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 2003 Ford Windstar was recalled for rear axle the dealer kept the vehicle because crack was found, I spoke to third party mechanic who spoke about front sub frame as well the third party mechanic then showed me the crack in my Windstar front sub frame and informed me that it could break off at any time. I then brought this to the attention of the Ford dealer who then responded saying its not part of the recall and refereed me to Ford Canada public relations who also said its not part of the recall and that I should have it fixed at my expense.
Mounting bracket for the lower control arm on the subframe rusted and broke, making tire change direction while my wife was pulling into the driveway. The axle slid out. Subframe has to be replaced. Dealership quoted about $1500 to repair. Rear axle is involve in recall. I believe this should also be recalled at is a safety concern that should not happen to a vehicle only 8 years old.
I have a 2003 Ford Windstar with 94,000 on it. Bought it second owner with 18,000 miles only on it and a 75,000 mile warranty. My entire frame is rusting from the door panels to the under frame, supports. Heck I have a hole that developed the size of my fist in the side frame near the passenger sliding door in the rear. My hitch wont even hold cause the metal just bends inwards. There are cars on the road with 150,000 that do not have the rust my car does. Why do I have to pay for the cheap metal they used during this process. Now I have to buy a new car that I cannot afford at this time. I was hoping to keep my car for at least a couple more years but now I cannot, its dangerous. They even told me my rear axle is bending. I will continue to drive my car cause I cannot afford another and if I die so be it I guess cause I guess its all about business as usual. Nothing personal but I am putting my blood on your hands and Ford hands. I cannot drive and lose my job. If it happens it happens when it should have. My sister also has a Windstar that collapsed this weekend upon making a turn thankfully at 25 mile per hour. I drive 70 at times where permissible. Thank you for listening to my concerns and my distinct rudeness. I am just fed up with holding the bag for big business. I paid alot of money for this car. First owners paid 26,000 I paid 19,000 used only two years old. Had it only five years. Heck I had my Dodge for ten. Please please do something before I or someone else dies.
- Blasdell, NY, USA
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The right front sub frame on my 2003 Windstar corroded causing the lower control arm to separate and wheel to pull out. Lost steering. Also axles shaft pulled from transmission and fluid ran out. Fortunately at slow speed so no accident, but what if I were on a freeway running fast?
Defect identified before an incident occurred. The design/manufacturing defect is as follows: 2003 Ford Windstar frame/engine cradle rusted through where the front sway bar attaches to the frame on the right side of the vehicle. Initially identified by owner because of a disturbing banging sound of the sway bar when driving; and confirmed by visual inspection by owner and a service mechanic. The frame/engine cradle carries all of the lower suspension and drive train components/loads. If this were not repaired when it was, a catastrophic front end failure would have occurred. If failure occurred at high speeds or in a turn a terrible accident (& deaths) could have occurred. I would consider this defect a huge safety concern.
2003 Ford Windstar LX sport with approx 102000 miles - rear axle snapped while on I-95. Pulled over to side of road because I noticed an issue with the vehicle. Noticed cracked rear axle while on flatbed of tow truck. It appeared to have been rusted through from the inside, as there was no evidence of rusting on the exterior of the rear axle.
The contact owns a 2003 Ford Windstar. The contact stated that the frame for the front suspension rotted under the vehicle. While driving at 20mph there was a loud noise and then he could not steer the vehicle. He stopped the vehicle and noticed the driver side front tire was turned to the left and the passenger front tire was turn to the right. The vehicle was towed to a mechanic repair shop where he was told the steering mechanism was torn from the frame and rotted from the body. The contact had to replace the frame at his own expense. The manufacturer was contacted and they stated they have never heard of the failure and offered no assistance. There was no recall or warranty for this failure. The failure and current mileage was 131,000.
I am entering this info on behalf of my brother, daniel cullen of meadville Pennsylvania. Dan does not regularly use the internet. His 2003 model year Ford Windstar has the right front wheel assembly fall off due to rust. The car only had 95,802 miles and was less than 6 years old. The rusted part is called an engine cradle. Other instances can be found on the web going back several years. A Ford dealer fixed the car at owner expense. The dealer reported that an air conditioning hose dripped on the rusted part contributing to the failure. I reported the problem to Ford corporate hotline and they said they would not help my brother financially or take immediate action to correct this obvious safety defect. My brother was scheduled to drive the car next day 400 miles. If this failure had occurred at highway speed death and injury could easily have resulted. Please see to it that these vehicles are recalled asap. A recall can be achieved at reasonable cost: First inspect cars and if no rust is present at least reroute the A/C drip line. If rust is present, change the engine cradle for a few hundred dollars. Note that the web shows incidents going back several years, yet still these cars are out there turning into ticking time bombs in only 5 years of use!
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Cayuga Ontario Canada, 00, USA