Tl* the contact owns a 2002 ford windstar. While driving at speeds of 60 MPH, she heard an unusual thump. Immediately, the steering wheel became hard and difficult to control. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where she was advised the rear axle had broken. The vehicle was not repaired. The VIN was not available. The failure and current mileages were 90,000.
2002 Ford Windstar suspension complaints
Page 10 of 10: complaints 251 to 279 of 279, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Drove car and parked along street. When I returned around 4 hours later I opened car door and sat down in driver seat. A loud bag was heard and I thought someone threw something or shot my van. Got out and could not find anything. When I started to drive away my left front tire exploded. The next morning I found the coil spring had broken and cut the tire when I tried to drive away. Had I been driving down the road this would have caused me to lose control of the van. After researching the internet this seems to be an ongoing issue with ford coil springs and I believe there was a recall for model years 1999-2001.
Drove car and parked along street. When I returned around 4 hours later I opened car door and sat down in driver seat. A loud bag was heard and I thought someone threw something or shot my van. Got out and could not find anything. When I drove away my left front tire exploded. The next morning I found the coil spring had broken and cut the tire when I tried to drive away. Had I been driving down the road this would have caused me to lose control of the van. After researching the internet this seems to be an ongoing issue with ford coil springs and I believe there was a recall for model years 1999-2001.
The rear axle on my 2002 ford windstar broke with no warning. The car has never been crashed and is maintained very well with no visible rust. This causes loss of control but I was able to get the car stopped without incident. In an internet search I see that this is not an uncommon failure and wonder why this is not being investigated. It very dangerous.
Recent noise on my 2002 ford windstar. Rear axel snapped this morning while my wife was leaving home. I read the exact same incidents on line with the ford windstar. Crack aprox 12-18 inches in from the rear left side. Extensive damage and I will keep photos and damaged part.
For about three to four years now, we have been having what we thought was a problem with the front end of our 2002 ford windstar. We had numerous front end alignments done. We had the caster/camber work done twice at a very high cost. (this requires taking the front cowling apart in order to put in new font end parts) and still the vehicle would pull in either direction at any given time. It would at times wonder back and forth on the road. About a week ago my wife said she herd strange noises. (clunks, squeaks etc.) then today she was driving the van with my kids to church. Luckily it was local. She said she herd a bang and the van started to squeak and wonder all over the road uncontrollably. She started to smell something burning. She said the steering wheel had to be turned in an abnormal position in order to keep the van going straight down the road. When she got home I looked at the van sitting in the driveway and the rear wheels were tilted in at the top. I crawled under and found that the rear axle beam had cracked almost all the way through. The crack was about 18 inches in form the drivers side. The passenger side looked as though it would eventually crack also. When I looked closer at the crack, you could see shining metal at the top part of the crack, indicating it was a new crack. There was surface rust on the lower part of the crack indicating that the crack had been there for some time and had just gotten bigger. This explains the wondering problem we have been having. Being that this is a 2002 it is out of warranty but this is definitely a safety problem and should be addressed as a recall by ford. I am scared thinking what could have happened if my wife and kids were driving on an interstate at 65 MPH. I am also scared thinking that my 16 year old daughter who just started driving on her permit was driving this vehicle in this condition. Thank god they were driving local at the time that the crack worsened to a point that it is now undrivable.
My wife told me she heard a rubbing sound in the rear of her 2002 ford windstar. I quickly noticed the left rear wheel was tilted in from the top. Figuring it was a worn wheel bearing or broken control arm, I jacked it up, pulled the wheel and noticed the axle was almost completely broken about 8 inches left of center.
Driving home from a family outing on 03/06/2010, we heard a loud sound/clunk coming from the rear of our 2002 ford windstar. Luckily, we were only doing 30 MPH on our street right almost to our driveway, instead of being on the expressway doing 60 MPH as we were only minutes before . The van's rear end swerved as I applied the brakes. I managed to pull into our driveway and calm the wife and kids down (who were hysterical). I have to admit that I was scared also. When I managed to park the van, I noticed that the rear tires were slanted into the van, rubbing the wheel wells at the top. I then looked under the rear of the van and seen that the rear axle beam was broke, about 18" from the driver side rear tire. I implore everone that this has happened to to call the ford customer care number (1‑800‑241‑3673) and report it. This is the only way that ford will acknowledge this problem as a potential manufacturer defect. Our 2002 windstar has only 78,338 miles on it. Our local dealer, where we bought it from, said they have never heard of this happening. I find it very hard to believe since I can bring up about 100 different complaints about this very sam thing for the model years 2000-2002.
I heard a rattle which sounded like a loose tailpipe. I brought it to my mechanic to have it looked at. The problem was that the rear axle beam had snapped. He said that it was not damaged and it looked like it was just a bad piece of steel. He had never seen this problem before. The parts did not have to be ordered because the parts were readily available and in stock at his parts dealer. After looking on the internet I found that there are several complaints about this problem. I was lucky that the axle beam did not break while I was traveling on the highway because the handling of the vehicle was severely compromised. The rear axle beam was replaced at a cost of one thousand dollars. I did not keep the old axle beam.
I was driving my 2002 for windstar and the roads were snowy and slippery. While driving the van seemed to slide and sway in the back. I assumed it was from the snowy roads and took the van home. 2 days later when the roads were pretty well cleared I took the van out again. While driving on clear pavement the van seemed to sway and slide like I was on ice in the rear-end. As I headed home it got worse and was shaking and swaying. I slowed down to about 20 miles per hour and got the van home. I had it looked at and was told that the axle is 1 to 2 inch from a complete break. If it would have broke while I was driving it would have caused me to wreck. I have researched this and have found many complaints about this happening to 02 windstars. I cant afford to fix something this expensive. Something needs to be done before someone gets hurt.
Ford windstar rear axle cracked.
2002 ford windstar rear axle beam broke in half while making a left hand turn. The van started swaying in the rear earlier in the day and we thought it was because of ice and snow on the roads that day. On good pavement we did not experience any issues. We stopped and looked at the tires and they all looked fine , and found no evidence to suggest anything else was wrong with van. No other warning before failure. When this happened both rear wheels towed inward causing van to slide out of control for short distance, and causing damage to the vehicle. Had we been traveling on the highway at speeds of 65 miles an hour I would not like to think what would of happened.we had to have the vehicle towed to a ford dealer for repairs. The cost of these repairs was $1782.33 not including the towing bill.the tow truck driver said he has never seen a rear axle beam break before. This could of been a major accident, causing bodily harm or death. I had the dealer save the parts for me and I also took pictures of the failed part after it was removed. The dealer would not cover any cost of the repairs.
Our 2002 ford windstar se on chrstmas night on our way home from in-laws the rear axle snapped in half, after searching online I found that this happened to 2 other people and feel this is a life threatening problem and ford should make a recall on issue. Being this happened on a holiday we have to wait till monday morning when our mechanic opens shop to find out what we are going to do. Also our insurance company was notified and is sending someone on tuesday to appraise the damage. Here is the link to those people this happened to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sunu9d7ejmu this one even made the news. Thank you for taking your time to review this issue.
While driving on the highway rear axle beam broke on ford windstar. No warning or car problem before incident. Rear axle replaced ,old part available. No one hit us, we did not hit anyone, road was smooth.
Tl* the contact owns a 2002 ford windstar. While driving approximately 60 MPH the vehicle began drifting from left to right. He was able to safely turn off the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to a local repair facility. The mechanic stated that the rear axle needed to be replaced at an expense of $1,200.00. The current and failure mileages were 140,000. The VIN was not available.
Rear axle beam on my 2002 ford windstar fractured. Noticed vehicle handling was poor, rear end of vehicle swaying while driving straight, tires squealing around turns. Mechanic found axle beam had fractured. Costly repair, could have been more serious if a loss of control had occurred. Fortunate to have occurred at low speed.
Our 2002 ford windstar with approx. 107,000 miles had the rear axle beam break in half. The week before the break we noticed that the car felt like it needed an alignment at highway speeds. Luckily the part broke pulling out of the driveway at slow speed. The vehicle was not drivable after the break and needed to be towed. I fear that if the break happened at highway speeds we would have lost complete control of the vehicle. We have never taken this vehicle off road, used it to tow anything or been in an accident where damage would have been done to the axle beam.
2002 ford windstar had a sudden, catastrophic rear axle failure-a near complete crack through the axle causing the driver's rear tire to collapse inward, while driving at 40 MPH on a straight road. The rear axle and the rear tire had to be replaced, the axle was 530.00, and the tire 100.00. This was with the work done by my husband. The car is in otherwise good running condition, has always been serviced by professionals. The mileage was 98,000 miles and the vehicle has always been lightly used, no heavy loads, no towing, just basically football practice with the kids.
I have a 2002 ford windstar with 67712 miles. The car started making metallic creaking noises from the rear end whenever I made sharp right hand turns. Inspection showed that the rear axle beam had a 2 inch crack in it. I had to have my mechanic replace the rear axle. My searches on the web revealed that this is a very common defect with the windstars.
Rear axle broke, which could have caused a serious accident if I were on the highway. I was driving down the road, everytime I turned to the right I would hear a squeaking noise. I did not think much of it until I started to smell something when I looked in the rear view mirror I noticed smoke coming from the rear driver's side wheel. I pulled over and called aaa. Thank god, when the van was looked at we found that the rear axle was broken and the wheel was rubbing against the inside of the wheel well. When stopped the tires on the back of the van looked as though the tires were bent in as a direct result of the broken axle. I am so happy my children were not in the van because this could have resulted in a very bad accident. Ford needs to step up and fix this problem, I have seen quite a few complaints regarding this issue.
2002 ford windstar se rear axel severed....based upon my research many others have experienced the same issue between 2000 and 2003. I also contacted several ford dealer who have informed me that they have sold an extraordinary amount of these rear axles. Please make ford issue a safety recall on these axles. They will not take voluntary responsibility for this obvious defective part. Someone is going to get killed if this defective part fails at 65 miles per hour. You will also be responsible if you do nothing about this!
2002 ford windstar rear axle cracked. Consumer thinks that someone should look into this problem with the rear axle. *nj the mechanic noticed the left rear tire was leaning in.
My 2002 ford windstar started riding really rough. The tires were checked and seemed to be fine. The back end of the van seemed to be riding very rough and my mechanic though it might be a strut issue. As it turns out, the rear axle broke completely in half while my father in law drove my two young children on the highway. What a scary experience. I've checked on the internet for similar experiences. Others have had this happen to them as well. This issue needs to be addressed by ford and should be a recall issued.
There are three failures on my car that have happened within the last three months. The 2002 ford windstar only has 57,000 miles. 1. Intake manifold gaskets leaking: gaskets are sucking air in and not sealing properly 2. Broken strut, this is the second time this has been replaced. The first time was within 10,000 miles. 3. Abs control module: the control module has been diagnosed and faulty by the dealership. About a $1,200 to replace. All these things should not be happening to a car that is maintained well, garage kept, and only has 57k miles on it.
2002 ford windstar. Customer states that the vehicle collapsed in the front end. She states her old windstar did the same thing when it had a recall. This vehicle has no recall. **nar**kb the consumer stated the front end of the vehicle just dropped down to it's tires on one side . The dealer informed the consumer that the front coil spring had broken and they also found an exploded strut bearing. The strut mounts, bearings, coil spring and stabilizer bar were all replaced.
1. Driving in good conditions, on highway 25 going north, 2 miles north of highway 5. Saturday the march 31, 2007 at 2:00 pm. 2. Suspension spring failure, front driver's side with busted tire. 3. Parts replaced and repairs made at my cost.
Dt*: the contact stated while braking from 10 MPH under normal conditions, the vehicle surged forward, almost going over a curb. The vehicle was taken to a service dealer, where the dealer was unable to duplicate the problem. The manufacturer was also notified. There was a squeaking noise when the sliding door was closed. The consumer complained of the transmission slipping, the dealer reprogrammed the PCM and re-filled the transmission fluid. The shifter was re-adjusted. The vehicle pulled to the right occasionally, the speedometer was inaccurate. The headlights would go dim at times. Updated 01/09/07.
Front left leaf spring broke and dislodged from base thereby piercing front tire causing a blowout while vehicle was moving. Fortunately,we were not traveling at a high rate of speed when blowout occurred.
Dt: the contact stated on 7- 14-05 and heard a crash underneath the car, and then heard a thump. . Pulled over, the tire was ripped open. The coil spring on the right hand passenger's side broke in half and caused the tire to blow.out. She had to get a new coil spring and bought a new tire.
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