2003 Ford Windstar engine problems

Filed Oct 7, 2019 · Engine · 182,000 miles · NC · fire

Tl* the contact owned a 2003 ford windstar. While attempting to park the vehicle, white smoke emerged from the engine compartment. The contact exited the vehicle and then it became engulfed in flames. A police report was filed. The fire department extinguished the fire. There were no injuries. The vehicle was towed to an impound lot. There were no injuries. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer for diagnostic testing. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The fire department deemed the vehicle destroyed. The approximate failure mileage was 182,000.

Filed Aug 15, 2018 · Acceleration, Body · 100,000 miles · TX · crash

Was on the street driving, lights started flashing on dashboard van shut off in the middle of the street battery, alternator, blew out, was driving again van was ilde up really bad and while my feet was on the brakes it started moving on its own and ran into someone else vehicle, and also van was on the road started running bad broke down on a busy street once I was pushed to a safe location all my fluids were on the ground and the van was smoking really bad and lights on dashboard were flashing.

Filed Jul 28, 2016 · Acceleration, Brakes · 120,000 miles · SC

I was backing down the driveway when my ford windstar 2003 engine started revving and I had to put both feet on the breaks to stop the car from running out of control. After I put both feet on the brakes to release the engine from revving did it stop. It happened again on the same day and it took all my strength to stop the ford windstar 2003 model. It could have done a lot of damage either to another car or a person. It is very dangerous and this problem has to be corrected or put on a recall basis before other people who might have the problem, can either get it fixed or taken off the road.

Filed Jul 23, 2015 · Engine · 63,000 miles · PA

Went to pull out of parking space. None of the gears worked. Ended up having vehicle towed. Thankful my husband wasn't on the way to work going 60-65 MPH. Contacted ford and was told too bad since it wasn't diagnosed by one of their dealers shops but by a mechanic we've been using for years. I'm wondering why the freestar was recalled for this issue and not the windstar. This should not be happening at 63k miles.

Filed Jul 14, 2015 · Engine · 96,000 miles · MI

This vehicle was mine and given to my daughter in law for their family. She put it into reverse to leave her driveway and there was no response. Neither the drive or reverse was working...nothing worked. It was towed to a local garage to determine what the problem was and the report was...transmission!! It was double checked by a ford dealer and the outcome indicated that it was the transmission torque converter specifically. Doing a bit of research, it was discovered that this is not uncommon for this vehicle...why???? It seems to me that for a family vehicle by a domestic name brand such as ford, that the family should be able to get more than 96000 miles out of their vehicle!! The cost factor for repairs is in the $1500 to $2000 range and the laughable part is that there is no recall!!!!! Hello, what kind of product noted for a particular problem is not recalled to fix the issue for hard working families who trust ford to make a good product? Ford...you need a recall here!!! Or some kind of reduced or prorated way to fix this for way less money than the above stated. I'd like a response to this complaint please with your excuses lined up neatly for me to follow. I feel horrible having given her the car and this happens. She and our son are hard pressed to pay for this kind of repair. How can ford stand by and allow this kind of thing to happen?.....updated 10/20/15 *bf ...updated 09/20/16 *bf updated 11/16/2017

Filed Jun 1, 2015 · Brakes, Electrical · 110,190 miles · FL

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 ford windstar. While approaching a stop, the driver depressed the brake pedal and the vehicle failed to stop. As a result, the driver had to engage the emergency brake in order to stop the vehicle. The brakes, ABS, engine, and door ajar warning lights previously illuminated intermittently. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the ABS electrical module needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 110,190.

Filed Apr 29, 2015 · Driver assistance, Engine · 119,832 miles · IA

I purchased this vehicle this morning, 4/29/15. I took it for a test drive last night, no problems. This morning when I left the house to get the title transferred and vehicle registered, the brake light came on. When I got to my destination and turned it off, then turned it back on, the light remained on, and the ABS light came one. Neither will go off. I had a 1998 windstar that I sold due to age but loved. I am not happy to have this issue the first day I own its replacement.

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 May 2, 2014 · Engine · 163,717 miles · GA

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 ford windstar. The contact stated that while driving approximately 70 MPH, the vehicle suddenly began to hesitate and decelerated before the engine stalled. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was 163,717.

Filed Apr 3, 2014 · Brakes, Electrical · 181,000 miles · GA

The brake and ABS light came on the day after I bought the 2003 windstar. I had to do some research to figure out that it needed a little bit of work because the previous owner lied about why they wanted to sell the van. They said nothing was wrong with it and it ran great. Well now there are some major issues with the windstar. Shortly after the brake and ABS light came on the engine light came on. Now I am trying to come up with the money to fix this problem.