Never another Ford after this Freestar!
Pros:
Nothing any longer
Cons:
Sliding doors;
Rear AC;
Rear DVD Player;
TRANSMISSION
The Bottom Line:
We are so disappointed with this van, we have sworn off FORD and maybe even every other US manufactured vehicle.
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Overall Rating:
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Author's Review
We purchased the Freestar in May of 2004 brand new- our first brand new vehicle! We were so excited about the DVD player and sliding doors, rear AC controls and the like!
Within a year, our excitement diminished greatly with numerous issues, such as the sliding doors opening randomly, back seat power/cig adapter not working, rear AC functionality issues and more... All of these occurred under warranty (30k miles), yet 3 Ford Dealerships, found nothing wrong when they tested.
After just having the van for 4 years now and 75k miles, this week while driving the transmission totally gave out without a single warning light or sound. $2800 later, we have a new transmission.
While driving, the door alarms for one of the sliding doors will activate- the door does not close properly but locked. If you close the driver door, the opposite slider will open and, on occasion, if you close the back hatch, a slider will open.
The Rear AC unit cannot differ from the front passengers- if they need it warmer and we have it cooler, nothing will change for them when we adjust their climate control keys from up front- we actually have to have our controls set to warmer before it will affect theirs. The passengers in the back are children therefore strapped in car seats and not able to reach the controls in back for themselves.
Also, the DVD media player cannot be shared or split with the front passengers unless you are able to physically reach the back top console. Our children can't do this because, again, they are in car seats. We can't do it because it is placed too far back in the van and can't be reached from the front seat.
We have had numerous electrical failures that ended up being covered by Ford, with water being allowed to enter in system from the front windshield, of which, a Ford dealer tried to have us pay for it.
What a disaster of a vehicle!
Adding insult to injury is that is seems Ford does not even produce the Freestar any longer! How mortifying we are stuck with this horrible piece of equipment in hopes it can make it for another 4 years!
Ford should be ashamed!
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