1996 Ford Windstar GL review from North America

We've been very lucky compared with other '96 Windstar owners, as ours has 140,000 miles on it and until now required no major repairs except for replacing the transmission this year!!

But now, the dreaded blown head gasket has reared its ugly head.

My husband was driving on the freeway when the engine "blew up", in his words. He smelled a strong smell of coolant and after reading other complaints on here, seems in line with the coolant leaking into the head gasket and frying the bearings. They said the head gasket is blown and the problem can't be fixed, must replace the engine. Not sure if we want to do that with a 12 year old van. Might make more sense to put the money towards a new vehicle as everything else might start going wrong at this point.

Other problems we've had like many other owners include the dome light staying on.

The check engine light staying lit.

The traction control light staying lit and.

The rear tailgate not locking.

Guess getting 140,000 trouble-free miles out of a 1996 Ford Windstar engine before it fails is pretty amazing, but despite the overall longevity of the engine, ironic that the classic head gasket problem finally does it in.

Too bad about the engine and transmission problems with Windstars because it was the most comfortable, roomy, easy to drive van we'd ever found. Visibility is great and the seats are really supportive and comfortable on the '96. The modern, rounded body style on the original models kept it looking new for many, many years.