Ford says that my Windstar does not qualify for the axle replacement recall (even though it was assembled in their Oakville, Canada plant) because it was not sold in one of the states that typically use salt on highways during the winter. I don't know if anyone has ever noticed, but Florida is surrounded by bodies of salt water! Not that that has anything to do with the problem since it was obviously a major design flaw from the very beginning! I bought this van new in 2001 and have been pleased overall with it's performance through the years. I also heavily depend on it as it is my only form of transportation and intend to keep it as long as I can. The solution Ford came up (applying only to certain states) is absurd! I don't understand how the National Transportation and Highway Safety Administration could let them get away with this when it clearly is a safety issue for not just the owners, but innocent drivers alike. All I want is Ford to make the repairs at no cost to me.

I received the recall notice on my 01 ford windstar again about the rearend so I looked under the rear of van and noticed a big crack right in the middle of the rear axle so I contacted the Beaver dam Ford dealer about the recall notice that I received and the said it is just a check on the previous recall issues with their so called bandaides that they put on to see if they were installed correctly. So I brought the vehicle in to shop and they said no charge for the check but my axle has a big crack in the middle , the lady told me I can get it fixed for a $300.00 dollar discounted price, and they would put a new rear axle in. I look at it as if u messed up to begin with u should resolve the problem from the get go. So I should have my rear axle replaced weather it is 1 yr old or 20 yrs. old rust or no rust, this is one of my main transports for my family of 5 and I cant afford to go out and buy another vehicle. A friend of ours owns a Toyota truck and had a recall on the frame of the truck and it has since been replaced because Toyota knows it was their fault. So why is it that Ford can't commit to fixing their mistake. All I want is the problem to be resolved at no cost to me. I also know it has many other clamps and brackets put on by ford for other issues, so apparently this is a poor vehicle in the ford history, this isn't looking good for Fords of the future.

My 2001 Windstar was recalled for a issue with the rear axle beam. Ford installed a patch on the bean made to reinforce the area which rust in high salt states.1 week ago the axle broke under that patch and as you can see it is now in two pieces. After contacting Ford I was told the patch was only warranted for two years and there is no way Ford can help. It is my belief if you recall a part and the repair fails, then it should be repaired again or replaced. I am always hearing commercials reporting we warranty our repairs for the life of the vehicle. Ford is obviously not the one making that claim. I was fortunate, we were pulling into a parking lot when it broke and nobody was hurt. I am fixing it myself because I can't afford the $1000 repair bill. I was told by a Ford representative to save my receipt and if there is another recall, I can get reimbursed. I wonder how they will reimburse me for my time?

We received a recall notice in the mail from Ford regarding the rear end of our Windstar. I called to schedule an appointment for them to fix it (Lovegreen Ford, Kirksville, MO) for January 27, 2011. We were told it would only be at the shop overnight. The rear axle or rear end broke in half on January 24. We got it to the dealer on the 27th as scheduled. We are still waiting for them to fix it. Today is March 15. Next week the dealership will have had our means of transportation in the shop for TWO months. They say they are waiting on a part from Ford. How long should this take. We need our vehicle.

A letter I sent to Ford and Enterprise Rental

Feb 25, 2011

To whom it may concern,

On Feb 17, I was informed by Stamford Ford that I had a serious recall on my 2001 Ford Windstar and that Ford was going to arrange a rental for me to use in the mean time. It is widely known that a Windstar recall can result in what could be months in a rental car, the guys at the Enterprise location I was referred to knew this as they’d rented many before.

On Friday, Feb 18, the Enterprise location on East Main St. in Stamford was called by the dealer and asked to contact me to set me up with transportation. They came to get me at my office and brought me to the location. I explained I needed a mini van as that was the vehicle in service and that my company would need the same. I also had copies of all employees who were to possibly drive the van but was first told that they had to come in in person and show their licenses and credit cards but then was told that because they were listed on my commercial policy they wouldn’t need to come in after all. The photo copies of their licenses were never taken by Enterprise. I was also informed that as a result of the busy holiday weekend, there were no mini vans but I could come by Monday and pick one up. Since I needed transportation, I was put into a pickup truck temporarily.

On Monday, Feb 21, I called in as directed to check on the mini van availability and was told to come down and switch out vehicles. The mini van I was assigned was filthy, but Dave, the assistant manager explained that they were very busy so I accepted it dirty. The place was clearly busy and we did a very quick walk around, as best we could on a dirty vehicle. I took the van and went on my way. A few hours later, Dave called me and asked me for the plate number for that van because he forgot to list it on the paper work. I told him I didn't have it but would get it to him as soon as I could. I found it difficult to unlock the doors with the key fob supplied so while I had him on the phone, I asked him if there was an extra fob that I could come and switch out because this one didn't work, he flatly said no and didn't really seem to care.

Tuesday morning, my driver took the van to do deliveries. . Dave called again for the plate number, I had to call my driver, make him pull over and read me the number, which I called into Dave. When my driver got back, he passed in his mileage sheet and gas receipt, which said he drove 198 miles and used 14.5 gallons of gas, which I thought was unusually poor gas mileage I went out to the van and noticed the check engine light was on so as a courtesy, I called in to Enterprise to let them know. They said bring it in later and we'll get you into another van.

Later that afternoon, I went to the location to switch out of the defective van and was told there was a crack in the bumper and that it was my fault. I went out to the van with one of them, I can’t remember who, and he showed me the crack. The crack was hard to see unless you were right on top of it and had a trained eye but was able to see it when it’s location was explained to me. After only having this van for less than 24 hours, I said to him, “first of all, this van was filthy when I picked it up, clearly wasn‘t washed by your lot porter and prepped, and if I caused that crack, wouldn’t we see a smudge in the dirt? Wouldn’t there be some indication of contact with something?” There was not and the rep seemed disinterested in my reasoning. I maintain that had the van been issued to me appropriately clean, we may well have seen a crack before I ever took it, but we’ll never know.

At this point, Evan, the manager, was eager to file a claim against my insurance company and get his 500.00 from my company debit card. I didn’t know this was happening and as a result bounced checks. Of course I complained as any one would, he decided to tell me about how much money he’s going to lose by the van being in the shop. He went on and on about how Ford and Enterprise made an arrangement to rent vehicles to recalled Windstar owners of $38.00 a day when he normally gets 120.00 a day for a mini van, as if he actually owned the van and the money was coming right out of his pocket. Getting increasingly aggravated, I said “Wait a minute, I really don’t care about how much money you are losing, I’m the customer!” “I am here not because I love renting cars, I’m here because of a recall, through no fault of my own. I don’t want to be here, You don’t want me here. I’m here because I have to be.”

I was, after a 2 hour wait, finally issued another van, on which I took out the $8.99 supplemental insurance because I now felt like a target.

The next day, I went to the Ford dealer to see what kind of recourse I had for the growing bills this recall has created over the past 24 hours. While in the office, the Parts and Service Director called Evan to ask if there was a way to work something out or to verify whether or not Ford will cover the supplement insurance. While he was on the phone with Evan, I could hear both sides of the whole conversation. Evan proceeded to slander me by saying he thought that I was going to do something bad to the van because I took the supplemental insurance and he was worried about that. He didn’t know I could hear every word, so I went to the location and asked him why he said that about me. His first question was “Was I on speaker phone?” to which I replied, “No, but I could hear every word you said.”, then admitted he said it. He also accused me of not telling the Service Manager at Ford that I wasn’t the one driving the van, which is untrue, but what it has to do with the Ford dealer, I don’t know. Sounded to me like he just wanted to depict me as a less than honest individual. The conversation became heated and we exchanged words. I left unsatisfied.

So now, here I am, 5 days into this recall mess and I’ve spent over $600.00. Knowing the nature of Windstar recalls, I’m curious as to why the Enterprise location didn’t even hint at finding a solution to my problem, as would be consistent with the kind of customer service Enterprise gloats about on TV. Whether or not I or my driver caused the dent is not even the issue anymore, it cannot be proven either way so it‘s automatically my fault. I am, unfortunately going to be in an Enterprise rental for a long time. Since I already bought that dent for $500.00, why am I not just driving around in that van? I can assume that in the course of months that I would have been in a van, the likelihood of a dent occurring is pretty high, and I would pay for the claim at the end of my term. Instead, I’m $500.00 into a claim after less than 24 hours and also spending 8.99 per day to make sure it doesn’t happen again. Is it just me or is this ludicrous? I could possibly be in a rental for 100 days or more, that’s another 900 plus dollars! There has to be a fair solution to this problem!

My company is a very small business. We work hard for each and every dollar. $600.00 (never mind the bounced checks I have to cover and the fees associated with) is nothing to companies like Enterprise Rental or Ford, but to my company, it’s huge. It’s the equivalent of our insurance premium, electricity bill and fuel for the van. It’s money that I now have to find somewhere else, or have to go without something important to make up for. Add in the possible 900 plus dollars to cover supplemental insurance and it quickly becomes devastating. Guys like Evan and Dave don’t know the ramifications of their actions. They are trained to follow company procedures which do not favor customer service and don’t take into consideration the human element of contract negotiations. I’m sick about this transaction and do all I can not to cry whenever I think about, which is always.

It’s no secret that at this point, there is no love between me and that Enterprise location. However, I am at both their and Ford’s mercy and it continues to cost me dearly. At what point does someone throw me a lifeline?