2001 Ford Windstar: fire, smoke or burning smell

Filed Jun 30, 2021 · Suspension · 136,397 miles · OH

The contact owns a 2001 Ford Windstar. The contact stated that his wife was driving at an undisclosed speed when they heard a loud popping sound coming from the vehicle. The driver looked out the rear-view mirror and saw smoke coming from the vehicle. The driver pulled over to the side of the roadway. The driver called the contact to come to where the vehicle was pulled over to inspect the vehicle. The contact became aware that the driver’s side rear axle was fractured. The contact had the vehicle towed to his residence. The contact had the vehicle towed to the local dealer to be inspected. The mechanic confirmed that the driver’s side rear axle was fractured. The vehicle was not repaired because the manufacturer denied that the rear axle bracket matched the measurement for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage 136,397.

Filed Jun 2, 2021 · Suspension · 138,000 miles · IL · fire

The contact owns a 2001 Ford Windstar. The contact stated while driving 25 MPH, there was a loud abnormal sound coming from the rear passenger’s side of the vehicle with black smoke coming from the rear of the vehicle. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact parked in a parking lot and saw that the rear passenger’s side tire was leaning towards the inside of the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to her residence and then the dealer. The contact stated that the dealer diagnosed the vehicle with a fractured rear axle that needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but offered no assistance. The contact stated that the vehicle was previously serviced under the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 15V608000 (Suspension) in April of 2011. The failure mileage was approximately 138,000.

Filed May 29, 2019 · Suspension · 142,000 miles · WI

Tl* the contact owns a 2001 ford windstar. The contact stated that the rear axle was fractured and an abnormal bumping noise was heard. The contact parked the vehicle and noticed smoke coming from the rear tires. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who found an unknown recall associated with the vehicle. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and did not assist. The dealer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 142,000.

Filed Nov 16, 2015 · Acceleration · 100,000 miles · MI · fire

Tl* the contact owns a 2001 ford windstar. While driving 55 MPH with the cruise control activated and attempting to make a turn, the vehicle proceeded to drive forward without warning. The vehicle caught fire and a fire report was filed. The fire department extinguished the fire. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.

Filed Apr 15, 2015 · Suspension · 110,000 miles · NY · fire

Tl* the contact owns a 2001 ford windstar. While driving at 25 MPH, the contact noticed smoke coming from the rear of the vehicle. Upon further inspection, the contact noticed that the rear driver side was leaning inwards and rubbing against the wheel well. The contact also noticed that there was a crack on the rear axle. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the rear axle needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was then taken to another mechanic, but the contact was unsure about the part that needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was previously repaired under the federal safety agency campaign number: 12v195000 (suspension). The failure mileage was 110,000.

Filed Jun 2, 2014 · Fuel system, Tires · 164,000 miles · AZ

We had our left rear tire blow out and it tore off our fuel filler pipe. I imagine this could be extremely dangerous if the rim had sparked it could have caught fire.

Filed Oct 17, 2012 · Transmission · 152,000 miles · GA

Me and my family were on our way to new york for vacation. Maybe about an hour into driving me and my husband started to smell something burning so I pulled off the high way and little do we know mg van was up in smoke we checked our oil that was good but I told my husband to check the transmission. Fluid and it was empty but before we left we had the right amount of transmission fluid in the van. We had to add about 5 or 6 quarts of fluid in order for the van to switch from reverse to drive we were able to make to sn auto part store they tested the van on there computer everything passed except the torque converter.

Filed May 21, 2012 · Brakes, Electrical · 289,221 miles · OH · fire

At approximately 16:45 after driving 6 miles that day, the windstar van was stopped and the ignition key turned off. The delivery driver went inside his destination for about 5 minutes. While loading his cargo, he smelled smoke. Looking up, he noticed flames coming out of the engine compartment between the hood and the windshield wiper plastic shielding. Using an onboard 5 lb fire extinguisher, he attempted to extinguish the flames but to no avail. He dialled 9-1-1 on his phone. Employees at his destination also noticed the fire, and contacted the local fire department as well. The fire department extinguished the flames with severe damage to the rear portion of the engine, the fire wall, brake cylinder and glass windshield. The ambient temperature that day was in the 70 degrees range, windows were down in the van, and the A/C system was not in use.

Filed Aug 7, 2011 · Electrical · 97,000 miles · OH

We have a 2001 ford windstar and we had recall 09s09 done. Now we are having problems with the # 10 fuse blowing. Which contributes to no A/C, no speedometer or odometer and o/d light flashing. Also the ABS light, brake light and traction control light come on all the time. I am afraid my van is going to catch on fire while I am travelling for soccer games. Please look into this situation. There are many windstar owners in the same boat.

Filed Aug 2, 2011 · Acceleration · 130,000 miles · MI · fire

Tl* the contact owned a 2001 ford windstar. The contact stated that while parked and unoccupied, the vehicle engulfed into uncontrollable flames, which moved intensely in the direction of a nearby residence and burned the front structure of the house. The fire department extinguished the excessive flames. The fire was contributed to an electrical issue involving the speed deactivation switch. The vehicle was declared destroyed and towed to a savage facility. The contact discovered a recall after the failure occurred and was displeased to know that she was not previously notified of the recall. The recall was associated with the federal safety agency campaign id number 09v399000 (vehicle speed control). The contact experienced the identical consequence mentioned in the recall. The manufacturer was notified and they stated that the VIN was included in the recall, but they were unable to provide additional assistance. The approximate failure mileage was 130,000. The VIN was unavailable.

Filed Jan 16, 2011 · Brakes · NM · crash

2001 ford winstar recall 09so09 they did not fix the problem. The dealer said they only needed to change out the cruise control connector!!! I asked about the ABS and other parts listed to be inspected in the recall and he denied that any of that was to be inspected under this recall. So they may have fixed the cause of the problem but did nothing about the damage to the vehicle. My symptoms are: loss of brake fluid (problem # 1) burning smell or smoke (problem # 1) brake light on after brake service. (we think this back pressure breaks the deac switch) (problem # 1) brake light (red) (problem # 1 or problem # 2) 15 amp fuse #10 blowing out (problem # 1) speedometer and odometer stop working. (problem # 1) cruise control will not activate or deactivates without warning. (problem # 1) ABS brake light (yellow) (problem # 2 or problem # 1) ford trouble code c1185. (problem # 2 or problem # 1) brakes turn on squeal without warning. (problem # 2) problem codes p0171, p0174, p0401 171,174,401, egr or system too lean issue extremely excessive braking distance!!! Almost been in a couple accidents because the vehicle will not brake efficiently. Brakes lock sometimes when braking, causing vehicle to slide!!! Ford denied to my face that any of these problems were related to the recall, but your report and other investigations prove that it was and that I have been lied to about a very important safety issue that has already put me and my families lives at risk!!! I request further investigation into this matter and do wish to see something done about it.

Filed Oct 6, 2010 · Brakes · 80,000 miles · 00

I have a 2001 windstar, purchased at fines ford bolton on, for the past year the brake light and the ABS brake light tend to be activated after the car warms up ( 5 min) during the summer. However during the winter months the problem seems to disappear. The colder the outdoor temperature the less likely the light seem to go on. The van has only 95 000 km , and drives approximately 10-15 km on a daily total commute. During the past year we ( my wife and I) have noticed that a burning smell seems to emanate from the van immediately when parked. Since we park the van in a garage the smell is more noticeable then. This past july we brought the van in to service the recall to fix the scds sensor. Although for a week the ABS and brake lights were not activated, the problem has resurfaced thereafter. It seems this recall only served to possibly protect a fire but not solve the real problem with the ABS lights.