2005 Ford Freestar problems, complaints & recalls

2005 Ford Freestar recalls (2)

• Recall 13V081000Mar 7, 2013196,667 vehicles
  SEATS

  Ford is recalling certain model year 2004-2007 Freestar and Mercury Monterey vehicles manufactured from March 24, 2003, through November 7, 2006, equipped with a third row seat and originally sold in, or currently registered in, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia. The third row stowable seat can experience corrosion and structural degradation at the seat anchor mechanism mounted to the rear wheel wells. As a result of the corrosion, the third row seat may not fully latch into its seating position.

  Risk: In the event that the vehicle is crashed into from the rear, an unlatched seat may increase the risk of personal injury.

  Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will install new third row seat latch striker mounting brackets, free of charge. The recall began on March 28, 2013. Owners may contact Ford Motor Company Customer Relationship Center at 1-866-436-7332.

• Recall 12V006000Jan 9, 2012206,452 vehicles
  POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION · POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:TORQUE CONVERTER

  Ford is recalling certain model year 2004 and 2005 ford freestar and mercury monterey vehicles. The torque converter output shaft may fail.

  Risk: This condition results in a sudden loss of motive power with no warning, increasing the risk of a crash.

  Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the torque converter free of charge. The safety recall began on august 9, 2012. Owners may contact the ford motor company customer relationship center at 1-866-436-7332.

NHTSA defect investigations

• EQ12010Opened Sep 28, 2012Closed Dec 31, 2012

  Stabilus Rear Liftgate Struts Failing

  Please see the attached closing resume summary.It has been attached to this document as a PDF.

• EA12003Opened Apr 23, 2012Closed May 2, 2013led to recall 13V081000

  Corrosion of Third-Row Seat Attachment

  Ford is conducting a safety recall to repair the third-row seat's latch mechanisms in approximately 196,667 model year (MY) 2004 through 2007 Ford Freestar and Mercury Monterey vehicles (see NHTSA recall 13V-081 for more details).The recall covers vehicles originally sold, or currently registered, in the salt belt states or high corrosion areas of the United States: Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia,…

• PE11033Opened Sep 13, 2011Closed Dec 7, 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 …

• PE10033Opened Aug 23, 2010Closed Jul 15, 2011

  Engine Stalling

  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 t…

• EA09016Opened Nov 10, 2009Closed Feb 2, 2012led to recall 12V006000

  Transmission Torque Converter Failure

  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 abrupt…

• PE09033Opened Jul 15, 2009Closed Nov 17, 2009

  Torque converter output shaft failure

  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 …

Recent 2005 Ford Freestar complaints

Excerpts of the newest owner complaints, lightly cleaned of personal details. Complaints are unverified owner reports.

1. Filed Jun 7, 2026MSTransmission & Drivetrain

   When I was driving my van was loosing power even when I was pushing the gas I had to pull over before a car was about to hit me. I look it up online it had a recall in 2013 but I bought van from someone last year and I called the ford place about the recall and they said couldn’t do it Mac hik in Jackson

   NHTSA complaint #11742615 · source
2. Filed Jul 17, 2025317,000 miMNSeats & Seat Belts

   The contact owns a 2005 Ford Freestar. The contact stated that the third-row seat attachments were rusted. The vehicle was taken to the dealer to be repaired under NHTSA Campaign Number: 13V081000 (Seats); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was…

   NHTSA complaint #11674191 · source
3. Filed May 12, 2025MNTransmission & Drivetrain

   The contact owns a 2005 Ford Freestar. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the transmission seized and remained in neutral. The vehicle jerked and shortly returned to normal functionality; however, the failure persisted. The contact stated that the gear shifter light was illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure became a recurring…

   NHTSA complaint #11660471 · source
4. Filed Oct 17, 2024OKTransmission & Drivetrain

   The contact owns a 2005 Ford Freestar. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the accelerator pedal was depressed, however, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended. The contact stated that the vehicle stopped in the middle of the street, however the engine was still on. The contact stated that the gear shifter did not function as intended. The contact stated that the gear shifter did not shift. The contact was able to coast the vehicle to the shoulder…

   NHTSA complaint #11620383 · source
5. Filed Jun 18, 2024350,000 miTNTransmission & Drivetrain

   The contact owns a 2005 Ford Freestar. The contact stated while driving 70 MPH and releasing the accelerator pedal, the contact noticed an abnormal clucking sound. The contact stated that upon depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle failed to respond. The contact pulled to the side of the road. The contact stated he was able to continue driving; however, the failure persisted. The contact stated that upon depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle only responded…

   NHTSA complaint #11595095 · source
6. Filed Jul 14, 2023180,000 miMITransmission & Drivetrain

   The contact owns a 2005 Ford Freestar. The contact stated that upon selling the vehicle, she allowed another individual to test drive the vehicle; however, as the contact was driving on an incline, the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the flex shaft had failed. The contact then stated that upon research, she became aware of NHTSA Campaign Number: 12V00600 (Power Train). The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that she…

   NHTSA complaint #11532243 · source
7. Filed Mar 10, 2023KSBody & StructureElectrical SystemSeats & Seat Belts

   The rear wheel well has rusted on both sides and completely rusted out a large hole (approx. 1 ft diameter area visibly effected) in the the body of the van. The rusted out section is where the back seat is anchored to the frame, so the rust has cause the seat to no longer be securely anchored to the car. The hole has also caused electrical wires to get wet when water gets into the van and intermittently and unpredictably causing failure of electrical features, including…

   NHTSA complaint #11511200 · source
8. Filed Feb 17, 2023MOTransmission & Drivetrain

   Driving down highway at 60 mph lost all power basically coasted to side of road. Looks like torque converter and pump shaft splines stripped out. Shows there was a recall but none listed for this vin number. This is a huge safety concern and Ford should have to repair.

   NHTSA complaint #11507917 · source

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Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Office of Defects Investigation public data, as of Oct 11, 2026. Complaints are submitted by owners and are not verified by NHTSA or by us; a complaint does not prove a defect exists. View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov Methodology