2000 ford windstar sel. Discovered a crack in rear axle. It was located near the center of span between rear wheels. The crack ran from top to bottom of the axle about 3" and was spread apart approximately 1/8" on bottom. There was only 50% of the axle remaining. Fortunately I discovered it just prior to a vacation trip with our family of 5. There has been no known event to explain the cause.
2000 Ford Windstar suspension complaints
Page 12 of 13: complaints 311 to 340 of 356, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Car didn't seem right felt like back end swaying. Made noise. Brought to repair shop, need new rear axle assembly, or also called rear I beam assembly, it has a major crack. This is a major safety issue the car is unsafe to drive and this part is on backorder.
I was driving at 3:00pm with my children in the van when my back drivers side tire blew out and the rear axle spit into two. This happened without warring. I drive a 2000 ford windstar sel with approx. 100k miles.
Tl*the contact owns a 2000 ford windstar. On june 12, 2008, the handling in the vehicle malfunctioned. The contact took the vehicle to a local mechanic for routine maintenance and was informed of a 4-inch crack in the rear axle on the driver's side of the vehicle. The mechanic stated that he does not have the tools to repair the vehicle; therefore, he will reassemble the vehicle so it can be taken to the dealer for repair. The failure and current mileages were 137,000.
I noticed that the rear end of the car was "bouncing" as I went around a corner. I immediately brought the car home and noticed that both rear tires were bowing out at the bottom. I put the car up on a jack to investigate and saw where the rear axle had severed half way through in two different spots. Rust was visible at one location. The worse of the two sever points was on what appears to be on a vertical seam in the metal. I was very fortunate that it happened to me as I was running to the store just prior to my wife taking our three daughters to ballet - for which she would have been driving on a major interstate. I have now seen at least 4 other comments of the same issue on the internet. This is definitely a manufacturer defect and needs to be recalled before there is a fatality.
Catastrophic failure of the right lower control arm mounts at the subframe occurred with no warning or prior symptoms. The vehicle is a 2000 ford windstar with approximately 95k miles. At the time of the failure the driver was pulling away from a curb when the control arm mounts broke causing the wheel to swing away from the vehicle and the drive axle to pull out of the transmission. The vehicle was towed to a local service station where it was examined. The dealer was contacted who in turn instructed me to contact ford motor company directly. Under the direction of ford motor company the vehicle was towed to the dealer to determine the cause of failure. The dealer determined that the sub-frame was rusted out in the area around the passenger side control arm mounts. Ford has refused to offer any assistance in fixing the problem. A search of the federal safety agency complaint database revealed 12 other complaints of similar failures with 1998-2001 windstars. (odi #s: 10152076, 10103097, 10152712, 10138539, 10183135, 10171784, 10173473, 10153590, 10200106, 10005872, 761511, 10172459) there appears to be a trend related to excessive corrosion leading to premature failure of the rear portion of the subframe on the passenger side. One possible factor could be the placement of the air conditioner system and the tendency for condensation to drip on this portion of the frame whenever the system is in cooling or defrost mode causing accelerated corrosion. This is a severe failure that is premature, not easily detectable, potentially fatal, and will likely occur more frequently as these vehicles age. I strongly urge the federal safety agency to conduct an engineering investigation regarding this failure.
My 2000 ford windstar with appx 79500 miles had the rear axle nearly severed (appx 80 %) on apr 24, 2007 while pulling out of my driveway. My local ford dealer service mgr states that he has seen at least 5 of these malfunctions. My vehicle has been highly maintained, garage stored, and under body flushed twice a year since I purchased it in the spring of 2000. Upon inspection of the axle, it was apparent that corrosion was present in an appx 1/2 inch area, and the roadside curb caused the crack from this weakened spot. Obviously, if a less observant driver had not noticed the instability and had taken it on a high speed highway, a catastrophic accident would likely have occurred. Kenny ross ford south replaced the axle (for $1135.74), and I have retained the old one for my next course of action.
Contact states that it was a dry an clear day. His wife was driving up a hill one of the rods tore away from the sub frame of the vehicle. After this separation it caused the vehicle to come to a screeching halt. The contact gained this information after have the vehicle towed to a repair shop. The contact has already contacted ford about the problems with windstar van, but they are saying that it is outside of his warranty.
1- there was not any symptom leading up to failure. 2- the failure was on the front passenger wheel. The weld on one of the control arms actually broke off the frame. As a result the wheel was allowed move in a different direction then the driver side wheel. This forced the vehicle off the opposite side of the road in a very immediate uncontrolled manner. 3- there was nothing done to correct this problem as of yet. Dealer doesn't have any interest in fixing the vehicle unless we pay for it.
Dt*: the contact stated while driving 40 MPH on normal road conditions, and avoiding to hit a deer, the sub frame of the engine manifold fell out. The vehicle had to be towed to an independent body shop, who determined that the sub frame rusted completely and needed to be replaced. The dealer was contacted, who determined that the VIN # did not fit under any recall. The vehicle was currently at the body shop waiting for repairs. The ball joints and brakes were replaced as well. Updated 12/01/06.
2000 ford windstar's front coil spring fractured when backing out of parking space. *ts the fractured coil spring punctured the tire and caused the front end of the vehicle to collapse.
Dt*: the contact stated while backing out of a parking space at low speed, the right front coil spring fractured and punctured the tire without warning. The vehicle will be inspection by an independent repair shop.
Vehicle vibrates at hihgway speed and can't be resolved by wheel balancing etc.
2000 ford windstar with less than 70,000 miles on it. Front right spring broke while backing the car out of garage, and it punctured the tire as well as ruined the strut shock. Dealer claims it is normal for a soaring to rust out in (6) six years. Due to our previous issues with a 1996 windstar, we had purchased an extended maintenance contract for this vehicle, so we did not have to pay for the right hand vehicle damage. But, due to the very high probability that the left spring would rust through and fail soon, we opted to pay to have the left spring and other components fixed at the same time as we had the right side repaired. My wife's life and the safety of other drivers on the road is worth more than the cost to replace a rusted out, poor quality coil spring / design. If this spring would have broken at highway speed, my wife could have been killed due to the aggressive way the broken spring punctured the tire, actually piercing into the tire and locking it from rotation.
Both front coil springs broken.
Dt: 2000 ford windstar. The consumer stated the front coil spring on the driver's side broke and went through the tire. The vehicle was parked when this happened. There was a slight noise in the vehicle when it was being driven. The vehicle was taken to the dealership, the coil springs on both sides and the tire had to be replaced.
Front left coil spring broke while backing out of garage, piercing inside sidewall of tire, puncturing it. Front coils replace at my expense. Old (broken) spring is in my possession. May send our for metallurgical fracture analysis to determine root cause.
Front coil spring broke taking out front break lines,front strut and frontaxil damage $1610.00
2000 ford windstar tire suddenly deflated when one of the coil springs broke. The consumer notified the manufacturer but they informed him that there was no recall on the vehicle for the coil springs. *mr
While backing slowly from a driveway, the right front coil spring spontaneously broke and collapsed onto the wheel/tire assembly. Resulted in damage to wheel, tire, strut assembly, sway bar asssembly, and brakes. The vehicle is in the shop awaiting repair w/ costs >$2,000.00. Original parts still available. This is the second occurrence of this type to my vehicle in < 1 year. Left side failed 7/25/2004. Please reference odi id number :10086894.
Dt: the owners car was parked in the driveway when she heard a loud banging/spilling. She looked underneath the van, and the front coil spring on the driver's side broke. The mileage was 60,000. There was no difference in the driving before this happened. But, had heard a squeaking noise. Vehicle was not in motion when this happened. Consumer has not corrected the failure today vehicle was parked. The owner was waiting to see if the manufacturer would offer to pay partially for repairs.
Vehicle extremely hard to stear and made loud noise. Passenger side coil spring broke and jammed against tire. Nothing has been done so far there are no coil springs available from ford or after market supplier. Spring still on the car at a ford dealer.
Dt:the consumer has had the car aligned twice and tires continue to wear on the inside of the front tires. The 1st alignment was at 18,000 miles, the dealer reported he needed new tires again. *nm the consumer now has 78,000 miles on the vehicle and is on 4th set of tires. The consumer changed brand of tires but problem is still occurring. This is the consumer's 2nd windstar and with the previous car went through the same thing with the tires.*sb
Dt: front drivers' side coil went through the tire, deflating the tire. The whole front end came down.
Consumer stated: car was sitting still and coil spring blew out and went through left front tire and shredded the tire.
While reversing, the front driver side spring punctured the tire. This caused a tire blow out. The dealership the spring. Please provide more information.
While coming up to highway speed (~40 MPH) upon entering a busy interstate, the driver heard a loud noise from the left front, followed by a lost of steering and braking control. Vehicle was not drivable. Technician reported that left front coil spring failed and resulted in damage to other suspension parts and ABS wiring to that brake unit. Parts were replaced. Old part not available.
Coil spring on my 2000 ford windstar broke and fell into tire and tie rod. Upon inspection found the other spring was cracked. Had the van towed to a shop and repaired. I do have the springs and since I have not received any satisfaction from ford I am thinking about filing a case in small claim court.
My vehicle was parked in driveway. I sat in the drivers seat of vehicle ,closed the door I heard a loud bang from the front of vechicle on left side.upon inspection of front of car saw that the left coil spring had broken and was sticking out touching sidewall of tire. Car was not driveable because tire could be punctured by sharp piece of spring.vehicle was towed to dealer.I had the dealer replace both front springs. I though possibly the right spring could also break.I have both springs and are available be checked.
While driving consumer heard a noise coming from the front of the vehicle. Consumer pulled over and noticed that the front passenger tire was shredded. Vehicle was taken to a body shop for inspection, and mechanic determined that front coil spring needed to be replaced due to worn out parts.
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