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Ford Windstar Problems - READ ONLY

2608 messages,  Last post on Oct 27, 2006 at 8:51 PM

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What is this discussion about? Ford Windstar, Van

Messages Page 131 of 262

#1297 of 2608 1995 Tough windstar? by coachrip

Aug 07, 2003 (11:00 am)

In reply to the post "is there ANYONE with a 1995 windstar that they are happy with or have had minimal repairs? Not ALL of them were doomed for failure, right? i bought a new 1995 and the only thing done to it was the head gasket recall -no other repairs. tons of city driving and lots of cargo hauling and people around the country, now with 176,000 miles and runs really well! I'm actually happy with my 1995 Windstar....it's been put too good use!"
 
I bought a 95 LX in 96 one year old with 20, ooo miles, and had the head gasket redone by the dealer. I loved, .........that's loved, ....past tense, that van and had planned on driving it for about 150,000 miles.....................Always had it serviced, etc, ........at 90,000 miles, ......water pump is going, A/C is gone, had the switch replaced once, ........took three years to find the sensor that was keeping the interior lights on, warning bell ringing, until over 10 miles an hour, head gasket is blown AGAIN, transmission is slipping, .......
 
I used to bleed ford blue, ............but I'm no longer blue, .......shopping for Honda or toyota.

#1298 of 2608 Rear wiper by samnoe

Aug 07, 2003 (5:45 pm)

I have my 2002 Ford Windstar LX Deluxe. No major problems, and now over 18,000 miles. Some minor things, fuse problems (not a big deal), check engine light came up, but dealer says the computer just had to be 're-programmed', 2 bulbs replaced; but everything else seems fine.
 
Last month, my rear wiper got out of track, and when engaged, it turns a little and then goes down, hanging from the window. I must tell you that I'm taking good care of this car, and never use the wipers while it has weight on it (as snow, etc.)
 
I noticed that many Windstars have this problem. Driving on the road makes me feel that almost 40-50% Windstars don't have the rear wiper in place. That's why it's interesting to me that Ford will make no changes to the new upcoming Freestar and Monterey. I was sure that would be changed, with a stronger, more stable motor.
 
Any comments?

#1299 of 2608 Windstar wiper by wijoco

Aug 07, 2003 (9:30 pm)

I've noticed that too on a lot of Winstars- rear wiper dangling down the back door. Don't worry, though, Ford will fix it by 2010. They usually take about 10 years to fix a problem.

#1300 of 2608 2000 SE Pinging Follow Up by mted23

Aug 08, 2003 (8:08 am)

Two weeks ago I posted that I had the computer reprogrammed to cure a pinging problem. It was actually worse after the reprogram. Two days later it was had to start and idle was real rough. The engine light finally came on. Took it to a different Ford dealer. The computer showed several codes. They replaced upper and lower intake gaskets, fuel regulator among other things. This repair cost $625 of which $525 was covered by an extended warranty. (Max Care from Carmax) The van is now running fine. Ping is gone for now. It did however just stall while going 35mph with no warning. It did start right up and has been fine for about 200 miles through some long traffic delays and high tempatures. Hopefully it will last 100,000 miles. Who knows. I won't buy another Freestar/Windstar.

#1301 of 2608 rear wipers by ramou

Aug 09, 2003 (9:14 am)

I had the same problem with my 99 rear wipers. All I did was unscrew the nut, repositioned the wiper arm, re-screw on the nut and it works great now. i guess the wipers arm just comes off the threaded track with time and vibration. Mine took me less than 2 minutes to re-adjust. if u take the wiper arm off and run the rear wipers, you'll see that the motor turns back and forth correctly. I also just got back from a 1990 mile trip in the mountain (from Florida to Tennessee in 6 days) the van drove great with 5 people and luggage up in the mountain with 70,000 miles. the best gas mileage was 24 MPG, the worst was 15 mpg driving around the Smokey Mountains (a lot of uphill driving and driving in 2nd gear). it didn't use any oil, coolant or transmission fluid knock on wood.

#1302 of 2608 windstar transmission by ramou

Aug 09, 2003 (9:17 am)

I spoke with a transmission shop specialist and he agreed with me that he sees a lot of Windstars and Taurus come in his shop but his explanation was that this van can be driven around town forever and the transmission will never break down, until you take it out on the highway and drive it at 70 or 80mph for couple of hours. He said that some part inside the tranny( can't remeber what he called it) doesn't get exercised enough if the car is always driven in town but when u take it out on the highway, that part gets so hot and it melts and when u go to slow down to get off the exit or whatever, the transmission doesn't go anywhere. So my advice is to drive the van on the highway for extended periods periodically to prevent that from happening. I guess this part needs to be exercised often so it doesn't break down, that's why he said that it will drive in town forever without failing. he sees it mostly in lower mileage engines. I hope this didn't confuse anyone

#1303 of 2608 Radio reception by samnoe

Aug 14, 2003 (9:21 pm)

There are sometimes which the Radio reception quality is very poor, and everything I'm doing just adding noise (zzzzzzzzz...) like when I'm signaling, or flashing high-beams, sometimes even just by turning the steering wheel, and of course if something is plugged into the power outlet (like cell phone charger).
 
Is there any way to improve the quality of the Radio? (Ford still does not offer digital satellite radio, and I don't know if those offer better quality, they only provide you with a bigger range (coast to coast) to listen to some stations).

#1304 of 2608 Samnoe/Radio reception by ramou

Aug 15, 2003 (7:58 pm)

Hey I feel your pain, we just returned from a trip in the Smokey mountains and I would scan the radio for a station and it would just go thru the entire dial without picking up a single station. Thank god that I have an in-dash factory CD player. The reason is that the antena in my 99 Windstar is built in the rear right side glass, it looks like the letter "Z", and it's of the same material as the rear defroster wires, it's so cheap and you'll never be able to pick up anything, that's why u hear busing everytime u turn on anything electrical, because the signal runs thru the electrical system causing that humming or busing. I thought about installing an external antena, that means disconecting the existing antena cable from the back of the radio and running another antena cable to an external antena on the fender or so, which I guess I would have to drill in the metal to mount it. Doesn't sound like a big job but I'm seriously thinking about it. Actually we're lucky because some of the Crown Victorias have the antena built in the rear glass along with the defroster wire, meaning that everytime u turn on your rear defroster, u would get straight static until u turn it off. I know this for a fact because my dad had a Crown Victoria that did this, it sucks. Ford Radios just plain suck

#1305 of 2608 I don't know guys.... by mullins87

Aug 16, 2003 (7:14 am)

Between my parents and the cars I've owned, I've had personal experience with four Town Cars, one F-150, one F-350, a Cougar and a Windstar. Granted none of them could compare to a high end aftermarket system, but none of them were crap. The only one I have any buzzing in is my F-350. The passenger side window makes a slight hissing in the radio. I would be willing to bet it is a grounding problem. I have similar trouble in the past with GM cars. It almost always turned out to be a broken ground somewhere.
 
As far as reception goes, I'll agree the mast would do better, but the inglass antenna is a cleaner installation. I've been to the Smokies on several occasions. I remember having the same problems as you. When you get down between the mountains you won't get any stations.

#1306 of 2608 Radio reception by wijoco

Aug 16, 2003 (2:32 pm)

I agree with Mullins. Poor radio reception in the mountains is normal. And a buzzing proportional to another electrical device is usually a bad ground or a bad radio noise supressor. The radio itself probably isn't at fault. Ford sound systems are pretty much on par with the rest of the industry.

Messages Page 131 of 262

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