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 2003 Ford Windstar that was repaired under the rear axle recall a couple years ago, today on my drive to work the rear axle broke right underneath the area that Ford repaired by placing a brace and bracket over, my car is now sitting along the side of the road, from what I have found out I am not the first person that has had the axle break after Ford fixed it.
I was driving along highway at 60 mph and the rear axle broke causing the rear wheel to come away from vehicle and the rear end of the van the swerve violently. The only thing that prevented the wheel from coming completely off was the fender. The fact that I was on a curve meant I could have gone off into the ravine and died. Ford had a recall to reinforce the axle with a bracket, which was done. Also there was a follow up recall because these brackets might cause the axle to crack and fracture, which mine did. Fore will inspect the axle for cracks but not replace it if there are cracks, or in my case a complete brake. Recall #'s 10S13 and 15S27.
The contact owns a 2003 Ford Windstar. While driving approximately 65 mph, the tire pressure gauge warning indicator illuminated. The contact continued to drive to an unknown tire store and noticed that the rear passenger tire was leaning towards the center of the vehicle, and the rear axle was fractured. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing or repairs. The contact stated that the vehicle was previously taken to the dealer (autonation Ford, 23775 center ridge road, westlake, Ohio 44145) to be repaired per NHTSA campaign number: 15V608000 (suspension). The dealer found no failure with the axle and stated that it was ok to drive the vehicle. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 105,000.
Top of rear right tire tilted inward causing it to rub wheel well. While driving on city streets van fishtales. Smell of burning rubber while driving. With further investigation, I found tire to be damaged by the rubbing, and a large crack almost through structural cross member/axle. Took photos of damage.
I just purchased the van for my wife & when I was having a garage install tires on it the tech noticed that while the rear axle did have the ineffective axle clamps on it from a dealer the axle was rusting on the driver's side & actually has rusted a hole in it. The other problem is the front subframe/engine cradle that is rusting out where it bolts to the body. I contacted a local dealer & also Ford in dearborn, mi & they both said there was nothing they could or would do to make the van safe for my wife to drive. There are some body type noises from the front end when turning also probably from the subframe movement.
- Evansville, WI, USA
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Hello I was driving my 2003 Ford Windstar minivan. I purchased around March 2016 I was taking my kids to school when the rear axel broke. I looked under and it looks like Ford put enforcement brackets on it but it is broke at one of the brackets. Thankfully I was able to keep control of my vehicle. 20 minutes later I would've been on the freeway. One man has already lost his life from the same thing with this vehicle. I have a lady from Ford offering to give me any information she has because it is not right and there is things she has that I cannot find. I looked up my year on the vehicle and what was wrong and realized there are thousands of people with the same problem. Not only that there has been three recalls since 2010 for the same thing. Ford put brackets on to fix the first problem instead of just fixing the problem. That explains my brackets. Ford realized the brackets wasn't working so in 2015 offered to replace them for 300 dollars. Even though it was there fault. But that expired in Dec 2015. I purchased the car around February March 2016. The problem is if its happening with so many Windstar's why not fix the problem in the beginning instead of patching it and taking the easy way out. I'm sure the mans family and kids that lost there loved ones wish this would've been taken care of the right way. I was on the phone all day Thursday with Ford there not offering to help at all. There telling me it will be over 1,000 dollars to fix it. So we almost lost our lives someone could've died thankfully were okay. We have no vehicle the stress of getting kids to school and work and what we are going to do. I have 5 children plus 2 I have taken legal custody of from children services there is no way I can pay that. All because Ford didn't want to fix it right and just replace it the first time around. How does a safety recall ever expire.
The contact owns a 2003 Ford Windstar. While driving approximately 25 mph, there was a loud noise coming from the rear of the vehicle. The contact coasted the vehicle to the side of the road and noticed that the rear axle detached. The vehicle was towed to a towing garage where it was diagnosed that the axle was detached in half and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact called seymour Ford (2601 seymour rd, jackson, mi 49201, phone number: (517) 787-9500) where it was diagnosed that the rear axle reinforcement bracket failed and would contact Ford customer service to get an approval for the repair. The VIN was not included in NHTSA campaign number: 10V385000 (suspension). The manufacturer informed the contact that the recall was past due and would not repair the vehicle. The approximate failure mileage was 220,000.
The contact owns a 2003 Ford Windstar. The contact stated that while driving at an unknown speed, the contact became aware that the rear driver's side tire was rubbing on the inside wheel well. The contact stated that the driver's side rear axle had fractured. The vehicle was taken to davis Ford located at: 2111 N main St, canton, il 61520, (309) 647-1111, to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the vehicle was included in NHTSA campaign number: 15V608000 (suspension) however, the recall time frame had been exceeded. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified and provided the case number: Ca-13064170. The approximate failure mileage was 155,000.
The contact owns a 2003 Ford Windstar. While driving approximately 8 mph, the contact heard a loud noise and the odor of burning rubber was present. Also, the contact lost steering ability. The vehicle came to a complete stop. The contact exited the vehicle and noticed that the rear wheels were not lined up and the axle had fractured in the area where brackets had been installed by bay valley Ford in saginaw Michigan approximately 1 and 1/2 years ago. The vehicle was towed to hagan's Ford in bay city, Michigan where it was determined that it was normal wear and tear of the axle. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 250,000.
Vehicle did not pass Maine inspection test due to subrame rust. Ford windstar1999-2003 was an recall for that problem issue by nhsta but my vehicle is not on the list.
The contact owns a 2003 Ford Windstar. While driving 15 mph, the contact heard a scraping sound from underneath the vehicle and the rear passenger tire blew out. The contact noticed that the rear axle had fractured, which caused the tires to fail. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer or mechanic. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer and dealer were not made aware of the failure. The VIN was included in NHTSA campaign number: 15V608000 (suspension), but the vehicle had not been serviced. The approximate failure mileage was 150,000.
The contact owns a 2003 Ford Windstar. While driving in reverse, both rear tires collapsed into the frame of the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to the morristown Ford dealer (located at 1112 w morris blvd, morristown, tn 37813) where it was diagnosed that the brackets were improperly installed. Another technician inspected the vehicle and stated that the brackets were installed correctly. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired due to the diagnostic and repair fees. The contact was informed to take the vehicle off their property because the VIN was not included in a recall. The VIN was included in NHTSA campaign number: 15V608000 (suspension). The manufacturer stated that there was an open recall on the bracket that was improperly installed. The manufacturer sent an email to the morris dealer regarding the bracket failure. The approximate failure mileage was 111,000.
Vehicle was in motion at 45mph when the rear axle fractured completely, causing me to veer into oncoming traffic (luckily there was no accident). Vehicle had previously been in for initial rear axle recall in 2010 (10S13), where support brackets were placed on existing axle. Revisited the dealer for the secondary recall in 2017, and was once again assured that the axle was good. Axle broke two months later (07/03/17). Ford will offer no assistance and considers my recall complete since they put brackets on the axle. This defect is life-threatening. Ford's "bracket" solution does not work - there are many others like me who have had the axles fail after this 'repair'. the only solution is to replace all of the axles completely. Put simply - as these vehicales continue to age and the axles rust further, this defect will eventually result in deaths.
On 20jun2017, the rear axle broke. As part of a Ford recall, the axle had reinforcement brackets installed by (graham) Ford of mansfield. Those brackets were inspected by (graham) Ford of mansfield in 2015 and were declared to have been installed as per Ford Motor Company instructions and, as a consumer, I believe I had the right to assume that therefore the axle was safe. The axle break is obvious evidence that the brackets were either not installed properly or were inadequate. Thus I believe that the problem is more with the dealer not being competent to recognize the dangerous corrosion that had happened. Of course, in Ohio, where the law requires that vehicles be sold through dealers, the dealer acts as an agent for the manufacturer. In 2015, at the time of the inspection, I was told that the bracket fix was good but then I was also offered a replacement axle for a total cost to me of $300. My position was that either the axle was good and safe or it was not good and not safe and in that case a replacement axle should have been installed. So why should I spend $300 for an axle that was safe so I declined. In retrospect, the fix obviously was not safe.
I am the owner of a 03 Ford Windstar that I purchased on June 2016. It has 116,000 miles. I recently found out that Ford issued a recall for the rear axle #15S27. This recall was to inspect reinforcement brackets that were done under a previous recall #10S13. After I found out about the recall I looked under my vehicle and noticed a crack on the left middle of the axle stemming into the left 'reinforcement bracket'. on Wednesday, May 03, 2017 I took dropped my vehicle off at ace Ford, woodbury, NJ 08096. A service representative from ace Ford called me later to inform me of the findings. He said after inspection, the reinforcement brackets were installed correctly. He claimed he had contacted Ford's internal service center and send them pictures of the crack in the axel. He then informed me that there was nothing Ford or ace Ford could do and said, 'any further repairs will be the responsibility of the vehicle owner'. going into this I was almost certain Ford would replace the rear axle at no charge, because after all, there has been 3 recalls for the same issue and obviously there is a crack in my rear axle which is a huge safety issue. I picked up my vehicle and called ace Ford back and spoke with the service manager. He claimed he was aware of the situation and nothing more could be done unless I chose to pay the repair costs. I also mentioned to him that his representative did not inform me that the vehicle was unsafe to drive and should leave the premises (even though it's on the service invoice, I still should be notified verbally as I didn't read the paperwork until I got home). After that I decided to call Ford customer service directly as per the recall notice. He said he would look into the situation and call ace Ford while he put my on hold. When he came back to the phone he said the same thing that ace Ford said, 'there is nothing more we can do'.
The contact owns a 2003 Ford Windstar. While driving, the rear axle failed. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the bracket fractured and caused the rear axle to fail. The vehicle was serviced per NHTSA campaign number: 15V608000 (suspension), but the remedy failed to repair the vehicle. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 130,000. The VIN was not available.
The contact owns a 2003 Ford Windstar. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 15V608000 (suspension); however, the part to do the repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.
The contact owns a 2003 Ford Windstar. While driving 65 mph, a clunking noise was heard and the contact lost control of the vehicle. The failure occurred without warning. The contact pulled over to the side of the road. The vehicle was towed to a tire shop where it was diagnosed that the rear axle was fractured and needed to be replaced. The contact received a recall notification of NHTSA campaign number: 15V608000 (suspension), but the part to do the repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 140,000.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Tecumseh, MI, USA