Faults:

My starter went bad at 106,000 miles.

My alternator went bad at 108,000 miles.

Oil has been disappearing since 105,000 miles. Mechanic can't find a leak, and it doesn't appear to be burning oil.

Power sliding doors only work approximately 50% of the time.

Van died while driving at 120,000 miles. First mechanic couldn't find anything wrong with it. I picked it up, drove 20 miles before it died at highway speed. Had it towed home. Drove it to my mechanic a few days later, and it has been there for the past 2 weeks. No one can figure out what is wrong.

General Comments:

I have owned this car for 8 months, of which, 4 months it has been undriveable.

The interior is very nice and comfortable.

Van gets decent gas mileage (when it runs). About 21-22 highway, 19 in town.

Faults:

Transmission, brakes, bearings. That is about it aside from preventive and routine.

General Comments:

This was my second Windstar. I bought out the three year lease at 68,000 rather than pay the mileage overage.

The vehicle up to about 110,000 ran trouble free outside of routine maintenance. Then, the transmission was replaced at the cost of $3000.

Even with that, the vehicle costs about 500-800 per year in repair bills over and above routine. We love this car. It now has a cracked rear axle that I will not replace, so I am selling it accordingly for $500.00.

I must say, overall, the car is just great in every respect. Again ran well for 180,000 miles. Wish Ford still made a mini-van! We loved the car and have had a great time with the kids on all sorts of trips and adventurers. I have been through some very bad snow storms with this car and it handled like a dream.

I arrive relaxed and in good spirit as the vehicle is very comfortable. I was commuting between Philadelphia, Newport RI and Annapolis Maryland quite a bit in this car, so most of the miles are highway.

I am now looking to buy a 2005 or later Freestar Ltd. If I was able, I would indeed be purchasing a 2008 or 2009 Town & Country Ltd.

Faults:

There is probably not enough room in this comment area to report all of the issues I have had with a Windstar, not once, but shame on me... twice.

I purchased a 1995 Windstar new in 95. Within 3 months the head gaskets blew. With two young children in car seats, this was devastating. Ford refused to pay for the repair initially so we did this (not cheap for a young family). After making several calls and complaints, they said this was a unique issue and they were not at fault. Several months after this, there was an article in the local newspaper stating that so many people had complained of this issue that Ford was consenting to pay for the repairs... really dishonest. I genuinely liked the van though until it started having multiple electrical system issues.

The coolant began seriously leaking. Ford of course said that there was not an issue each time I took it for repairs or complained.

When it was time to purchase a second car a while later (had one in between), I thought what the heck... they must have worked out the kinks by now, so I purchased a used 2001 Windstar SEL with 36000 miles.

Once again the electrical system is erratic, the engine/exhaust light has been on for years now, the transmission has failed, the doors open and close and to put the final nail in the coffin, the paint has bubbled and peeled of the hood and roof channel. I was told that even though this is a manufacturer defect in the primer (it was baked on hard and the paint didn't adhere properly, they won't cover it because I bought it used? Huh??? Can you say customer service and return business? I guess not. I will never purchase another Ford vehicle.

General Comments:

Ford has such poor customer service, regardless of the product, that even if I loved the vehicle, I would not purchase a product that the manufacturer will not stand behind!