When I exceed 50 MPH my speedometer fails to keep accurate speed and it "waves" wildly from 20 - 110 MPH. When I contacted my ford dealership they "had never heard of that before", but when I did a little more research I found at least 50 more complaints. I contacted the ford motor company directly to see why there had not been a recall on what appears to be a manufacturing defect because all problems of this nature involved only the 96-98 ford windstar models. They informed me they knew of the problem but only the federal safety agency could initiate a recall. I had never heard of this and I doubt other owners of these vehicles do, either or there would be more complaints. This is a serious problem.
1997 Ford Windstar acceleration complaints
Page 2 of 2: complaints 11 to 21 of 21, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Defective speedometer units in 1997 ford windstars.I have had my speedometer replaced 3 times and is in need of another. The dealer told me this has been a problem with the windstars and the taurus.you can not judge how fast you are going which is a safety issue.especially when you replace the unit and it keeps needing to be replaced.can it be recalled?
Speedometer erratic. When driving at 55 (I think) the needle bounces between 4o and 110. Problem started at around 35,000, corrected itself for a while and now is back and much worse. Speedometer is useless. This is a safety hazard.
Erratic speedometer (eg speedometer moving to 80 while vehicle parked).
Vehicle surges foward while driving, and at the same it will sputter and stall out. Engine check light comes on , cause is unknown.
1996 windstar was at a stop then vehicle lurched forward unexpectedly which could have caused a crash and /or injuries.
When coming to a stop, the vehicle goes into neutral even though the shift indicator is in the drive position. When accelerating after stopping the vehicle moves unexpectedly after applying gas. Manufacturer has been notified about the problem. The problem has not been corrected. Please provide any further details.
Ford has a tsb 98-22-1 regarding a false neutral after driving. Here is what happens- vehicle is stopped in drive. When throttle is reapplied the vehicle sometimes doesn't move. But, it sometimes abruptly drops back into drive. This has caused a sudden unexpected lurching forward complete with tire squealing. It would be very likely to cause an accident in stop-and-go traffic with this defect. Ford admits this defect, they just don't want to fix it after 3/36k warranty.
My windstar accelerated from a complete stop and smashed through our garage door vehicle stopped when we hit the front wall of the garage. I don't know if the vehicle was in park or drive when this happened. I had stopped to look for the garage door opener. I could not stop the verhicle as it took off and do not know how fast we were going except it was very fast and there are big skid marks on the garage floor. My two kids were in their car seats in the back and I was driving. I broke my hand & had some bruises. The kids were fine. We don't yet have a mechanic's report so I can't be sure what part failed. It may not be the engine as indicated above.
When in cruise control, stepped on accelerator to engage passing gear, the passing gear would not disengage, driver was able to coast to side of road safely in neutral.
Sudden acceleration, causing accident.
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