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.
I was driving down the road and our and and brake lights had came on. Took it to the local shop and was told about the C1185 code was on. We were driving on the way home, and it just comes and goes with every start up and shut off. Car was in motion. To my acknowledgement I'm not positive what is causing this issue but I've been researching and have read about many of the same issues in this particular van series. I've read about Ford's safety recall number 09S09 and and my vehicle is to be in that recall as well.
The contact owns a 2002 Ford Windstar. While driving approximately 15 mph, a continuous chime sounded inside the vehicle. The rear passenger side tail light and brake light failed to illuminate when the brakes were applied. The contact replaced the bulbs herself; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who was unable to detect a trouble code. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 142,000.
I Jan 2014 the ABS & break warning light started coming on occassionally I has been to a mechanic several times I am told the breaks are fine but my ABS system may not work and it would be a $1500 repair. Now the lights stay on constantly
The contact owns a 2002 Ford Windstar. While driving approximately 60 mph in rainy conditions, the vehicle began to jerk. The entire instrument panel, headlights, windshield wipers, and power windows failed to operate. The engine warning indicator illuminated intermittently. The vehicle was maneuvered to the side of the road until the rain subsided. After restarting, the failure persisted. The failure recurred twice. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for diagnosis where a code was not detected. The manufacturer was not notified of the issue. The approximate failure mileage was 155,000.
The ABS brake light comes on and will not go off. This happens despite the vehicle being checked and serviced, etc. It's not the only panel problem. Odometer, speedometer, etc. Frequently freak out and spin wildly. Also, the turn signal on the right will stick, and the turn signal on alarm will sound endlessly.
ABS and brake lights come on intermittently. I applied the brakes heavily and all 4 wheels locked up. The vehicle was uncontrollable while braking. The speedometer is erratic. The battery is dead sometimes after sitting overnight. The hazard lights come on by them selves. The door locks do not work properly. The tire indicator lights come on for no reason.
Battery light comes on periodically - driving home my radio shut off, ABS brake light came on, dash lights dimmed then shut off, head lights began flashing, heater may have stopped (not sure, was focusing on the next road to pull off on), could not accelerate. I pulled over, shut off the van and waited. A few minutes later it turned over like nothing was wrong. This also happened to me about a month and a half ago.
First, the power steering wasn't working and parts of it had to be repaired and replaced. But the worrying thing is that the ABS yellow light and the red brake icon on the dashboard often come on and remain on while we're driving. That is worrying, as we don't know if it means the brakes are faulty or not. A Firestone mechanic said it was because of rust build-up, but I don't like that the yellow ABS and the red brake icons come on, because who knows if that means the brakes won't work or not. From my online research, this seems to be a common problem with Ford Windstar, and needs to be addressed!
At drive-through, radio suddenly quit, and the ABS and brake lights came on. Right turn signal came on, vehicle began to pulsate and surge. Pulled over and shut van off, would not restart, lights and hazards began flashing and would not turn off. Retried ignition, lights and hazards went off, van completely died. Informed to replace battery, had battery tested, it was fine. Replaced battery, followed instructions to reset computer after battery replacement. Had to drive van 10 miles to complete, during which ABS and brake light came on, headlights quit (after dark) then began flashing. Turn signal came on to signal right turn on its own. Just before returning home, headlights quit entirely, and airbag light came on. Parked van, let it idle, and the tachometer surged from 500rpms to 3000rpms. Seems to fit descriptions others are saying about ABS and speed control module underneath master cylinder getting soaked with brake fluid.
The brake light and emergency brake light came on all of a sudden and the braking performance degraded and the braking distance requirement is long. This could be a safety issue. As I understand, the issue is the defective sensor with the soldier distance expanded due to the heat.
Brake, ABS brake, cruise control, and speedometer/odometer electrical problems my dash lights are on and off all the time went to 3 mechanic they all checked my brakes, ABS and could not find a problem it goes on whenever it wants stays on for weeks then comes back on while driving this has been doing for over a year. I even put stickers over the lights that I can see while driving. I still think there is a electrical wiring problem it is very annoying. I can not afford to get another vehicle. I see there are a lot of complaint about same problem my niece has one does the same thing and my brother in law in West Virginia his is doing it too so I really thing Ford needs to check into this before someone's van catches fire or hurt some one.
While driving the O/D light blinks on and off..also the brake lights will stay on after I have turned he van off.. this has resulted in a dead battery at the end of the day. 2002 for Windstar cargo van.
I took my van in to do the recalls. Well they said they saw nothing wrong with the most last 2 recent recalls. 2010 and 2011 dealing with front end and rear end. My question is if it doesn't look broken they don't have to fix it" I thought these parts were manufactured wrong, right? now how often should I take my van in to be inspected" at any given moment it could break and my 4 kids and I could go tumbling down the highway. They did do the speed odometer (which I'm watching closely for ABS/brake light to come on) and in process for child safety attachments. The anderson Ford dealership in cleveland tx will not do the other 2 recalls because it does not look broken, is this right? anyways ABS/brake light remains on and off all the time on my Ford Windstar. Will have it check for brake fluid leakage running down to components.
While driving home one night headlights, and signal lights stopped working (lights in back continued to function) odometer stopped illuminating, and message panel displayed inconsistently. ABS light came on randomly at times, and eventually, the speedometer stopped working. After several hours of labor tracking down the problem, the G.E.M. module was replaced (at great cost). After replacing the G.E.M. module, it became apparent that the instrument cluster was bad and needs to be replaced. Unfortunately, these parts are on backorder and our only car has now been in the shop for more than two weeks and nobody can give us any idea when the part will be available and when the car will be repaired. Furthermore, the Ford dealership where our car sits in an undrivable state (the repair department told us that there is a risk of fire if we were to drive it) told us that there are three other Windstar there waiting for the same part, and agreed with us (off the books) that considering the quantity of problems they are seeing with the instrument cluster there should have been a recall.
The brake lights on my 2002 Ford Windstar van will turn on by themselves at night, or will stay illuminated constantly during driving. When I arrive at my destination and with the ignition turned off I have to pump my brake pedal until the brake lights go off. There is frequently a burnt electrical smell when this problem occurs. I am delivering my Ford Windstar van to the local Ford dealership for repairs, but found several online websites and forums of Windstar owners with the exact same problem. I am concerned for the safety of myself, my family, and other drives while operating this vehicle. I am on my 3rd brand-new battery for this van due to the brake light problem. From research I think this is a design defect rather than wear and tear on my vehicle. Thank you for your time and consideration.
2002 Ford Windstar ABS light turns on during summer extreme hot weather and performs normally during other times of the year. I have always felt it was heat related and recently became aware that many other people have reported the same problem. See www.fordwindstarrecall.info.
Our 2002 Ford Windstar had the ABS and brake warning light come on while driving this happens at intervals with no apparent connection to weather, driving speed, etc. The lights will go off when the van is shut off and restarted. I have not made an appt with my mechanic to check the problem as of yet. On 11/26/2008. While traveling at night on an interstate the ABS and brake light came on and shortly afterward the headlights dimmed. The air bag and battery light came on and the turn signals and headlights stopped working altogether. We were able to pull off the road completely. Shut the van off and it would not restart. Turned on the hazard lights and waited for help to arrive after calling 911 on cell phone. The hazard lights stopped working on the front of the van but continued to work in the rear. The interior lights started blinking and would not shut off at all when pushing the switch. The rear hazard lights also would not shut off when the tow truck that was dispatched arrived. Vehicle was towed from the interstate to the nearest vehicle repair garage. Garage has not been able to look into the problem due to the vehicle breaking down the day before thanksgiving. Garage will call on Friday after they have looked into the problem.
The ABS light came on. First yellow, then red. This was the first time this happened and after doing a google search I found this is a manufacturers problem caused by the expansion of a large aluminum plate in the ECM which is attached to the ECM main circuit at all points. The problem was temporarily resolved by shutting the vehicle off and back on. This is a 2002 Ford Windstar sel.
- Yreka, CA, USA
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- Duncan, SC, USA