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 own a 1999 Ford Windstar LX. I bought it used from a dealer, and it had less the 40,000 miles on it. In the past year, I have had to replace the rack and pinion, the front springs, struts, tie rods and power steering pump. I have spent well over $1,000 on repairs in the past year. I now am told that the wheel bearings need to be replaced. Because of all these issues, I have been unable to drive my van for extended periods of time. I have two children who need to be driven to school and other events, and have been unable to do so when needed due to the constant issues with this van. I have researched it and know that this is a recurrent, consistent issue for these vans. Ford should reimburse owners who have had to pay money for faulty equipment.
Purchased the Windstar used in 2001. After about a year the steering started to make funny (whining) noises and sometimes it would get tougher to turn wheel. At 65K my family and I were driving across country and the power steering went out completely. We had to drive the last 800 or so miles to our new home with no power steering. Took it to a repair shop, suspecting the power steering pump and they said it was not bad, just needed fluid. I had checked the fluid when it originally went out and it was low, but not empty. It drove fine (still noisy) for about a month and then steering went out again. I returned to the same shop and again told me that I needed fluid. I told them I had never seen a leak, but I would check every day to figure out where the fluid was going. About three days later I was driving home from work and the noise became very loud again and when I pulled into my driveway I could see the trail of power steering fluid I left behind. I looked under the car and the fluid was pouring out from the boot on the drivers side. I took it to the same repair shop and they said "blown rack and pinion". thanks.
On 7/29/05, my 82-year old mother, purchased a 1999 Ford Windstar, with less than 44,000 miles on it. My mother receives minimal social security & I, too, am on social security for disability. We could not afford an extended warranty on top of car finance $200./mo.) we did have a dealership limited warranty of 60 days and 3,000 miles. Before that warranty expired, we took the vehicle to be evaluated by our regular mechanic he found only two problems &E actually congratulated us on finding such a great car. We took the minivan back to branford Subaru where we purchased it and they made the repairs immediately. Now that we are one month and 50 miles over the limited warranty, power steering fluid is leaking. Exxon diagnosed the problem as the rack and pinion steering. I had to leave the minivan at bens exxon because the leak was so bad I was having extreme difficulty steering & was losing more than 2 quarts of oil per day. My mechanic found a tsb about it but mantilia Ford dealership refuses to fix it because we are past the original 3-year warranty. They referred me to Ford Corp customer relations who gave me he same answer. Obviously, Ford would not recommend the replacement of the original steering rack with a revised unit unless the original unit was defective. Although that fact is not actually stated in the bulletin, it is very clearly implied.now, here we have an 82 year old and a 59 year old, both on limited income from social security, who took every precaution possible to buy a reliable vehicle and avoid expensive repairs stuck with a vehicle with a defect known to Ford Motor Company but that we cant have Ford fix because we did not buy the vehicle within the 3 year original warranty period! I have checked your database and found that out of the first 255 complaints against the 1999 Ford Windstar, 26 were about the rack and pinion steering! I stopped looking after 255. I am appealing to you to see what remedies can be pursued.
Sudden loud grinding noise in steering wheel, rack and pinion leakage seal failure. Need to replace rack and pinion before leak damages pump. Replace rack and pinion.
1999 Ford experiencing problems with rack and pinion system, and left lower control arm. All of the hold down buttons were stripped out and stripped in the gear housing causing gear failure.
- Baltimore, MD, USA
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Car only has 72000 miles. Had car at dealership from March 17- March 24 for various problems. They replaced a tie rod, 2 control arms for $1100 and when that did not fix the problem, replaced the power steering pump and the steering rack. Car was still not right - had appt to bring back in on Friday April 1st. On March 30th, I was accelerating at a stoplight and the vehicle had an abrupt transmission failure. (when we got it back from the dealer it had a vibrating issue but we did not have warning this was coming) just a huge bang and then it wouldn't move. The police had to help me remove the vehicle from the intersection and assist with my two small children. It had to be towed at my expense $70. Warranty expired at 60K. Took it to another repair establishment (due to issues with the dealer) - will be $2200 to rebuild entire transmission. Will be contacting manufacturer.
Have now replaced the rack and pinion system and power steering pump twice in our 99 Ford Windstar. First time was at 68,660 miles, and just replaced again at 156,912 miles. Have seen other complaints on your website related to this problem and wanted NHTSA to be aware that this is a serious defect in this vehicle.
I was driving down the road and all of the sudden I have no warning and no steering. Power steering fluid was everywhere. It took my wife and I too turn ths van into a parking lot. Unfortunately I had my 3 children in this van with me. I have not had the money to replace the rack and pinion or the power steering pump. I am not even sure if I should or not. I also would like to know if there is anyway to know if the previous owner(s) got the recalls taken care of.
Two problems occurred in one month. First, the power steering went crazy. The Ford dealer told me that it was leaking and had to replace the entire power steering assembly. But I was not sure because I do not know if Ford dealer was trying to rip me off. Then I took it to carx in racine, wi to take a look at it. He said same thing but he can't fix it because he had to order the part. Then I decided to wait and leave. About 2 miles later, the transmission blew up in the middle of the road. The engine was running but can't drive or gear. I had it towed to towne Ford Inc. In racine, wi. The towne Ford Inc said that he found the problem. The problem was one of the gears snapped off the metal part. They had no idea why it happened. So, my option is to replace the entire transmission instead of several parts because of the cost and warranty coverage. But my van isn't old yet. It is 1999 Ford Windstar and it has 50,000 miles on it. It is still kind of new. Why did the transmission blow up at 50,000 miles" what is the life expectancy on transmission? by miles or age? also, why did power steering get leaking"
My van started making a screeching noise everytime we made any turns, we checked the power steering fluid and it was fine. Van sat in the yard cause it was embrassing to drive with the loud screeching noise and since we had a 2nd car we just left it in the driveway. Then when my husbands car got hit by another car we had no choice and had to drive it. As soon as we try and drive it out of the driveway we new something major is wrong it took 2 people to turn the wheel on the van just to back out of the driveway. So I called my step dad and explained what it was doing and he said sounds like the power sterring pump went out on it so we take it to a very reliable mechanic and found out not only is the power sterring pump bad the rack and pinons are gone also. I can't believe with a van that is not that old to have this happen so quickly. I have been numerous forums about the Ford Windstar and I see pages and pages of complaints about the same thing I'm dealing with now. What does it take before a company stands behind there product and issue a recall.
Rack and pinion steering had to be replaced at 42,000 miles due to an end seal failure. Most of the power steering fluid leaked out within 2 days of the leak. There is a know problem with this by Ford they have issued 2 tsb's. this part should never fail at this mileage, it is a poor design with either wrong materials selected for the seal and no life testing was conducted to verify the design. Ford should be embarrassed to talk about quality when cramp like this happens.
1999 Ford Windstar: Tie rod ends degraded at 60,000 miles, sending bits of metal through the seals in the rack and pinyon steering system; generated very expensive repair. Could have caused dangerous accident. Mechanics first replaced power steering pump, whcih did not correct problem. Second repair was replacement of R&P steering system. Repair was over $1,000.
Rack and pinion steering system failed. I have read of numerous other Ford vehicles manufactured within a few years of mine having this problem. Even a neighbor had the same problem. My vehicle is a 1999 with 56,000 miles. Not even 5 years old when the problem occured. This componet should last for a vehicles' lifetime. When I contacted Ford, they offered no help. I would love to see an investigation! it cost over $800 dollars to repair, and being that it was replaced with another Ford rack and pinion system, I should probably start saving my money now for future repairs. Our mechanic told us to not reward Ford anymore, and buy from a different manufacturer.
I own a 1999 Ford Windstar which I purchased new. At 35,700 miles the rack and pinion steering needed to be replaced (luckily it was still under warranty) now at 59,000 miles I'm experiencing the same problem. I also replaced a tie rod, and the front end is always creaking, but no one can find the source.
At 71,876 miles the rack and pinion steering and power steering pump failed on my 1999 Ford Windstar, leaving me without power steering while driving. On a car of this size it is, I believe dangerous to drive without the power steering.
Problems with vehicle's transmission and rack and pinion. The rack and pinion type gear had to be replaced at 71,900 miles. One month later while at a traffic light, the consumer stepped on the accelerator and the vehicle did not move, the vehicle was towed to a near by mechanic shop where the transmission was replaced.
My power steering just recently started making a grinding noise at 64,000 miles. I noticed that the fluid was low. I filled it up and it keeps losing fluidi found a site on the internet where a lot of winstar owners are complaining about the same. Problem...premature failure of the power steering system. Some repairs are over $1500. The website where you can view these complaints is www.cartrackers.com/forums/live/fordwindstar/249.html. I hope you can help all of us winstar owners in getting Ford to reimburse us for the defective power steering. Obviously with so many complaints, Ford has a defective product and they need to be held accountable!!
We bought our 1999 Windstar in 2002 with only 27,000 miles on it; from the beginning the power steering would groan and make noises. We complained about it to several shops, but we were assured that it was "normal." Yesterday the power steering noise was very loud and constant and there was difficulty steering. Today the steering went completely out while I was driving to work. The repair shop says it is the rack and pinion.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Nunda, NY, USA