I love this van
Rusting bad on bottom panels.
Normal wear and tear.. replaced battery, starter, etc.
This van is very roomy. I have hauled a double bed inside of it.
This van runs very well in the winter; always surprises me!
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 8th November, 2012
Great van, so reliable!
Had a tranny leak for years before it was fixed in 2008.
Had a problem with the starter in 2008, replaced it, there were still issues starting the van -- turned out to be a loose bolt, was an easy fix.
In 2006 the sliding door broke -- is still broken, but can be fixed if you manually open the metal clasp with your hand and push in just the right way.
In 2009 the heater hoses blew. It was a hot day and we were driving uphill and didn't notice the temp gauge (which definitely warned us ahead of time!). Hubby did a makeshift fixjob and poured our water bottles into it and we were fine, but it was a COLD NIGHT driving in the cold mountains with no heat!
What a reliable vehicle! Has only broken down TWICE in ten years!
Once I can't remember why, once because the heater hoses blew (very easy fix).
It's fast, it's very affordable to drive, and it's comfortable. The heat and A/C work great as does the radio. The back has lots of room for the dogs.
This has been an awesome vehicle -- for about 8 years was our only vehicle and did mostly highway and around-town driving. For the last two years, we have used it for all of our major traveling because it has been so reliable. The rest of the time now it sits.
We're upgrading to something newer because of how much traveling we've been doing, and I'll be very frightened it won't be as good as this van. It's never let us down, and I'll be sad to see it go.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 29th March, 2010
Excellent
At around 180000, the headlight switch started to melt, and the headlights would flicker off and on. So I went to the junk yard, and found one not so melted. I by-passed the headlights with a toggle switch (20 amp) and mounted it next to the original. So now I use the original for the dash lights, and the toggle for the headlights. This eliminated the melting caused by the short in the headlight circuit.
At 190000, the passenger window quit working; haven't fixed it yet. Luckily the A/C is cold as ice, front and back.
Replaced the muffler at around 175000.
Regular maintenance: oil, brakes, windshield wipers, tranny fluid, battery, etc.
Never has it broken down on me. My father-in-law bought it brand new. The only thing we had to replace was the starter solenoid at 120000, and it was $15, and took 5 minutes to replace.
It started running a little rough at 200000, so I add 1 ounce of acetone to every 10 gallons of gas every fill up, and try to avoid ethanol blend. Now it runs better than when I first bought it; smoother acceleration and better gas mileage, about 21 mpg.
Drivers side window needs help when going down, like it's bound up, but it goes up just fine.
I love this van. I've owned many cars, and Ford always drive the longest, and Honda. I hope I never have to get rid of it.
So much room, I can haul anything in it.
The driver seat is actually more comfy than the Cadillac I owned before it.
Does not burn oil, and leaks about a dime-sized spot every week on the garage floor.
Does not burn or leak tranny fluid.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 5th January, 2010
I totally agree with all your comments regarding your 1994 Aerostar Van. I have one (1994 w/04 engine) It has 393,000 miles, and it still runs great. It has never used oil, but I do have to keep up with the transmission fluid. It does not leak, but somehow uses it. According to mine, you still have many thousand miles of great driving in front of you. It is getting sort of like an old airplane; I have to do a preflight each time it is driven, but so far it has never let me down.
At this stage, I figure that if it stops running while on the road, I can just walk away after hanging a flower on the front bumper.
Jack.
Ha ha. That's funny about the pre-flight check. I have a few toggle switches by-passing a few of my electrical issues.
I still get ice cold A/C too. My universal joint just started squeaking. It's about $50 in parts. Not bad for the now 230k Aerostar.
"I have to do a preflight..."
Is yours blue? I think I saw it flying over a hill in the High Mileage Oil commercials a few years ago. ;-)
Haha. No, mine is silver with the blue bottom part.
On a lighter note, I replaced the universal joints this weekend. It runs smooth again. Sounds great.
Sad news. I traded in the van at 234k. It was still running, the tranny was starting to act up in the morning. Took a few to change gears. I just had a newborn and now I have 3 kids. No time to spend on old vannie the van.
Going to miss it.
I have got a Nissan Versa sedan S/SL. I'm going to miss the space, but not having to fill up so much is nice too.
10th Nov 2012, 02:41
It has the best fold-down rear-bed (rear-seat) ever made in any mini-van ever.
In the most basic form, with the Mazda stick shift transmission, this van is amazing. The automatic had a predictable and 100% (or so it seems) failure rate in the automatics at about 140,000 miles, but the stick shift would go forever.
It's actually no different from the Ranger and the early Explorers... which it shares most all of its components. Our stick shift had only the ignition module fail ($30 fix) in years of ownership. And I bought it with over 175,000 miles, in near throw away condition. New brake rotors and brakes, new tires, and it ran like a dream.
We found later that the rear seat fold down bed was a secret Ford should have advertised better. It made for a lot of comfortable long distance drives. We'd go from San Francisco to Phoenix at the drop of a hat, never had a problem. And got an honest 26 MPG from the great 2.8 V6. Never had a problem except for the ignition module. Knowing what I know now, I would have replaced it before it failed.
What a great van! Built like a truck! Because it actually is a truck. If I ever find an old one with the basic 3.0 and a stick shift, I'd buy it in a second.