In dec. 1997 the speedometer in the vehicle started to vibrate and quit working. Warranty replaced part at no charge. In january 2000, speedometer started vibrating again. Told it was a problem with cable lubrication. Contacted dealer and ford and they agreed to pay a percentage of repair cost. November 2001, speedometer has started to vibrate again. Contacted ford. They indicated there is not a problem. I have contact with another car owner (same model/year) who's speedometer is not working properly and were told the same thing I was in january. They have elected not to repair due to the high cost. Quoted between $600-800 dollars. There is obviously a problem for one car the have 3 speedometers malfunction. How many other owners may have not reported this problem?please help!
1996 Ford Windstar transmission complaints
Page 4 of 12: complaints 71 to 100 of 322, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Transmission completely shutdown, has been replaced. Please provide any further information.
Engine check light and the air bag light would intermittentl/simutaneously come on and cause loss of acceleration while traveling at highway speed. Dealer notified. *ak consumer was informed that vehicle had a transmission leak, the speedometer was acting erractically, parking brake and brakes were inoperative,also the power windows were inoperative.
Speedometer: shakes back & forth on highway . Impossible to know speed travelling( unless equipped with good stopwatch & excellent math skills). Head gasket- failed .must be replaced. Does not meet any extended warranty criteria.
We bought this van 07/25/00, since then it has had head gasket replacement, and two engines, 0-2 sensors, heater plug, now the PCM, we have only driven our van for @ 6 months, all repairs have been done at dealership, today is 11/24/01. And our van is at the dealership as I submit this. I have copy of all records. Thank you, [xxx] parts of this document have been redacted to protect personally identifiable information pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).
Bought car 3/01-immediately replaced cat. Converter. Overdrive lt flashing-needed new transmission, torque converter, planetary gears, solenoids; had to realign;speedometer off by at least 10 MPH; need new rack & pinion-power steering fluid leaking; nothing but problems have spent so much money and also been without car for over a month -only had it 7 months!
The speedometer "buzzes" and swings widely after ~ 30 MPH, indicating up to 100 MPH. The vehicle had been returned, when under warranty, to the dealership to find and fix a buzz in the dashboard. The problem typically occurred during cold weather, when the vehicle exeeded 30-40 MPH, and came from the vicinity of the speedometer. The delaer was given these symptoms, but could not repair the cause. The problem was made worse by the fact that it occurred sporadically . The buzz never was eliminated by the dealer. The buzz now audible when the speedometer swings widely is a more pronounced version of that same buzz. The dealer and ford refused to pay to repair the problem, even though I maintain the problem occurred while under warranty.
Speedometer bounces and is inaccurate, especially above 45mph. I have seen many other windstar owners report the same thing!
Speedometer is erratic at speeds above 40 MPH and varies plus or minus 30-40 MPH.
Failure of the speedometer while driving on the freeway. The speedometer needle jumps erratically while driving faster than 30mph. The speedometer will eventually peg at 120mph, even though you are driving at slower speeds. According to my repair shop, the speed sensor broke, but ford requires a very costly repair that includes replacement of the whole speedometer head and speed sensor.
While driving transmission went out. Vehicle jolted about 3 times, and then coasted to a stop. Vehicle felt like it was in neutral,and would not go into any other gear.*ak ford customer representatives are defensive when consumer talks to them regarding the problems and they are unwilling to help in any matter.
Since date of original delivery this car has intermittently deactivated the traction control component fo the 4 wheel disk brake option. This enhanced safety feature was purchased as I beleived it made the vehicle somewhat safer in avoiding problems in poor traction situations. However about once every 700 miles, including day of deliverry with only 25 miles on the clock the trac off light starts to flash indicating that I no longer have the safety advantage of traction control. I either pull off road and turn car off/on which resets the traction control or continue to drive without the benefit of this while also suffering the disruption of seeing a flashing alarm. Neither of these are safe situations. A nys lemon law suite was initiated about this situation 2 years ago. The dealer has tried to correct over a dozen times without success. Often they claim they need to get the error code & an not remedy without it. While we have had numerous failures the dealer has had only 2 attempts with the light on. They blew one and in 8/31 they did succeed to get a code but have yet to correct. Are there other reports of this safety feature erroneously disarming itself?
Vehicle has its second replacement on speedometer since 54,000 miles. When vehicle reaches 30 MPH or more needle would bounce back and forth. Dealer notified. Feel free to provide any further information on this matter.
The speedometer failed.
When driving vehicle fails to shift into gears which has caused problems when accelerating. Also, when brakes are applied a noise occurs in front end of vehicle cause unknown. Please give any further details.
Transmission will not go into drive or reverse, it slips into other gear thatis not specified, dealership is aware of problem. Vehicle was in shop more than five times.
Prior to recall notiifcation (96s50) vehicle would go in and out of gear while traveling at speeds of over 50 MPH, vehicle was taken in for recall to be performed, however transmission consequently failed, consumer believes that ford knew that they built a defective transmission.
At speeds of 40-50 MPH speedometer will jump from 30-90 MPH intermittently. Vehicle not taken to dealer yet.
Transmission self destructed at 60950 miles. Wanted to add this to you list of failed windstar transmissions in the hope that a recall may someday happen. Ford seems to know about this problem but wants to do nothing about it. I am out $2300.00. This was the cost to have my transmission rebuilt. At the present time I have recieved no financial assistance from ford. I will keep trying until I get the money I spent to get my transmission rebuilt back, even if I have to use the legal system. Thank you for your time.
Original transmission failed at 37900 mi. - detected when trans fluid leaked onto hot engine part and smoked. Original warranty expired at 36,000 mi. Dealer told me that fmc would sell me an "extended powertrain warranty" for $250. The warranty would cover the previously diagnosed transmission failure and would cover any other major trans/engine problems up to 75,000 miles, provided I am still the owner of the vehicle. I purchased the extended warranty and was glad I did when the replaced trans failed ta 42,952 miles. The dealer replaced that trans, I had to pay a $50 deductible. In jan. 2001 (58,100 miles) the warranty had to be used again. This time it was for "upper and lower manifold seals". However, this time it would cost me $213 because they also had to replace the spark plugs, which were not covered by the extended warranty. Just last month, 6/22/2001 the vehicles engine light came on again, just as it had in january 2001. The vehicle was running rough, stalling, engine was 'misfiring". The end result this time was replacement of the spark plug wires, coil assembly, a-s sensor, and a spark plug. This vehicle was sold to me as "not needing a tune-up until 100,000 miles". Sure sounds to me like I've already had that tune-up and I'm only 1t 65,000 miles!! Then theres the A/C problem(s). In june the A/C was only blowing air through my defrost vents on top of the dash. The dealer repaired a "vacuum leak" and now they replaced a high psi switch, cost was $100 each time.
Speedometer would move back and forth when vehicle reaches 30 MPH or more. Dealer was notified, and repairs were made. *ak speedometer was replaced, however new speedometer makes the same abnormal noise that the old one did prior to failure, consumer feels this one will also fail and speed will not be able to be determined.
Speedometer does not read actual speed driven. Also, speedometer jumps at times. Consumer has contacted dealer. Dealer is not willing to provide any assistance. *ak
Vehicle shifts very hard when changing gears.
Speedometor needle is erratic after 55 MPH needle bounces between 95-60 MPH also makes a irratating buzzing noise
Gears switched from drive to second, then it stayed in second. Took vehicleto a mechanic, and he said that metal chips were all in transmission and it needed to be replaced.
Transmission quit operating at 85,000 miles. Transmission went out at 4000 miles. Consumer was traveling 10 to 15 miles on highway. Dealership wa saware of problem.
This van has been an albatross! I had to take it in 3 or 4 times and get nasty before the dealership would admit that there was a transmission problem- and then agree to fix it. I know they were waiting for my bumper to bumper warranty to expire. The head gasket/engine problem absolutely fries me. No vehicle with 62,000 miles on it should require a new engine and head gaskets. That repair cost me $5000.00 and no one will help me. We all know about the 94 and 95 recalls. What about the 96's??? The problem has not been fixed. I have called ford customer service several times, and have tried the dealer for help. No one will help me. The concensus is this: ford motor company does not care enough about the products they produce (or the customers who purchase them) to make an intolerable situation right. I have heard of so many cases like mine- ford has definately lost a customer. If they won't stand behind their produsts, I certainly won't buy another one!
Cannot up shift to 3rd gear. Rpms go up and down when vehicle is on a slight incline.
While driving rear axle cracked in two parts. No reason was found, and dealer /manufacturer had been contacted.
While driving and turning wheel or with any movement in steering there comes a loud squeaking noise, contacted dealer, and dealer stated that there could be a problem with ball joints.*ak problem began about 50000 miles. Also this vehicle has a faulty speedometer.
VIN decoder
See the problems and recalls for an exact car
Buying a used 1996 Ford Windstar?
Check the exact car before you pay: accidents, salvage or flood titles, odometer readings and previous owners.
Check its history