On may 24 while backing out of the driveway I was a passenger in my sons car when it suddenly accelerated at a tremendous rate of speed and with a loud noise and crashed into the vehicle in front, which was pushed into our shed. I sustained injuries of 6 broken ribs, bruised lung and contusions to my chest. If not for the car and shed in front we would have ended at the bottom of the hill behind our home. The insurance company, 21st century, did not send a claim form and is fighting paying for this accident.
2003 Ford Windstar: sudden unintended acceleration
5 of the 1,510 complaints about the 2003 Ford Windstar describe sudden unintended acceleration.
- owner complaints
- 5
- of this car's complaints
- 0%
- typical mileage
- 31,600
- recalls
- 1
Is there a fix? There is 1 recall for this area of the car. See below
Sudden unintended acceleration by model year
What owners say
Tl*the contact owns a 2003 ford windstar. The vehicle accelerated without warning immediately after he approached a traffic light. The front coil springs on the drivers side also broke which caused the coil springs to pierce the tire and the front end of the vehicle fell on the ground. The vehicle was towed to a local repair facility and the mechanic replaced the tires and the coil springs for over $800. The contact suspects that the failure was caused by the cruise control. The dealer didn't agree that the cruise control caused the failure. The manufacturer was notified; however, they have not responded. The failure mileage was 74,000.
While idling at a stop light with brakes activated, engine suddenly accelerated, starting car moving forward. Releasing the over drive option on the gear shift stopped the uncontrolled engine revving. This was the third occurrence of this problem. I have a visit to the dealership scheduled to investigate.
Merging onto highway pressed on gas pedal to around 45-50mph. Stepped on break pedal and car would not slow down. Took foot off brake pedal twice and car accelerated without touching gas pedal. Had to keep applying pressure to brake pedal, slowed down somewhat, pulled off highway into parking lot. Trying to avoid crashing into frozen snow bank and building, put car into neutral. Car went into reverse back onto highway in the slow lane into oncoming traffic. Was able to avoid accident due to oncoming car switching lanes. Put car back into drive and was able to pull into the same parking lot. Was afraid to put into another gear, so shut the car off while in drive to stop car. This was the most terrifying experience my family and I ever experienced. Had the car towed to the dealership. The dealership tried to reproduce the problem for 2 days without any success. Will be trading car in with another car maker.
Vehicle accelerated when brakes were applied due to a faulty brake sensor. The consumer experienced sudden acceleration on three different occasions where the vehicle jerked into oncoming traffic while the consumer's foot was on the brake pedal. (received by consumer frauds bureau on 6/4/03) *scc *jb
Related recalls
Vehicle speed control
- What is wrong
- Ford is recalling model years 1995-2003 windstar, 2000-2003 excursion diesel, 1993-1997 and 1999-2003 f-250 sd through f-550 sd diesel, 1992-2003 e-150 through e-550, 1995-2002 explorer, 1997 and 2002 mercury mountaineer, 1995-1997 and 2001-2003 ranger, and 1994 f53 vehicles equipped with the texas instruments speed control deactivation switch (scds). The scds may leak internally and then overheat, smoke, or burn.
- Risk
- A vehicle fire could occur with or without the engine running.
- Remedy
- Ford will notify owners that dealers will install a fused wiring harness in line with the scds. On 1999-2003 windstar vehicles with a leaking scds, dealers will also inspect the ABS control module connector and repair as necessary. Repairs will be completed free of charge. The safety recall began on october 27, 2009. Owners may contact ford at 1‑888‑222‑2751.
Recall number 09V399000 · Recall details
Questions about the 2003 Ford Windstar sudden acceleration
Is sudden unintended acceleration a common problem on the 2003 Ford Windstar?
5 of 1,510 owner complaints about the 2003 Ford Windstar (0%) mention sudden unintended acceleration. The model year with the most reports is 1998.
Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 2003 Ford Windstar?
There is 1 recall and 0 service bulletins for the same area of the car. Check them below with your VIN.
Other symptoms on the 2003 Ford Windstar
ABS 700Transmission failure 68Adaptive cruise 56Check engine light 44Fire or smoke 34Door locks 31Stalling 30Ball joint 24Grinding brakes 24Headlights 16Wipers 14Loss of power 13Brake failure 12Harsh shifting 12Won't shift 12Jerking 11Coil spring 10Won't start 10Tire blowout 9Warning lights 8No deployment 6Engine failure 6Hesitation 6Power steering loss 6Slipping 6Airbag light 5Fuel gauge 5Misfire 5Steering noise 5Pulling 5
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