Speedodometer is working intermittently. When consumer is driving he can't determine the speed he is traveling.
1996 Ford Windstar transmission complaints
Page 10 of 12: complaints 251 to 280 of 322, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Transmission fails to reengage after coming to a stop. Upon acceleration, may suddenly engage at a high r.p.m. Causing vehicle to lurch forward. Also will slip into neutral while driving at highway speeds, and then re-engages without warning.
After exiting the passenger was left in the vehicle as the passenger went to take the key out of the ignition ,the vehicle jumped into the reverse gear and back into another vehicle . Dealer has been contacted.
I am unable to attain a replacement part from the dealerships in the area. I have been told that the parts are on emergency back order and that it will take 4-6 weeks to get the part. Currently when the vehicle exceeds 30mph the speedometer jumps all over the place, and it is impossible to determine a rate of spped. I am wondering about a equipment recall, etc. Since it appears that a great demand for this failed component exists. Is ford taking any corrective action? The wait for the part seems excessive.
Transimission failed.
When driving at higher speeds on the interstate, the speedometer malfunctions, I.e., traveling at 65 MPH, the speedometer shot up to 90 MPH.
No summary listed for this vehicle.
Speedometer began to indicate much higher speed than actual above 50 MPH. Needle was erratic and made a "chirping" noise. Complained to ford. Had dealer replace (saybrook ford, ct). Made video showing failure mechanism (rotating element rubbing speed 'cup') and wrote letter to ford. Ford sent back video unwatched and informed me that they will not reimburse for parts and labor. I believe that this is a manufacturing defect which is supported by the large number of complaints on speedometers (see odi id 702130, 827746, 830141)
Ford told me tsb's were only to help mechanics to solve problems that they know exists, but that they don't give me any right unless I purchased their extended warranty coverage. Don't consumers have any rights? I bought this van because it got 5 stars in crash tests. I didn't know it would first inactivate the ABS by losing its sensor. Then another sensor would go, causing the van to downshift to low 1 when you were driving 55 miles an hour down the road. They should stand by their product. My van also clunks when I take it out of park. I refuse to pay my dealer any more money for something that I think that they should fix. I spent $140 to find out my ABS sensor was defective, another $90 to have it replaced. Then another $95 to have the sensor replaced in the transmission.
Automatic transmission malfunctioned, causing slippage in gears and the RPM to go high. Sometimes wont go into gears. Dlr is replacing the transmission. Please provide further information.
No summary listed on this vehicle.
Disc brakes are warping from excessive heat buildup within the ABS brakes. Dealer contacted, and stated the design of car has small brakes. Repair work done at owner's expense. Also, headlights are filling up with water when raining, could cause major problems/speedometer does not work properly. Provide further information.
The service and parts depatment of apple ford, columbia, maryland reports to me that they're seeing a pattern of failed speedometer heads on windstars. Currently, 7 or 8 are back-ordered at that dealership alone. The service manager reports that a similar problem occurred with 1995 taurus's. While not directly a safety defect, if consumers are going to be made to repair what appears to be a manufacturing defect, my sense is that may will choose to forgo this expensive repair. One then has to ask, "how many ford drivers do we want on our highways who are unaware of their speed?" please investigate to see if their is a pattern of failed speedometer heads in ford windstars, particularly 1996 models. If there is, consider a recall. Thank you.
Driving west bound on I-94 just part menomonie, wi, the left rear wheel fell off around 7:30 pm on 1/2/99. About 40 miles before that, the ABS light came on. The brake pedal would go to the floor, but you did have minimal braking power by pumping the brakes up. The tow truck operator and my brother (who came to pick us up), thought it was a froozen wheel bearing. The patrol officer who took the rest of the family to the perkins while I waited for the tow truck found the wheel with the drum attached to it (all lug nuts were tight). Within the first couple of months of ownership of the car, the right rear wheel bearing had frooze and locked the car up. We have also had to add about 4 ounces of brake fluid each year to the system due to the brake light coming on. We have also complained that when going down a hill and braking hard that the steering wheel would shimmy pretty bad. Some other backgound on the wheel falling off is that we left gulf shores, alabama at 2:00 pm on 1/1/99. We drove I-65 up to I-90 in indiana. And then took I-94 heading for st. Paul, minnesota. Due to the bad weather those days (1/1/99 and 1/2/99), we had to drive through rain, freezing, rain, snow, and high winds. As stated, the wheel fell off around 7:30 pm on 1/2/99 about 3 miles past (west of) menomonie, wi. I had to wait until about 8:50 pm for the tow truck due to other cars being in the ditch. They couldn't tow it to stillwater, minnesota (where I leave, about 50 miles away) since they were busy that night. Northtown ford called on 1/8/99 and stated that it would cost around $1,800 to $2,000 to fix. I've asked for the cause(s) of this failures, but they have been unable to tell me. Please contact me if more information is needed and let me know what my next steps should be. Thanks.
Transmission keeps failing
While traveling at highway speeds,transmission suddenly shifted into lower gear without warning, almost causing loss of control. If the road was wet, vehicle would have crashed.
Transmission makes clunking noises when backing vehicle up or when starting to move forward. Will be taking vehicle to dealer.
Recall 96s50. When the car is in park it does not engage and it will roll. Dealer has not been contacted to remedy the problem. Provide further information.
Replaced original speedometer on 4-23-98. Replacement failed on 8-20-98 with only 15000 miles. Ford motor co. Refused to help. Ted russell ford offered to pay 1/2 of the cost to replace.
The aluminum piston on the automatic transmission causes the transmission to stall, especially at stop signs and lights. In some instances the vehicle rolled into the intersection and it would not move for 5-10 seconds or more until the transmission finally kicked into gear hard which jolted the car forward. This creates a safety hazard in the intersection. Apparently ford is aware of this problem and has a new steel piston, but it costs owners $1600 - $2000 to have it fixed. Many of us cannot afford such a high amount for repair and take our chances on safety while we save up money for the repair.
This problem gives you no warning. You will be at a stop in heavy traffic. The transmission will dis-engage caausing you to become a hazzard. This failure occured at 51000 miles. When I took the vehicle to the dealer, there were(3) other people there for the same problem with the same mileage. I spoke to the service manager about the problem, he stated this defect happens all the time. I went to an indendent transmission shop, they see the problem all the time. Ford has addressed the problem in newer vehicles and the rebuild kits for the transmission by changing the material of a piston. We I contacted ford customer service, they were aware of the problem but stated we do not have to do anything to re-imburse the owners with the faulty transmissions unless the federal safety agency forces us to fix it. This failure costs owners of ford windstars $1400. I am an enginner myself. And I do not believe that at 51000 miles a major repair like this is warrented. Where I live , there are (4) owners of windstars. Three out of those (4) vehicles have had to have their transmission rebuilt for this problem. Please help us with this because ford knows this is a problem but will not do anything about it unless you tell them to.
The consumer is an owner of a fleet of ford windstars. The consumer stated that on several of the vehicle, the speedometers have not been operating properly. The speedometers have been reading too high. In addition, the needle bounces back and forth to different speeds. The manufacturer has not been contacted. *ak
Transmission failure. Abs light comes on, rear hatch failing to open, ignition switch failing to start vehicle, blower motor failure, front brake pads wear quicly, and hood recall.
While driving the vehicle speed could not be determined due to malfunctioning of the speedometer. Cause unknown. *ak
While driving 55-60 MPH consumer heard noise, vehicle shifted into lower speed. Vehicle would not go over 30-35 MPH. Possible cause defective transmission.
Vehicle suddenly slower down to 35-40 MPH while on the highway, just avoided being hit in the rear brought vehicle to dealer where they replaced sensor that determines shift lever location. As car had 41,000 miles, dealer refused to cover defect under warranty even through car was just over 2 years old.
Vehicle would not go over 30mph when the ignition was turned off oil started to leak from the vehicle. The dealer informed owner that the transmission fluid had evaporated, causing various parts to melt together. The manufacturer has been notified.
Traction control sensors failed causing wheels to lock up on slippery surfaces. (qcaw)
Transmission malfunctioned, causing the vehicle to slow down while driving at a high speed, almost causing an accident. Also problems with putting the vehicle in an reverse postion. Dealer cannot determine problem.
While parked in incline position and the key is out of the ignition the child switched transmission gear from park position to neutral position with the emergency parking brake on, the vehicle rolled down almost. Please provide details.
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