Automatic Transmission problems of the 2000 Ford Windstar - part 1

While driving my 2000 Ford Windstar in a grocery store parking lot, preparing to go onto a very busy road, the van made a loud bang and slammed to a stop. I was alarmed as I had my foot on the gas pedal at the time and I was going about 10 miles an hour. The jolt from the sudden stop was enough to jerk myself and my 3 children forward, it was rather shocking. If I had been going 65, or if there had been a car close behind me, and it slammed to a stop, it would have had catastrophic results. I pressed the gas to go, and nothing. The only gear that would work was reverse. I had to park it and call a tow truck, it was taken to a Ford dealer who determined the transmission needed to be replaced. The van had 115, 552 miles on it.

The contact owns a 2000 Ford Windstar. The contact was driving 35 mph, the vehicle suddenly stopped moving forward. There were no prior warnings. The vehicle was towed to an authorized dealer where the contact was informed that a gear in the transmission needed to be replaced; the part had been re-engineered as it was defective. The vehicle was repaired. The current and failure mileages were approximately 72,000. The cruise control module and wheel bearings had to be replaced. Updated 05/23/11.

While driving a 2000 Ford Windstar that had been regularly maintained and brought to the dealership for every checkup, the transmission decided to go out. I had parked the car and when I went to go forward, nothing happened. The car had been running great up until this point and there were no warning signs of the transmission being ready to give. I had to get the car towed to get a rebuilt transmission. I do not have the old part, but have heard it is a rather common problem among '99-'03 Windstars.

I hit a small pot hole and when I got to the parking lot I was told my rear tires were side ways. My husband was able to get the car home 2/10ths of a mile. When the mechanic look at it he said the pot hole wasn't the problem. It was already cracked. He said he had repaired a number of axles on Ford. Also, my transmission began skipping at the same time this whole incident started. When we first bought the van, I was in line in the cafeteria and a gentlemen asked me if I was picked each day in a Windstar and I said yes. He informed me that Windstars are notorious for having transmission problems. I know he is right.

The contact owns a 2000 Ford Windstar. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds the vehicle would shift in and out gear and then began to shift much extreme force. The radio also came on and by itself. The dealer had not been contacted and the failure was not diagnosed. Prior to the failure the vehicle was in the transmission shop to replace the gear shift box and a seal was added to assist with the transmission leak. The failure mileage was 120000 and the current mileage was 140000.

The contact owns a 2000 Ford Windstar. While driving 25 mph, the vehicle began jerking extremely hard. The contact was able to drive to her residence where she discovered a leak in the automatic transmission. The vehicle was towed to a local repair facility where she was advised that the transmission would need to be replaced. Neither the dealer nor the manufacturer was contacted. The vehicle was not repaired. The VIN was unavailable. The failure mileage was 119,000. Updated 11/16/10.

71,000 automatic transmission in need of being rebuilt. Frequent problem according to internet search. Ford should recall.

I have a 2000 Ford Windstar lx and it has 83,000 miles on it. It was kept up well and the transmission went out of it and will cost about $2000 dollars to replace it. I feel that Ford should resolve this problem since it seems to be a recurring problem with the Windstars.

My wife was at a stop sign on an incline, pressed the gas pedal to turn and experienced what sounded like a crash. The van would not go forward, only reverse. She coasted backwards down the hill, we got a tow truck and went to a repair shop (after business hours). They called the next day and said that the transmission basically exploded on the inside. One site I have visited has 41 complaints of the same nature, yet Ford is doing nothing about the "design flaw" in the 2000 Windstar van transmissions.

Intermittent failure of the abs and traction control system. When the engine heats up a little the abs and traction control lights come on indicating that they are no longer working. In the morning when the car is first started the light are off for awhile until the engine has had time to heat up.

The contact owns a 2000 Ford Windstar. While driving approximately 25 mph in the driveway, the contact depressed the accelerator pedal and there was no response. The failure occurred without warning when the gear shifter was placed into drive or reverse. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic for diagnostic testing. The technician stated that the failure was related to the automatic transmission. A rebuilt transmission was installed in the vehicle. The failure mileage was 42,000 and current mileage was 50,000.

Transmission went out on 2000 Windstar with 78000 miles. This is not the first case I herd of on this problem.

Blown transmission on a 2000 Ford Windstar.

2000 Ford Windstar lx transmission blew out while driving on interstate i85 in va 80,000 miles on it. Fluid came spewing out the back end of the van. $2500 cost to replace the entire transmission. No warning signs that there was a problem with the transmission.

Contact states: she had a 2000 Ford Windstar and it came out of park without hitting the brake. Vehicle doesn't have to be running. Her two year old child got the car out of park ,and it rolled down a hill and hit a tree. The car was totaled. She contacted Ford, and they said they were not going to pursue the matter.

Went into doctors office and when I turned the car off I heard a loud noise. When I came out I started the vehicle and attempted to reverse and the vehicle would not go into reverse.

Had just stopped and was pulling out onto the highway when a clunk sound from under the van was heard. There was no power, no forward or reverse motion. The transmission was gone. It had to be towed home and we were told that since it was no longer under warranty the cost would be ours to bear. It sits in the garage as I have no money to pay the $2400 mechanic bill. Ford knew about this and yes has done nothing. This is the second Windstar I've owned that has had transmission trouble. The first being a 1995 with head gasket troubles.

At approximately 62,000 miles the transmission in my 2000 Ford Windstar suddenly failed. I was starting up from a traffic light at a busy intersection when I heard a loud clunk from underneath the car and the car stopped moving. The car would go in reverse only. I had it towed to an independent repair shop to fix the transmission. The problem was that the sun gear had sheared off. (research on the internet indicated this is a common problem with this car. ) I had a mechanical engineer look at the broken part and he concluded that the weld was not defective, it was just poorly designed. The replacement part has been redesigned and is now reinforced, which would indicate to me that Ford is well-aware of the design flaw. (since they went to the trouble of redesigning the part) this is just the latest in a long line of problems that I have had with this car.

While driving vehicle started to hesitate. Vehicle was towed to a transmission shop, where the transmission was replaced.

The intermittent function on my windshield wiper motor has failed. Ford has a recall on certain models of my vehicle, but evidently my particular vehicle is not included in the recall even though I have the malfunction. Vehicle also has hard shift when downshifting going around a corner.

Transmission in 2000 Ford Windstar failed at 77000 miles. Required total replacement.

Problem incident--- Ford dealership using bg products transmission flush system to perform the 60000 mile emission service induces a serious transmission leak. Dealer says the bg process can not cause such a problem. Sent the vehicle away with a serious transmission leak.

When I put the van in drive in the a. M. , it hesitated like I had it in between gears. As I pulled out into the highway, we heard a loud crunch like we bottomed out. As we are sitting in the middle of a busy road with on coming traffic, the van only went in reverse!! much to the surprise of on coming traffic. This Mini van has only 47,000 miles and has been babied for a long time.

While driving 30 mph, the vehicle lost power. The consumer managed to pull over and had the vehicle towed.

We purchased a 2000 Ford Windstar limited on 3/21/04 from a Ford dealership in ionia, mi. We were told the van had been very well maintained and had been gone over mechanically by their people. It only had 38,549 miles on it. We have only had it a month and the transmission has gone out of it. Do we have any recourse? at the time this happen, the vehicle was being driven up a hill in heavy downtown traffic. Luckily no one was hurt, the van just would not go any where except backwards. My college age son and his buddie guided the van backwards into a parking lot a few feet away to wait for a wrecker. It was towed 35 miles, which is where it is sitting until we can decide what to do. I had mechanic look at it, but he felt it should be covered. He did not tear it down.

Transmission broke when vehicle was just out of warranty this past winter. We have had to have it replaced 5 times since then. He continues to hesitate and we have talked to several other Windstar owners who have also had to get multiple transmissions. Is there a problem with Ford transmissions?.

Complete failure of the transmission at 42,000 miles. No forward gears- only reverse. Heard a loud bang when attempting to accelerate from a red light.

Was stopped at a traffic light and once the light had changed and I was able to proceed the vehicle would not move forward. The vehicle would move in reverse but not in the forward gear. Had to have the vehicle towed to the dealership where it was purchased and it was found that the sun gear had broken causing additional damage to the transmission. Cost for the repair to the vehicle is estimated at over $2000.

The transmission just quit without any prior warning or problems. Left wife and kids stranded in middle of busy street.

While leaving our parking lot the transmission made a few hard jerks while stopped and then would not go in a forward motion, tried to go in revese nothing. Pushed the van back to a parking space, called Ford custermer service and was told no warranties or "customer satisfaction programs" (seceret warranties) exsited. Called around to survey options and noted that the Windstar has had at least 3 upgrade kits issused for the transmission. Found a lot of complaints for the same problem. Called Ford again, asked about the various other complaints and was told that this transmisson has never had problems that any information obtained from non-Ford sources is false or incorrect. When asked about the transmisson upgrade kits (info found on Ford's website) was met with the same response that the transmisson has never had a problem and non-Ford info. . . . Aamco estimates $2200 to $3500 for a rebuilt to new transmisson, Ford offers no help. We are looking for a class-action or other information to get Ford to own-up to and pay for a "known" failure in there transmisson that dates back to 1991 Windstars/tauras. Odometer reading 55,000.

Transmission on my 2000 Windstar lx totally failed at 70,000 miles. Repair cost over $2,500. I wrote to Ford and complained, as I am aware of this happening to many other people with Windstars, many with less milage, one as low as 45,000 miles. Ford has refused to extend the warranty on the transmission, although it must be obvious there is a defect. Their customer service reps claim to have never heard of a transmission problem in a Windstar before. I find this impossible to believe.

While driving 45 mph, the automatic transmission stopped functioning. The transmission had to be rebuilt with new components.

Transmission on 2000 Windstar needs to be replaced after 47,000 miles.

Consumer stated that transmission would not change properly. Vehicle was taken to a repair shop, and was told that a new transmission was needed.

While attempting to make left turn at traffic light, vehicle failed to go forward. It would go in reverse, so I drove it backward into a parking lot and had it towed to dealer. Has 30,500 miles, Ford will not assist me in the 2600. 00 reapair of the required new transmission. I am very unhappy.