My son and I were driving to bj's warehouse after buying mulch at lowe's. We just got off the highway and was about 1/4 mile from bj's when we heard a loud clunk. I thought the tire blew at first and continued into the closest parking lot. I looked under the car and found that my rear axle I-beam had snapped in two. Both the flatbed driver who towed it and my mechanic said they never saw such a thing happen before. A steel beam braking in two isn't supposed to happen. We were lucky we didn't have an accident. Ford will only have a recall after someone dies and a multi-million dollar lawsuit follows. That would bring the kind of publicity that ford would have to react to. It seems that's the only time any of these carmakers back their vehicles is after a tragedy and a major investigation. Lives just aren't important to them. Just profits.
2000 Ford Windstar suspension complaints
Page 9 of 13: complaints 221 to 250 of 356, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Without known cause, the rear axle of our 2000 ford windstar lx snapped in half while being driven. The only thing noticed,only moments prior to the break, was the back end swiveling just a bit. The rear axle was replaced, the old one discarded, and one of our brand new tires was also replaced due to the friction it sustained.
We have a 2000 ford windstar that we took to our mechanic for inspection. While being inspected, the mechanic noticed that the rear beam axle was rotted and cracked. This is the 2nd rear axle that rotted out on the van. 1st one was replaced in july 2008. Car is still at mechanics garage, awaiting instructions for repair. Ford has no recall on the axle.
We were backing slowly out of the driveway. The van sounded like something was caught underneath the vehicle and was dragging. We got out of the car to see what the problem was. We noticed the rear wheels were both tilted inward and the rear axle was dragging on the ground, damaging the driveway. The van had to be towed to an independent mechanic in which the rear axle was replaced. The failure mileage was approximately 72,000 miles.
Driving home from phila, pa the rear was fish tailing with every little bump. Being close to home I figured I could check it after arriving home. Rear axle broke off completely in half on my street. Both rear tires went inward and were against the wheel well . The car could not go forward or backward as the axle was on the ground. Snapped approx. 18 inches from the left side. Luckily we were not on a highway at the time. 4 passengers. Needed 3 tow trucks before one figured out how to tow is without anymore damage. Had a new axle put in for $1200. My wife is still afraid to drive it.
I have a 2000 ford windstar van and the rear axle snapped in two. I think it happened when we pulled into our driveway. I have not fixed it yet because it is very expensive and have to save up the money.
I discovered a large crack in the rear axle beam of my 2000 ford windstar when doing routine brake work. The crack goes halfway through the axle beam so I decided to take the vehicle off the road until I contact ford motor company. I will contact them a.s.a.p. To determine what action I should take at this point. In my opinion the vehicle is not currently safe to operate as the axle could completely fracture at any given time due to the severity of the crack. I have read that many other windstar owners have experienced this problem, yet ford has done nothing to notify owners about the possibility of axle failure. I have taken several photos of the axle for documentation before I have the it replaced.
On wed may 12th I was backing out of my driveway to take one of my kids to a guitar lesson. My 2000 ford windstar, which had been working fine, suddenly made an odd noise and the tires were bent inward toward the car. I got out and discovered that the rear axle had broken! The car has not been in any accidents and there were no signs of this problem occurring. I had the car repaired and was told by the repair shop that they had seen a number of these incidents occurring. The car is okay now, but I had to pay over 900.00 to have the damage fixed and I am very concerned about other owners of this type of car.
My 2000 ford windstar rear axle split in half during normal driving conditions (5/28/10). I am in the process of inquiring how much the repair will cost.
I own a 2000 ford windstar se. I noticed my car shuddering a bit on the expressway late last week (5/20/10.) I slowed a bit and the movement stopped. I pulled off the expressway and continued driving on city streets. I tried increasing my speed but could not recreate the 'shuddering.' over the weekend, I felt the movement once more so I stayed at low speeds on city streets and planned on taking the car in on monday to have it checked. The movement had not returned. On sunday, may 23 I had to drive about 7 miles to work. About 1 mile short of my destination the shuddering returned, but much worse and at low speed. I slowly drove the car into a parking lot and saw my left rear tire was tilted. Thinking the tire was loose (I had new rear shocks put on about 1 month ago and thought maybe they had not tightened the nuts enough) I jacked the car up a bit and popped the hubcap. The lug nuts were all tight but the raised car gave me a clear view of my rear axle, completely split in half. The axle was still holding up the car only because the two halves were still pressed together. The axle was completely broken through (not just cracked) basically right at the mid point. I have had the car taken to a repair shop on a flat bed truck, but work has not started on it yet. Tonight I checked on line and found that this problem is being investigated by your agency. Here's another case for you to add to the list. I feel extremely lucky to be writing this to you without having been in the accident that this defect so easily could have caused. Interestingly, I have had work done on the car a couple of times in the past month and no one noticed/reported any axle damage. The car was riding fine up to this past week.
Rear axle broke on 2000 ford windstar, while being moving down the street.
I was driving down the road at 35 MPH when the car started shaking violently... Drove about 1 mile to find a safe place to pull over... By this time the car was barely moving. I pulled into a turn lane and heard a loud crash at the back of the car. I stopped and got out to look to find that my rear axle had snapped in two. It was completely broken into two pieces to the left of center on the driver's side. Thank god I was not on the highway when this happened. The ford dealer acted totally shocked that this could happen and told me to call my insurance company... That surely I must have hit something in order for such damage to occur. The insurance company found no damage... And so we paid out of pocket for the repair... Which also included work on "rear suspension" and shock absorbers... Damaged as a result of the axle breaking. We replaced with a used axle. Total paid $1076.45.
1. I was checking underneath my car because it sounded like there was something the matter with the rear passenger side brakes. 2. I found something more alarming. About 1/3 of the way across the axle from the driver side rear wheel was a big crack in the axle. 3.I haven't done anything yet but left the car in my driveway as several people advised me that the car was too dangerous to drive. I was thinking of calling a body shop to have the crack welded back together. But then I read about hundreds of people making complaints about rear axles in ford windstars and decided to file a complaint with the federal safety agency.
Rear axle snapped in half going 45 MPH.
I was reversing out of the store parking lot and my rear axle cracked. Cracked right in half. My 9 year old son was with me . 2 minutes before that I was on a major highway. I was lucky! Someone is going to injured or will die. There are lots of these complaints and something needs to be done.
While driving my son to school traveling approx. 40 MPH the rear axle completely broke in half causing me to loose control. Luckily there was no traffic at the time of the incident and it was aimed in a direction allowing it to pulled off the road. Vehicle has since been towed home and we are investigating next steps.
My wife has been complaining that she was hearing loud noises coming from the rear of her 2000 ford windstar. I checked the shocks and springs and everything was okay. Today she was backing out of the driveway on her way to work when I noticed that the left rear tire was badly tilted inward. I stopped her and looked under the van and noticed that the rear axle had split in two. There is no significant signs of rust or corrosion, just a huge fracture of the entire axle.
Tl*the contact owns a 2000 ford windstar. While driving 35-40 MPH, the rear axle broke in half; the contact was able to coast the vehicle to the side of the road. The vehicle was towed to a repair shop where the entire rear axle was replaced. The failure mileage was approximately 73,100. The current mileage was 73,409.
While driving in a rain storm my van was shaking, I thought I hit a puddle wrong after driving a bit more my car starting shaking and it was hard to control, I thought I had a flat tire. I pulled to a gas station, where man saw me look at my tires, and advised due to the large amount of rain it was probably hydroplaining. I continued on. The next day when it was dry I had the same problems. My van was shaking, and at time hard to control, I was so scared and just wanted to make it home. I told my husband, he noticed the inner portion of the 2 back tires were worn down to the metal belts, and did not allow it to be driving again. I had a retail fix it shop advise it would be 650.00 for new tie rods and shims plus 2 new tires(even though we just purchased them 1 1/2 years prior). We were debating to get it fixed or take to a different more trusted mechanic. A friend passed along a link regarding investigation on windstar vans for broken rear axles. After reading what other experienced, I realized this is the same thing that happened to me. We have a summer car I have been driving since this occurrence, but would like my minivan fixed for family summer travels. After reading the link - I will probably wait for a recall, or a solution as to what will be done with this situation.
On friday, may 15, 2010, my husband was driving home from work for lunch and the rear axle snapped on our 2000 ford windstar sle minivan. The mechanic also said the "differentials" were damaged. The total cost was $795. Fortunately, my husband was not on a busy street and he was able to pull to the side of the road until we could have the vehicle towed. Also, he did not hit anything that would have caused the axle to snap. In july 2009, we had to replace the transmission in this same vehicle while traveling to myrtle beach, s.c., on vacation.
The rear axle on my 2000 ford windstar snapped off.
One day I was driving around with my kids and I went over a bump and that's when it all went wrong. The minute I went over the bump, we heard a crack then a dragging noise. I parked to see what went wrong and then I saw my rear tires going toward the axle and then I saw my rear axle was cracked. I had to get a flat bed tow truck and tow it to the nearest garage. My sister had to pick us up and take us to our destination. This all happened on a cold windy saturday. On a breezy monday, I called the garage and I was told that the new rear axle would take a week to get a it and I was without a car for a week. I had to find ways to get to work and they were hard choices to make. Finally when the new axle came in, they repaired it and the total was $800. It was hard to come up with the money because I just got done paying off the front breaks. I think I should get reimbursed for some of the money I put out because you should've recalled the rear axles of the windstars because of the article I got from the garage that fixed my car. [xxx] p.s. I would like satisfaction on the matter of the car. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).
I was driving down a st. And the rear axle just broke in two on my 2000 windstar van, my car has been garage kept, I found 18 more complaints with the same problem on windstars.
I had the left rear axle of a 2000 ford windstar crack clean through while on the hwy with people in my van. The video I have seen are the same crack as mine.
Rolling back in the driveway in neutral ( as I always do ) when the rear axle snapped in my 2000 ford windstar sel. My vehicle was no longer operational and had it towed to a garage. A used replacement rear axle was purchased and installed.
I took my 2000 ford windstar to the repair shop to address a flat right rear passenger tire, only to discover that the rear axle had cracked about 12 inches from the driver side rear wheel. I inquired whether the vehicle was able to be driven and the mechanic said that it would not be safe driving this vehicle at any speed because if it snaps you could seriously lose to control of the vehicle. So I am writing this because I found the same issue in the same location from a number of individual owners. It does not appear anything has been done thus far, so I wanted to make sure I am yet another owner with same issue. It appears prudent that some notification been sent to owners of this vehicle to make sure they continually have the rear axle checked for cracks. This may help any potential for injuries in the future.
2000 windstar. Rear axle snapped. Very dangerous. I was just about to get on the highway. Went online and found that there have been over 55 complaints about this. I have children. Can't even imagine if we were all in it when it snapped. This is a serious problem and someone is going to be hurt if not die. Not to mention the cost. Ford should be issuing a recall immediately. What is it going to take.
2000 windstar. Rear axle snapped. Very dangerous. I was just about to get on the highway. Went online and found that there have been over 55 complaints about this. I have children. Can't even imagine if we were all in it when it snapped. This is a serious problem and someone is going to be hurt if not die. Not to mention the cost. Ford should be issuing a recall immediately. What is it going to take?
This is the second time this has happened. Two years ago, while sitting in my driveway, the front drivers side coil spring broke. It damaged the tire as well. Had to replace the tire and the whole coil spring assy. Today, while parked at a friends house, passenger side coil spring broke. This time didn't puncture the tire, but had to have it towed home. Will have to replace another coil spring assy.
The rear axle beam on my 2000 ford windstar van broke in half suddenly shortly after exiting the freeway. Just prior to exiting the freeway the van shuttered and vibrated bad enough to cause me to slow down to about 50 MPH before exiting the freeway. Fortunately I was only traveling about 30 MPH when the incident occurred. Although both rear wheels collapsed against the inside rear wheel wells and the vehicle swayed from side to side I was able to safely get it stopped with causing an accident. During the past couple of weeks the van had an on and off vibration and seemed to wander in its lane on occasion. I took it in for front end service work last week and had the inner tie rod ends replaced as well as some front end bushings. Although the steering was tightened up, the periodic vibration was still there. It took about 5 minutes on the internet to discover this is not an isolated incident. I found about 130 similar issues/complaints by googling "ford windstar axle problems." this is clearly a very serious safety issue. At this point I don't know if anyone has been killed or injured but I intend to find out. The problem appears to involve 2000 & 2001 windstars with mileage ranging from 70k to 160k. Based on the inspection of my vehicle and review of other posted complaints it appears ford uses a double walled u shaped steel beam to support and connect the rear wheels and springs. The axle beam is not totally enclosed around the spring mounts. Water enters the axle tube and has no where to drain. Over time the water promotes rusts and weakens the axle tube from the inside out until metal fatigue sets in and the axle eventually fails. I suspect this problem will bleed into the 2002/2003 models as they age and eventually rust out. This situation is a virtual time bomb for unsuspecting ford windstar van owners.
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