My mother-in-law has a Freestar and has a problem with the cruise control. She says it works only intermittantly/turns off on it's own... Several months ago the dealership shop told her the repair would be over $1K. She cannot afford that. They said she could continue to use it but it might catch on fire! She then contacted Ford consumer relations and was told that there was soon to be a recall for this issue, but it had not been made public yet. Shortly after that (same day) another person from the same office called her and said the previous information about the recall was false and there were no known problems with the cruise control.

What is going on here? Is this a serious danger? Is there a recall (I don't find one)? Or, is the unit repairable by a "normal" person with average skills?

 

Could just be a bad brake pressure sensor switch. It screws into the bottom front of the master cylinder. I just replaced the one on my 04 Linited due to the "TRAC OFF" constantly coming on at any speed and distance. It would also cause my CRUISE CONTROL to go In-OP also. It's a very easy replacement. Just unplug the sensor, unscrew it (a few drops of brake fluid will come out) and screw in a new one. Ford part number is "7F2Z9F924A". I paid $23.82 + tax at the local FORD dealer.

 

That's very interesting. She has also had the "TRAC OFF" issue the same as you described. Again, the dealer gave her a repair quote of well over a thousand $$. I'll order one of those and see if everything is fixed, minus the $2-3K "bend over" charge.

Thank you,

Stay tuned...

 

Yep, they want to hit you up for an ABS module and or ABS pump and such. "We'll just start throwing high $$$ parts at it and see what sticks...I mean...works"

 

Finally got over to her house and replaced the sensor. Guess what? Both problems (TRAC OFF and intermittant cruise control) are now gone, for under $30.00. When I replaced that part I noticed the air tube clamp to the throttle body was very loose and the air cleaner box was loose and disconnected from the snorkle that draws "cool" air to the filter. The dealership had replaced the filter when they told her of the impending fire. Fixed those too. I would not like to be the service person at the Meridian, MS dealership next time she stops in there...

Thanks everyone.

 

Glad you got it fixed. She can also tell the Dealer that the "Cruise Control Fire"issue was only related to the Windstars, not the Freestar.

 

I'm surprised she would even go back to that dealership. Sounds like a rip off / dishonest business. On top of the ridiculous quote they told her the van can catch fire if she doesn't fix it? Using fear to promote a sale is shameful. Glad she wasn't taken by them. I've had lots of similar experiences with dealership service departments. Over $1000 repair quotes that I fixed with a $20 part and half an hour of my time.

 

Sad but common tactic of many repair facilities. I took my truck to a local (Ford, Enterprise, AL) dealer for a recall a couple years ago. They walked me back to the service area and had the senior mechanic tell me of several impending disasters... made it sound like the truck would fall off the wheels and explode/burn to the ground if I took it off the lot without paying for a quoted $1300.00 of repairs/services. Years and 30K miles later it's doing fine with routine maintenance on my part. Many people fall for the ruse.

 

The Ford dealer in Orange City, FL told my 81 year old mother of all these things that needed attention (power steering fluid change, brake fluid change, etc) on her 2000 Villager. She said she looked it up in the owners manual maintenance guide and it didn't say any of that stuff was necessary so she told them to leave those items alone. I was impressed by her decision making skill instead of just saying "yep, go ahead". Good for her!