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.
Transmission often does not smoothly shift into gear. The overdrive on/off light will flash on and off for 30-40 seconds intermittently. The transmission will seem to have trouble shifting gears and will hesitate or roughly jerk into a gear. We have taken it in to be repaired several times and had it repaired under a transmission recall as well but it still is having problems.
Less than two months after purchasing our van we had to jump start it and lost the cable on the power sliding door. Since then the car's engine was worked on but still stalls out sometimes.the transmission still jerks in park.(they couldn't find a problem.) for the power sliding door, after a new cable, numerous adjustings, alighnments and two control modules put in. It still works eraticley and the dealership refuses to see a problem. The door will not open, when it finally opens it will not shut. When it is closed it does not latch and the interior and door ajar lights stay on. It constantley makes a racket and popping noise. On occasion the door opens while driving. I have three small children and this is a saftey hazard!! working with a Ford rep he states there is nothing they can do but to bring it in "again" for repairs. But they really can't see a problem. He did state that they would give me 1,500 rebate towards another van or trade in. I told him I wanted this unsafe vehicle mashed no further owners. He said that would not happen. After looking at your report on 1999 and 2000 Windstar and the same repeated problems with engines and sliding doors.then comparing to other makes of mini vans and there few problems. I would not want to own another Ford!! I will be submitting this problem to the dispute settlement board. I'ts to bad Ford does not stand behind there products.
Grinding noise which is in time with the tire rotation, dealer is assuming there is a problem with the transmission, vehicle has not been inspected yet.
Transmission problem - problem began with some"rough" shifts, noticeable at 20 and 40 mph. When went to merge onto tollway, car was unable to go above 40 mph, until as I was about to pull over, car jerked and began to accelerate. I knew something was seriously wrong with car then, so made appointment at dealership. It has been at dealer for 2 weeks waiting for a new transmission. Driver sliding door doesn't always want to close. Try to close, and it either clicks, or closes a couple of inches and then reopens. Shake car, and eventually it will close. It is at dealership for the 4th time, in hopes of a repair. What happens if can't close door at all" can't drive car full of little kids with door open. Fuel pump wouldn't work, car had to be towed from a parking lot. No prior warning to this problem, what if this happened while driving"
- Lombard, IL, USA
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Transmission problem - problem began with some"rough" shifts, noticeable at 20 and 40 mph. When went to merge onto tollway, car was unable to go above 40 mph, until as I was about to pull over, car jerked and began to accelerate. I knew something was seriously wrong with car then, so made appointment at dealership. It has been at dealer for 2 weeks waiting for a new transmission. Driver sliding door doesn't always want to close. Try to close, and it either clicks, or closes a couple of inches and then reopens. Shake car, and eventually it will close. It is at dealership for the 4th time, in hopes of a repair. What happens if can't close door at all" can't drive car full of little kids with door open. Fuel pump wouldn't work, car had to be towed from a parking lot. No prior warning to this problem, what if this happened while driving"
Consumer was at a traffic light and went to take off, but vehicle did not move forward. Consumer's husband worked for Ford, and determined it was due to failure of transmission. Vehicle will not move in drive gears due to metal presence in the transmission fluid.
Van was running in park and jumped from park to reverse. Pinned my leg to a tree, then threw me to the ground and then proceeded into my garage through the closed door. It then stopped.
Unknown exact problem at this time grinding noise after the engine has been started and nothing else has been touched. Sounds either like gears are shifting like a stick shift car in the wrong gear or like you trying to start the car after it has been started.
Consumer had problem with transmission twice. Transmission wouldn't shift due to a cable being loose, and dealer replaced transmission twice. Also, dealership replaced a cable on the sliding door, and instrument panel performs erratically.
Leaving a filling station and returning to the street attempting to stop because of traffic the transmission made a grinding noise, the car kept moving, the engine was not reving up but the van kept moving, I steered to the right as much as I could I was almost side siped by a 18 wheeler. After reaching the street I let up on the brake pedal and the van coasted to a stop. I took it to the garage today and they check the ABS brakes but found nothing wrong. It appeared to me that when I stepped on the brake the transmission styed engaged, because when the car came to a stop the grinding noise stopped. The garage did not check the transmission, they felt it couldn't happen. I'm 74 years old in excellent health. The motor was not reving up so I did not have one foot on the gas peddle, as they assumed I did. I tried sat with 1 foot on the gas and the other on the brake and the car would not move. So in my opinon it had to be in the transmisson. If that 18 wheeler would have hit me they would have said the driver failed to stop, and my wife and I would have been dead.
Vehicle experiences sudden acceleration on its own up to 15-20 mph. The accelerator pedal does not have to be applied. On occasion transmission appears to be between gears..
If you proceed uphill and come to a stop to park, I place set the emergency parking brake before I put the van in park. When I leave I put my foot on the brake put the van in drve or whichever gear I need and I get an extremely loud clunk as if the trans. Is going to fall out. While going uphill, once at approximately 5 to 10 mph and a second time at 45 to 50 mph the transmission slipped for a second all together. Then it jumped back into the gear it was in previously, not berfore actually slowing down and almost stopping. I brought the van nto the local Ford dealer to be looked at and within a few hours they called me for pick up and said there was nothing wrong. I find that hard to believe, I've been around cars all my life and that sound is not normal and the things that have happened are not normal. I called the dealer and he said it sounds like it may have loww tranny fluid. That has been checked and that is not the case. I feel like I'm getting the run around here and am not gettting any sound answers as to why this happens. I also just found out today from the person at the dealership that the Windstar has many technical bulletins out regarding the transmission. I feel a little left out of hte crowd here. I'll be taking my family on a vacation back to Minnesota and I want to make sure thevan will make it. After all thats why we pay for the warranties now isn't it. Thanks for your help and guidance with this issue.
When applying brakes to slow down, transmission would make a loud sound. And vehicle would accelerate. Then transmission would make again the same noise & then it would jerk. Been to dealer & mechanic could not locate cause of noise.
Going from park to drive on an incline, transmission grates and difficult to put into gear, valves rattle when accelerating, van accelerates up to 20 mph without touching gas pedal, popping sound in steering when turning, makes grinding sound when accelerating, dealer has not been able to fix problems, also rear sliding door was in a completely different color from the rest of the interior, engine vibration.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Greenville, NH, USA