21st Dec 2002, 16:00

I have a 1997 Windstar, and it has been having the same speedometer problem. Oh happy day.

26th Jan 2003, 15:01

I own 97 windstar and have the same interior light problem with the warning noise from door ajar. I had it checked out by a Ford dealer, but the problems still existed. I cannot imagine that the driver will get used to this problem as they may think of it as a fault warning, then their kids open the door and fall out of the vehicle! Then it is too late for Ford to regret. A lawsuit could do way more damage then a recall could. Currently, I am unable to go anywhere without carrying a wrench along so I can disconnect the battery cable to prevent it from discharging. Added to this major problem we also suffer from a popping noise in the front suspension when stop and starting while driving. (stop signs or traffic lights, etc.) It is hard to imagine that such a large corporation like Ford would willingly let its loyal customers go unsatisfied. Future vehicles for my family and friends will definitely be persuaded by us and others to choose other than Ford.

27th Jan 2003, 17:21

I have all the same problems.

30th Jan 2003, 18:22

I found this site while searching for "ford windstar door sensor". We, too, are having problems with the door-ajar sensor going off (even though all doors have been checked and double-checked) and the interior lights staying on. My husband just disconnected the battery for the night. Not that I want to drive it tomorrow with that BELL going off!

In any case, I agree that this appears to be a problem that should be, or should have been, taken care of with a recall. If anyone decides to take action, we're ready and willing to jump on the bandwagon! luckymom@charter.net.

2nd Feb 2003, 13:49

1996 windstar

The door ajar light staying on with the continuous chime. I HAVE THAT PROBLEM ALSO!!!

Does anybody know how to disconnect the door ajar chime? There is no way I want to pay for a service call to fix this.

5th Feb 2003, 16:20

We have owned a 1997 windstar fresh off the assembly line since November 1996. It currently has 140,000km on it... and we have had most of these problems as well. The ABS light, check engine light, both for no reason after being checked by ford mechanics. Most recently my door sensor is showing and sounding that one of the doors is open. No door is open. ALL the interior lights stay on at all times. And the door lock/unlock gizmo at the rear door doesn't work. Now we are experiencing intermittent clunking under the floor boards up front. Because the clunking is intermittent they say they can't do anything about it till it is happening continually. We would never buy a ford windstar again... despite the fact that it is very comfortable for our family of 5.

13th Feb 2003, 13:51

I have a 1997 Windstar and have had it in numerous times for the interior lights staying on because of faulty door sensors. We now have 99,xxx miles on it and the warranty will be over soon. It is in the shop as now and this will be the last time they will be covered under warranty. I hope we can get this made a recall before I have to pay for it myself next time.

If you are reading these comments and have had the same problem, please add your comment. The more we have the better the ammunition we have to force a recall. Thanks.

16th Feb 2003, 14:43

Ditto to all this. My ABS light comes on, but is usually fixed if I add some brake fluid. The interior lights will also come on even though all doors are closed, I tried to "lube" up the rear tailgate sensors and it seemed to work. The speedometer problem though is out of control. It first started at speeds of only 65 mph or above, but now if I go over 30 its only a guess. Recently on an interstate trip I was using my stop watch to make sure I wasn't going over 70 mph! The weird thing is that the odometer works fine.

4th Mar 2003, 11:14

Our 95 Windstar has just reached 102,000 miles. Since we purchased it a few months ago with 86,000 on it, we have had to replace both front brake rotors and pads, rear brake shoes and the right rear wheel bearings. We recently developed a "clunking" under the floorboards, which I hope goes away after the shop replaces the right coil spring which just broke sitting in the parking lot. I assume it has been broken for a while, but "settled" while sitting in the parking lot.

Immediately after I jacked it up to inspect the coil spring, the dome light began to stay on constantly (but no door chime), and the front passenger door has to be slammed to close it. I used the factory provided jack, in the manual specified manner, and I theorize that somehow that sprung something to cause the door sensor to not make proper contact to turn off the light, and to cause the door closing difficulty.

Would love to hear if anyone has successfully resolved the dome light/ door ajar issue!

4th Mar 2003, 12:20

The doom light problem, is remedied by spraying each door latch with WD40. I went through a can. Make sure that you get both on the back Hatch. Really spray them good. Solved the problem.

But I am now up against the Speedometer problem. Bounces erratically at 50mph.

9th Mar 2003, 13:34

I have the same door ajar/light problem on my 98 Windstar! Just emptied a half of a can of WD40 in the latches, sanded the sliding door contacts... still have the problem!

If anyone has this figured out please reply...Thanks.

12th Mar 2003, 13:48

Have had the same problem with the door ajar light for about a year. Does anyone know how to disconnect the door sensors? If so, please tell me!!! Now the chiming sometimes continues even after the key is removed. The electric ignition switch was just replaced and didn't help, although if you jiggle (or sometimes just touch) the key slot the chiming will stop. The chiming now starts whenever the lights are turned on and continues until the speedometer hits 12 mph. Lots of fun at stop lights and drive-thrus!

13th Mar 2003, 21:07

Try the WD-40 in all the door latch mechanisms. It's certainly worth a try and I have read numerous posts on different sights where it has proven to be successful. This is a huge problem in MANY Ford vehicles, I happen to have a Sable with the same problem. Sometimes it takes a while for the WD-40 to work, but this is certainly worth a try.

17th Mar 2003, 18:07

A friend at the dealership told me when we bought our Windstar, that the sensor on the sliding door goes bad "all the time." It's the one with the four shiny "contacts" at the jam in the front. I was looking around for others with the same problem and figured I'd pass that along.