2005 Ford Freestyle SEL AWD 3.0 6 cylinder CVT from North America

Summary:

Great vehicle, and very happy with it!

Faults:

Center seatbelt locked up and needed to be replaced.

A light bulb went out on the temperature gauge.

Replaced original tires and brakes just recently, but that's it so far.

General Comments:

We got this for a great price after much research and patience on finding the right one, so for a 7 passenger AWD SUV under $10k, I am very happy with my purchase.

It took a couple days to get used to the CVT transmission, but I find it very quick and responsive when I need it to be. I think the Freestyle is a great, and I am always recommending it to anyone looking for a new car!

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 17th March, 2010

2005 Ford Freestyle SEL AWD 3.0 V6 from North America

Summary:

A little worried for the future

Faults:

Soon after I bought the car, the engine light came on. The dealer replaced the EGR valve under warranty. While they were there, they replaced the front seal on the engine because it was leaking.

The rear brakes had to be replaced because a big chunk of one of the rear disc came off. Since these were stock parts, I tried different disc (Centric) and pads (Bendix). Time will tell if it was a good choice.

At 62000 km the tubes for the rear A/C started to leak. Dealer wanted 1300$ for the repair even though I was barely out of warranty. Had the pipes replaced with hoses by an independent shop for 500$.

At 70000km I had to replace the two front sway bar links. The originals obviously don't last too long, because they introduced an upgraded part.

I did my oil change last week-end and I noticed that the front seal was leaking again. I'll see if I can have the dealer fix it.

General Comments:

Despite all this, I rather like the thing. It drives more like a big car than a truck. The AWD is amazing in winter, and this is from an ex-Subaru owner. It's very good on gas, even in town. The engine is not very powerful but the CVT transmission masks it well. It's got good interior space and the kids love riding in it because of the good visibility. I'm just a little worried about the future cost of maintenance because I intended to keep it for a long time.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 10th November, 2008

6th Apr 2009, 21:21

This is a follow up of the review:

Just had a service at 82000 km and the front seal needed to be changed again, and at the same time they discovered a leak from the water pump. They changed both under the powertrain warranty, but it's nothing to make me feel any more secure about the future with this vehicle.

23rd Aug 2010, 08:23

This is another follow-up:

Now at 112000 km. Just had to replace the passenger ball joint at 105000 km and now the driver ball joint needs to be replaced. The problem is that the ball joint comes with the control arm. It's a 220$ (after a lot of shopping because most want around 350$) part that's available from the dealer only.

It also just received the CVT transmission service (fluid and filter change) at 100000km. It's a very expensive service (500$) and I had to call a lot of dealers because most of them don't want to do it.

For the rest, it's OK.

13th Aug 2011, 19:26

Another update:

Now at 145000 km, had another front sway bar link replaced, and the rear brakes will soon be due again. Also replaced the top transaxle roll resistor, because the rubber was seriously cracked. This causes the car to jerk when you re-apply the gas suddenly. Luckily, I found an inexpensive fix, because the dealer wanted 285$ for the part only. The repair only cost me 30$, and I did it myself using the method shown on this link:

http://www.myfordfreestyle.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=3306&start=0

Still happy with the rest.