1998 Ford Windstar GL review from North America
"This minivan is a death trap!!"
What things have gone wrong with the car?
Immediately after purchasing the car, the transmission failed and was replaced by the dealer under the warranty. I still had to pay a deductible.
The air conditioning gave out about 2 weeks after the transmission died. I also had to pay a $100.00 deductible to repair that.
The interior lights come on at random, as does the door ajar light. All the switches have been replaced, and the problem has not been fixed. I had to remove all of the interior light bulbs.
At 96,000 miles the engine blew. It cost $3000.00 to replace it with a re-manufactured engine.
To top it off, the engine caught fire, for no apparent reason that Ford can come up with. Now I feel like I'm driving a death trap, since I don't know when it will spontaneously burst into flames again.
I will never, ever buy another Ford product. This van has been nothing but trouble from the first day we drove it off the lot. It was a CERTIFIED vehicle. I think it was certified to break down on a constant basis.
I would like to sue Ford, but I don't know where to start.
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| Good safe minivan, yet has some reliability issues |
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| 1997 - Windstar GL I think 3.8 V6 A good family car for travel |
| Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? | No |
| Year of manufacture | 1998 |
| First year of ownership | 1999 |
| Most recent year of ownership | 2004 |
| Engine and transmission | 3.5L Automatic |
| Performance marks | 4 / 10 |
| Reliability marks | 2 / 10 |
| Comfort marks | 5 / 10 |
| Dealer Service marks | 3 / 10 |
| Running Costs (higher is cheaper) | 1 / 10 |
| Overall marks (average of all marks) | |
| Distance when acquired | 35000 miles |
| Most recent distance | 99000 miles |
| Previous car | Dodge Caravan |
| Date of Entry | 31st August, 2004 |