This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
The caller said ignition failed. She said a year ago that the vehicle started by itself without a key. She stated that currently she had intermittent trouble starting the vehicle. The lights on the dashboard will come on but the vehicle will not start. Dealer said vehicle was not recalled. They will not help her for free. Manufacturer has not been contacted yet.
I already submitted this form earlier today, but I realized I made some errors on the form so here is an updated form with the correct information. As I explained on the first form, there are two related problems which have been occurring with our Ford Aerostar mini van. The first problem is that the sliding side door does not close properly because the door guide-track is defective and has broken at the point where it attaches to the vehicle body behind the latch strike-pin. We had this repaired in December of 1998, but it has broken again only 15 months after the first repair. The other problem is failure of the electrical system, which is related to the door defect, because sometimes when the door is not latched properly, the door-ajar light comes on and makes a terrible grating/buzzing noise and at the same T ime causes all the electrical systems to fail. The turn signals, windshield wipers, fan, radio, etc all freeze-up. This has happened twice while driving, and twice the ignition froze and I could not start the van. I had to turn off the key and restart it to get everything working again. These electrical failures are clearly linked to the sliding door problem because the only occur when the door-ajar light is flashing and making that grating sound when the door is not properly closed.
While driving at any rate of speed, or even while the vehicle is stopped, the vehicle kills without warning. There is no warning. The dealer has attempted to fix the problem since 1/25/00. Since that date, I have had the van in my possession for 5 days. The longest I have been able to drive the van after it has supposedly been fixed is 3 days. I am told that the dealer can duplicate the problem but can't diagnose it. This is an extremely dangerous situation!
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Pewaukee, WI, USA