Four problems related to cruise control have been reported for the 1997 Ford Windstar. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
Our 1997 Ford Windstar minivan that is currently subjected to the recall for the faulty cruise control switch burned to the ground on Feb 21, 2007 as the result from a fire that started in the engine area.
Driving on interstate with speed limit of 70 mph. . . Was driving about 77 mph at the time. . . Vehicle's factory installed cruise control was in use. . . Speedometer began to fluctuate wildly between about 60 mph and maximum (over 120 mph). . . Vehicle's speed remained constant - trouble was just with the speedometer. . . Vehicle has 90,000 miles on the odometer. . . 1997 Ford Windstar. . . Speedometer doesn't fluctuate wildly at most speeds over 30 mph. . . From checking on web this has happened to other owners of Ford Windstars - this is a safety issue.
On August 20th, while in a repair shop having the motors replaced in the windows of my Ford Windstar 1997, there was a fire under the hood while the car was off. The mechanic put the fire out and I took it to my mechanic the same day. The cruise control mechanism was what caught fire. After seeing my mechanic I called the Ford hotline and asked about recall information. They said they would get back ahold of me in two days, and they did not. Today, August 30th, while in wal-mart with my children I was paged to the parking lot. My car had caught fire again, while off and with no key in the ignition. The engine was destroyed, and luckily the fire department arrived in time to put the fire out before the interior of the car was destroyed (car seats, strollers, etc. ).
When in cruise control, stepped on accelerator to engage passing gear, the passing gear would not disengage, driver was able to coast to side of road safely in neutral.