1996 Ford Windstar from North America - Comments

"Typical of American products?" "Constant problems?"

I am curious. What American cars have you owned that had constant problems? Please detail what your typical experiences were.

My family's experience has been a 1997 Mercury Sable with 180,000 miles on it that has never needed a repair, gets 29 mpg, and is still on the road as a daily driver; a 2002 Ford Explorer with 107,000 miles that needed one sensor changed and is still on the road getting up to 27 mpg; a 2007 Cadillac DTS with 63,000 miles that needed a tire valve stem replaced and is getting 28 mpg; a 1984 Plymouth Reliant with 220,000 miles that never needed a single repair; a 1989 Chevy Van 20 with 200,000 miles that never had a single problem.

Our worst vehicles were a 1989 Pontiac 6000 GL and 1984 Chevy Cavalier. Those unreliable junkers only made it to 215,000 miles before needing new struts.

That's what has been typical for us.

Bought our '96 Windstar with the 3.8 engine about four years ago, with 51,000 miles on it. Had had a new transmission put in at 40,000. Has 115,000 now. Ran great for about 30,000 miles, with just one bad bearing replaced during this time.

Then the head gasket went at 90,000. Had a good local mechanic fix it. Says he sees this problem "constantly" on the Ford 3.8L, and is "surprised" the new transmission hasn't gone out. Has been weirdly unreliable since.

Will sometimes run very rough, engine light will blink, then will stall. If I wait a half hour, it will restart and run okay.

Starting to get signs that the head gasket is going again. Heater smells of antifreeze, lots of water/steam out of tailpipe in mornings, getting sludge in radiator and blow-off tank, losing power, etc.

Sometimes the door locks will lock on and off, over and over, until I turn off engine, let it sit 15 minutes and and restart it. Could be dangerous situation -- I have two young kids.

After long trip, will stall at stop signs, red lights, or when it's been braked to a standstill so I can make a turn. VERY dangerous. Mechanic can't find what's causing this.

Front AC now works only when it wants to. Rear AC began blasting hot air only at about 70,000 miles. I can live without the comfort, but it takes forever to get heat to defrost windshield. If you're on a long trip and need to turn on defrosters for visibility/safety and they don't work, that's dangerous. And ridiculous in a modern car.

Leaks at driver's door so seat and seatbelt get soaked.

Brakes grind and lock up if I make a slow left turn. Mechanic can't find that cause, either. I sometimes have to pull emergency brake, no matter how carefully I'm driving, to avoid rear-ending cars or hitting pedestrians. Ridiculous.

Transmission starting to clunk on shift from first to second and when going from Neutral to Drive.

Tachometer works on and off. Not a big deal, but makes me worry about further electrical problems.

On plus side, seats very comfortable, visibility good, handles well for such a big vehicle, nice tight steering feel, tons of room, decent highway mileage, adequate power. When it runs well, it's great. Feels very safe. But it's a crime for Ford to build, and not stand behind, an engine that it KNOWS will blow head gaskets prematurely. This new one is gonna go again very soon, and the transmission is getting ready to blow next. They've built millions of cars and they can't get headgasket and transmission technology right?