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Ford Windstar Problems
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I'm also thinking about selling it before something else happens, but right now the transmission has been getting gradually worse about going into reverse (delays/slips) after setting all night. The dealer said nothing is wrong. If anyone with knowledge of this vehicle could tell me what they think is wrong with the tranny, and about what should it cost to get it fixed at a non-dealer repair shop. We love the van whenever it is not broken, but we are so gun shy now, we will probably sell it, any thoughts out there?
Now I am really considering getting a new van before the problems start.
I'm wondering what Ford is doing (if anything) about this. From what I've seen they have paid for some of the blown head gaskets, but not the transmission problems - is that somewhat true? If something does happen are there some sources out there that I can use to help me in dealing with the service dept? Any info would be appreciated. Thanks
As for anything that can help you with the service department, Blue Oval News has a lot of useful inside information on all Ford products, so you may want to spend some time browsing that website.
Good luck!
Drew/aling
Townhall Community Leader/Vans Conference
problem with the power door. At first the salesman said it was caused by a dead battery since he said that people often don't close the door completely when looking at cars on the lot. However, after he jumped the battery I immediately figured out that the problem was the door not the battery. The door would close and then kick back. When I played with it for awhile it closed and then wouldn't open. The dealer assured us that he
would have the problem corrected. We bought the car on Friday, but it is still at the dealership waiting for an "adjustment". I went on the
internet today and saw that at least 2 to 3 other people have had this problem with their 2000 model in the last 6 months. Only one person
indicated that the problem was fixed to their satisfaction.
Have others had the same problem and was it satisfactorily corrected? What was the problem. Any ideas regarding what we should do? Please let me know because we are supposed to bring our credit union check to the dealer on Tuesday. Thanks
Drew/aling
Townhall Community Leader/Vans Conference
cracks. I too was extremely disappointed that a
relatively new vehicle was having that problem.
I took mine in to my Ford dealership. The person
that looked at it told me that something
definitely was not right, but he couldn't tell me
what might be causing the condition. He said that
I should take it by the body shop (at a different
location). I have not done so yet but will post
my findings when I do. Your hypothesis certainly
seems reasonable to me. I kind of suspect this is
a wide spread problem with the way those roof
channels were designed. Not to mention the
annoying gushing of water that runs down my wind-
shield during a rain every time I come to a stop.
my '99 LX. I had to take it to the body shop for
adjustment. Unfortunately, I do not know exactly
what they did.
In general, I have been very disappointed with
the reliability of my Windstar. I own(ed) two
other Ford vehicles in the past: a Thunderbird
and an F-150 pickup. I've had no problems with
either of these vehicles. So when it was time
to purchase another bigger, family car, I boasted
and pleaded with my wife (a devout Honda owner) to
buy a Windstar for its safety rating and more
powerful engine. Little did we know then. Now
I look like a fool in front of the worst person
to look foolish (my wife ;-) At the time, we had
considered buying a Honda Odessy (sp?), but would
had to wait for six months. We needed something
faster than that and thought we were getting
something just as good with the Windstar. Oh
well, live and learn. Unfortunately, I am a
young guy and Ford will be missing out on many,
many years of my business.
i took it back for the recall, thats when my problems started. two days later the gasket started to leak antifreeze, i took it back to metro ford in miami they redid the work the problem resurfaced two months later, when i took it back they told me it was the thermo stat and heater hose cost 17900 dollars, that did not correct the problem , next they said that it was the water pump 375.00 , that did not correct the problem, next the radiator had to be replaced 250,00 that did not fix the problem, finally they redid the head gasket ,which incidently i told them that was the problem , they kept the car 1 month. i am sure that the ford motor company knows about this problem and should declare this vehicle a lemon and give all the owners their money back, just like they are doing with those bad firestone tires they put on their explores never by a ford car or suv lets run them bums out of business.
If you just need a plain steel one I found out that the factory option full size spare for a Windstar is in fact a regular Taurus wheel. Unless the guy in the parts dept at the dealer is pretty savvy he won't realize this. I had to get 4 for my snowtires on my 95 WS and it was a lot cheaper asking the Ford dealer to get a Taurus one than a Windstar one! God knows why! There should be after market ones now also, there weren't any in 94 when I needed them. Those Taurus wheels have lasted 6 Midwest winters and I'm hoping they fit on my 2000 WS.Anyone know if the brake rotors/drums are bigger on the latest WS compared to the old one? Try tirerack.com for aftermarket steel ones if the Ford dealer wants too much for Taurus ones, they usually sell them for about $40 each.
If you do your homework, you may be able to build a successful small claims court case.
I'm going to buy a van, 97 or 98. Possible choices are Ford WS, Nissan Quest, Pontiac Montana, Chevy Ventura (Caravan and Voyager have too bad crash test results, Mazda MPV or Toyota Sienna are too expensive). Now I have Previa 91, it is pretty roomy inside and I wouldn't like to go into significantly smaller car. Any ideas which of those four is better? Also I probably will take an extended warranty for about 3 years. Is it important form which dealer to buy a car in order to be able to get such a warranty? Which warranty is better?
Thanks in advance for any ideas.
Andrey
I would like to say that Ford did pay for the tranny, but we had to come up with $500 for labor and another $900 for the power steering system.Not to mention that it took 10 days to get fixed and I still made the payment on it even though I didn't get any use out of it.
HEY FORD- ARE YOU READING THIS!!! This is only the 2nd Ford we have owned. We also had trouble with the 87 Taurus we bought. I don't know what would compel us to buy another new vehicle from Ford, but in this case two strikes and you're out.
If you are reading this, I bought my van at Korum Ford in Puyallup, WA.
The parts are allegedly on natl back order and very hard to find.
This fix is covered by both bumper to bumper & emissions warrantys.
FoMoCo allows 1.5 hrs to complete the fix which also includes carbon removal.
I have been working this problem on my Windstar with my Dealer since Apr of this year @ 19k miles and am hopeful that this TSB solves it as during optimum pinging conditions the pinging is brutal. Dealer has had my car for about a week so far but has given me a no-charge loaner 2000 Contour to keep me rolling.
Dont let anyone tell you to use premium gas.
Good luck to us all - and there are a bunch of us pingers out there.
What was the problem and how was it corrected.
TIA
Carl Keehn
How bad is your engine? Could you nurse it along for five months or even park it until the lease is over? If it is still driveable, sideline the van, rent something in the interim, and dump off on Ford later. If you have to replace the engine, don't go through Ford. Find a junkyard, replace the engine with one from another 98 WS, and hopefully no one will notice. Could save you 2,000 +. You could always try to fight Ford. Good luck, Wes.
I guess at Ford, the motto IS NOT "Produce a good product and the profit will naturally follow". Instead, it's "Lets get the profit now and hope we aren't forced to fix our longstanding screwups". I have returned to GM and I hope to God that nobody in my large family ever buys another Ford. They are one lousy company!
TIA
Carl
Didn't have any problems beforehand, didn't take them long to work on it, and don't have any problems with it now.
Good luck.
I have a 99 SE 3.8 liter with most all the bells and whistles. I have the trailer towing package. At 33,000 miles I have had only one problem - the idle air valve failed. Power doors have been fine. Electrical fine. Occasional jerky downshift. Tires appear that they will go about 50000 miles. Front brakes are about 60% worn and back about 30%. It tows a 3000 lb Coleman trailer very well. We have towed about 7000 miles so far. 80 mph once, 8600 feet in altitude once and across the Mojave at 105 degrees. Temperature rock
steady. Towing we get 16 - 17 mpg. Normal driving about 20 mpg. Highway about 23 - 24 mpg. We did get 9 mpg once, driving at slow speed, up and down hills around Atlanta, house hunting. This engine has never pinged, and I burn the cheapest gas I can find. As a 15 year aircraft mechanic, I am impressed as to my engine's ability to use any fuel with no complaints. An aircraft engine with that high compression ratio would need 130 octane fuel. A note to readers of this list: most people who post here have been having problems. You generally don't hear from people who are happy. So far, I like my van very much. I hope the next 100,000 go as well for me!
P.S. The early 90's Honda I owned was no great work of art - it had a whole list of it's own problems. The Japanese are not the end all to beat all.
Ken
they are waiting on a "new computer part" to install. quite frankly i'm sick of waiting. i tried the 800 number and the guy i talked to just listened to me complain without giving me any solutions. i don't think i will ever trust that it is reliable - so ford can have it back - unless any of you want it