NHTSA Complaint #10669650 — 2005 FORD FREESTAR

ON CHRISTMAS EVE 2014 I GOT INTO MY RECENTLY PURCHASED 2005 FORD FREESTAR MINIVAN TO RUN A SHORT ERRAND. AFTER STARTING MY FREESTAR I PUT IT IN REVERSE BUT THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT MOVE. I TRIED ALL THE FORWARD GEARS WITH THE SAME RESULT, THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT MOVE. THE ENGINE RPM'S WOULD GO UP BUT NO MOVEMENT. I TURNED THE VEHICLE ENGINE OFF AND ON SEVERAL TIME WITH THE SAME RESULTS EACH TIME. I HAD TO WAIT TILL THE DAY AFTER CHRISTMAS TO CONTACT MY LOCAL FORD DEALERSHIP SERVICE DEPARTMENT AND DESCRIBE MY PROBLEM. THEY LOOKED UP MY VIN NUMBER AND SAID THAT ALL RECALLS ON MY VEHICLE HAD BEEN DONE INCLUDING THE TORQUE CONVERTER RECALL. I THEN HAD MY FREESTAR TOWED TO THE DEALERSHIP TO INVESTIGATE THE PROBLEM. UPON INVESTIGATION IT WAS DETERMINED THAT WATER HAD GOTTEN INTO MY POWERTRAIN CONTROL MODULE, AND THAT IS WHAT WAS CAUSING THE PROBLEM. THEY REMOVED THE MODULE AND DRIED IT AND THE CONNECTOR OUT THEN REINSTALLED IT AND SEALED IT. AFTER REINSTALLING THE MODULE THEY THEN STARTED THE VEHICLE AND WERE ABLE TO SHIFT THE VEHICLE INTO ALL THE GEARS AND GET THE TRANSMISSION TO FULLY FUNCTION, BUT NOW THERE WAS A SERVICE ENGINE LIGHT ON. THE VEHICLE NOW WOULD NOT IDLE PROPERLY AND HAD A HESITATION WHEN TRYING TO ACCELERATE. IT WAS DETERMINED AFTER FURTHER CHECKS THAT THERE WERE FUEL CODES COMING UP AND THAT THEY WERE RELATED TO THE PCM GETTING WET. IT WAS DETERMINED THAT THE POWERTRAIN CONTROL MODULE (WHICH FORD NO LONGER MANUFACTURES) WOULD NEED TO BE REPLACED. TO FIX THE PROBLEM IT WOULD BE A COST OF $1000.00 FOR A RE-MANUFACTURED MODULE AND REPROGRAMMING IN ADDITION TO THE $650.00 THAT HAD ALREADY BEEN INCURRED FOR THE WORK THAT HAD BEEN DONE SO FAR. NOTE THERE HAD BEEN NO PROBLEMS OR ISSUES OR ENGINE CODES ON THIS VEHICLE TILL THIS PROBLEM OCCURRED OTHER THAN A PROBLEM ONE NIGHT WITH THE POWER DOOR LOCKS NOT WORKING, WHICH CORRECTED ITSELF AFTER RESTARTING THE VEHICLE. *TR