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.
The contact owns a 2003 Ford Windstar. The contact stated the front right wheel fractured when attempting to make a left turn. The dealer nor manufacturer were notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The current and failure mileage was 74,000. Updated 10/03/11 updated 3/28/12
The contact owns a 2003 Ford Windstar. The contact started the vehicle and shifted into the drive position. The vehicle failed to accelerate and it was towed to a local auto shop where they detected that the front passenger's side coil spring fractured. The contact stated that one year ago the front driver's side coil spring was replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 125,000. The VIN was unavailable.
While accelerating from a stop light, steering control was completely lost at approximately 35mph. The vehicle turned to the left, then right, and ran off the right side of the road. It would not move in either forward or reverse. Front wheels were pointed in different directions. The right front lower control arm had broken away from the frame, and the right front half-shaft had pulled out of the transaxle. The vehicle was towed to a nearby Ford dealer. As of December 6, the dealer has not yet investigated the vehicle.
I own a 2003 Ford Windstar SE that has serious corrosion where the passenger side front control arm bolts into the frame. It has not failed completely, but I feel I should not be responsible for the cost of this repair.
The contact owns a 2003 Ford Windstar. The contact stated that while driving 10 mph, he heard a loud noise and the front end dropped the right control arm which separated from the front subframe. The vehicle was towed to an authorized dealer where the contact was informed that the subframe corrosion was the cause of the failure and could be replaced. The contact called the manufacturer who offered no assistance. The vehicle had not been repaired. The current and failure mileages were approximately 55,000.
- Wilmington , DE, USA
Search CarComplaints.com for these popular complaint phrases...
The contact owns a 2003 Ford Windstar. The contact stated that the struts on the front right end of the vehicle were covered with rust and caused the right front end of the vehicle to collapse. The contact lost control of the steering wheel while driving on the highway; the front passenger side tire turned to the right when the contact made a left turn. The cv joint and strut were damaged by rust, they fell off of the frame and detached from the axle. The contact is a service mechanic and observed layers of rust underneath the vehicle. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage and current mileages were 156000.
My wife was driving in a parking lot with the kids and the front right strut spring on our 2003 Windstar cracked in two. It broke the stabilizer end link and the strut bearing plate. The broken spring rubbed the tire, but didn't puncture it. The recall for this problem doesn't apply to this model year and it states the cause is corrosion. I am a licensed autobody technician and upon removal of the wheel and inspection of the spring I would say the alloy used in the spring is too brittle because it sheared clean at an angle. There isn't any signs of corrosion on the spring because it is coated. We live in southern Ontario, Canada where we see a lot of salt in winter and I've worked on a lot of rusty cars and I would say this definitely not climate related, but rather a manufacturing defect that if it occurred at highway speeds could lead to loss of life. It will cost me approximately $300-350 to fix this myself because you have to replace the springs in pairs.
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!
2003 Ford Windstar, 59396 mi. Driving down lockport rd on 6/20/08, heard loud snap, clunk, then tire blow out. Called for aaa assistance, tow truck operator told me it was broken right spring, saying it was a common problem and had towed several minivans of this model, what could have happened if I made it 2 miles to interstate 190 where the speed limit is 65 mph" this happened at approx. 20 mph. Is this a common thing like the tow operator says" in all, resulted in $555.25 in damage because of the spring failure.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Pittsburgh, PA, USA