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.
Power slidding door on passenger's side will not close properly. Dealer has adjusted door, but it will only work for a short period of time. Defect always reoccurred. Dealer has had vehicle 5-6 times.
Power sliding door would intermittently open while driving, or will not open when needed; vehicle been in the dealer shop on six occasions, and problem still occurring.. consumer also states back seat collasped backwards, also battery dead from shorts in the wiring, light in the inside is on when it should be off, and also doors that may or maynot operate while vehicle is in motion, also getting false signals on instrument panel.
Less than two months after purchasing our van we had to jump start it and lost the cable on the power sliding door. Since then the car's engine was worked on but still stalls out sometimes.the transmission still jerks in park.(they couldn't find a problem.) for the power sliding door, after a new cable, numerous adjustings, alighnments and two control modules put in. It still works eraticley and the dealership refuses to see a problem. The door will not open, when it finally opens it will not shut. When it is closed it does not latch and the interior and door ajar lights stay on. It constantley makes a racket and popping noise. On occasion the door opens while driving. I have three small children and this is a saftey hazard!! working with a Ford rep he states there is nothing they can do but to bring it in "again" for repairs. But they really can't see a problem. He did state that they would give me 1,500 rebate towards another van or trade in. I told him I wanted this unsafe vehicle mashed no further owners. He said that would not happen. After looking at your report on 1999 and 2000 Windstar and the same repeated problems with engines and sliding doors.then comparing to other makes of mini vans and there few problems. I would not want to own another Ford!! I will be submitting this problem to the dispute settlement board. I'ts to bad Ford does not stand behind there products.
- Cranberry Twp, PA, USA
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Safety problem: Passenger side rear powered sliding door. Drive cable cover becomes loose and jams in guide hole preventing door from opening presenting safety problem to rear seat passengers. Took over two weeks for servicing dealer to get parts and in meantime rear sears were unusable for passengers.
Intermittently sliding door opens while vehicle is in motion. Dealer has repaired vehicle three times, and problem has reoccurred. Manufacturer has been notified.
Transmission problem - problem began with some"rough" shifts, noticeable at 20 and 40 mph. When went to merge onto tollway, car was unable to go above 40 mph, until as I was about to pull over, car jerked and began to accelerate. I knew something was seriously wrong with car then, so made appointment at dealership. It has been at dealer for 2 weeks waiting for a new transmission. Driver sliding door doesn't always want to close. Try to close, and it either clicks, or closes a couple of inches and then reopens. Shake car, and eventually it will close. It is at dealership for the 4th time, in hopes of a repair. What happens if can't close door at all" can't drive car full of little kids with door open. Fuel pump wouldn't work, car had to be towed from a parking lot. No prior warning to this problem, what if this happened while driving"
Transmission problem - problem began with some"rough" shifts, noticeable at 20 and 40 mph. When went to merge onto tollway, car was unable to go above 40 mph, until as I was about to pull over, car jerked and began to accelerate. I knew something was seriously wrong with car then, so made appointment at dealership. It has been at dealer for 2 weeks waiting for a new transmission. Driver sliding door doesn't always want to close. Try to close, and it either clicks, or closes a couple of inches and then reopens. Shake car, and eventually it will close. It is at dealership for the 4th time, in hopes of a repair. What happens if can't close door at all" can't drive car full of little kids with door open. Fuel pump wouldn't work, car had to be towed from a parking lot. No prior warning to this problem, what if this happened while driving"
While turning into parking lot passenger's side door opened, and passenger fell out. Consumer felt that locks on the door did not stay locked when power locks have been applied. If pulling on the latch and automatic lock was on, door will open. Consumer felt this was very unsafe.
Front automatic door lock plunger will lock down. But if consumer has arm lying against it, it will also pull in skin with it down into the hole, causing injuries and lacerations.
Consumer had problem with transmission twice. Transmission wouldn't shift due to a cable being loose, and dealer replaced transmission twice. Also, dealership replaced a cable on the sliding door, and instrument panel performs erratically.
Re: sliding doors- will not open reliably since new- trouble intermittent-dealer lakeland Ford replaced door switches when I was finally able to demonstrate intermittent condition(not easy)dealer contacted Ford who told them that the doors were designed to operate that way to conserve battery!(believe it) Ford design engineer said the power to the outside door handles was cut off after 30 minutes of no use to conserve the battery, further, that they had received no other complaints.. this is simply not so. The van can sit for 24 hours and the doors will open, most of the time. Re horn button: Most people use the palm or heel of the hand to operate the horn. I have had three close calls because I have been unable to sound the horn to alert other drivers. It can only be operated by using the thumb or index finger directly over the horn symbol. This constitutes an area of slightly more than one square inch. Re emission control:according to the service manager this noise is caused by one of the emission controls under the hood. It causes a whirring sound when the vehicle is in gear and makes a squack like a duck when the engine is turned off. Service manager said they couldn't do anything about it. Had identical trouble in '96 Windstar, turned out to be computer and transmission related.
Sliding door will open unexpectedly while vehicle is in motion. It will also stick, and will not close, causing a safety hazard. Dealer cannot determine cause of defect. Had tightened and cleaned door assemly. But defect still occurs.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Cortland, OH, USA