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.
My son was driving on the highway. While driving at 40 miles per hour the back axel fractured. This resulted in him crashing into the center cement devider as well as the from left control arm breaking as well. He had to go to the hospital and get checked out. It is a shame that I have to find out about this recall through my insurer.
Massively erratic behavior of the instrument cluster. All of the gauges; the speedometer and RPM gauges, heat and all just jump rapidly up and down. Sometimes they give false indicators. The heat meter arm goes up when it is not hot. It's really scary. It's been going on for weeks. It doesn't happen often and I am not sure why it happens. This is a minivan I.e. a family car. I cannot wait to get rid of this car. I'll never buy a Ford again.
The contact owns a 2000 Ford Windstar. The contact stated that the power steering pump failed four times in one year. The contact's mechanic advised that the power steering pump was defective. The failure mileage was 150,000 and the current mileage was 170,000.
On 4 or 5 occasions over several days in early December, we lost control of the van's steering while making a turn. The van would just continue to careen in whatever direction it was heading. I scheduled service with my Ford dealer, but when it was taken in, they said my rear axle was cracked and they couldn't test the steering until such time as the axle could be replaced. I noticed there was an investigation into front end problems on Windstar as well, and thought I should report my problem.
- Columbus, OH, USA
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I was driving 55mph on dixie highway in groveland twp., mi. My mounting bracket that is a factory weld to the engine cradle broke away from the engine cradle and pulled my drive shaft out of the transmission. This is on a 2000 Ford Windstar. The weld broke due to corrosion from salt eating away the weld itself. My vehicle is undrivable, luckily no one was hurt. I had myself and my 3 children under the age of 7 in the vehicle at the time of the incident. Ford Motor Company is telling me that there is not a recall on my vehicle and that they will not pay to tow it to the dealership or to fix it. I am appalled by this. This is clearly a design defect and not my responsibility to fix. The detroit free press had an article on this very problem on December 23, 2010. It stated there have already been over 300 claims of my nature. The article stated this organization was investigating this matter. I ask for any help you can give me in getting Ford to fix my vehicle.
We purchased our 2000 Ford Windstar van in late September, 2010. Within the past month, beginning in mid November, we noticed a moaning and/or grinding sound when turning the steering wheel. I have read many similar complaints online and people mentioning that they lost control of their steering eventually and this worries me, as we just purchased this used Windstar when our previous vehicle was totaled in a nearly fatal accident. I am concerned for my family's safety, which includes 2 young children. I hope Ford takes notice of these many complaints and stop putting the lives of many in potential danger. I drive over a waterway bridge, each and every day and if this is a safety hazard, I would like to have it addressed. I would like my vehicle recalled for the sake of my family's safety.
Check engine light has been on for several thousand miles, from about 40,000 to current 130,000. The code that comes up can be 1 of about 10 things. Nothing corrects this. I have the 3.8L engine and the "check engine" light has been on. Had a mechanic pull the codes up and they are bank 1 running lean and bank 2 running lean (P0171) and (P0174). Was told could be mass airflow sensor, O2 sensor (1 of 4), vacuum issues, head gasket or a few others. I have replaced the maf sensor and all 4 O2 sensors at about $200 a piece. Still on. 2nd issue. Noise from front end when turning. 3rd issue. Currently sitting at Ford dealer with fractured rear axle for last month. Also ABS light goes on and off all the time.
2000 Ford Windstar, the control arm front passenger side detached from the frame while my wife was driving to work on 11/19/10. Luckily there were no other cars coming or she would have hit them head on. All vehicle controls were lost; no steering, no transmission drive train. The vehicle swerved out of control until luckily, the vehicle stopped partly on the side of the road. The vehicle had to be towed. I also noticed a hole in the rear axle which there is a recall for. The vehicle obviously cannot be driven and I am unsure if the transmission is damaged due to the drive axle being pulled out of it.
During the replacement of the power steering unit, tie rod ends, and rack assembly, the mechanic, [xxx], from stone's auto service, Inc., located at 350 North main St.; miamisburg, Ohio 45342. Their telephone number is (937) 866-3674, noticed excessive rust deterioration of the front subframe of the vehicle. The mechanic stated, on the invoice statement, the front frame is unsafe. He recommended we not drive the vehicle because it is unsafe, due to the rusted front subframe. We were told the entire front subframe could fall off at anytime. The mechanic suggested we take the vehicle to the dealer where we purchased the vehicle, which is interstate Ford, Inc. The dealership is located at: 125 alexandersville road; miamisburg, Ohio 45342. The phone number for the dealership is (937) 866-1737. We took the vehicle to interstate Ford, Inc., which their mechanic inspected the vehicle and advised us not to drive the vehicle, because the vehicle is unsafe. In fact, the owner of interstate Ford, Inc., chuck george said this vehicle is unsafe to drive. He advised us, Ford has not had any 'recall' for rusting subframe in the front end of the Windstar vehicle. Although, Mr. George did tell us that Ford has issued a recall for Ford Windstar vehicles due to rusting subframe of the vehicle's back subframe. Mr. George provided us a quote of $1,533.05, to repair the front subframe rusting matter. We have since had the repair completed and paid the bill of $1,533.05 to interstate Ford, Inc. We are identified as customer number 30231 at interstate Ford, Inc. Connie a. lipscomb is the advisor, who worked directly on this issue. This was completed and paid on October 28, 2010. Please be notified, I have 3 photos, taken by [xxx], at the Ford dealership, of the rusted subframe. Email me requesting the photos and advise me instructions to attach the photos and where to email them and to who's attention. Information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
The subframe, located at the front underside of the 2000 Windstar, is supposed to help keep the engine and other integral parts of the Windstar in place and stable. It has been compromised on this vehicle with 185,000 miles, and broke during a turn into a park after church on the aforementioned date (10-10-10). Fortunately the results were not deadly but could have been if we were driving on the interstate which we frequently do. What happened was a detachment of the drive axle (half shaft) from the transmission, which occurred when the lower control arm mount separated and caused the wheel to pull free from the drive axle. Furthermore there were no warnings prior to any of the aforementioned failures. The area of the subframe affected by this corrosion is located on the passenger side where it attaches to the lower control arm. This is the first time it has occurred. This vehicle was towed to tps transmission in toledo oh and is being repaired. The sub frame is being replaced and I will ask that the old part be returned. In the meantime what is going to be done with this obvious growing problem?
The steering on the van starting feeling loose. We occasionally noticed a sound in rear right when pulling out of our driveway. Took it to the shop to check tires and shocks. They found the rear axle had snapped and was broken 75% of the way through. They replaced the rear axle.
Purchased a vehicle off of the white allen lot with additional coverage with wynn's plus extended warranty on May 31, 2009. In August 2009, the van is very loose and unsteady while driving. Took to grismer on September 5, 2009 to find that the front tie rods needed to be replaced. Still unsteady especially in the rear. On September 10, 2009 the rear axle beam broke in two! the warranty company will not cover, and I come to find out through researching that across the U.S. thousands of persons have had this axle break on them nearly missing death on highways and byways. Ford is aware of the defective axle beam yet has made no attempt to my knowledge to recall. Lives are hanging in the balance and it seems they are more concerned about losing money. I can understand the concern especially with the economy the way it is. However, the consumer should not have to pay with their lives and the lives of their children because Ford decided that money was more important than human life. Not to mention had they been more concerned about quality vs. Quantity, perhaps this would not be a complaint that thousands of people have to make. The money spent repairing the defect that is not covered ($1,000) still doesn't give you peace of mind that you and your family are safe because they have made no effort to replace the part with one that is not defective. You just replace it with another defective part! when did human life become so insignificant that a car company who knows that there is a safety issue, can ignore it putting lives at risk and make money off of the rolling dead! if you are like me, you need to get to work, pick up, drop off kids, go out of town. As long as there is no recall effort for this part, americans take the risk of never coming home to their families or their families not making it home from a little league football games, soccer, ballet etc. It is tragic and someone needs to do something before lives are lost. No action has been take.
2000 Ford Windstar LX van with approx 97,000 miles. My wife was driving at a slow speed in a parking lot and all of a sudden there was a loud bang and she could not steer the vehicle. Fortunately, she was able to stop the van. One wheel in the front was straight and the other front wheel was turned at a 45 degree angle. We had the car towed to the Ford dealer. The problem was the sub frame rusted out, causing the transaxle to pull away from the transmission and dropping the engine. The repairs included replacing the sub frame assembly, transaxle, seals etc. The dealer told me that this was highly unusual for this to happen.... I contacted Ford and they told me they would do nothing to cover any portion of the cost. I believe this is a safety related issue because if my wife was driving on the open road and this happened, she would not be able to steer the vehicle and the end result would be a collision. I have saved all the parts for future investigation.
Researching problems with my van I ran a search to see if there are any recalls or technical service bulletins for my current problem: A leaking rack and pinion. While searching I ran across a site (www.fordwindstarrecall.info/) regarding the brake pressure differential deactivation switch (2B264). I experienced the symptoms (without the fire) of the switch leaking and now have problems with the ABS light staying on and the dealer I took the van to told me the ABS module needs replacement. The electrical connector to the brake switch showed signs of heat like it shorted out. I asked the service rep at the time if there were any tsb's or recalls and I was told no. I replaced the switch and have had no other problems but I need to replace the ABS module. The switch was weeping fluid but failed unexpectedly and the brake master cylinder was nearly pumped out of fluid. Thinking about it had the master cylinder ran out of fluid and the ABS module rendered inactive from the dripping brake fluid the consequences could have been fire.
My wife and I were driving on I-94 in jackson, mi, on our way from ann arbor, mi, to Chicago, il on Friday 9/19/08 at approximately 10:30 am. Going 70 mph, in the right lane (of two), the vehicle suddenly began veering off the pavement onto the grassy shoulder. The steering wheel was completely inoperable. We sheared off a road sign, which in the process, penetrated our radiator, and with me depressing the brake fully, we finally came to a stop off the highway after approximately 75 yards. We later learned that the right control arm had snapped off of the frame, thereby rendering the van unsteerable. Fortunately, we walked away from this frightening incident, but thoughts of what might have been remain with us. Our insurance adjuster deemed the vehicle a total loss. I hope that you will investigate this situation, as I have discovered in a simple google search that we are not alone in having experienced the terror of a defective control arm on a 2000 Ford Windstar.
At this time we are leasing a 2000 Windstar LX and we can't wait to turn it in to the dealership - and we plan to never purchase another Ford product again. We have purchased a used Honda Accord and expect that we will be quite happy with it... there was a recall on the exhaust/emissions was fixed and the light came on again and will not go out - eastgate Ford, dayton, oh does not know why the light will not go out. The paint on the luggage rack is peeling off. The door actuator on the passenger sliding door - does not work - it takes 2 people to open the door, one inside and one outside. The power steering pump is faulty. Ford has a service bullentin out - but there is no recall because Ford does not believe there is a safety issue here - I do not agree. Proper steering is pretty important and if a smaller size female or male was turning left and the pump failed, it could be quite hazzardous. Our biggest complaint is the way Ford Motor Company and eastgate Ford have treated us. There is no accountability on either part. Ford or eastgate won't stand behind their product.
Steering wheel there is a moaning noise. Dealership cannot find cause of the noise, and doesn't think it is a safety issue. But informed consumer that he should have it checked frequently.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- New York, NY, USA