Seven problems related to front suspension coil spring have been reported for the 2003 Ford Windstar. The most recently reported issues are listed below. Please also check out the statistics and reliability analysis of the 2003 Ford Windstar based on all problems reported for the 2003 Windstar.
Heard a loud crack noise from my driveway where the vehicle was parked, found the left front struts coil spring to be broken in three pieces. I was fortunate not to be driving the vehicle at the time due to the fact the sprint would have penetrated the left front tire. I replaced the entire left front strut with a complete new strut that meets oem specifications. I was a bit leary about driving the vehicle the next day to take my wife to work, I visually inspected the right front strut coil spring and saw nothing visibly wrong with it. I was shocked to find out the right front strut spring broke while I was pulling forward later today at 151,725 miles. The broken piece is now pressing against the tire. I will now have to replace the right front strut with a new unit that meets oem specifications. I'm worried about other drivers having this issue if one breaks while driving at any speed and having the broken coil spring puncture their tire.
Brought the car to a repair facility today to diagnose a recurring front end noise today and was shown by mechanic that both front coil springs are severely rusted and were sheared/broken and have been for quite some time, possibly as long as a year. He said that we were very fortunate that the springs hadn't slipped and pierced a tire; especially on the highway. Another serious concern is that the Ford dealership to which we normally bring the vehicle for service had and had failed to notice the broken springs in when most recently they replaced more front-end parts, some links, 3. 5 months ago that was part of a series of related repair work in the effort to stop the ongoing front-end clunking noise. After the noise failed to go away and after this latest repair by Ford service, we decided to get a second opinion from different auto repair facility. This latest mechanic, not a Ford facility, said that broken coil springs appear to be a common problem for the Ford taurus and Mini-vans.
The contact owns a 2003 Ford Windstar. The contact started the vehicle and shifted into the drive position. The vehicle failed to accelerate and it was towed to a local auto shop where they detected that the front passenger's side coil spring fractured. The contact stated that one year ago the front driver's side coil spring was replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 125,000. The VIN was unavailable.
The contact owns a 2003 Ford Windstar. While driving 30mph the front driver side of the vehicle dropped on the ground due which caused the front coil spring to puncture the driver side tire. The vehicle has not been diagnosed by the dealer. The current and failure mileage was 76000.
The contact owns a 2003 Ford Windstar. The vehicle accelerated without warning immediately after he approached a traffic light. The front coil springs on the drivers side also broke which caused the coil springs to pierce the tire and the front end of the vehicle fell on the ground. The vehicle was towed to a local repair facility and the mechanic replaced the tires and the coil springs for over $800. The contact suspects that the failure was caused by the cruise control. The dealer didn't agree that the cruise control caused the failure. The manufacturer was notified; however, they have not responded. The failure mileage was 74,000.
The contact owns a 2003 Ford Windstar. After shifting from park into reverse, the front passenger side tire blew out. The vehicle was towed to the dealer and they stated that the front passenger side coil spring failed and punctured the tire. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer stated that they were not liable for the repairs and there were no recalls. The current mileage was 59,700 and failure mileage was 59,396. Updated 02/24/09. Updated 02/24/09.
With no warning, the front left coil spring on my 2003 Ford Windstar snapped as we were driving. The broken spring shot into my tire causing a blowout and loss of control of the vehicle almost hitting a guard rail and then oncoming traffic. We were able to get the vehicle under control and stop it but were lucky that we were only going 35 mph at the time. If this would have happened on a highway, there would have been injuries and possibly fatalities. This caused a very dangerous situation with myself, my wife, and my four children in the vehicle at the time. This has been a recurring issue with Windstars since 1996. I had the vehicle repaired at a local repair shop. It was memorial day weekend and we needed our vehicle and, in addition, did not know what the problem was when I took it to be repaired. I phoned Ford and they told me that this was not covered and would not reimburse me for the repair. With only 66,000 miles on my vehicle, this should not have happened and caused a very dangerous situation. Now I am wondering when the other coil spring will snap. I believe that Ford should be responsible for the repair of this vehicle since this is a recurring issue and could have caused a major accident. I have retained the broken coil spring.