2004 Ford Freestar

On certain vehicles originally sold or currently registered in areas of heavy road salt usage during winter months (Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland & Labrador), corrosion can occur at the latch for the forward portion of the third row seat. Continued corrosion in this area may result in the inability to fully latch the forward portion of the seat into its seating position, which could increase the risk of injury in a crash. Note: Seat belt anchorages and permanent seat anchorages, which are at the rear of the seat, are unaffected. Correction: Dealers will install new third row seat latch striker mounting brackets which relocate the seat latch strikers from the potentially corroded area. In addition, dealers will install overlay panels on the exterior of the wheel wells to prevent entry of water and corrosive elements.

On certain vehicles, the torque converter could fail.  This would result in a loss of vehicle propulsion which, in conjunction with traffic and road conditions, and the driver's reactions, could increase the risk of a crash causing property damage and/or personal injury.  Correction: Dealers will replace the torque converter assembly.

Certain Ford Freestar vehicles modified for wheelchair accessibility by Liberty Motor Company Inc. do not comply with the requirements of CMVSS 210.  The second row bench seat only has one set of lower universal anchors (UAS) instead of the required two sets.  Also, certain vehicles do not have tether anchor brackets for the bench's two outboard seating positions.  This non-compliance would prevent proper installation of a child seat to an outboard seating position.  Correction: Owners should contact Liberty Motor Company and then bring their vehicles to a trusted service shop or Ford dealership to have two tether anchors and two UAS brackets installed.

On certain vehicles, the front wheel hub assemblies were not heat treated correctly.  This condition may lead to the development of small cracks in the hub.  If the cracks were to progress, this could eventually result in wheel separation.  Wheel separation may lead to loss of vehicle control, and potentially result in a vehicle crash.  Correction:  Dealers will replace the front wheel hub and rotor assemblies.

Certain vehicles do not comply with the requirements of CMVSS 120.  The Standard specifies that for vehicles other than passenger cars, the label information shall display after each GAWR, the size designation and, if applicable, the type designation of rims.  This information was inadvertently omitted from the compliance label affixed to the affected vehicles.  Correction:  Since this does not pose any safety risk, no corrective action is required.