I currently own a 1998 ford windstar. I have had this van for two years. I bought it with 38000 miles on it and now have 66000 miles on it. Up till about a month ago, I had no problems as I have loved this van. But I did run into a peculiar problem that seems that most people are having with this van as I have checked numerous websites and web posts on the internet as well as my friends that have formerly owned this vehicle. The door ajar censor inside the doors wear, causing the computers to recognize the car doors to be shut. This emits a beeping sound that steadily beeps till you rise above 15 MPH. Also, the lights stay on and since ford built these vans all the same way, you cannot simply fix it without spending at least 500 dollars if your lucky. Also, another problem has risen just recently. My transmission has started to slip. I expected normal wear-and-tear, but it seems that when you reach a certain threshold, as many of other people have experienced once hitting 65000 miles on this particular van, the transmission goes completely. I would like to send an awareness to ford to fix this problem in their newer vans, if a problem emerged and to future buyers of this year of van. This has cost me over 2500 dollars and I must admit, is not worth it. This van is by far the worst investment I have ever made, and I do not recommend buying one. Thank you.
1998 Ford Windstar electrical complaints
Page 3 of 5: complaints 41 to 70 of 111, newest first, as owners wrote them.
See 10053790
While driving my 1998 ford windstar on the highway, I smelled smoke. I pulled to side of the road thinking at first that I had a broken fan belt or something similar. I got out of the car, opened the hood to find flames coming from the area of what I believe is the electrical wiring harness on the drivers side of the engine compartment. I used my cell phone to call for the fire department. Before the fire department arrived, a motorist stopped to assist me in putting out the fire with water.
Problems with transmission, torque, power steering, and front end stable rods & arms. *mr the transmission and torque had been replaced twice, the power steering once, the font end stable rods and arms twice and remained bad. The battery light had come on and the idler pulley was replaced, there was a creaking/cracking noise when turning the wheel and the outer tie rods were replaced along with the toe being reset, there was a clunk when going over the bumps, there was a vibration underneath due to the transmission, the engine light would come on and off and seemed like the shifts were erratic, the transmission leaked badly, and on some occasions the starter did not engage. *scc
The clockspring failed which rendered horn and air bag inoperative.
Continual problems with interior lights and locks because of the door ajar monitor. Have to use passenger side door to enter because drivers door normally sets it off, and have to unplug battery to let system reset, so battery does not go dead which normally takes a couple of days. Locks will lock and unlock on their own while driving. Door ajar will also activate with the other doors on its own while you are driving. This has been happening for at least two years. Everytime I wanted to take it to the dealer, it would stop and the dealer said they could do nothing unless it was happening at the time.
My 1998 windstar caught fire today. The fire appeared to start in the driver's door lock component. The entire driver's seat was destroyed, the windshield melted and cracked and the ceiling and dashboard melted. The entire van is smoke-damaged. The van had several auto-lock, instrumentation and door ajar problems which had been addressed by the dealership.
Door ajar bell and lights do not go out, locks do not work properly in passenger rear door. Doors close fine but bell and lights persist at all times. Fuse had to be removed for night driving and to prevent a dead battery. I cant hear things around me outside due to door ajar bell. Bell tone is loud and causing headaches.
Abs system is constantly malfunctioning, brakes give out, traction control is turning off and on. Drivers side lock does not work with alarm remote.
1998 ford windstar; front brakes seem to have continuous shimmy; passenger side door lock uncooperative unlocking with remote; engine light off/on often, doesn't seem to be a reason; electrical panel malfunctioning after 104,000 miles,(engine light constantly on, ABS light on, trac light constant flashing, and fuel gauge not reading gas in tank)
After stopping a my van, the interior lights do not turn off and the dashboard shows an open door although all doors are closed. The beeping noise indicating the door is opened continues to make noise. The doors no longer lock. This condition continued even when the car is running. The dealer said to just remove the interior bulbs or just pull the fuse. When the dealer pulled the fused the brake lights no longer worked and the car could no longer go out of park but the interior lights went out. The dealer said I must start the car with gear shift half way between park and neutral. The dealer said this is a very unique problem and is caused by something that I did. I stated that's absurd. The ford dealer mechanic then said it must be one of sensors probably the drivers door. Now I see there are others that have the exact same problem. This is a very serious and dangerous problem.
Abs light comes on intermittently and red brake light stays on constantly. While this is happening, the rear windshield wiper will not shut off, and the front windshield wipers do not work. The check engine soon light is constantly on. The turn signals are blinking rapidly or not working on some occasions. My warranty has expired as of last year. The transmission has already been rebuilt and we had problems with the door ajar warning lights not going off and the door lock motor had to be replaced because at first they were locking on their own repeatedly. I feel like these were all a result of wiring problems, but we had such a hard time getting all of the other things repaired that I'm not looking forward to going back to the dealer again, especially since the warranty has expired. This vehicle has been a lemon the whole time we have owned it.
Switch of rear defroster shorted out, causing dash panel to melt. Ts.
Consumer called complaining about the recall received on the vehicle. Also stated that she had this problem but the dealer never paid attention to the complaints. Ts
The head gaskets failed and were replaced. Also, the coolant flowing through the cylinders caused a major engine problem.
Consumer placed key inside of ignition,turned vehicle on, and she took key out of ignition.ignition switch popped out. Dealership was aware of problem.
Fuse controlling onboard computer and ingnition system fails randomly without warning. Engine stalls as a result and all power to brakes and steering is lost as well. This has happened five times since the middle of may 2002. Twice on the highway and once in the middle of an intersection. We have taken this vehicle to three different mechanics, including a ford dealer (kerry ford, 165 kemper road, cincinnati, ohio 45246 (513)671-9900). None can replicate the problem. Kerry ford said all they can do is start replacing parts (at the cost of several thousand dollars) based on their best guess and hope it fixes the problem. I've called ford customer service and they have refused to pay for any of the repairs because the vehicle is out of warranty. Pleas that the safety of my family is involved fall on deaf ears. Frankly, we do not have several thousand dollars to put into this car hoping that it will fix the problem. Moreover, I can't sell the vehicle without disclosing this problem and putting someone else's family in danger. We are left with a car that is too expensive to fix and worth absolutely nothing. The manufacturer is unresponsive. We have nowhere to turn. Any help would be appreciated.
Consumer states the warning light was on, the dealer traced problem to a loose hose on the fuel tank, which required tightening a screw, the fuel filter was replaced.
I was driving after making a right-hand turn and started to smell something unusual. I checked my warning lights but there was no indication of a problem so I continued to drive hoping to make it home. The whole time that I continued to drive, I kept checking my warning lights because a still smelled something. When I had to stop at a traffic light a few minutes later, I started to see smoke and was going to pull into an adjacent parking lot when a bunch of people ran up to my car and yelled to get out of the car. It was on fire. Someone grabbed my toddler and I quickly turned off the car and grabbed my dog. We got away from the car but the fire died down significantly after the engine was off. Other people had called the fire department and police by then. Other people put out what was left of the fire while I cared for my terrified child and contacted the auto club and relatives to help. The dealership said that there was a hole in one of my lines that leaked onto the engine causing the fire. They claimed because several lines were burned up that they could not determine which one it was. They acted as though fires are common " but 50,000 is a little early" for this to happen. If I did not have an extended warranty, I would have been paying for everything out of pocket. After the incident, I looked my car up on your website and found odi id 753227 which sounded like the same situation I had.
This vehicle has had numerous braking problems/axles/sway bars/calipers/electrical problems
Consumer has contacted several dealers in regard to recall 0110077000, ignition control . All dealers were refusing to provide service in regard to these recalls. Please provide further information.
Consumer started vehicle, ignition switch spun around and all electrical functions stayed on. Vehicle was towed to dealer, please provide additional information.
Vehicle would not start, took vehicle to firestone and they replaced the starter. 5 days later, vehicle would not start. Firestone stated it was the pin switch that drained the battery. *ak consumer states that the transmission failed at 81000 miles.
The van stalled, or "cut out" when making left hand turns, or while at low RPM's. We took the van back to the dealer, and they contacted ford. Ford seemed to know about the problem, and directed the type of repair to be made, according to what we were told. I gave the dealer a news item about the exact same problem ford had in california with millions of cars stalling, and that resulted in a recall in california. "stalling" is a very serious problem and I feel that ford should have recalled my van in the first place ( rather than expose me and my family to injury) and ford should have had to pay for the repair ( which amounted to about $500). If they knew about the problem and if they agreed to fix the problem in california, why shift the cost of repair to me?
Courtesy lights will intermittenly work. They will come on when driving at night, or sometimes they will not come on at all. *ak experiencing other electrical problems with the reverse lights, interior lights, automatic door locks, door check light, and signal lights operating intermittently, consumer states that the engine is noisy and the engine check light is always on, the seat belt is loose, passenger side arm rest is loose, and the back window wiper is inoperative.
Door locks are not working properly. They will lock at times, and not lock at other times. Also, instrument panel will illuminate showing that door is not closed when it is. Please provide more information.
Engine stalled on an off . Called dealership, they said because of the emission control was on recall campain. After they fixed the emssion control, the problem still existed. Brought the car in and the dealer said it is out of warranty. Nothing they can do. The recall just done about 3 months ago this year.
Interior lights in passenger's compartment remain illuminated. Consumer stated that battery had to be disconnected. Dealer has yet to be contacted. Please provide further details.
While driving vehicle stalls. When vehicle shuts off, engine check and battery lights come on.
On the evening of october 12th 2001, while driving with my wife and children in our 98 gl windstar to see a cousin of mine. We approached a semicircle curve on a hill, as I turned my wheel to the right entering on to the curve, when all of a sudden smoke started to come from the bottom of my vehicle. My first thought was that the car was overheating but then fire was starting to come out as well. I yelled to everyone on board to exit the vehicle and stay some distance away. As the flames were getting worse. I had to pop open the hood and see if I could control the fire. I saw the flame shoot out of the bottom and the sides of the car. I immediately turned off the car and then disconnected the positive battery cable on the advice of a stranger that was there. Another person came with a bucket of water and we managed to douse the fire out. My cousin arrived later towards where we were as my wife had notified him by cellular of our situation. We took the vehicle to his home and in the morning he took a look at the car to see what had caused it to flame. He noticed that power steering fluid was visible and that the power steering pressure hose had rubbed with time on the rack and pinion or something metallic of the car slowly forming a groove on the hose about an inch and a half wide and about 1/4 inch deep. This created a hole in the groove where it was rubbing when I made my turn on the hill, thus pouring out power steering fluid on to the catalic converter which then started to smoke and fire. Importantly the protective fire cover placed on this pressure hose had worn out as well. I have only 63,256 miles on the car. I thank god that we are all safe and thank god for those who assisted us and also thank god that this did not happen to my wife and children while I was not there. I can't imagine being out alone and having this happen to someone else then having a great catastrophe with some deaths. I have kept the power steering hose as evidence of my situation.
VIN decoder
See the problems and recalls for an exact car
Buying a used 1998 Ford Windstar?
Check the exact car before you pay: accidents, salvage or flood titles, odometer readings and previous owners.
Check its history