24th Mar 2005, 09:31

Strongly agree with last two comments. It's all fine for now, but get ready to spend your life savings repairing everything that goes wrong with this van (i.e. head gasket, transmission, etc., etc).

My advice sell it FAST!!

17th May 2005, 16:33

I, too, loved my 99 Windstar. I have had it for almost two years. It was in mint condition when I bought it. The transmission has been making a clunking noise and I just barely parked it in front of the house with a bad gear slipping (1st to 2nd?). I guess it is there until I can pay for a new (rebuilt) transmission. Someone just told me they replaced their 99 Windstar transmission for a great price by a friend ($2500)! They also have a power steering problem. My steering wheel is jerking back and forth while I drive... Prior to this I had a hard time getting the dealer to fix my interior lights which flashed on and off continuously. They acted like it was the first time they ever heard of the problem. My grandchildren taped black paper over all the lights so I could drive at night. I had heard about the manifold, but was told by Ford it was the 96...Did not see anything in Consumer Reports regarding transmission when I bought it...

3rd Jul 2006, 23:09

Unload it right away - you're one of the lucky ones. Do yourself a favor and purchase a Japanese made mini van from Toyota or Honda. I had 3 Fords and will never ever buy a Ford again!

7th Feb 2007, 23:08

OK...I purchased a 1999 Windstar less than 2 years ago... in this time I have had to replace the rack and pinion ($800) and have the tranny rebuilt ($2700)...my engine light is now on and it is driving like complete garbage... it pulls hard to the left (apparently it cannot be properly aligned and requires a $400 adjustable strut tower brace)...it still shifts horribly and the steering wheel shakes for no reason... back in the shop this weekend... this will make 3 weekends in a row...yeah...great ride, FORD... NEVER EVER again will I buy a Ford... total nightmare from the start... oh yeah, even my armrest falls off every once in awhile...LOL.

8th Feb 2007, 10:51

This is my 2nd Windstar (1st was a 98), and both have been nothing short of great! The 1st had 140,000 miles on it when I sold it, and this one is working on 120,000. Both are/were very reliable, plenty of room, style, nice features, and good power and mileage. I think if anyone just takes the time and effort of good maintenance and services (you know, like actually changing oil and filters, something that most folks are too lazy to do nowadays) - the reward will be years of great and reliable service. Wonderful vehicle - would buy another in a minute!

23rd Nov 2008, 01:04

We recently traded in our 99' Ford Windstar. With almost 130,000 miles the motor was stated in needing a head gasket, and the transmission was starting to slip once in awhile.

I think that in view of the regular maintenance items, I recall that the antifreeze was only replaced once (had it for 7 years) possible cause of head gasket failure?

The engine was still quiet even with the problem. It handles well and rides even better, not bad gas mpg (20-21 mpg mixed), plenty of room for kids or cargo.

The seats are fairly heavy to remove however.

The transmission on the Fords are not very reliable, so if you get as much as we did then consider yourself lucky. Head gaskets for the 3.0L & 3.8L are common at higher miles also.

We had many a good trip with this van, nothing was replaced with the suspension (not even shocks), muffler replaced once, nothing out of the ordinary regular maintenance items, so it was reliable and never left us stranded in 7 years. Maybe we were lucky, but I kept up with maintenance (filters, brakes, tires, fluids except replacing the antifreeze) so I would recommend this van if you found a low mileage model.