2001 ford windstar. Right front subframe rotted at mounted point to main frame. Had been hearing slight grinding noise for past week or so from right side of vehicle. Several attempts were made to diagnose noise with no success. Vehicle was raised on jacks for inspection and it was found that the frame had rotted through at the mounting point. Vehicle requires complete front subframe replacement.
2001 Ford Windstar body complaints
Page 8 of 11: complaints 191 to 220 of 293, newest first, as owners wrote them.
For several months, my wife and I noticed a creaking/thumping sound coming from the left rear of our 2001 ford windstar sel, which has 111,000 miles on it. The sound was especially noticeable when turning at low speeds and at the same time experiencing an elevation change (e.g., entering a driveway from the road). The ford dealer told us we needed new rear shocks, which we replaced for $500+. The vehicle handled a little better and the sound seemed to be reduced, but never totally went away. Over the next couple months, the sound gradually worsened. We were planning a long road trip for our summer vacation, so we took the vehicle back to the dealer the day before we were going to leave. This time, the dealer told us the rear axle beam was cracked. I'm sure that was part, if not all, of the problem that we experienced the first time we brought it in, because the sound was the same. Regardless, we were fortunate enough to discover the problem before we were on the road with our three children and a van fully loaded for a 10-day vacation. I asked the ford technician how it could possibly be that ford could make a minivan with a rear axle beam that failed after only nine years of routine use. He didn't have much to say, but all you need to do is take a close look at the axle beam to understand why. It's as thin as an aluminum baseball bat, and it's just as hollow. A pop can has more structural integrity. I mentioned the problem to a neighborhood auto mechanic, and he said this happens on 'all' windstars. Rather than pay the $1000 repair bill, and given the dozens of other issues we've had with this substandard vehicle, we decided to just buy a new vehicle. We were considering trading the windstar, but before doing so, I decided to see if this problem was as common as the local mechanic implied. Turns out it is. This is a serious safety issue, and all affected vehicles need to be recalled immediately.
Tl*the contact owns a 2001 ford windstar. While driving at 70 MPH, the contact heard a loud, unusual explosion. The contact was able to exit the vehicle and found that the front sub frame and axle had fractured from the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to an authorized dealer where the contact was awaiting repairs. The VIN was not available. The failure and current mileages were 110,000. Updated 11/19/10.*lj also, the oil pan gaskets was leaking. Updated 11/24/10
The federal safety agency expands ford windstar corrosion probe to front subframes. I have not had an accident due to this but have had to have the h-frame in the front of my windstar replaced due to corrosion where the driver side front wheel connection had corroded through and the wheel was going to potentially come off. It was making a lot of noise and not performing correctly so my mechanic took a look to see if the shocks, ball joints needed replacement. He found the h-frame corroded and required replacing. This was 2 year ago and cost about $2000 to replace. I am now having issues with my rear end which is causing loud noises going over bumps and vibrating at speed. Went to the same mechanic and he says that the u-frame holding up the rear end is cracked and corroded. Eventually it will break through and drop the car. Since this is a 2001 ford windstar with 80,000 miles, I have decided not to undergo the repairs but to look for a new vehicle. The windstar has been garage kept for its entire life.
It was raining & I was driving home with my sons in the van when it suddenly swerved out of control, fish-tailing into the direction of oncoming traffic. I almost lost complete control and narrowly avoided hitting another vehicle. I proceeded home cautiously, thinking the way the van was now handling was due to road conditions. The next day it continued to handle difficultly, and I noted a squealing tire sound with turns - I thought perhaps the tires needed air, and it was still raining. That afternoon, as I was merging onto the highway, the van randomly started to fish-tail over two lanes, nearly rolling over. I was barely able to obtain control. I proceeded home cautiously, noting the tires were squealing more with turns & it was more difficult to handle. Once home I checked the tires & they seemed fine. I loaded my sons in the van, against my better judgment, to have dinner at a friends house. I planned to have her boyfriend check it while we were there (my husband was gone for two weeks). I cautiously drove down our road and when I took the long curve by the school the tires began to squeal loudly and the van started swerving all over, into oncoming traffic. It rocked and swerved & nearly flipped, scaring all 3 of us nearly to death. I finally was able to stop the van & had my son get out and watch as I drove past slowly. He immediately started screaming to get out! The wheels were about to fall off! I slowly & fearfully pulled into the church lot we were next to and discovered that both rear tires were tipped in at the top, like a tee-pee. We were all shaken, knowing how close we came to dying. The van was eventually loaded onto a flatbed truck and brought home. My husband got home & discovered the steel support beam was split nearly in half in the middle. I thank god we didn't go over the bridge that night - we would've had a massive accident, injuring/killing who-knows how many people! We wont replace it with used parts & there aren't new ones.
Broken rear axle in my 2001 ford windstar-2nd occurrence had the axle repaired/welded in 2009 on the left rear and now the right rear is cracked rendering the car undriveable.
Tl*the contact owns a 2001 ford windstar. The contact noticed an unusual cracking noise coming from the vehicle. The vehicle was inspected by an independent mechanic who stated that the frame that held the rear wheels together had fractured in half. The contact informed the dealer of the failure but the vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The current and failure mileages were approximately 106,000.
I was backing out of a driveway when the car began rocking and then I heard a grinding noise. When I looked at the rear end I realized the rear axle had snapped in half.
While driving our 2001 ford windstar pulling a 7'x12' trailer at 60 m.p.h. On a two lane state route road we crossed an intersection of a county road there was a small hump at the intersection there was a very loud bang followed by a tire screeching and loss of steering the van pulled very hard to the right into the grass correcting we came back into our lane and started into the oncoming lane I was able to bring the van back to our lane and then slowly back to the grass where we came to a stop 1500' past the intersection after looking at the van I had found that the back mount of the right lower control arm was wet and had rusted and broke off causing the right wheel to turn out pulling the drive shaft out and locking up the wheel causing the loss of steering I believe that over time the evaporator dripped condensation on to the mount causing it to rust a fail this is a very serious structural failure and could cause serious injuries or death and is just not a pleasant time not wanting to pay $900 to $2000 to be repaired I found a good sub frame at a junk yard for $150( some frames may be more money) and will replace it myself this is a very big and hard project that will take a lot of time I have the right tools and knowhow I don't recommend trying for everyone this is a backup vehicle so I have the time to fix it ford or the n.h.t.s.a. Should recall all vehicles with the potential of this problem before some one gets badly hurt or dies this problem will not go away only get worse I urge all owners of any windstar to check there right lower control arm mounts to see if they are bad.
Tl*the contact owns a 2001 ford windstar. The main sub frame was separated and covered with rust on the front passenger side door. While driving 35 MPH he heard a noise coming on the front passenger side of the vehicle. A local mechanic discovered that the frame was covered with rust and separating from the side of the vehicle. The manufacturer was contacted and stated that there was no program or warranty to cover the failure. Claim#0355841870 was filed with the manufacturer regarding the failure. The failure and current mileages were 69,000.
Rear axel cracked in two driving around 40 MPH as of today do not have the money to fix it 07/01/2010. Also pass side door opens every once and awhile when driving.
2001 windstar rear axle broke in half causing the rear tire to smoke and burn the rubber off the tire and the undercoating on the wheel well. Driving on highway at 55 MPH. Started to feel a sway just before it broke, nearly causing an accident. Tire was very hot and smoking,we were told she was lucky the tire did not blow.
I own a 2001 ford windstar limited and while driving the car the rear axel snapped in half. I was stuck but thankfully was able to have a tow truck bring it to my house. Both back tires and totally bent in as the axel is literally broken in half. I now have no means of transportation which kills me as we always kept this car up to date on all maintenance. We just had the front aligned, tie rods replaced as well as many other repairs recently. As I said we always have the oil changed and all other scheduled maintenance on time. This is a real blow as right now we don't have the money to fix it or replace it. I cannot believe ford does not have to have a recall on this and their error is our loss and the loss of many others. I am disgusted and although a ford costumer for many, many years will no longer consider ford in the future. Shame on you ford, lives are at stake her; have a conscience.
Rear axle cracked in half causing further damage to the van.
Brake light was on in my 2001 ford, windstar. Brought the vehicle to our mechanic to check it out and make necessary repairs. Our mechanic called me and informed me that the frame of the vehicle was rotted out and that in his opinion it was unsafe to drive and the cost to repair it were not worth it. We bought this vehicle new in october of 2001 and it only has about 28,000 miles on it. We do not live any where near the ocean, but live in massachusetts, where salt and sand are used on the roads in the winter. But as you can tell with the low mileage on the vehicle it was not driven much any way. I am forced to buy a new vehicle to replace this one.
I am the original owner of a 2001 ford windstar. While driving at highway speed, the rear axle snapped, which resulted in the loss of control of the vehicle. As a result, I was involved in a collision with a vehicle in the next lane.
2001 windstar was fishtailing when I hit bumps. Looked under there and the rear axle was cracked. Only hanging together by less than 1" got another from a junkyard and it is cracking now too. Safety issue!! Ford should pay!!!
The rear axle collapsed, just as my family was heading to the highway for a road trip. We were able to have the car towed to the dealership where they repaired the vehicle to the cost of $900. We had no choice but to authorize the repair as it was the only car we had that could transport my family of six to a christmas vacation. I had read about rear axle failures in these mini vans two years ago from this website when I researched and filed a complaint after the brakes failed while traveling at 65mph on the highway in this same vehicle.
Rear axle broke, car was towed (flatbed) to repair facility. Broken axle assembly removed and replaced with a new axle.
2001 ford windstar minivan rear axel break. Went on-line and have read hundreds of complaints about rear axles breaking in half. No other cars axles are breaking.
Rear axle on my son's 2001 ford windstar cracked almost all the way through on the drivers side. About 14 inches from the wheel. Both rear tires were wrecked because of rubbing inside of wheel well.
Vehicle: 2001 ford windstar lx; mileage approx. 113k today, I had a scheduled appt. For my local garage to inspect a noise/vibration issue with the family minivan. This is the vehicle which my wife and kids use routinely. While backing out of my driveway to get to the garage, I heard a large snap and the rear-end of the van slumped onto the driver's rear tire. The rear axle beam had snapped in half. In reviewing online forums with other ford drivers, this is failure is a frequent occurance with ford windstars after 100k miles. That is not a large number of miles, considering the "investment" typical middle class families need to make in order to have a vehicle for commuting. I shudder what could have happened if my family was traveling at higher speeds on an expressway. It is to a point that one can not find replacement rear axle beams for repairs because of the great number of repairs required in the market. Please investigate this trend with the ford windstar... This can be another toyota lying in wait.
I own a 2001 ford windstar. We are the original owners and have performed all routine maintenance on the vehicle. It began making a grinding noise in the back when turning into our driveway which has a slight ridge at the end of it. We had our mechanic check it and he found that the rear axle is cracked half way through. Fortunately we found this before it broke while traveling on the highway. I don't know what we are going to do to fix it yet because we can't afford an $1100 repair bill.
2001 ford windstar sel, passenger side lower control arm broke off frame because of rusted, corroded cradle.
Front wheel on passenger side disconnected from frame while moving. Frame rusted.
Tl*the contact owns a 2001 ford windstar. While driving approximately 10 MPH, the front ball joint broke and the driver lost control of the steering wheel; however, he was able to avoid a crash. The vehicle was towed to a repair shop where the contact was informed that the engine cradle rusted and caused the failure. The vehicle was repaired when the complaint was filed. There were no prior warnings. The current and failure mileages were approximately 91,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2001 ford windstar. He stated that while driving at 55 MPH, the right front subframe broke and the right wheel made a left turn and caused the vehicle to slow down and stop. The vehicle was towed to an independent repair shop where they replaced the front sub frame at the owners expense. The dealer was contacted and they stated that there were no open recalls and that there was nothing they can do for him. The failure mileage was 105000 and current mileage is 107000. Updated 5/6/10 *cn the consumer stated the right front control arm and frame mount broke. Updated 06/18/10
On feb. 21, 2010 it was necessary to have my vehicle towed by aaa. After the driver got it on the ramp truck, he told me he wanted to show me something at the rear of the vehicle. There is a crack in the middle of the rear axle. He informed me that mine was the third vehicle of the same kind in about 2 weeks, that he had to tow because of a broken axle. I haven't driven it since, until I can make some arrangements to get it fixed. Apparently from information I have found, there are numerous people who have had the same problem. It happens unexpectedly and usually around 100,000 to 122,000 miles. There is as yet no recall but I think there should be. It's a definite safety issue.
I was driving my car and heard noise in back , car was steering erratic , went to repair shop and was told the rear axel on my 2001 ford windstar broke . I was told this is a ongoing problem with windstars and ford won't do anything about it . It will cost me 1200.00 to fix . Ford is lucky no one was killed in a accident with this problem . Look on the internet I found over 60!!!! Complaints on different sites regarding this problem . Do something please. Luckily I was going slow !!
I have a 2001 ford windstar and for the 3rd time the rear end tire support has broken in half driving down the road. My family and I feel lucky to be here to write this at this time and it is my 17 year old sons primary car to drive so I can have general insurance but not full coverage. I feel if he was driving when this happened he would have been in a terrible accident, god was watching out for us. It has cost me over a thousand dollars for each repair and at this time I am without the family vehicle and don't see that it would be a good idea to fix this again knowing that its going to break again. I cant afford a new vehicle and this car has been dependable other than this problem. The rear end is scarce at salvage yards, we haven't been able to locate one yet that tells me I'm not the only one having the problem. The van is made for seven and there are 5 in my family so overloading is not the problem, nor rust they are free from that and the last repair we replaced the shocks to reduce vibration problems if it existed. I fear soon I will read about a family tragedy because of this problem and I want it on record about this complaint. Before making each repair we checked to see if there was a recall and to date there is none. I am in the service work business and I understand thing fail, brakes, water pumps, computers, engines but I should have never had to put a nickel into this problem. Any help or guidance you can give me would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for listening.
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