Overview & Reviews
With its Freestar, Ford learned the hard way that in the world of automobiles, there are few segments more cutthroat than the minivan category. Moms have ruthlessly high standards when it comes to their family transportation, and only those haulers with the most compelling mix of refinement, convenience features and luxury amenities survive. The Ford Freestar's sales had been disappointing from the outset, and as a result, 2007 was its last year of production. Crossovers, Ford believes, are the future of family transportation.
Ford's minivan wasn't completely without merit. Safety is an important factor in minivans, and in this area, the Freestar didn't come up short. It earned a perfect five stars in NHTSA frontal crash tests, and mothers and their pint-sized soccer stars were protected with features like standard stability control and optional side curtain airbags. Unfortunately, its success in this area paled in the face of its litany of shortcomings, which included sluggish acceleration, dismal fuel economy, ungainly handling and an unimpressive cabin.
For these reasons, savvy used minivan shoppers will find the Ford Freestar a relatively unsatisfactory proposition. If you're looking for a minivan, you'll no doubt find your needs better served by one of its competitors.
Most Recent Ford Freestar
The Ford Freestar was a seven-passenger minivan. Three trim levels were offered: SE, SEL and Limited. The Freestar could also be had in a cargo van body style, making it ideal for contractors needing a light-duty hauler.
The base SE trim was reasonably well equipped, with air-conditioning, full power accessories, a CD player and keyless entry all standard. The SEL added tri-zone air-conditioning, a power driver seat and second-row captain's chairs. The top-of-the-line Limited included upgrades such as chrome wheels, leather upholstery and automatic climate control.
Two engines were offered. A 3.9-liter V6 for the SE provided 193 horsepower and 240 pound-feet of torque. The SEL and Limited trims got a 4.2-liter V6 that generated 201 hp and 263 lb-ft of torque. Neither engine was especially frugal, turning in real-world fuel economy numbers that were among the poorest in the segment.
At first blush, the Freestar's cabin seemed like a winner. But a closer look revealed shortcomings. Materials looked nice but to the touch became apparent as subpar for the segment. The legroom in the second row was cramped. The lack of versatility didn't help either. Those second-row seats were heavy and tough to remove. And though the third-row seat folded flat, it didn't offer a 60/40 split like virtually all others in its class. At 135.7 cubes, cargo capacity fell short relative to others in the segment.
In editorial reviews, the Ford Freestar earned praise for having reasonable around-town power and a forgiving ride. The engines didn't fare as well when pushed, though, as they ran out of breath when quick passing was attempted. Performance was exacerbated by the van's aged four-speed automatic transmission -- most competitors used more advanced five-speed units. Also, the engines had a rougher, noisier power delivery than nearly any other V6 in the minivan segment. In consumer ratings, the Freestar was panned for its poor ride quality and dismal fuel economy.
Past Ford Freestar models
Ford introduced the Freestar back in model-year 2004 to replace the aged Windstar, which was sold from 1995-2003. Although Ford touted it as an all-new vehicle, the Freestar minivan was little more than a rebadged Windstar with minor upgrades, including a freshened interior equipped with a fold-flat third-row seat. A pair of more powerful V6 engines replaced the Windstar's 3.8-liter V6. Unfortunately, Ford's minivan put on weight during the transition, so even with the larger of the V6s, it was no faster than before and slightly less fuel-efficient to boot. This made the Freestar about as appealing as, well, the Windstar. Straight off the bat, it was trampled by the competition, both import and domestic, and Ford did little to rectify the situation.
The Freestar remained pretty much unchanged for its production duration, so buyers shopping for one on the used market will find few differences between the model years.
User Reviews:
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2006 Freestar = Junk - 2006 Ford Freestar
By brokefreestar - June 17 - 5:14 pm2006 Freestar has the same failures as the 2004 and 2005 Freestars: Transmission and PCM. Also, leaking coolant and power steering. Purchased from dealer at 53K miles one owner. Head rest bent forward for some strange reason. CD player jammed. Click in right front wheel when backing. Rattling noise in fan during idle. Walked out of the dealer with $5500 positive equity. Now we know why. Junker. Stay away.
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Transmission Problem - 2006 Ford Freestar
By ersnyder - January 28 - 9:13 amMy 2006 Freestart has 120,000 miles on it and I just picked my car up from the shop. I had to get my transmission rebuilt. The mechanic said that it was my torque converter fell apart with lots of metal pieces in my pump and inner workings! Seems like a constant problem!
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Ford KNOWS the transmission SUCKS! - 2004 Ford Freestar
By glowmomnmy - December 30 - 9:54 pmThis is a dangerous, nightmarish, horrid and horrible vehicle. Broke down yesterday in the middle of a major highway intersection- slipped out of gear and would not get back in gear. Took 20 minutes and a lot of praying to pull it off the road. Its in the shop AGAIN- just had to replace the tranny less than 2 years ago at less than 60k miles and replaced cam shaft sensor as well just a year ago. There is a class action lawsuit out because of the trannys- but like most of my fellow co-owners, who among us has the $$$ to get the lawyers Ford has at its beck-and-call. There was no warning- just accelerated through intersection and it stopped- the motor was still on, but no gear! SCARY!!!
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Recent Purchase, WARNING DO NOT BUY! - 2004 Ford Freestar
By amcrowe - October 24 - 3:50 amWhile driving home, my driver side window quit working. The buttons on my radio quit working, although it randomly kept trying to reprogram "preset 2". Finally, at 65mph on a busy road, I rapidly lost all acceleration. Almost exactly like many of you have explained with the erratic RPM. I flushed the transmission fluid, hoped that it was a fluke. Fixed a loose connection on the driver side door, got the window working again. The radio was still acting up, but feeling confident I hopped into my NEW van only to have it NOT START AT ALL. [violative content deleted]
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Waste of money - 2004 Ford Freestar
By cwiley4l - June 2 - 6:16 amI will never buy another Ford. My transmission went out @ 76,000 miles. Cost almost 3K at the dealer to replace. My trac control light goes off and on at will. now I have a check engine light on.. God only knows what that is ... will find out today. Im so frustrated and for the actual cost of the van and to have all these repairs.. ridiculous. There should be a recall on the transmission. Oh and I need to mention.. when Im driving now, it sounds like whales singing. Im fed up.
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buyer beware - 2004 Ford Freestar
By jessica2004 - May 2 - 8:56 pmmy husband and I just bought our freestar 5 months ago and have had nothing but bad luck. had it in the shop within the first 3000 miles of owning it 4 times. the steering wheel shakes all the time, the transaxle light keeps coming on, new coil pak, 2 new crank shaft sensors, 2 new high speed output sensors and only 54000 miles on it. I didnt mention that it had a new transmission in it when we bought and we didnt realize it and by the way it has 59000 on it now and just had it towed to ford dealership this morning......needs new transmission AGAIN!!!!!!!! Do not buy this vehicle it is a money pit and a major lemon for the ford company. Every freestar needs to be recalled!!!
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Ford Ford Ford what can I say - 2007 Ford Freestar
By chevylover229 - April 2 - 2:21 pmI hate ford now. thats all I have to say(bought with 4,253 miles)(broke down with 4,950 miles on it)
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Transmission Out at 97,000 miles - 2004 Ford Freestar
By jayman1201 - December 13 - 12:23 pmBought this thing in 06 with 67,000 miles on it. 1 year after purchase the AC went out. In 08 coming home from my sisters wedding in Canada, the transmission went out. Torque converter broke apart and screwed the Transmission. On 2nd one now and the 4th gear is shot in that. Worst vehicle ever. Ford should have had a recall notice on the transmission. Too common a problem not to address.
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Transmission - 2004 Ford Freestar
By Arlington - November 22 - 2:00 amI had a little over 92,000 miles on the van and the transmission went out. A list of problems was wrong with it for one is the torque converter. got it back and the EGR Valve went out.
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Love it! - 2005 Ford Freestar
By Randy - October 30 - 2:00 amI love this van. It gets good gas mileage (23 mpg) and is very comfortable. I just drove it on a 1000 mile trip and had a blast!
