Owner-reported complaints naming the steering system, filed with NHTSA
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Reports naming the steering system — racks, columns, power-steering assist and steering linkage. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2005 Ford Freestar submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 19 reports on file name it.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
Shown in the owner’s own words, exactly as filed
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 FORD FREESTAR. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 10 MPH, THE STEERING WHEEL SHOOK VIOLENTLY WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO A DEALER OR AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC TO DETERMINE THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT CONTACTED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 130,000.
MY TRANSMITION TURN MY CAR OFF IN THE HIGHEST MY ENGINE LIGHT KEEPS GOING ON
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 FORD FREESTAR. WHILE DRIVING 35 MPH, THE STEERING WHEEL BECAME DIFFICULT TO TURN. THE CONTACT HAD TO APPLY FORCE TO THE STEERING WHEEL IN ORDER TO STEER THE VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO A DEALER, BUT WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 111,000.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 FORD FREESTAR. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 40 MPH, THE POWER STEERING FAILED INTERMITTENTLY WITHOUT WARNING AND THE ENGINE STALLED. THE VEHICLE BECAME INCREASINGLY DIFFICULT TO CONTROL. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 112,000. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE.
I WAS MID TURN WHEN THE GAS PEDAL STOPPED WORKING WITH A LOUD GRINDING SOUND. IT WOULD NOT SHIFT BACK INTO GEAR AND THE LOUD GRINDING SOUND STILL PERSISTS. *TR
THIS HAS HAPPENED SEVERAL TIME OVER LAST YEAR OR SO THAT I HAVE OWNED THIS VEHICLE. WHEN DRIVING DOWN HIGHWAY AND IT STARTS TO RAIN CARS SPUTTERS AND SEEMS TO LOOSE POWER. TWICE IT HAS STALLED ON ME GOING 55 MILES AN HOUR ON HIGHWAY AND HAVE HAD TO TRY AND COAST TO SIDE OF ROAD IN TRAFFIC WITH PEOPLE BEEPING WITH LOSS OF STEERING. LUCKILY BOTH TIMES AFTER A FEW MINS THE VEHICLE STARTED AGAIN AND WAS ABLE TO MAKE IT HOME. HAVE CHANGED WIRES AND PLUGS, RUNS FINES IN DRY WEATHER BUT STILL STUTTERS AND TRIES TO STALL WHEN ITS WET OUT OR RAINS! VERY DANGEROUS AND WONT LET WIFE TAKE KIDS OUT WHEN IT RAINS IN FEAR THEY WILL GET STUCK SOMEWHERE. *TR
COMING INTO MY PARKING LOT, I LOST POWER STEERING. IT APPEARS THAT I HAVE A LEAK. BUT BEFORE THIS HAPPENED, I HAD SOME ODD SOUNDS HAPPENING AND SOME OTHER MINOR ISSUES WITH THE VEHICLE THAT AT THE TIME SEEMED UNRELATED. THEN I LOST MY STEERING. I BOUGHT THIS VEHICLE USED IN '09, SO I EXPECTED A FEW ISSUES ALONG THE WAY. THIS IS NOT THE FIRST MAJOR ISSUE I HAVE HAD, AS I HAD TO HAVE THE TRANNY RECALL ISSUE REPAIRED ABOUT A YEAR OR TWO AGO. (WHAT IS IT WITH FORD THINKING IT IS MORE COST EFFICIENT TO ALLOW PEOPLE TO GET HARMED THAN TO FIX A PROBLEM?!!! UNFORTUNATELY I HAVE NOT HAD THE INCOME TO BUY A NON-FORD VEHICLE, BUT MARK MY WORDS, WHEN I DO HAVE THE INCOME, I WILL NO LONGER BE A FORD DRIVER.) NOT THE FIRST TIME THAT I HAVE HAD TO GET RECALL WORK DONE EITHER, I NOW HAVE TO GET THE REAR SEAT FIXED YET, BUT CANNOT DRIVE IT TO THE DEALER TO GET IT FIXED BECAUSE I DON'T HAVE POWER STEERING! IRONIC? HHMMMM...I WONDER. MY CAR HAS BEEN SITTING SINCE JAN 6 2014. NO MONEY TO FIX IT UNTIL NOW. THANKS FORD -PLEASE NOTE: SAID WITH SARCASM. *TR
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 FORD FREESTAR. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 10 MPH, THERE WAS A LOUD NOISE COMING FROM THE FRONT END OF THE VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE FRONT HUB, ROTORS, AND WHEEL BEARINGS NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 80,000.
WHILE DRIVING THROUGH TOWN AT 30 MILES PER HOUR, ENGINE STALLED, LOST POWER STEERING AND SPEED CONTROL. THE ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON AND THE TRANSAXLE LIGHT WAS BLINKING. THANK GOODNESS I WASN'T ON THE HIGHWAY. *TR I BELIEVE ONE BAD PART HAD BEEN REPLACE WITH ANOTHER AS THE TORQUE CONVERTER PART HAD BEEN REPLACED AND HERE IT WAS DOING THE SAME THING ALL OVER AGAIN LESS THAN 1 YEAR LATER. I FIGURED I HAD NO OPTIONS, WHAT COULD I DO, HAD IT TOWED. I JUST FEEL IF THEY ARE USING INADEQUATE PARTS TO REPLACE BAD PARTS THE DANGER CONTINUES TO APPLY AND THEY SHOULD BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE. *TR
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 FORD FREESTAR. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 30 MPH, THERE WAS A LOSS OF POWER STEERING WITHOUT WARNING. THE STEERING WHEEL BECAME EXTREMELY DIFFICULT TO TURN. IN ADDITION, THE POWER STEERING FLUID CONTINUOUSLY LEAKED ONTO THE GROUND EVEN THOUGH THE CONTACT REFILLED THE RESERVOIR CONSTANTLY. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE PROBLEM. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 131,000.
WAS IN A 30 MILE PER HOUR SPEED ZONE CAME TO A CAUTION LIGHT AND HAD TO MAKE A RIGHT HAND TURN ON A VERY DANGEROUS CORNER....MANY TRACTOR TRAILERS USE THIS TURN, WHILE MAKING THE TURN, ENGINE STALLED AND WAS HARD TO CONTROL STEERING WITH NO POWER. MANAGED TO PULL TO SIDE OF THE ROAD WHEN SEVERAL TRACTOR TRAILERS CAME AROUND THE SAME CORNER. HAD I NOT BEEN ABLE TO MOVE OVER I WOULD HAVE BEEN HIT AS THEY WOULD HAVE HAD NO WHERE TO GO, JUST A 2 LANE ROAD. CAR STARTED BUT WHEN I TRIED TO MOVE IT, IT WENT ABOUT 20 FEET AND STALLED AGAIN. HAD TO CALL A TOW COMPANY. TORQUE CONVERTER HAS ALREADY BEEN REPLACED ONCE AT APPROXIMATELY 99,900 MILES. FLASHING LIGHT ON DASH SAYS TO CHECK TRANSAXLE. NOT FIXED AS YET...CODE P0715 CAME UP ON THE TECH MACHINE, TURBINE SPEED SENSOR CHECK FAULT. I HAVE CHECKED FOR THESE CODES AND IT SEEMS THAT FORD SENT THESE VEHICLES OFF THE PRODUCTION LINES WITH THESE PROBLEMS TO BEGIN WITH. I FIND THAT NOTHING EVER GETS DONE UNTIL SOMEONE IS KILLED OR SEVERELY INJURED. IT'S A SAD WORLD WE LIVE IN THAT LIFE HAS TO BE LOST BEFORE MANUFACTURERS ARE MADE TO CORRECT WHAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN FIXED BEFORE LEAVING THE PLANT. *TR
WHILE MERGING ONTO ROUTE 50 OFF 628 THE CAR DIED. I DRIFTED ONTO SIDE OF ROAD, BUT IN PARK AND RESTARTED IT. TOOK EXIT OFF 50 AT 450 AND CAR STOPPED AGAIN. PUT IN PARK AT RED LIGHT, STARTED UP AGAIN AND DROVE DOWN RIVA ROAD. CAR STOPPED 4 MORE TIMES BEFORE GETTING TO MY RESIDENCE, EACH TIME ENGINE STOPPING, NO POWER STEERING AND NO BRAKES. CALLED KOONS FORD ANNAPOLIS AND HAD THE CAR TOWED THERE THE NEXT DAY (SINCE THE INCIDENT OCCURRED ON A SUNDAY). THEY KEPT THE CAR FOR 1 WEEK AND COULD NOT CONFIRM OR DUPLICATE ANY OF THE CONDITIONS. POSSIBLY PCM BUT NOT SURE.THEY FOUND ONE ERROR WHILE DRIVING IT , BUT THE COMPUTER COULD NOT FIND IT. PAID FOR DIAGNOSTIC TEST. CAR HAS BEEN RUNNING FINE UNTIL 7/6/13 WHEN EXACTLY THE SAME THING HAPPENED. TOOK BACK TO FORD AND 2 DAYS LATER WAS TOLD IT WAS THE PCM. COULD NOT SAY HOW LONG IT WOULD TAKE TO GET A NEW ONE AS FORD DOES NOT HAVE THEM IT STOCK, BUT FOR $1300.00 COULD PLACE THE ORDER. FOUND A FORD TECH BLOG THAT DESCRIBES EXACTLY WHAT EVERY ONE IS GOING THROUGH AND HOW TO FIX IT. WATER IS LEAKING UNDER THE COWL AND SHORTING OUT THE PCM. THERE NEEDS TO BE A RECALL ON THIS BEFORE SOME ONE DIES. *TR
ON SEPTEMBER 21, 2011 I NOTICED THAT MY 2005 FORD FREESTAR WAS HESITATING WHEN I PULLED OUT OF A PARKING SPOT IN FRONT OF MY HOME. I WAS ABLE TO GET TO MY FINAL DESTINATION, A LOCAL SUPERMARKET, WITHOUT INCIDENT BUT COULD TELL THAT THE CAR WAS NOT SHIFTING GEARS AS SMOOTHLY AS I WAS ACCUSTOMED TO. ON THE RETURN TRIP HOME, UPON MERGING ONTO THE EXPRESSWAY I TYPICALLY TAKE, MY FREESTAR'S ENGINE BEGAN TO SPUTTER THEN IMMEDIATELY SHUT DOWN. ALL POWER TO THE ENGINE WAS LOST. POWER STEERING WAS LOST AS WELL MAKING THE CAR IMPOSSIBLE TO MANEUVER. THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM COMPLETELY SHUT DOWN AND I WAS FORCED TO COME TO A COMPLETE STOP, SHIFT INTO PARK AND REENGAGE THE IGNITION. FROM THAT POINT ON, UNTIL I ARRIVED HOME, THE FREESTAR WOULD NOT SHIFT BEYOND SECOND GEAR. IF I MADE AN ATTEMPT TO ACCELERATE, AGAIN THE ENGINE WOULD SPUTTER AND ALL POWER TO THE ENGINE, POWER STEERING AND ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS WOULD SHUT DOWN COMPLETELY. I MANAGED TO GET HOME THAT DAY BY STOPPING AND RESTARTING MY FREESTAR WHAT I CAN ONLY ESTIMATE TO BE 50 TO 75 TIMES. THE MOST HARROWING PART OF THIS EXPERIENCE WAS THE LOST OF POWER AND CONTROL WITHOUT WARNING. PRIOR TO THIS DAY, I HAD NEVER EXPERIENCED ANYTHING REMOTELY LIKE THIS WITH THE FREESTAR, AND THEN FROM ONE DAY TO THE NEXT, I WAS HELPLESS ON THE EXPRESSWAY EXPECTING A FATAL COLLISION WITH AN UNSUSPECTING DRIVER. *TR
PER FORD SERVICE: WATER IN PCM 5/03/11 SIMILAR PROBLEM 7/15/10 ALTHOUGH AT THE TIME FORD SERVICE WAS UNABLE TO FIND THE CAUSE. AT ABOUT 20 MILES PER HOUR WHILE MAKING A RIGHT HAND TURN THE ENGINE STALLED, THE POWER STEERING AND POWER BRAKES FAILED CAUSING ME TO TEMPORARILY LOSE CONTROL AND SWERVE INTO THE ON-COMING LANE. LUCKILY THERE WAS NO TRAFFIC OR PEDESTRIANS THERE AT THE TIME. FORD SERVICE FOUND THE CAUSE TO BE WATER IN THE POWERTRAIN CONTROL MODULE (PCM).
LOST POWER STEERING ON MY 2005 FORD FREE STAR. *TR
THE POWER STEERING HIGH PRESSURE HOSE FAILS. *TR
POWER STEERING HOSE FAILURE ON 2005 FORD FREESTAR. *TR
PURCHASED VEHICLE IN USED CONDITION LIC. AUTO DEALER 06/07. 10/07 VEHICLE BEGAN TO "DRINK" POWER STEERING FLUID; RESEVOIR DRY/ REFILL/ DRY ETC.., 12/07 VEHICLE BEGAN TO MAKE A LOUD POP DURING TURNING; MOVING IN BOTH FORWARD & REVERSE DIRECTIONS AND ALSO SIMILAR NOISE WHEN BREAKS WERE APPLIED ABOVE 20 MPH. TROUBLE SHOOTING AND PHYSICAL INVESTIGATION OF LOGICAL CAUSES REVEALED PROBABLE CRACK IN "RACK" PORTION OF RACK AND PINION STEERING SYSTEM. REPAIR IS SCHEDULED FOR 02/01 ABSOLUTE FAILURE MAY RESULT IN CRASH DUE TO WHEEL SEPARATION WHILE VEHICLE IS IN MOTION. NATURE OF SEPARATION MIGHT RESULT IN VEHICLE FLIPPING. *TR
POWER STEERING STARTED MAKING A LOUD NOISE. ON INSPECTION, POWER STEERING FLUID CONTAINER WAS BONE DRY. FILLED IT UP. THE NEXT DAY, THE SAME THING. HAVE BEEN HAVING TO REFILL EVERY 3 TO 5 DAYS. PUMP IS WORKING. CANNOT DETERMINE WHERE LEAK IS. *JB
Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.
Categories with enough reports to have a page of their own
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