The valve gasket failed, leaking coolant out per the dealer, I had been getting check engine llight warnings for some time 1 year when on long trips, several mechanics had looked at the car and did not find any problem. Ford has recall 98-mo1 covering the valve gaskets, extending the warranty up to 50,000 or 5 years. I was not advised of any problem, and found out after being billed by the dealer for repairs totalling 2138.06 (among other problems). I feel that being left in ingnorance of any valve gasket problems certainly limited my ability to properly deal with a problem that may have been developing for some time. It never occurred to me that my car might have a valve gasket failure so early in it's life. Ford service advises me that after 50,000 I am on my own, even though they admit there has been a problem with these gaskets.
1995 Ford Windstar engine complaints
Page 34 of 55: complaints 971 to 1,000 of 1,613, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Coolant system problems since vehicle was purchased - sensors, radiator, head gasket. I thought I received a recall concerning head gasket in 1998 from ford - when I went to the dealer I was told to come back when the head gasket failed. The dealer kept the letter that I received from ford despite two attempts of having it returned. A year or so later the head gasket failed ,and I was told by ford that the head gasket was not covered by a recall, but was under a warranty extension. (I was not told this by the dealer in 1998) now the vehicle is past the alleged warranty extension, and ford will not address my problem further. Apparently the radiator is poorly designed. It's cheaper for me to have it replaced under a third party warrenty than have it flushed only to clog again. I purchased the vehicle in october 1996 and have replaced the front tires in 1997, 1998 and 1999.
No summaery listed for above vehicle.
Ford will not recognize there is an engine problem with the first year model of this vehicle. The ford dealer said it would cost $1500 to have spark plug wires, oxygen sensor, thermostat, and head gaskets replaced.
This head gasket problem is something ford motor co. Is aware of. It is even listed in the oct. Issue of consumer reports. We should not be required to pay 1,000--2,000 for repairs for thier mistake.
Transmission going to fail soon; dealership failed to diagnose in 1997 under oem warranty. Head gasket blew, dealership repaired at no cost. Gasoline smells during and after driving.
Head gasket failure and subsequent crankshaft failure.
My concern is primarily aimed at engine head gasket problem identified by ford motor company for the 1995 ford winstar. In march of 1999, my wife and two children were driving in the car when the head gasget blew! The ensuing repairs ran over $2,486.00. Believing that my warranty had expired I had a private mechanic fix the car. Upon realizing that ford had manufactured a faulty part I requested a refund for my repair bills. Ford has refused to recognize my claim, indicating that my warranty had expired. I belive this unsafe situation was directly a result of ford motor company and the faulty head gasket placed into my car by ford. The other components had to be replaced as a direct result of the failing head gasket. I wish to be included in the growing number of consumers lodging complaints and concerns about this dangerous situation. Your assistance with dealing with ford motor company would be appreciated, however I have little trust that they will fully acknowledge their responsibility in this matter. I would be happy to forward copies of my correspondance with ford to your office if this might be of assistance. With sincere thanks for your interest and support in this matter, robert a. Martinez.
No summary listed for above vehicle.
In 7/99 a 'check engine light' came on after a long trip [boca raton, fl to charlotte, nc] an oxygen sensor was replaced by a ford dealer[young ford, 704‑598‑2599] in 10/99 the 'check engine light' came on again. Wallace ford [delray beach, 561‑278‑0303]was informed of the previous sensor replacement, and replaced another sensor. No other indicating lights had come one at any time. On nov. 14 the car was rough on startup, then ran okay. On nov. 16 the car would not start. Wallace ford has found a headgasket failure. Research on the internet has indicated over 200 of the same failures for this make & model year. I was informed that ford had a 'program' for this if the mileage was under 60k. My understanding is a relatively easy check could have prevented this catastrophic failure that is estimated at $2100 to repair at this time. Neither dealer, when making the earlier repairs , that were likely caused by the leaking of the headgasket, mentioned the possibility of a headgasket failure for this make & model, although ford is clearly aware of the problem. A graph attributed to the federal safety agency indicates the very high number of complaints for this problem. I expect to be contacting ford at a number of levels to voice this complaint. Is there any investigation underway for this? I understand kron tv in san franscisco ran an investigative story on this problem this week.
Failure of forward clutch piston. Orginal was made of aluminum and was replaced with a steel piston. Work done by an independent transmission shop due to the dealer refusing to cover the costs. Also have had problems with head gaskets, electric harness, ignition wiring
No summary
This is the 2nd time I have had this problem. The 1st. Time was 1 year ago. My van was making a ticking or knocking sound. This was right after they replaced the head gasket which was recalled. I asked the ford dealer who did the work if the sound could have anything to do with the recall. I was told no it had nothing to do with my problem. I was told I needed a new short block. I had bought a warranty from the person I bought the van from for $430.00 which was for $2500.00, I only had about $1900.00 left on it. I got an estimate of about $3500.00 to do the work from ford. Icould not afford to pay that much money. I asked if they could fix the parts that were broken wiht the amount that was left on my warranty. That is what they did. Now it has happened again. This time it is the longb lock that I must replace I have been told. Why because I should have replaced the shortblock the first time. I could not see how the motor could have gone with such low milage on it. The first time it only had 37668 miles on it. It had 36914 miles on it when they replaced the headgasket recall on 09/08/98. I am just finding out now that this could have very well been a problem that was caused by the faulty headgasket. I believe that ford dealer here in seaside, ca. Knew this at the time. I believe they did not tell me so they would not have to replace the engine without me paying for it. Since I could not afford to pay for it then, and cannot afford to pay for it now after this happened again only worse. My van broke down out of town I must try and get it towed over a 100 miles back to my city. I still do not have the van with me to this date. I have never had so many problems with a car in my life. I have never owned a car this new either. I got the van so I could drive my father around who is handycapped and is 86 years old. I have not been able to get him to doctors appointments nor my son to his activites for school. I would be most greatfull for any advice or help. Thank you.
Engine head gaskets blew out, causing coolant to be absorbed into the engine. Dealer has been notified.
Engine head gasket blew,causing white smoke to eminate from tailpipe and engine to overheat, resulting in destruction of engine. I had to replace both head gaskets, and had a remanufactured engine installed. My transmission and power steering rack also failed before this. What next?
This is a blown head gasket in the windstar - what I've learned to be a well-known problem. I think ford should be paying for this since it is a known defect.
Ford issued a pseudo "recall" but has not paid for repairs
We replaced the headgaskets at 38,000 and have just been told at (72,000) that the headgaskets were replaced with another set of faulty head gaskets, and that ford will not do anything to rectify the problem eventhough they had the limited "recall" program on headgaskets. It is too risky to drive the vehicle other than short trips. Due to vast number of problems with this vehicle resale is horrific and we are stuck with a car we can't afford to keep and can't afford to sell.
Driving at average highway speed. Sudden loss of engine power with excessive engine vibration. Engine began overheating with excessive amounts of white smoke from exhaust system.
The #4 engine head gasket failed, without any warning. Apparently, ford has known of this problem and has done nothing to recall the 95 windstar's to replace the defective parts. They knew of the problem because they sent some people a 98mo1 letter stating so. However, they refused to reimburse anyone who's vehicle has over 60,000 miles or is 5 years old. Please investigate this problem.
The check engine light was coming on anytime I drove on an trip over 60 miles. After having it checked out and checked out, I could never get an answer about the problem. Found out later that it was due to the head gasket being bad and dumping engine coolant throug the exhaust which in turn destroyed the catatlytic converter and sensor. However the computer would never give the codes that this was the problem. While checking this problem out, I had it in a transmission shop that knew of ford's transmission problems, and stated that this windstar had all the signs of a leaking aluminum pump in the transmi. Cost was just under $1000. Still the problem was not fixed. A guy said to check the exhaust, so I had the exhaust checked and found the catalytic convertor had melted down. Had them replaced, still the problem was not fixed. My mechanic happened to be talking to the parts dept at a ford dealer and they mentioned the secret recall on the motor. So I checked on it and they said the mileage was too high (keep in mind that the van was doing this when I purchased it at 82,000). My mechanic pulled the head off and replaced the front head gasket where the #4 cylinder had blown the gasket. He replaced all fluids. Several hundred miles later the motors main bearings went out due to having had engine coolant mixed with it for so long (told to me by the springfield, il ford dealer where I was when the motor blew and by the springfield, mo ford dealer where I live). Ford refuses to fix the problem and I can give you addresses of hundreds of other people who are having this problem, and this is just a group of people on the web, how many thousands of people don't know anything about this problem? Ford claims to have sent out recalls, but I have never received one nor have any others that I have talked with except for one guy I work with. He bought his van used and received this recall. I have gotten a recall on my van hood so they know where I live. Thanks, db.
Rough engine, engine check light on. Head gasket leaking onto #4 plug and cylinder.
The check engine light came on and the engine started running rough. I was told it needed a tune-up which I did. It didn't fix the problem and I started having to put more and more water in it. It was diagnosed as the engine head gasket which has now been replaced. I wanted to contact you bacause I now know how bad these vehicles have been for this problem and I think ford should be held liable considering how much it costs, I think it should hold up much better than this.
No summary
Vehicle started steaming out of the exhaust pipes, and blowing water out of the radiator. Dealer replaced engine head gaskets.
The head gasket blew and we received a recall notice that ford would cover up to 5 yrs. Or 60,000 miles, if they know they have a defective product, how can they put a cap on this. This has happened to many vans from 95 we were lucky we were not on the hi
While driving vehicle 65mph engine had overheated and blewout. Had control of vehicle. Had it towed to a garage. Informed by mechanic it was not a cracked engine b lock. Had no prior warning.
Widespread failure of 1995 windstar 3.8l engine head gasket... Me this time.
Premature head gasket failure due to factory defective gaskets (ford service program # 98m01)
Headgasket blew and caused motor to be run with antifreeze in the #1 cylinder. Motor gone...
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