Severe power steering fluid leak due to rack and pinion failure.
1999 Ford Windstar steering complaints
Page 4 of 7: complaints 71 to 100 of 184, newest first, as owners wrote them.
At 71,876 miles the rack and pinion steering and power steering pump failed on my 1999 ford windstar, leaving me without power steering while driving. On a car of this size it is, I believe dangerous to drive without the power steering.
Sudden loss of power steering...1999 ford windstar 68000 mile need driving pump & rack replaced @ $1000. After speaking with number of friends and visiting forums, note that this safety problem appears widespread. Apparent design defect. Ak
My power steering just recently started making a grinding noise at 64,000 miles. I noticed that the fluid was low. I filled it up and it keeps losing fluidi found a site on the internet where a lot of winstar owners are complaining about the same. *ak problem...premature failure of the power steering system. Some repairs are over $1500.00. The website where you can view these complaints is www.cartrackers.com/forums/live/fordwindstar/249.html. I hope you can help all of us winstar owners in getting ford to reimburse us for the defective power steering. Obviously with so many complaints, ford has a defective product and they need to be held accountable!!
Problems with vehicle's transmission and rack and pinion.*mr the rack and pinion type gear had to be replaced at 71,900 miles. One month later while at a traffic light, the consumer stepped on the accelerator and the vehicle did not move, the vehicle was towed to a near by mechanic shop where the transmission was replaced. *jb
Power steering goes out when it is raining on my 1999 ford windstar.
We replaced the transmission on our 99 windstar 4 weeks ago...two days ago the power steering started grinding and we brought it in for repairs...replaced the power steering pump within 30 miles of the dealer the noise in the power steering came back and after paying $800.00 for the power steering pump they want to now charge us $600.00 to replace the rack...in the last 4 weeks the repairs on the windstar have been over $4000.00... This on a vehicle with less than 70,000 miles...I have pages of windstar owner complaints of the same nature...the transmission and the power steering on the windstar is faulty and I hope ford listens...this will be the last ford we purchase!
We bought our 1999 windstar in 2002 with only 27,000 miles on it; from the beginning the power steering would groan and make noises. We complained about it to several shops, but we were assured that it was "normal." yesterday the power steering noise was very loud and constant and there was difficulty steering. Today the steering went completely out while I was driving to work. The repair shop says it is the rack and pinion.
1999 ford windstar. Only 60,000 miles, rack and pinion is leaking power steering fluid on both sides. Very expensive to fix, and should not be happening with so few miles on it. Vehicle becomes very hard to steer, when sitting at a store and you come out, it is hard to steer to get it home.
Power steering fluid is leaking out of rack on left side. Vehicle only has 52,950 miles on it. Dealership states there are no service bulletins but according to this web site there are. The dealership should pay for repairs if they have been aware this is a problem.
1999 ford windstar, with 58,000 miles leaks power steering fluid out of left rack. Dealer says common problem with rack and pinion. Makes grinding and squealing sound , constant loss of fluid.
1999 fordwindstar steering rack replaced at 62000 miles, transmission replaced at 75000 miles and intake gasket rplaced at 75000 miles.
While driving, lost the rack and pinion steering control on my 1999 windstar van. Only 31,000 miles on the van even though it is 4 years old.
1999 windstar se - steering problems, replaced steering "rack" in march 2003, is already going out again. Reputation of bad "racks", so bad our local ford dealer keeps them in stock. About 52,000 miles.
My 1999 ford windstar began to make loud grinding noises when the steering wheel was turned in either direction. I immediately took it to the dealershipwhere it was purchased. I was told that the rack and pump would have to be replaced. *ak replaced and the cost would be $1295.00. The vehicle has only 38,000 miles and has exceeded the three year warranty.
Steering fluid leaked from the steering rack and pinion. Dealer notified and stated there was a technical service bulletin on this problem# 01-5-6-6. *ak *scc
The power steering rack is leaking which causes the vehicle to lose power steering while driving.
While driving, the vehicle lost power steering which made the vehicle difficult to control. *jb the power steering pump was replaced, and also the wires were burnt. Ph
Rack and pinion steering is not working properly, dealer notified.
Transmission, sliding door, driver door, rack and pinion, steering pump, intake manifold, front suspension upper link, world's fastest declining vehicle value, world's worst customer service and satisfaction representatives.
While driving the power steering fluid started to leak which made it difficult for the consumer to steer the vehicle.
While the consumer made a turn the power steering pump made a loud noise. The dealer was notified.
As my wife was backing our ford windstar into the driveway, a spray of hot oil came from the driver side tire and hit me on the right leg not serious but turned my leg red for a short time. Appears to be power steering fluid as she finished backing up the vehicle into the driveway, the car was making a horrible groaning noise. Have added a couple of ounces of power steering fluid into the resevoir. Will drive or maybe have vehicle towed to repair shop.
The consumer had to use excessive force when the steering wheel was turned. The dealer stated the rack and pinion and power steering pump had failed. However, they were previously replaced in november 2001 by the dealer.
1/.windshield wiper is not completely wiping off water on the windshield when it travels at 65 MPH only 1/3 upper part of windshield is wiped of. It is very dangerous for driving on the freeway on rainy day. 2/ paint is bubbling and peeling of from the hood. 3/ the car is humbling and make noise when it is at stop and A/C on (may be the pressure from the power steering pulling).
My 1999 ford windstar has suffered a complete steering rack failure with less than 70,000 miles on the vehicle. The service technician informed me the original part was prone to early failure and the replacement component was much improved. However, if there is a flaw in the original part, I feel that ford should pay for the repair.
Power steerin rack is leaking fluid. After having to replace the power steering pump ($335+), becuase it burned out due to the failure of the rack, ( leaking fluid through the rack, system couldn't maintain system pressure) I am now faced with having to replace the rack at a cost of over $600.
We just had to replace the transmission in our 1999 ford windstar. It has 107,000 miles on the odometer. When we had 63,000 miles, we had to replace the power steering rack. This is a very expensive vehicle to own - especially with the expensive repairs that it requires.
Teering rack failure on 1999 ford windstar with less than 18,033 miles. Caused unstable condition, including lack of steering control.
Concerning: 1999 ford windstar with with 59,000 miles. Recently our vehicle started making a strange rubbing sound when turning and rapidly started to get worse. We took our van into the ford dealership for service and were told that the tie rod ends were shot. The repairman (at ford) told us that we are lucky we got it in for service when we did. Apparently the tie rods could have broken at any time while driving! The van is well taken care of and I don't understand why the tie rods would be in such bad shape. This seems like a manufacturer concern and certainly a safety concern for all of those who transport their families in a windstar! I'd like to see ford cover the cost of this repair and tell me why my families' safety was put into jeopardy while driving such a new vehicle.
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