Engine And Engine Cooling Problems of Ford Windstar - part 2

We bought our van in March 2012. By April 2012 we began noticing problems with shifting. It shifts hard. The windows stopped working in may 2012. The lights on the dash for the abs and brakes are always on. The brakes are not very good and the pedal must be pushed hard to get the van to stop. Our biggest issue is with the transmission. The mechanic at aamco would not even change the fluid because if he changed the fluid then the transmission wouldn't be able to shift. I don't know the details but I do know that my van is not safe to drive.

See all problems of the 2002 Ford Windstar 🔎.

The engine cradle was severely rusted and had a catastrophic failure. I narrowly avoided getting t boned and crashed head first into a small hill. My fiance and my self were uninjured but where extremely shook up over this. I lost all control of the steering and the entire engine and transmission where on the ground. Thanks to this defect in Fords design I am now without a car and either my fiance or myself could have been badly injured or died.

See all problems of the 2001 Ford Windstar 🔎.

While driving on the highway on a trip from chicago to north caroline, my car suddenly lost power. It was as if I just put it into neutral; I could hear the engine rev when I applied the gas but nothing else happened. Luckily, I was near an exit ramp and pulled to the side of the road without incident. I tried putting the car into another gear, but there was no change. We ended up getting the car towed to a garage, where they determined it was an issue with the transmission. Later, after pulling the transmission apart, they determined it was specifically the torque converter which had failed. My family and I (including 4 children and 4 dogs) had to stay in a hotel for 3 days until the car was repaired. During that time, I investigated this particular vehicle problem (via the internet) and found that it is common in Windstars and freestars. There is a recall in place for the freestar but not enough complaints have been filed for the Windstar yet. This needs to be rectified ASAP!!!! I was lucky that I was driving in conditions that allowed me to safely maneuver my car to the side of the road without causing or being involved in a accident. The safety of myself, my children and the other people on the road with me, a Windstar owner, should not be put at risk because of a known torque converter defect. The Windstar needs to be added to the Ford recall for torqued converters immediately.

See all problems of the 2003 Ford Windstar 🔎.

0i was parked outside my home. I went out to my van to go pick up dinner and to my distress, the van wouldn't reverse or go forward. After some investigation from online source and auto mechanics, this is an ongoing problem with Ford's transmissions. No warning of a problem. In the past weeks,my interior lights would come on while im driving. This van is a hazzard. You really need to investigate this please.

The antilock brake system light as well as the traction control lights keep coming on. Garage can't tell the exact cause. The booster arm busted, keeping the brakes engaged as driven. The booster arm was replaced and the lights are still on. I reset it, and they reappear after a short time. I now smell the brakes when applied. I've had engine replaced at 101,000 miles, two transmissions, multiple brake jobs, rear axle repaired, front axle repaired, front tie rods repaired. The alignment on my vehicle could only be partially completed. . . . Toe, and another alignment done, but the complete alignment would need a hole drilled in the frame and a bolt moved over - bad design by Ford. I've also had to have the oxygen sensor replaced at my own expense. The vehicle is a ticking time bomb, piece of crap.

The contact owns a 1998 Ford Windstar. The contact smelled a burning odor while driving approximately 40 mph. The contact stopped the vehicle and inspected under the hood. The contact noticed a flame coming from the alternator. The contact used water to extinguish the flame. The fire department also reported to the scene. The contact replaced the alternator. The approximate failure mileage was 195,000.

See all problems of the 1998 Ford Windstar 🔎.

Tl-the contact owns a 2003 Ford Windstar. The contact stated that after receiving notification of a manufacturer's recall for the motor brackets, the vehicle was taken to the dealer for repairs. Months after the recall repairs while the contact was driving approximately 5 mph, the engine began shifting abnormally. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where they advised the contact that two motor mounts were fractured and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The mechanic advised the contact that the failure may have been caused by the previous recall repairs. The failure mileage was approximately 186,000. The VIN was unavailable. Kmj.

The contact owns a 1998 Ford Windstar. The contact stated that after having repairs performed on the vehicle under NHTSA campaign id number: 10v385000 (suspension:rear:axle:non-powered axle assembly), the vehicle would start jerking violently from the rear to the front when driving at speeds above 60 mph. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that the ball joints, bushing, intake gaskets, spark plugs, and lower controls arms needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure who did not offer any assistance since the recall repairs were already performed. The vehicle was repaired at the contact's expense. The failure mileage was 126,131 and the current mileage was 127,000.

There have been numerous issues with this vehicle lately. Car would not start, power steering went out, oil light stays on, I have to put oil in every week, seat motor stop working and now the brakes do not work. We were driving out of town with our 3 kids and I went to press the brakes just to find that it was not there - it was all the way up under the dash board!!!.

2002 Ford Windstar Mini van. Consumer states after filling up the tank and turning on the ignition, flames flew up and after putting water on it there was a flash fire and explosion.

1999 Ford Windstar. Consumer writes to express discontent regarding Ford motor company the consumer stated the vehicle had transmission and engine problems. Also, the vehicle failed inspection, due to a rusted subframe. Ford offered to buy the vehicle back from the consumer.

See all problems of the 1999 Ford Windstar 🔎.

I was driving down the road and all of a sudden I had to acceleration or reverse or anything. It was like I was out of gear. I drifted over to the side of the road and called a tow. I needed a new transmission. That was Feb. 2011 I just had the same incident happen again to me Dec. 2012- transmission needs rebuilt again! mileage is 82000 are you kidding! 2 transmissions in less than 2 years! the torque converter both times!.

The contact owns a 1996 Ford Windstar gl (na). The contact stated that while waiting a stop sign, the vehicle suddenly died and the engine engulfed into flames. There were no injuries. The police and fire departments were called but no police report was filed. The vehicle had not been inspected or repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.

See all problems of the 1996 Ford Windstar 🔎.

2002 Ford Windstar lx. Consumer states problem with brake system the consumer stated the front wheel bearings, engine gasket and fuel injector needed to be replaced. The abs light illuminated.

1999 Ford Windstar : engine cradle cracking and has fractured away from motor mount.

The contact owns a 2001 Ford Windstar. The contact stated that the vehicle was taken to the dealer for a recall repair under NHTSA campaign id 10v385000 (suspension:rear:axle:non-powered axle assembly), and during the inspection the technician noticed that the front passenger side rear mount engine cradle was cracked with substantial corrosion. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 130,000.

I brought my car to the Ford dealer for routine oil and filter maintenance and while on the lift it was brought to my attention that the rear axle is cracked and barely intact. This car was not safe to drive. I had it replaced and $1,300 dollars later. The representative states that my car is about the 4th in their dealership within the month with rear axle cracked.

On July 3, 2010, I was driving my 1998 Ford Windstar van with my family. While waiting for a traffic signal to change, we observed smoke coming from under the van. I immediately pulled into a parking lot and turned off the engine. The smoke continued to get worse until flames appeared from under the hood. The fire department was summoned but the van was eventually destroyed by fire before the fire department could put out the fire. Prior to this event, the van was running smoothly. The temperature gauges were normal and there was no indication of any malfunction.

On June 17,2010 my boyfriend and I had just arrived home from work and gotten into bed. Maybe 10-15min went by when the neighbor was banging on door screaming "your car is on fire" going outside we found the van engulfed in flames . . It had driven beautifully up til this point. The van is total loss.

Abs light is continually on even though the brakes have been repaired multiple times, brake light is continually on even though they have been repaired multiple times, braking time has increased as if they breaks do not always immediately work, brakes turn on squeel without warning, burning smell. I am about to take the van in again. I think the brake fluid is now leaking and damaging the engine.

I went to go to the store may 26th, 2010 6:30 - 7:00 pm, I got in my vehicle with my two year old daughter and I proceeded to go down my driveway which its a long driveway and I started to smell a faint smell of plastic burning and I got to the road and I started to go and I decided I should maybe pull over to see if I could see anything on the outside of vehicle causing smell then when got back in car saw the steam coming from hood and I decided to turn around and have my boyfriend take a look before I left. When got to house saw little steam but nothing big, turned off van and got my daughter from car seat and walked inside home not but 5 minutes later my other daughter ran screaming out her room, mom the vans on fire. When opened the door the flames were shooting out of the hood and tried to open hood, while other half going for fire extinguishers but motor was engulfed in flames and within 5 minutes got fire out with 2 fire extinguishers. Nothing indicated before fire other then the faint smell that I smelled while going down driveway. The fire came from the wiring and it is definitely a safety issue cause if me and my daughter had this happen to us while on the road it could of seriously injured or killed us. I haven't done anything to fix the van yet cause I only had liability insurance on the van and the fire wasn't covered. I also do not financially have the means to fix the van myself so I am without transportation right now! my boyfriend did feel after looking at van the fire started with the wiring over the top of the center of the motor.

I have a 1999 Ford Windstar, which has badly rusted k cradle, which can cause the engine to fall down while being driven as told by the mechanic. I tried to find an used one but couldn't get as they were all rusted out. Looks like it has bad material or bad design. Its a real safety hazard.

I purchased a 2003 Ford Windstar se on February 2, 2010 and it was on fire in my driveway February 6,2010 4am. I had not driven it over 6hrs before. I think all these vehicles should be off the road. The car by the way was a total loss not to mention a great inconvenience.

1. The car stops any time while driving 2. That happens between 2 and 5 times a week 3. When that happens, I put the car in park then restart it. I took the car to mullimax Ford dealer in apopka, FL several times. I paid for diagnostics, they cannot find the reason or the problem. They usually perform necessary repairs, but the problem is still not solved. Recently I was making a left turn when the car died. Several motorist stepped on their brake to avoid striking my vehicle. The problem was on initial stage, when the vehicle was repaired for another recall on 11-25-09.

My 1996 Ford Windstar caught fire in the engine compartment while driving and burned up within 10 minutes. I did not know about the fire danger recall until I heard about it on the new a few days after the event. The only accessory that was on was the airconditioning which was working properly. I noticed a smell followed by smoke from under the hood. I pulled over to investigate and the smoke intensified followed by flames. By the time the fire department arrived (5 minutes) flames were pouring out from under the hood and thick black smoke had filled the passenger compartment. The fire had completely destroyed the engine and had begun to burn into the passenger compartment. The dashboard has melted along with parts of the roof as far back as the middle seats. Up to the event the car had been running normally with no problems. I had never been contacted by Ford about the recall and only found out about it on the news a few days after the event. Needless to say, the car was considered "totaled" by the insurance company.

Vehicle caught fire while driving down the freeway. Completely burned and burned nearby field containing magnesium.

2001 Ford Windstar was sitting in the parking lot started on fire under the hood. Vehicle was totaled.

Sudden acceleration at a stop light on 2 occ.

Ref. Nhtsa defect investigation pe10026: 2001 Ford Windstar experienced front engine cradle failure on passenger side while vehicle in motion, 26 June 2009. No injuries but rattled nerves. Half shaft and engine cradle replaced - vehicle impeded traffic for an hour until removed by flat bed truck.

We owned a 2003 Ford Windstar, which we had not had any incidents prior besides interior lights flickering. We were driving on the interstate at approximately 65mph when I suddenly saw a very dense light gray smoke in the driver's side mirror. We pulled over immediately. I told everyone to exit the vehicle upon seeing flames under the vehicle in front of the drivers front tire, under the engine. We never lost power while driving and the engine showed no signs of failure. Everyone exited the vehicle without injury but unfortunately the fire was rampant and consumed the vehicle prior to emergency officials arriving. There were multiple explosions from the vehicle during the fire. Please look into this, as I now know from looking into it further that there seems to be a trend of engine compartment fires in this model. We also were not informed of the recall for the cruise control/brake wiring issue. The insurance company considered it a total loss so nothing could be done due to the issue.

On June 13th, 2009, my 1998 Ford Windstar van caught fire from under the hood causing a total loss of the vehicle and damage to the house. I have since learned that there is a recall of this particular make and model relating to electrical fires under the hood. I want Ford to pay for the damage and the loss of my vehicle. About 5500 hundred dollars.

On November 10, 2008, my wife was heading home from work at midnight when the 2003 Ford Windstar she used lost all gears without notice. She left work and made several stops at lights and never noticed a problem until she was at a stop sign. When she went to execute the turn, the gears were gone. I had to push the vehicle to an empty lot for a tow in the morning. The vehicle was towed to the regular service garage I use. The problem ended up being a failed spline that stripped out at 52,008 miles. There was never any warning to indicate a problem for to take proactive and safe measures. The garage stated no preventable maintenance I would have done would have prevented this failure. The result was $1658 repair to replace the failed spline. I'm glad my wife was not on the highway with my children when this could have failed, the results could have been fatal.

The contact's parents own a 2001 Ford Windstar. While the contact's parents were driving 40 mph, the vehicle completely lost power. They pulled over to the side of the road and noticed flames underneath the hood. After five minutes, the vehicle exploded four times and was destroyed. The fire department was called and a report was filed. The manufacturer has not been notified. The current and failure mileages were approximately 70,000. Updated 11/17/08 the consumer stated he read on the internet that his make and model had problems with the cruise control . Updated 11/18/08.

The contact owns a 2000 Ford Windstar. While backing out of the driveway at 5 mph, the bracket that supports the lower passenger side control arm failed. A mechanic stated that the engine cradle needed to be replaced. The manufacturer and dealer were not notified. The vehicle has not been repaired. The current and failure mileages were 81,000.

See all problems of the 2000 Ford Windstar 🔎.

I have had multiple problems with my 2003 Windstar sel to include complete failure of the vacuum system where brakes, power steering didn't work had to have towed. The dealership could not fix and did not have a recall. Hoses in this system kept coming off. Interior lights kept flashing on without any being turned on. Also the "passenger door is open" light stays on. Along with abs/brake light stays on. I have taken my van in to have brakes checked. There was no problem with brakes. I have maintenance done on regular basis. Problems started with 50,000 miles. I am a single woman and need reliable transportation which this van is not. When is Ford going to recall for electrical problems? dealership is of no help, only want to charge for something they can't fix. I took to dealership when front passenger window didn't open. Dealership stated that it needed a new motor. I knew better as this had happen before. Took home and after a little bump in the road window started working again. Part of the crappy workmanship Ford used to put together. Also dealership stated there was no recall for the problem with vacuum system which I was told was a design problem. Ford needs to address all the problems associated with this model. I wonder how many others have this same problem?.