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.
On May 7, 2010 my 2001 Ford Windstar the axle broke on me coming from picking up the kids from school causing an accident with the van flipping over two times.
My husband was backing out of the driveway at work, when the tires were turned inward because of the break in the rear axle. After having it towed my husband bought a rear axle from another vehicle and replaced the broken one.
2001 Ford Windstar rear axle broke while driving down the road. 118K miles on the vehicle. No previous accidents. No warning signs the axle was about to break.
2001 Ford Windstar rear axle broke in half about 16 inches from left rear wheel. Isn't it funny how there have been so many complaints about this issue for all model years of the Windstar and no complaints with the freestar's rear axle. This is due to Ford knowing that the axle on the Windstar was faulty and re-designed the axle for the freestar. I don't know why people post a complaint on this site; because if there isn't a fire or a crash they could care less. I cannot believe that this isn't a safety issue that isn't worth looking into. I am so tired of these government Agency that are in bed with the auto manufacturers. Do your jobs and save some lives.
The contact owns a 2001 Ford Windstar. While driving at speeds of 25 mph, the rear axle broke in half. The vehicle was left at the scene of the incident and was not repaired. The failure and current mileages were 115,000.
- Avondale, PA, USA
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With no warning the rear axle of our 2001 Ford Windstar broke in half at 120,000 miles. There was smoke. The neighbor came running after us to tell us. Many people have the same problem. We were lucky. Will the next people be so lucky? this is a very dangerous problem. All 2000 & 2001 Ford Windstar should not be used until this issue is taken care of.
A loud noise from the rear suspension while turning led me to look under the rear end and find the rear axel had a crack approximately half way through it in the center.
While driving at highway speeds the rear axle cross member on my 2001 Ford windstart LX failed. Nothing unusual occured prior to this in terms of driving or on the road. Rear axle had to be replaced at cost of $1,300.
The car was making noise that I couldn't pin point. Then it started feeling like it was swaying side to side intermittantly. Then it felt like the car skipped or skiddded on a turn, I pulled into my driveway and the car bounced, lurched and jolted to a stop. I got out and looked and my rear tires looked like this / \ instead of | |. I did a google search for broken rear axle and it auto filled in windstart. This is the 4th problem I've had with this car. Two of the others involved the ABS system. One of those was finally recalled but only after I fixed it myself. I'm afraid that I will have to junk the car. It's unfair that I've had to poor so much into this car that I will never be able to recoup or be made whole. I just thank god nobody got hurt w/ this or the ABS problem.
While driving 65 mph in my 2001 Ford Windstar the rear axle snapped in half I hit the guard rail, blew the tires, and was extremely lucky not to be killed. I now find out it is an inherent problem that Ford refuses to recognize.
No events led up to this serious safety issue. We have owned a 2001 Windstar LX with 235,000 miles on it. It has been plagued with numerous recalls even so far as having the front floor mats replaced. On March 6, 2010, after driving over two hours at freeway speeds (70 mph), we parked in a parking lot to watch a sporting event. When leaving and backing out of the parking spot, the rear axle broke in two pieces. After searching this issue on the web, I am finding this is not an isolated incident. There was no previous sound or indication that the axle was about to fail. In fact, the Michelin rear tires on the vehicle have close to 100,000 miles on them. Had we been on the road at 70 mph, this would have probably been a fatal accident for four people in the car, not to mention any car in the vicinity. Currently I am waiting to see if I can get a used axle to replace. I will make sure that the old part is saved for further research. I'm sorry I do not have the VIN number as the car is in ypsilanti, mi awaiting repair and I am in grand rapids, Michigan which is about 2 hours away. I will gladly submit the VIN number at a later date if I can be contacted about this matter.
I have a 2001 Ford Windstar and for the 3rd time the rear end tire support has broken in half driving down the road. My family and I feel lucky to be here to write this at this time and it is my 17 year old sons primary car to drive so I can have general insurance but not full coverage. I feel if he was driving when this happened he would have been in a terrible accident, god was watching out for us. It has cost me over a thousand dollars for each repair and at this time I am without the family vehicle and don't see that it would be a good idea to fix this again knowing that its going to break again. I cant afford a new vehicle and this car has been dependable other than this problem. The rear end is scarce at salvage yards, we haven't been able to locate one yet that tells me I'm not the only one having the problem. The van is made for seven and there are 5 in my family so overloading is not the problem, nor rust they are free from that and the last repair we replaced the shocks to reduce vibration problems if it existed. I fear soon I will read about a family tragedy because of this problem and I want it on record about this complaint. Before making each repair we checked to see if there was a recall and to date there is none. I am in the service work business and I understand thing fail, brakes, water pumps, computers, engines but I should have never had to put a nickel into this problem. Any help or guidance you can give me would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for listening.
During a rear tire check on our 2001 Ford Windstar it was discovered that there is a crack in the rear axle beam. Friends of ours have the same year vehicle and last year their Windstar rear axle beam broke in two and locked up the rear wheels, luckily there was no accident. I have been monitoring our axle beam since then and now it is cracking. I don't dare have my wife drive it, especially on the highway. Why has Ford not recalled this"?" this could be catastrophic at highway speeds if it snapped. I need to get this fixed immediately and have heard it is at least $1,000 !!
My 2001 Windstar van had a slight shimmy when I would hit a pothole, which lasted for a few days. Thought I needed an alignment. Then just driving normally last Saturday, 2-6-10, at approximately 30 mph, it felt like the bottom dropped out and my van stopped. Luckily I wasn't going 65 mph on the expressway. My husband got out and looked underneath the van and the rear axle had broken in two. We had to have a flatbed tow it to our house. Then a dealership sent out someone to pick it up for repairs and he had to tie a 2X4 to the axle to drive it into the trailer. It is still at the dealership.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Cleveland, OH, USA