general problems of the 2001 Ford Windstar - part 1

Rear axle snapped in half with no warning as I was driving about 40 mph on a busy road. Very dangerous.

Brakes continually have failed causing accidents. Pedal goes all the way to the floor before and after new brake pads and bring bled. Throttle idle sensor causes vehicle to stall while driving. Abs light and brake light and check engine light keeps coming on. Now they just stay on. I need to know what,if any recalls have been repaired or any options that may be available.

Over drive flashing off and on will not go off. Fuses blow out right after you start up the van. It started when I made a turn at a green light. On the back roads.

The contact owns a 2001 Ford Windstar. While the vehicle was in motion, an internal fire erupted near the rear auxiliary air conditioning. The controls associated with the wires and the covering were melted. The contact smelled strong plastic fumes in the rear of the vehicle. The contact pulled the vehicle over and discovered that the cover and wires melted without warning. The contact was not notified of NHTSA campaign number: 15v608000 (suspension), but the VIN was not included. The approximate failure mileage was 106,390.

This vehicle has shut off on me while driving several times. During the latest event which occurred while going approximately 30 mph and the minivan just shuts off without warning. There is not a stalling warning or anything. All lights appear on the dash and it is very difficult to steer the van when it happens. In order to get the vehicle to restart you have to turn it off with the key and then start it up again. I have investigated this problem online and there are many, many people complaining of this. I'm very surprised to see that a recall has not be made. With most of the complaints I've seen online many of the mechanics do not seem to know what the problem is. It's scary to see that many of us are complaining of the same thing. During some of the other incidents it also seemed to happen during lower speeds such as 5 or 10 mph however twice it happened going higher speeds, once at 25 mph and the other at 30 mph. Thank you for checking into this.

I bought the van from someone drove from a hour fourtyfive min away from home got almost home and the brake light came on bk light on right went out seats stop working they electrical and the heat mess up very unpleased cause I have kids I drive to school everyday.

Abs light on dash and brake light on for no reason.

Turned on van with all this occurring at once: "check transmission", speedometer not working (reads 0mph), "abs" light stays on, "brake" light stays on, "o/d off" light flashing, "trac off" light illuminated, "fuel computer data error", "oil life data error", "traction control data error", outside temperature "error", odometer malfunction reads "-----------", cruise control not working, ac not cold, hot air not hot.

The abs sensor light, brake light, and other warning lights appear on the display. In doing an internet search it appears to be bad sensors and that a recall is pending. I am facing the same issues as many other people. Thank you.

I didn't have a crash I noticed that my abs brake and tire pressure light was staying on and a short time after I started hearing a loud rumbling noise in the front end every time I slow an it's impossible to make sudden stops and at times my speedometer starts flickering back and forth as well as my cruise control is currently inoperable. I have limited driving this vehicle in which I purchased due to feeling it is not in a safe manner for my children to be in. I have had several shops as well as individuals that told me these areas are common to go out on this specific vehicle and that there is possible recall. I just want to be able to drive my van with out worrying if I'm going to be able to come to a stop when needed as well as not knowing if I could possible break down or something break in the front end while I am driving at somewhat high speeds. Thank you and hope to hear from someone soon in regards to this situation!.

All gauges, including speedometer, suddenly became erratic, confusing driver by giving false sense of speed.

Hi I am the owner of 2001 Windstar last week my van star be crazy with al the instrumental all the light was crazy smell like the cable was burning the positive battery was very hot I have to stop the car before get in fire that is the second time that is happen please take this very serious before some have any accident and car burn in the road.

The abs, brake, and trac lights come on while driving down the road. This doesn't happen every time, but has become more frequent. Have not found a reason for it to come on, like hitting bumps or wet whether. The electrical system issues is rear windows won't open all of the time. The door locks don't work all of the time. The lights in and outside the van dim in and out.

While sitting at the red light my brake light, abs light, over drive lights all came on and then my speedometer would not register when I started to go when the light turned green.

My 2001 Ford Windstar van started lighting up on the dash while driving then would go out, kept getting worse. Now the abs and brake light stays on all the time, also my low tire light and there is the proper in air in tire. In April 17th 2015, my speedometer started acting up, would not register the speed I was travelling. I would shut down the motor and when I restarted moving again the needle would jump and start registering the proper speed. When I stopped again it would do the same thing again. I could put the cruise on and guess what speed I was at, I was lucky that I did not get stopped for going to fast. Lately, I have not been able to set the cruise. Today the speedometer would not work, then it came on. It is frustrating not knowing what speed I am travelling. I need my vehicle to get to doctor app'ts and grocery shopping. This is my complaint, what can be done about it.

Power windows and door locks intermittently not working. Unable to unlock electrical or manual sliding door . . . . It locks up and unable to open door from inside. Passengers can't open door if an emergency. Electronic door locks don't function constantly.

The abs warning light comes on intermittently. From research on the web, this is a common problem starting with Windstars dating from 1999.

For months, the abs light and traction control lights come on intermittently. Currently the lights are staying on and it must be jumped to start. The battery was checked and was okay. Something is draining the battery.

All electrical went whacky.

After repairing my speed controller my abs and brake lights have been coming on the dashboard intermittently and are coming on more and more. Took it to the dealer and no codes show up,but I do not trust it.

My brakes and abs light stays on even after repairing brakes my abs system is not working, one day while raining I try to stop my vehicle and it kept on going.

The abs light and the brake light appears on the dashboard even though the brakes are in good working order.

After going through a heavy downpour at about 20mph the abs and brake light came on. Nothing was hung up and it later cleared. We figured a sensor got wet but periodically maybe stopping quickly or even just turning off auto and restarting within 15 minutes may trigger the lights. They may stay on entire time of travel until shutting off car or they may just go away while driving. Not sure if it's a brake problem or electrical because my temp notification for outside temp also does not work and the gas gauge will sometimes report empty after filling up and also I have had issues where the cruise control can not be shut off by button. I must apply the brake to shut off the cruise control. The brake lights started back in 2012 but they all did not fail at the same time. These other things have been a problem at least since 2013. I have approx. 138,000 miles on the van.

7/21/2011 bought van from private party. Recall completed in March of 2011 regarding back axle. On 7/13/2012 8pm, my 18yr old son, while driving home from lacrosse practice, nearly killed. Upon pulling out onto the main road, he lost all controls, no steering, no brakes and no power. He coasted and prayed it would stop. I arrived, we called aaa. Flatbed to my home driver could not believe his eyes. The engine had fallen out. 7/16/12 called Ford in mich and spoke to rep. To be towed 13 miles away to route 23 auto at our expense. Really? route23 wanted nothing to do with me (they did recall). Went back and forth then per rt23 "it will be a month until we can look at it" getting know where. 7/18-22 borrowed friend car for tournament. 8/1/12 called magarino Ford and with great concern had a flatbed that night. This tow truck driver could not believe it. Fluids raced out and double stabilized for engine sliding during transport. 8/2/12 magarino called 9am, pictures sent to Ford and awaiting reply. 8/5/12 t/c from m stating Ford refuses to buy back and sending a subframe. You mean a recalled one? magarino caught in middle I questioned whether he would put his children in this van. He softly replied, "no" what am I to do, out of work 2 years, single parent with no car to find work. 8/8/12 I questioned Ford why this van ever left rt 23 auto, according to researched paper a part was waiting on. You mean to tell me that upon this fixed axle nobody noticed the subframe was rotted from inside out causing the engine to fall out the next summer nearly killing my son! but they signed it was fine! really? now we have case # 1373091992 8/10/12 picked up van. Broke= a/c, r-window, heater engine, airbag, brake light on, runs hot steering= thumps makes noise (full fluid) skip gears, sways, barely can get up a hill. 11yr old scared to drive in it.

Abs light, air bag light and brake light keeps coming back on while car is on.

Abs trouble light keeps coming on and going off. It was checked and the mechanic said it was safe to drive if I didn't want to spend the money. I have found out that the connector is absorbing fluids and shorting out. This shorting out happens mostly in warm weather. In sub 0 weather the light pretty much stays off. There is still a chance of fire when it is shorting out. I complained to Ford and was told there was no recall on this item. They gave me a case number for my complaint. It is #4013467. This problem is a direct cause of fluids leaking on the modgular connector and heat from engine. Rick.

Just recently, in the past couple months, the abs lights go on intermittently on the dashboard, warning that there is a problem. We took it to the Ford dealership, and they said it may need a new ecu or computer module, but they said it was safe to use. However, the manual says when the lights are on, the abs system and traction control are disabled. . . There seems to be a recall, but no one at the dealership mentioned any issue. It seems strange for a car with 68,000 miles to have this go out - we want to make sure it is not a covered item before paying $ 1,400 for a new part. Thank you.

I currently keep getting grunting/popping/moaning noise from the front suspension when turning -braking-starting to move car forward . Already replaced the sway bar links and bushings but the noise still comes and goes. Also my brake-&-abs lights comes on and off for no reason. And the locks on the doors work when they want too. Just had inspection done again 3 weeks ago but they can not find the problems. Talk with Ford about the noise to try to find out if there is any danger of a crash because of this and I keep getting the run around.

A few weeks after purchasing my van I had issues with my brake light and abs light coming on while I was driving. It did seem to cause any issues and the lights when off ever time I turned my van off and then back on. A few months ago I was coming up to a red light so naturally I started to slow down when I tried to come to a complete stop I kept going. The perfect way to describe what happen, it felt like I hit my brakes on a solid sheet of ice. I could here the abs clicking and also felt the vibration in the brake pedal. That day it was 95 degrees and sunny. I almost caused an accident and the only things that stopped me was the emergency brake. It continued to do it every time I tried to slow down to stop that I refused to put my children in the vehicle. Last week after almost causing a few accidents I ended up pulling the main fuses to the abs. Since I have done this the only issue I have had is my speedometer acting up. I feel that Ford needs to seriously look into this issue. I have already had 5 recalls fixed on my van and this needs to be another one.

Driving on highway, the brakes slammed on, almost rear ended. When I got home by driving slowly, I noticed moisture and brake fluid was in the abs pump module, thank god my children were not in our so called"family van".

My abs and brake lights come on and go off randomly. I've had my brakes and fluids checked and everything is fine.

Abs, traction control, and brake lights come on shortly after starting the car. Abs, traction control are 'off''. Safety issue when driving in snow. This problem has occurred 3 times now,over last 2 years, each time I am told its a brake sensor, or the abs sensor. I pay several hundred each time to get it replaced, but problem returns within 6 months. Concern is safety- abs and traction control critical in northern ohio area in heavy snow area- please look into this.

My abs and brake lights came on, then all my gauges started going crazy, maxing out back and forth, then my lights would go out and blinkers stopped working. I looked around and went to the abs control module and saw that it was saturated with brake fluid or water. I remove the connector and found 2 pins were rotted off.

Brake and abs light go off and on could smell hot copper wire . . . . Code like 11 brake codes all due to abs module.

While driving, the speedometer ,the odometer,the tachometer all stopped working. The abs light came on,the red brake light came on,and the o/d off light continues to flash. It is extremely difficult to operate this vehicle without at least a speedometer and I hope the brakes do not fail. This all occurred shortly after the brake master cylinder switch was replaced.