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.
Most important is the brakes have been changed and checked. On several occasions the brakes have just failed and I would pump them enough just to get in a safe location. Aaa has had to pick me up and when the brakes where checked they were find and the fluid full. Also the rear just fell but I had that repaired by a local reputable shop on candler rd, Decatur/ there is a residue all around where I put the gas in. I've had the same mechanic for almost 30 years and he says the anti-lock brakes may be faulty. The brake and engine light will not go out even when repairs are made according to the codes that come up. The scariest time was when I was driving on university ave in atlanta and the car would not stop at the light at a normally busy intersection. I began blowing the horn and thank goodness no one was ahead of me. Aaa took their sweet time coming and by the time they got there the pedal was back up but I had them to tow me home anyways. My mechanic checked it and all was find but he was concerned and so was I. I did not contact Ford but it has happened again as I started it yesterday morning and the brakes were on the floor. This is just too dangerous. I told my mechanic not to come check it before contacting Ford.
Brakes continually have failed causing accidents. Pedal goes all the way to the floor before and after new brake pads and bring bled.throttle idle sensor causes vehicle to stall while driving. ABS light and brake light and check engine light keeps coming on. Now they just stay on. I need to know what, if any recalls have been repaired or any options that may be available.
Over drive flashing off and on will not go off. Fuses blow out right after you start up the van. It started when I made a turn at a green light. On the back roads.
The contact owns a 2001 Ford Windstar. While the vehicle was in motion, an internal fire erupted near the rear auxiliary air conditioning. The controls associated with the wires and the covering were melted. The contact smelled strong plastic fumes in the rear of the vehicle. The contact pulled the vehicle over and discovered that the cover and wires melted without warning. The contact was not notified of NHTSA campaign number: 15V608000 (suspension), but the VIN was not included. The approximate failure mileage was 106,390.
- Burbank, IL, USA
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This vehicle has shut off on me while driving several times. During the latest event which occurred while going approximately 30 mph and the minivan just shuts off without warning. There is not a stalling warning or anything. All lights appear on the dash and it is very difficult to steer the van when it happens. In order to get the vehicle to restart you have to turn it off with the key and then start it up again. I have investigated this problem online and there are many, many people complaining of this. I'm very surprised to see that a recall has not be made. With most of the complaints I've seen online many of the mechanics do not seem to know what the problem is. It's scary to see that many of us are complaining of the same thing. During some of the other incidents it also seemed to happen during lower speeds such as 5 or 10 mph however twice it happened going higher speeds, once at 25 mph and the other at 30 mph. Thank you for checking into this.
My 2001 Ford Windstar van started lighting up on the dash while driving then would go out, kept getting worse. Now the ABS and brake light stays on all the time, also my low tire light and there is the proper in air in tire. In April 17th 2015, my speedometer started acting up, would not register the speed I was travelling. I would shut down the motor and when I restarted moving again the needle would jump and start registering the proper speed. When I stopped again it would do the same thing again. I could put the cruise on and guess what speed I was at, I was lucky that I did not get stopped for going to fast. Lately, I have not been able to set the cruise. Today the speedometer would not work, then it came on. It is frustrating not knowing what speed I am travelling. I need my vehicle to get to doctor app'ts and grocery shopping. This is my complaint, what can be done about it.
I bought the van from someone drove from a hour fourtyfive min away from home got almost home and the brake light came on bk light on right went out seats stop working they electrical and the heat mess up very unpleased cause I have kids I drive to school everyday
The ABS sensor light, brake light, and other warning lights appear on the display. In doing an internet search it appears to be bad sensors and that a recall is pending. I am facing the same issues as many other people. Thank you.
Power windows and door locks intermittently not working. Unable to unlock electrical or manual sliding door....it locks up and unable to open door from inside. Passengers can't open door if an emergency. Electronic door locks don't function constantly.
The ABS light comes on frequently while driving. Sometimes it causes the regular brake light and/or low tire pressure light to come on (even though tire pressure is fine.) many times it happens when hitting a bump in the road. My dealer mentioned that the ECM module is returning many different codes with different meanings, indicating that the ECM module very likely has a bad connection on it. The dealer did not fix it yet, but warned me that I am currently driving without antilock brakes most of the time.
ABS and brake failure warning lights constantly displayed in dashboard display. Brake inspections cannot determine a cause. I just learned that many other Windstar owners have reported the same problem, and that a recall for repair may be (or have been) issued.
Turned on van with all this occurring at once: "check transmission", speedometer not working (reads 0mph), "ABS" light stays on, "brake" light stays on, "O/D off" light flashing, "trac off" light illuminated, "fuel computer data error", "oil life data error", "traction control data error", outside temperature "error", odometer malfunction reads "-----------", cruise control not working, ac not cold, hot air not hot.
After going through a heavy downpour at about 20mph the ABS and brake light came on. Nothing was hung up and it later cleared. We figured a sensor got wet but periodically maybe stopping quickly or even just turning off auto and restarting within 15 minutes may trigger the lights. They may stay on entire time of travel until shutting off car or they may just go away while driving. Not sure if it's a brake problem or electrical because my temp notification for outside temp also does not work and the gas gauge will sometimes report empty after filling up and also I have had issues where the cruise control can not be shut off by button. I must apply the brake to shut off the cruise control. The brake lights started back in 2012 but they all did not fail at the same time. These other things have been a problem at least since 2013. I have approx. 138,000 miles on the van.
A few weeks after purchasing my van I had issues with my brake light and ABS light coming on while I was driving. It did seem to cause any issues and the lights when off ever time I turned my van off and then back on. A few months ago I was coming up to a red light so naturally I started to slow down when I tried to come to a complete stop I kept going. The perfect way to describe what happen, it felt like I hit my brakes on a solid sheet of ice. I could here the ABS clicking and also felt the vibration in the brake pedal. That day it was 95 degrees and sunny. I almost caused an accident and the only things that stopped me was the emergency brake. It continued to do it every time I tried to slow down to stop that I refused to put my children in the vehicle. Last week after almost causing a few accidents I ended up pulling the main fuses to the ABS. Since I have done this the only issue I have had is my speedometer acting up. I feel that Ford needs to seriously look into this issue. I have already had 5 recalls fixed on my van and this needs to be another one.
While investigating the 50 mph failure of the PCM module, and the ongoing off/on action of the ABS module, I ran across what appears to be a mistake on page 43-3 of the fomoco "2001 wiring diagrams/Windstar" manual (fcs-12255-01). I exchanged several emails, case # cas-4648613-L1X1R6 crm:03259000003405, with the Ford customer relations center about this matter until they told me to contact a dealer. I sent the questions to my dealer asking for correct information, but they haven't acknowledged my inquiry. What I suspect is all Windstar's on the road today may be operating with only one-half of the scp (J1850 pwm) network operational. Now that many of the defective ABS modules are failing, are other Windstar in danger of engine failure at speed like ours? the two simple questions I asked fomoco are: 1) are you sure circuit 915 (data bus-) should be grounded at the ABS module? 2) what is the proper termination for the Ford data bus (circuits 914& 915), 120 ohms, 650 ohms, 3K ohms, what and where?
My 2001 Windstar started having electrical problems a couple weeks after I had all the other recalls taken care of. I turned the van on and all my needles went crazy darting back and forth, and my driver door censors aren't working now. The next day was the same and my ABS and brake lights on the dash are on and won't turn off. I have also had to keep my interior lights turned off completely because at any given time my vans door censors will decided that the door isn't closed. This is the second Windstar I have owned and at this point I will never buy another Ford. The safety of my children and myself is much more important.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Clintonville, WV, USA