My 2 1/2 year old son put the keys into the ignition,turned it to position 3,grabbed the gear shift and pulled it out of park without pressing the brake. The van rolled out of the driveway accross the street into the woods stopping once it hit a tree. I have checked into this myself and was able to pull the gear shift out of park numerous times without my foot on the brake in position 3. I called ford motor company they will not do anything about it since there is no recall. Also talked to a ford dealership and in order for them to look at it we will have to pay. We cannot afford this and feel they should check it out in case this is a start of a recall.
2000 Ford Windstar electrical complaints
Page 8 of 9: complaints 191 to 220 of 222, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Dt: having electrical problems, started out of the blue. Driving the road, using cruise control, disengaged the cruise control, and few minutes later engine died. No problems until this incident. Have taken vehicle to the dealer and had the electrical system checked. Consumer doesn't believe that his vehicle was checked properly. Scared to drive vehicle, interior lights won't go off, and heard a crackling sound on the side of the van, on the fuel tank side. So the consumer disconnected the battery because of he was afraid it would catch on fire. Went today and reconnected the battery all the lights came on without the van being started.
O/d off light flashes all the time, vehicle smells like fuel when shut off no one can tell me whey engine light will not go out. Oxygen sensor has been changed. Van has a short no one can find it putter and cut off all the time its drivable around town that's it runs too long it shuts off if A/C or heat is on too long it makes a groaning noise and will not stop until shut off vehicle then restart. Everyone that looks at it say its a ford issue local dealer said nothing is wrong with van.
Vehicle is experiencing problems with the lights. Owner was driving at approximately 55 MPH and without warning all the lights, including headlights, dash lights went out. The lights are in the on position but the lights would go out. Provide further details.
The vehicle kept blowing fuses, and caused the transmission to mallfunction. The manufacturer refused the claim. *ak the heater would make a thump noise inside and would not heat, the third light blew fuses and could not be shifted out of park, there was no out put from the ABS relay, there was possibly an intermittent short in the switch, the ABS light stayed on, the short was traced to the deactivator switch, leaking fluid into the switch. *sc
Manifold gaskets failed, exhaust sensors failed, fuel injector wires rubbed together causing arc and fuel injector failure, spark plug replaced, spark plug wiring harness failed. Van has approx. 48,000 miles. Also having problems with electrical; power doors, power locks, front-driver power seat, back-up sensors all have failed at one point or another. Van has been serviced for all problems on at least four separate occasions over the period of ownership. We purchased new.
While driving consumer saw smoke coming from the hood. Consumer pulled over, and vehicle caught on fire. Consumer was able to get out of the vehicle safely. The fire department was called to extinguish the fire, and a police report was issued. Vehicle was towed.
Check engine light illuminated. Consumer shifted the battery and the indicator light turned off.
The consumer stated that the anti-lock brake system warning light flashed intermittently while driving and the brakes made noise. The battery and wipers failed on the same day. The transmission was replaced but continued to experience problems. *ak
Both sliding doors failed on different occasions, they didn't work automatically or manually. The dealer inspected four times, and problem continued. *ak the radio quit , the directional switch had broken, the power doors/switches failed various times, and the door unlatched while parked and in motion. *scc
The sliding doors would unlatch on their own without warning while driving. The electrical doors were control by remote. The took the vehicle to the dealership at least 7 times for the problem before having the sliding door repaired. Now the driver side sliding door is having the same unlatching problem. A child sits on the outboard position where the sliding doors are unlatching. *ak the rear suspension was readjusted, the vehicle had various electrical problems such as the ABS light, the theft flashing light, and the speedometer. Ph
The horn button is difficult to locate and push. In emergency situations, may not be able to blow the horn in time to help avoid a bad situation. I selected a date below because it is required. Thisis not an actual event date. This is an ongoing problem.
The door ajar light illuminated, the power door locks and interior lights became inoperative and the sliding door opened by itself.
Transmission will downshift very roughly, driver gets thrown forward. Dealer cannot find cause.*ak the transmission was down shifting with a terrible jolt at low speed. The vehicle was difficult to start when cold and damp, also when the ignition was switched off and then back to start the engine fires and runs. The vehicle stalling was determined to be fuel pump failure. The gas mileage dropped from 23 mpg to 16 mpg and the vehicle burns more oil. The lights flicker when driving at night and A/C is on, also the vehicle shakes while idling with the A/C on. The driver?s seat cut and slashed the consumer?s clothing. There was a weak green light from the battery. Vehicle vibrates at high speed. The driver?s door was difficult to shut.
Manufacturer states; van is built to their specifactions, thus there is nothing wrong with it. No safety defect listed.
Ignition switch locked up.
Prior to the recall radio, door locks from the remote, and upper switches for door locks were inoperative. Consumer received a recall notice, 02s33, from ford (the federal safety agency campaign id#00v351000) regarding water and other contaminants may enter into the right rear passenger compartment due to a missing body sealer conditions - occurring during the assembly process. If water or other contaminants enter this area a short circuit in the electrical connector may occur. Consumer believes that both radio and a lock system problem appears to be due to the recall defect, dealer refused to fix the recall.
Vehicle shut down without prior warning. Dashboard panel will flash on and off, and vehicle will beep. Dealership is aware of problem.
Had several recalls performed, including one pertaining to campaign 02v072000 concerning electrical system. One month later, van had an electrical fire. Dealer stated that there was too much damage to determine cause. City fire chief stated that fire was electrical related.*ak.
A conversion company installed a solenoid ignition switch to open and close the middle door, which is attachment for the ramp to come down to the ground. The switch will make a buzzing noise, and will open and close intermittently.
Radio and locking system has short circuited. Ford cannot explain to consumer the reason for the short circuit. Consumer feels it's due to the recall defect which states that water and other contaminants may enter the vehicle damaging the electrical connector located at the rear wire harness.
Consumer stated the rear passenger door will not close/open properly or remain in the lock position, the dealer has tried numerous times to fix the defect but has been unsuccessful.(lawyer, daniel uhlfelder on behalf of client)
While driving at 60mph a brake light flashes. Consumer is unable to read light, then vehicle shuts down.
The car was driven two miles then parked and turned off. About ten minutes after parking the car, it was noticed that the car was filling with smoke & leaking out of the door cracks. The fire company responded and exstinquished an electrical fire apparently originating with the rear defroster. There was no evidence(smell) of fire while the car was driven.
When I first purchased my vehicle, the battery was dead and had to be jump-started. After that, on a regular basis, my battery would lose its charge. On 12/15/00 the battery was replaced. Since I purchased the vehicle the airbag light has been coming on intermittently. Sometimes it flashes, other times it stays on, I can be driving and it will come on all of a sudden and later it will go off. The sliding doors sometimes pop back open when I close them. The driver's side door doesn't always open when I push the button. The passenger side door sometimes sounds like its not completely closed. It looks like it's closed on the outside, but rattles going over bumps or around corners. This problem particularly scares me because I have a child sitting in the seat next to that door. I am also afraid that the airbag is going to deploy while I am driving the car. I have brought my van in to the dealership on 3 different occasions and each time they said that they could not duplicate the concern. The last time they had my van for 4 days.
Consumer states horn is very hard to blow.
Driver must search for right place to push for horn to work.
Parked vehicle/turned vehicle off/ removed key and accessory position would still be engaged. This affected power windows/radio/ windshield wipers & anything thing electronic. Contacted & been to dealership for 5 1/2 weeks. Issue could not be resolved.*ak the manufacturer report indicates that there is 5 minutes waiting time before key is removed, which makes it dangerous if some one unknowingly removes the key immediately after parking.
On 5/1/00 I was attempting to stop at a red light and my car slowed down but continued to roll and would not stop. I had to stand up in my seat and puch the brake to the floor to get the car to stop. While attempting this, the car made a horrible grinding noise and shook violently. It was a brand new car and it was raining so I thought maybe I just needed to get used to it. On 5/7/00, sunday, I was out and at every stop sign or light the car would not stop again. I called the dealer the next day, advised them of the problem. I had the car towed in as I was petrified to drive it. They looked at it and told me they could find nothing wrong. I told them I was not taking the car home until they found the problem and fixed it. At 7pm on the 9th they called and said a tech had taken the car home overnight and it happened to him and he almost killed someone so they now believed me. They said it was a switch that told the computer whether I was accelerating or braking. I picked the car up at 8pm that day. As I was driving to work the next morning and went to stop at a light, the same thing happened again. I got to work called a tow truck and the dealer and told the dealer do not return it until it was fixed. That was on 5/10. The evening of 5/11 I was called once again and was told it was fixed. They now believed it was the speed sensor and had replaced it. All was well, for a while. Yesterday, 10/17 I was driving home from work and this same thing happened again. This is the third time and I am scared to get back in that car. I have two small children and am afraid for their safety.
Intermittently windshield wipers become inoperable, obstructing view of driver. Dealer has repaired and inspected the vehicle three times. *ak a wire harness failure caused the windshield wipers inoperable.
VIN decoder
See the problems and recalls for an exact car
Buying a used 2000 Ford Windstar?
Check the exact car before you pay: accidents, salvage or flood titles, odometer readings and previous owners.
Check its history