Hi everyone !! I just went to a ford dealer here in miami fl, and after three days (because they don't have the part in stock) they return my freestar. Besides this issue, my van shows the engine light on and the code reads: P0732 - Gear Incorrect Ratio,(when you're in stop & go traffic conditions you have to play with the gas pedal so the trans change gears), someone at the dealer said the problem will dissappear after the replacement. I came back to the dealer and they said that this is another issue, and the person with I talked with before was on vacation, so anyone can give a hint, what I should do and any idea how much this thing will cost????
Thanks
dimasp

 

Hi all,
I've scheduled the torque converter replacement for my 2004 Freestar at my local dealer. I had a lengthy conversation with the "service advisor" asking specifically what work would be performed. My concern is the transmission fluid and filter should obviously be replaced since the stripped spline problem might already be causing metal filings floating around in the fluid and transmission... The Ford rep informed me that they would replace the fluid but that I would have to pay extra if I wanted the filter replaced. I tried to reason with them, but made no progress. I will have the filter replaced, but it bothers me that this is not be included with the recall/repair work. Anyone have additional advice experience or thoughts for me?

 

I just got my van back from having the service done and it includes the transmission oil, gaskets, a few bolts, and what looks like on the repair printout to be a remanfactured torque converter. I hope I'm just reading that incorrectly. I might have to call Ford and try to find out exactly if the parts are new or remanufactured. I suppose it doesn't matter, because my original transmission and torque converter had 96,000 miles on them and we're still working perfectly. I don't think calling is going to change anything.

As for the car it seems to drive perfectly. There is no longer any slop in the transmission when you put it in park or go from reverse to drive. When I stop the car and put it in park it doesn't roll forward or backward a few inches like it use to. Seems tighter than the old one.

Mall of Georgia Ford came through with a rental car for the last 3 days they had it. We had to argue with them but they did finally give us a rental car. On the recall notice it says it should take less than 1 day. Ours took 4 business days. The hood release cable was trapped under the radiator shield and it would stick open and not spring back. That was the only problem I could find with the repair. I yanked it out & it works fine now. I still think the dealer needs to be honest up front and tell you if its going to be 1 or 4 days, but they did a good enough repair after all.

Good luck to everyone else. I hope that the service goes a little smoother for you than it did for me. All in all, I figure I'm probably good for another 100,000 miles if I decide to keep it for that long.

 

I too had my torque converter replaced under the recall and have no problem with the fact that it appears to be a re-manufactured part. If the parts that were replaced during the re-manufacturing process were the spline parts that lacked the proper hardening process there should be no problem. For anyone living in the Oklahoma City area I highly recommend Reynolds Ford of Edmond Oklahoma. They did the repair in two days which was what they promised, and it came back to me clean of grease spots and running as good as new, with no charge. Something else may quit tomorrow but Hey, the van is 8 years old and I love it. We will never know if the old converter would have lasted another day, or another 10 years but in this case Ford Motor Co. stepped up and did what they had to do, and so far I am happy with the result.

 

To dimasp28,
I think the first thing that I would do is find another dealer. Then ask if he has the part in stock before you take it in. Sometimes it will take more than one day depending on what time of day they are able to start on it because of an unfinished job ahead of yours.
Since it is free, I would have the recall work done first. Just by the nature of computer diagnosis it is sometimes almost impossible to isolate one trouble code and pin it on one fault. I wouldn't be surprised if the torque converter replacement cleared the other fault. You have nothing to lose by doing the recall first, but you could spend hundreds chasing the other code first.

 

Got my check from Ford.......for $613.66 I paid over $2k to get the car towed and the converter replaced and transmission rebuilt. Called Ford and the dealer and that is all they will pay. So much for the $1450 it said in the recall notice. I am way done with Ford products.

 

F250blues, I would look into legal action. If they short changed you, they certainly short changed many more. Maybe some are reading this thread and would want to put together a class action lawsuit against Ford for their lack of coverage. Just putting ideas out there, I can only imagine how mad you are at them.

I would keep calling and asking all kinds of questions, pretend you haven't made the claim and just want information like;
1.How they determine how much is paid for a claim
2.What the maximum payout is (forget what the paper says)
3.What it takes to obtain the maximum payout
4.Why they don't pay the max even if the customer has paid over that amount.
5.Who makes these decisions.
6.Can customers speak to him/her/them
7.If you make a claim and don't think the amount is sufficient what recourse does a customer have.

Play innocent, gather your info. The more you are able to find out, the better you can make your arguments or build a case against them.

Good luck,

Stef






Good luck,

Stef

 

I had my torque converter replaced Sept 18-19th and today I had the rare opportunity to use cruise control on a clear highway, I discovered that it no longer works. It was perfectly fine before the recall repair, but since it's been nearly a month since the replacement, you can be sure that they will claim it's something unrelated & try to gouge me for $$.

Even more ridiculous is that I received a letter from Ford today telling me that the parts are now available for the recall, and that I should make an appointment to get my van done.... it's dated for October 4th (original letter was in Jan, and it took several emails to them to finally get a confirmation in early September for the repair!).

 

still waiting for my check from them. how long did it take everyone else to get theirs?

 

Well, my friend is a service manager at Towne Ford/Lincoln. He finally talked me into having the torque converter recall performed. From what I understand, Ford is eating the cost of a rental vehicle while the recall is being performed and the rental vehicle is supposed to be a Ford product. Per my friend, it only takes his Tech 1 day to knock these out. They haven't had any issues, so I dropped it off with my Amsoil for the torque converter since they are shipped dry. The Tech took the van for a Pre-check test ride looking for any pre-existing transmission issues, came back, pulled it into the shop, popped the hood and started turning wrenches on it. Should have it back by tomorrow afternoon. We'll see how it goes.