Head gaskets are designed to last the lifetime of a vehicle. They are not routine maintenance items in the ford owner's manual. Ford extended the warranty on the 1995 windstar head gaskets twice (5 years, 60k miles and then to 100,000 miles). Even though no major changes to the engine block were made on the 96 ford winstar, ford has refused to accept responsibility for repairing this know defect on my vehicle. In fact it appears that ford is aware of the condition as they issue a technical service bulletin in october 1999 for the 1996 windstars (tsb 90-20-7). The cost of the repair to me was $1,357.84. What is even more troublesome to me is ford's complete lack of integrity and honesty by not fully disclosing this known defect to its customers. This is an injustice to all americans who purchased this product. I hope you will help do something about this problem.
1996 Ford Windstar engine complaints
Page 13 of 17: complaints 341 to 370 of 472, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Loss of collant in engine.dealer explained that this is a common problem and would cost from $1200 to $1500 to repair. Dealer also added that that motor is a "time bomb" trouble code in computer is po301 (misfire at #1 cylinder). Ford no help, considering they admit that it is a common problem that happens anywhere after 60000 miles.
Vehicle overheated and lost power making steering and braking difficult. The symptoms seem identical to the 1995 engine coolant loss covered by ford extended warranty althought dealer reports this vehicle is not affected.
Leaking antifreeze at timing cover gasket. Windstars have become known for head and timing cover gasket leaks. Repairs estimated to be $700 - $900 to replace a $7 gasket which ford knows it has a problem. Ford should be made to reimburse customers expenses and issue recall on other affected vehicles. Fords customer service needs attention. Problem started in early october 2000 with loss of heat for heater operation. I noticed antifreeze level was low and refilled. Heat returned. Vehicle was under extended warranty until november 2000. About mid november noticed antifreeze leaking onto driveway. Gilboy ford has confirmed timing cover gasket leak. I am on full time disability and feel ford should be footing the bill for this repair. Thank you for you assistance
Consumer took car into dealer's shop for a broken speedometer, and mechanic noticed a head gasket leak. Alerted consumer to some recalls on those vehicles, but they had a different year.
No summary listed for above vehicle.
Engine head gasket failed. Intermittent engine warning light since new. Self reset before chance to get it to dealer. At approx 80k miles solid engine warning light. Dealer replaces oxygen sensor. Still got intermittent engine warning light. Latest incident solid engine warning light & blue smoke from tail pipe. Dealer indicates blown head gasket and worn connecting rod bearings as a cause & result of incorrectly designed head gasket. Indicates it is a known problem and should have been recalled with 1995 model year.
Vehicle experienced a blown head gasket.
The head gasket has blown on our mini van. We took it to our local ford dealer who said that most windstars are covered on an extended warranty issued by ford due to manufacutering defects. However, for some reason, our van is not covered. Even though it has done just what the others have done, ours is not "their fault." I called the ford hot line and talked with suzette, who was very friendly, but she offered no help other than contacting you. Please help. Thank you.
Ford recalled all cars with this engine except the 1996. My windstar was manufactured in july 1995 using the same engines that were put in the 1995 cars.
Ford windstar (1996): a local mechanic said that our rough idle, engine light, and smell of antifreeze indicated a head-gasket problem. Hill and sanders ford service station checked for pressure leaks, but could only suggest that it was bad plugs causing the "misfire code" in the computer. After $318, we got new spark plugs and a reset warning light. Within a week, the check engine light came on, and the rough idle and smell of antifreeze reappeared. We returned it to h&s and mentioned that it was a continuation of the previous, with a new symptom of discolored antifreeze in the overflow container (oil color). H&s said the engine light was a result of a "misfire code" but didn't know why. The only thing h&s did was flush the radiator for $100, and admitted they don't know what else it could be. A few days later the engine light came on. On nov. 20, 2000 the van started making mechanical noises from the engine, lost power, and slowed to a crawl. My wife got it to a safe location where she and the kids could wait to have it towed to h&s. A note referenced the previous 2 h&s visits for related problems. H&s's told me that "something inside the engine came loose" and that he recommends we replace the engine for $5050! He didn't know what was wrong. We called h&s ([xxx] ) the next day and told him that we felt that h&s should be responsible for the damages due to their inability to detect and fix the problem, and sending us away with a feeling that the problem was fixed or inconsequential. H&s felt that they were not responsible. Our original mechanic was amazed that h&s didn't suspect something was wrong when oil was found in the antifreeze, and that they only flushed the system! We feel helpless and taken advantage of. Anything we can do to recover our loss? [xxx] VIN [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).
We noticed a leak of some sort of fluid and brought the windstar to our dealer. What we didn't expect was that the timing cover gasket was broken and needed to be replaced at 52000 miles. This costed us $904 and I am not sure if it's related to prior '95 gasket problems.
Engine never overheated blown headgasket and water in the cylender threw a rod when I started it up.
Manifold gasket and head gasket failed causing the vehicle to use excessive amount of coolant and check engine light was illuminated injectors and egr ports were cleaned, 2 months later when the vehicle began smoking thick white smoke, this dealer found that the head gasket had blown and that the consumer was 12 days late for the manufacturer's recall.
At the 90,000 checkup the mechanic said our timing cover gasket is leaking and antifreeze is coming through. If it is not fixed whole engine will seize up. Sounds like the problems of the 1995!
Ford has been unwilling to discuss with me. I've called and written to no avail.
Like the 95's, it's only just begun. Head gaskets blown at 64k miles.
My 1996 ford windstar blew a head gasket with only 76125 miles. Cost for repair will be 1333.25 . And from what I have read on the internet ,my windstar is not the only one with the blown headgasket problem.
Head gaskets blew out without warning. Dealer has inspected vehicle. Ford has issued a service recall on earlier years.
Head gasket blown, requires engine replacement.
Consumer had seen water leaking from engine. Had taken vehicle before to dealer to be repaired, and dealer told consumer that problem was caused by head gasket wich had to be replaced.
What's with the o2 sensors? This is the second time it went bad. Don't they know how to make a good quality parts?
Blown head gasket. This is a documented problem with ford's 94 and 95 windstars. In contacting ford's customer assistance center, they indicate that these earlier vehicles are now covered by an extended warranty because the federal safety agency has determined that ford was at fault; however, they indicate that the federal safety agency has made no similar ruling on the 1996 model. I have asked ford for an explanation of the defect that was found in the 1994 and 1995 models and the date by which a specific, corrective action was taken to ensure against similar failure in subsequent models. The ford customer assistance center indicates that the dealer is the only source of technical information and they are not able to respond to this issue. My question to the federal safety agency is whether you can assist in documenting the specifics of the defect and the timeline within which ford took corrective action to your satisfaction? It is possible that I am simply unfortunate and that the head gasket failure on my '96 windstar--although it seems awfully similar to the head gasket failures on hundreds (thousands?) of 94 and 95 windstars--is only a coincidence? Or is it the case that my vehicle has suffered the same fate as those earlier vehicles but not enough of the '96 vehicles have reached the point of failure for this model to have reached statistically significant levels? If I knew that you had pinpointed the problem and that ford had corrected it prior to the build date of my vehicle (which I understand to be feb. 1996) or the manufacturing date of the engine components, I would probably be less frustrated at the $3646.88 bill from ford to replace their "defective" engine. As it stands now, their history of denying the problem with the 94 and 95 vehicles, their reluctance to explain that head gasket problem and the timing of their corrective action, and the recent series of issues involving other of their vehicles in which they appeared to place profits ahead of consumer safety all leave me frustrated.
Head gasket leaking into engine. Coolant entering cylinder and crankcase, producing steam out of the exhaust. Contacted ford dealer for repair estimate and was quoted $600+ for labor and additional cost for parts. Have discovered through this website and others that this is a common problem with ford 3.8l v6 engine and that ford has helped with costs on 1995 vehicles, but not 1996. Should not be having this problem with only 79000 miles on vehicle, and since it seems to be common, manufacturer should cover costs. Last ford I will own.
Head gaskets had to be replace, engine light came on and started to blink. Taken into mechanic who said that the head gaskets had to be replace along with a few oxygen sensors. Is going to cost approx. $1,800. Ford told us that the 96's were not covered under the extended warranty, even though these probably still have the same bad parts.
Engine head gaskets are leaking oil onto engine. Manufacturer has been notified.
Water was leaking out from left side of engine, a mechanic told consumer this should not happen at 72000 miles.
Engine light on, engine misfires,rough
Vehicle had been parked for over a week before being started. Was driving for awhile & noticed white smoke coming out of rear exhaust. Took vehicle to mechanic & was informed that head gaskets had blown. Prior to head gaskets being blown, been putting water into the system to cool it down.
Head gasket failure, misfiring, 'check engine light on', loosing compression, no repairs are covered, ford windstars produced up until the end of 1995 are being recalled for this same defect, my windstar (build 1/2/1996!!) is not covered. I am concerned about safety (I read about the danger of suddenly losing speed) and yes, I am angry about bearing the cost of repair.
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