1997 Ford Aerostar XLT Sport 3.0 V6

Summary:

Excellent on Flatlands

Faults:

The rear air conditioning has stopped working. If anyone knows what it may be please comment.

General Comments:

Great vehicle just came back from a 2500km vacation with it.

Slow acceleration.

Not very good on inclines in the hills.

Great mileage and very comfortable seating was great and interior is great shape.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 1st June, 2005

1997 Ford Aerostar XLT 3.0 gas

Summary:

Very well though-out van

Faults:

Alternator went out.

Starter went out.

Hose for anti-freeze blew.

General Comments:

AWESOME VAN!!!

Very reliable.

Seats; ehhh... they're OK.

Awesome gas mileage; 18-21 MPG.. not bad for an 8 yr old vehicle, huh?

Once again, very reliable; nothing major has gone wrong that we couldn't fix.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 15th May, 2005

14th Jul 2005, 21:44

I have an ex US Govt. van with 54K on it. The 3L engine works hard, but I usually get 21 to 25 on highway with it. Had a '91 AWD 4L that was fantastic, it probably is still on the road somewhere. It had a starter go out and broke the overdrive band in the transmission while I had it.

Overall these vans should go for 300K or so... if we can stand them that long.

1997 Ford Aerostar XLT Sport 3.0 litre

Summary:

Great to lug a ton of gear around in, reliable

Faults:

Power steering pump blew up 300 kilometres ago.

The van eats brakes, have replaced both front and rear twice and rear once by themselves, plus new rear drums, I think due to anti-lock rears.

Hard on tyres and alignment, has eaten a set of top of the range Canadian Tyre in 70,000 km, despite several alignments and rotating the tyres.

Engine was totally gutless until a dealer replaced some chips in the computer, afterwards whilst overtaking there would emit a distressing series of clicks from under the dash and the engine would respond by heaving away.

After the power steering pump was replaced, the new one was three times as noisey as the original, and I don't know why, but we started getting a random series of what can be only described as hissing from behind the passenger's seat, maybe a electrical switch?

BTW, when we asked why the power steering was as noisey as it was we were told by the dealer "it's just the way it is with those things"...

General Comments:

Cannot fault the practicality of the van.

It has been a reliable vehicle, despite the annoying problems.

On the highway, it is very comfy to drive and be a passenger in, even at time when I've really overloaded the thing.

Other than the items I've mentioned, it has been a great wagon, hence the high marks, it's not hard to see why people hang on to them.

Never drive this thing in the snow without really good snowies or sticking on some iron, it is absolutely uselss, it was a embarrasment to me several times last year...

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 1st January, 2004

1997 Ford Aerostar EXL 4.0

Summary:

A good performer if a small van is needed for towing

Faults:

Nothing to date. Only regular maintenance needed. Recall on all wheel drive transfer box. No problem with us and the dealer was very good.

General Comments:

Not as smooth as other vans. A bit of a bear in city traffic.

We used it to pull a trailer and was always amazed it could haul a 4,000 lb trailer 5 people and all the camping stuff with no problems.

AWD is great in the snow, but uses a bit of gas the rest of the year.

Comfortable to drive best going in a straight line as it tends to lean around corners. Stereo is OK at the best. Air conditioner is good.

Only complaint would be gas mileage and poor handling. Otherwise 6 years and 100,000 kilometers and no real problems. No plans on getting rid of it in next couple of years.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 13th September, 2003

1997 Ford Aerostar XLT 4liter

Summary:

Great van

Faults:

After 80000 miles a steady low sound is coming from the airfilter box at idle. This sound will go away once I depress the accelerator. Diagnostics at Ford did not register this anomaly. Radiator coolant temperature is not affected by this noise. Car seems to operate normal once the sound fades away after stepping on the gaspedal.

General Comments:

Great van,

4 liter is the right size.

Carry large loads,

Seats are easy removable.

Replacing spark-plugs is a virtual pain

It is a quiet vehicle.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 4th September, 2003