Transmission experienced failure twice.
1998 Ford Windstar transmission complaints
Page 8 of 12: complaints 191 to 220 of 330, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Ford issued a tsb 97-22-13 in oct '97 for this was third serious problem. Yet, when I returned the car to the dealer the dealer said he never heard of this problem and wanted the car till he could discover it. The real issue is that this neutral condition after a stop was not a complete neutral condition but rather the van started up slowly till it reached 3 MPH and then would go no faster. Imagine starting across a highway in front of a truck and only finding out that you cannot go faster than 3 MPH in drive. Ford should have recalled all models affected and replaced the transmission immediately. It took two dealers visits and a rental car for two days before I got someone to admit that there was a known problem and they would fix it for me. Without the warranty it would have cost me $ 2,500.00.
Transmission failed. Nlm
While driving at 40 MPH car shifted out of gear and the transmission would not reingage beyond 1st. Limped home on highway with flashers. Dealer declared 'internal problem' and $2,400 transmission replaced w/o any factory reimbursement. Customer service rep. At ford contacted and I was told there was nothing they could do about this specific problem with windstar transmissions (other than collect my money) and there were no recalls or tsbs on the transmission. The dealer reported that the transmission fluid looked ok so this was not traced to the failure. The transmission was returned for 'core' credit intact: no reason for the failure was determined.
On occasion the transmission willl become locked in second and sometimes third gear. It refuses to shift gears properly and when it does shift its shifts roughly and sporatically. My belief is that there is a short in the wiring somewhere.
The transmission was replaced, but has still slipped again, I am writing this after hearing the report on tv about the transmission problems with the 95 minivans. This occured when I stopped at a light, and when it would finally go forward, it gave us all a real hard jerk, then drove it more and about 86 miles later, it did it again. The dealership replaced the transmisssion, but I am still not sure of the safety of this vehicle. I contacted ford motor and no action taken. They had a recall on the day-light on the van. I took it to the dealereship and with the letter and they still have not done anything there. I wonder if the transmission problem is related to the 95 problems???
No summary listed for above vehicle.
1. 2 year old child was able to move automatic shift lever from park to drive without key in the iginiton wihtout applying brakes. 2. Also consumer heard a loud rumbling noise when shifting gears. Dealer could determine cause.
While traveling on freeway at 40 MPH vehicle commenced to stop moving while engine was still running. Vehicle towed to dealer for repairs at consumer's cost. Also, manufacturer notified, and informed that vehicle was out of its warranty, and nothing could or will be done. Feel free to provide any further details.
1. Transmission: the vehicle would act as if it were in neutral after coming to a stop. Sometimes this would happen right as I pulled into an intersection, leaving me in the path of oncoming traffic with no power. 2. A/c: the control module failed to engage the A/C but still cycled the idle speed. This was dangerous because the braking required to hold the vehicle at a stop was insufficient when the idle randomly surged to high. Both failures had potential to cause accident but were repaired before any incident occurred.
There are two significant safety issues that we continue to experience with our 1998 ford windstar. The transmission continues to intermittently "neutral" at the worst possible times. The effect of this is that the vehicle will begin into an intersection and then the transmission will disengage and the RPM of the engine will race. At this point the transmission might engage after several seconds with a jolt, screeching the tires. In some cases we have had to shift into park and back into drive several times to get the transmission to engage. When this first occurred, we had only owned the car for less than two months and it would only happen every few hundred miles. Ford had to place a "flight recorder" in the vehicle to verify that it was happening. Ford replaced the transmission in early 1999. We began experiencing the problem again in the summer of 2000 and ford has been unable to repair this problem. We have had it in the shop a total of 12 times with the symptom manifesting itself multiple times in between. The vehicle has been in the shop almost continually since july 15th, 2000 and is still there as of this submission. If it were not for extreme defensive driving and anticipation of the problem that has helped us avoid an accident so far. However, we continue to have the car delivered to us that is supposed to be repaired and we continually have the same problem. The second problem is also reoccurring and deals with the ABS brakes continually going out of adjustment. When they are out of adjustment the stopping power of the car in emergency situations is greatly impaired. The brakes are self-adjusting but continue to be out of adjustment. We have had this problem looked at by four different ford dealerships and they readjust the brakes that only corrects the problem for a short period of time. The brakes continue to go out adjustment and ford denies that this is a problem, even though it continues to happen.
While consumer was pulling into driveway transmission completely failed.
Experienced irratic transmission shifting at 65 MPH in rain. Car swirved out of control however I was able to recover to side of road. Transmission is stuck in 1st gear it appears. Taking to dealer 10/09/2000 because of holiday wait.
Transmission suddenly started cycling through the gears causing engine to rev up and the gears shifting with hard clunks. Afterward, it would not shift into overdrive and we were forced to drive at slow speed on shoulder. Transmission shop could not reproduce problem. Fluid was clean and no codes were detected on scan.
When at a stoplight transmission goes into neutral unnoticed, but when you step on the gas the engine revvs up and then suddenly jumps back into gear and shoots out into traffic with out warning. Ford knows of the problem , and told me it was a aluminum piston that fails in the trans. But wants over 2000.00 dollars to fix it because I didn't report it soon enough. I was lucky that the intersection was empty, or it could have been a bad accident! This is clearly a safety problem that ford does not want to deal with. I want to know if there are any others out there with this problem? I called several transmission shops and they all knew of the problem, even some of the ford dealers admitted that the transmission is defective! For $26000.00 the trans. Only lasted 2yrs. Is there anything I can do?
Driving nys thruway @ 65mph about 5:30pm when suddenly without warning transmission dropped from overdrive to first gear. Sudden change from highway speed toparking lot speed required great skill of following drivers to aviod running over us and creating a rush hour chain reaction traffic pileup. Agency denies type problems with that transmission, ford has not responded to my letter. Help!
No summary listed for abov evehicle.
No summary
1. Transmission will shift erratically , and a loud noise will occur and motor will shake. Ford engineering was sent out and determined transmission needed work, but no dealer will honor warranty. 2. Brakes will fail in the winter and in slippery roads, causing pedal to go to floor and vehicle will not stop. 3. All doors lock by themselves/ lights flash on and off, and heater and defroster motor will come on even without the key in the igntion. Vehicle will even start up by itself.
(forward clutch piston and seal) when you brake to turn left or right or even come to a stop and then step on the gas, all the vehicle does is rev. It's like the transmission is stuck in gear or slipping and then it eventually drops into place. It's a pretty hazardous situation if turning into oncoming traffic. I feel this part should have been on a recall because of what happens when all you are doing is braking or slowing down. Please, please look into this problem. I have two children and would hate for someone to lose a child because of a wreck that could have been prevented by issuing a recall. Thank you for providing this site to list problems.( dot number: apm3jeuu02 tire size: 215/70r15 )
Pcm module failed.
Bearings on the left front of vehicle failed , vehicle could not never be aligned. Bearings were a part that should never fail . Dealer changed bearings.
After backing out of a driveway,from a complete stop transmission made a grinding sound when shifting to drive.transmission experienced a complete failure after driving 1/2 mile down the road.ford mechanic informed me that an aluminum part was used in this model year,then ford changed it back to steel on rebuilt and subsequent year models.ford never issued a recall on this problem.dealer said they would replace the transmission for $500 plus deductable for an extended service plan.
At 70 MPH vehicle kept slam shifting into gears, did not know what gear to be in, did this beginning on the highway and continued at any speed.
Vehicle will not go into gear. Dealer has been notified. *ak when the vehicle is backed out from driveway and engaged in drive mode, a loud clunk noise occured. After driving for half a mile the transmission failed.
When vehicle is in drive gear and driver applies accelerator vehicle will not move, and the rpms will rev high. Eventually, vehicle will move but slowly.
Transmission shifted hard at least daily.
The van will stall as if it is in neutral if the o/d is left on after several miles driving with the o/d on. On several occasions the van has staled at major intersections nearly causing accidents.
Transmisson will not shift out of first gear. Dealer notified, and waiting on manufacturer who has a hold on all windstar transmission until further notice. Please provide any further notice.
Traveling on highway at 65mph. Complete loss of every gear. Was able to pull off and avoid incident, but this was a potentially dangerous situation. Needed a complete transmission replacement and was given the option to purchase an extended warranty for $495.
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