Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EQUIPMENT | |||||
| 17584 | 02/01/2004 | 10008143 | Remote entry transmitters not working. *tt | 07/22/2004 | |
| EQUIPMENT - ELECTRICAL - AIR CONDITIONER | |||||
| 19004 | 01/01/2006 | 10019067 | Rear climate control noises - service tip. *tt | 02/10/2006 | |
| EQUIPMENT - MECHANICAL - CARRIER/RACK | |||||
| 032013 | 10/13/2003 | 10004896 | Roof rack side rail cover installation instructions. *tt | 01/14/2004 | |
Investigations
| NHTSA ID | Manufacturer | Date open | Date close | Subject | Recall campaign | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EQUIPMENT - MECHANICAL - JACKS | ||||||
| PE11033 | Ford Motor Company | 09/13/2011 | 12/07/2012 | Service Jack Failure | ||
| The subject vehicles (sv) are all automatic transmission, front wheel drive vehicles with hand actuated mechanical park brakes. the investigation focused on allegations that the service jack failed and caused the vehicles to fall. the subject scissors-type jack appears to fail at the slotted hinge joints where the jack screw is located (bends at mid-point). the failures occur while the jack is in use, and vehicle movement (forward or backward) is typically reported coincident with the failure. ford reported that most my 2003 windstar and all my 2006-2007 freestar/monterey also use the subject jack, an additional 223,246 vehicles.nhtsa has received six consumer complaints (voqs) involving three injury incidents and a fatality.ford reported 26 complaints for the svs involving an additional 4 injuries. in the fatal incident, the van fell on a person working on the engine under the otherwise unsupported vehicle; odi was unable to determine whether the vehicle was adequately chocked or the park brake was properly set. reported injuries include a broken arm, head and hand injuries, arm and rib bruises, and muscle strains. nhtsa has received just one new report since opening this investigation. the complaint trend in odi and ford data is flat if not declining.ford provides instructions and warnings in the owner's manual, on a placard placed with the jack, and on the jack itself. these instruct consumers to put the vehicle gear selector in park, properly set the parking brake, chock the opposite wheel, use the jack only for changing a tire, loosen the lug nuts prior to jacking, and to not get under a vehicle supported by the jack only (nhtsa also recommends that jacks only be used for tire changing).in the voqs, roughly half the consumers were using the jack for something other than tire changing, half had not chocked a wheel, and half had not properly set the parking brake. odi notes that since the front wheels are drive wheels (with an open center differential) the park gear cannot provide vehicle stability (longitudinally) when a front wheel is raised. all nhtsa complaints and most of the complaints to ford involved failures while a front wheel was raised.in response to odi's inquiry, ford conducted testing on a 2004 freestar. ford's tests showed that when a front tire was raised the service jack held without failing under various scenarios except when a rocking force was applied and the parking brake was not properly set. based on its testing and its analysis of field data, ford concluded that the type of jack failure evidenced in this investigation (bending at mid-point) was likely caused by vehicle movement due to an improperly secured vehicle, or other misuse of the jack. ford notes that rates in this investigation were similar to those in another investigation (ea91-049) which odi closed. odi also analyzed jack data for my 2003 and newer vehicles to compare to the sv population. to assist with this analysis, odi requested data from the jack manufacturer (actually its successor company) who provided limited data but did identify other models using the same design jack. odi was unable to identify a significant difference in the incidence of jack failures (including those involving bending failures) between the svs, other vehicles which used the same jack, or other vehicles where the jack type was unknown or different.a safety-related defect has not been identified at this time and further use of agency resources does not appear to be warranted.accordingly, investigation pe11-033 is closed. the closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by nhtsa that a safety-related defect does not exist and odi reserves the right to take further action if warranted by the circumstances.the odi reports cited above can be reviewed at www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/complaints under the following identification (odi) numbers:10247506, 10330290, 10389720, 10398164, 10423688 and 10437970. | ||||||
| PE11033 | Ford Motor Company | 09/13/2011 | 12/07/2012 | Service Jack Failure | ||
| The subject vehicles (sv) are all automatic transmission, front wheel drive vehicles with hand actuated mechanical park brakes.the investigation focused on allegations that the service jack failed and caused the vehicles to fall.the subject scissors-type jack appears to fail at the slotted hinge joints where the jack screw is located (bends at mid-point).the failures occur while the jack is in use, and vehicle movement (forward or backward) is typically reported coincident with the failure.ford reported that most my 2003 windstar and all my 2006-2007 freestar/monterey also use the subject jack, an additional 223,246 vehicles.nhtsa has received six consumer complaints (voqs) involving three injury incidents and a fatality.ford reported 26 complaints for the svs involving an additional 4 injuries. in the fatal incident, the van fell on a person working on the engine under the otherwise unsupported vehicle; odi was unable to determine whether the vehicle was adequately chocked or the park brake was properly set.reported injuries include a broken arm, head and hand injuries, arm and rib bruises, and muscle strains.nhtsa has received just one new report since opening this investigation.the complaint trend in odi and ford data is flat if not declining.ford provides instructions and warnings in the owner's manual, on a placard placed with the jack, and on the jack itself. these instruct consumers to put the vehicle gear selector in park, properly set the parking brake, chock the opposite wheel, use the jack only for changing a tire, loosen the lug nuts prior to jacking, and to not get under a vehicle supported by the jack only (nhtsa also recommends that jacks only be used for tire changing, and that consumers never get under the vehicle).in the voqs, roughly half the consumers were using the jack for something other than tire changing, half had not chocked a wheel, and half had not properly set the parking brake.odi notes that since the front wheels are drive wheels (with an open center differential) the park gear cannot provide vehicle stability (longitudinally) when a front wheel is raised.all nhtsa complaints and most of the complaints to ford involved failures while a front wheel was raised.in response to odi's inquiry, ford conducted testing on a 2004 freestar.ford's tests showed that when a front tire was raised the service jack held without failing under various scenarios except when a rocking force was applied and the parking brake was not properly set.based on its testing and its analysis of field data, ford concluded that the type of jack failure evidenced in this investigation (bending at mid-point) was likely caused by vehicle movement due to an improperly secured vehicle, or other misuse of the jack.ford notes that rates in this investigation were similar to those in another investigation (ea91-049) which odi closed.odi also analyzed jack data for my 2003 and newer vehicles to compare to the sv population. to assist with this analysis, odi requested data from the jack manufacturer (actually its successor company) who provided limited data but did identify other models using the same design jack.odi was unable to identify a significant difference in the incidence of jack failures (including those involving bending failures) between the svs, other vehicles which used the same jack, or other vehicles where the jack type was unknown or different.a safety-related defect has not been identified at this time and further use of agency resources does not appear to be warranted.accordingly, investigation pe11-033 is closed.the closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by nhtsa that a safety-related defect does not exist and odi reserves the right to take further action if warranted by the circumstances.the odi reports cited above can be reviewed at www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/complaints under the following identification (odi) numbers:10247506, 10330290, 10389720, 103981 | ||||||
| PE11033 | Ford Motor Company | 09/13/2011 | 12/07/2012 | Service Jack Failure | ||
| The subject vehicles (sv) are all automatic transmission, front wheel drive vehicles with hand actuated mechanical park brakes.the investigation focused on allegations that the service jack failed and caused the vehicles to fall.the subject scissors-type jack appears to fail at the slotted hinge joints where the jack screw is located (bends at mid-point).the failures occur while the jack is in use, and vehicle movement (forward or backward) is typically reported coincident with the failure.ford reported that most my 2003 windstar and all my 2006-2007 freestar/monterey also use the subject jack, an additional 223,246 vehicles.nhtsa has received six consumer complaints (voqs) involving three injury incidents and a fatality.ford reported 26 complaints for the svs involving an additional 4 injuries. in the fatal incident, the van fell on a person working on the engine under the otherwise unsupported vehicle; odi was unable to determine whether the vehicle was adequately chocked or the park brake was properly set.reported injuries include a broken arm, head and hand injuries, arm and rib bruises, and muscle strains.nhtsa has received just one new report since opening this investigation.the complaint trend in odi and ford data is flat if not declining.ford provides instructions and warnings in the owner's manual, on a placard placed with the jack, and on the jack itself. these instruct consumers to put the vehicle gear selector in park, properly set the parking brake, chock the opposite wheel, use the jack only for changing a tire, loosen the lug nuts prior to jacking, and to not get under a vehicle supported by the jack only (nhtsa also recommends that jacks only be used for tire changing, and that consumers never get under the vehicle).in the voqs, roughly half the consumers were using the jack for something other than tire changing, half had not chocked a wheel, and half had not properly set the parking brake.odi notes that since the front wheels are drive wheels (with an open center differential) the park gear cannot provide vehicle stability (longitudinally) when a front wheel is raised.all nhtsa complaints and most of the complaints to ford involved failures while a front wheel was raised.in response to odi's inquiry, ford conducted testing on a 2004 freestar.ford's tests showed that when a front tire was raised the service jack held without failing under various scenarios except when a rocking force was applied and the parking brake was not properly set.based on its testing and its analysis of field data, ford concluded that the type of jack failure evidenced in this investigation (bending at mid-point) was likely caused by vehicle movement due to an improperly secured vehicle, or other misuse of the jack.ford notes that rates in this investigation were similar to those in another investigation (ea91-049) which odi closed. | ||||||
| PE11033 | FORD MOTOR COMPANY | 09/13/2011 | Service Jack Failure | |||
| Odi has received five complaints and one manufacturer report alleging the failure of the original equipment service jack on model years 2004-2005 ford freestar and mercury monterey minivans.the complaints allege the jack can suddenly fail while in use and cause the vehicle to suddenly fall.in the failures reported, the jacks appeared to have failed at the slotted hinge joints which separated under load.the report involving a fatality alleges the jack failed and allowed the vehicle to fall on a person who was working under the otherwise unsupported vehicle.nhtsa is investigating this issue to determine if a safety defect exists.please note that the agency does not recommend that any oem jack be used for anything other than changing a tire. | ||||||
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| EQUIPMENT | |||
| 03/07/2011 | |||
| A car jack, part number 3f2z17080ab, that comes standard with 2004 ford freestar minivans, bent while supporting the van causing the vehicle to fall, crush and kill the owner that was under the vehicle doing repairs in the right front wheel well. | |||
| 06/01/2004 | 1 | 06/01/2004 | |
| This is a general compliant about my 2004 ford freestar. the problems started almost immediately after driving the car away from the dealer. 1. i was at a stop light and the rubber cover fell off of the brake pedal. 2. the next thing was the keyless remote worked about 50% of the time to open the passenger doors. 3. then after about the first 500 miles of driving, the steering wheel oscillated in my hands when coming to a stop. 4. also when driving there were several annoying sounds. 5 finally, and this is the most annoying of all, i can't run the heater in the cold weather because excessive hot air comes from the defrost vents even though i have the control set to 'floor vents' only. now what has the ford dealers done about the problems? 1. i replaced the rubber cover on the brake pedal. 2. the dealers refuse to fix the keyless remote problem. they claim it is working fine even though i took it to independent alarm tech who told me the 'unlock all' receiver needs to be replaced. 3. the oscillation of the steering wheel while stopping was ' fixed' by one dealer by grinding down a warped brake rotor. this repair, which i objected to ford not replacing the rotor with a new rotor, only lasted a few thousand miles and the problem recurred. i took it to another dealer who replaced the bad rotor. 4. one of the annoying sounds was fixed by one dealer but not all of the sounds. i took it to another dealer and all were fixed. 5. the dealers refuse to fix the problem of excessive hot air coming from the defrost vent. i have to duct tape over the defrost vent to be able run the heater. then i have to pull the duct tape away if the windshield fogs over inside the car. in general i think the quality of this car is the worst that i have ever owned and i have owned several new cars in my almost 70 years of age. *jb | |||
| EQUIPMENT - ELECTRICAL | |||
| 05/01/2004 | 0 | 04/26/2004 | |
| When using the headliner-mounted dvd system screen, visibility through the rear view mirror is completely obscured. when reported to ford as a major safety issue, i was told via my dealer that the ford engineers said to use my side view mirrors. this seems highly inadequate when the van is sold based on its enhanced safety features. this was not an issue with the windstar, and in my opinion, is a major design flaw that will cause accidents due to inadequate visibility. *la | |||
| EQUIPMENT - ELECTRICAL - AIR CONDITIONER | |||
| 05/01/2008 | 47278 | 3 | |
| 2004 ford freestar. consumer states vehicles drives rough, stating vehicle accelerates and decelerates on its own *tgw the consumer stated the vehicle would slow down and then speed up with rapid jerking. the consumer had the egr replaced at a cost of $289.97. also, the air conditioner compressor, ignition coil and main computer had to be replaced. *jb | |||
| EQUIPMENT - MECHANICAL - JACKS | |||
| 11/15/2011 | 113000 | ||
| Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford freestar. the contact stated that while attempting to change a tire using the manufacturers jack, the jack failed. the vehicle barely missed landing on the contacts foot. the manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. the failure mileage was 113,000. the vin was not available. | |||
| 11/15/2011 | 113000 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2004 ford freestar. the contact stated that while attempting to change a tire using the manufacturer | |||
| 11/02/2008 | 1 | ||
| The factory installed jack broke at the hinges, and my vehicle fell on my father. *tr | |||