1998 Ford Windstar Reviews from North America - Page 9 of 27

The alternator went on the way home from the dealer, made it home though.

The speed sensor is on its way out.

Everything else is fine.

Handles well for a mini van.

The seats are easy to remove.

The radio leaves a lot to be desired.

Gets good gas mileage for a V-6.

Love the factory tinted windows.

Transmission at 127,000.

OK I just recently purchased a Windstar as a daily driver, so I didn't have to drive my mustang everyday. I picked it up and drove it to work with no problems. I work 30 miles one way. My wife decided she wanted to take the van and give me the Sport Trac. Well she made it to work OK, which is 58 miles one way. When she got home this thing was pouring transmission fluid all over the driveway. It didn't even last me a full 2 days! What the hell!

Well When I got it, It was a great van (or so I thought)! I have had the van for a month and a half now and I had to replace both back brake cylinders, Front pads, drums both sides, idler arm, serpentine belt and now it needs a new transmission, engine, shocks, struts, muffler, plugs, wires, coil pack, wipers, tires, calipers.

I fell in love with the van when I first got it. It has the rear a/c and heat and it is a nice looking van. And when I finally found out about the van having all these troubles from my step dad I just broke down because its my first car. And I'm trading a hispanic guy in Iowa Falls, IA for a 1994 Ford Taurus. But I can say I would own another one just like it because I like the different configuration of the dash board and I just like the vans in general, but I must say they are junk everyone I talk to has the same problems. If you are looking for a good vehicle I would say never buy a 10 year old mini van with over 100,000 miles. Exspecially a Ford because all Ford mini van eventually have transmission problems.

Replaced speed sensor at 190,000 miles and again at 360,000.

Replaced fuel pump at 348,000.

Air conditioner failed at 263,000 but has not been repaired.

Idles rough and stalls periodically.

Power steering pump whines.

Tie rod ends making noise during slow turns.

This van has been driven approximately 1000 miles a week for the last 5 years.

Averaging 23.5 mpg on the interstate.

False Door Ajar Warning Light and Chime- My 1998 Ford Windstar GL with 186K miles had this problem at 144K miles. This intermittent failure drove me nuts until I learned these facts that every Windstar owner must master: The Generic Electronic Module (GEM) above the gas peda1 monitors the ajar switches. A switch is “open” until the door is opened, causing the switch to close and form a current path to chassis ground. The door ajar switch in each door can get dirty, causing a “short” through the switch to chassis ground. It does not take much of a short; a little bit of dust along with high humidity will confuse the system. The door ajar warning light and the dome light will stay on with the door closed, and the chime may ding. Driving more than 15 mph will stop the chime. The problem usually can be fixed by spraying WD-40 into the latches one at a time while opening and closing the door and cleaning the contact on the sliding door with WD-40. The WD-40 leaves a coating that repels water and eliminates the short. If WD-40 does not work, you can replace the offending switch. To find the shorted switch, measure the resistance to ground of each door sensor circuit at the GEM. Wires IDs: Black/yellow = driver, Black/pink = passenger, black/white = sliding, black/light blue = tailgate.

The Windstar is the most reliable car I have owned.