Automatic Transmission problems of the 1996 Ford Windstar - part 1

There was no crash. There was no warning what so ever. I was driving a client home from a picnic and pulled into a parking lot to park and smoke started rolling out of the engine compartment. I got my passenger who was in a wheelchair to safety and opened the hood to find flames coming from the top of the transaxles. I put out the fire. The "transaxles range sensor" and plug just forward of the range sensor were the cause of the fire. The wiring harness above coming out of the black box(fuse box) was also burnt. This problem has not been repaired.

The park pawl shaft occasionally does not engage when the transmission selector lever is placed in the park position or other position. Therefore, the vehicle either does not stay still or does not move when placed in gear.

Start van everything fine. Stop at store,etc. Restart van starts jerking and goes into second gear and will not go back into drive mostly jerking all the way or slips into drive and then back to second with a jerk over and over again. Don't have money to fix if really bad so please what could this be?? give time to sit overnight and start its ok again??.

Failure of transmission.

Transmissions failed 3 times since vehicle purchased in 1999. Very concerned about safety while driving vehicle. 1st replacement at 33000/2nd at 34000, and 3rd at 65000.

While driving at speeds above 50 mph vehicle will drop into nuetral without the indicator ever moving. Contacted dealer, and the dealer was not willing to do anything.

No summary. Dt.

When stopped at stop sign, van hesitated to shift into gear for about 5-10 seconds and then jerked into drive. This happened numerous times. . Took to dealer and they couldn't tell me what was wrong, just that it needed to be replaced. Had transmission overhauled. . . $1800 that I didn't have. 1 yr later now having more problems with transmission, when going around corners van seems to slip into neutral until it's straightened out. When proceeding from a stop at a light or stop sign, vehicle feels like it's spinning the tires, but the power isn't getting the tires, after letting off the gas it moves, but this is very hazardous, especially in heavy traffic. . Will be taking the van to get fixed. . . . Again. No more Fords for me!!!!.

While driving transmission went out. Vehicle jolted about 3 times, and then coasted to a stop. Vehicle felt like it was in neutral,and would not go into any other gear. Ford customer representatives are defensive when consumer talks to them regarding the problems and they are unwilling to help in any matter.

Transmission self destructed at 60950 miles. Wanted to add this to you list of failed Windstar transmissions in the hope that a recall may someday happen. Ford seems to know about this problem but wants to do nothing about it. I am out $2300. 00. This was the cost to have my transmission rebuilt. At the present time I have recieved no financial assistance from Ford. I will keep trying until I get the money I spent to get my transmission rebuilt back, even if I have to use the legal system. Thank you for your time.

When vehicle is going 65mph rpms escalate higher that normal ,and vehicle dies out. No warning is detected when sticking between gears. Please provide more information.

Gears switched from drive to second, then it stayed in second. Took vehicleto a mechanic, and he said that metal chips were all in transmission and it needed to be replaced.

Transmission quit operating at 85,000 miles. Transmission went out at 4000 miles. Consumer was traveling 10 to 15 miles on highway. Dealership wa saware of problem.

Cannot up shift to 3rd gear. Rpms go up and down when vehicle is on a slight incline.

While driving transmission won't shift gears, and sometimes will stay in neutral where transmission will lose power while not shifting. A cause could not be found.

Transmission will not go into drive or reverse, it slips into other gear thatis not specified, dealership is aware of problem. Vehicle was in shop more than five times.

When coming to a stop and trying to accelerate it was like vehicle was in neutral, it would roll, but couldn't go anywhere. Then, it would jump into drive.

My Windstar has had several problems which cannot be found or corrected by the dealer until now, they can see that the slipping transmission needs to be replaced. I am afraid to spend $2,500 on a repair as the other "undetectable" problems are quite scary and have made me question the safety of this vehicle for a long time. The biggest problem is that the brakes will occasionaly "grab" hold of the front right tire for a split second while I am driving!! it happens and lets go so fast that it has never caused a problem but I am worried one day it won't let go! the car also has some electrical failings that just make me feel this car is not worth fixing, my speedometer bounces all over the place, the door ajar bell rings on and on sometimes, and the passanger window doesn't always go up and down. I really feel I need a new car, but am quite sad about having a $24,000 vehicle that is only 4 years old and is only worth $5,500 for a trade in. I have heard there were so many transmission & head gasket problems with the 95's that Ford gives a special rebate upon trade in for a new Ford, can you help me???.

The transmission was replaced on this vehicle at 15,000 miles but is now starting to act up again. It frequently shifts hard when upshifting and often downshifts whenever the gas pedal is released. Although the transmission hasn't failed yet, it will only be a matter of time and the vehicle is now out of warranty protection. I noticed when checking the NHTSA web site that this seems to be a common problem for this vehicle type.

The transmission in this vehicle failed at an unacceptably low mileage. When it failed, it caused a surging that was dangerous. The speedometer should not fail at such a low mileage. It fluctuates wildly. We do not have the resources to get it fixed and can't tell what speed we are driving.

Was at stop sign & started to move forward. Suddenly vehicle just stopped/stalled. Had vehicle towed to dealership & was informed by mechanic the problem was in the transmission & would need to replace it.

No summary.

Ford dealer mechanic told me that he has repaired many of these transmissions at premature mileage levels (less than 80,000 miles). Ford has authorized replacement of many original parts with new designs to reconcile the substandard original design. For my transmission the mechanic said failure was the result of a defective aluminum piston, a problem that has developed in many Ford transmissions.

Transmission replaced around 40000 miles due to its jumping, rpm's went up and down. Currently, happening again. The consumer states the transmission had been replaced six times but the problem was not solved. As the result the consumer was very much concerned about safety.

Transmission rebuilt twice within a year, and new engine.

The automatic transmission will either refuse to shift into the higher gear or will downshift on its own. Continuing so that eventually (after 10 to 15 minutes) it will no longer shift from first into second. The problem is not continual. The dealship had the van for three days after it first occurred. They were unable to get the problem to reoccur for them. The day after we picked the van up from them the problem arose once again. At present we are trying to figure out what step to take, what the problem could be and how to get the problem to reoccur while at the dealer. Of, couse the problem always occurs on the weekend or in the evening after closing.

1996 Ford Windstars have major transmission trouble. We have only had our van for 2 years and it is very upsetting that a car manufacturer cannot make a vehicle that will make it to 100,000 miles. Ford states that you can go 100,000 miles before needing a tune up but they don'y mention that their transmissions won't make it that far. I have been on the internet researching this problem and have found that many people have this problem but Ford does not reply with any help or hope. The Ford transmission problem expands outward, not just on the Windstar vans. There should be a recall or something should be done because most of the owners are still making payments on these "new " vehicles that are suppose to be able to make it for 100,000 miles. On the sites I searched, alot of people have only gotten 40,000-55,000 miles on their vehicles before the problems began. This is not ordinary and cannot be looked upon as normal wear and tear because it has happened to too many people. Ford needs to be made to recall and correct their vehicles. They should be responsible for what they build and sell. We have already taken our van to the shop 2 times, and the 3rd is in the near future because it still is not fixed. Please, please, please check into this and see if something can be done to get our vehicles repaired so we don't have to take out loans to pay for repairs that should be repaired by Ford, on a vehicle we are still making payments only . Thank you.

Dealer states I have a"implied warranty" whatever that mean. No safety defect listed in summary.

While driving about 40 mph feels like transmission is shifting into second gear. Then vehicle will move slowly without a warning. Consumer contacted Ford, the dealer repaired the failed sensor at no cost. . Et.

Transmission also went when car was I yr old. Obviously a lemon. Help.

Nhtsa recall # 96v086 000/ power transmission: experienced a problem with vehicle starting to roll out of drieway after being parked. Dealer notified and informed consumer that vehicle was not part of recall and repairs would be at consumer's cost.

We had to replace our transmission. I have several people tell me about similar problems with the Ford 1996 Windstar transmission: three owners in the virgina area, four owners in the maryland area, the transmission specialist at the dealership indicated he works on these transmissions all the time which I also heard from an amoco shop.

Automatic transmission malfunctioned, causing stalling and hesitation while driving which may resultin a crash. Common problem. Please provide further information.

When attempting to put vehicle into gear it doesn't shifting properly. Also, abs light is on, and there are no abs brakes. Vehicle has been into repair shop three times for repair service, and the dealer can't determie the cause.

I was at a stop sigh attempting to cross a major highway,it hesistated like emergency brake was on, got 2-3 feet in middle of highway with oncoming traffic with truck right behind me (couldn't back up)and vehicle wouldn't go in drive. I finally got it to coast to parking lot. Took vehicle in to Ford and the service manager told me it was the transmission, it had metal all through it. Which I said with this mileage and no warning at all. His reply was he hadn't seen it happen very often (often indicateds its happening and this is only one Ford place)at this low mileage. Keep in mind I'm a 48 year old driver with no tickets or wrecks, I don't abuse a vehicle and this is my fourth Ford (not van)it was very hazardous not to say horrifying.