Second Windstar totaled- Freestar or Sienna?

Hello all,

I greatly appreciate all the help I've gotten on this forum over the years. Our 2000 Windstar SE was in an incident with a deer two weeks ago, and we are finally due payment from the insurance company who has totaled it. MAJOR bummer because I had dumped about $1900 into it not even a week before the accident to get the lower intake gasket replaced, iso bolt replacement, coolant flush, and new plugs and wires. It deeply pains me just to type this. It was FINALLY running really well.

Before I sign off of this wonderful forum, however, I'd like to solicit your opinions on the above possible replacements. The advantage to the 06 Freestar (which has the highest Consumer Reports rating of all Ford vans) over the 06 Sienna (which CR drools over) is of course price. It's about $7k for the Freestar with approx. 51k miles, vs. $13.5k for a Sienna with the same mileage. Is the Sienna more reliable or is this a wives' tale simply because it's a Toyota? The transmission is still apparently a problem in the Freestar, but I've heard that the Sienna's isn't so great either. Then there is that oil sludge problem in Toyota engines of that generation. Seems like a toss-up, and since I know the Windstar, it seems like a no-brainer to go with what I know if the Toyota van is nearly twice the price.

Let me 1st say I am sorry for your loss of a vehicle that you worked on, grew to love, and took care of.
As a Freestar owner, I can tell you that they are very good vans. I would by another one if needed. You do have to maintain them aggressively with ATF fluid changes around 25,000 miles. and an installation of an auxiliary cooler does prevent fluid heating issues. The Freestar 4F50N transmission is a much improved over even the 2003 Windstar transmission with yearly internal modifications up until 2006. I choose to use mobil 1 multi vehicle synthetic ATF in mine and have 146,000 miles on it with no issues yet. There is a torque converter recall that is a solution to a not properly heat treated converter spline fitting that became an issue. I have not had this recall done and believe that poor fluid maintenance and no aux cooler install causes the converter overheating and premature failure. Engine intake upgrade modifications have also been improved. The Freestar is a much improved version of the minivan. The price is also right compared to other brands. I would suggest looking for a Limited, or SEL edition with the advance trak feature, with all the whistles and bells a lot cheaper than many other brands. Saving $7,000. can provide a lot of maintenance.

Now Toyota, Honda, Chrysler, and other forums are all full of owner problems concerning transmissions, engines, poor quality complaints as long as your arm. I truly believe the loudest complaints come from owners that do no preventive maintenance, do not follow scheduled maintenance requirements, drive for months with CEL lights on the dash, and then complain because a small problem turned into a big one. Why is it they never tell you that they did nothing when a problem started?

As BogHog says:

Vehicles are like your wife, Spend some money on them once in a while, and they won’t nag you to death!

When you purchase a used vehicle destined to be be mostly owner-maintained common wisdom says go with what you know. The Freestar is not 100% identical to the Windstar but the difference with the second-generation Winnie such as your 2000 are marginal enough so that the Freestar is included in the Haynes Windstar manual. Despite slightly larger displacement the engine is still the good ol' Essex Windsor you are familiar with. Transmission, suspension and general layout is also the same.

The Sienna is certainly a good quality vehicle but more expensive to maintain and service, and you'd have to familiarize yourself with a completely different design and more expensive parts. Not worth paying twice the price imho

Thanks all for the good advice. It's a good point to stick with what I know, and it's good to know that the engine isn't too different since I know it so well now. I definitely know to look for the IMRC rods being in place with intact bushings. Won't get stumped on that again. Good also to know that the transmission is redesigned for the year I'm looking at. First thing will be a fluid change and probably an external cooler. I know all the ins and outs of the Windstar, so it appears that many of the previous poor design frustrations were addressed. We like the body style and the interior space, and with the new interior and fold-flat rear seat, it sounds like a done deal.

I think I will pursue the gold 2006 Freestar that I found. Looks very clean and low mileage for an 06- about 52k. I appreciate the good info and advice and will keep y'all posted as to what happens next.

That sounds good. The fold-flat rear seat is the main thing I have longed for. That thing is too big to be taking in and out and takes up room in the garage when it is out (though our van won't hold the family with it out anymore, so it rarely is).

Well, after a lengthy search, we're the new owners of a 2006 4.2L Freestar with 61K miles. Thanks for the advice and information you all provided. It made sense to stick with a form factor and engine we're familiar with, and the maintenance costs on the Freestar vs. the Sienna sold it for me. The redesigned transmission didn't hurt either.

Will miss this most helpful forum, but will probably check back as I encounter issues.

Let us know how it works out over the coming months! Also, not many people seem to post in the freestar forum so the windstar still may be your best bet for advice.

I now have a 2003 Sienna (1st generation) which is MUCH different from the later models.
What I would advise.......install a Magnefine filter in the transmission fluid cooler line that flows IN to the transmission.
A auxillary transmission cooler would also be a good add.
Other than that.....I would recommend Synthetic fluid for the power steering and transmission.
Brake fluid....it would be good to do a bleed at each wheel to get rid of the dark fluid that builds up there over time.
As with any vehicle, staying on top of routine maintenance is key to keeping it going with a minimum of problems.

If you don't mind cost, Red Line D4 is a good fluid that is good for the Mercon V application, if that is what your Freestar calls for.
The same, or Red Line Power Steering fluid would be good for the power steering.
There are other quality synthetic fluids out there as well.
The cold flow and heat tolerance of the synthetic is worth the extra cost over non-synthetic in these 2 places.

Right now, I'm liking Mobil 1 AFE 0W-20 oil.
Oil filter, I like the Bosch Distance Plus......
There are other quality choices as well.


I wish you the BEST with your new-to-you vehicle and your questions are always welcome, regardless of what vehicle you have.

Let us know how it works out over the coming months! Also, not many people seem to post in the freestar forum so the windstar still may be your best bet for advice.

I was going to suggest that also. They really are the same van so I'm not sure why that forum doesn't just redirect to this one. Don't leave us! :D

-- Sent from my Palm Pre using Forums (http://developer.palm.com/appredirect/?packageid=com.newnessdevelopments.forums)

Well, after a lengthy search, we're the new owners of a 2006 4.2L Freestar with 61K miles. Thanks for the advice and information you all provided. It made sense to stick with a form factor and engine we're familiar with, and the maintenance costs on the Freestar vs. the Sienna sold it for me. The redesigned transmission didn't hurt either.

Will miss this most helpful forum, but will probably check back as I encounter issues.

Freestar's the best choice for those who are used to and appreciate the second-generation Windstar. It was originally supposed to be called Windstar anyway, as it is one: same frame, same sheetmetal with cosmetic upgrades... and the loss of the distinctive rear amber turning signal (but the Freestar tail lights are interchangeable with 99-03 Winnies if you ever get nostalgic). I agree that the flat-folding seat is a great improvement that was desperately needed, heck even the Caravan had one but not the Winnie.

As for the forum, you will be back. 80% of the stuff found here is useful to any Freestar owner :grinyes:

I was going to suggest that also. They really are the same van so I'm not sure why that forum doesn't just redirect to this one. Don't leave us! :D

Seems odd to have a separate forum for the Freestar, it's not all Freestar owners who are aware they're driving an updated Windstar, lots of material found here they could use. I bet those who have a Monterey are even less aware of that, some may think their van is a descendant of the Villager (a Nissan in disguise and a great but quite smaller van) when in reality it has nothing to do with it.