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 ABS warning light came on. When driving car over 45mph, the speedometer starts jumping all over the meter and the odometer is no longer reading miles. This is the same exact issue as NHTSA campaign number 09V399000. Apparently, even though Ford recalled Windstar, our Windstar was somehow not qualified even though we're not experiencing the same exact issue.
During a trip on the highway at approx. 70 mph the ABS light came on and stays on as long as vehicle is being driven until its restarted again and cycle continues.
For some reason my instrument panel custard needles started, to bounce up and down for no reason and sometimes its ok.than you be driving and everything its ok, but than there goes the needles bouncing up and down again and than it stops or if I stop at store or gas station and start the ignition again it does it again.problem 2, before the fires on the Ford vehicles on the cruise control switch mine had already burned out as I was at the store parking lot I picked up my hood and there was the smoke and short wires below the brake fluid holder I fixed it, on my own than see all the problems on the daily news. This happen when I only hadabout 85000 miles.problem 3, for some reason I'm having with my ABS, the light keeps coming on and my brakes don't work right, but when the ABS light is off my brakes work fine, I tell you Ford can really make sorry vans like the Windstar LX model.
I had stopped at the stop sign. When it was clear for me to go, I accelerated and when I got to the next sto sign and slowed own, my car would not slow down. I pushed on the brakes, heard a loud vroom and the car kept going. It's happen 3 more times. One time, I was at a fast food restaurant drive thru. I was slowing down as I got in line and when I put on the brakes, the car made a loud vroom sound and keep going. I kept pushing on the brakes and it finally stopped. I cannot remember if I put the car in park or not but I think I did that time. I would have tapped the truck in front of me. I read online about a son whose mothers wind star had the same problem. It may need to be recalled.
The brake pressure differential deactivation switch (scds) (2B264) located under the master cylinder (behind the air filter) over time develops a leak. This causes a short and a fuse trip, fuse #10 if the engine is on. This leak also causes brake fluid to wick down two wires to the ABS brake module (2C219). The fluid accumulates on the (always on) power connectors for the ABS brake system which are powered by fuses 101 and 102 and are both 40 amp. The fluid attracts moisture, road salt and leads to a fire when the fluid and moisture act as conductor between the hot leads and ground. This switch has been the subject of other Ford recalls, just not my Windstar van yet. My wiring harness when inspected was wet with brake fluid, including the connections and the inline fuses, which basically permits electricity to jump past the inline fuses and continue to heat up the wiring harness. The fuses bodies crumbled when inspected. Since most double side door vans are predominantly driven by large families, the possibility of multiple fatalities per vehicle due to a horrific death from being burnt alive is a valid point to consider. Most vehicle fires spread so fast that unstrapping multiple small children from restraint seats would take an inordinate amount of time, especially with smoke inhalation and the heat of flames to prohibit rescue. Thank you for investigating this.
- Enterprise, AL, USA
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The contact owns a 2000 Ford Windstar. The contact stated that the vehicle had been parked for an hour when he discovered that the vehicle was engulfed in flames. The fire department was called to extinguish the fire and there were no injuries. The contact called the dealer and was advised that the cruise control deactivation switch was replaced due to a recall in 2011, which could have been associated with the failure. The manufacturer was not contacted. The approximate failure mileage was 200,000.
2000 Ford Windstar. Consumer writes in regards to the speed control system modification recall notice problems. The consumer stated after he retrieved the vehicle from the dealer, the vehicle was not idling correctly. The dealer stated the work performed on the vehicle, had nothing to do with the improper idling issue. The dealer informed the consumer the vehicle had a vacuum leak, around the master cylinder.
The ABS and check engine lights went on (again, after I had numerous items repaired or replaced on this van). I went back to my mechanic who found that a part was needed, called the C1185 and is part of the ABS module system. I then went to Ford dealership to see if this part could be replaced, and they told me that the manufacturer for this part had gone out of business and the part was no longer made! I have had these items repaired/replaced on this 2000 Windstar since I bought the vehicle in December 2013: 1) Ford dealership replaced ten-speed control deactivation switch per recall 2) my mechanic then repaired the electronic braking system, speedometer and odometer, which was tied in with the speed control deactivation switch (repairs were over $420) 3) my mechanic reinstalled improperly installed rear windshield wiper 4) my mechanic installed new battery
ABS and traction control lights illuminated while braking on snow and ice, ABS stopped working and van skidded out of my control, pumped brakes until vehicle came to stop, luckily did not occur at next intersection, or would have slid into busy intersection !! brought to shop and they did some diagnostics and came up with van needing a new ABS/traction control module. Very expensive repair. Upwards of $2000, if both ABS module and ABS hydraulic control parts need to be replaced. Went online and have read many many complaints of this problem on this model of van. Ford knows and they wont issue or recall a major safety / brake recall......this could cause someone severe injury or death !!! brakes are there to safely stop a vehicles motion !!!!! dealer says very common problem with these Windstar.if Ford could fess up and make part very affordable then I could fix van myself. Rear axles, subframes breaking have been addressed. I believe this is a very important issue that needs to be addressed. Thank you for looking into this problem. Sincerely, [xxx] here is one link to a site I was on www.fordwindstarrecall.info/ information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
As I was driving down the highway, cruise control set to 60mph. My cruise shut off, my ABS and traction control lights came on. If you shut the vehicle off and let it cool down, it will stay off for a while, but usually comes on within a few moments of beginning to drive. And the brakes will work, but I will not have ABS or traction control at all.
We were driving on local highway when ABS and traction light came on. We then heard a grinding noise and the speedometer was jumping from 20 to 50 sporadically. When the vehicle is turned off and restarted everything is normal, but recurs shortly after driving.
The ABS light has been going on and off for no reason. I took it to a mechanic and they said the only code that was affecting the light was the front right tire speed sensor which we replaced and the code went away. The cruise control dosent work and the light comes on and breaking is sometimes much more difficult when slick/wet and liable to cause an accident. The mechanic told me my vehicle was included in the Ford recall from 6/2012 relatingn to ABS light and diagnostic trouble code C1185
ABS light comes on and off while driving, cruise control does not work, speedometer and rmp guage goes crazy and stops working, leaking break fliud but can't seem to locate problem, interior lights flicker on and off, door locks will start going up and down while driving, rear passenger door does not close all the way and will sometime pop out but not completely open while driving, makes noise when turing left I had the rack and pinion changed but that did not solve the problem the noise just got worse.
The contact owns a 2000 Ford Windstar. The contact stated that while entering into a parking space, the vehicle lunged forward erroneously. The vehicle was taken to a dealer however, the technician was unable to duplicate the failure. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but did not offer any assistance since the vehicle was not included in any recalls. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 90,000 and the current mileage was 130,000. Updated 05/10/13 updated 05/17/2013
My 2000 Ford Windstar van has frequent and intermittent problems with the ABS light coming on and eventually going off; the cruise control not working sometimes even after it was repaired by the dealer; and the gauges in the instrument panel (including the speedometer) erratically malfunctioning. I have been told that these are common problems with Ford Windstar and may be subject to recalls. (even though the mileage is high, I replaced the transmission and engine with a brand new transmission and a brand new engine in 2006 and 2007, respectively. Only less than 50,000 miles on the vehicle since 2006.)
The contact owns a 2000 Ford Windstar. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds burning fumes were emitted into the vehicle. Also, the contact mentioned that the vehicle would continue to accelerate after engaging the brakes. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure who did not offer any assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was 200,000 and the current mileage was 200,140.
The contact owns a 2000 Ford Windstar. The contact stated that while sitting at a stop light, the vehicle accelerated independently. The contact had to apply pressure to the brakes using both and turned off the ignition. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for diagnosis where a vacuum line was disconnected however, did not solve the problem. The vehicle was taken to a dealer for diagnosis where the fuel system was serviced and the throttle body was decarbonized. The vehicle was repaired. The failure and current mileages were 128,000.
The ABS light began coming on intermittently for no known reason; gradually it has been on more. In recent weeks, have also begun having problems with the speed control working only intermittently, and last week the speedometer stopped working incorrectly; the highest speed it registers is 28-29 mph, even though I know I'm going faster. The windshield wipers now suddenly work only on low or, if turned up to the highest possible setting, they go half speed. Two weeks ago a brake set up for no known reason, to the point that I smelled 'burning.' I stopped to investigate when traffic allowed and could see nothing wrong. I drove to a hospital where son was working and he investigated and found the frozen-up brake. He was able to eventually get it freed up. A vehicle that once was a very dependable workhorse has suddenly become erratic and downright scary.
On Sunday 5/20/12, upon starting our 2000 Ford Windstar van, I noticed that the speedometer was not working and the ABS (yellow) light was persistently on. (however the red brake light that had been shining on the dashboard persistently for many, many months, even after recall servicing, was now off.) driving for a few minutes, we realized that the air conditioning was not putting out cool air, only warm, and that the odometer was displaying only dashes. I should also mention, now that I have read up on these problems, which had seemed unrelated, but are apparently all traceable to a defective/leaking sdcd, that the cruise control on this vehicle has not worked for many months.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Garden Grove, CA, USA