Abs and brake light appears randomly especially when the weather is warmer. So during the winter months the lights are not normally on. Most of the time they appear after the car starts driving.
2003 Ford Windstar brakes complaints
Page 9 of 23: complaints 221 to 250 of 655, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Abs and brake light comes on and stays on after vehicle has been driven a while and warmed up. After sitting and cooling off light resets, and then repeats to on as soon as driven to warm up again. Brakes are new, tires are new, no other apparent issues. From my understanding this is a common electrical failure in the ABS control module. (bad solder connection)? Possible fire hazard?
The ABS brake light keeps coming on. It doesn't stay on....but goes off time to time.
The ABS and the brake lights come on randomly, mainly when the vehicle is hot or the temp is hotter outside. If you turn the vehicle off and back on the lights go out for a while.
The ABS light has come on and the ABS braking system has become inoperable.
The ABS and brake lights came on. Took it to the dealer and they stated that the ABS module was defective. Tested ABS on wet and snowy roads, and the ABS engaged appropriately. Warning lights continue to come on about 5 minutes after starting vehicle. Told by dealer that ABS module needs replacing. I have not replaced due to high cost, $800+.
Abs light on. Codes c1185.
Swerved to avoid collision and the brakes locked causing car to lose control on the wet road. The van hit a tree, flipped on its side and smashed into a light pole. The airbags did not deploy even though there was front end damage. The ABS and brake lights were illuminated prior to the crash. Also noticed the speedometer started acting up over the prior weeks (not moving until after a few minutes of driving.)
Abs light is on. Brake light is on intermittently. So far brake function is normal. Had mechanic perform diagnostic check on system. 12 codes appeared related to the brake ABS control. Was told that problem is with the ABS module. This issue would worsen and could cause massive brake failure. I have spoken with other owners of windstars and have heard of similar problems. This defect is not isolated to 2003 models. I know of other owners who drive 1998 2000 2001 windstars and are having the same issues.
The ABS light and brake lights will come at the same time and both will go off at the same time. While these lights are on I will have issues while trying to break. I have trouble with the front wheel in wet weather wanting to skid when stopping and it will spin when taking off. I have had $500 of work on the front brakes and $450 of work on the back brakes and the mechanics don't understand why I still have issues when stopping. I have a 2003 ford windstar.
Emergency brake light comes on. When I tried to stop my car would not and almost went into someone's house...the ABS light came on also! Attempted to get the problem fixed after $1024 later, the ABS light is off but brake light. Continues to come on and squeal. Ford dealer insists nothing wrong with brakes!
The ABS system, that was supposed to be fixed with the switch recall, still doesn't work. Intermittently I have the ABS/brake warning lights on this van. It has happened under various conditions. I have replaced master and rear wheel cylinders, brake drums and still have intermittent ABS.
Abs and brake light on - vehicle was in for another recall and ford noted that light was on - wanted to charge for inspection of reason light stays on - they also verified that brakes were good..
The ABS light came on and continues to come on after 2 to 3 minutes of driving. The brake hardware is in excellent condition.
Abs and brake lights were on...now the ABS light comes on randomly. Also stalls after turning on.
Abs light and brake light come on after driving car several miles for unknown reason. Dealer says it could be a $1500 to $2500 fix if ABS control module is bad.
Abs has intermittent failure, the warning light turns on and off. It is difficult to drive in snow and ice conditions as the vehicle braking becomes unpredictable.
Both my ABS and brake lights come on when driving. Then shut off then back on. A lot of windstars on the road does the same thing.
My ABS light keeps coming on, my mechanic said that my ABS braking system could be inoperable with the light on. I feel that this is another failing part that ford needs to issue a recall for.
The brake, ABS, and traction of lights come on. When the car is turned off, it seems to reset and doesn't come back on until driving for a while. There is no specific time or driving condition that seems to trigger it. It is completely random. Several different places, from the dealership to les scwab say the brakes look fine. Meinike finally ran some sort of computerized diagnostic and said the ABS module is defective.
This vehicle has had ABS control unit problems since it was three years old in 2006. The condition being described is not to be confused with a previous windstar recall involving a leaking brake fluid pressure switch (the federal safety agency action #ea08021). The first occurrence was in the spring of 2006 (one month or a few thousand miles after warranty expiration) when I was about 200 miles from home on a trip driving up interstate 91 in ma in the rain. Glanced down at dash display and saw both the brake system warning and ABS system warning lights on. I stopped to check the brake fluid. When the car was turned off and restarted, the warning lights turned off. That was 6 years ago and the problem continued to progress to an extremely predictable pattern. In warm weather, (over 40 degrees f), the ABS system will not function and the warning lights are on. When winter comes, the warning lights go away and the ABS works normally. I was told by dealer that it would be a $700 repair. Since the system worked in the winter (when I need the ABS the most) and had spent a lot of money on several other engineering defects of this car, I have lived with the problem. It was mostly an annoyance. Having done some research though, I have found that there are many other windstars with identical symptoms and they center on a defect of the ABS module design. After the module has been cycled thermally for hundreds of times in service (heating, cooling, heating, cooling, etc.) there are solder connections on the pcb that are no longer reliable and become intermittently connected. It basically is an electrical or mechanical engineering 101 topic known as tce (thermal coefficient of expansion) mismatch. My concern now is that the failure is progressively getting worse and extending further in to the cold weather period. Any design issue with a brake system or component is a serious safety issue.
Abs brakes dashboard light and check engine light is always on. Dealer has reset many times with no success.
Brake light comes on and failure of braking system.
Abs control module is bad.
Abs warning light comes on intermittently. Abs system does not work. Brake warning light usually comes on simultaneously.
Abs and brake light comes on and off, drivers side window and rear drivers side wing does not operate properly, radio changes stations on its own, engine serge when in ideal, interior lights come on by themselves, noise in rear when in reverse.
Abs and brake lights came on, lights go off if car is turned off for a minute. Sporadic problem that doesn't follow a pattern.
Abs and brake warning lights came on after driving approximately 3 miles and stayed on.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 ford windstar. The contact stated that while parked the traction control, ABS, and emergency brake warning light illuminated on the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken to two different independent mechanics for diagnostic testing who were unable to diagnose the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 98,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 ford windstar lx. The contact stated that while traveling 50 MPH, both the ABS and brake warning lights illuminated intermittently. The vehicle was taken to a local repair shop. The repair shop confirmed that the brake modulator needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was not contacted. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 93,000 and the current mileage was 95,000.
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