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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 191 of 262

#1895 of 2608 1999 Windstar Loss of Speedometer, odometer, air cond. ABS & cruise ctrl by jasona

Jul 06, 2005 (9:29 am)

On 7/2/05 I was leaving downtown when my a/c, speedometer, odometer, tripometer and cruise control all failed. Additionally, the ABS light is stuck on. I took it to the dealership and they are in the process of ordering the parts to replace a blown fusebox and will need to rewire everything......total cost 1800.00. I called Ford Motor Company 1-800-392-3673 to seek assistance from them and spoke to Jean who told me basically, no warranties, no recalls, no assistance. I spoke to a supervisor Donna who said she has final say and Ford will not assist me. She stopped short of accusing me of tampering with the wiring saying, "You've had the car for so long that you could have made repairs which caused this to happen." I have had 2 Fords and 2 Mazdas (made by Ford) and have had trouble (EXPENSIVE REPAIRS) on all of them. Buyer beware, and do not expect help from Ford, they do not care about the customer. If anyone else has experienced this problem I encourage you to contact Ford at the number above, enough calls could prompt a recall. If you have already paid for the repairs they will reimburse you.

#1896 of 2608 P0174 - Valve Cover/Intake Manifold Gaskets - Ford Stinks!! by mikec123

Jul 06, 2005 (9:57 am)

Hi All,
 
I'm back to the board. Its been a couple years since my 99 SE 's tranny went with 38K mi on it. At that time ford stepped up and replaced the transmission and extended my Power Train warranty at a cost of $500 to me. So a few months after my new 'freebie' warranty expired, the CE light is on!! Took in to get the code pulled at Autozone and it was the P0174 - System too lean left bank. It's at the dealer today and sure enough, they say it needs the redesigned valve cover that will prevent oil from traveling into the intake manifold via the PCV Valve and ruining the internals of the intake manifold.
The dealer quoted me over $600 for parts (valve cover, gaskets, isolater bolts) and labor. The labor included the work needed to install the above parts and to scrape all the crud that builds up in the EGR ports.
For any of you that have not had this problem, there was a design flaw (my opinion - the ford rep won't accept blame 'our engineers are always redesigning perfectly good parts' , he says - yeah) with the original valve cover that let oil splash up into the pcv valve. Ford apparently discovered this long ago but did not notify owners!! So if you've got a '99 (maybe other years??) you drive around with a valve cover that's slowly letting oil seep into the intake and then after a while oil fouls up the intake manifold until the point that the oxygen sensors pickup the lean condition and the check engine light pops on. So then instead of an easy valve cover replacement, you've got to disassemble the intake and replace parts in there too.
 
At any rate, I called the customer service number, 1800-392-3673, but the rep was just giving me the run-around and told me there was nothing he could do.
 
So it looks like I have to eat the $75 diagnostic fee and then I'll get the parts and do the work myself. When I get the parts list I'll post again. I'll also post a link to a very good 'how-to' page that shows how to do the repairs listed in the Ford TSB for this problem.
 
Has anyone else had any success in getting Ford to cover any of the cost of this repair (for codes P0174/P0171) for an out-of-warranty windstar?

#1897 of 2608 Re: How do you disable the ABS on Windstar? [guyl1] by alcan

Jul 06, 2005 (11:45 am)

Replying to: guyl1 (Jul 06, 2005 7:50 am)
Why don't you have the stored trouble codes retrieved then repair the problem?

#1898 of 2608 Re: Refueling Problem... by mgraphic

Jul 06, 2005 (1:34 pm)

Ok... I'm a newbe here... so any advice would be appreciated... I own a 2001 LX... When trying to fill the tank I can only get about a half a gallon of gas in before the nozzel kicks off... Anybody have this problem and if so what was the fix?

#1900 of 2608 Re: Refueling Problem... [mgraphic] by mikec123

Jul 07, 2005 (6:56 am)

Replying to: mgraphic (Jul 06, 2005 1:34 pm)
mgraphic,
I've got a '99 SE and I have the same problem. Usually it takes a few attempts and then it fills normally. I just try to change the angle of the nozzle a little bit and then start the pump again. I remember seeing a TSB about it when I was looking for info on one of my more serious problems. You can probably find the TSB with a good google search. The dealer service rep might even be able/willing to look it up and give you the info over the phone.
 
Good luck and post any info that you find!

#1901 of 2608 Re: I hate my 2001 Windstar SEL! [alangstrom] by mikec123

Jul 07, 2005 (7:02 am)

'Hate' sounds about right to me! After reading your post I feel better that the 'only' things I've dealt with is a transmission that failed at 38K and now I've got to replace the valve cover and change the gaskets and isolater bolts in the intake manifold. So I guess I should feel good that our van has only needed $4K in repairs that are a direct result of defective parts! How's that for diminished expectations??
 
-Good Luck!

#1902 of 2608 Re: 1999 Windstar Loss of Speedometer, odometer, air cond. ABS & cruise ctrl [jasona] by sbjj

Jul 08, 2005 (12:09 pm)

Replying to: jasona (Jul 06, 2005 9:29 am)
I have a 1999 Windstar and the speedometer, ac, abs light, ck engine light, and sliding doors will not open if car is on. I have not been to the dealership yet b/c I can not afford there prices. I was just told that it was relay that was blown but since all of that other stuff is not working i am thinking I may have the same thing. I am going to check on the cost of someone else other than the dealer rewiring everything. Although I made a complaint againt a shop that put my cd changer b/c that stuff did not stop working until they put the changer in the car. Thanks for the sugg.

#1903 of 2608 Re: Automatic Sliding Doors - I DON'T THINK SO!!!! [dwarren3] by sbjj

Jul 08, 2005 (12:47 pm)

Replying to: dwarren3 (Mar 09, 2001 4:50 pm)
You are not alone. My 1999 Windstar do not work either. I have been told it is a fuse but took it ford and they claim they don't know which fuse it is either. They suggested that I buy there $22.00 owner's manuel to find it in the manuel. When i got the manuel and took it to the tech he looked me in the face and said it has no numbers on it he don't know either. He went on to say they will have to replace all the fuses and of course you know the charge was out the water. And I agree when you have to hold children, diaper bags, keys, bookbags you don't have time to pull on a handle. In the mornings during school session; we hold up the parent drop off line b/c we have to put the car in park, turn off the ignition just to open the door and let the kids out. It's embarrassing and take more time than I have most time.

#1904 of 2608 Re: 1996 ford winstar dual air stuck on in back on heat [stalpam] by 75birdman

Jul 08, 2005 (8:14 pm)

Replying to: stalpam (Jun 30, 2005 2:55 pm)
I have a 1998 Windstar, and I fixed the problem by replacing the rear air control switch in the dashboard. The system is run by vacuum, and when the switch starts to leak, it isn't able to port the vacuum to the correct side.

Messages Page 191 of 262

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