2005 Ford Freestar Problems: 14 Known Issues

On the 2004-2007 Ford Freestar, ford bulletin 06-14-10 covers certain 2004–2007 Freestars built before June 22, 2006 with driveability symptoms associated with water entering the PCM, connector or transaxle. Actual water damage must be established; rain correlation or several fault codes alone does not distinguish this from other engine or transmission faults.

On the 2004-2007 Ford Freestar, freestar instrument clusters fail internally from cold or cracked solder joints on the circuit board. Symptoms range from the odometer/trip display going blank while the rest of the cluster still works, to gauges that flutter, drop out intermittently, or go dead entirely, to backlighting failures. The diagnostic tell that separates this from a wiring or sensor fault is mechanical: owners report that pulling the bottom of the cluster forward flexes the board and brings the display back, and pushing it home kills it again. A whole rebuild industry exists specifically for the 2004-2007 Freestar cluster, which is itself evidence of how routine the failure is. Note that a speedometer and odometer showing only dashes points instead at the vehicle speed sensor or its wiring, not the cluster.

On the 2005-2006 Ford Freestar, recall 06V069 / Ford 06S42 applies to certain 2005–2006 Freestar vans with the power-liftgate option, built through December 13, 2005. After powered opening, the original system disengages its motor; a failed support strut can then allow the gate to fall and injure someone beneath it. The software remedy enables controlled motor-assisted lowering if a strut fails; it does not replace the strut.

On the 2004-2007 Ford Freestar, the sheet metal that supports the folding third-row seat latch strikers is mounted to the rear wheel wells, where it is directly exposed to road salt spray. On 2004-2007 Freestar and Monterey vans built March 24, 2003 through November 7, 2006 this bracket corrodes and structurally degrades, so the third-row seat may not fully latch into its seating position. In a rear impact an unlatched seat can move, raising injury risk to the occupants in it. Ford limited the campaign to salt-belt registration: CT, DE, IL, IN, IA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, NH, NJ, NY, OH, PA, RI, VT, WV, WI and DC — roughly 196,700 vehicles. A van that has spent its life in one of those states is in scope even if it now lives elsewhere.

On the 2004-2007 Ford Freestar, the Freestar inherited many of the Windstar transmission problems. The torque converter develops shudder during light acceleration, and on 2004-2005 vans the torque converter pump shaft splines can wear and fail without warning, causing a sudden loss of drive (recall 12V-006 / Ford 11S25).

On the 2004-2007 Ford Freestar, the Freestar's rear twist-beam axle trailing arm bushings crack and deteriorate, causing the rear end to feel loose and unstable. Worn bushings allow the rear axle to shift, causing poor alignment, inner tire wear, and a wandering feeling at highway speed.

On the 2004-2007 Ford Freestar, separate from the 2004 recall on front hubs, the Freestar's rear hub/bearing assemblies wear out as a routine high-mileage failure across all four model years. Owners describe a speed-dependent hum or growl felt through the seats rather than the steering wheel, which is the giveaway that it is a rear bearing rather than a front one. A notable diagnostic trap on these vans is that the bearing can growl with no detectable play at the wheel, so the common 12-and-6-o'clock rock test returns a false pass. Because the rear bearing carries the ABS tone ring in these vans, a failing rear hub often lights the ABS warning lamp as a secondary symptom.

On the 2004-2007 Ford Freestar, the Freestar uses Ford's differential pressure feedback EGR system, and it fails in a well-known pattern. The DPFE (EGR pressure feedback) sensor loses accuracy when its diaphragm weakens or moisture contaminates it, so the PCM commands more vacuum to the EGR valve and the engine runs poorly. Separately, the EGR passages under the plastic upper intake carbon up and physically restrict flow. The original DPFE hoses are a high-temperature type that crack or collapse internally from thermal cycling, which produces the same code. Because there are three independent causes, owners commonly replace one part, clear P0401, and have it return within weeks — this is the single most repeated repair loop on these vans.

On the 2004-2007 Ford Freestar, ford TSB 07-1-2 (01/22/07) documents a leak at the power steering return line, near the cooler, on some 2004-2007 Freestar and Monterey vans. The concern exists only in extreme cold climates, -4F (-20C) and colder, and the bulletin applies only to vehicles used in the northern U.S. and Canada at those temperatures. This is distinct from the 03V457000 recall in which the low-pressure line came unseated at the rack.

On the 2004-2007 Ford Freestar, freestar owners report the ABS warning light coming on — typically after a corner — and staying on, which on this van also disables cruise control because the module drops out of the system. The magnetic rear wheel speed sensors sit where they collect metallic brake-wear debris; the accumulated ferrous debris bridges the gap to the tone ring and corrupts the speed signal. A related complaint is ABS activating at very low speed on dry pavement, which is the module reacting to a dropped-out signal from one wheel rather than to actual lock-up. A cracked or missing-tooth tone ring produces the same signature, as does a worn wheel bearing that lets the sensor gap open up.

On the 2004-2007 Ford Freestar, the blend door actuator fails, causing the HVAC to blow only hot or only cold air regardless of temperature setting. A clicking noise behind the dash is the early warning sign.

On the 2004-2007 Ford Freestar, the fuel gauge on the Freestar reads erratically, sticks at one level, or pegs empty because the resistor card in the in-tank fuel level sender — part of the fuel pump module assembly — becomes contaminated by sulfur compounds from the gasoline. The sulfur deposits foul the contact track so the float's position no longer translates into a correct resistance, and the cluster shows nonsense. Owners run out of fuel with the needle showing a quarter tank. It is a fuel-system component failure, not a cluster failure, and replacing the instrument cluster does not fix it.

On the 2004-2007 Ford Freestar, the Freestar's power sliding doors jam and refuse to open either electrically or manually, often opening only a fraction of an inch before binding. A cause repeatedly identified by owners on the driver's side is the fuel filler door interlock: a cable and plastic lever tell the sliding door when the fuel door is open, so the door cannot swing into the fuel nozzle. When the plastic lever at the far end of that cable breaks, the system permanently believes the fuel door is open and locks the sliding door out. The other common cause is the door latch actuator or the door control module itself, where the door works manually but not from the switches. Owners report dealers misdiagnosing this as a motor failure.

On the 2004-2007 Ford Freestar, the Freestar carries two evaporators — one in the dash and one in the rear unit — plus a long refrigerant run down the body to serve the rear. Two failures dominate: the rear expansion valve sticks and stops regulating refrigerant flow through the rear evaporator core, and the long rear lines, their O-rings and the rear core itself leak refrigerant. The signature complaint is front A/C blowing cold while the rear blows warm, with the rear feed line hot to the touch. This is a distinct failure from the dash blend door actuator problem that is already documented on this van; here the refrigerant side, not the air-distribution side, is at fault.