Transmission problems..........

[acworthpatrick]

I got home from work friday night, parked in the garage no problem.
We loaded up the van to go to the local beach area near my house saturday morning - put it in reverse and nothing. No drive or reverse. I can't believe this is happening to me again! I called the tranny shop that rebuilt it last time and he said the splines probley stripped again and they will repair under the warranty. He advised me to get rid of it and stay away from any Ford front wheel drive vehicles.

I love this van - but I am so tired of this over and over again. I feel everyones pain on this. He recommended an Explorer or Expedition - however I can't buy from a company that I don't trust. They will not own up to this issue or even make a better replacement part at that.

I am glad for all the people who haven't had issues and hope you don't. I guess this is it for me. We'll have to take a loss on it and trade it in. I saw someone else looking at Toyota's - I have heard nothing but good things about them so we may look at one. Thinking I may go with a car though - van is more trouble than its worth. And the gas mileage in this van is worse than most V8's.

[MonsoonMike]

I very much feel your pain. I have gone from loving my van to hating it in the course of a month. This van is the biggest piece of crap I have ever owned. I thought I was getting such a good deal on a $7,500 van. Now I know why I got it so cheap. No one wants the piece of junk. Now I've put almost $3,000 on a tranny and rental car, and now God knows how much more on this latest problem (still waiting to hear back from the shop). I could have bought a Toyota for more money but had no problems. And these major problems are not the only problems I'm having. Lots of other annoying stupid little things. The thing rattles at times from where I don't know. The power locks sometimes work. Sometimes don't. The thing goes through bulbs left and right. What a piece of garbage. Everyone is laughing at me saying "ha ha, should have bought a Toyota. Only dumb people buy Fords." They're right. I admit it.

[crazy96863]

So the mechanic puts a part on the van that is made by an aftermarket manufacturer and it is Fords fault the part that the mechanic chose was defective? Sounds pretty convenient rather than him not admiting he put a less than spec component in place. Aftermarket manufacturers have the luxury of monitoring the weak links in all manufacturers and can compensate the design of replacement components to prevent this from happening again.

Transmission rebuilders have kits than are not just designed to rebuild the transmission but to rebuild it stronger than spec which obviously did not happen. But then it is Fords fault. This is convenient and shallow. Get a new machanic.

[acworthpatrick]

crazy96863 - you took my post way to personally, unless you are the CEO of Ford or something.

I got the verdict finally and the peice on top that attaches to the cable used to shift is broken and they are still covering it since they put it back in the van after the last rebuild. They did use Ford parts for the rebuild since it was under my extended warranty - that was apparently a requirement. I wasn't happy about it - believe me!

However all this being said - this transmission does have a design flaw and Ford should step up and correct it. I still don't think I will ever be able to put my faith in this company again after all this. Say what you will, but those splines will strip and you'll be walking one day with no warning at all. We'll see how you feel then.

Overall - I think the van compares to its foriegn competitors in Ride - Comfort - Looks - and passes them up in Saftey. However reliability is also important and is pretty decent in this van in my opinion. We haven't had much trouble besides tranny related. I see people complaining about gas mileage - but lets face it, this isn't a Geo Metro. If you wanted 35mpg you bought the wrong type of vehicle.

As for Honda / Toyota reliability I can't say as I have never owned one. I do know several people here I work with tell me Honda is bad for FWD tranny problems to and they are twice the price to replace! Ouch

I currently own a 1999 Saturn SL2 with 113,000 on it and it has never really had any problems besides an alternator last summer. I expected that out of the Freestar and have been dissappointed - but that is life. I also know the Freestar is a bigger, heavier, more complicated vehicle - so I guess some problems should be expected. We also traded in a 1993 Toyota Previa with 208,000 on it and the transmission was just then starting to slip.

When I compare the Ford to these two vehicles - it can't stand up to the competition.

[balogne_t]

Well said Crazy96863! Google Toyota and Honda minivan transmissions, they appear to be just as bad and much more expensive to repair....Typical normal parts cost a fortune on the imports.

[crazy96863]

No- not the CEO... I wouldn't work well with the union bosses.

Here is the thing... We all have our own perspective on everything. You mentioned your Saturn is great; I have always heard they were crap and I even drove a crappy one which validated my perspective.

That brings us to my perspective whether right or wrong about this site. I look at it as a resource for Ford owners to come together and share experiences, perhaps learn a few do-it-yourself tricks, discuss challenges, and maybe even brag a little. The conversations are typically sincere which I think we can all appreciate.

When it comes to the 'Ford Sucks' type of posts, there is nothing of value for anyone to gain from that. It seems to me, again my perspective, that there are many people who come here that probably don't even own Fords just to say they have had all these absolutely rediculus issues which wouldn't happen with the worse model of any make let alone a brand new Ford which is in the middle of one heck of a fight to claim the rights of being the best in the industry.

Anyway, this isn't my website but I do appreciate those who work to maintain it. It is that appreciation that compels me to suggest to anyone who wants to come here for no reason other to rag on Fords to please, out of common courtesy and respect for others, take it elsewhere; I think they may even have a Ford Haters thread elsewhere on this site. If you want to have a serious discussion on something then lets get on with it.

I do appreciate your well thought out response. I am not insinuating you are here just trolling around bashing Fords for no reason other than boredom either but there are those out there who do.

[crazy96863]

Oh ya... Anyone got any pictures of Freestar tranny splines that have been stripped?

[acworthpatrick]

Originally Posted by crazy96863

Oh ya... Anyone got any pictures of Freestar tranny splines that have been stripped?

I wish I had taken some the first time.
I can describe it though - if you can picture one of those 2 peice wheel bearings used in newer vehicles and imagine the center ring breaking away from the outer ring - thats what it looked like.

He said its a common problem on the Ford FWD tranny's. Hopefully it will never bite you, but if it does it can be a real pain.

However I am wondering now if transmission rebuild was actually required or whether torque converter replacement was all that was needed?

[LMK]

I do; had my mechanic open the transmission. Taking Ford to Smal Claims Court here in Quebec (Canada). My 2005 Freestar's transmission died at 131,000 km (81,000 miles) with a transmission and power stearing cooler.

[acworthpatrick]

So sorry for your 3000 dollar loss. This is really a nice van besides this transmission - but it has sure demenished my trust in Ford products.

Originally Posted by LMK

I do; had my mechanic open the transmission. Taking Ford to Smal Claims Court here in Quebec (Canada). My 2005 Freestar's transmission died at 131,000 km (81,000 miles) with a transmission and power stearing cooler.