To all owners of Ford Freestyles:

I have a 2005 Ford Freestyle and the A/c Does not Blow cold. At first I thought it just needed some freon but, that was not the case at all. I have taken it to be checked out by 4 different Auto Places and they all say it is the Compressor. I started doing some research and it seems that there are numerous complaints about this same thing. I called Ford Motor company today and they said because there have been no direct complaints to them about this particular problem --they would not look into this as being a recall on the compressors. I wanted to let everyone know that if you are having the same problem please call Ford Motor at 800-392-3673 and also fill out a product complaint on-line at Ford.com When you call and make a complaint please let them know that you would like to make a formal complaint about your vehicle. They will probably tell you they can do nothing and to just go on-line but insist that they fill it out in the corporate office. If we all stand together and complain they will then see this is not 1 or 2 freestyle having problems but, that a lot of freestyle are having this problem.

good idea... i contacted ford via their website. i paid $800+ to have my AC compressor changed at Clippinger Ford. sounds like there is an absolute problem with the AC compressor that they used on the FS. they should recall that and issue a refund to those who already had their Ford service shops replace the compressors. just like how they credited those people who had the bad brake pads early on. thanks!

I just called Ford with the same issue. They are still saying no one else has complained. Everyone with this issue please file a complaint. Also I've just found out my motor mount is broken I only have 39,000 miles on this automobile. Also the doors pour rain water when you open them from the inside of the door panels. Also don't get cloth seats they stain terrrible and don't come completely clean due to the type of fabric.

Hello. Guess what everybody? I bought an used freestyle a week ago for a good deal. When I bought it it had the infamous A/C problem everyone has been talking about. I thought it would just be a matter of recharging the system......NOT. I'm now on the same train. Gonna call Ford to press on the issue, see if they soften, though I don't think they'll do nothing at this point....

Hi everyone. Please make sure that you call and also file a product complaint on their website.

I bought my 2005 FS SEL last year and in large part due to the huge expense of CVT replacement, I bought a 3/36 aftermarket extended warranty. I had the weak a/c at hiway speeds/hot air at stops problem. The Ford dealership diagnosed a faulty compressor and it was replaced under the warranty. I certainly agree that this is a more common issue than Ford will admit to. I'd still be driving a hot FS as the repair would have run $1100.

I will call and add my $.02 to the list.

BTW, I don't have any of the issues others are mentioning in this thread. I actually LOVE my FS, I originally bought it after we got into Greyhound rescue and needed a vehicle capable of hauling pooches. This FS is now my daily driver, replacing a Mercedes E430, which sits in the garage right now.

My 2005 Freestyle has been doing the same thing. Ford Dealer added freon last week and said I probably had a leak. Now they say I need a new compressor for $1,200. Also tried to sell me my 4th set of new tires (I have 70,000 miles on my car and am wondering what kind of tire they keep selling me that falls apart so quickly). Will file the complaint with Ford on compressor but don't expect much. May just have to trade for a Chevy or Nissan. Loved the AWD in the snow and ice, however.

My compressor recently went out n my 2005. I believe the problem isnt the compressor but the lack of air across the condenser coil. I had the car running in a hot garage, around 100 degrees an has not worked since. I later found out after looking at the bottm of the car, the plastic air dam under the car must be attached properly. If not the air goes thru the gap and not thru the coil. It will usually blow the seals in the compressor due to overpressure.. It will work untill it gets up to around 90 outside. I also found a new compressor for around $270.00. thru e-bay.

I too thought my compressor was bad. There is a valve in the back of the compressor that goes bad, and makes your compressor only work on cool days or down the hiway. I replaced this valve myself. My compressor works perfectly now. I wonder how many compressors have been replaced because of this. It is a very simple job. Two 10mm bolts. I paid 36 dollars, freight included. Techchoice parts out of Texas has them.

This was borrowed from the Ford 500 forum below and proven again above. Before anyone spends $800+ on a dealer compressor replacement, I suggest you all try this solution...... It looks like it has a very high success rate!

Just fixed my daughters 2005 500. Changed the Refrigerant Control Valve with a new one from tech choice parts, vaccumed it for an hour, recharged the system and now I am getting the correct pressures on the gauge. Blowing ice cold at idle! People, before letting the dealer or anyone else make you pay for a new compressor, try this cheap easy fix first! You won't even need to change the receiver as long as the system has kept a charge prior to changing the RCV. THIS IS THE SOLUTION!!!!!!!!!!

Had the same problem last year, and the fix was apparently the same as Keith Kiser noted in his post, but I let the dealership do it (it was still under extended warranty at the time). I agree with Keith & the post quoted by nburd - have that refrigerant control valve checked first.

I had the same problem. I took it to my local shop and they said it had too much freon. They released some, and the problem was solved. My A/C is colder now than when we purchased it.

Now, however, it appears we are in the same boat as hundreds of other people concerning issues with the throttle body. Our 2005 Freestyle suddenly started to surging and cutting off. We took it to the dealership in our area and they said it would have to be replaced and cost up to $800. Ford is aware of the issue for the past 4 years, but refuse to do any type of recall or pay for the replacement costs.

I contacted Ford about this issue. Instead of addressing it, they gave me what seemed to be a scripted and vague reply about how they "work together with the National Highway Traffic & Safety Administration to identify areas of concern" and how they are being "proactive". If this was the case, they would have issued a recall a long time ago. This issue is so widespread they the replacement part is on a nationwide backorder and could take up to a 3-4 weeks to arrive.

We currently have 3 Fords in our driveway and plan on selling or trading them in to buy something other than a Ford product. I was a strong believer in Ford, however, after seeing how they have trading their values, like Toyota, for profit and purposely placed mine and hundreds of others family's lives in danger I will no longer support Ford by buying or recommending any of their products.

I've read some posts on other sites about trying to clean the throttle body and resolving the issue. I plan on trying this and see how it works.

Just experienced the A/C problem with my 2005 Ford Freestyle last week. I had my dealer look at the vehicle, and was told that the compressor was going bad. I took the Freestyle to another repair shop and was told that the compressor was bad. I ended up having the repair shop replace the compressor along with various other parts of the A/C system (along with flushing the system for metal particles).
Also found out that the upper motor mount was broken and had it replaced ($214 part + labor). Funny that the Ford dealer did NOT find that one.
After the A/C components were replaced, the A/C worked fine... for about five (5) days. Now the system just blows hot air (and in Texas summer heat, that's not a good thing!). I returned the Freestyle back to the repair shop and they are still trying to find the problem, after about a day's worth of "problem solving". The A/C unit seems to be working, but no cold air is coming out. The fan runs as usual, but only to blows hot air.
Any suggestions on what might be causing the problem?
The repair shop has tried replacing a relay, and a cycle value and neither one fixed the problem.
Thank you for your input and comments.

Note: I did contact Ford Corporation, via their 1-800 number (the website didn't work at all!), and entered a complaint about this issue. I was given a case number. I can't believe that my Freestyle is having these kinds of issues. I have 47,000 miles on it (I bought it new from the Ford dealer) and two more payments... just bad timing and it's really starting to make me wonder about the Ford product lines. At this point, I might be really hard pressed to buy another Ford, and that's sad since I owned a 1995 Ford Explorer, before my Freestyle, and I really liked that vehicle. Again, thanks for any comments or suggestions!

From Lugnut125


08/11/2010 -- Update!

I received my 2005 Freestyle back from the local repair shop, almost a week ago now, and everything seems to be working fine. Ended up, the local repair shop had to send my Freestyle to another Ford Dealer where they said they could not find any problems. The local repair shop had decided the problem was in the car's computer. After analyzing the car (both the local repair sho and the Ford Dealer) for four (4) days, I received my car back with an additional bill for a little over $400. I did notice that the bill included a "high pressure switch" which I didn't realized had been replaced ($79) until after getting my car back. So, after several days of being in the repair shop(s), I now have air conditioning, but at a total cost of just under $2,500. I just hope the system will hold up for another year or so.