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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 43 of 262

#413 of 2608 This is all of what I know ... by wholigan

Mar 16, 2001 (8:07 am)

The programs that FORD offered regarding head gaskets was either M009 and M010. I think they were as follows:
M009 - the original notification sent out in 1998 that covered up to 75,000(?) miles.
M010 - the update that provided coverage for 7 years or 100,000 miles.
This is from Reuter on March 7, 2000. This was the press release:
==========
DEARBORN, Mich., March 7 (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co. , as part of a plan to fix potential head gasket problems on some cars and minivans, will buy the vehicle back in certain cases if a new engine cannot be found in a timely fashion, a spokesman confirmed on Tuesday.
 
Ford, the world's No. 2 automaker, announced last month that it extended the warranty on head gaskets in certain 3.8 liter V-6 engines to seven years or 100,000 miles. The head gasket is a central seal in the engine that can cause engine failure if it leaks.
 
There are about 700,000 vehicles affected. They are: 1994-95 Ford Taurus and Mercury Sable sedans; 1994 Continental large sedans; and 1995 Windstar minivans.
 
If a failed head gasket causes engine damage, Ford will replace the engine. But if Ford cannot locate a re-manufactured engine within five days, the automaker will offer to buy back the vehicle for fair market value as well as issue a $3,000 certificate toward the purchase of a new Ford, said spokesman Mike Vaughn.
 
Vaughn declined to say how much Ford would pay for the damaged vehicles. Based on a guide from the National Association of Automobile Dealers, the fair market repurchase offer ranges from $3,175 for a 1994 Taurus GL to $8,375 for a 1995 Windstar LX.
 
If a head gasket fails during the extended warranty time period, owners will be eligible for repair refunds. Or they can choose to take a $4,000 certificate to be used for the purchase of a new Ford, Mercury or Lincoln vehicle.
 
Vaughn declined to say how much the program will cost Ford. A story in this week's Automotive News, an industry trade publication, said Ford could spend at least $200 million, making it one of the five largest warranty campaigns in the industry.
 
REUTERS
==========
 
One additional note: According to the Regional Ford Representative that I was working with, the buy-back was NOT part of the program. It was an OPTION under the program that could only be invoked by the regional rep.
 
I did chat with a few folk who opted for the buy-back. In general, it was a good deal for them: they got out of an unreliable vehicle, they had a vehicle that was warranted for 3/36,000, and pledged to get rid of the "F" work before that warranty expired. Of course, their situation was a little different than yours - most were original owners that had nearly paid the vehicle off. Basically, they would buy a $25000 vehicle with $11100 down ($6600-buyback + $3000-certificate + $1500-rebate at the time). Even if they kept it for one year, they could get out of it for a profit.
 
If you are not already aware, there are a couple of class actions outstanding against Ford:
 
I am not certain, however, this MIGHT be for transmissions ONLY:
Joseph D. Ament
200 N. LaSalle St. - 2100
Chicago, Ill. 60601
312-346-3100
312-621-1750 (fax)
 
This one is for head gaskets...
Horwitz, Horwitz & Associates
Clifford W. Horwitz
Richard Daughtery
http://www.mylawyers.com
312-372-8822
 
Again, I wish you the BEST of luck and PLEASE keep us posted...

#414 of 2608 Wholigan... by iwasscammed

Mar 16, 2001 (8:58 am)

Thank you for all the information. They did offer to buy back the van with the first engine replacement. There offer was not of value to me though. They offered $6600.00 for the shell of the van and $3000.00 to not put the engine in. That only left me with $800.00 after the pay off. Then they wanted me to buy a new car. My payments would have been well over $400.00, and that was just not workable for me. That engine also took approx a month to come in as well. The owner of the dealership refuses to talk to me and ends off my messages to the General Manager, he and I just knock heads, especially now they took the loaner. I know they had a huge meeting yesterday, and just wonder if it would be about my upcomming picket!!!! To bad I wasnt a fly on the wall. I don't expect to hear back anytime soon from the General Manager, so I will take advice and call the radio stations and news stations along with everything else I have done. Thanks for all your help.
Lisa

#415 of 2608 Road noise and others by kjclow

Mar 16, 2001 (9:13 am)

To hawk505
I have a 97 WS that also has a vibration around 45 - 50. I only reach that speed for a few minutes when I take the van to work. I happen to be one of the lucky ones that only have a five mile commute. I have noticed the problem at other times and it only seems to happen on concrete roads, not blacktop. I never took it to the dealer, I already knew what they would say.
New tires did not change it. I am just hoping that the other problems mentioned in these posts don't happen before I can afford another new car. I had to replace my 90 Aerostar last year, 120,000 miles, no ac, front end going out, holes in the side from too long in the rust belt.........
 
A couple of points to other threads............
Paint cracking
Ford will probably do nothing about it. The warranty on the paint job is for rust through. If you get enough complaints together, Ford "might" go after the OEM paint manufacturer. Similar to what GM did with the failing clear coats a couple of years back. My guess is that Ford will respond with the same gusto that has been noticed with other problems. If only I could figure out how to make an ostrich out of keyboard characters...........
 
ABS light
If mine stays on, I know that I need to add brake fluid. Can't figure out where it is going, but if it is a leak, it's such a small one that it is not leaving anything on the floor and I know the garage will never find it. I had a similar problem with the Aerostar. Ford replaced the fluid reservoir twice, the wiring once, the master cylinder once, all within the 12 month warranty. The light still came on. I just kept an eye on the fluid level and ingorned the light.

#416 of 2608 iwasscammed by kjclow

Mar 16, 2001 (9:17 am)

Definitely contact the local TV station. I know that down here in Charlotte several of the stations have consumer watch programs. This may help to get the local media behind you.
 
Good Luck

#417 of 2608 1996 windstar trouble by mjoyce

Mar 16, 2001 (9:35 am)

Has anyone heard of a problem with the speedometer going out on the windstar. At only 62,000 miles mine is on the way out - ford wants 500.00 to fix it. I have heard it's a widespread problem - any comments? Also the rear wiper stopped working.

#418 of 2608 Update on problems/solutions with my 1996 Windstar by wmy99

Mar 16, 2001 (9:59 am)

Update on problems/solutions with my 1996 Windstar
   
I hope this info will be of some help to other Windstar owners:
 
My vehicle has a 3.8 engine with 72,000 miles.
 
--Problem of rear head rests jammed in upward position, dangerously, blocking the driver's rear view vision.
 
  I removed the c-clip at the very top of the seat where the chrome rod of the headrests enter the top of the seat (use needle nose pliers}. I pushed the headrests down to their lowest position & reinserted the clips. O.K.
 
--Problem of engine light flickering/staying on.
Had an independent mechanic check the vehicle with a computer/scope.
Remedy was to change sparkplugs & sparkplug wires & gas line filter. I was shown that the wires were arcing & this would send a signal to the computer of a misfire causing the check engine light to come on.-----Parts & Labour $ 250.00
  Of interest platinum spark plugs only are recommended for proper engine performance also you can check the wires for arcing, best time at night & spray a mist of water on the wires with motor running. If you wires are defective,you will easily see arcing from the wires to the motor or to other wires.
  Result: engine light stayed off for 2 days then came on again.
  I took the vehicle to a Ford Dealer in my area & the van was checked with a computer/scope.
  Remedy was to change faulty EGR SENSOR ASSEMBLY {F4ZZ*9J460*B) & 2 EGR VAC HOSES.
                  -Parts & Labour $ 240.00
  Result: engine light now off for
          3 weeks, seems O.K.
 
--Problem of ABS & BRAKE Lights flickering on & off at stop light & then staying on. (the brake cylinder is known to have a sloppy float causing the light to come on when you come to a stop, fill the cylinder to the top & the light goes out.}
  I had my brake wheel cylinders & brake system checked twice by my local garage & the brake system checked by my Ford Dealer & they could not find any leaks. My master cylinder would lose brake fluid slowly, about 1 inch over 30 days.
 
I did see about 1 tablespoon of fluid overnight appear on my driveway. I laid a large piece of cardboard under the engine overnight & was able to catch this fluid stain on the cardboard. I then took the cardboard into the dealer marking where the front tire was on the cardboard. The dealer was then able to pin point the area of the leak under my van.
 The following part was leaking and replaced. {Proportionating valve}. There are 2 of these valves joining the brake lines located under the vehicle, just behind the driver's seat area. The brakes had to be bled.
FORD#BRAKE VALVE (F8Z*2B091*BA}
                 -Parts & Labour $185.00
 
--Problem of Very Strong, Burning, Chemical Smell Coming From Heater.
 
This solution was found by accident by my Ford Dealer while the vehicle had been in for repair. This was my 3RD repair visit to the Dealer & I had complained about this horrible smell each visit but it would not appear at that time. I had my van in to check for the brake fluid leak and asked the mechanic to check for leaks around the back of the engine in case brake fluid or oil was leaking on the exhaust.----The mechanic discovered 6 large pine cones jammed up against the engine & they were partially burned.--- A squirrel or chipmunk had started to make a nest next to my nice, warm engine & the pine cones slowly burning were causing this terrible chemical smell to be picked up by the heater intake. -Parts & Labour $00.00

#419 of 2608 UPDATE, UPDATE!!!!!!!!! by iwasscammed

Mar 16, 2001 (1:02 pm)

Well after the dealership took my loaner back last night, simply because I contacted an Attorney, I am assuming that the General Manager either got into a heap of trouble, or he realized he was morally wrong and this would not be in the best interest for the dealership, so he called me three times today. The first was a message to just call him. the second two times he called, were to apologize greatly for what he did as far as making me take the loaner back. He asked me to please return to the dealership and pick up the loaner, and keep it until my van was ready. He was going to see if he could put some sort of rush on the engine being put in, since it has been in the shop since Feb. 21st. And his last words were... that if I needed anything, to feel free to contact him. I did get in touch with ABS's John Stossel and left a very detailed email for him, I also got in touch with the local Radio station that is airing a Ted Britt commercial for the loaner for life program. My site has had 116 hits in less than two days, and my Attorney is still anxious to work on the case. I may have gotten the loaner back although I lost a day of work because they took it, but I am still going forward with a possible court case. I'm not sure if I mention this in my other post of not. But I called the dealership last night and acted as a person interested in a used vehicle. I asked about the "satisfaction guaranteed" sign in the window and how that applies to the vehicles. He wasnt sure if that sign was for the detail shop, but thought it applied to the purchase of a used car as well. When asked how they assure that what they are selling on the lot is of value, he stated that they are required to put the vehicle through a 124 point check prior to selling it. this would include major working parts. I guess that didn't happen with mine. I thanked him for his time, and logged it down.
look for more posts to update you on what happens. Thanks everyone.

#420 of 2608 windstar speedometer fix by miesner3

Mar 17, 2001 (7:17 am)

i couldnt believe what the dealer priced me for a speedometer on our 1996 w/s for the approx 500 dollars they wanted i could about replace headgaskets for that must be fords way of subsidizing their headgasket pragram by shafting peoplle on their speedometers anyway i located a company that rebuilds ford 1990-1998 mechanical speedometers with better than new parts for 130 dollars plus exchange ford gave me a price of 330 dollars for the original replacement that will fail again due to defective parts the web page for this rebuilder is www.speed-o-meter.com sure hope this helps take some worris off of some w/s/owners minds who have enough else to worry about with these low quality vehicles

#421 of 2608 Left side noise by rknj62

Mar 17, 2001 (1:57 pm)

Hello to all... am new to this Town Hall Community Board and as many others I have experienced some problems with my 1998 WS with a 3.0 engine. I so far have been fortunate that I have not had the MAJOR problems such as transmission (yet?) but we only have 11,500 miles on the 98WS as of today and I do get the oil changed every 3 months rather then every 3000 miles. I have had the Tie rod ends replaced because of the loud noise in the steering. I also had (finally) the left side door lock replaced and the drivers side window had a problem. So as you can see so far I am lucky. BUT I do have a very annoying noise coming from the left front (I think) it sounds like a slight thumping sound and so far my dealer has not heard it. I am going to have my tires rotated this week just in case that is it. I have scanned through some of the messages and I see that some have left side noise problem also.... any guess what it may be???? Thanks in advance for any input to this problem. All in all I also hope that I can write to Ford and ask for another chance to pick up a extended warranty after reading all the messages about the transmission problem. Once again thanks for any input on the noise problem.

#422 of 2608 99 Windstar Roof Channel Paint Cracks by announcer

Mar 18, 2001 (1:55 pm)

Yep, I've got 'em too. Fortunately, I'm leasing, and the vehicle goes back to Ford in four months.
 
Since my front end fell apart at 10K (no pinch bolt installed in steering knuckle at factory) we've been relatively trouble free, except for my wife ramming a Bambi in December ($2,500 in damage).

Messages Page 43 of 262

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