1999 Ford Windstar from North America - Comments

Hi everyone my name is augie and I bought a 1999 ford windstar lx just a few days ago. On december 8 to be exact. I was told these vans were lemons, but being a ford loyal, and wanting to support american vehicals and owning a 1988 mercury cougar 5.0 also a 1982 ford mustang gt. I BOUGHT ONE. Thinking my other 2 cars have been really good cars, And seeing humdreds of windstars daily I thought they can't be that bad I mean why are there so many around. But reading these comments gives me the chills because I bought this van with lots of sacrifice. I got it for 10,000 dollars. gave 1,000 dollars of hard earned money as a down payment and owing three years to come. for these 3 days the van is great no bad comments about it so far. As soon as it breaks or anything ill comment back. (wish me luck).AUGIE.

I have a Ford Windstar SEL 2000 in 1999. Needless to say the SEL's are nicely loaded and very PRICEY! - The reason I bought it was for confort... my husband is disabled with chronic back pain and the power seat helps him when we travel. This vehicle started having problems since the moment I got it home. The sliding doors will stop working on auto and would open by themselves. This got fixed 3-4 times and it stills happens once in a while! The seat belts did not retract properly and the buckle would fly and hit the window, this was fixed twice. The shift indicator never lined up properly, I took the van in three or four times, they could not get it fixed until I was parked at a light, put the car on P to get my purse from behind, and when I tried to put the shift back on D it slid to R and thank god there was no one behind me. I took it to the dealership and got it fixed once more... What a fool I was, not to turn this thing in as a LEMON while I had a chance... the problems only got worse. I have had the steering wheel pump, and other components changed 3 times, once under warranty, twice out of warranty. I fought Ford twice on this and they agreed to pay part of the cost, not all! But how many people out there have had to dish-out money for this repairs too!

The shift indicator kept acting up until the whole cable just came out and I was not able to shift into any gear! Had it at the shop again, this time I paid big bucks for the repair since it was done at 36,000 miles and even thought the problems were documented since before the car had 1,000 miles on it. The catalytic converter, or something that went into it had problems and cost me plenty to repair. The tires had to be replaced at less than 40,000 miles, now at 63,000 the dealer tells me they are pretty worn-out... the problem with the tires is not the tires, is the car. Once you go over 60, miles per hour the van shakes like crazy. The alarm goes off for no reason - Manufactured installed alarm. 3 Dealerships cannot figure out why. The engine light is constantly on, once the transmission gasket had to be replaced $700.00, now it is on again, the pan gasket has to be replaced. The brake lights stay on after the van is parked, the sensor went on it, lights were on and discharged the battery. Sensors have been replaced on this van like there is no tomorrow. I estimate in addition to the $32,000 I paid for the vehicle, the times it was in the shop, and I had to rent a car, the money I have spent on repairs, tires, and diagnostics this van has cost me $50,000. I could have bought a Honda Oddysys and saved myself $25,000, and headaches. By the way, this worthless machine of mine is valued at $9,000 or less in blue book. Ford Motor Company cares nothing about their consumers, and the hard-earned money people have to spend on their Ford's repairs. If you are thinking about buying a Ford, please DON'T. If you want to take your complaints about the Ford Windstar a step further and do something about it, make your voice heard, get Ford to face up to their defective vehicles, join me and others, email me: ematalobos@yahoo.com. I am planning to make the American public aware of the terrible DEFECTS of the Ford Windstar. I have copies of all the repairs, diagnostic reports, and documentation of all the problems, I will keep voicing my complaints, you do the same! Keep filing Better Business Bureau complaints, keep telling your friends, and anyone you meet about the poor quality of Ford's vehicles and their lack of consideration for the consumers who are stuck with paying the bills for their worthless products. Keep on fighting!

My husband and I bought a 99' wind star less than a year ago... we have had the engine replaced w\in 6months of getting it, it took a month of waiting to get it back (we both work and we have 3 kids) and then 15 min after we left the shop the "new" engine blew too... once that was replaced we had to replace the tires and front tire rods... for some reason our front driver side brake went so bad we were stopping the van with the passenger side brake (this still had a full brake pad!?) and the driver side rotor!..the mechanic said he couldn't believe we were all OK... now we notice that the van hesitates to change gears and sometimes the my husband will be revving and the van will not move... by the looks of these other posts I am going to take an educated guess that my trans is about to go... just what we needed... we bought it (still paying for it) from a small dealership that offered only a warranty on the engine for 10,000 miles... well that has long passed and they won't take it back!!...we seem to be stuck with this... i hope anyone thinking of buying a ford wind star stumbles upon this site and after reading these posts will decide to go to anything else!

Linda.

I read in awe of all the problems with the Ford Windstar. Our Windstar is a 98 model, but the problems are all too familiar. We bought it used in September of '03 with around 75,000 miles for $4200 and by January '04 the trans was already having problems. When in drive it does not shift properly so we just start in 2nd and manually shift up at 40 MPH and hope the thing does into gear. Before we begun this process, when the trans would finally shift by it's self, it would jerk really bad cause the O/D light to start blinking. We had the trans looked at by a local transmission repair shop and was told the trans in these vehicles are not of good quality and have a reputation for being bad. We have choose to continue driving the thing until it just won't go anymore. Luckily for us we have other autos. In addition, we also have had problems with the passenger auto window - the window motor was replaced four times in a 6 week period. Luckily the motors came with a 30 days warranty and we were only stuck with a labor fee. Then there is the loud click or clunk sound when you turn the wheel hard to the left. Sounds like something is about to fall apart next the wheel. However, it doesn't do it all the time so when we took it to the front end repair shop it never did it and they couldn't find anything wrong. There are also little problems with the radio/CD unit sometimes it works sometimes it don't. I guess we are pretty lucky as we haven't gotten stranded yet and we have not been out of a lot of money. This Windstar reminds me of the 1976 GMC Pacer my dad had who always wondered what would happen next and where he'd get stuck at.

Danette in KY.

I have 1999 Windstar LX van. It was towed yesterday at 7:00 PM luckily just I got out of the highway. The transmission was gone when I stopped to turn right and tried to go forward. It went only reverse. I thought some other car hit the back of my vehicle. But, it wasn't. Before the problem, I had several warning signs of engine light, O/D light, oxygen sensor. I think I have to buy a new car instead of fixing the car after I read the same comments. I bought the car in May in 1999 and it's just over 100,000km now. Thanks for the comments.

I love Ford Motor Company... well till today, I was going on a family trip with a 99 at 56000 miles my son said today I smell something I look in the rear veiw mirror and All I see is heavy smoke. Trany GONE in the middle of no were without warning. I am back home now with a canceled trip, a lost deposit, a large tow bill and an unknown trany bill. I changed Oil regularly and maintained it as the manual states...100grand I can maybe understand...56000 gimme a break.. Ford Motor company please fix my Windstar... OH that's right quality job one after the first one is made the rest are junk... NOTE to self look into a Toyota or Honda mini van.

Unbelievable.

My 2000 Windstar's transmission just went out last week. 76k miles on it. At a stop sign, and thud! No forward gears. Only had a reverse gear. This card has been nothing, but problems!

The Ford dealership (where we had been doing repairs and religiously having service done) has simply shrugged its shoulders. I originally had it towed to them for an inspection. I don't think I'm under warranty, and they want $900 bucks just to open it up to look. When I called to complain, the service rep now said that he didn't think it was worth opening it up, since it would be $3,200 bucks additional to replace.. What a bunch of jerks.

Any suggestions? A used tranny? Perhaps a shop like AAMCO? Maybe just back it into the dealer service center in reverse (through the closed doors) and leave it??

I usually do not purchase extended warranties, but My 1999 Windstar LX came with a hefty payment, so I wanted to cover it for major repairs at least until it was paid for. Good thinking on my part.

Small nitpicking problems like the interior lights coming on while driving, the cover over the pillar at the right side of the windshield falling off, the plastic piece that holds up the sun visors falling off, and the rubber grommets falling off the sliding doors have been the norm. The engine light coming on raised concerns, but the warranty covered the intake manifold gasket, and a year later, when the light came on again, it was covered again. The $50 deductibles were annoying, but not a back breaker. Then the bottom started to fall out.

I serviced the car at the dealer while it was under warranty, with a few exceptions, but always according to the Ford maintenance schedule. At 44,000 miles, I brought it in for brakes. I was told that both front rotors were cracked, most likely the result of overheating the brakes. I asked how it was possible to overheat brakes, being that it is relatively flat where I live, and I was told that I probably let the brakes go too long. When I mentioned that the dealer had been inspecting the brakes during tire rotations, and reporting that they were good, they went back to the overheating theory. Rotors and brakes are considered a wear item and not covered by the warranty. $605.

At 51,000 miles, at an intersection on a slight incline, a thud, and the van rolled backward, almost causing an accident. Hats off to my teenage daughter for her handling of the situation. All forward gears were gone. The dealer found a broken sun gear, and the warranty covered the repair for $50. It did not cover the $70 towing charge.

The interior lights are coming on again, my wife just turns them off. The open door lights are coming on, we just ignore them. The tie rod had to be replaced because it went dry. Apparently, Ford doesn't feel the need to put grease fittings on them. Oh no! A shudder in the transmission between 1st and 2nd gear. The local mechanic found a service bulletin that says to fill the fluid all the way to the top of the safe zone, not just anywhere in the safe zone on the dip stick like it says in the owner's manual. That fixed the problem for two days. The shudder is back. The extended warranty ran out at 60,000. The warranty on the first transmission repair ran out at 62,000. The van has 66,000 miles on it.

I dropped the van off at the transmission shop today. I am very afraid! They told me they work on a lot of Windstars with 3.8 engines. They think the problem is that the Ford dealer put in quality Ford parts, just as bad as the originals. The transmission shop says they have better luck with aftermarket parts. I have a Taurus too. Oh no!

I cannot afford to get rid of these lemons at this time. As soon as I can unload them, there will be no more Fords in my driveway.

I too bought a 99 Windstar, in 2002, it had no warranty left on it, although they would sell me a extended warranty for around 1500, including it in the loan for that car, which would actually mean it cost closer to 2000. We didn't get the warranty, and at this point I think it was the right thing, but we'll see. Let's see, what has gone wrong with ours?? The passenger window doesn't always work, only when it feels like it, the right side sliding door lock also works, when it wants to, it will go monthes not working, then all of a sudden, it will work. Now, my husband had it put the other day when he heard a noise and then the van wouldn't respond to the pedal, the rpm would go up, but no movement... So after a 80 tow bill the shop says it can't fix it, so we had to take it to a trans shop, waiting to hear how much That will cost! Oh, and it makes a weird noises when I turn the wheel, from what I have looked up online, it is a tie rod, so I am hoping That doesn't go... I just replaced the tires not long ago, and the shop said the tires just passed... I did a lot of research, not online though, before buying a van, about vans before we bought, and I thought I was well informed, and got a good deal, I had always been a Chevy girl, should have stuck to that! no more fords in this house. Found on roadside dead, fix or repair daily... sounds about right to me!

I too own a broken down 99 windstar. It has had more problems than I can count, from electrical, brakes, air con, to the worm gears in the stearing. I've spent more money in one year in repairs than I've spent in gas driveing it in two years. Such a shame!

Oh My Gosh!!! I feel like I am reading about our experience with our 1999 Ford Windstar. Everything seems so identical. I was hesitant about buying this van from the beginning because I have never owned a used car or and American made car (except for my dad's old Plymouth Horizon while I was in college and that is another story). And I can guarantee I never will again. Only foreign cars from this point.

Let me begin. In 2004 the head gasket blew and that cost us $1200. Next that same summer the air conditioner went out and I live in the south and that was no fun!!! That cost us $300. Earlier this year the rack and pinion went out and that was another $300. We still need the tire rods and other things that go with that. I almost forgot about the vacuum that blew. Now, the best as of yet has happened and that is the transmission went out about two weeks ago. From what we are told that can be anywhere between $800 and $2100. And the best part is I still owe on it and am very upside down. I have a feeling that when this was sold to us these problems were know, but car salesmen will do or say anything to make a sale.

I just want to be rid of it and we have tried, but with the van on our credit getting a new car is a little difficult. I also forgot to mention that the driver side door is not being recognized as closed and the open door light stays on when I am driving.

I do love the space of the van and the fact that my 3 year old and six year old can sit apart, but this has been a nightmare. I will never, ever, ever buy another Ford. I would not even buy a Ford bicycle. I am just ready for the van to run for another year and thing thrown it in the trash (that is once we get the transmission fixed). Our only hesitation with getting it fixed is what if something happens next after spending money to fix it again. We will see!!!

Transmission just went out on my 1999 Ford Windstar today, 90,000 miles. Same symptoms as all the other posts. I noticed the overdrive light flashing on and off while on the highway going 65mph. I had been noticing recently that it shifted hard, like a jolt into first and second gear. When I stopped at the next stop sign after exiting the highway, it didn't want to go forward. I got it to the side of the street, and saw a trail of transmission fluid behind me. It's at the shop now. They said they could either put in a rebuilt tranny or over haul the old one. What a money pit!

I bought my 1999 Ford Windstar 3 years ago. I am a Foster Parent and grandmother. I needed a safe vehicle with a lot of room. I have plenty of room, but the van is not reliable enough to have children in it. Less than a year after I bought it. The Check Engine light came on. I had that fixed. At 60,000 miles the Tie Rods had to be replaced. A week later the Rack and Pinion had to be replaced. That cost me over $600.00. The Power Locks quit working. The Interior lights come on while driving down the road. The rear light in the hatch hangs down. Last winter a tire peeled off the rim. This morning on my way to work the Transmission went out. It has just over 80,000 miles on it. I am trying to decide if I should put the money into fixing it or get what I can out of it and get something else. After reading the comments I think I will get a new vehicle.

I purchased a used 1999 Ford Windstar SEL, it had 93K. I was looking for a minivan with dual sliding doors and Captain's chairs in the second row instead of a bench. I have 2 children, 1 is disabled, so I thought this van would be perfect. boy was I WRONG!!!

Less than 24 hours ago I was driving home and the check engine light came on. I then started to smell a "burning rubber" odor and a vibration in the car.

Since then I took it to an auto parts store to have the "code" read and it said Cylinder 1 Misfire Detected. Of course I'm panicking because. as a single mom in a city with limited public transportation, this van is my sole vehicle.

Anyway the dealer referred me to their mechanic who told me I need to have the Spark Plugs and Wires replaced, at a cost of $209.19!

Needless to say I don't have that kind of money, plus with all these horror stories I'm wondering if there will be more costly repairs in the months ahead. I have an extended powertrain warranty so I'm covered if something major happens (I think).

Any thoughts, suggestions?

I am clueless when it comes to cars so replacing the spark plugs myself is not feasible. Also I think my power steering fluid needs to be refilled. My car makes an awful noise when I turn the wheel.

WOW! I too have a 99 Ford Windstar. I bought it used in February of 2005. It had about 71,000 miles on it. I have had trouble-free driving until about 2 weeks ago (Mid-September '05). I took it in for routine oil change. It has 82,000 miles on it. The mechanic said I needed to replace the outer tie-rod ends. I asked if it would be OK to do it in the beginning of October after I got paid. He said that it shouldn't be a problem, it was not an emergency situation.

The next day the "check engine" light came on, but the van continued to drive just fine. I figured maybe an O-2 sensor. Then, this past Saturday, October 2, I put the van in drive and for a couple seconds heard an awful grinding sound. Sure enough, after that, no gear worked. I had the van towed to a garage. They said it was probably a major transmission problem and might run well over $2000 to fix. Add the O-2 sensor and the tie-rod ends and I might be looking at over $3000! Kelley Blue Book says the van is worth only between $3000-3700. I still owe over $7000 on it. Joy of joys!

Oh, by the way, I noticed that during periods of hard acceleration (such as when merging onto the freeway) the van would "shudder" when it changed gears. Was this a warning sign of things to come? I think so. Have others noticed this with their Windstars? Beware!