Owners have filed 2,127 complaints on the Ford Freestar, covering 2004–2007. The system named most often is Power Train (1,474 reports). Worst years by volume: 2004, 2005, 2006; cleanest: 2007, 2006, 2005. 25 reports describe a crash, 15 a fire, 1 a death. On average the car was 6.8 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Ford Freestar
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 2,127 Freestar complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Power Train 1,474 Read
I was driving approximately 45 mph on busy highway, my ford freestar would no longer accelerate. Looking in the rear view mirror, there was smoke coming from my vehicle. The engine light came on after I noticed the smoke, then my thermostat went all the way from c to hot in a split second. No warning, car smoking and…
I was driving on a highway in my ford freestar 2006 and the minivan seized, I lost control of the vehicle. The brakes were not working properly and I had drifted off onto the side of the highway were the grass and a few turns helped slow down my vehicle. I had to immediately jump out of the vehicle because there was…
While traveling on the highway on a curve we lost all power to the wheels. The engine would rev but the vehicle would not. We ended up coasting to a stop in the middle of traffic. This caused several cars behind us to lock u their brakes and two of them collided. We were lucky in that a nice person had a tow strap and…
Electrical System 97 Read
Passenger side mirror burned, smoldered with a great deal of smoke. Could see orange glow behind the mirror. Smelled like an electrical burn. Car was parked, no key in ignition, happened right after unlocking car with key fob
The alternator caught on fire and burned alternator wring harness
This vehicle I received numerous recalls and had many problems with this vehicle. Major electrical problems. When it would rain and get car wash the electrical system would malfunction and cause engine not to run properly and check engine light would come on. In april of 2016 engine was malfunctioning and caused me to…
Structure 94 Read
The contact owns a 2007 ford freestar. The contact stated that the rear quarter panels on the vehicle were rusted and corroded. The cause of the failure was not diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The contact was informed that the vehicle was not included in NHTSA…
The contact owns a 2007 ford freestar. The contact stated that the wheels seized while driving, which resulted in a loss of control. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the subframe was severely corroded and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not…
The contact owns a 2007 ford freestar. The contact stated that the headlamp covers were made of plastic, which caused the lights to become very dim when activated. After cleaning the headlamp covers, there was a yellowish tint on them that became permanent. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer…
Engine And Engine Cooling 75 Read
The contact owns a 2005 ford freestar. The contact was driving 35 mph when the vehicle stalled without warning. The contact attempted to steer from the vehicle off the roadway when she crashed into a flagpole. There were front bumper damages and the vehicle was towed to an automotive repair shop where they were unable…
Purchased a 2005 ford freestar march 2009. Has suffered from repeated loss of motive power with the computer often recording "no codes" per the dealer. Has been to the dealer atmultiple times for various supposed repairs including new computer, alternator, etc., but the problem continues. The vehicle shuts off…
Mrs. Attee was starting our ford freestar, when she heard a clicking noise and noticed what she thought was smoke coming from the hood. She(mrs. Attee) then opened the hood to find a small flame coming from the engine, she proceed to call the fire department. Within 5 minutes the van 's engine was engulfed in flames.…
Service Brakes 58 Read
I was at a complete stop at elkhorn/watt. I was hit by the back with a ford freestar van, 1 adult driving with 2 kids in the back. I got out of my car walked half to the back and told him to pull over at mcdonald's. We waved and shake his head. I would assume he was going to pull over. Green light hit, cars started to…
The contact stated the brake pedal went to the floor twice while attempting to stop. This occurred at 30 mph. The first time, there was no damage. The dealership was unable to determine a problem, but replaced the master cylinder. The second time, while approaching an intersection, the contact depressed the brake…
The contact stated in april 2005, the ABS and airbag lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealership. The codes were reset and the lights went off. Then, while driving 40 mph on dry roads, a vehicle pulled out in front of the contact. The brake pedal was depressed, but the ABS did not activate. Upon…
Seats 54 Read
The contact owns a 2007 Ford Freestar. The contact stated that he discovered two large holes located on both sides of the third-row seats. The contact stated that the holes were located at the seat anchors; the structural degradation at the seat anchor were mounted to the rear wheel wells. The contact then discovered…
The contact owns a 2007 ford freestar. While the vehicle was being reversed with passengers seated in the third row, the third row seat attachment bolt fractured. The contact stated that the seat shifted and was no longer securely fastened to the subframe of the vehicle. The vehicle was not taken to be diagnosed or…
The contact owns a 2006 ford freestar. While driving 25 mph, the bracket that held the rear driver's side seat in place fractured. Larson motor group in nebraska city, nebraska was made aware of the failure and replaced the bracket. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately…
Steering 42 Read
Vehicle felt like there was a flat tire on the passenger side. Slowed down, heard a loud bang and pulled off the road with a skidding stop. Upon inspection, found that the a-fram had dropped out of the collar of the tie rod
Hi I am [xxx] was out friday at about 5.30 when my 2004 free star van started acting up it cut off 3 time right at a light this is [xxx] just got the van 6 mos ago for 9,300 at a ford dealer in lexington nc .maybe going to quit buying ford ect car van what ever had to call my dad to come help me the van would not run…
1) sudden unexpected loss of power and all gears. Occurred while normally accelerating from a stop. Vehicle towed to ford dealer. Dealer stated to replace entire transmission at cost of $2900.00 plus credit card interest. 2) sudden loss of power. Dealer replaced PCM at cost of $900.00. 3) powering steering fluid leak.…
Engine 41 Read
The contact owns a 2005 ford freestar. While the vehicle was stationary, the engine caught fire without warning. A police report was filed. The fire department extinguished the fire. There were no injuries sustained. The manufacturer was not made aware of the fire. The failure mileage was 122,000
The car was driving fine all of a sudden the freestar lost power, I was doing t most 40 mph because it was during rush hour on the i15 hwy by hesperia everything was fine and all of a sudden my car lost power and began to feel like it was loosing power and then I saw it go from forty to slower MPG and I had my foot on…
The contact owns a 2004 ford freestar. The contact stated while traveling 15 mph the vehicle suddenly stalled. As a result the vehicle crashed into the vehicle directly in front of it. A passenger in the front vehicle sustained unknown injuries. The vehicle was towed to a private mechanic where the failure could not…
Freestar years to avoid — and the clean ones
Complaints per model year. More reports usually means more cars on the road as well as more trouble, so read the crash and fire columns alongside the count.
| Model year | Complaints | Top system | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Electrical System | 1 | 1 | |
| 2006 | Air Bags | 3 | 3 | |
| 2005 | Air Bags | 7 | 1 | |
| 2004 | Air Bags | 14 | 10 |
The same model year, different builds
Every complaint carries the first 11 characters of the VIN — plant, year, body and engine. That is a production series, and complaints are spread across them very unevenly.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Distinct production series | 390 |
| Average complaints per series | 5.5 |
| Worst single series | 28 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 6.8 years |
A model average of 5.5 hides a worst series at 28. Enter a VIN above to see the numbers for that exact build instead of the model as a whole.
Owners reported these. Find out if yours is one of them.
- Complaints matched to the exact production run, not just the model
- What the car is worth given what tends to fail on it
- The original window sticker and factory options
- Full research report as a PDF for the pre-purchase inspection
- No ads, on every page
- No ads, no tracking — and much more
How we count
Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,100,006 of them, covering 1,982 models built between 1981 and 2026.
A complaint is an unverified report: someone wrote down what happened to their car. It is not a confirmed defect and not a recall. What makes the volume useful is the pattern — when thousands of owners of the same build describe the same failure, that is a signal no marketing brochure will give you.
Two things we do that the source does not. First, we compute the age of the car at the moment of failure from the incident date and the model year. Second, we group complaints by the first 11 characters of the VIN — the production series — so a bad plant run does not disappear into a model-wide average.
Frequently asked questions
What are the worst years for the Freestar?
By complaint volume, 2004, 2005, 2006 drew the most owner reports. Bear in mind that popular years put more cars on the road, so check the crash and fire columns too.
Which Freestar years are the cleanest?
2007, 2006, 2005 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Ford Freestar have?
2,127 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 2004–2007. Of those, 25 describe a crash and 15 a fire.
Are these complaints verified?
No. They are unverified reports from owners. NHTSA publishes them as filed and investigates only a fraction. The value is in the pattern, not in any single report.
Can I check complaints for one specific car?
Yes — enter its VIN above. We match the first 11 characters, which identify the plant, year, body and engine, so you get complaints on that exact production series rather than the whole model.