2005 Ford Freestar NHTSA Investigations
NHTSA Freestar Defect Investigations
The following investigations on the Ford Freestar have been announced by the ODI. Interested in how this information is collected? Read more about investigations by the NHTSA.
Recent 2005 Freestar Investigations
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Service Jack Failure Defect Investigation for the 2005 Freestar
Vehicle Component: Equipment:Mechanical:Jacks
Summary: 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.
More Details: For detailed information & supporting documents, see the official NHTSA page concerning investigation #PE11033 »
Status of Investigation: and there is a possible recall.
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Transmission Torque Converter Failure Defect Investigation for the 2005 Freestar
Vehicle Component: Power Train:Automatic Transmission*
Summary: On January 4, 2012 Ford Motor Company submitted a defect information report (NHTSA recall no. 12V-006) to NHTSA regarding a defect in the performance of the transmission torque converter for approximately 205,896 Ford freestar and Mercury monterey vehicles. The supplier of the torque converter manufactured converters containing a pump shaft spline that did not consistently meet the specified heat treatment requirements. In normal use, the spline may wear excessively and eventually fails without warning. If a torque converter malfunctions due to a sheared pump drive spline, the vehicle will abruptly lose motive power. This problem affected model year 2004 and 2005 freestar and monterey minivans. During the investigation NHTSA identified 532 complaints alleging incidents of vehicle stall while driving due to torque converter failure. These failures were sudden and without any prior warning. Of the 490 complaints that reported the speed at the time of the failure:218 (44%) occurred at or above 55 mph; and 344 (70%) occurred at or above 40 mph. Of the 382 complaints that reported the position of the vehicle relative to traffic after it came to a stop following the loss of motive power: 122 (32%) alleged that the vehicle came to a stop in the flow of traffic and remained in the flow of traffic until pushed or towed out of the way; 225 (59%) reported that the vehicle was maneuvered to the side of the roadway and remained there until towed; and 35 (9%) reported that they were able to maneuver to a location away from the flow of traffic, such as a parking lot. Two crashes were allegedly caused by torque converter failure, including an incident in which a freestar suddenly lost power in 65 mph traffic in an area where there was no shoulder available. As a result, the freestar stopped in a travel lane and when trailing traffic maneuvered to avoid the stalled vehicle, a four vehicle collision occurred. In these types of circumstances NHTSA believes the defect presents an unreasonable risk to motor vehicle safety and so advised Ford. In its defect information report, Ford refers to its response to NHTSA's preliminary evaluation information request, which stated that "a vehicle that loses motive power due to torque converter malfunction remains readily controllable; the vehicle will coast during which it can be safely maneuvered and stopped because the engine continues to run. Because the engine continues to run, steering and braking are unaffected, and the vehicle's electrical system and directional signals remain functional."in view of the foregoing, NHTSA does not agree with this statement. This investigation is closed based on Ford's recall.
More Details: For detailed information & supporting documents, see the official NHTSA page concerning investigation #EA09016 »
Status of Investigation: This investigation was closed on February 02 2012 and there was a recall ordered: #12V006000
* This defect investigation is filed under 2 related vehicle components.
TORQUE CONVERTER OUTPUT SHAFT FAILURE Defect Investigation for the 2005 Freestar
Vehicle Component: Power Train:Automatic Transmission:Torque Converter*
Summary: ODI has received 227 owner complaints alleging a sudden and unexpected loss of motive power due to an internal transmission failure in the subject vehicles. Of those complaints, 124 can be attributed to the torque converter output shaft splines stripping causing a sudden loss of power to the drivetrain. The remaining 103 complaints experienced a loss of motive power but the specific internal failure cause within the transmission is not known. ODI has upgraded the investigation to an engineering analysis (EA09-016) to continue its assessment of the scope, frequency and safety-related consequences of the alleged defect.
More Details: For detailed information & supporting documents, see the official NHTSA page concerning investigation #PE09033 »
Status of Investigation: This investigation was closed on November 17 2009 and no recall was issued.
* This defect investigation is filed under 2 related vehicle components.
Engine Stalling Defect Investigation for the 2005 Freestar
Vehicle Component: Vehicle Speed Control*
Summary: 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.
More Details: For detailed information & supporting documents, see the official NHTSA page concerning investigation #PE10033 »
Status of Investigation: This investigation was closed on July 15 2011 and no recall was issued.
* This defect investigation is filed under 2 related vehicle components.