Hello-

I'm typically in the 87-96 forum, but have a special project I need your help with.

My church is doing a number of different service projects for the city of Des Moines this week, some of which include helping single mothers with problems they can't afford to fix.

One such project involves a 2005 Freestyle Limited. She took it in for an oil change and the shop that did it told her they recommend getting the transmission serviced. Myself and the friend I have helping me with this took that to mean a flush/fluid change and filter swap. So we went to the parts store to get what we needed, during which time we happened to get into conversation with a certified Ford mechanic who works for a local dealer. He told us that service on those transmissions was recommended about every 100k, and that included replacing some components inside the transmission as well; he also mentioned that simply flushing the fluid could potentially do more harm than good.

At the time, we had neglected to ask the owner if she'd been having problems with it, so we didn't have all the information we needed. So we went back to the owner. She said she wasn't having any problems with it at all, and there weren't even any service lights. She said the shop she took it to told her the tranny service should have been done at 40k.

Since we had this conflicting information, I decided to come to the one place I knew I'd get accurate info.

As I said, it's an '05 Freestyle Limited. I forgot to note the engine size, but it's got 62k with a CVT transmission. The bolt pan has 22 bolts if that helps at all.

That's all the info I got. If you need anymore just let me know and I will find out.

Thanks so much for helping out.

-Brian

 

I used to have a 2007 Freestyle. The CVT needs to be serviced every 60K per the owners manual. It uses a special fluid and filter and i recall the service was expensive. The fluid and procedure is critical. If you do it wrong, you will not be doing her a favor as you will ruin the CVT and it costs $5K to replace. Not servicing it is better than doing it wrong! I commend you for your efforts to help the community.

Dave

 

Yep, same thing Dave said.

My wife drives a 2005 Freestyle that we have owned since new. The recommended service interval for the transmission (as listed in the manual) is every 60,000 miles, and it is a specialized proceedure for the CVT. I'm no mechanic, but I believe it is something like draining and replacing the special fluid (not flushing), and changing out a certain filter.

 

Thanks for the info guys. I will pass it on. I'm certainly not comfortable doing the service if it's that sensitive of a procedure.

Your help is much appreciated.