18th Nov 2006, 18:49
I am another upset (2003) Windstar owner. My ABS and Brake warning lights have been on for months and no one at the dealer can tell me why. The rear seats don't recline, even though the owners manual says they do... The dealer who sold it to me said this is an optional feature not available in my van... I have never heard of none-reclining rear seats and have owned three vans before this one. There is a loud chirping noise coming from the engine... can't wait to hear how much that will cost. The door seal on the passenger side leaks and the car gets wet anytime it rains. Same for the back overhead door. This is also the loudest car I have ever driven. I am definitely never buying a Ford again.
4th Dec 2006, 08:12
Yup.. Think I have figured it out.
There is an ad in this weeks Trading Post classifieds Issue #48 Fort Wayne.
2000 Ford Wind-star 93000 on body 38000 on engine. $4200. Think I know why.
I own a 1988 Ford Aerostar Cargo. Had a rebuilt engine with transmission put in it. Bought 7 years ago. Now I know this is the norm for Ford mini vans.
PAID $1200 FOR IT.
Thought it was a good deal The guy that sold it to me was very upset at the dealer. He had just put in an engine, tranny all brakes, tires, springs, shocks. Other parts.
The dealer only would give him $1200 for it. Think I know why now. And I will not buy another Ford.
4th Nov 2007, 11:54
Wow. Have a 2000 Windstar. I have had the EGR valve lite on for a year now. My mechanic (not at the dealership... had bad experience there in the past) did the diagnostic, and replaced the solenoid when all other parts of the EGR system seemed to function properly...valve, etc. The lite came back on. Wound up replacing the valve, and all the hoses. Still the lite comes on. Then suddenly last November it went out. Stayed out until Spring, suddenly on again. Ironically, just when they changed the gas back to the SUMMER FUEL MIX (might just be a California thing). I am convinced that the lite will go out again in a few weeks, when the gas changes back to the harder stuff. Now also having intermittent problems with the ABS lite coming on. Then going out and waiting a few weeks, coming back on again. Had the system checked out, was told it could be rust or a bit of dirt in the sensor, or some minor thing... the brakes are fine otherwise. Vehicle has 117,000 miles on it, I only drive about 8,000 miles per year these days, so I was hoping to keep it a lot longer. My last Windstar (1995 model) lasted until it had 190,000 miles, then started leaking engine oil which could not be fixed without putting in a new engine, so I bought a newer Windstar. Getting nervous - hate having that darned fix engine lite on all the time. But my mechanic checks it periodically, and it is still because of the phantom EGR problem. So I just ignore it.
19th Feb 2008, 23:19
I hate my Ford Windstar 2000. Transmission was replaced twice and many other parts. I promised myself to avoid any Ford car in the future. Don't buy Ford!
26th Feb 2008, 18:41
I also had 95 windstar which seemed to be holding up well so I purchased 2000 model new. WORST decision I ever made. Ford really did us wrong. Same as many other comment about the phantom lights, pings, etc. Now I am facing total engine replacement. Time to go to Junk heap. I will never buy FORD (fix or repair daily) again. The 95 Windstar is still tooling along. Has a transmission shimmy and suffered broken motor mounts for some weird reason but at least it runs. Thanks Ford.
3rd Apr 2008, 16:13
I will never buy a ford again. I bought a Ford Windstar 2000 in 2003. I have to change the transmission. $2500.00.The check engine came on the same year $300.00. The year after it came on again and it still on. I will not put no more money again.
Don't buy a ford windstar.
21st May 2008, 14:46
I bought my 2000 ford windstar brand new, 8 years ago. I've been taking pretty good care of her and she's been taking pretty good care of me. I replaced the transmission last year, and expect to get another 7 years out of this baby.
My mechanic told me that sometimes you get a good one... I did.
30th Jun 2008, 14:40
You got 7 years out of the tranny and you think it's a "good one" and its "taking care of you"? That statement just goes to show how little domestic car owners have come to expect! Buy a Toyota or Honda, and in 20 years you will be saying "this thing is still running great on the ORIGINAL engine and tranny". I have a 2000 Windstar (my wifes), a Honda sedan, and a Toyota truck. As soon as the Ford starts starts acting up I will push it off a cliff and buy my wife a Honda or Hyundai van.
5th Dec 2005, 20:44
I fully agree - this car is a piece of junk. I bought one used at 28,000 miles. The car pinged almost all the time. I was in the shop every month or two. They never could fix it. Ford refused to replace the engine even though they admitted it shouldn't ping and couldn't fix it. I should have sued them then, but was too busy with other problems.
The transmission was leaking. I told them it was between the engine and transmission. They replaced the pan gasket. This was under warranty. 2000 miles later, I noticed the leak again. This time they said it was a torque converter. Now out of warranty, that would be $1,200. I told them it was the same problem as before, they just misdiagnosed it. They said no way could they have made such a mistake. After fighting for weeks and threatening to bring Ford and the dealer to small claims court, they paid $1,000 of it. Three months later, it is leaking again. I go in and they say it's the pan gasket again. They fix it under warranty of the previous repair, but I have them write on the invoice I disagree and state it is between the engine and transmission. A month later it is still leaking, they now replace the torque converter again, and this time give me the other $200 back for the first repair, thus admitting the first mistake.
At 80,000 the check engine light came on. Same deal as in this review. Tear apart the top of the engine and also replace a valve cover with a new design. Pretty much admitted it was a known design error which if they had notified customers about, could have been fixed for less than $100 before all the trouble it caused with other components. Now the cost was $1000. Once again I threatened them with court action and this time they just paid me the whole amount up front; well actually Ford paid half and the dealer, bless their hearts this time, did the honorable thing and covered the other half. I will never buy another Ford. They don't care about their customers and you can see why they're one step from bankruptcy.