1995 Ford Windstar GL 3.8 from North America
Summary:
Good ride, too many little problems
Faults:
The cigarette lighter in the front doesn't work.
The O2 sensors failed on vacation and were not available for a long time.
The door lock buttons broke.
The thermostat hung and caused the car to get hot at about 38,000.
The rear door lock failed around 40,000.
The windshield wiper cleaner container has not work since we got it.
The transmission failed at about 80,000 miles. Wrong type of sleeve in the transmission. Ford knows about it but doesn't care.
At 120,000 one of the computers failed, the speed sensor failed and the thermostat failed again.
Too many recalls.
General Comments:
The comfort and ride are fine.
The interior is a plus for us (2 teenage boys).
Overall I like the van, but the problems I have had are too many for me to buy another Windstar.
I have always liked and owned Fords, but after this van and the way both the dealer and Ford Motor treated us, I will likely buy something else in the near future.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know
Review Date: 4th February, 2001
28th Feb 2001, 13:55
I too have a '95 Windstar. While my experiences haven't been nearly as bad as yours, I agree about the head gasket thing. Getting any sort of acknowledgment that this was a known problem was impossible until mid-last year. Very, very annoying.
It's been OK for us, but I'll say this after its gone: That 3.8 V6 never really "ran right"; just OK. No matter how many times we had it in, it never ran as smoothly as you'd expect.