We purchased a 1999 ford windstar in september of 2002. The dash lights, especially the odometer and radio blink. They will dim and brighten, dim and brighten. There is no specific pattern. It is a random thing. It's almost like there is a short in the wiring or something. The incident date below is today, but this has been happening for months. I have been checking recalls religiously to see if this was one of them. Also there is rust under the driver's seat. The carfax report did not show any water damage to this vehicle. It almost appears like this piece did not get painted.
1999 Ford Windstar body complaints
Page 9 of 10: complaints 221 to 250 of 275, newest first, as owners wrote them.
On numerous occasions, the sliding door failed to close properly.
Paint is peeling off of top of 99 windstar. Primer is still intact but the paint will peel off in big "hunks" and now there is a area of approx 12"x4" that is just primer. The rain gutter paint is cracked and will peel off soon. Ford hotline refers to dealer, dealer says it is out of warranty. (of course it happens right out of warranty.)
The paint is peeling off the roof of the van. We feel on a vehicle that is only three years old this kind of thing should not haappen, the primer is showing through. In october I took the van too get it looked at and at that time the gentleman I talked to said the ford rep. Had to see it to give us an estamate.when the rep. Came too town he would not even look at the roof. All we were hoping for was some help repairing the damage.my husband also talked to the person who left the message and all we are being told is that the warrenty is up. I was wandering how many other people have this same problem, and have not discovered it yet, the only way we saw the paint problem was we looked out of my inlaws window and saw that the paint was peelling off. That was in october2002 and ford never let us know until jan.2003 that it was out of warrenty and the rep.wasin town that day and never lookedat the problem.
Water leaks into the seal of the rear hatchback causing damage and mold to build up in the interior of the vehicle. Dealer notified.
Consumer called complaining about having problems with the slidding doors. Also stated that if she opens the door while the car is not running the battery will die on the vehicle. Dealer was contacted and stated that not to open the door while the vehicle is not running also stated that the vehicle has a problem but can not fixed yet. Ts
Consumer states that water gets under the hood of vehicle in rainy conditions causing serpintine belt to come off. Resulting in loss of brakes, power steering, etc. Please provide any further information. Ts
There are several problems with out now three year old windstar that have either been corrected temporarily or not corrected at all. The most persistent issues are with the drivetrain in particular the transmission which shifts erratically when going around corner or climbing hills at low spead. The recall was performed at 25k but the transmission continues to operate poorly. Ford has offered no solution or warranty extension for these problems. The engine problems to date revolve around the innability to use regular or mid grade fuels as advertised on the vehicles sticker, we have been offered a valve cover replacement for $500 but in speaking with other windstar owners this only fixes the problem temporarily. Also it seems to me this is a defect that ford should fix not the owner. The other persistent problem is with the direver side power door, in hot temperatures the door does not close completely and pops open when driveing. The dealer has repaired this several times and while better that in was it continues to be an intermittent problem. We are frustrated with the probelms this vehicle has experienced including the replacement of the entire power steering system, rack, pump and hoses and more frustrating is fords unwillingness to stand behind the vehicle and its fault. Our overwhelming concern is that the transmission and engine will both fail before we have received any usefull value for our money. Ford needs to be held accountable for the products they develop, I hope you will be able to enforce some type of coverage or warrantee protection for the consumer.
Water is coming in through passenger's side frame in the rear, causing electrical shorts. Vehicle has been taken to dealer numerous times, no remedy.
Power slide door after being locked doesn't stay locked, opens while driving, while in driveway and in public places. *ak
While driving vehicle began to make a loud grinding sound that became worse as consumer was driving, consumer was informed by a mechanic that the steering could have been lost, however the steering did go out briefly in dec and may, also the steering column was worked on nov 16, but consumer was informed that the 2 problems were not related, also there was a popping noise around the windshield, which was determined to be pillar molding warped.
Power operated sliding door made a very loud grinding noise, then unexpectedly opened, cause is unknown.*ak
The auto locking system on the driver's door only works intemintanly. In short you can not locvk the driver's door with the lock button. If you do it only pops back up . The haeter malfunctioned toady. The heater in the drivers compartment only blows outside air. No heat, however the rear heater works perfectly.
Passenger's sliding door failed to close properly. Problem was intermittent. Keyless remote control could sometimes open and close door. This caused battery to be drained, and vehicle not able to be restarted. Had taken to dealership at least 3 times for problem. Each time mechanic was not able to locate cause of door problem.
Starting over a year ago my passenger rear electric door started popping open whiie I was driving (several inches). I have now had this in for service ten times and the door continues to pop open while I am driving. 'ford' so far is unwilling to take my vehicle back or let me out of lease. I will be applying for arbitration this month, november, 2001.
While driving cruise control would not work.airbag light came on an off once every three weeks. Also, locks started to lock and unlock by themselves. Headlights were flickering off and on. Finally, then horn failed. Consumer replaced horn, and horn still did not work. Consumer felt problems may have been related to clock spring. Please provide any further information.*ak consumer wrote in saying the name and address belongs to her, however the vehicle is not hers, nor is any of the information along with it.
Door has continually malfunctioned including opening while I am driving for 11 months.
The power sliding doors will open with the remote or console control, but get stuck in the open position and will not close with the remote or console control, closing the doors manually is very difficult and they do not always close on the first or second try manually, the door can appear to be closed when closed manually, but the door is not secure and has slid open when driving, consumer states the door motor has been replaced and still does not work properly.
The front passenger door would not close without slamming it. It felt like something was caught in the door. A few days later the door popped open while I was driving on the highway. The door was locked. It did not open all of the way. I drove straight to the dealership to have it repaired. No problems since then.
Automatic sliding doors malfunction on a regular basis. They do not shut on the first attempt and one of the rear doors (passenger side) will open and shut while the van is moving (in reverse). Sometimes it will take up to 10 attempts to get the drivers side sliding door to shut, my kids call it the "open and shut" game. Very annoying in bad weather and also a safety concern with the door that will open and shut while the vehicle is moving.
Passenger power door unlatches while driving, specifically around corners. Slow speeds-pulling out of parking lots. Door is also not shutting. Must be physically closed. Interior lights flash on an off while in a parked position with key in ignition. Clicking sound from turn signal comes on sporadically even though turn signal is not engaged.
Power slidding door on passenger's side will not close properly. Dealer has adjusted door, but it will only work for a short period of time. Defect always reoccurred. Dealer has had vehicle 5-6 times .
Subframe bolts loosened, causing a very loud noise to occur while vehicle was being driven. Please give any further details.
Power sliding door would intermittently open while driving, or will not open when needed; vehicle been in the dealer shop on six occasions, and problem still occurring.. *ak consumer also states back seat collasped backwards, also battery dead from shorts in the wiring, light in the inside is on when it should be off , and also doors that may or maynot operate while vehicle is in motion, also getting false signals on instrument panel.
When weather is hot and when attempting to close sliding electrical door, door pops back upon. Problem only occurs in hot weather conditions. Please provide any further details.
No summary listed for abov ev3ehicle.
Slide door reopens when closed with key or interior controls. Slide door not operable with interior controls ( will not close at all).
Less than two months after purchasing our van we had to jump start it and lost the cable on the power sliding door. Since then the car's engine was worked on but still stalls out sometimes.the transmission still jerks in park.(they couldn't find a problem.) for the power sliding door, after a new cable,numerous adjustings,alighnments and two control modules put in. It still works eraticley and the dealership refuses to see a problem. The door will not open, when it finally opens it will not shut. When it is closed it does not latch and the interior and door ajar lights stay on. It constantley makes a racket and popping noise. On occasion the door opens while driving. I have three small children and this is a saftey hazard!! Working with a ford rep he states there is nothing they can do but to bring it in "again" for repairs. But they really can't see a problem. He did state that they would give me 1,500 rebate towards another van or trade in. I told him I wanted this unsafe vehicle mashed no further owners. He said that would not happen. After looking at your report on 1999 and 2000 windstars and the same repeated problems with engines and sliding doors.then comparing to other makes of mini vans and there few problems. I would not want to own another ford!! I will be submitting this problem to the dispute settlement board. I'ts to bad ford does not stand behind there products.
Safety problem: passenger side rear powered sliding door. Drive cable cover becomes loose and jams in guide hole preventing door from opening presenting safety problem to rear seat passengers. Took over two weeks for servicing dealer to get parts and in meantime rear sears were unusable for passengers.
Intermittently sliding door opens while vehicle is in motion. Dealer has repaired vehicle three times, and problem has reoccurred. Manufacturer has been notified.
VIN decoder
See the problems and recalls for an exact car
Buying a used 1999 Ford Windstar?
Check the exact car before you pay: accidents, salvage or flood titles, odometer readings and previous owners.
Check its history