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.
2 weeks after I bought, what I thought was going to be the best car I ever owned, the check engine light came on. Since I'm a single mom with 5 kids, im very tight on money, therefore, I went to the auto part store, put it on the machine, hoping I could do what I did with all other vehicles I owned, buy the parts, go online and read up on fixing it my self. I had just put all my savings into buying the van. The store clerk, gives me a list of 4 codes and the list of possible fixes. I get home go online and found out that not only is it not easy for someone like me to do, but its going to be a good $1200-$1500 for a mechanic to fix. And worse of all, it as been a major issue with this make and model, Ford knows about the problem and even put out a repair kit just for the issue, but still refuses to recall the vehicle after numerous complaints. Well your little kit maybe inexpensive for people who can fix it them selves but when you have to pay a mechanic to do the work its more then a simple repair. If a car as been treated good by its owner, as not been abused and maintenance kept up with over the years, then the only major (above $1000) repairs that we should have, are repairs due to accidents or normal wear and tear. When almost ever one who owes one of them as the same problem, around the same time, then it is a defect in the making of the car and should be the responsibility of the Ford company. The fact that Ford had to come up with a repair kit, is admitting there is a defect with the van. I should have check this website before I bought the van. Do your research people!
Cel on, ECM throwing P0174 codes, many many complaints on internet of this problem with 3.8L V6 engine. Apparently no help from Ford or dealer to assist customers with a fix for this. Ford what a joke this 2000 Windstar is. No more Ford for me, total lack of support for product failure.
The contact owns a 2000 Ford Windstar. While driving approximately 35 mph, the contact noticed a fuel smell inside the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who stated there was a leak in the fuel line. The contact stated repairs were made but she was unsure of what was repaired. The contact continued to smell fuel in the vehicle. The mechanic informed the contact there was a recall NHTSA campaign id number: 00V164000 (component: Fuel system, gasoline: Delivery. The manufacturer was contacted and they told the contact that the vehicle was not included in the recall. The approximate failure mileage was 157,000.
2000 Ford Windstar LX 3.0. stalling while driving, when parking, while turning. Sometimes will restart but as time has progressed this will not happen. Began while under warranty but would always restart with patience but now has been rowed to dealership last six times. Numerous very costly parts have been replaced since no codes are produced in these events but no solution has been accomplished to alleviating the stall. This is very dangerous in traffic.
- Cherry Hill, NJ, USA
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My 2000 Ford Windstar will stall, while driving, without warning causing a loss of power to the engine, braking system and steering system in a 3800 pound vehicle. This is an intermittent problem, but repeats itself every 2 or 3 weeks or so. The last time it caused my wife to transverse into a stop sign controlled intersection in a populated residential area of los angeles county without brakes or steering. It has happened 15 times to myself and my wife and twice to South bay Ford since approximately Nov of 2004. I believe that Ford dispatched engineers to South bay Ford in hawthorne California who stated that this is an issue of fuel tank design and is not correctable. South bay Ford and Ford Motor Company together appear to be ready to return the vehicle to me with the instructions "don't let the fuel tank drop below 1/4 of a tank". the stated reason is that the Ford Windstar has a rectangular fuel tank that when driving on grades can cause the fuel to move to a part of the tank that will not pump the gas to the engine (this is supposedly a known bug and possibly associated with a service bulletin). I asked why, assuming that my driving habits (and my wife's) have not changed in relation to our letting our tank get below 1/4 tank, then why has this only surfaced as a problem in the last 4 or 5 months" why not the first 3.5 years?!" this car is covered by an extended warranty for one more year. The car has been in the shop for nearly three weeks now. Ford can not fix the problem, but will not take ownership of it either.
We have owned this 2000 Ford Windstar since February of 2002. I have lost count of how many times we have taken it back to the dealer because of the poor gas mileage. It was getting 13 mpg and the dealer said that was normal. But over the past 3 months we have taken it back to the dealer 8 times because of the check engine light. The dealership has replaced the upper/lower intake gaskets, fuel pump, fuel filter, fuel line, mass oxygen flow sensor, both O2 sensors, valve cover gaskets, and a couple of other things too. The gas mileage actually got worse after several of the repairs. We are averaging between 9 - 10 mpg. In addition to the engine problems, our door locks don't work right and the interior lights don't work at all automatically...we have to turn them on and off. The door locks on the sliding doors have to worked by hand. I am so sick and tired of this car. We have had to cancel two road trips because of the problems, because I don't trust the car out of town. It already left me stranded overnight because the transmission blew up two months after we bought it.
Transmission will downshift very roughly, driver gets thrown forward. Dealer cannot find cause. The transmission was down shifting with a terrible jolt at low speed. The vehicle was difficult to start when cold and damp, also when the ignition was switched off and then back to start the engine fires and runs. The vehicle stalling was determined to be fuel pump failure. The gas mileage dropped from 23 mpg to 16 mpg and the vehicle burns more oil. The lights flicker when driving at night and A/C is on, also the vehicle shakes while idling with the A/C on. The driver"S seat cut and slashed the consumer?S clothing. There was a weak green light from the battery. Vehicle vibrates at high speed. The driver"S door was difficult to shut.
Severe fuel odor gets into vehicle during hot weather condtion while driving or parking. Vehicle been to dealer on four occasions, and problem was reoccurring. Feel free to provide any further information.
The vehicle smells with very strong odors of fuel especially on hot days, the dealer replaced the fuel canister twice and the problem still existed, recently the dealer found a hole in a panel that was not properly sealed and stated that the smell came through the hole and was recirculated by the air conditioning, the dealer installed a hose for smells to exit at the bumper area, the consumer does not feel safe driving this vehicle.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- St. Johns, OH, USA