Your vehicle report
2006 Ford Freestar
The problems owners report. The recalls to check. The evidence behind each.
Your vehicle at a glance
Complaint patterns and official recall records, kept distinct.
- Owner complaints
- 356
- Received Sep 2005 to Mar 2026
Owner reports
Most reported problems
- 1Coil springs break and puncture tires41 complaints · 12% of this vehicle’s complaints
- 2Transmission fails or loses power while driving23 complaints · 6.5% of this vehicle’s complaints
- 3Unintended acceleration despite braking16 complaints · 4.5% of this vehicle’s complaints
Official NHTSA records
Recalls to check
- Recall #13V081000Ford is recalling certain model year 2004-2007 Freestar and Mercury Monterey vehicles manufactured from March 24, 2003, through November 7, 2006, equipped with a third row seat and originally sold in, or currently registered in, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia. The third row stowable seat can experience corrosion and structural degradation at the seat anchor mechanism mounted to the rear wheel wells. As a result of the corrosion, the third row seat may not fully latch into its seating position.
- Recall #06V069000On certain vans equipped with the power liftgate option, the power liftgate motor automatically disengages after the liftgate is powered open.
BrakeNews signals
Flagged complaint patterns
Unusual complaint patterns with no matched recall yet. A flag does not mean a recall will happen.
No problems currently meet BrakeNews’s flagging criteria. This is not a safety rating.
How flags are identifiedComplaint counts reflect reports submitted to NHTSA, not failure rates or a reliability ranking. Reported in these complaints: 3 crashes, 4 fires, 1 person injured, 0 deaths.
Explore by system
Where do owners report problems?
Choose an area on the car or a system below to explore the reported problems.
Illustrative only; not this vehicle’s exact design. Areas represent complaint categories, not confirmed defective parts.
Showing all 17 listed problems by system.
Engine & powertrain
Brakes
Electrical & lights
Airbags, belts & seats
Steering, suspension & tires
Body, doors & glass
Driver assistance
No problems in this category meet this page’s listing criteria. This does not establish that the system is free of problems.
Other
No problems in this category meet this page’s listing criteria. This does not establish that the system is free of problems.
Complaint history
When NHTSA received these reports. Changes in reporting alone do not establish a change in failure rates.
Show as a table
| Year | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 2005 | 1 |
| 2006 | 9 |
| 2007 | 2 |
| 2008 | 7 |
| 2009 | 17 |
| 2010 | 18 |
| 2011 | 27 |
| 2012 | 62 |
| 2013 | 57 |
| 2014 | 37 |
| 2015 | 34 |
| 2016 | 27 |
| 2017 | 18 |
| 2018 | 14 |
| 2019 | 5 |
| 2020 | 7 |
| 2021 | 6 |
| 2022 | 2 |
| 2023 | 2 |
| 2024 | 1 |
| 2025 | 2 |
| 2026 (to Oct 2026) | 1 |
| Total | 356 |
Problems owners report
Listed groups have at least 3 complaints. The page includes the 20 largest groups plus any additional flagged groups; some complaints are not assigned to a group.
| Problem | Complaints | Share | Share ratio | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coil springs break and puncture tires | 41 | 12% | – | |
| Transmission fails or loses power while driving | 23 | 6.5% | – | |
| Unintended acceleration despite braking | 16 | 4.5% | – | |
| Transmission will not engage reverse gear | 12 | 3.4% | – | |
| Seat belt fails to latch or retract | 10 | 2.8% | – | |
| Automatic transmission shifts unexpectedly or slips | 10 | 2.8% | – | |
| Engine suddenly shuts off while driving | 9 | 2.5% | – | |
| Ford Escape engine overheats from coolant intrusion | 8 | 2.3% | – | |
| Water leaks into cabin during rain | 7 | 2.0% | – | |
| Glass shatters or cracks without impact | 6 | 1.7% | – | |
| Vehicle suddenly loses engine power at speed | 6 | 1.7% | – | |
| Fuel tank or line leaks gasoline | 5 | 1.4% | – | |
| Vehicle catches fire from wiring | 4 | 1.1% | – | |
| Tires blow out or tread separates | 3 | 0.8% | – | |
| Ford Focus transmission clutch slips and hesitates | 3 | 0.8% | – | |
| Anti-lock brakes fail or lock up | 3 | 0.8% | – | |
| Automatic emergency braking applies without reason | 3 | 0.8% | – |
AI groups complaints by meaning; the groups are approximate. Share ratio compares the problem’s share of this vehicle’s complaints with its share on other vehicles over the last 24 months (shown from 3 recent complaints). A 2× ratio means twice the complaint share, not twice the failure risk. Flags mark unusual shares or recent surges after an AI review of the complaint content. “First signal” does not mean the pattern has persisted continuously.How recall estimates are calculated.
Recalls
NHTSA recall #13V081000March 7, 2013196,667 vehicles affected
seats
Ford is recalling certain model year 2004-2007 Freestar and Mercury Monterey vehicles manufactured from March 24, 2003, through November 7, 2006, equipped with a third row seat and originally sold in, or currently registered in, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia. The third row stowable seat can experience corrosion and structural degradation at the seat anchor mechanism mounted to the rear wheel wells. As a result of the corrosion, the third row seat may not fully latch into its seating position.
In the event that the vehicle is crashed into from the rear, an unlatched seat may increase the risk of personal injury.
Remedy
Ford will notify owners, and dealers will install new third row seat latch striker mounting brackets, free of charge. The recall began on March 28, 2013. Owners may contact Ford Motor Company Customer Relationship Center at 1-866-436-7332.
NHTSA recall #06V069000March 9, 200612,728 vehicles affected
structure: body: hatchback/liftgate
On certain vans equipped with the power liftgate option, the power liftgate motor automatically disengages after the liftgate is powered open.
In the event of a liftgate strut malfunction, the liftgate Can fall freely with no prior warning. Anyone standing beneath the liftgate may be injured if the liftgate falls.
Remedy
Dealers will reprogram the power liftgate module to reduce the likelihood that the liftgate could fall free of charge. The recall began on march 15, 2006. Owners may contact Ford at 1-800-392-3673.
Other model years
About this data
NHTSA complaints and recalls through October 2026. Complaints are counted once each, however many components they name. Original complaints are on NHTSA's page for the 2006 Ford Freestar.
Problem groups are formed by AI and may be approximate. BrakeNews flags unusual complaint patterns; they are not official defect findings. Investigation reports are written and checked by AI, with no human review. Owner reports do not establish that a defect exists.
Read the methodology and track record · Check current recalls by VIN