I just did a copy/paste of what I sent to ford:--description of issue/concern: I took my van in for service. The check engine light was on and I could smell and see oil on the left side of the engine. Turns out it was the front valve cover, and I'm told that there was a tsb on this problem. It cost me $1000.00 to get this repaired. This is obviously a known problem, my in-laws have the same model windstar and they had the same problem, it cost them more. I should not have to pay for repairs to parts that were made/engineered wrong by ford. Now I hear of a problem with the cruise control causing fire, even without driving the van. It could be sitting in my driveway in the middle of the night and catch fire, and ford is not going to fix this problem either. A fire in the van parked next to my house while me, my wife, and kids are sleeping, that's not a problem you are willing to fix?
2000 Ford Windstar engine complaints
Page 3 of 5: complaints 41 to 70 of 104, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Dt: while driving ,the engine light came. We took the car to the dealership the next day. Service dept said that the valve cover allowed the oil to leak into the system. The repair cost was $636.00. I asked the service man, how do we know this will not happen again? He replied, ford designed a new valve cover that would prevent this from happening again. *nm *tt
My 2000 ford windstar will stall, while driving, without warning causing a loss of power to the engine, braking system and steering system in a 3800 pound vehicle. This is an intermittent problem, but repeats itself every 2 or 3 weeks or so. The last time it caused my wife to transverse into a stop sign controlled intersection in a populated residential area of los angeles county without brakes or steering. It has happened 15 times to myself and my wife and twice to south bay ford since approximately nov of 2004. I believe that ford dispatched engineers to south bay ford in hawthorne california who stated that this is an issue of fuel tank design and is not correctable. South bay ford and ford motor company together appear to be ready to return the vehicle to me with the instructions "don't let the fuel tank drop below 1/4 of a tank". The stated reason is that the ford windstar has a rectangular fuel tank that when driving on grades can cause the fuel to move to a part of the tank that will not pump the gas to the engine (this is supposedly a known bug and possibly associated with a service bulletin). I asked why, assuming that my driving habits (and my wife's) have not changed in relation to our letting our tank get below 1/4 tank, then why has this only surfaced as a problem in the last 4 or 5 months? Why not the first 3.5 years?!? This car is covered by an extended warranty for one more year. The car has been in the shop for nearly three weeks now. Ford can not fix the problem, but will not take ownership of it either.
The consumer complained about multiple problems with the vehicle on numerous occasions. The driver noticed smoke coming from underneath the vehicle, and pulled over. The smoke went out on its own. The driver had the vehicle towed. The second incident involved the transmission exploding while driving. The vehicle was towed to the dealer for inspection, and the mechanic determined that the transmission and the engine needed to be replaced. *ak only four of the seat belts worked. *sc
Vehicle experienced a problem with the valve cover. It was leaking and causing the intake manifold o-rings to fail. The immediate result caused the engine to run very lean. Too much air caused the spark in the engine to be too hot.
My 2000 ford windstar ,still under extended warranty, has a life-threatening bug. The engine, without warning, will stall while driving. It is intermittent, and very odd, but at whatever speed you are. *ak traveling, suddenly you realize that you have lost power to the engine, braking system and steering system, yet you are moving at the speed of traffic in a 3000+ pound vehicle without control. The vehicle has been taken to south bay ford multiple times and they state that there diagnosis of the car shows the vehicle to be in good heath. Yet, it keeps happening and will likely result in an accident if it continues. Vehicle is covered under warranty.
Ford windstar 1996 intake manifold gaskets replaced. *bf due to the mis-design of the intake manifold failed prematurely. The intake manifold was plastic.
The check engine went on and the codes p0171 and p0174 were found. There was an extreme loss in gas mileage leading up to this situation, down to ~10mpg. The gasket manifold, the line leading to it, and the cover assembly for a rocker arm were all replaced at a cost of $543.10. This on a 4yr old vehicle with only 47,000 miles. The dealer acknowledged that they had seen this before in the windstar. Kind of got the idea it was a chronic problem that should be covered by ford! In the course of repairing this they also determined that the left front axle seal was leaking and the servo cover gasket was leaking also. These were estimated to cost $465 so I will be spending over $1000.00 on this vehicle for defects in less than 5 years and under 50,000 miles. What a pile of junk! It will be a long time before I go back to ford if ever.
Check engine light came on..took to ford service dealer...told me seal to intake manifold was leaking. They do them all the time!! Problem is it only requires a few inexpensive seals to repair. Ford will only sell the complete intake manifold with seals. The intake manifold costs @ $600 so the cost of replacing a few faulty seals is 800-$1000. Why does ford not recall these seals or at least come out with a seal repair kit, so the consumer does not have to throw away a good intake manifold. I have owned this van since new, and I see that I am not the only one that has filed a complaint on this same item. If ford will not attempt to rectify this small problem, I will definitely be shopping elsewhere.
2000 ford windstar se stalls at red lights and when idling -- dealer kept insisting nothing wrong, yet would stall. In shop in october returned to us as working -- stalled in december again.
After pumping the brakes they could not stop the vehicle, and the check engine light was on. Dealer replaced the anti lock braking system , but the check engine light problem had not been repaired.*ak...also,overdrive light came on dealer replaced shaft sensor.
Consumer request for recall on ford windstar 2000, sounds like valves rattling.
While driving 35 MPH, the vehicle stalls. The consumer managed to pull over and restart the vehicle. The dealership was notified, but did not red resolve the problem. The cause was not determined. Please provide more information.
Consumer stated that emission light came on. She took the vehicle to the mechanic to be checked. After checking the vehicle, she was told that the intake manifold was leaking. Also, mechanic stated that vehicle was too new to have this problem.
While at a stop vehicle stalled. Dealership was notified, but did not resolve the problem.
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.
2000 ford windstar van check engine light coming on and rough idling, took van to ford and the problem was intake manifold gasket $850.00 repair van had 40000.0 miles, what was funny is my boss has the same van and same thing happened to him at 43000.0 miles. I think this is happening more than 4 occurences as stated.
The van started to idle very rough, from complete stall to racing, intermitently, then check engine light came on, to compensate, car needed to be placed in neutral at complete stops, dealer service indicated intake manifold gasket failed, caused, in part because of original manufacture of a plastic part that is no longer availble. Replacement part is indicated to be aluminum , several other gaskets replaced in a costly repair that ford refused to cover under warranty on van with only 41,500 miles.
While the vehicle was parked consumer heard a loud noise coming from the steering wheel when turning left/right. Then, vehicle surged forward. The dealership was notified, but did not resolve the problem. *ak dealer also performed diagnostic on vehicle, and found that the cause was a bad idle air control valve. Consumer declined repair on idle air control valve after diagnosis from first dealer. However, idle air control valve was replaced by a different service dealer.
When driving through an intersection vehicle stalled. This caused consumer to have the vehicle towed to the dealership for inspection.
While driving ,the piston blew out into the engine and caused the vehicle to stall. *ak the engine was replaced at the owners expense.
I bought this vehicle in nov 2003 from pacific coast ford in federal way wa. It is now march 2004, I have in the past 4 months had to replace the battery, which would not hold a charge. The tires replaced due to the front pasenger side tire blowing out while driving on the freeway. Next thing was the brakes front and back. The van started all of a sudden making a terrible grinding noise. When I took it in to have it looked at they said it needs brakes. Next I had to have my back windshield replaced due to it shattering with no explanation. The van had not been driven since friday. Sunday morning my neighbors came to my door to tell me that they were standing outside smoking when all of a sudden my back window had shattered. Following that I had to have the head gasket replaced along with the spark plugs. Which is a manufacture defect on ford's end. When I took my van into the dealer they told me what was the problem also gave me a bulletin update on the problem. The original exhaust manifold gasket has a small hole in it, then new exhaust manifold does not have this hole. If you ask me ford should be fixing that! Since I have bought this van and had all this trouble I have been online looking up everybody else's comments on this van and all are the same. Faulty head gaskets, brakes, wiring, doors, battery, glass not being installed properly, tires bulging causing blowouts. It seems to me that ford should own up to these problems. Before this I had financed a brand new 2000 ford escort drove it down to california from washington when there was a sudden death in the family and never had not 1 problem with it. The only reason I upgraded to a van is because I have 3 kids and sometimes I have a friend of theirs or something so really we need the room of a van, but with all of this trouble I am thinking about going back to a car! Can anyone help me nail ford on these issues? I am compiling a file and mailing it to headquarters.
While driving the driver could smell a burning odor and the engine light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who determined that the intake gasket failed and was causing oil to leak.
Manifold gasket leak. Tbs article no. 03-16-1. This repair was done 7 months earlier than this and we paid a $200.00 deductable and our warranty company paid the rest. 7 months and 13,800 miles later it went again and they never did the tbs to it the first time and they wouldn't pay for their error in not taking care of the problem the first time. Our warranty company would not pay as it's a faulty part from ford and it should have been addressed at the 7 month prior apt. I had also brought it in a few months prior to this oct. Visit as the engine light was on and they said it was because my gas cap wasn't on tight enough and was charged $85.00 for this visit. I wonder if this was a sign of what was happening. We we're treated terribly by ford not only with not paying for their error but disrepectfull and uncalled for language and behavior.
12/02 engine light came on - had to have upper plenum gasket, o-rings, vacuum elbow and valve cover with gasket replaced for $600.00. 4/03, car less than 3 yrs. Old but with 44k miles, the transmission blew: weld broke on the "drum over the planetary gear". So warranty expired at 36k miles but windstar still under 3 yrs. Old. I expect a car to last at least 3 years before anything this expensive happens. Want ford to pay for repairs and extend warranty til windstar is paid for in 2005.
The ABS system still is not working right. The mechanics say that the ABS and the emissions could very well be caused by the same problem - a faulty computer. Both modules have been diagnosed to be bad, however, the local ford dealership has been unwilling to use a "post warranty adjustment" to help fix this problem. It seems unreasonable that with just over 60,000 miles these types of problems can be considered anything but manufacturer defects.
At this time we are leasing a 2000 windstar lx and we can't wait to turn it in to the dealership - and we plan to never purchase another ford product again. We have purchased a used honda accord and expect that we will be quite happy with it... There was a recall on the exhaust/emissions was fixed and the light came on again and will not go out - eastgate ford, dayton, oh does not know why the light will not go out. The paint on the luggage rack is peeling off. The door actuator on the passenger sliding door - does not work - it takes 2 people to open the door, one inside and one outside. The power steering pump is faulty. Ford has a service bullentin out - but there is no recall because ford does not believe there is a safety issue here - I do not agree. Proper steering is pretty important and if a smaller size female or male was turning left and the pump failed, it could be quite hazzardous. Our biggest complaint is the way ford motor company and eastgate ford have treated us. There is no accountability on either part. Ford or eastgate won't stand behind their product.
Right from the day I bought the van, I have had one issue or the other. Here are some of the major issues. 1. Tires - my new van had bumps on all 4 tires. Every tire dealer told me they would burst on driving. They were general tires. I went to ford many times and opened a case with them also to no avail. After 12,000 miles, I decided to buy 4 new tires myself for the safety of my family at my own expense. 2. At 15,000 miles, I had to get my front brakes changed as they had reached their end of life. 3. At 15,000 miles, I also had to get my transmission fluid as well as drop pan changed as they worn out 4. At 30,000 miles, I had to get my front brake pads again changed (these were also worn out). What is surprising is that my rear brakes are fine 5. At 30,000 miles, I also had to get my transmission fluid as well as drop pan changed as they worn out 6. At 40,000 miles, my check engine light came on, for which I had to get the entire cooling system changed as well as had major engine work done to remove the light. The bill was in a few thousand, and I still don't know what they did to get it all fixed 7. At 45,000 miles, I had to get front rotors and brakes again. 8. At 45,000 miles I also had to get my front tie rods changed as they were squeaking 9. My automatic door sensor has never worked since I bought the van. If you shut the doors using the electronic door openers, and if something is in the way, it will still shut the door trapping the item, rather than reversing the process. 10. My drivers side power seats have just failed, and I am yet again faced with a large expense. I will never buy a ford again
2000 windstar with design flaw with the front valve cover causes costly repairs.
We have owned this 2000 ford windstar since february of 2002. I have lost count of how many times we have taken it back to the dealer because of the poor gas mileage. It was getting 13 mpg and the dealer said that was normal. But over the past 3 months we have taken it back to the dealer 8 times because of the check engine light. The dealership has replaced the upper/lower intake gaskets, fuel pump, fuel filter, fuel line, mass oxygen flow sensor, both o2 sensors, valve cover gaskets, and a couple of other things too. The gas mileage actually got worse after several of the repairs. We are averaging between 9 - 10 mpg. In addition to the engine problems, our door locks don't work right and the interior lights don't work at all automatically...we have to turn them on and off. The door locks on the sliding doors have to worked by hand. I am so sick and tired of this car. We have had to cancel two road trips because of the problems, because I don't trust the car out of town. It already left me stranded overnight because the transmission blew up two months after we bought it.
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