I have an 06 Freestyle and the answer is yes. So many people have had rear brake problems that Ford has released EXTENDED COVERAGE PROGRAM 07N10. “Certain 2005 through 2007 FWD & AWD Ford Five Hundred, Freestyle & Mercury Montego Vehicles - Rear Brake Wear”

This program extends the warranty coverage of the rear brake pads to 3 years of service or 36,000 miles from the warranty start date of the vehicle, whichever occurs first. If a vehicle has already accumulated more than 36,000 miles, this coverage will last until December 31, 2007. This program provides one-time replacement coverage, and is automatically transferred to subsequent owners.

This program has expired and I don’t know if it has been renewed. Here’s the story with my 06. The first set of pads made it to 20,000 miles. Ford replaced them and the replacements went to about 40,000 miles. I replaced them myself at 40,000 with some duralast gold pads (the only non-Ford pads that I could get locally). At 100,000 miles the pads aren’t half way yet. I replaced my front pads with the same duralast pads at 80,000 and they seem to be wearing fine. However, my front rotors have some pretty bad warping about 20,000 miles after replacing the pads. I plan to replace the rotors and put a new set of pads on it soon.