I purchased a 1998 windstar van from the ford dealer located in corning ca. I have had nothing but trouble with it passing smog for the oxy sensor. And the transmission has never worked right. The turbo thing is bad. When I went to trade it in I found that the vehicle was out of canada. And these things were part of the recalls reported to you. But, ford of corning said they did nothing to this van before selling it to me. I found 14 things wrong with this vehicle. I acted up a month after purchase. But I was on aware of my rights as a consumer. Also, I was not sure what oms meant. The van is stuck in folsom,ca at aamco transmission repair shop. Financed through fireside bank. Ford of corning said they did nothing to the van before I purchased it but cleaning it.
1998 Ford Windstar transmission complaints
Page 3 of 12: complaints 41 to 70 of 330, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Dt*: the contact stated a burning smell was present after the vehicle was parked. Upon inspection, there was transmission fluid on the ground of the driveway. Underneath the vehicle there was fluid leaking out of the servo cover of the transmission. The dealer was contacted and faxed a copy of the federal safety agency recall #97v097000. The contact was told that the transmission mechanic stated there was no recalls pertaining to the servo cover and there were never any vehicles repaired at that dealership according to the federal safety agency recall. When the dealer was asked to fix the vehicle based on the recall, the contact was told the information meant nothing to them. The manufacturer was contacted who expressed that they could not authorized repairs for the vehicle under the federal safety agency recall.
Transmission was slow going into gear,was very noisy and would not shift it finally locked up in gear and would not move. It was towed in to a repair shop and I was told the transmission was bad. The van has only 46,000 miles on it. A 30,000 dollar car should last longer than this.
First incident happened while driving up a low grade and coming to a stop. Van started rolling backward after removing foot from brake and when it finally moved forward the service engine light came on and no speedometer. Took it to the dealer and was told that it was a faulty sensor. Most recent incident happened after passing a semi on the freeway. Passed doing approximately 70 MPH and when pulling back into right lane van lost all forward power and speed. Speedometer once again dropped to 0. Was able to make it back to the dealer but as yet have not had it looked at by dealer. Said to bring it back on the weekend.
Van will stall when decelerating into a turn, ocurrs 2-3 times per week. Automatic transmission failed at 84,000 miles costng $1,700 to repair. Van would vibrate and stutter when aceelerating from a complete stop. Had van to dealer 3-4 times for stalling problem, they claimed they could find nothing wrong.
Dt: the contact states while driving for about five or ten miles ,if the contact goes to make a right turn or stop, the vehicle will stall. This occurs while decelerating. He states that everything works fine while he is driving the vehicle. It just when he goes to stop that he has the problems. He took the vehicle to his personal mechanic , and they replaced the idle control ,and cleaned the injectors. However, vehicle still has this problem. The vehicle shuts off with no warning. It will start back up as soon as it stalls when he puts it in park. The contact states that this has happened more than 100 times. Vehicle has automatic transmission. The vehicle is regularly maintained. It started about a year ago and it wouldn't do it all the time and now it is doing almost every time you slow down. Has came very close to causing an accident.
1998 ford windstar transmission malfunctioned while driving at 55 MPH.*mr the consumer had the transmission replaced 2 1/2 years ago.
The vehicle was on the road when all of a sudden the drive gear popped out, causing the vehicle to slow down and not move. Manufacturer will be contacted by consumer.
Engine shuts down intermittently when decelerating into a turn. It also shuts down momentarily (vehicle "bucks") or fully (stalls completely) during normal driving, independent of speed. The latter problem is much more common than the former! Consequence: several near-miss rear-end collisions, especially at highway speeds. The dealership could not replicate the problem. An independent technician replicated but could not properly repair the problem(s). The problems have been occurring for more than two years.
The transmission on a 98 ford windstar failed after only 74482 miles. I had to have the transmission rebuilt at a significant cost.
Heard noise from engine and lost transmission power. Car coasted. When I got out there was a lot of transmission oil on the ground. Towed to ford of upland, (calif) . I was shown that the low/intermediate servo cover was blown to the side. I checked for recalls found one recall for 98 windstar. According to ford motor co rep. My veh was manufactured after 3/1/97 namely on 11/26/97 but ford rep said it could be the same problem, as of now he noted my complaint and said I should call you, (the federal safety agency) you may be able to check further into this. Thanks
Reporting defective transmission in 1998 ford windstar. *bf
Problems with 1998 ford windstar transmission.*mr
Without warning, the speedometer went flat and the engine stayed in low gear and the "check engine light" came on when I was trying to drive up a steep hill. I called my husband and he put a little extra transmission fluid in it. I was able to drive it home. We took it the following day for a oil & air filter change and transmission fluid flush. We only made it a few miles until it broke down again with the same problems. When we had it checked at the shop, we were told it also has a broken motor mount. We called a "transmission specialist" and were told by the description, it sounded like the speed sensor had gone out. We had this van custom-built, no one else has ever owned it. It currently has about 94,000 miles on it. It has had regular mainentence and has never been iinvolved in a collision. Has ford recalled any of this, it seems more than the regular wear and tear?
Right after purchasing the vehicle, I started having problem with it. I addressed the seller, and he told me that the vehicle had no warranty, and so that I should just take the vehicle and take care of the problem by myself. I have had numerous of problems with this vehicle. When I purchased the vehicle, I feel I was used because I am poor, and was desperate for a vehicle. Other people that have purchased a vehicle from them have had the same problem. I don't know what actions can be taken to correct the matter any longer. I haven't given a payment for about 4 months, because I have had to fix the vehicle. Mainly transmission and electrical problems. I have also had steering wheel problems, and tire problems.
I have a 1998 ford windstar with about 100,000 miles on it. The engine is good, but while driving on the highway, it suddenly shifts to low gear and jerks. Initially, this would happen occassionally, but now it has reached a point that it down shifts very often especially when running at slow speed and the vehicle vibrates a lot. As a consequence, the passengers experience a very strong jolting forward like as if somebody stepped on the brakes at high speed. *jb a visit to my certified mechanic reveals that this experience is very common among ford transmissions on various cars. It will cost between $1,500 - $2,000 to replace the transmission.
Transmission on van went without warning, stranded the complainant in a parking lot. Van had to be towed to repair shop to have transmission replaced. Thsi was the thrid major repair to this vehicle (repairs costing more than $1,000 each). Purchased the used vehicle in april 2001- had 30,000 miles on it, currently has a little over 100,000 miles. Just after the dealer warranty expired the van had parts replaced in the transmission, then parts replaced in the drive train (expensive). Entire rack and pinion replacement followed. The reapirs were done withing 18 months prior to this transmission replacement. Even after having the entire transmission and rive train replaced, there is still a growling underneath the vehicle when it idles at a stop sign. Vehicle also has erratic shifting when rounding corners at low speeds (clunking sounds and vehicle shakes when van drops into gear)- all of this even after the transmission was replaced! What a lemon!
While driving at 20 MPH and with out any warning rear passenger side wheel snapped off. Vehicle was towed to the dealership, and technician determined that rear axle trailing arm broke.
Last year transmission problems started again. I had the van in the garage again in december to replace the pump on the transmission after it blew apart and left me stranded when it wouldn't go into any gear. After 10 days the van would move again. Now again the transmission is slipping between 1st and 2nd. The van is famous for downshifting from overdrive into 1st or 2nd gear. The overdrive light is constantly flashing and not working.
On october 1, 2003 the transmission failed at 23,956 miles. It neutralizes at 10 MPH or higher. Contact with the dealership stated it was out of warranty and I could bring it in for repair. They would not cooperate with providing me the name and means of contacting the zone rep. Repair cost at $1800.00 with transmission shop.
This van has all the defects and complaints listed on thegovt. Recalls the federal safety agency site and others ihave too much info to put on this site if there is anyone I can send my complaint to please let me know iam putting it back into the shop again ive been thru a nightmare along with trying to assure my 4 kids that they were safe in this van thankyou angela wallace and by the wat the dealer that sold me this van will not cooperate at all
Ford installed a ford taurus transmission in the windstar from the factory. I am currently in the lawsuit stage to make ford repair the factory defect. I will never buy another ford vehicle again. Town east ford in mesquite, tx found out about the problem and decided to eat the $1000.00 plus repair bill after they dismantled the transmission and discovered the problem. They now want to give me the runaround and shift the blame to the used dealership kingdom auto world in arlington texas where I bought the lemon from. Ford is clearly responsible and I will sue them dearly for their runaround and poor customer service.
The transmission failed after having the fluid and pan gasket changed within the previous 6 months. Since it is a '98 and although it has the same transmission as earlier years (whose transmissions have been replaced at no cost to the owner because of either recalls or secret warranties) ford refused to replace this transmission at cost.
Paint is peeling on roof, and sides of the vehicle
Paint is peeling off of van interor remain on panel shows door open when its not and the lights will not go out until you reach about 20mph try driving at night with this.
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.
Vehicle rolled backwards while parked on a slight incline. In an attempt to stop vehicle, one of consumer's fingers was severed, and three badly injured. This occurred when consumer tried to open the door to enter the moving vehicle.*ak consumer spent nine days in the hospital and has to go for treatment once a week.
Ihave a ford windstar min van it is a 1998 gl and my husband and I have only had it three and a half years we bought it at best ford in nashua new hampshire. We bought an extended warranty but we were over by 600 miles so they wouldnt honor it. Come to find out there were two other mini vans windstars the same type and age in the shop getting transmission work done. This should of never happened to us and I think the company ought to reimburse us for this expensive fix there is obviously problems with these min vans transmission going to early . I hope I get some results on this its rediculous we are not even done paying on it yet karen roy.
Transmission has been replaced 3 time and is going again. Don't know what to do?
Automatic transmission failure.
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