Rear Suspension problems of the 1999 Ford Windstar - part 1

The contact owns a 1999 Ford Windstar. The contact stated that the rear axle was cracked. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the rear axle needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 136,000.

The contact owns a 1999 Ford Windstar. The contact stated that the rear axle fractured. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the rear axle failed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 200,000.

The contact owns a 1999 Ford Windstar. While driving 40 mph, the contact heard a loud noise in the rear of the vehicle. The contact was able to stop the vehicle and noticed that the rear axle fractured. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The manufacturer informed the contact to have the vehicle towed to the dealer to be diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 160,000.

The contact owns a 1999 Ford Windstar. The contact stated that the rear axle fractured without any warnings. The contact was aware of NHTSA campaign number: 12v195000 (suspension). However, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 133,000.

The contact owns a 1999 Ford Windstar. The contact stated that the vehicle would shake abnormally when driving at any speed. The vehicle was taken to an independent repair shop where the contact was told that the rear axle was fractured. The contact also stated the vehicle was included in the recall associated with NHTSA campaign id number: 10v385000 (suspension:rear:axle:non-powered axle assembly). An authorized dealer was notified and the contact was told that he would be unable to receive repairs under the recall because too much time had elapsed since owner notification. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was 150,000.

The contact owns a 1999 Ford Windstar. The contact stated that the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer on November 10, 2010 for a recall repair associated with NHTSA campaign id number 10v385000 (suspension:rear:axle:non-powered axle assembly); however, the part was not in stock, and they were unable to perform the repair. The vehicle remained at the dealer for five months; until recently when the part became available. The technician stated that the vehicle failed to start due to the coolant leaking within the engine compartment. The contact strongly believed that the engine would not start because of the extensive period of time that the vehicle was parked in the cold weather. There was no failure mileage.

On October 1, 2010 I was driving on I 75 in my 1999 Ford Windstar. About 50 miles from home the rear axle on the drivers side of the car broke. I started to slow down, the car swerved left to right did a 180 degree turn so I was acking down I 75 at about 60 miles an hour. Then I skided into the gusrd rail on the east side of the road, back on to the high and finally ended up backed into the ditch on the east side of the road. About 110 days after the accident we received notice of a recall on the rear axle from Ford motor company.

The contact owns a 1999 Ford Windstar. The contact stated that he received a recall notification of NHTSA campaign id number: 10v385000 (suspension: rear: axle: non-powered axle assembly), and took the vehicle to the dealer in September 2010. The dealer advised that the parts were not readily available. The contact stated that the parts still had not become available as or March 2011 nor was the vehicle repaired. The failure and current mileage was approximately 144,000.

Severely cracked (75%) rear axle beam. Not fixed yet, looking for a shop to replace the part with a salvage yard part. Replacement at the Ford dealer is way too much money.

While exiting a highway without warning the rear axle beam of my 1999 Ford Windstar broke in half causing the rear wheels to tilt inward and rub against the inner wheel wells. The vehicle came to an abrupt halt nearly causing the vehicle behind me to rear end me.

1999 Ford Windstar had problem controlling the car on the highway. I was able to get the car home but when I backed the car in the driveway, I heard a rubbing sound . I look to see that my rear tires on both sides of the car are leaning into the car. Looking under the car the rear axle beam is cracked 3/4 of the way through. It is about 1. 5 feet from drives side I am looking for prices to repair this at this moment.

1999 Ford Windstar real axle problem. While driving locally felt that something was not right. Returned home to find that the rear axle had snapped. Have no choice but to spend the money and have it fixed.

1999 Ford Windstar minivan - while driving van just dropped in the back dragging and smoking until we could pull over. Very scary. Called a tow truck and further inspection revealed the rear axel just cracked in two. Rear tires were bowed in and vehicle was not drivable. Tow truck owner said it could have been worse. . . Cracked more to the left or to the right and the whole van might have flipped. Who drives Mini vans? those with 3 plus children. Safety should be more of a priority for this type of vehicle.

While driving down i95 in philadelphia my 99 Ford Windstar started to swerve and make strange noises. I pulled off the highway and noticed my rear driver side tire on a 45 degree slant and my other tire on a slant too. I had the car towed back to a mechanic shop. When the put it up on the lift we noticed that the rear axle was cracked about 75 percent of the way.

Driving on interstate 81 in va. Approx 65 mph noticed the rear end begin to sway as we were going around a bend in the road. After regaining control we exited the highway. I noticed that the two rear tires were leaning inward at the top. I then looked under the rear end and saw a crack in the rear axle about 18" from the driver side and 2 inches long from bottom to top.

Noticed a bumping noise coming from back passenger side wheel area on '99 Ford Windstar (3. 8l) lx. Took to Ford dealer today and they said rear axle has a hole in it, is cracked and broken. Have read that this maybe a defect?.

Cracked rear axle - 1999 Ford Windstar.

Week of June 21st,2010 on west kimberly road van began to waver on dry pavement and I got it home safety. Inspection revealed right rear wheel at a extreme angle left rear wheel also is at a slanted angle. Rust has damaged rear axle bends where rear wheel are secured. Left in garage as I can't drive it safety and do not have available money to get it repaired. Right rear wheel is rubbing the underneath of van. Old part is still on the van.

My 1999 Ford Windstar rear axle broke in half.

Rear axle almost broke completely through. . . . If I (or my wife) had been driving at highway speed and it broke it could have caused a major accident. Axles on vehicles should not break/crack in 11 or less years of use. There has to be a major defect in the rear axle on this vehicle and the longer it takes before a recall notice the higher the risk that someone is going to lose their life due to this defect.

We own a 1990 Ford Windstar and my father and I were just pulling out a parking spot when we felt a "jolt" sort of like a tire popped. The vehicle was no longer moving when accelerator was pressed we got out to check what the problem was and our rear driver side tire looked inverted and we found out our rear axle had broken. We are now out of a car. I got online right away to see how much repairs would cost and soon found many related stories from other Ford Windstar owners who were experiencing the same problem. This is very frustrating as it is our only means of transportation and we might not have the money to repair it, if it even is repairable.

My rear axel in my 1999 Ford Windstar broke this am while my husband was pulling out of your driveway. We had no warning that it was broke. No one was hurt and we have not gotten it fixed yet but went out an looked at it an it looks to be almost dead center of the axel that is broke in half.

The contact owns a 1999 Ford Windstar. While stopped the contact examined the vehicle and noticed that the rear axle was fractured. The vehicle was towed to an independent repair shop where a used rear axle was installed. The failure mileage was 155,000 and the current mileage was 158,548.

I have a 99 Ford Windstar. I was reading about a rear axle problem and when I checked mine, I found that it was cracked almost through. I wanted to add my name to the list of people who have had this failure. I purchased this car new and it has less than 80k miles on it. These vans are driven by moms with kids for the most part. Ford needs to recall this car for this problem.

While I was driving to work on may 17, 2010 I had two occasions when it felt like I hit small patches of ice and the van swerved on me even though it was a warm sunny day with dry roads. I called tragesser Ford of ross ohio and made an appointment to take the van in on may 19, 2010. After inspecting the vehicle the next day they called me and said the rear axle had rusted through and broken and that I was lucky I didn't have an accident. They said although it sounds like a safety problem there were no recalls on the axle. I picked up the vehicle from the dealership on may 26, 2010 with a cost to replace the axle of $817. 82.

Rear axle breaks in half! fortunately no other cars where around when this happened, online found very common, Ford refuses to do anything!.

Rear axle broke on Ford Windstar.

The contact owns a 1999 Ford Windstar. While driving 35 mph, the contact heard a loud unusual noise and the vehicle became difficult to control. The contact stated that the wheels were folding underneath the vehicle. Upon further inspection, she found that the rear drivers side axle was fractured. The vehicle was towed to a local repair shop. The dealer was contacted and the repair shop was awaiting approval from an adjuster to repair the vehicle. The VIN was not available. The failure and current mileages were 135,000.

Rear axle of the car broke as we drove out of the driveway.

Van was made an occasional thumping sound that sounded like it was coming from the back of the vehicle. While turning into my driveway I heard a loud cracking noise and when I looked under the van the rear axle was broken almost all of the way through about 1 to 2 ft. From the left rear wheel.

1999 Ford Windstar sel van broke rear axle beam earlier this spring. We have more than normal snowfall in sioux falls sd and our street department used more salt than in a normal year. Axle broke at low speed while turning into a driveway approach. Axle was broke or tore in two different locations. I have since replaced the axle with a used one not knowing of this issue Ford has.

I am a retired former technician/manager for Ford dealers for 41 years. To keep myself busy, I work on friends vehicles. Recently I have noticed a concern with Ford Windstars. The rear axles (I-beam assys) break in half while driving, causing the rear of the veh to lose control. The first one I saw ( a 2001 my veh) was only cracked half way, I replaced it before it broke. Last week I had one ( a 1999 my veh) towed to me broken in half. Luckily the vehicle was going slow & was pulled over without incident. I also noticed the crack & the break occurred at almost the same location on the axle (approx. 12" from the left side). In both cases I replaced them with used parts from an auto wrecking yard. This was due to the outrageously high price of a new part from Ford. I asked around at local shops & even with some of the tech's where I used to work & was told that they had indeed seen this concern before. I was wondering if the nhtsb was aware of this concern. As a former Ford dealer employee, I know manufacturers have programs asking customers to bring their vehicles in for a "safety check" & possible repair. I believe this might be a good idea for you to "suggest" to Ford before one of these axles breaks at speed causing major damage or loss of life. I have access to the broken axle if anyone cares to inspect it. I also cut the cracked section out of the first axle & gave it to the owner to retain should anything program-wise ever occur. Note: the information in the consumer portion of this form is mine, not the owner of the vehicles repaired. Since there is more than one veh involved I left the VIN section empty. If absolutely necessary I can supply both vins. But since the year of production does not seem to matter the VIN seems irrelevant.

1999 Ford Windstar, rear axles assembly, rear axle snapped in two. Found while inspecting left rear tire assembly which had turned into vehicle. Upon inspecting why wheel ad turned inward, it was found that the axle assembly had snapped in two and was hanging on the ground. Ford dealer(sarat Ford-agawam,MA) stated the dealership replaces rear axles all the time, mechanic stated he has replaced 3-4 axles himself. It was found that the broken axle was the second axle on the vehicle that had been replaced. The dealership took the two pieces of the axles and disposed of them. Pictures were taken of the broken axle along with receipts for the replacement part.

1999 Ford Windstar, pulled out of driveway & proceeded to drive down street, car started to fishtail & tire on right rear sounded like it was rubbing fire wall. Thought I had a flat, got out & looked, no flat but wheel was bowed in. I turned around & went back home, pulled into driveway & got under van. The rear axel was cracked. Called to get another axel to repair van & was told by several different places I called that this was a common problem with that van. Called Ford dealer & was told that their was never a recall on it. If I had been driving on the freeway going fast & this would have happened myself & others could have been killed. I am not concerned about myself for now because I am fixing my van myself, but their are a lot of these vans on the road & most of them are probably driven by women with kids in the van & I am concerned about them if this happened to their van. I could not afford a new axel so I bought a used one at a junk yard, my concern is if their is a problem with this part how long before it happens again. I may not be as luckily next time. Please check this out before someone is killed. .

1999 Ford Windstar, 118k miles. Van has unstable steering and noise in right rear wheel area. While driving at slow speed and taking it to repair shop, the noise gets louder and my son following me reports rear tires becoming misaligned. Right tire is smoking and tire fragments are evident. Repair shop reports that rear axle is broken and needs to be replaced. Right tire also needs replaced. I have asked for old parts to be saved for my personal inspection. After some web browsing (carcomplaints. Com), I have found similar failure events from other Ford Windstar owners mostly from northern midwest and northern eastern states, I. E. Winter states. All complaints observed were for Windstars over 10 years and / or 100k miles.