Smoke and terrible plastic burning smell inside the cabin of my 2002 ford windstar van. Taking my van in to a repair shop in february, I had to have the ABS module and cruise control module and all associated wiring replaced, due to some evident fluid leaking of some kind (I believe they said break fluid). My cost was $1,030.98, and the repair shop said this could happen again (????). They thought this issue may warrant a recall. I do have my parts they replaced.
2002 Ford Windstar electrical complaints
Page 7 of 10: complaints 161 to 190 of 261, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Own a 2002 ford windstar. For about 2 yrs. We have had problems with the brake light/ABS light coming on intermittently. Then we experienced problems with fuses blowing. We would replace them and sometimes they would last 10 min. Sometimes 2 weeks. Now besides the interior lights not working, the radio, clock, cd player are all not working and replacing fuses doesn't help. There is always an odor of burning plastic and at times smoke comes out from under the hood, but no fire. I have received the recall for the speed control deactivation switch, yet when I called ford to schedule an appt. They told me the electrical problem was something different. I don't believe them a since supposedly brake fluid is leaking and destroying wires. I just want this documented as I do not have the money for a large repair bill.
Tl* the contact owns a 2002 ford windstar. While driving the vehicle would stall without any prior warnings. The vehicle was towed to a dealer twice. The technicians were able to restart the vehicle, but were unable to determine the cause of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 35,000. The current mileage was approximately 75,000. Updated 12/22/09 *bf updated 12/22/09
Bought this van used. Almost immediately, the ABS and brake light would come on the instrument panel for no reason. The vehicle still operates normally. After turning off and restarting, the lights go off. They may not come on again for days. It seems to happen more in warmer weather.
Red and yellow brake dash light come on intermittently after it warms up awhile. Will remain on until the vehicle is shut down. I have had the recall done # 09s09.
Abs light comes on in the instrument cluster panel this disabled odometer reading, speedometer , od(over drive) begins to flash and heater and air condition stops working , in the cjb (central junction box) 15amp fuse keeps blowing out.each time I replace it. Note: when I replace the 15amp fuse every component will be operable for only 10 to 30min driving then the ABS lights comes back on and every component mentioned will be disable .
Abs light has been on for several years, but mechanics can find no problem with brake system. As of last week, odometer displayed dashes, speedometer is not operating, and there is little to no stopping capability in the brakes. No brake fluid, apparently.
This is an update to odi number 10278659. The cruise control actuator switch was identified as leaking brake fluid by my independant auto repair shop. They replaced the "cruise control actuator switch" part number yf1z 9c888 ab at a cost of $34.56 for parts and $22.50 for labor. They also replaced the wiring harness that connects to the switch. After this was done, the cruise control started to work consistently again. The ABS light and brake warning light still come on intermittently. Sometimes I have noticed they go on after I hit a bump. Once they go on, they remain on for the duration of the journey (until the car is turned off).
Brake and ABS brake light on timelessly, sometime smoke coming from engine and strong smell of burning plastic or rubber.
I have a 2002 ford windstar, I went to park on labor day this year and parked my van. A few hours later, I went to van and tried to use my remote to get in and it would not work. Once I got directly on the van I smelled an odor that smelt like burnt rubber that was really strong. I got in van with my key and started the van. It was very hot that day so I went to roll down the power windows and they didn't work. I then went to turn on the air conditioning and it didn't work. I then looked at my dash and realized I had loss all power; nothing was work, odometer, temperature gauge, radio, headlights etc. I thought I just blew a fuse and stayed at the park. When I went home several hours later I still smelled odor but told my husband I would go to shop in morning before work to have my mechanic look at it. That morning I went to shop and they said it was not a fuse and after several hours of them doing visual and computer diagnostics they found that the ABS system caught fire and started burning into my gas line. They said we were very lucky van didn't total catch on fire. They ended replacing the whole ABS unit under the van and had to replace all wires that had burnt and rewire everything. Repair is almost 900.00 dollars. They van gave no warnings that something like this would happen. I feel very scarred to continue driving this van, even with repair being done because I feel like it can happen again and next time we may not be so lucky. I am still paying on the van and stuck. I hope ford does something before someone loses their life. I have not picked up van yet and am considering telling car dealer to pick it up at shop and taking repo on my credit.
I have had a continual brake fluid leak on this vehicle. In addition, while driving the vehicle on 08/06/2009, the ABS light and brake light suddenly came on, and the speedometer, odometer, and air conditioning stopped working. My mechanic replaced the #10 fuse, which fixed the problem for one day, then the fuse blew again. The ford trouble code c1185 came up on the diagnostic computer, and my mechanic suggested I replace the ABS module. Looking at the switch in question, it is covered in brake fluid. I now have no air conditioning, speedometer, odometer, or ABS system functionality, along with a chronic brake fluid leak. Please investigate this and make ford recall either the defective ABS module, the brake deactivation switch, and the leaky master cylinder! Hopefully, all three of these items will be included in a recall!
Brake warning light and ABS warning light illuminate for no apparent reason.
2002 ford windstar - after driving for some time, traction control, ABS, and brake lights on dash illuminate, along with an audible alarm. Lights go off if car is turned off and on again, only to return later unpredictably. Analysis to date indicates either and ECM/ecu or ABS control module failure.
The ABS and brake lights come on my dashboard intermittently on my 2002 ford windstar. I have no trouble w/ my brakes, yet this continues to happen. I have changed the deactivation switch under the master cylinder twice, but this keeps recurring. Ford should have a recall on this problem.
The odometer, speedometer, A/C, and overdrive stopped working so we replaced fuse #10 and later that day the brake pressure deactivation switch caught on fire.
While driving home one night headlights, and signal lights stopped working (lights in back continued to function) odometer stopped illuminating, and message panel displayed inconsistently. Abs light came on randomly at times, and eventually, the speedometer stopped working. After several hours of labor tracking down the problem, the g.e.m. Module was replaced (at great cost). After replacing the g.e.m. Module, it became apparent that the instrument cluster was bad and needs to be replaced. Unfortunately, these parts are on backorder and our only car has now been in the shop for more than two weeks and nobody can give us any idea when the part will be available and when the car will be repaired. Furthermore, the ford dealership where our car sits in an undrivable state (the repair department told us that there is a risk of fire if we were to drive it) told us that there are three other windstars there waiting for the same part, and agreed with us (off the books) that considering the quantity of problems they are seeing with the instrument cluster there should have been a recall.
Brake pressure switch leaked brake fluid causing failure of cruise control, speedometer, and odometer. Red brake light and yellow ABS light on constantly. Had repair done at local ford dealer. Paid $200.00 for analyzer and $700.00 to replace wiring, cruise control module and speedometer module. Brake and ABS lights are now off. Second day out of the shop the ABS and brake lights come on intermittently. Estimate #700.00 I am hoping the federal safety agency rules on this defect as a safety hazard and orders a recall.
Brake lights come on when vehicle is off and they will stay on after you remove your foot from the pedal. We have had the brake pedal switch replaced 2 times already and it keeps happening. If the lights come on in the middle of the night (has happened several times), the van will not start in the morning. This remains an ongoing problem which the repair shop can not fix and recommended that we file this report. This has been going on for the last couple of years. The van sometimes smells hot inside if we catch it before the battery goes dead. I'm not sure what to put for the approximate incident date so I will put today's date since it did it again today.
I own a 2002 ford windstar sel. Recently had two messages of low brake fluid. Abs brake warning lights also come on and off on instrument panel. Cruise control stops working from time to time. Then on aug 4, the entire instrument panel went haywire, and air conditioner stopped cooling. Having it looked at tomorrow, but this sounds like leaking brake fluid from bad switch has caused electrical meltdown. No fire - yet.
Ford windstar 2002. Cruise control only engages intermittently. When cruise control is on, it will dis-engage abruptly for no reason. Yellow ABS dash light and red brake warning dash light go on intermittently (simultaneously). After they go on, they stay on until the car is turned off. The ABS system appears to still work correctly even when the yellow ABS light is on and the red brake light is on (although there is no way for the driver to tell if the ABS system and brake system are working correctly or not when the warning lights are on). My local ford dealership diagnosed that the ECM control module needs to be replaced. This is an expensive electronic component with no moving parts, and there is no reason that this board should be failing. This is a common problem with 2002 ford windstar models. I believe ford should be required to offer free diagnosis and repair for any problems related to ECM control modules for this model year. I first noticed the problem around october 2008 as the weather turned colder. This is consistent with a theory that the ECM board is sensitive to temperature changes, which affects the correct working of the cruise control and ABS systems. The cruise control mostly did not work during the winter 2008-2009. As warmer temperatures arrived in spring 2009, the cruise control started to work intermittently again. Sometimes it engages correctly, sometimes I push the "set" button repeatedly and finally it engages, sometimes I push the "set" button repeatedly and it will not engage. When it is engaged, it will dis-engage abruptly for no reason. I suspect sometimes it dis-engages because the car hit a bump in the road - but frequently it dis-engages with no bump in the road. Having the cruise control dis-engage abruptly for no reason is a safety issue and could easily result in an accident. Having the ABS system not work correctly (due to the ECM module) is a safety issue and could easily result in an accident.
All at once, brake light and ABS light came on, o/d off light flashing. Speedometer and odometer ceased to function. Cruise control not working. Occurs immediately upon starting vehicle. Per mechanic, needs new ABS module, fuses however none are currently available in my area. They are waiting for the dealer to get a part - estimating 2-3 days.
The speedometer sticks when the cruise control is turned on. The dash lights were showing the exclamation mark. I am looking into getting this fixed but it should be taken care of by ford. It is an obvious engineering flaw with the brake pressure deactivation switch.
Purchased a 2002 windstar xl from a dealer feb 2009. All happened in a 12 week period. Engine , ABS, and brake lights came on as I left the lot from dealer. Went to have checked out and I was told I had a misfire in #5 plug and replaced intake manifold gaskets, new plugs, wires, oil changed. Had an oil leak 2 days later and went back and plug in oil pan replaced. Engine light stayed off 1 week and then started smelling antifreeze through A/C vents. Heater core is bad in it too so I had the heater core bypassed as a temporary fix. Engine light, ABS light & brake light was off for 2 hours then came back on. Found the cruise control deactivation switch was unplugged and plugged it in and then it blew a relay fuse in the box next to the battery. Replaced and left it unplugged. This controls the gauges on instrument panel, A/C, and cruise control. I replaced the cruise control deactivation switch and it burned the wires when engine was started. Overheating of wires caused the melting of wires. I had hood open so stopped engine before wires ignited.
Abs yellow and red brakes lights come on. Just adding my complaint to the list. Spent $400 to replace front axle they thought was the problem but is not. Happened at around 90,000 miles.
My brake pressure deactivation switch has failed and is allowing brake fluid to leak from my master cylinder onto my ABS system. My car is a 2002 ford windstar van. I noticed it about 3 weeks ago when I had to add fluid to my master cylinder (the brake light on the dash came on). This fixed the problem for a few days but then the light came on again. I have been adding fluid, but the bad switch allows it to leak out every couple of days. To be safe, I am replacing the switch and the master cylinder. I will have the old switch available.
Tl*the contact owns a 2002 ford windstar. The contact noticed that the instrument panel lights and the power locks were failing. He replaced the fuse several times and smelled a burning odor underneath the hood of the vehicle. The contact found fluid leaking from the vehicle, which originated from the cruise control. The wiring harness was damaged. The dealer replaced the cruise control wiring harness, switch, and the speedometer wiring harness at the cost of $888. The manufacturer stated that the VIN was not included in the federal safety agency campaign id number 07v336000 (vehicle speed control); therefore, they would not assist. The vehicle has been repaired. The VIN was unknown. The current and failure mileages were 80,000.
Abs and brake lights keep coming on. Cruise control not working. Speedometer, odometer and airconditioning have also stopped working. Due to short in the cruise control disable switch aka brake pressure differential deactivation switch located under the master cylinder caused from brake fluid leaking onto it. This in turn blew the #10 fuse. This switch is covered with brake fluid and could start a fire at any time. I have stopped driving it until I can replace the switch and clean off the brake fluid.
We have a 2002 windstar with 165k miles. The ABS /brake light has intermittently come off and on for the last 2 years. I noticed that last year my cruise control began to periodically work. On wednesday july 8th I started the van and noticed white smoke pouring from the hood. I immediately shut the vehicle off and traced the smoke to the brake pressure deactivation switch. I didn't know what it was until I read this article www.fordwindstarrecall.info this was extremely helpful and saved me time on estimating the problem. The switch had burned and the plastic switch was dripping the melted fire plastic into my motor!
I have a 2002 ford windstar. About 2 months ago the brake light, ABS light, and the traction control light came on the dashboard, as well as the speedometer and digital odometer quit working. I took it to a local ford dealer to have it looked at, and they told me that the ABS module went bad and would need replaced. They quoted me $1006.17 + tax to fix it! It is my understanding that this year windstar has a recurring problem with this module, and I would like to know if any work is being done on a recall?
I have a 2002 ford windstar van, while driving, the van the ABS light, traction control light and the emergency brake light all come on at the same time. They remain on until I park the van. If I turn the van back on the lights are off, but once I begin driving again all three warning lights come on. I have had the van. I have read that there is a serious problem with this happening in ford windstar vans and it has resulted in fires. I am terrified to drive the van now, and would like to know when there will be a recall. This has been going on with my van, especially since the weather has gotten warmer.
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