2003 Ford Windstar: adaptive cruise control problems

Filed Mar 31, 2015 · Acceleration · 150,000 miles · NV

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 ford windstar. While driving approximately 50 MPH, the cruise control failed to disengage when the brake pedal was depressed. As a result, the contact had to turn off the cruise control manually. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer or an independent mechanic. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 150,000. Updated 6/8/15

Filed Mar 29, 2015 · Brakes, Seat belts · OK

I'm having problems with a 2003 ford windstar van I purchased. The mileage is 081206.3. The ABS and brake lights are on and the sliding doors on both the driver and passenger will not open from the inside of the van. The doors on the sides and back are very hard to open from the outside as well. The cruise control will not turn off unless you hit the brakes. The seatbelt are making a horrible squeaking noise and don't really roll up right. I'd like to find out how to get a list of recalls for this vehicle. To me these are major safety concerns that need to be addressed. Thank you

Filed Mar 28, 2015 · Electrical, Engine · 90,000 miles · VA

Purchased new in 2003. This vehicle has electrical problems and yet we are being told that we have to eat the financial bills instead of ford. From sensors failing, to interior lights flashing at us, and the vehicle sputtering while we drive down the road. Ford knows that the 1999- 2003 windstar have serious safety and electrical failures, yet they do not want to correct the problem at their cost. Ford would rather pass on their problems onto the consumer and at the consumer's cost. 2013 at our cost of $1,000.00+ we replaced the coil assembly pack, egr system with brackets, oxygen sensors, spark plugs, and wires. Now we are replacing them again. The ABS system, the traction control, and the cruise control all interwoven and all failed in 2009 and we were told that it is not important by the dealerships. We placed our obd scanner on our vehicle and this is what we pulled. P0302, p0305, p0316, c1235, c1185, c1198, c1194, c1254, c1246, c1250, c1242, c1214, c1210, c1103, c1410, c1404, b1318. We were told by many "service departments" a while back that these codes were not important. They cleared the codes every time. Their response to these codes were to clear them every time. Why are we having to replace the coil assembly packs, wires, egr system with brackets, oxygen sensors,and plugs so often, when we are being told that these platinum plugs and wires should last 150k? We honestly believe that ford should have recalled this vehicle years ago. Ford should compensate us for our troubles, instead they increased our financial burden, and ford should have placed us into a safer vehicle all at their cost. This is our only vehicle. When it fails, we have to pay thousands to get it repaired at our cost. Ford should take on the financial responsibility when they know that this vehicle has these issues. Major repairs= 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2013, and now 2015.

Filed Mar 26, 2015 · Acceleration, Brakes · 143,216 miles · WV

Dash ABS, brake light on, speedometer, RPM gage jumps back and forward, cruise control accelerates, passenger window and rear side window doesn't work.

Filed Jan 2, 2015 · Brakes · 98,500 miles · MD

The ABS and brake light would come on and off. It finally just stayed on. Then the cruise control stopped working. I replaced the master cylinder brake sensor and harness with a different upgraded parts obtained from ford. It corrected the problem, but now the problem has returned. The ABS and brake light comes on all the time.the new brake sensor seems to be dry and free of brake fluid. The local ford dealer says there is no recall problem and it will cost me another $100.00 to have them look at it again.

Filed Nov 1, 2014 · Brakes · 72,000 miles · CA · crash

Abs lights come on intermittently and now are on all the time. This vehicle later was involved in a crash due to cruise control switch leaking out most of brake fluid. Ford replaced the switch and fixed the brakes but wants $2000 plus to replace the ABS/hcu.

Filed Oct 26, 2014 · Brakes, Transmission · 137,000 miles · VA

April, noticed that cruise control not working 100% of time - not engaging and not disengaging!! Opted not to use it anymore. July, ABS and brake light on and didn't shut off while in home garage. Shut van off, restarted it, lights off. August, lights seem to be coming on with more frequency. Doesn't seem to be speed related. September, ABS and brake light coming on more frequently. Seems to reset (for short time) after shut van off. October, had brake system checked. Disc rotor - r&r; control arm w/ ball joint - lower - front suspension; rear brakes serviced; brake fluid flush. Thought that would have "fixed" everything however less than 10 days later, the ABS and brake lights are coming on again while driving. Turn van off, turn back on - lights reset - until next time I drive it!! After reading through, realize that the two might be related. Safety is a must!!

Filed Aug 27, 2014 · Acceleration, Electrical · 135,000 miles · KS

The ABS light has been one for quite some time many months, maybe a year. The brake light intermittently been on or gone off, but has been on for some time - the last 6-8 months. We have a known brake oil leak, as we have seen the puddles and frequently refill it. This is very similar to the ford recall 09s09 but our VIN # is not presently included. On 8/21 the all of the internal gauges "went wonky" and then stopped indicating anything (speedometer at 0, even though I was driving down the highway at 50-60 MPH. This "wonky issue" has been present since the spring of 2014. Also, the cruise control has not worked for a few months (about the same time we first noticed the "wonky gauges" which used to always accompany a rapid acceleration) since the last week, the gauges are "going wonky" on their own, even when I don't rapidly accelerate. We have read online about a brake oil leak affecting the scds and our issues seem very similar to those described in a recall! To recap, the "wonky gauges" have been an issue since feb/march but was only observed when depressing the gas pedal. Now, since a much more severe episode on 8/21/2014 the gauges are acting up even at slower speeds, the gauges are "going out" and not registering anything at all for 10-15 minute stretches. A/c, radio, clock, windows, turn signals stop working. And ABS/brake lights are illuminated. Thank you for your consideration!

Filed Aug 22, 2014 · Acceleration, Brakes · 140,000 miles · NY

Brake light and ABS lights are on, brakes are fine, fluid level is fine, but light is on. Abs now not working. Speedometer does not go above 40 MPH until driven at least 3 miles, this is also causing the cruise control to not work smoothly. Transmission is not shifting into overdrive, transmission is clean and working. All of these issues began within a few weeks of each other.

Filed Jul 2, 2014 · Acceleration, Brakes · NV

Abs light along with brake indicator light is on. Multiple defect codes for ABS module shown on scanner. Brakes not fully stopping vehicle when depressed. Bought vehicle in may 2014. Cruise control acting funny.

Filed Apr 14, 2014 · Acceleration · 151,000 miles · AR

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 ford windstar. The contact stated that when driving with the cruise control activated, the vehicle would independently accelerate without warning. The failure persisted until it had become a permanent occurrence and would present itself even when the cruise control function was not being used. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacture informed the contact that the vehicle was not included in any active recall. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 151,000.

Filed Jan 29, 2014 · Acceleration · 143,000 miles · NY

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 ford windstar. The contact stated that while at a traffic stop, he accidently engaged the cruise control resume mechanism. The vehicle suddenly increased acceleration and the engine was turned off. After restarting the vehicle was driven to the residence. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who stated there was a recall related to the defect. The cruise control cable was disabled. The federal safety agency campaign id number: 09v399000 (vehicle speed control) however, the VIN was not included. The vehicle was not been repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the problem. The approximate failure mileage was 143,000.