1999 Ford Windstar: check engine light

Filed Jan 14, 2015 · Electrical, Lights · 159,000 miles · MO

I never knew about ford's recalls until last march. Before calling ford I did research and found numerous people have the same problems as me. Mine started in 2012 when out of the blue the front windows would no longer open. Next when you tried to put the heat on in the rear there was strange noise and now I'm to afraid to use it. The past 3 yrs the gauges go haywire. Sometimes if you hit the dash it'll stop but locks up and you don't know what your speed is. If I leave it alone sometimes it will stop on it's own but locks up to wherever it stops at. On numerous occasions the ABS light will come on. For over 2 yrs now the check engine light has been on. I had it checked & was told it was the o2 sensors for which I replaced, 3 days later the engine light came back on again they said it was the o2 sensors. In the past 2 1/2 yrs I've had to replace the battery because while driving the battery light will come on. If I accelerate it goes off but nobody knows why the battery keeps dying. Some say its an electrical problem draining the battery. The interior lights will come on for no reason so I had them removed as I thought it might be draining the battery. Last summer out of the blue the A/C started making a noise and just quit just like a month ago I heard this clicking noise only to find out I had no heat. I spoke to ford about the gauges, the electrical problems, the A/C and some of the other issues and their response was it wasn't on their recall list and would only fix the rear axle, cruise control and the front if there was anything wrong. When I mentioned all the info I found on the federal safety agency's site about this vehicle I was told they have no control over what is fixed. I am disabled and am living in a place for the homeless & with all these problems how does ford expect me to fix their defects? Every time I have to drive which isn't often I pray I make it to & from safely.

Filed Jul 11, 2014 · Electrical, Transmission · 100,080 miles · MI · fire

Tl - the contact owns a 1999 ford windstar. The contact stated that while at a stop traffic light, the vehicle stalled and the check engine warning light illuminated. Additionally, the contact stated that the air conditioner was leaking and admitting smoke. A private mechanic repaired the vehicle, but the failure recurred. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure and current mileage was 100,080. The VIN was not available. Djr

Filed Nov 15, 2013 · Acceleration, Brakes · 119,380 miles · IN

My 19yr old daughter was traveling to new jersey from indiana on rt.70. When using the cruise control attempted to exit for a rest stop when she applied the break the ABS light came on and the cruise control did not disengage. She had committed to the exit ramp thank god she was able to move back off the ramp just in time to miss the over pass barrier. She had to ride the shoulder shutting down the ignition once she did that she was able tob resue. She did not use the cruise control again and but then the engine light came on a cold start. I check the code and dtcs found wade bank one and two lean found a bad pcv valve and replaced it. But when reading the codes found 9 additional codes c1185 c1198 c1194 c1254 c1256 c1250 c1242 c1214 and c1210. I then called the ford dealership and checked for recalls. Finding 3 I followed up having two being serious and having to do with speed control rear subframe and rear support. When asking the service advisor what these codes meant he had no clue he said and without a costly scanner charge the tech had no idea. So as always I hit the inter net andeasily found numerous complaints . . . I was a service advisor for honda for 5yrs and a tech for 10 prior. I never put my customers life on the line wth? Is ford teaching these men? I will have to inspect and repair this vehicle myself being disabled this will not come easy. I don't trust them at all anymore. My family's life is to important to have a money hungry company kill them. And once repairs are finished I will sell it and buy a honda. Yes honda is not perfect but I have never seen the company ever mislead customers intentionally as this and when they messup they cover their customers and fix it right.unreal.

Filed Aug 2, 2013 · Acceleration, Brakes · 150,000 miles · NC

Abs and trac failure lights come on, windows won't go up and down, cruise control cuts in and out and the check engine light flashes when cruise is on. Ford refuses to deal with this situation and stand by their product.

Filed Oct 18, 2012 · 152,000 miles · MA

I have had this van for a little bit more than a year now. After purchasing it I brought it to the closest dealership and had several recall issues attended to, supposedly at least. Since that time I have had many issues with the vehicle, ranging from electrical problems to neutral switches to tie rods and more. I was thinking of giving up and getting a new vehicle, I can not afford to keep up with repair costs. Then I brought it to another shop to get the check engine light taken care of recently, the mechanic informed me that many of these vans have been recalled, including those in massachusetts, and not only that but the van's are notorious for the electrical and other issues I had told him of. After inspecting the van he said the dealership shouldn't have let me leave with the vehicle and advised me not to drive it either, he deemed it unsafe. I have used this vehicle to transport my wife, our four kids, and many other family and friends and once hearing those words a literal chill ran down my spine at the thought of what could've happened. I have sent emails of my concerns to ford themselves and was replied to in a couple of days, I have since responded three times and I am still awaiting a response from them now almost a month later. I have since left my van at my sister's as my house was much further away and I didn't want to risk it. The issues I have researched about this van include the mentioned electrical problems, as well steering problems, transmission problems, brake system problems and more. I feel the vehicle is unsafe and will not drive it any longer, also when noticing other vehicles of the same model I feel they should be notified of these issues immediately. Ford knows of these problems as cases ranging in to 5 million plus vehicles affected.

Filed Jun 29, 2011 · Transmission · 140,000 miles · KY

Tl* the contact owns a 1999 ford windstar. The contact stated that the check engine warning light illuminated and the vehicle was taken to the dealer where the failure was located at the head gasket and transmission. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but the vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 140,000 and the current mileage was 163,000. The VIN was unavailable.

Filed Jun 13, 2011 · Body, Engine · 101,624 miles · PA

1. Sub-frame was badly rusted out. It broke while backing out of a parking space and the front tires disengaged. 2. The rocker panel on the left side needs to be replaced. It is badly rusted out and it will not pass inspection anymore. There is some rust on the right rocker panel also. All of the rust in under the vehicle and it is not safe to drive. 3. The check engine light came on last year.

Filed Apr 22, 2011 · Brakes · 137,000 miles · KY · crash

1999 ford windstar ABS malfunction - ABS and check engine lights illuminated. After skidding and striking a pole while parking, I brought this to the dealer who inspected the vehicle and described to problem as an annoyance at worst and that the vehicle's brakes work fine, the vehicle is safe to drive, and recommended not spending $1000 to fix the problem. When pressed for details, the dealer said that the ABS ecu ($1000 part) has failed but no big deal. Just the anti-lock portion of our braking wasn't working. I think this is a pretty big deal consider ABS is required for vehicle safety and the vehicle may not pass licensing inspections.

Filed Feb 1, 2011 · Brakes, Engine · 55,000 miles · PA

Bought the van in sept. 2002 with 55,000 miles, engine light came on within a week of having it. Took it back to car lot where we bought it, they took it to the ford dealer, couldn't find anything except that it came up a lean code they told me I didn't know how to put gas cap on the right way. That is not the problem. Kept dealing with light on to this day. May 2003 had to have the transmission replaced, got it back starting having same problems,took it back they said they forgot to replace a wire, still having problems to this day with transmission in fact oct. 2010 had to have it towed they said shavings found in motor will need transmission replaced again. Dome lights flash all the time. The gauges go haywire all the time, peg from one side to the other. Had that replaced and did it again. Took it in for recall dec. 28,2010 cracked rear axle still at dealer. Now just heard that the recall for sub frame will get papers in feb. Guess it will be there longer. Our dumb mistake we bought another windstar in sept. 2010 a 2003 all we could afford, that has problems with ABS light. Told over $800 to fix. We need two new cars, don't feel safe in either.

Filed Jan 18, 2011 · Electrical · 98,000 miles · MI

The dashboard gauges, tachometer, speedometer, gas, and temperature go haywire constantly. One time on a hill, I could not put the shift lever in park so that I could assist a handicapped family member out of my vehicle. The tachometer needle was pinned to the right, and the shift indicator couldn't move to the right to engage park. I never knew how much gas I had, the speed I was going, or the running temperature of my vehicle. The check engine light ran constantly even though there was no code showing up in the emission code scanner.. $ sets of intake manifold gaskets were installed after I purchased the vehicle. 3 by ford, one by another mechanic. I have a cracked rear axle, the van sits at the dealership, and I am worried about the front-end sub-frame.

Filed Dec 28, 2010 · Acceleration, Electrical · 127,445 miles · MD

Tl* the contact owns a 1999 ford windstar. The contact stated that the vehicle was abnormally pulling to the right in would sporadically become stuck in park. On a separate occasion the contact was driving 30 MPH when the check engine and overdrive warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where unknown repairs were performed yet the failure persisted after the repairs. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer several times where several unknown repairs were made but to no avail. In addition, the contact stated that the battery was replaced five times and the she was recently made aware of two open recalls on the vehicle; the federal safety agency campaign id numbers: 10v385000 (suspension:rear:axle:non-powered axle assembly) and 09v399000 (vehicle speed control). Neither recall repair had yet been performed on the vehicle. The failure mileage was 127,445 and the approximate current mileage was 150,000.

Filed Nov 1, 2010 · Transmission · 125,000 miles · NJ

Tl*the contact owns a 1999 ford windstar. The contact stated that the transmission slipped and the check engine light was illuminated. The failure had been occurring since october 2010. The vehicle also stalled when the failure occurred. The vehicle was taken to a local repair shop where the contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 125,000 and the current mileage was approximately 126,000.