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 brought my 1996 Ford Windstar in for an oil change, and was told tie rods failed and needed to be replaced., then, next day, they phoned and advised me that transmission was defective because the pan was full of shavings, also, power steering rack was leaking, and intake gasket needed replacement., a total of $5000 to fix this vehicle. I bought it at 118,000 miles, and this happened shortly after owning it for one year. Currently, it has 134,000 miles, and cannot be driven. I parked vehicle then started it after being parked for a week. Heard a noise from front, and then white smoke came out of the tail pipe. I do believe that paul cornies, the dealer that I purchased vehicle knew that they were selling me a lemon. It has caused me a lot of hardship as I no longer work due to health reasons. I filed for disability insurance, and was told that I had a preexisting disease, and refused to pay the insurance. Currently, I have a junker in my driveway that I can't afford to fix, and a bill for the next 3 years, since I still owe for it. I will never buy another Ford.
While driving at 30 mph vehicle stalled. Smoke was coming from the tail pipe. Driver drove the vehicle to dealer for analysis, and mechanic noticed that the head gasket blew out, and the engine needed to be replaced.
I have several service issues that fall under the technical service bulletins for my 1996 Windstar. Most recently I took the van to mike shad Ford in jacksonville, fl because they had replaced the plugs and wires earlier this year. The engine continues to sputter and after diagnosis, I am told that it needs the following: 02 sensors - PCV tube- egr ports intake gaskets. Since the reason I took it to Ford in the first place was because of the sputtering and my service advisor tom summers when I told him I wanted a tune-up asked me what I wanted done as if I was the mechanic and knew what was wrong never bothered to have the van checked out. As the advisor, I would expect him to inform me as to the problem. He said that they just do what the customer asks of them. I asked that the plugs and wires be changed as that is all I knew to tell him. There is the incidence of my locks going haywire and rear windows being stuck also the speedometer had to be replaced as it stuck. All of these are on their various tsb. Should they not have repaired them at no charge to me" what is the function of a tsb as opposed to a recall" this vehicle was still under warranty when I purchased it. All of the incidences listed here did not occur at the same time. I have listed them never-the-less. The incident date is for intake gasket. It has not been repaired. Thanking you in advance, I appreciate your earliest response.
Upon starting van, owner smelled coolant, and then noticed that van was losing coolant. Owner took van to dealership, and they told him that he had a blown intake manifold gasket, which caused coolant to enter into exhaust system.
Check engine light came on repeatedly and dealership tried to fix as follows: 8,369 miles - replaced spark plug wires; 14,184 miles replaced "bad" hego bank; 34,442 miles replaces plugs 4 and 5; 34,479 miles replaced hego #2; 37,843 miles replaced spark plug wires (again); 38,111 miles replaced bad shaft in synchonizer sensor; 44,489 miles replaced "defective" vacuum elbow; 44,552 miles cleaned resistors and replaced upper intake O rings; 47,420 miles light came on and went off by itself; 50,000+ miles light came on and went off when battery was replaced; 56,000+ miles noticed coolant "disappearing from auxillary coolant tank - took in and dealership couldn't find anything wrong but put in dye -- took back in a few weeks when coolant disappeared again - diagnosis: Head gasket failure; had head gaskets replaced, but check engine light would not go off and engine was misfiring -- diagnosis: Bent rod.
Consumer noticed oil beading up in coolant tank. Took vehicle to dealership and head gasket and engine manifold gaskets were "redesigned" and replaced. On April 5th, consumer noticed oil in coolant recovery tank, causing engine" check light to come on. Vehicle was also misfiring. Please provide any additional information/attachments.
Had noticed smoke and steam coming from tailpipe out of rear view mirror. Engine head gaskets blewout while driving. Vehicle kept going after that. The 1995, 3.8 engine vehicles made by the manufacturer were known for blowing head gasket.
Ignition system mis-fired due to two cylinders getting lean mixture and one cylinder getting all exhaust gas when two egr holes became plugged. Check engine light started coming on and owner noticed smote coming out of the exhaust.
Ignition system mis-fired due to two cylinders getting lean mixture and one cylinder getting all exhaust gas when two egr holes became plugged. Check engine light started coming on and owner noticed smote coming out of the exhaust.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Chatham,Ont, 00, USA