This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
I have a 2000 Ford Windstar minivan. The vehicle began handling erratically when hitting bumps in the road. Upon inspection after arriving home, the driver side rear wheel is tilted in at the top and the rear trailing axle is snapped on the driver side at a spot previously repaired under recall. The local Ford dealership can't do anything as the vehicle isn't currently under recall. This is a dangerous problem that wasn't fixed properly the first time and a mandatory recall should be opened.
The contact owns a 2000 Ford Windstar. While driving at approximately 35 mph, an abnormal rattling noise was coming from the rear of the vehicle. The failure recurred on several occasions while driving at various speeds. The contact also stated that on one occasion, the rear drivers side wheel emitted smoke. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was discovered that both rear wheels were bent inward. As a result, the rear axle, rear coil springs and rear axle assembly needed to be replaced. The rear tires were also damaged and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 129,000.
The contact owns a 2000 Ford Windstar. While driving approximately 55 mph, a loud popping noise was heard coming from the rear of the vehicle. The vehicle suddenly became undrivable. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the rear axle fractured. The vehicle was repaired and, approximately one month after the initial repair, the failure recurred. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and was informed that the vehicle was previously repaired under NHTSA campaign number: 10V385000 (suspension). The failure mileage was 103,000.
The contact owns a 2000 Ford Windstar. The contact stated that while performing a routine service, it was found that the vehicle's under carriage was completely corroded. The vehicle was serviced under NHTSA campaign number: 12V194000 (suspension); however, the remedy failed to repair the vehicle. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 106,000. Updated 11/09/15 updated 12/08/15.
The contact owns a 2000 Ford Windstar. The contact stated that there was abnormal swaying in the rear of the vehicle. The contact mentioned that the vehicle started experiencing the failure after it was repaired under NHTSA campaign id number: 12V194000 (suspension). The vehicle was taken to the dealer. The vehicle was inspected and the technician noticed that the rear tires were bent outward and the sub frame was cracked. The brackets and the body mount attachments failed to support the frame and underbody of the vehicle. Also, an independent mechanic indicated that the brackets were not correctly installed to support the frame. The mechanic retained the vehicle for parts and indicated that the repair was extensive. The contact no longer owns the vehicle. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and refused to provide a remedy because the recall repair was already completed. The failure mileage was not available.
- Columbus, OH, USA
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The contact owns a 2000 Ford Windstar. While driving at approximately 15 to 20 mph, the rear axle snapped in half without warning. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact stated that the failure was directly related to NHTSA campaign number: 12V195000 (suspension); however, the vehicle was not included in the recall. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 160,000.
On my way home from work on Friday July 24, 2015 at about 10:00 P.M. the back of my 2000 Ford Windstar started bouncing. I slowed down fortunately and a few blocks later there was loud bang and the van veered into a right turn and spun around coming to a stop less than a foot from a large light pole. I was close enough to walk to my house and I called aaa and they towed the van back to my workplace. Upon inspection I saw that the axle had snapped in two right next to a repair that Ford had previously done under a recall. When I called Ford's customer service I was informed that the axle recall had been successfully completed in 2010 and any further issues with this vehicle are not their problem. I am very lucky that I was not on an expressway when this happend as it would likely be one of my family members writing this and not me, not to mention other vehicles that may have been around me at the time. I would now worry about any Windstar driving around me.
I bought my van used just a month before I noticed this defect, I came outside to get in the van and noticed the rear wheels leaning slightly inward at the top. My son in law inspected it further to discover that the rear axle had bent. Upon further investigation we discovered that there had been a recall on all Ford Windstar models between 1998 and 2003. We notified Ford and they told us that this vehicle had already been recalled and repaired in 2011 and the repair had a 12 month warranty. My son in law checked and sure enough there were repair sleeves wrapped around the rear axle at both ends. This repair did not fix the original problem because the rear axle had cracked right under where the repair sleeve was placed and had bent bad, bad enough that both rear tires were rubbing the inner fenders at the top and the van was sitting much lower in the rear end than it should have been. Thank god I had noticed the problem before the axle completely cracked in half the rest of the way because there is nothing else holding the rear wheels onto the vehicle and if I was driving the wheel and part of the axle could have flown off to who knows where and possibly killed me and whoever else was in the van. I've had to completely replace the rear axle with another part from another van which is also defective and will soon have to be replaced again. Ford takes no responsibility for this past the original "fix" which was warrantied for only 12 months. The recall was not a good fix and seems to have only been a band aid to keep customers quiet until the warranty on it runs out. I have done research online and found that this is not an isolated incident and in fact has happened to many hundreds of people, coincidentally around the same time as my incident happened.
The contact owns a 2000 Ford Windstar. While making a right turn, the vehicle felt as if it were driving over a bump. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic. The technician diagnosed that the rear axle was fractured and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The contact mentioned that the vehicle was previously repaired under an unknown manufacturer recall. The approximate failure mileage was 285,000.
The contact owns a 2000 Ford Windstar. The contact stated that while coming to a complete stop, a loud popping noise emitted outside of the vehicle and the rear end collapsed. The vehicle was towed to the contact's residence. In 2011, the vehicle was repaired under NHTSA campaign number: 10V385000 (suspension); however, the remedy was insufficient. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified. The approximate failure mileage was 176,000.
The contact owned a 2000 Ford Windstar. While driving approximately 40 mph, the vehicle struck a bump in the road and began to sway. The contact lost control of the vehicle, struck a fire hydrant, flipped over three times, and landed upside down. The driver and the front passenger were knocked unconscious. The passenger in the rear of the vehicle was not wearing a seat belt and was nearly thrown from the vehicle. All of the passengers sustained injuries that required medical attention. A police report was filed. The vehicle was a destroyed. The VIN was included in NHTSA campaign number: 11V030000 (structure); however, the contact never received the notice. The approximate failure mileage was 117,000.
The contact owns a 2000 Ford Windstar. While driving at a low speed, the contact heard a loud noise and a burning rubber odor. Upon further inspection, the contact noticed that the rear passenger tire was rubbing on the frame of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to a dealer. The technician diagnosed that the rear axle needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was previously repaired under NHTSA campaign number: 12V195000 (suspension). The failure mileage was 117,000.
I brought my car into the dealership in response to the tsb letter that I received regarding the rear axle premature failure back in Feb of 2011. They performed recall (10S13) where they inspected axle (found no cracks), installed brackets and painted the axle. 4 years later almost to the day of receiving this "fix" I noticed that the driver's side rear wheel was caving in at the top, which was a sign for breaking rear axle. I brought it into the dealership to have it inspected and they confirmed that it was broken rear axle. I requested it to be repaired under the same recall but was refused service due to the service that I received in 2011. I called Ford's warranty customer service hotline but was refused for any kind of support. Obviously Ford's "fix" was not enough to rectify this safety issue, so I think they should reimburse any costs related to getting the rear axle replaced. The cost of repair in total was $800.37.
The contact owns a 2000 Ford Windstar. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 50 mph, there was an abnormal noise coming from the rear and the vehicle veered to the left and right. The contact discovered that the rear axle fractured. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed that the rear axle needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired under NHTSA campaign number: 12V195000 (suspension) but the failure recurred three years later. The contact stated that the remedy failed to repair the vehicle. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 109,723.
The contact owns a 2000 Ford Windstar. The contact stated that while driving at 5 mph, the rear axle fractured. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 129,000.
I was driving and without any warning the van just made a huge sound, and went left to right and back several times. Very scary! I almost lost control of it. I had just left the highway! I managed to slow down and move the van by the side of the street. After full stop, went to look and noticed that the rear axle was almost touching the ground and looked broken in half! I remember the van went thru a recall in 2012 (07-19-2012) and had been taking care by suntrup Ford. I found the papers today about that recall and the invoice from the dealership with the listing of the work done per Ford. My take is that the recall was not done properly or the recall was not demanding enough. The brackets installed did not do the job to make this vehicle safe! I took photos.
The contact owns a 2000 Ford Windstar. The contact stated that the rear axle reinforcement brackets became fractured. The contact stated that the vehicle was serviced under NHTSA campaign number: 10V385000 (suspension) several months ago. The contact stated that the recall remedy failed to repair the vehicle. The vehicle was towed back to the dealer. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 189,000. The vine was unavailable.
The contact owns a 2000 Ford Windstar. The contact indicated that there was extensive rust on the underbody, frame, brackets, and other components of the vehicle. Also, the suspension was unstable. The vehicle was taken to an independent repair shop where it was diagnosed that the vehicle was unsafe to drive. The technician stated that the frame may fracture and the rust to the frame and underbody was extensive and almost corroded. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was not included in NHTSA campaign numbers: 12V194000 (suspension), 10V385000 (suspension), and 11V030000 (structure). The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 86,000.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Cassopolis, MI, USA