24th Mar 2003, 08:46

I also have had nothing but trouble with our 1995 Ford Windstar. Two transmissions, 3 O2 sensors, belt pulley, alt., my interior lights will not go off so the fuse had to be pulled, the dinging from the door being open, but is not never stops unless you reach the speed of 20 mph. ABS always malfunctions, continual brake problems, and these are just the ones I can recall off hand.

We have owned this wonderful transportation item for 15 months and have paid far more in repairs than we have in monthly payments for the vehicle.

Never ever again would I buy one of Fords mini-van products or encourage anyone else to do so.

Let's be careful out there!

Dwight.

31st Mar 2003, 07:25

I have a 1998 Windstar with the same exact problems. The door ajar light stays on in the dash and the interior lights stay on. Go figure!!!

31st Mar 2003, 11:09

Use WD-40 on the door hinges and electrical points. This will solve the problems for a while.

27th Aug 2003, 11:53

OK, here goes. This van is a piece of crap. The ABS light came on, and after I spent 350.00 to get new brakes all around, the next day it comes on again! You know what kind of response I got when I called them back?? "Huh?" I wonder what it could be? Also, there is this knocking on the front right end that is driving me crazy! Is it a strut, or this tire rod deal. NO MORE FORDS FOR ME!!!

6th Dec 2003, 15:59

I purchased my 1999 Windstar with 22,000 miles on it. It has been in the shop three times for the automatic door, 2x for power steering pump and its now broken a 3rd time. Speakers cut in and out. Seat belt completely broke. Rear internal light keeps falling down. Check engine light came on twice for the oxygen sensor. Power steering hasn't worked in at-least the last 7,000 miles. The car now has 45,000 miles on it. I drove it in to a small good reputation lot and unloaded for 10,000. I will never own another ford and I have called and written to tell them so.

26th Mar 2004, 21:55

I have been reading the comments about the Ford Windstar GL because I recently purchased a 1998 model. The problems I am experiencing are pretty much the same as what I have seen here. The Service Engine Soon light started lighting up and the engine died the day after I purchased it. The dealer "repaired" this as the light went out for a while, but before I had owned the car for 6 weeks the light was back on.

I am noticing a rough, jerky shifting in the transmission sometimes.

There is also an odd noise when turning the steering wheel. I have no idea what that is, but I do not like anything that has to do with the steering acting up.

The passenger automatic door lock sometimes does not work. There is also oil in the air intake line.

I am currently $13,000 in debt for this vehicle and not in a position to pay for major repairs. I wish I had seen your survey before this purchase.

I also think that there should be something consumers could do about this. Class-action lawsuits or something??

1st Jun 2004, 13:05

I have a 1998 Ford Windstar and have replaced the oxygen sensors four times. My husband's friend is a mechanic and sees no other problems with the van. I can be going 40 miles per hour and the van starts to buck and stall. I am very concerned because I transport my young children in it. Unfortunately my warranty ran out at 51,000 miles and there are only 53,000 miles on it. With the amount of money I still owe on the van, I am stuck.

19th Jun 2004, 18:37

I just bought a 1998 windstar gl and am having the same interior light problem. Pulled the fuse to save the battery. I cleaned the sliding door contacts, no help. Has anyone got a solution?

29th Jun 2004, 17:40

FORD (Fix, Or Repair Daily), with the emphasis on the word DAILY. And they call this a "Better Idea".

Is it any wonder that some elements of our society harp about "corporate greed". If you look up "greed" in the dictionary, I'll bet there is a picture of the FORD logo.

30th Jun 2004, 17:54

I own a 98 Ford Windstar GL. I too have had numerous electrical problems. Here are some of the symptoms and fixes.

• Door ajar light stay’s on, interior lights stay on for long periods of time, and sometimes there’s intermittent chiming. The fix was to replace the back hatch switch and the sliding door switch. It has been four month’s and no more problems.

• The van stalls after driving for a while. The fix was a bad fuse to the fuel pump. The mechanic did a diagnostic, but did not find it at first. The van was running for a while, as it was being pulled out of the garage it started stalling. A diagnostic was performed again and the readout was (note m found bad fuse connection). What happened was that when the engine was hot the fuse spread apart... when the engine cooled the fuse closed, therefore the computer did not read a bad fuse.

Hope this helps somebody.

8th Sep 2004, 14:50

The Windstar interior light can stay on because the latch switches in the rear hatch are sticking. You can fix that problem with a squirt of WD-40. Don't let a mechanic talk you into replacing this switch until you try lubricating it first. Some people also report that they have to clean the contacts on the sliding side door, but I have never seen a problem with the contacts.

For all of you paying to replace tie rods that are making noises, STOP REPLACING GOOD TIE RODS! Go to Autozone and buy a grease injection needle and good grease gun. Inject the grease into the rubber boot on the tie rod. The tie rods just need grease and are probably not bad.

2nd Oct 2004, 13:40

I have owned a 1995 Ford Windstar for 4 years. I have and still am experiencing the same problems. The door ajar light stays on. The interior lights stay on about an hour after the van is turned off. The service engine light came on once right before my emissions test. They would not test the vehicle, so when I had it looked at, the mechanic said there was nothing wrong with it. I could go on and on about my van, but you've heard it all before. What's up with that?