. the contact was charged $80 and the vehicle has a lifetime warranty. the vin and engine size were unknown. the current mileage is 21,000 and failure mileage was 7,000. | |||
| 05/03/2007 | 17500 | 1 | 08/08/2005 |
| Tl*the contact owns a 2005 ford freestyle. the contact stated that the rear brakes are grinded down to the rotor. ford stated that this is a common failure among this type of vehicle and is not taking any corrective action. the rear brake rotors were also worn and needed to be replaced. the failure was noticed while driving 20 mph. the failure persists. the engine size was unknown. the current mileage is 18,000 and failure mileage was 17,500. updated 06/08/07. *jb | |||
| 04/20/2007 | 31828 | 1 | 11/28/2005 |
| We took are 2005 ford freestyle in for warranty work . the car had a noise in the rear of car. ford say the brakes are down to metal to metal . the car has 31614 mile on it the car is under warranty. ford says they only warranty brakes for 12 months. i took the car to ford to be repaired and they had to also replace the brake calipers on the rear because they are bad also i have had the car 16 months and driven the car 26119 miles. ford has had to tsb on this the first one is 06-22-17 the last one 07-5-9. rear brakes drag , noise,dust, and/or premature pad wear. this is a safety problem because i had no brake left on the rear of this car . metal to metal. i have tried to talk to someone at ford i have made contact with them three time with no help . *jb | |||
| 03/16/2007 | 20000 | 1 | 08/15/2005 |
| I had to have the rear brakes replaced on my 2005 ford freestyle at 24,000 miles. the reason i consider this a safety hazard is that i do not know of any vehicle that has to have the rear brakes replaced at such low miles. thus, when the grinding noises appeared at less than 20,000 miles, i never even guessed that it might be the brakes. i have talked to other people with this issue and no one can believe that rear brakes had to be replaced at that low a mileage total. there is a tsb out that says that ford understands that this is happening and will replace the brakes at no cost if they wear out at less than the regular warranty period. however, if this is such an issue that they have a tsb out on it, i believe they understand it is an issue and many people can't afford to replace brakes on a new car so they may continue to drive in the hopes it is not a big issue. *jb | |||
| 11/21/2006 | 14500 | 1 | 04/26/2005 |
| I experienced rear brake noise on my 2005 ford freestyle at just under 14,500 miles. i took it to a ford dealer to have it checked and found that i needed new rear pads and rotors. i was told that the only explanation for this type of wear would be driving with the parking brake on. i do not use my parking brake but would certainly notice it if it were on. i paid approximately $400 for the repair. neither the dealer nor ford would acknowledge that this is not the normal life expectancy on pads and or rotors. *jb | |||
| 01/09/2007 | 30000 | 3 | 12/29/2006 |
| Tl* - the contact stated that on january 9, 2007 she was driving at 30 mph on a rural road. the road conditions were icy and slushy. the contact was driving down hill, when the contact applied the brakes and the vehicle would not stop. there were no warning lights. the contact veered off the to avoid hitting anyone, there were no injuries. the contact believes the brakes did not engage. the contact continued on her trip and was able to stop the vehicle, but she had to push the brake pedal all the way to the floor. she did hear a grinding noise in the rear of the vehicle. later in the day the vehicle fish tailed and she does not recall if she applied the brakes but, remembers slowing the vehicle down. the contact took the vehicle to a repair shop and purchased 4 new tires. the contact was told she needed rear brakes and rear rotors, the vehicle had 30,000 miles at the time of the failure. she has not replaced the brakes & rotors. *nm updated 03/07/07. *jb | |||
| 12/14/2006 | 13000 | 1 | 07/11/2005 |
| Rear end noise started about 13000 miles ( sounding like a plane engine when you hit 40 mph). dealer said tires were worn replaced all four tires plus alignment-dealer paid for two. noise continued. dealer then replace ball joints and rear brakes at 14000. noise is gone. *jb | |||
| 12/29/2006 | 31515 | 1 | |
| Rear brakes and rotors needed to be replaced at 31515 miles. there are numerous complaints on the internet regarding this issue. *jb | |||
| 12/15/2006 | 1 | ||
| I took my ford freestyle to be serviced at 20k miles. i was told that my rear brakes were bad and needed to be replaced and that the rotors needed to be serviced due to the bad brakes. i have never heard of rear brakes going bad at 20k miles however the service manager at ford had indicated that this seems to be a common problem. he also indicated that i will most likely need to replace my rear brakes every year. this seens completley ridiculous to me. i replaced the brakes and serviced the rotors but i feel the need for replacement of rear brakes yearly must be some sort of factory defect in the design of the brakes. *nm | |||
| 12/01/2006 | 1 | 08/01/2005 | |
| I needed to replace the brake pads and have the rotors turned on my 2005 freestyle at 18,000 miles. *jb | |||
| 12/22/2006 | 22299 | 1 | 09/04/2005 |
| I have a 2005 ford freestyle at 22,299 miles had to have rear brakes place on my car. now at 36,450 12-26-2006 have the same rear brakes replace and head for a class action law suit against ford & ford dealer ship if they don't do something to correct this problem at there cost. a car does not wear brakes that fast with even a person with normal brake usage. if any person would like to be included in suite email at rlbrasfield@bellsouth.net. i have it. i have heard the same explanations dealership put up. i am engineer out of auto industry and know when car is miss designed, hope no one get killed. *nm | |||
| 11/30/2006 | 26000 | 1 | 08/10/2005 |
| At about 26,000 miles began hearing metal sounds from rear brakes when stopping the car. brought the car into a dealer and they stated that rotors and pads were shot, and they needed to be replaced. after several internet searches, i believe this is a defect in manufacture design. *jb | |||
| 08/18/2006 | 14500 | 1 | 07/15/2005 |
| I took my 2005 ford freestyle with less than 15000 miles in for an oil change and tire rotation to a local ford dealer and was advised the rear brakes and rotors were completely worn and needed replacement at a cost of over $300.00 and the problem was not in warranty. i decided to have the work done but i complained to the manager and after much discussion he adjusted the bill (the manager said another customer had the exact problem with an 05 freestyle the same week). my question is have there been any other reports of the rear brakes going on 2005 freestyles? there very well could be a defect in the brakes. the old parts are not available although i did ask to see them but during the heat of my protest i forgot about the parts and left when the work was finished. *nm | |||
| 09/21/2006 | 31500 | 1 | 05/29/2005 |
| Rear brakes failed at 31,000 miles. dealership said the brakes and rotors were down to the metal and would have to be replaced. front brakes were fine. was told that they checked the calipers to see if there was a problem and would possibly be covered under warranty. they were not. after checking to see if anyone else has had problems, found numerous other owners that have had the same problem. *nm | |||
| 03/08/2005 | 3000 | 1 | 03/05/2005 |
| The consumer's front brakes rumbled badly when they were applied, the vehicle would shake and the vibration could be felt in the floor of the car. it mostly shakes when coming down from high speeds. it was a hidden defect the dealer is fixing but not sending out notices to everyone. *jb *sb | |||
| SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC - ANTILOCK | |||
| 04/27/2008 | 51000 | 1 | |
| My rear brake system on my 2005 ford freestyle has gone out 2 times within 51,000 miles and the struts have had to be replaced 3 times. the brake warning light does not come on. the first incident was covered and repaired under warranty. *tr | |||
| 04/15/2008 | 35000 | 2 | 02/06/2006 |
| Had front and rear brakes replaced at 35,000 miles now 14,000 miles later rear pads and rotor wore out. first time they said pad got wet in a warehouse. now they said it is my problem because warranty is up, i say they did not fix the problem they just tried to cover it up. ford customer service say they have not had any complaints a lie. how many deaths before they hear complaints. *tr | |||
| 01/30/2005 | 1200 | 30 | 01/27/2005 |
| Car stops on its own. shuts off. bucks and jerks and is going to kill me and my kids and ford will not do anything about it. i can't even get a ford dealership to work on my vehicle they tell me they don't want this problem. there are to many repairs on this vehicle and now they are telling well your warranty is up now. they kept telling me at ford (1-800) we are working on it, getting me a buy back. now they tell me it is do deal and they will not fix my vehicle. my car now fills up with water when it rains. i have had 2 transmissions put in this vehicle, they replaced my brakes a few times, they replaced my computer a few times, and all the while kept telling me we are working on getting you a new vehicle. they the dealership shuts down. i have been to others and they don't want my problem. i have called ford a lot of times. they just take my information and tell me they don't have to fix your vehicle. i am fed up with this. *tr | |||
| 02/06/2008 | 45854 | 1 | 12/20/2004 |
| I own a 2005 ford freestyle and there are 45,854 miles on the car. over the previous few months, while backing up, i heard a grinding noise from the rear of the car. as a retired salesman who drove over 1,000,000 miles without replacing any brakes on a car, i did not immediately come to the conclusion that this noise was coming from the rear brakes. i was under the impression that the front brakes historically would fail before the rear brakes would. i finally did take the car to brakes only america, inc., in lansing, mi, where i was told that the entire rear brake system was worn out. i had to have the rotors and pads replaced for a cost of $269.85. staff at the brakes only store told me that the quality of the rear disc brakes are not of the same quality as the front, which on my car, are still in very good condition. i contacted ford motor company today, march 3, 2008, and they told me that until december 31, 2007, the company reviewed each complaint regarding these rear brakes on an individual basis, even after the expiration of the warranty. because of the timing of my rear brakes failing, ford said that it could not help me with this matter. if there was a recall from ford, i did not receive this notification. *tr | |||
| 04/05/2007 | 16000 | 1 | |
| Tl*the contact owns a 2005 ford freestyle. while driving 20 mph the contact heard the brakes producing a squeaking noise. the vehicle was not driven on a regular basis. the dealer stated that the rear brakes failed and were currently being replaced. this failure occurred often with ford freestyle vehicles. the current and failure mileage were 16,000.*ak updated 05/21/07.*jb | |||
| 12/31/2005 | 10000 | 1 | |
| Violent anti-lock brake pulsation during hard braking on slippery roads. vehicle cannot be stopped in a reasonable distance. *jb | |||
| 06/24/2005 | 3250 | 25 | 03/13/2005 |
| Owner has had numerous serious repair issues since vehicle purchased. this is complaint 2 of 4. car is 3 months old. owner must push brake almost to the floor to get vehicle to stop. brakes make grinding noises and steering wheel vibrates when decelerating from 40 mph or less. | |||
| SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC - FOUNDATION COMPONENTS | |||
| 03/14/2008 | 21400 | 1 | 12/31/2007 |
| On my 2005 ford freestyle with 21,400 miles the rear brake pads were worn with less than 3 mm of pad remaining. at 6 days past my 3 yr / 36 k mi. warranty, ford cust service and ford corporate said there was nothing they could do to help me. they did admit that they extended the rear brake warranty to 3 yr/ 36 k mi - however i was past the 3 yr date (even if by 6 days) -- thankfully my dealer contacted their ford rep and he authorized the entire rear brakes to be replaced -- my copay was $119.68 vs $475.00. i grilled them as to what all was replaced and they said the pads, rotors, and caliper mounting plates and brackets and bolts etc. they said they rear brake issues that most everybody is having is due to the wrong caliper mounting hardware used. this caused the calipers to be always miss- aligned and excessive pad and rotor wear. simply replacing pads and rotors will not fix the actual cause of the problem (the mis-aligned calipers) hopefully this may help someone who is replacing pads and rotors every 7k mi. fords indifference to this problem is absolutely un-acceptable. i wish all of our complaints could be submitted to an attorney for a class action suit. it seems ford does not want offer a fix for this unless you catch it while under warranty. hope this helps. *tr | |||
| 03/03/2007 | 29797 | 1 | 08/20/2005 |
| 2005 ford freestyle, purchased new. ford has serviced as well as nys inspections. at 30,000 mile service the rear brakes had little disc pad left,rear rotors were warped beyond repair, caliper frozen. ford said not covered by warranty (bumper to bumper 3 yrs 36,000 miles) and had to pay $475.00. caliper now frozen and again not covered by warranty. called ford at 800-392-3673 and confirmed problem that rear brakes failed before front brakes, they acknowledged there was a design flaw, but refused to cover with warranty, and said to keep my receipts in case a recall was issued. | |||
| SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC - FOUNDATION COMPONENTS - DISC | |||
| 04/15/2008 | 35000 | 2 | 02/06/2006 |
| Had front and rear brakes replaced at 35,000 miles now 14,000 miles later rear pads and rotor wore out. first time they said pad got wet in a warehouse. now they said it is my problem because warranty is up, i say they did not fix the problem they just tried to cover it up. ford customer service say they have not had any complaints a lie. how many deaths before they hear complaints. *tr | |||
| 04/18/2007 | 50000 | 2 | 06/04/2005 |
| We bought our 2005 ford freestyle new in june of 2005 and currently have 50,000 miles. we are on the third set of rear brake pads and are trying to work with our dealer on getting this set replaced again. after looking through this site and many other consumer forums, this seems to be a real problem. the dealership gives us the same speech and we were told the last time the brakes were repaired, that after 36,000 miles, the repair would not be covered under our warranty.*ak | |||
| 09/20/2006 | 19892 | 1 | |
| In september our 2005 ford freestyle went in for a routine state inspection. it had 19892 miles on it at the time. we were told the rear brake pads were completely worn and the rotors were warped. both needed to be replaced to pass inspection. assuming they were under warranty, the garage called the local ford dealership and they were informed the brakes are only warranted to 1 year, 18000 miles. i wanted a second opinion. the second dealership said the warranty on brakes are 1 year, 12000 miles. since we were not covered by the warranty we had to pay $385 to have the repairs done to pass inspection. *jb | |||
| 02/05/2007 | 1 | 08/15/2005 | |
| Defective brake design on 2005 ford freestyle. premature wear. ford/dealer only agreed to replace rear pads and machine rear rotors without doing anything to correct design flaw, and they required i pay a part of the cost of the repair. ford/dealer refused to do anything to correct the related problem involving front brakes. *jb | |||
| 05/05/2005 | 5000 | 6 | 05/05/2005 |
| I purchased a ford freestyle on may 5, 2005. six months after purchasing it i started having problems. the first was the strut bearing at 5,000 miles. then another strut bearing a month or so later. during this time i noticed heavy brake dust on back wheels. everytime i took it in for an oil change i had them check the brakes. they always told me their was no problem. then i had to take it in for the hood vibrating, and they replaced the front hood latch. at 12,000 miles the rear brakes were replaced, because the pad were down to metal, they also had to turn the rotors at this time, too. a right rear turn signal lamp went out at this time. now the vehicle has 13,600 miles and another (left side) turn signal lamp has failed. i am not happy with this vehicle and i do not feel safe in it after having so many problems. my five year old daughter does not even feel safe. *jb | |||
| SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC - FOUNDATION COMPONENTS - DISC - CALIPER | |||
| 03/03/2007 | 29797 | 1 | 08/20/2005 |
| 2005 ford freestyle, purchased new. ford has serviced as well as nys inspections. at 30,000 mile service the rear brakes had little disc pad left,rear rotors were warped beyond repair, caliper frozen. ford said not covered by warranty (bumper to bumper 3 yrs 36,000 miles) and had to pay $475.00. caliper now frozen and again not covered by warranty. called ford at 800-392-3673 and confirmed problem that rear brakes failed before front brakes, they acknowledged there was a design flaw, but refused to cover with warranty, and said to keep my receipts in case a recall was issued. | |||
| 01/15/2007 | 1 | 09/20/2005 | |
| The right rear brake caliper has locked up and is not working, i have an '05 ford freestlye sel 2wd. it has burnt through 2 brake pads already. *jb | |||
| SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC - FOUNDATION COMPONENTS - DISC - PADS | |||
| 02/19/2008 | 32525 | 1 | 07/08/2005 |
| Premature wear on the rear disc brakes. the rear brakes were change under an extended warranty at 13,000 miles by ford. now at 32,500 miles the rear brakes are down to the rotor. the dealer and ford told me that this was a one time deal. apparently they know there is a problem with the rear brakes or else they would not offer an extended warranty on them. one service rep told me that 20,000 miles on rear brakes is normal and another told me that you should get 2 front brake pads to 1 rear brake pad. another problem that i had was the instrument cluster. the gauges would all go to zero. it took 4 times and 8 days to the dealer across a span of 6 months for them to figure out what the problem was. thanks *tr | |||
| 06/23/2007 | 27655 | 2 | 05/06/2005 |
| Rear brake failed for the second time with in 27,000 miles. ford refused to help. i believe there is a problem with the braking system in this suv. also, had to replace both strut bearings and i have on starting to go out again. i think this car should have never left the plant. *tr | |||
| 06/14/2007 | 1 | 02/01/2006 | |
| 2005 ford freestyle - rear rotors and breaks need replacement after 29k miles. *tr | |||
| 05/20/2007 | 8000 | 5 | 06/01/2005 |
| Rear brakes get very hot during normal driving and smell like the pads are burning. also, a large amount of brake dust covers the rear wheels. *ak | |||
| 05/01/2007 | 23200 | 1 | 08/01/2005 |
| Have a 2005 ford freestyle with 23,200 miles when a dragging sound came from the rear brakes - by this time it was to late. rear brakes and rotors had to be replaced for $353.00. we questioned that this seemed premature - we were told by the dealer this is normal, they see it all the time. i would have to agree with the other complaints - i believe this is a design flaw and should be investigated. *jb | |||
| 04/20/2007 | 15524 | 1 | 07/30/2005 |
| I am leasing a 2005 ford freestyle and last april 20/07 i brought the vehicle to witt lincoln mercury in escondido, calif. for an oil change. the recorded mileage was 15,524 miles and after the service was done i was informed that the rear brakes require immediate attention as the rotors need to be machined and the pads are worn out. i feel that ford motor co. should be made aware of this problem that the brakes prematurely wore out. i started the lease last july 2005 and i do mostly city driving. this is the first time i have this kind of car problem where the brakes wore out too soon! *jb | |||
| 03/23/2007 | 21500 | 1 | 07/04/2005 |
| Rear disc brake pads failed with 20,000 original miles. *jb | |||
| 04/12/2007 | 36195 | 1 | 07/04/2005 |
| Our 2005 freestyle hit 36k miles and immediately the back pads/rotors went bad. grinding noises took me into ntb. they stated that the calipers were frozen and to go to dealership. dealership said they weren't but the pads/rotors were bad and needed to be replaced/resurfaced - at $475! this is crazy. at 36k miles we have to replace the rear brakes? premature wear & possible brake failure does not sit comfortably with me - especially since the dealer swears up and down that the calipers are fine. *jb | |||
| 04/13/2007 | 20300 | 1 | 07/01/2005 |
| Premature rear brake wear on a 2005 ford freestyle sel fwd with 20,300 miles on it. notice much more brake dust on rear wheels. dealer acknowledges there is a problem with this and other cars in the same family yet ford will not investigate or cover repair costs. how long before a mishap is caused by a failure of this safety device? obvious design flaw in the brake pad or in the electronic braking program. please investigate.*ak | |||
| 04/09/2007 | 23489 | 1 | 06/07/2005 |
| Tl*- the contact owns 2005 ford freestyle with a current and failure mileage of 23,489 miles. the contact went to the dealer to have the rear brakes serviced ,and was informed that there was a service bulletin for the rear brakes. when the dealer tried to get the manufacturer to cover the cost, the manufacturer denied the claim. *ak | |||
| 03/03/2007 | 29797 | 1 | 08/20/2005 |
| 2005 ford freestyle, purchased new. ford has serviced as well as nys inspections. at 30,000 mile service the rear brakes had little disc pad left,rear rotors were warped beyond repair, caliper frozen. ford said not covered by warranty (bumper to bumper 3 yrs 36,000 miles) and had to pay $475.00. caliper now frozen and again not covered by warranty. called ford at 800-392-3673 and confirmed problem that rear brakes failed before front brakes, they acknowledged there was a design flaw, but refused to cover with warranty, and said to keep my receipts in case a recall was issued. | |||
| 02/01/2006 | 8000 | 1 | 06/15/2005 |
| Inspection of rear brake noise showed pads worn and rotors damaged after just 8000 miles on new ford freestyle 2005 ltd awd. pads and rotors were replaced by dealer under warranty. at 19000 miles rear pads are again completely worn with one pad scraping rotor. *jb | |||
| 03/05/2007 | 22200 | 2 | 03/13/2006 |
| Just got a repair bill for my 2005 ford freestyle to replace rear rotors and pads - car has only 22,000 miles and is not being driven in any unusual manner. previous ford products were ford windstar and f150 both requiring brake service around 90,000 miles. premature wear of rear freestyle brakes is referenced all over the internet. there appears to be a design flaw with car that does not meet customer expectations. dealer service manager claimed > that ford designed brakes to minimize front nose dive during braking. > what could be the reason for this? why did all my other ford products not > need this? does it have something to do with safety crash ratings? > i feel this is a totally unacceptable design since i will need to change > brake pads on an annual basis. ford customer care just said this was normal and had no alternative rationale. it would seem that ford should at least provide some reasonable rationale for the premature wear. *jb | |||
| 02/07/2007 | 1 | ||
| Premature brake wear and grinding noise from rear wheel area. *jb | |||
| 01/12/2007 | 27040 | 1 | 11/26/2005 |
| I purchased a ford freestyle new, had braking problems from start, 1st time in to dealer said no problem, 2nd time replaced front pads, 3rd time rear pads and cut rotors, i had an issue with cutting rotors on vehicle w/7000 mi. 20,000 miles later, rear brakes are shot, rotors need replacing, ford service manager says normal wear and tear, this vehicle is designed to wear out brakes quickly. also told me he won't listen to me, i don't tell him what to do when i said if this vehicle is made to go through brakes quickly it is a design flaw, and ford should stand behind their products. *nm | |||
| 01/09/2007 | 32020 | 1 | |
| I own a 2005 ford freestyle ... i took the car in for a tune up and was told that my rear brakes (pads and rotors) need to be changed (90% worn). the dealer told me that my front brakes were only 40% worn. how could this be? the dealer told me that it looks like normal wear and tear! don't we expect the front brakes to wear out faster than the rear? is there a problem here? ford customer relations offers only words but no action. *jb | |||
| 12/15/2006 | 1 | 07/15/2005 | |
| I bought a new 2005 ford freestyle in july, 2005. at tire rotation, inspection, the rear brake pads were found to be badly worn and in need of replacement at around 16,000 miles.(december 2006) the dealer service rep. said that it would not be covered under warranty. i am a retired truck driver, and i am trained to use my brakes probably 1/3 as much as the average driver. i am ready to turn this over to my attorney, or a class -action suit. *jb | |||
| 12/12/2006 | 28000 | 1 | |
| 2005 freestyle with 28,000 miles was brought in for a recall and oil change. we were informed that the rear brake pads needed to be replaced, though the rotors were okay. the front brakes had greater than 50% of the pad material left. the representative went through a few unsatisfactory explanations (obviously had no clue what he was talking about) including the car uses its rear brakes to do most of the stopping, some freestyles just do this, we are not driving it correctly, and finally, the 500 series cars use their rear brake pads much quicker than their fronts. (this is descriptive, not an explanation!) we paid the costs of the rotor resurfacing and the new pads. i was told the pad wear was even and the calipers are working properly. obviously someone messed up their sums in designing the brake system, since this front wheel drive, front engined, softly sprung car should use its front brakes much more than the rears to generate its stopping power. if the rears are wearing out pads twice as fast as the fronts, they are not quite right. perhaps bigger rear brakes and a proportioning valve adjustment are what is needed, but ford has missed the boat here and it will cost us, of course. *nm | |||
| 10/04/2006 | 7800 | 1 | 08/02/2005 |
| Rear brakes on right side failed at 7,800 miles. we had a near accident due to lack of adequate brake assistance. disk and pads were damaged. dealer stated that brakes warranty was overdue (12 mo.) and we had to paid for repairs on third party shop. *jb | |||
| 11/18/2006 | 17529 | 2 | 07/30/2005 |
| Noticed rear brake noise on right rear. at 17,529 miles, ford dealer checked and claimed rear brake pads and rotors need replacing at cost of approx. $400. dealer claims no warranted items relating to rear brakes are covered. have been driving new ford vehicles since 1980 and have never experienced this problem at such low mileage before. *jb | |||
| 11/04/2006 | 20000 | 1 | 06/20/2005 |
| Premature rear brake wear on 2005 ford freestyle. the brakes wore out by 20000 miles, while the front brake are still in good condition. problem was found during a routine oil change. *nm | |||
| 09/01/2006 | 16410 | 1 | 07/27/2005 |
| A routine oil change and tire rotation at 16,410 miles revealed that the rear brakes of the vehicle were severely worn. the repair technician stated the brake pads were dangerously thin. subsequently, repair of the brakes by the dealer of purchase entailed new pads and resurfacing of the rotors. premature wear and possible brake failure is of concern. i have asked both the dealer and manufacturer (ford) for assurances that premature wear will not reoccur and none was provided. furthermore they provided no remedy. *nm | |||
| 07/14/2006 | 100 | 3 | 05/05/2005 |
| Purchased brand new 2005 ford freestyle . within the first few days rear brakes were heard dragging and brake dust was all over rear wheel. returned to dealer who sprayed the brakes with brake cleaner and said no problem found. drove car for 20k miles as is, returned it to dealer with brake complaints. dealer said no problem found. took car back to dealer at 33k miles, dealer said pads were metal to metal and rotors damaged. dealer would not honor warranty. looking around there are at least 20 other people in forum on edmunds.com reporting same issues. my underlying concern is premature brake failure due to faulty design of the electrical brake balancing system in the 2005 ford freestyle. *nm | |||
| 07/20/2006 | 15000 | 1 | 03/10/2005 |
| Dt*: the contact stated a noise was heard while depressing the brake pedal coupled with rough stops. the vehicle was driven to the dealer who determined the rotors and pads needed to be replaced. 08/04/06. updated. *tt | |||
| 06/28/2006 | 21200 | 1 | 06/01/2005 |
| Rear brake pads failed after 21264 miles front pads were fine ford dealership and customer service stated while they do not know why this happened but would repair the brakes. they stated they had not seen it before and could find nothing wrong. this afternoon a visitor with a freestyle stated that after 22,000 miles they had to have a rear brake job which was scheduled for monday. a quick visual inspection of the automobile showed a similar failure to what we had experienced. since most braking is supposed to be the front brakes this could be an indication of a serious flaw in the 2005 freestyle brake system. *jb | |||
| SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC - FOUNDATION COMPONENTS - DISC - ROTOR | |||
| 11/30/2007 | 1 | ||
| Rear brake premature wear, rotors warped. *tr | |||
| 08/18/2007 | 7000 | 1 | 06/01/2005 |
| Tl*the contact owns a 2005 ford freestyle. the contact experienced brake failure. he took the vehicle to a shop and the mechanic stated that the brakes and rotors were very damaged and the vehicle should not be driven. the vehicle is currently located at the repair shop. the contact called ford, but they refused to offer assistance. the vin, engine size, and number of cylinders were unknown. the current and failure mileages were 7,000. | |||
| 06/23/2007 | 27655 | 2 | 05/06/2005 |
| Rear brake failed for the second time with in 27,000 miles. ford refused to help. i believe there is a problem with the braking system in this suv. also, had to replace both strut bearings and i have on starting to go out again. i think this car should have never left the plant. *tr | |||
| 06/14/2007 | 1 | 02/01/2006 | |
| 2005 ford freestyle - rear rotors and breaks need replacement after 29k miles. *tr | |||
| 04/20/2007 | 15524 | 1 | 07/30/2005 |
| I am leasing a 2005 ford freestyle and last april 20/07 i brought the vehicle to witt lincoln mercury in escondido, calif. for an oil change. the recorded mileage was 15,524 miles and after the service was done i was informed that the rear brakes require immediate attention as the rotors need to be machined and the pads are worn out. i feel that ford motor co. should be made aware of this problem that the brakes prematurely wore out. i started the lease last july 2005 and i do mostly city driving. this is the first time i have this kind of car problem where the brakes wore out too soon! *jb | |||
| 04/12/2007 | 36195 | 1 | 07/04/2005 |
| Our 2005 freestyle hit 36k miles and immediately the back pads/rotors went bad. grinding noises took me into ntb. they stated that the calipers were frozen and to go to dealership. dealership said they weren't but the pads/rotors were bad and needed to be replaced/resurfaced - at $475! this is crazy. at 36k miles we have to replace the rear brakes? premature wear & possible brake failure does not sit comfortably with me - especially since the dealer swears up and down that the calipers are fine. *jb | |||
| 04/02/2007 | 22000 | 1 | 06/28/2005 |
| Tl*- the contact owns a 2005 ford freestyle. while driving 35 mph he heard a rattling noise when the brake was depressed. the dealer stated that the brakes and rotors should be replaced. the brakes and the rotors have not been replaced. the vehicle currently had 22000 miles. *ak | |||
| 03/03/2007 | 29797 | 1 | 08/20/2005 |
| 2005 ford freestyle, purchased new. ford has serviced as well as nys inspections. at 30,000 mile service the rear brakes had little disc pad left,rear rotors were warped beyond repair, caliper frozen. ford said not covered by warranty (bumper to bumper 3 yrs 36,000 miles) and had to pay $475.00. caliper now frozen and again not covered by warranty. called ford at 800-392-3673 and confirmed problem that rear brakes failed before front brakes, they acknowledged there was a design flaw, but refused to cover with warranty, and said to keep my receipts in case a recall was issued. | |||
| 01/27/2007 | 15000 | 1 | 05/03/2005 |
| At 15,000 miles scheduled maintenance dealer found out that brakes were worn to the metal and that brakes and rotors needed replacement. dealer stated that car must have been driven with emergency brake on for this to happen, which was not the case. dealer could not find faulty part for it to be covered under warranty. had to replace rear brakes and rotors and costs not cover under warranty. sent a letter to ford. they called to say nothing could be done. sent me back to dealership. one week later the brakes were burning. dealership this time replaced pads with updated pads with no costs. *jb | |||
| 01/12/2007 | 27040 | 1 | 11/26/2005 |
| I purchased a ford freestyle new, had braking problems from start, 1st time in to dealer said no problem, 2nd time replaced front pads, 3rd time rear pads and cut rotors, i had an issue with cutting rotors on vehicle w/7000 mi. 20,000 miles later, rear brakes are shot, rotors need replacing, ford service manager says normal wear and tear, this vehicle is designed to wear out brakes quickly. also told me he won't listen to me, i don't tell him what to do when i said if this vehicle is made to go through brakes quickly it is a design flaw, and ford should stand behind their products. *nm | |||
| 12/23/2006 | 24554 | 1 | 04/15/2005 |
| Took 2005 ford freestyle in for oil change and courtesy check. upon inspection, it was noticed that the front tires had significant interior wear, and that the right rear brake was rubbing metal to metal. vehicle only had 24554 miles on it. took to local ford dealership, rear brakes and right rotor replaced, and two tires replaced. *jb | |||
| 10/15/2006 | 2 | 08/15/2005 | |
| Rear brakes replaced at 15,000 miles and then again at 32,000 we had to replace rear brakes and rotors. factory paid for first replacement at 15,000. *jb | |||
| 10/04/2006 | 7800 | 1 | 08/02/2005 |
| Rear brakes on right side failed at 7,800 miles. we had a near accident due to lack of adequate brake assistance. disk and pads were damaged. dealer stated that brakes warranty was overdue (12 mo.) and we had to paid for repairs on third party shop. *jb | |||
| 08/15/2006 | 19000 | 1 | |
| Noise from rear reported to dealer at 19,000 miles. dealer stated that brakes were wore to the metal and that brakes and rotors needed replaced. dealer stated that car must have been driven with emergency brake on for this to happen, which it was not. took to another dealer for second opinion, was told the same thing. dealer could not find faulty part for it to be considered warranty work. had to replace rear brakes and rotors. *jb | |||
| 07/14/2006 | 100 | 3 | 05/05/2005 |
| Purchased brand new 2005 ford freestyle . within the first few days rear brakes were heard dragging and brake dust was all over rear wheel. returned to dealer who sprayed the brakes with brake cleaner and said no problem found. drove car for 20k miles as is, returned it to dealer with brake complaints. dealer said no problem found. took car back to dealer at 33k miles, dealer said pads were metal to metal and rotors damaged. dealer would not honor warranty. looking around there are at least 20 other people in forum on edmunds.com reporting same issues. my underlying concern is premature brake failure due to faulty design of the electrical brake balancing system in the 2005 ford freestyle. *nm | |||
| 07/20/2006 | 15000 | 1 | 03/10/2005 |
| Dt*: the contact stated a noise was heard while depressing the brake pedal coupled with rough stops. the vehicle was driven to the dealer who determined the rotors and pads needed to be replaced. 08/04/06. updated. *tt | |||
| SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC - FOUNDATION COMPONENTS - DRUM | |||
| 03/17/2007 | 37434 | 1 | 07/26/2005 |
| 2005 ford freestyle - i was told the rear brakes need ed to be replaced just after the warranty expired. another owner with only 24,000 miles was told the same thing at the same time i was. this was not driver related. *ak | |||
| SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC - FOUNDATION COMPONENTS - DRUM - SHOES/LININGS | |||
| 04/02/2007 | 22000 | 1 | 06/28/2005 |
| Tl*- the contact owns a 2005 ford freestyle. while driving 35 mph he heard a rattling noise when the brake was depressed. the dealer stated that the brakes and rotors should be replaced. the brakes and the rotors have not been replaced. the vehicle currently had 22000 miles. *ak | |||
| SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC - PEDALS AND LINKAGES | |||
| 11/27/2005 | 3 | 07/28/2005 | |
| When depressed, brake pedal will descend below the level of the accelerator pedal. this allows the foot to contact the accelerator (gas) pedal before the car is stopped. dealer technician has informed me that the brake pedal may actually contact the floor in a hard stop. when asked for a solution to this problem, i was told that there was none, except fully moving one's foot farther to the left. when asked if the pad on the brake pedal could be elevated, i was told no. as these two surfaces are in very close proximity, especially for a large shoe, and as a panic stop may not always allow the time and sense to fully clear the gas pedal, i consider this a potentially very dangerous situation. i have contacted both surfaces at controlled intersection stops. i try to be wary, but i am uncertain that i can always accomplish the maneuver. i do not wish to be drawn into a hazardous situation because of a design flaw. thank you for your attention to these details. *jb | |||