1996 Ford Windstar GL from North America - Comments

Check engine light came on, then began blinking.

The van was taken to a Ford dealer who said cylinder 1 was misfiring. Subsequent testing indicated that 5 fuel injectors were either bad or were marginal. Course of action was to replace all 6 fuel injectors at a cost of $945. The ok was given to proceed with the work, then found out that the fuel injectors were backordered for 6 months. Dealers response was don't take the van on any long trips. After checking with other dealers on parts availability, went to independent garage, who after painstakingly researching the parts shortage, ran his own tests and found only #1 fuel injector bad. Contacted NAPA manufacturer and found a replacement fuel injector. Van runs fine now. Total cost, including a transmission flush, $400.

Bottom line...Ford dealer's service departments have questionable diagnostic

procedures. Are they purposely trying to have us pay for parts we don't need, as their repair work would have solved the problem? Only they can answer that question.

I had a problem with my 96 3.8 miss firing at highway speeds right after I got it in August of 2001. The check engine light was on. It had 122k miles on it. I called the dealership here in town and was told I more than likely needed new plugs and wires. Parts and labor were going to cost about $600 as I recall. That sounded kind of high to me so I called around to get another opinion. I settled on a small oil change/tune up shop. After a $60 diagnostic they determined that carbon build-up had plugged up a portion of the intake system. I was told it was labor intensive to fix. I ended up paying them $320, but they cured the problem. No more missing or check engine light. We're now at 139k and running fine. I think you're right. Ford tried to sell me some parts I didn't need. I'm thinking they would have waited till the 2nd or 3rd trip in to finally clean the intake system. We love our van. It's the best car I've ever owned so far, although I like my 88 Accord too! I have the Honda just in case something goes wrong with the van. I have a wife and two kids to get around. I wanted a Honda van, but they're expensive and hard to find. The Honda dealer had a 95 with over 100k miles. They wanted $9500 for it! I got the Windstar for $5000, with 95% highway miles. It's been very comfortable and dependable.