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Ford Windstar Problems
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Comments
Over than the crosswind induced sway and it being a little underpowered in the mountains, I was pleased with how well it handled the demands of traveling with two small children. I'm not much of a minivan fan, but it may win me over yet.
We use our van for Greyhound Adoption events and we are responsible for what we call our store. It is all the things we use to sell things to make some money for the group. We go to PA, WV and some long trips in VA and it is full. I mean up to the ceiling. I tried to figure the load once and I came up with about 600 to 700 pounds of "stuff". 200 HP is enough to get it up the mountains of PA and WV with some shifting to third on the long ( 2 to 3 mile) climbs and it handles fairly well. After all, it is not a Z4. All in all a good van. Hope you enjoy it.
I guess my comments on the van being underpowered shows my point of perspective. Obviously the mountains are no trouble for the truck, but even the Cougar had the 4.6L V-8. We had to cross Mont Eagle twice, going and coming back. The Cougar would never even downshift, in fact would even moderately accelerate going up without downshifting. But, considering the Cougar probably outhorsepowered the van by a good 50 to 75 hp and the van outweighs the Cougar probably by 750lbs, maybe even 1k, it did a really good job.
The boys really handled the nine hour trip really well and I think we have the van to thank for that. And you know, I still have my sanity!!
1. Knocking when accelerated.. Fixed under warranty
2. recalled
3. Driver Sliding door leaking it's been fix 4 time (as of today) .. Thank Beach Ford to fix it free but I just wonder if it's defect and need to do some about it...
4. Gas when drive city was a problem.. ONLY 12/14 mpg/gal... I talked to Ford service dept but they seem it's normal..
I want to trade for Japanese minivan but the value was soooo low... I don't think I ever want to buy American Car anymore because the value was so low.
Steve, Host
No, seriously that's great. Ford treated us like dirt through a tranny rebuild (known defect), timing chain cover gasket, valve cover gasket, head gasket (they eventually admitted fault there and paid us back), electrical failure that stopped all the power windows and interior lights - all in a 5,000 mile span. That's when I ran.
Now maybe if I took it from there I'd have hit a smooth coupel of years but I guess I'll never know and corporate Ford's attitude was abysmal. They treated us like dogs.
There has been another guy in here who had a friend with a 95 Windstar approaching 200,000 miles (didn't quite make it) so you aren't alone. Yours must have been built on a Wednesday...
I did a search, but only turned up one result with the tranny clunk and no responses.
Oh well, I guess that's what extended warranties are for.
Just to clarify, does the Windstar have 4 or 5 gears? (I have 2000 SE) I always thought it was 5 gears (including overdrive), but I'm starting to think it is 4 gears. And that the 3rd to 4th shift that I think I'm seeing is something with the differential locking and unlocking.
I say this because I now have a 4 speed automatic Elantra GT that does this. The shift from 3rd into 3.5 changes the RPMs just slighty, then another shift into the real 4th gear. I know the Elantra is only 4 gears including the overdrive gear (being the 4th gear itself). I just thought the Windstar was 4 gears plus a 5th overdrive gear.
Andy Kish
I suspect that the smell is coming into the cabin from the rear compressor. It is very pungent and may have something to do with the catalytic converter on very hot (100+) days.
The automatic doors also fail on hot days, and there is a large “clunk” when shifting from R to D. I have been told these problems are endemic to the Windstar.
Does anyone have any experience with this?
The car manufacturer makes its own recommendation and tries to balance safety, handling, economy etc. The recommended pressure will be on a placard that's usually in your glove box or on the A pillar.
I don't recommend deviating a whole lot from Ford's recommended pressure, the Explorer fiasco notwithstanding.
More fuel economy tips here.
Steve, Host
I bought a 95 LX in 96 one year old with 20, ooo miles, and had the head gasket redone by the dealer. I loved, .........that's loved, ....past tense, that van and had planned on driving it for about 150,000 miles.....................Always had it serviced, etc, ........at 90,000 miles, ......water pump is going, A/C is gone, had the switch replaced once, ........took three years to find the sensor that was keeping the interior lights on, warning bell ringing, until over 10 miles an hour, head gasket is blown AGAIN, transmission is slipping, .......
I used to bleed ford blue, ............but I'm no longer blue, .......shopping for Honda or toyota.
Last month, my rear wiper got out of track, and when engaged, it turns a little and then goes down, hanging from the window. I must tell you that I'm taking good care of this car, and never use the wipers while it has weight on it (as snow, etc.)
I noticed that many Windstars have this problem. Driving on the road makes me feel that almost 40-50% Windstars don't have the rear wiper in place. That's why it's interesting to me that Ford will make no changes to the new upcoming Freestar and Monterey. I was sure that would be changed, with a stronger, more stable motor.
Any comments?
Is there any way to improve the quality of the Radio? (Ford still does not offer digital satellite radio, and I don't know if those offer better quality, they only provide you with a bigger range (coast to coast) to listen to some stations).
As far as reception goes, I'll agree the mast would do better, but the inglass antenna is a cleaner installation. I've been to the Smokies on several occasions. I remember having the same problems as you. When you get down between the mountains you won't get any stations.
My 2001 Windstar intermittantly fails to start or dies after being restarted a few minutes after driving. The problem usually happens on a hot day and has occurred 3 times in the last month (as described below).
1. extended highway driving on a HOT day. Stopped at a rest area. Car failed to maintain sufficeint RPMs to keep running when restarted 20 min. later. Let the car sit for about 45 minutes with the hood up. Started and continued fine.
2. Round town driving on a hot day. Wife stopped at a shop and returned 15 minutes later. Symptoms as above...Car successfully start 1 hour later.
3. Round town driving of 15 mile on a warm day. Return to vehicle and it will not run. Returned 3 hours later and everything worked fine.
Other (seemingly unrelated) issues:
+ Placing cargo in the rear causes the vehicle to believe a door is open even if the cargo is away from the door. This causes a light to stay on and prevents the auto-lock from engaging when starting. Also prevents lights from coming on when stopping the car.
+ Engine intermittently hunts (surges) when at idle.
Thanks for the comments. I got 225K miles out of my Aerostar...I am at 50K on the Windstar and it looks like I will need to replace it. The family is not too keen on being stranded.
Any suggestions or comments? Experience with Ford?