Frame And Members problems of the 1999 Ford Windstar - part 2

My boyfriend and I was on our way home with our 6 kids driving down route 280 NJ on the night of sept. 23, 2010. After exiting the highway, about a block away from our house when we heard a loud popping noise and the steering became very poor and pulling to the right, I pulled the car over and my boyfriend then got out and inspected the car. He jacked the car up just to find that the subframe on the passenger side was rusted and broken. The car had to be towed. The price to have it repaired was $1000 in parts and labor. I recently went online to find out that this has been happening to other 1999 - 2003 Ford Windstar owners as well.

Went to Ford for 1999 rear axle recall and found my entire subframe rotted at every connection to vehicle more dangerous than rear axle do not know what held it to vehicle had replaced at about $ 900. 00 kept old parts found many Windstars have same problem the salvage yards can not keep the good ones in stock but most are bad they should issue a recall I am told you are investigating already became hard to steer and brakes were kinda funny.

I started noticing a "clunk" noise by the passenger side front tire. Then each time you would turn the steering wheel to the right, the noise was much more noticeable. Then the steering wheel started to vibrate while driving. Then each time you took a right turn and or drive over a bump, the "clunk" was not only louder you could actually feel it in the steering wheel and actually in the entire van. We took it in to see what the problem was and we were told the subframe had corroded through.

I was at a sear's auto repair center,for a flat tire repair. A mechanic had shown me the sub frame,(engine cradle) was all rusted out on the drivers side,also the spring was broken. I then proceeded to a collision repair shop to have them look at it . They tried to find a used sub frame,but no luck(they all had rust also)so repair shop is ordering a new engine cradle and spring.

The contact owns a 1999 Ford Windstar. The contact stated that the under carriage was covered with rust from front to back. The spare tire under the vehicle was barely being held in place. The front passenger side wheel was no longer supported by the frame and the front driver side wheel was almost covered with rust and failing. The vehicle had not been inspected at the time of the complaint. The failure and current mileages were 50000. Updated 12/02/10 updated 12/07/10.

In August of 2010 I was driving my Windstar when I heard a loud bang during a turn. I knew I had not hit anything and as I straightened out my wheel I noticed that it would not return to the normal position. I made an appointment with my local Ford dealership to get it looked at. As soon as the man put the van up in the air he knew what was wrong. The subframe on the front passenger side was almost rusted through. The man took it down and told me never to drive the car agian in this shape. He said that he had never seen so much rust under a car that was still running. My Windstar only has 86000 miles on it. I don't understand how something like that can happen to a car that has such low miles, I thought it should hold up better.

The contact owns a 1999 Ford Windstar. While driving at approximately 65 mph pressure was applied to the brake pedal and he could hear a loud snapping noise from under the vehicle. He was able to drive the vehicle home where it was parked. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where he was informed the sub frame was broken. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileages were 87,000. The VIN was no available. Updated 02/17/11.

Front sub-frame corrosion has caused frame to break on passenger side. Break likely occurred while making a hard right turn to join traffic on a 40mph road as a noise was heard at that time. Not realizing that some structural failure had occurred the car was driven on two more occasions on the following day and at highway speed. One day later strange noise occurred again when turning, so car was brought in for service. Repair shop has indicated sub-frame is severed in area noted above and car is unsafe to drive.

The rear axle cracked on my 1999 Ford Windstar while driving 20 mph on a city street. The axle had to be replaced. The car is being picked up tomorrow (Thursday August 19, 2010) and I will see if the broken axle is available.

The contact owns a 1999 Ford Windstar. While traveling at 10 mph, the contact heard an unusual clunking from the rear of the vehicle. The contact discovered that the rear frame was cracked. The vehicle was not diagnosed for the failure and there were no prior warnings of the failure. The current and failure mileages were 130,000.

The engine cradle on a 1999 Ford Windstar has cracked completely through due to corrosion. The vehicle is unsafe to drive.

The rear axel or rear casing on my 1999 Ford Windstar broke in half. I did some research on the internet and see there are many other people that this has happened to. It is just a matter of time before someone gets killed because of this. Thank god my kids were not in the car when this happened. Ford needs to look into this and do a recall as this is not a one off thing.

My 1999 Ford Windstar le seemed to be swaying on turns. I looked under and the rear axle was snapped in two about 12" off of center on the drivers side. I was only on local roads, going no more than 35 or 40 at most. It is now parked in a public lot. I took pictures. I researched to find out how much the repair might be and found a bunch of other people in the same boat I am in. I hope Ford will recall this problem. I noticed my abs light issue is not mine alone either!.

The contact owns a 1999 Ford Windstar. While driving approximately 5 mph a loud noise was heard and the vehicle would no longer move. The vehicle was towed to an independent repair shop where she was informed that the frame in front of the vehicle snapped. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileages were 91,000.

Rear axle beam has crack and some rot. I now have van parked for fear for safety for my family. We do not have a second vehicle to use . So it will be a burden until a recall is in order. I am a Ford guy and always bought a Ford vehicle and now im having doubt about their lacking for this recall. Shame on them. Having to now start borrowing a car until something is done.

1999 Ford Windstar w/ 103,500 mi. Traveling 57mph on highway. While traveling over a rough section the van started to shimmy, then the rear started swaying side to side rapidly then the rearend of the van dropped. The fact that the rearend dropped, w/ the tops of both tires riding against the inner wheel wells ( / \ = rear view of van), is what stabilized the van till I was able to stop safely on the side of the highway. The rear axle beam was fractured, surface rust is noticeable but there is no rot in this area, I have a photo. The fracture occurred on the driver side of the van about 6" to the right of the welds, (the axle beam is torn in half). This is a stress fracture! I've seen things like this over the years on some of our equipment at work. I first noticed some sway in the rearend the day before while going around sharp curves in the rain, I assumed it was due to traction. A week prior to the sway I started having a shimmy which emanated from the front, or so I assumed. The van has been taken by flat bed to a local Ford dealer. I am waiting to hear from them concerning costs on repair work. The van is not drivable in any way!.

I have a 1999 Ford Windstar that I purchased used approximately 9 years ago. On Friday, July 9th, I was on my way to the beach with two of my sons and had just crossed the delaware memorial bridge and had turned onto route 40 when I heard a loud noise. At first I thought I had a flat tire but then saw smoke coming from the back of the car and immediately pulled over. I was very alarmed to see that the rear axle of my car had completely broken in half and my tires were turned inward. Had this happened while crossing the bridge this could have resulted in a serious accident. I was very lucky that this happened where it did, even though I had to be towed from new jersey to PA. This is not an isolated incident with these vans as I have found out since Friday. Something has to be done about this before a life is lost due to this defect.

My 1999 Ford Windstar rear axle broke in half good thing nobody hurt. I called Ford they are doing nothing about this 900. 00 to fix problem this happened 7/8/2010 73,000, miles.

Sub frame on my 1999 Ford Windstar is rotted, the engine is rocking, the steering is loose, when making right hand turns there is grinding from the frame rubbing, when driving there is a very loud banging from the engine rocking back and forth on the rotted frame. It has not been fixed, and the car is not drivable as it occurs all the time.

Increased vibration in rear end. Felt like wheel balance was way off. Days leading up to axle break. Lots of rear-end shimmy when going over any bumps especially if in turns. Clicking noises when backing up. Sliding rear end with wet road. . Erratic steering. Felt wobbly like very strong gusts of wind buffeting sides of vehicle. When axle split, rear end totally unstable. Fortunately was on city street (and not on highway) and was able to maintain some control. Was at night. Deserted street and city speed of 40mph. Swerved over double yellow lines. If had been earlier in day, would have probably collided with oncoming traffic. Was able to overcome loss of control and steer back into lane and then over to side of road. No curb stones or I would have definitely blown a tire or two and damaged undercarriage. Very scary. Thankfully no family onboard. Have ordered replacement axle. May need to replace coil springs and shocks if they have been bent/distorted/damaged. Mechanic says will know when replacing with new axle. I have asked to retain old parts for future inspection and proof of defect. Cannot believe Ford has allowed this known problem to go on without recall! hundreds have reported same problems online. How many thousands have not reported it?! this is going to cost me over a thousand dollars to repair. Also, had a major issue with totally rotted sub-frame last year --- also a major issue with other owners! another safety issue!! that cost me nearly $1500! Ford should be embarrassed and sorry and help their loyal customers -- not just ignore it and them! please do something to help us and other owners before someone gets killed!.

1999 Ford Windstar subframe cracked less than a 100,000. 00 miles mechanic confused and surprised says should not have happened on such a young car.

We were making the normal turn into our community and heard a loud pop sound coming from under the front of the vehicle. When I got home I looked underneath and saw that the subframe had broken.

Subframe on 1999 Ford Windstar snap saw reviews on other Windstars. Found out this a ongoing problem with this model.

Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6) we have recently experienced a broken axle beam on a 1999 Ford Windstar. Thank god nothing happened and no one was hurt. The car was swaying and knocking from the rear end and when we got home the rear wheels were cantered out. I looked under the car to find the broken axle beam and the only thing left holding it all together was a the torsion bar. I am very glad that we were not on a highway or too far from home, since we use the car to travel to ohio and florida . We then looked on the internet to find that many other people were experiencing the same problem and no recalls. Although our car has 150,000 miles on it others had under 100,000. Our main concern is the safety issue with our family. We travel a lot with our Windstar as do so many other families with children do and it seems as if Ford does not recognize the danger. I hope that Ford does not wait for a death to deal with this problem as the part that failed should not have failed. This part is a main structure of our vehicle and seems to be poorly designed. I can't imagine how many other Windstars are out there with an axle beam ready to break and how many families are unaware of this potential danger. The years of Windstars that I saw on comlpaints. Com varied from 1999 to 2003 and its only a matter of time before someone gets injured or killed. I ask you to please look into this matter as soon as possible. [xxx].

Engine sub-frame/cradle failure at right side rear body mount resulting in loss of vehicle control. Replace sub-frame. Yes old sub-frame is available for inspection.

Our 1999 Ford Windstar experienced a crack in the subframe on the right side due to rust. To replace with a used subframe, it will cost apprx $1,000, a new one is more then the car is worth. This is a dangerous defect and I had my three children in the car. This is one of several recurring problems we have had with the vehicle and from reading other posts, this is a common issue with the subframe due to a design problem on Ford's part.

Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6) 1999 Ford Windstar- broken rear axle beam steering arm at driver side while driving. Also found another crack on the bar arm. VIN # [xxx] .

Front a subframe was almost complete rusted out and detached from front end. This was noticed by my regular mechanic during an oil change. The complete front a frame ("subframe") had to be replaced, including control arms, alignment; front brake pads. Cost was $1687.

The contact owns a 1999 Ford Windstar. While examining the vehicle the contact noticed a rust hole in the front sub frame. The vehicle had not been diagnosed and there were no prior warnings. The failure mileage was 155000 and the current mileage was 173000.

The rear axle cracked on the left side last year. I had it welded. This year it cracked in the same spot on the right side.

Broken rear axle on a 1999 Ford Windstar. I was driving down the road at 35 miles per hour and the axle just snapped in half. The vehicle only has around 85000 miles on it. The reason I am filing this complaint is because one mechanic told me this is a consistent problem with this particular make and model. The tow truck driver said he had towed three of these same situations in the last two weeks and tows about 12-15 a year. The mechanic who repaired it said that he has fixed 4 of them. Now this is just in my location so I can't imagine country wide that Ford is not aware of this problem. Had this happened on the highway this could have been very serious and I am also concerned that the way to repair it is to replace it with the same part that is defective.

1999 Ford Windstar rear dead axle cracked. There was no accident involved. Checked internet and found numerous complaints about same problem and same location of crack. Would like to know if I have any recourse against Ford motor company.

The contact owns a 1999 Ford Windstar. While driving 35 mph there was a loud noise in the rear of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to a local mechanic who stated that the rear end was covered with rust and replaced it for $700. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure and current mileages were 187,000.

While driving thru an intersection, there was a loud clunking noise. The steering wheel turned hard itself, and the van was undrivable. The mechanic told us that the engine cradle was rusted thru an had broke off from its mounting point. He said this was a design flaw from Ford, and that he has seen several Windstars with the same problem. There are no recalls yet, and Ford will not help, yet. After searching the internet I was surprised at how many other people have had the same problem. Coincidently all the other Windstar mounts broke in the same exact place. The mechanic has quoted us $750. 00 to replace with a used part and $1300. 00 for a new part. So far all of the used parts are rotted (rusted thru), in the same place as mine and not worth using. If we cannot find a quality used part soon, we will have to replace with new.

Chassis rusted out around mtr mounts: car makes noise and steers crooked: I just found out why but, it's been doing it for about 6 months.