2002 Ford Windstar from North America
Summary:
The slamming door issue makes it intolerably unsafe
Faults:
There has been a recall on the seat latches.
Mileage is poor.
The sliding doors slam shut like heavy guillotines.
General Comments:
When parking on even the slightest incline, (with the front of the van pointing downhill), the heavy sliding doors slam shut with such force it would break an adult's leg, or severely injure a child. On a hill, a person can hardly hold the door open to get in or out. There is no latch to keep the door in the open position, and no governor mechanism to slow the speed of closure.
When I brought this to the dealer's attention, they said it was "normal."
This is a tragedy waiting to happen. I will get rid of the van and not buy another Ford product because of their cavalier attitude toward safety.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No
Review Date: 12th April, 2004
6th Dec 2008, 22:20
Duh! the idiot light is there for a reason... the door is open..
I owned a 2002 Windstar SEL and it was the best decision I ever made; smooth, reliable and safe, it gave its life to save ours in a serious accident that totaled the van with 14K damage... hit a moose that jumped out of the ditch @ night.
11th Dec 2008, 15:04
Your comment is not nice. Besides it is about 2.5 years late and incorrect.
On the Windstar a door might be closed even though the door ajar light might still be on. The reason is that over time the door latches get sticky and need a good soaking with WD 40 to get unstuck so they will operate the integrated switches again.
23rd Dec 2008, 23:46
I have a 2002 Windstar Sport and I think it is no good. I have only had it less 2 years and I have done the transmission 2 times, done the radiator, stabilizers, computer block heater, and I still have more to fix; yes it looks and drives nice, but I will never buy a Ford again, what should I do? Can someone give me some ideas.
18th May 2005, 20:43
I have 2 wind star minivans 1998 and 2002. both of them are having the same problem. The door open warning signal on the dash board stays on after opening the rear hatch (door).Opening and closing the hatch will work sometimes, but most of the times the warning signal will go off on its own sometimes as long as days later.