2003 Ford Windstar: windshield wiper failure

Filed Jan 7, 2019 · Electrical, Lights · 120,000 miles · IL

Started having wiper issues (intermittent did not work) randomly for a couple weeks, then headlights went out on highway at night with no other cars, first for a couple seconds off then on then off for good after a few more seconds. After another 10 min or so they went back on and stayed on. Also wipers did not work, or radio, windows and door locks. Another time during heavy rain in daytime the system failed again, wipers went off. This was on busy highway. Luckily they went on again after 10s and I was able to see and pull over. Very scary. Happened off and on again. Turned out forward control module was bad. Dealer replaced one I got from junkyard, no more problem.

Filed Jul 17, 2017 · Electrical · 145,000 miles · SC

While driving at night on the interstate or any other road, the headlights suddenly went off for about 10 seconds. I heard a clicking sound under the left side of the dash like the sound of a relay engaging. This happened several times. I had the battery replaced and it was ok for about 2-3 weeks then started again. Driving during the day w/no lights on the A/C blower motor suddenly stopped working and then re-started. This also happened several times. I heard the clicking under the dash at that time too. I took the van to the ford dealer. They kept it for 5 days and found nothing. I was at church and came out to leave. I started the van and the wipers came on by themselves on intermittent and would not shut off no matter what I did. I turned the van off when I got home and the next time I started it the wipers were off. I was driving down the road with the A/C on and the blower motor suddenly stopped working again and also the radio, power windows, and power locks. Again I heard the relay clicking sound. It stayed off for about 10 minutes and came on long enough to open the windows (it was 92 degrees outside). A couple of minutes later it went off again and stayed off for the rest of the day and most of the next. When I noticed a storm coming, I went out and started the van. Thank god the A/C, radio, windows, and locks were working at that time so that I could shut the windows. I drove it to work the next day and all was working. I left the van with my boss (he's a mechanic) so that he can take a look at it. My rear axle was replaced under recall about 16 months ago. I'm frustrated with this problem. I bought the van used in july of 2015. It has meticulous service records and has been great up until this year. Ford really needs to do something about this.

Filed Mar 28, 2015 · Brakes, Seat belts · 175,000 miles · VA

After looking up all of the service reports on this vehicle, I am beginning to recognize that ford has some explaining to do. We have a large amount of service reports on our vehicle alone that our dealership is not reporting. We have paid more for service repairs than we did paying for the vehicle. Our AC/heat just clicks w/o working, power windows front and rear do not work, power door locks, leaking roofs, leaking doors, ABS lights on, engine lights on, traction control light on, engine sputters even after two complete old fashioned tune-ups, cowl broken, front and rear axles severely cracked, sub-frame cracked, rear wiper does not work properly, brakes need constant repairs, electrical shorts everywhere, head lights, fog lights, brake lights all need constant replacements, alternator was replaced 6 times in one day because they were all faulty, brake switch under brake pedal needs constant replacement, constant wheel alignments, wheel sensors missing or broken, power seat broke and the dealership told us that it was petty to have it fixed even with a height difference between drivers, control modules replaced, multiple expensive sensor failures, spark plugs with wires replaced at least twice, starter replaced, parking brake needs to be watched for slippage because it can't hold on hills, interior lights blink in a pattern while driving, can't haul it's own tailgate, battery replaced multiple times by dealership, power mirror switch broke, many more expensive repairs have been done at our cost, 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 single time. We only have one vehicle and this is it. I am a mom w/children.

Filed May 31, 2013 · Body, Electrical · 40,228 miles · VA

We have not been properly informed about all of the recalls or other issues with our vehicle. The vehicle does have a lot of problems from the electrical, structure, engine lights are always throwing codes needing a lot of sensor replacements at our cost, the rpms seem to run fast sitting at a light(we have to turn off the engine and then restart), and the engine seems to run hot, brakes, cruise control(cannot use), traction control(cannot use), interior light are always flickering, passenger windows(cannot use) and door locks(cannot use), both rear windows(cannot use), leaks from roof, rear door and sliding doors, the cruise control, brake and traction control lights stay on while driving(we were told by a dealership that we can still drive the vehicle, but we won't have anti-lock brakes.), the AC is always having trouble staying charged, the AC/heat control switches have malfunctioned(it has to be set away from the cold and the speed to 3/4 speed to work right), the battery keeps losing charge, the brake tail lights stay on draining the battery and had to get repaired by us because the dealership could not locate the problem, driver seat has malfunctioned(cannot use per dealership's request), cruise control and traction control does not work, suspension seems to have a lot of squeaks and popping sounds, alternator and starter had to be replaced several times, the coil packs need constant replacements, all spark plugs and wires had to be replaced before their time, cannot use the rear wiper because it goes down onto the paint and starts wiping the paint and not the rear window, constantly replacing exterior lights all around, the engine constantly cuts out, we told the dealership for several years that there was an antifreeze smell and they could not locate it until 5-28-13, replaced bad front and rear axles on 5/28/13 and many others. 12k-18k to repair everything.

Filed May 1, 2013 · Electrical, Lights · 195,000 miles · TX

Battery was dead all of a sudden... Jumped it and all the lights started flickering... Dome light dash lights... Windshield wipers came on and they were turned off... Driving down the road everything shut down until the gas was pressed and then it all came back on... Called several places and no one can tell me what is wrong.

Filed Jan 20, 2013 · Electrical · MN

The battery light comes on occasionally. When it comes on, the electrical system has reduced power. This is confirmed by the headlights dimming, wipers moving at slower speed. If I turn the ignition off and then restart, the battery light goes off and everything functions normally. If I don't turn the car off, it will die in a short time.

Filed Nov 30, 2011 · Electrical, Engine · 132,871 miles · MN

I have had no transmission issues with my 2003 ford windstar van. I drove home from work early this morning (3:30am.) I went to leave for an appointment at noon on the same day, and nothing. I started my van, attempted to put it in gear and nothing!! No warning, no nothing!! I have never towed with this vehicle (it doesn't even have a hitch,) the total weight of people riding in it has been 350 pounds. There has been no stress on this engine as I don't live in mountainess areas. I am a single mom of 4 little kids, receiving no child support, working pt, just able to pay the bills, and ford needs to fix this issue!! I have also had numerous other 'problems' but nothing so major the vehicle couldn't be driven (interior lights flashing, blender door actuator going out 3x in a year, rough ideal especially when cold, back door handles not working from inside, back doors so hard to open and close, I can hardly do it, back wiper worked one day then just stopped and hasn't worked since, one back window opens and closes only when it feels like it. I also just put $70 in gas in this vehicle! Ugh!!

Filed Nov 1, 2011 · Electrical, Visibility · 70,000 miles · LA

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 ford windstar. The contact stated that the entire electrical system failed. The windshield wipers did not operate, the interior lights shut on and off while driving at night, the power windows would not open or close, and the power doors worked intermittently. The contact stated that there were several instances when children became locked inside of the vehicle. In addition, the instrument panel was inoperable. The dealer replaced the windshield wiper motor however, did not evaluate the vehicle for the other failures. The manufacturer had not been notified nor was the vehicle repaired. The current mileage was 105,000 and the approximate failure mileage was 70,000.

Filed Oct 3, 2011 · Electrical · 152,000 miles · GA

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 ford windstar. The contact stated that the external and internal lights, windshield wipers and door locks would licker on and off sporadically. The vehicle was taken to a local mechanic who diagnosed that the body control module was defective and needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was 152,000 and the current mileage was 153,083.

Filed Jan 12, 2011 · Visibility · 118,328 miles · IL

I have roughly a 40 minute drive to work. It was a cold day and drove with the heat on and the roads were fine after a snow the night before, but there was no snow left on the vehicle. I came out at the end of the day to find the rear window missing about six-eight square inches and shards of glass below in the snow. The glass appeared to have been hit from the inside, but I think it exploded from within (nothing else had been broken or missing from the inside). I'd had no trouble with the rear defogger or wiper. I found out that a co-worker noticed it at lunch, so sometime between 8:00 am and 1:00 pm this happened. No one saw anything.

Filed Dec 12, 2010 · Visibility · 1,000 miles · OH

Driver side windshield wiper arm loosens about once a month in winter less in spring can do it while driving need 15mm wrench to tighten will not stay tight has been happening since new.

Filed Feb 2, 2010 · Visibility · 63,000 miles · OH

Windshield wiper failure parks wipers in middle of windshield and obstructs vision similar issue as the recall for previous year ford windstar mini-vans has been taken in for service and dealer claims its a faulty front end (g.e.m.) multi-function module failure and ford supplies no replacement parts are available this module also causes the interior lights to flash on and off randomly and can cause stalling of the van due to module malfunction and regulation of the charging system.