Rear Suspension problems of the 2000 Ford Windstar - part 2

I was driving my 2000 Ford Windstar with my two children in the car when my rear axle cracked in half on the northern state parkway in new york, at exit 42.

The contact owns a 2000 Ford Windstar. While driving at approximately 60 mph, there was a loud bang from the rear and the vehicle began to vibrate excessively. The contact moved the vehicle from the roadway and found that the rear axle had fractured in half. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where the rear axle was replaced at the contact's expense. The failure and current mileages were 135,000.

Our Ford Windstar Mini-van begun driving strangely yesterday as we were on vacation at martha's vineyard. The van is a 2000 with 130,000 miles, and we have been considering replacing it for 6 months or so. After feeling the rear of the vehicle shimmying, we returned to our rental cottage and examined the rear of the vehicle and discovered that the axel was broken near the driver's side just below the welding point. We are very thankful that we made it back safely with our 3 children.

I was traveling at 70 mph on the high way when the rear beam axle snapped. I was able to retain control of the vehicle. The vehicle did fishtail and almost rolled. There is an axle available for this vehicle from Ford.

Real axle cracked at 107000 miles. Vehicle disposed of before complete failure.

The car was fishtailing and I assumed the alignment needed fixing. I was going down a dirt road, the traction control came on and the car wasn't driving normally. I pulled over and noticed the back drivers side wheel was leaning in. Under the car I found the rear axle broken a quarter from the drivers side. The car was towed and a new rear axle was installed. An old part was available, but I learned that the failure rate on the used parts was high so I chose to use a new part.

I was driving my 2000 Ford Windstar down the road with my children and my tires started to squeal and the back end started to lose control. I was able to get off the road safely. When I got out to see what was wrong my back tires were bowed in. When looking under I saw my axle was split in half. I had no other warning signs. I called Ford and they said there is no recall or any problems reported on the rear axles.

Rear axle broke on my 2000 Ford Windstar. We got new tires and noticed the car was driving funny. Looked underneath to find a crack almost all the way through the rear axle. Exactly what is described in NHTSA act number pe10016.

While driving on an interstate highway at 55 mph, my 2000 Ford Windstar lx made a loud noise and black smoke and the smell of burning rubber filled the vehicle. It was with great difficulty that my husband was able to maintain control of the vehicle and get it over to the side of the road. My self and our 3 children were very fortunate to escape injury. The rear tire axle had snapped in two. I have since read of numerous complaints regarding this same defect. Why hasn't anything been done about this serious issue? the vehicle is currently in auto shop and I am waiting to hear if it can be repaired. I am extremely apprehensive about driving this car ever again. Will the same situation happen again if I replace it with another Ford part? why hasn't there been a safety recall on this issue. I am the original owner and this car has been properly maintained. There are approximately 110,000 miles on the vehicle.

On June 13, 2010 my wife was driving Ford Windstar at approximately 25mph speed down a paved road near our home when the rear suspension axle broke. The axle cracked and completely separated at approximately 1 1/2 feet from drivers side rear wheel. Both halves of axle dropped to the ground and one side was dragging on pavement. Both rear tires were rubbing on wheel housing. The vehicle experienced loss of control in rear end and did not stay inline with the front end of vehicle. There was a smell of burning rubber after vehicle was stopped. The vehicle has not been repaired yet and we are awaiting new part (axle) purchased from Ford dealership before repairs may begin. Vehicle had been used on daily basis and was used for a family vacation trip the week prior to failure. Vehicle has under 111,000 miles on the odometer. Failure should have not occurred in such a critical area and at such a low mileage. Although there were no injuries or collision, the failure is a safety concern because the rear end of the vehicle had lost control and the rear tires were rubbing against the wheel housing and could have blown.

My son and I were driving to bj's warehouse after buying mulch at lowe's. We just got off the highway and was about 1/4 mile from bj's when we heard a loud clunk. I thought the tire blew at first and continued into the closest parking lot. I looked under the car and found that my rear axle I-beam had snapped in two. Both the flatbed driver who towed it and my mechanic said they never saw such a thing happen before. A steel beam braking in two isn't supposed to happen. We were lucky we didn't have an accident. Ford will only have a recall after someone dies and a multi-million dollar lawsuit follows. That would bring the kind of publicity that Ford would have to react to. It seems that's the only time any of these carmakers back their vehicles is after a tragedy and a major investigation. Lives just aren't important to them. Just profits.

The rear axle on my 2000 Ford Windstar snapped in half while driving at highway speeds. The van began to shake and bounce violently and fortunately I was able to get the van to the shoulder of the road without hitting another car or something along the side of the road. Upon inspection, both rear wheels had collapsed into the wheel wells and the axle had completely broken in half. There was no prior warning of this issue. The van needed to be towed to a local dealer where the repairs were made to replace the rear axle. Total repair cost exceeded $1800.

Driving home from phila, PA the rear was fish tailing with every little bump. Being close to home I figured I could check it after arriving home. Rear axle broke off completely in half on my street. Both rear tires went inward and were against the wheel well . The car could not go forward or backward as the axle was on the ground. Snapped approx. 18 inches from the left side. Luckily we were not on a highway at the time. 4 passengers. Needed 3 tow trucks before one figured out how to tow is without anymore damage. Had a new axle put in for $1200. My wife is still afraid to drive it.

I discovered a large crack in the rear axle beam of my 2000 Ford Windstar when doing routine brake work. The crack goes halfway through the axle beam so I decided to take the vehicle off the road until I contact Ford motor company. I will contact them a. S. A. P. To determine what action I should take at this point. In my opinion the vehicle is not currently safe to operate as the axle could completely fracture at any given time due to the severity of the crack. I have read that many other Windstar owners have experienced this problem, yet Ford has done nothing to notify owners about the possibility of axle failure. I have taken several photos of the axle for documentation before I have the it replaced.

My 2000 Ford Windstar rear axle split in half during normal driving conditions (5/28/10). I am in the process of inquiring how much the repair will cost.

I was reversing out of the store parking lot and my rear axle cracked. Cracked right in half. My 9 year old son was with me . 2 minutes before that I was on a major highway. I was lucky! someone is going to injured or will die. There are lots of these complaints and something needs to be done.

1. I was checking underneath my car because it sounded like there was something the matter with the rear passenger side brakes. 2. I found something more alarming. About 1/3 of the way across the axle from the driver side rear wheel was a big crack in the axle. 3. I haven't done anything yet but left the car in my driveway as several people advised me that the car was too dangerous to drive. I was thinking of calling a body shop to have the crack welded back together. But then I read about hundreds of people making complaints about rear axles in Ford Windstars and decided to file a complaint with the NHTSA.

I have a 2000 Ford Windstar van and the rear axle snapped in two. I think it happened when we pulled into our driveway. I have not fixed it yet because it is very expensive and have to save up the money.

While driving my son to school traveling approx. 40 mph the rear axle completely broke in half causing me to loose control. Luckily there was no traffic at the time of the incident and it was aimed in a direction allowing it to pulled off the road. Vehicle has since been towed home and we are investigating next steps.

On wed may 12th I was backing out of my driveway to take one of my kids to a guitar lesson. My 2000 Ford Windstar, which had been working fine, suddenly made an odd noise and the tires were bent inward toward the car. I got out and discovered that the rear axle had broken! the car has not been in any accidents and there were no signs of this problem occurring. I had the car repaired and was told by the repair shop that they had seen a number of these incidents occurring. The car is okay now, but I had to pay over 900. 00 to have the damage fixed and I am very concerned about other owners of this type of car.

I had purchased this vehicle from a private owner in March 2010 who reported no issues. I drive this vehicle daily to work, as well as transporting children to different activities. Returning home from work on may 06, 2010, I noticed the van handling odd; had to keep right pressure on the steering wheel (like an alignment issue). The further I drove the more pressure I had to maintain. I began to slow my speed (from 70 mph to 60 mph) because there was excessive sway when crossing bridge joints. I continued to reduce speed to about 50 mhp and approximately 2 miles after I first noticed the sway, I heard a loud "pop" and the rear of the van dropped. I was able to quickly pull to the edge of the highway and stop. The tires were leaning in at the top on both sides and had begun smoking. I looked under the van and the axle had broken approximately 15"-18" from end, on the drivers side. Ended up having vehicle towed to a repair facility, located a used unit from a salvage yard, 2 tires and had them all replaced. What a headache. Heard a pop on my way to work this morning so I checked the axle and found there is a crack in the same spot of this replacement axle.

I took my 2000 Ford Windstar to the repair shop to address a flat right rear passenger tire, only to discover that the rear axle had cracked about 12 inches from the driver side rear wheel. I inquired whether the vehicle was able to be driven and the mechanic said that it would not be safe driving this vehicle at any speed because if it snaps you could seriously lose to control of the vehicle. So I am writing this because I found the same issue in the same location from a number of individual owners. It does not appear anything has been done thus far, so I wanted to make sure I am yet another owner with same issue. It appears prudent that some notification been sent to owners of this vehicle to make sure they continually have the rear axle checked for cracks. This may help any potential for injuries in the future.

Rolling back in the driveway in neutral ( as I always do ) when the rear axle snapped in my 2000 Ford Windstar sel. My vehicle was no longer operational and had it towed to a garage. A used replacement rear axle was purchased and installed.

I have a Ford Windstar with 93,000 miles on the odometer and was shocked when the vehicle tires were slanted on an angle on day! this was very odd looking, as you can only imagine and after a review of the vehicle was told that the rear axle housing was cracked (and rusted) right in the middle, closer to one side; leaving the care non-drivable due to possible blow-out occurrence. After having no choice but to repair the vehicle and after putting over $600 dollars into the vehicle have only found that other Ford Windstars are also having this problem. I was fortunate enough not to be involved in any type of motor vehicle accident, however this was damaging to my savings account! I would still however buy Ford vehicles and would like to make my case known in this situation.

2000 Windstar. Rear axle snapped. Very dangerous. I was just about to get on the highway. Went online and found that there have been over 55 complaints about this. I have children. Can't even imagine if we were all in it when it snapped. This is a serious problem and someone is going to be hurt if not die. Not to mention the cost. Ford should be issuing a recall immediately. What is it going to take.

2000 Windstar. Rear axle snapped. Very dangerous. I was just about to get on the highway. Went online and found that there have been over 55 complaints about this. I have children. Can't even imagine if we were all in it when it snapped. This is a serious problem and someone is going to be hurt if not die. Not to mention the cost. Ford should be issuing a recall immediately. What is it going to take?.

One day I was driving around with my kids and I went over a bump and that's when it all went wrong. The minute I went over the bump, we heard a crack then a dragging noise. I parked to see what went wrong and then I saw my rear tires going toward the axle and then I saw my rear axle was cracked. I had to get a flat bed tow truck and tow it to the nearest garage. My sister had to pick us up and take us to our destination. This all happened on a cold windy Saturday. On a breezy Monday, I called the garage and I was told that the new rear axle would take a week to get a it and I was without a car for a week. I had to find ways to get to work and they were hard choices to make. Finally when the new axle came in, they repaired it and the total was $800. It was hard to come up with the money because I just got done paying off the front breaks. I think I should get reimbursed for some of the money I put out because you should've recalled the rear axles of the Windstars because of the article I got from the garage that fixed my car. [xxx] p. S. I would like satisfaction on the matter of the car. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

2000 Ford Windstar, rear axle beam broke / split while driving in reverse out of our driveway. Repaired by local repair shop for $1,250 for new rear axle beam.

I was driving down a st. And the rear axle just broke in two on my 2000 Windstar van, my car has been garage kept, I found 18 more complaints with the same problem on Windstars.

The contact owns a 2000 Ford Windstar. While driving 35-40 mph, the rear axle broke in half; the contact was able to coast the vehicle to the side of the road. The vehicle was towed to a repair shop where the entire rear axle was replaced. The failure mileage was approximately 73,100. The current mileage was 73,409.

Rear axle broke on 2000 Ford Windstar, while being moving down the street.

A Ford Windstar made a loud banging sound at a parking I was at. When we tried to assist we found that the rear axle housing was broken in two pieces. Since it was the same vehicle we checked ours and it has a 2 and a half inch crack in the same exact spot on the housing. Checking the internet it has occurred on over 50 other vehicles of the same type. This is a dangerous condition!!! there is no weld point bend or otherwise to start a crack at that point. This is a case of severe metal fatigue. This break makes the rear wheels fold out with a loss of control. We are looking for another housing to replace it.

2000 Ford Windstar lx - 122,000 miles - rear axle failure on March 30, 2010 the Windstar began fishtailing and swaying in the rear. It was also making a bang noise when turning right. Thought that the shocks were bad and was planning on replacing them. On Friday, April 2, 2010 we were loading the family and dog for a trip to the beach. Prior to pulling out of the driveway I noticed the left rear wheel tilted inwards at the top. At that point I removed the family from the vehicle and jacked up the rear of the van. Upon inspection I noticed the rear axle beam was cracked approximately 12-18 inches in from the left wheel. I went on line and immediately discovered another 50+ complaints of the same failure. I initially though it broke due to the excessive potholes in the region. However, I now feel that this may be a much bigger problem and a defect with this type of vehicle. The only way to repair this issue is to replace the entire rear axle beam. The part alone cost $500 or more.

When going over a bump the rear end of the vehicle would sway after futher investagation the rear axle is split in 2 pieces 1 1/2 to 2 ft from the tire on the driver side.

We own a 2000 Ford Windstar van. We felt strong vibrations from the rear of the car. We brought the car to a mechanic who noticed the rear drivers side axle had broken in two. After researching in the internet we have noticed this same exact break is happening in the same year of other owners. Ford is not reconizing the defect.