This car lasted about 4 years. Brought used. Took very good care of car. Just stopped, had it towed and found that the engine was gone. Replaced the engine and it ran about another 9 months and the engine blew again. Always relied on ford cars, but never, ever, ever again. The Windstar so I see by other complaints is a hunk of junk and Ford knew it. Refused to put any more money into the car and junked it. Got ripped off. And they wonder why American consumer don't buy American made cars?
Have had nothing but problems with this van from day 1. Interior electrical went crazy at about 35000 miles. Had it fixed 4 different times. These problems included Interior lights, door ajar, power windows, locks, power mirrors and there's a short in the stereo.
We have taken extremely good care of this car but that doesn't make a difference. Have had problems with the front end shimmying, tie-rods, bearings etc. In 2008, the transmission crapped out. We spent almost $4000 replacing the tranny, bearings, struts, and a bunch of other stuff. (The work was done by a certified mechanic who's also a friend so we got a killer deal on the labor)
Now, the engine seized. This van is a total piece of crap. NEVER buy a windstar. This year or any other for that matter. (Three of my friends have the 1996 model and had all the same problems as I do, they just happened alot sooner.) Two of them junked 'em at 60000 miles!
Well this is the second complaint that I have filed about my 1998 Ford Windstar. Well this piece of junk has had the transmission repaired, the brake system reworked, and now needs a new engine, all in a matter of 2 months. Last week my husband was driving the van to work in Louisiana. Well lo and behold I get a call at 12:30 am from my husband with him EXTREMELY irate yelling at me to come and get him. The van had just quit on him with ABSOLUTELY No Warning whatsoever. Well I drove for 3 hours in the middle of the night to go get him and we had to spend every dime we had to get the stupid thing home. We took it to a mechanic and he said that it had slung a rod and needed a new motor. Well I refuse to spend another penny on this piece of crap and I called the finance co and told them to come and get it. I don't care if it does mess up my credit. I can go pay cash for an older Chevy or dodge or anything besides a ford product for the amount of money it will take to repair the van. THEY CAN HAVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!
60,000 replaced transmission, 104,000 replaced engine (something drastically wrong with oil pressure) replaced Alternator 6 TIMES in ONE YEAR! Interior lights have had major problem since 40,000 miles. Too many problems to mention and way too much money totally wasted on this piece of crap vehicle that Ford made!
I am so angry. I have taken care of this car with all the scheduled maintenance done at the right time. I kept needing to put air in my new tires. Not realizing that the spring may have made a whole or done something to the tires. Changed tires several times. And now my engine goes. What the hell. I have always owned Ford cars and thing has always gone wrong. but this takes the cake. We were a Ford family. from a Escort, Tarus wagon, Aerostar. F150, and the Ford Escape. I will never buy a Ford again
- Linda R.,
Chicago, IL, US
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I have already reported a problem with the transmission on this van. Now I want to report a problem with the engine. The engine in my van is a 3.8 liter. The engine blew an intake manifold gasket and when this gasket blew it let water in the cylinder and caused the head and block to crack and broke a piston, which is immaterial because with a cracked block it is worthless anyway. If you are looking at buying a windstar of any year save yourself a lot of heartache and expense and save yourself from being stranded DO NOT buy this vehicle for ANY reason.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
This car lasted about 4 years. Brought used. Took very good care of car. Just stopped, had it towed and found that the engine was gone. Replaced the engine and it ran about another 9 months and the engine blew again. Always relied on ford cars, but never, ever, ever again. The Windstar so I see by other complaints is a hunk of junk and Ford knew it. Refused to put any more money into the car and junked it. Got ripped off. And they wonder why American consumer don't buy American made cars?
- bjgjcookinglady, Baltimore, MD, US