Faults:

An intermittent knock in the in the left front which no one can find the cause.

The transmission went at 70,000 miles.

The intake and exaust gaskets went at 75,000 miles. This cost $700 dollars. It went back the next day because the dealer installed the gasket upside down. They tried to charge us to repair their mistake.

Numerous oxygen sensors have been replaced.

The car lost all at 100,000 miles heat due to a faulty blend door assembly. The fix is between $1200-$1500 dollars. Cheaper than that $3000 for the transmission though.

There have been numerous other problems which were annoyances, but they cost money all the same.

General Comments:

Thus far I am severely disappointed with the car. My wife has written William Clay Ford JR and has received no satisfaction. In summary the car is poor quality and and reliability and I would have to echo the same for the Ford Motor Company and their dealerships. There is absolutely no regard for the customer after the purchase of the vehicle.

Faults:

Transmission blew at 85450.

General Comments:

Except for transmission going the Wind-star has been a reliable van for me. Just general maintenance for the most part.

Faults:

Brake problems.

Sensor issues.

Tire problems.

Transmission failure - with 69,207 kilometres on our van that had never been used to tow anything, the day before we were leaving on our holidays (in the van), the transmission went while driving. Faced with a tow truck, rental car for holidays and the unknown cost of the transmission repair, we left for holidays with our van at a dealer. While our extended warranty (purchased in addition) had expired past the number of months, we still were not even close to the kms.

At the scheduled time, four days after the Van was towed, we called the dealer from a pay phone (only available means while on holidays) and were told that the transmission needed to be replaced. The cost would be $3,900 + tax! $3,900??? You have got to be kidding? A new transmission with less than 70,000 kms on a vehicle that’s mainly driven around Kanata and never towed ANYTHING? When we asked the service person at the dealer how he would feel about this if it was his vehicle, he said that he would be very frustrated as well.

So, we called Ford Customer Service from the pay phone and explained everything to the representative. We asked the Customer Service rep how she would feel about it if it happened to her, and she said that she would be very upset as well. However, Ford would do NOTHING to stand by their product. While we explained that we felt that was a very good opportunity for Ford to keep a customer by offering some form of assistance, they stated that they could do NOTHING. So, we explained that we would NEVER purchase a Ford again. While we do believe that the dealership provided good repair service and the service manager maintained his cool with us as irate customers, we have lost complete faith in Ford and will NEVER purchase another one.

General Comments:

While the van provided the space required for carrying kids, it has certainly been a huge frustration for us with the large expenditure with such low usage. We will NEVER buy a Ford again.

Faults:

As soon as the vehicle was purchased, the check engine light came on..

The brakes and tie rods had to be changed out in 2003.

The brakes and tie rods had to be changed out again in 2005.

I noticed a little paint peeling in 2002, but thought nothing of it. Then while washing the van in 2005, I noticed large pieces of paint missing on the roof. In the fall of 2005 my daughter was scraping the front window and touched the hood. Immediately a large piece of paint flaked off. The van now looks like Ford forgot to prime the vehicle. I emailed Ford and was told this should be taken up with a dealership... I have brought the vehicle in to a dealer, who told me before hand that the warranty was over, for a check. I will be taking Ford to task over this condition.. A paint job should last at least 7 years.. and that should not include a complete bonding failure between the paint, primer and metal of the vehicle...

General Comments:

This vehicle has been quite good with the exception of the brakes and tie rods. These can be explained away with poor road conditions. The paint however is a different story. This cannot be explained anyway except poor quality by the manufacturer...