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.
The contact owns a 2002 Ford Windstar. While driving at 60 mph, the rear passenger side axle fractured. As a result, the vehicle veered into a ditch and the contact lost control of the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to a dealer, who diagnosed that the rear axle was corroded and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact was aware of NHTSA campaign number: 12V195000 (suspension); however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 230,000.
My wife was driving down the highway to meet me for lunch and all of a sudden with no warning the back axle broke going 60 miles an hour which made her lose control and then crashed her van in a ditch Ford says they won't cover it because it's part of not part of the recall which is crap because they recalled 500,000 more vans just like it with the same problem but they say they won't do anything for me don't understand
I am writing before I encounter a serious problem on the road. While in for state vehicle inspection, my mechanic noted that the rear axle "repair" (a reinforcement bracket) on my 2002 Windstar van is failing. It can look ok on the lift, but once weight is put on the axle, the seriousness of the cracking is apparent. The repair was made by a Ford dealership in 2011 under recall 10S13. I already spoke with Ford customer service, and they say there is nothing they can do because the recall was completed. I am now waiting to see if the dealership that made the repair can help to correct the problem they (Ford) have acknowledged exists, but without an adequate fix to date.
Rear axel cracked after period of time resulting in blow out tire in a parking lot. After researching this online, I have found Ford recalled this same van for this same problem but did not in our state although the recall was due to states with weather like snow, ice, salt, etc which caused said issue. Why wouldnt Nebraska be included in this since its Nebraska and its snowy alot" luckily we were in a parking lot, we were not driving at high rate of speed down highway like I saw while researching this online which a man was killed who had this happen. I have found that this seems to be a very dangerous and tragic mistake made by Ford and now my van sits in a parking lot with no way for me to get it to a shop to get a repair made even if I did have the funds to do this. At least I would want my van in my driveway, not in a grocery store parking lot with no means of getting it home, besides the fact that being a woman, I would have kept driving it not knowing and could have been in a serious accident such as ones I have seen since looking into this issue. I have taken photos of cracked axel in rear and also front due to weather and climate and found the court papers saying which states were included in this recall, yet Nebraska not one of them? makes no sense. So do I go and drive it home anyways and just hope we dont die in the process..or do I let it sit in a shady part of town parking lot forever" being a single mother of 3, I would have thought Ford might see the all the news about this and have done more to prevent so many incidents, one of which someone died. The court papers indicated that they knew about it 10 years before recall. I noticed the van drove rough over bumps recently, but thought maybe it was shocks, until I found my tire not just flat, but looking as if it was slashed in the parking lot because it literally blew up.
The contact owns a 2002 Ford Windstar. The contact stated that while driving approximately 25 mph making a right turn, there was a loud abnormal noise and the vehicle veered a little off course without warning. The contact pulled over and discovered that the axle had fractured and the driver's side rear tire had bend inward. The contact mentioned that the vehicle had been repaired under NHTSA campaign number: 10V385000 (suspension). However, the vehicle was towed to the dealer and was diagnosed that the rear axle had fractured and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 120,000.
- Toms River, NJ, USA
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I was driving and hit a dip in the road. I then heard a load noise coming from the back of my vehicle. I stopped and looked. I saw the rear axle beam cracked in half. I was just glad I was not on a busy street when this happened. I called Ford after I learned of a recall. I was told the recall was performed four years prior. The recall only holds a 12/12 warranty. Now this puzzled me. I retained a copy of the recall. It turns out the mechanic "inspects" the beam and decides whether there is internal rust or not. ( how they see this I don't know). If not, they spray a rust inhibitor on the axle and place brackets on it. If rusted, they replace with a known good axle.the axle broke at the brackets installed. To me, all this tells me is they are putting a "band-aid" on a known failing part. What if it was a bad Friday for the mechanic, or was not paying attention ? being able to put a 12/12 warranty on an item that can cause a fatality is just wrong. I have been stone walled from speaking to anyone who can make a decision on this issue. The dealer says I can tow it in ( I pay), and if they think it will be covered, they will see what they can do. If not, they want me to pay a check out fee as well as the tow. This is just wrong in so many ways, I don't even know where to begin. I am now forced to find alternate transportation until this is resolved one way or another. " great customer satisfaction ", not !
This complaint relates to a previous recall for Ford Windstar rear axle corrosion and breaking. After coming home from work, I noticed my rear tires were negatively cambered over 5 degrees. Upon further inspection, I noticed my rear axle was breaking in half underneath a supposed patch from a previous recall for the rear axle. Had the axle broken two minutes earlier on the highway, I would be in the hospital! my complaint is for the shoddy recall "fix" done by Ford, this issue needs to be recalled again and fixed correctly...updated 07-08-15 updated 10/25/2017
I was driving in town when I smelled rubber burning and pulled over. My drivers side tire had tilted in and my brand new tire was rubbing on the firewall. Took it to get fixed and they said the rear axle had broken and there was a recall so to take it to Ford dealership, which we did. They were all set to fix it and had ordered "parts" and then called back to say Ford declined to honor recall because the "fix" was already in place, which just consists of a bandaid on a gushing wound. To my understanding, the recall was due to a defect in design on the 1999 - 2003 Ford Windstar and they were corroding and rusting through. The spots on my vehicle which broke are beneath the safety brackets they had placed in 2012. Thank god I didn't have my grand babies with me at highway speed. I feel that their "fix" for this problem was not only inappropriate but woefully inadequate and I feel they need to stand behind their products 100%, especially as lives may be lost due to their design error.
The contact owns a 2002 Ford Windstar. While driving 30 mph, the vehicle and both rear tires shook violently. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was determined that the axle needed to be replaced. The VIN was not affected by NHTSA campaign number: 10V385000 (suspension). The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 183,082.
I was happy with Ford to this day. I have a 2002 Windstar that had its recall work done on the rear axle 2011. Like everyone that responded about this fix, it was a just to get you through till Ford was not responsible anymore. I happen to take the van into Ford for a coolant flush and they discovered the cracked axle right in the middle on the sleeve they installed. The wheel was tilted out. Thank god it did not break when the kids, new drivers (I thought Ford products were safe with their recalls) my question to anyone out their can we file suit against this form of knowing negligence.
The contact owns a 2002 Ford Windstar. While the vehicle was parked, the rear wheels extended outward. The contact received a notification of NHTSA campaign number: 10V385000 (suspension) and believed the failure was related to the recall. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 149,000.
Total sudden loss of steering the car went off the road totally out of control. No notification of recall subframe collapse. Entire steering parts destroyed and coolant leaked from engine this is incredible that no one was injured I was about to get on the highway!!!
I heard a loud popping noise coming from the back of my van. Took it to the repair shop and learned the rear axle had a large crack and was almost broken in half. Ford has a recall in effect for 2002 Ford Windstar's for axles that are cracking/breaking (NHTSA campaign number: 12V195000); however, Ford is saying that my VIN number is not a part of their recall even though I have a 2002 Ford Windstar. I had the rear axle welded to repair the crack. This was on the passenger side of the axle. I started hearing popping sounds again, returned to the repair shop only to learn the axle is now broken on the driver side of the axle. This is a serious situation and I feel since Ford has a recall on this issue that my vehicle should be included. I am afraid to make another repair since the axle may still crack again. Please contact Ford to make them include all effected 2002 Ford Windstar vehicles before someone gets seriously hurt!!
2554 enid ave broke and almost sent in to a pole and oncoming traffic I will never ever buy a Ford again I've got recalls on it but fixed them our selves because Ford does no honor anything but I however never got a recall for the rear axle garage we took it to said its a recall and its on us nice Ford you suck the old saying is true found on. Road dead (Ford) F. O. R. D.
The contact owns a 2002 Ford Windstar. The contact stated that while driving at 45 mph, the contact heard a noise coming from the rear of the vehicle. The contact noticed that the rear axle had fractured from the vehicle as the rear driver side tire deflated and separated from the wheel. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, who replaced the rear driver side tire but did not diagnose or repair the vehicle. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 157,000.
The contact owns a 2002 Ford Windstar. While driving at approximately 55 mph, the vehicle drove over a bump in the road and an abnormal noise emitted from the rear of the vehicle. The driver lost control of the vehicle without warning. The contact observed that the rear axle was fractured. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 140,000. The VIN was unavailable.
The contact owns a 2002 Ford Windstar. While pulling out of a residential driveway, the contact noticed that the rear passenger wheel was leaning outward. After inspecting the vehicle, the contact determined that the rear axle had rusted and fractured. The contact was made aware of NHTSA campaign number: 10V385000 (suspension); however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 100,000.
The contact owns a 2002 Ford Windstar. The vehicle was repaired under NHTSA campaign number: 12V195000 (suspension); however, the contact stated that the rear axle was fractured and the tire was resting against the frame of the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to the dealer who diagnosed that the rear driver side axle was fractured and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 178,000. The VIN was unavailable. Updated 4/6/15 updated 04/09/15
When bringing my Windstar in for an alignment it was found that the subframe had rotted and cracked near the control arm. Ford had "completed" the necessary repairs to address this issue and has stated that they are not responsible for the damage to the vehicle even though it was the original reason for the recall. According to the information from the original recall Ford was supposed to replace the subframe however small brackets were added to the van instead. I do not feel that the recall was properly done by Ford.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Ceresco , NE, USA