Faults:

The van runs great with the 138,000 miles on it. The biggest problem I have is the rear door. The rear door had badly worn shocks on it, which makes it very heavy and difficult to lift (but the door shut and operates perfectly). The hinges seem to be in good condition as well. I replaced the shocks with new shocks from the local parts store, now the bottom of the door hits the jamb (bottom of jamb) and the latch. I took the shocks back to the parts store, employee said he had never seen anything like this before. I then went to the local wrecking yard to look at and purchase Ford rear door shocks for my van. The very same thing happened again, the wrecking yard crew had never seen anything like this before either. They had a yard van (for carrying junk and parts) they used and had continously left the rear door open as they drove rather roughly through the wrecking yard, you guessed it, not a problem ever, opens and shuts perfectly every time. If you read this and have any thoughts or comments please email me at p69art@yahoo.com I'm at the end of my rope here and nobody around has ever seen or heard of this problem before. Thanks for your help in advance.

General Comments:

I love the van except for the rear door!

Faults:

The rear-end in mine went at around 145,000 Kilometers.

General Comments:

I have not had any other serious problems with this vehicle. Any other repairs have been normal wear and tear.

It is peppy for a large vehicle.

There is plenty of cargo room and seating for the family.

Faults:

Consumer reports gave a "black ball" to the Aerostar cooling system, but ours functioned well for 130,000 miles until replacement (radiator, water pump, fan clutch, thermostat, drive belt). This was our most expensive single repair to date at about $700.

At about 80,000 miles the ignition switch became loose so that the key would "rotate" within the switch and become jammed. Through experience we eventually learned how to live with it and never repaired it.

General Comments:

All other repairs to the car were not beyond what would be expected for a car with this many miles (minor leaks, electric window switch, etc.). I have read some unhappy reviews on the Aerostar, but I guess we were fortunate to land a reliable one.