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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 63 of 262

#615 of 2608 Windstar Door Problems by rikhanson

Jul 26, 2001 (10:35 am)

I am the "proud"(?) new owner of a 2001 wind star, I recently discovered that when the automatic door shuts it could nearly take an arm off. I did contact my dealership who said that there is nothing they can do and the best I can hope for was a recall from ford. Will Ford feel the same way if my 5 year old breaks her arm in the door. I can not believe that after all of their problems that a MAJOR safety issue is ignored. The door has so much force it could crush a small child, the force it takes to retract the door is enormous. Has anyone else complained about this??

#616 of 2608 RE: Windstar Door Problems by married_man

Jul 27, 2001 (9:07 am)

If I put my fingers between the front of the door and the post, the door retracts automatically.
 
When we bought the van we had the same concern and we let the salesman demonstrate it. (I was not going to risk my fingers !!!). You may want to see it working in a different van to compare with your's and determine if is not working properly or your pain tolerance is different than the salesman

#617 of 2608 Power Doors by penguin

Jul 27, 2001 (9:54 am)

Have the dealer disconnect the power sliding doors and go back to closing them manually. This will eliminate the potential for disaster.

#618 of 2608 Power Doors on a 2000 SEL by sel3

Jul 27, 2001 (12:23 pm)

I have three kids 11, 7, and 3, we have owned this van a year and have had no problems with the power doors hurting anyone in our family. The safety features on these doors work fine. Using these power doors is much safer than leting kids manually operate the doors. It just takes some getting used to! SEL3

#619 of 2608 New 3.8... Old 3.8? by wijoco

Jul 27, 2001 (10:28 pm)

I saw an ad the other day for the new generation Windstar featuring the 3.8 V-6. Someone please tell me this is not the same aluminum head/iron block gasket cracker Ford has been cranking out for the past 15 years!!! Is it? I thought production ceased in '96 on the 3.8, and the new Windstars were available with only the Vulcan or Duratec. I can't believe Ford could still produce that disaster. My friend has a 96 LX with the supposed "revised" 3.8 (stronger head bolts, double steel gaskets, yadda yadda), and the thing still blew 60,000 (gaskets between the timing chain cover and block failed). Are they really that stupid?!?!?

#620 of 2608 Uneven ride in 2001 SEL by minivan_buyer

Jul 31, 2001 (11:24 am)

Our 2001 SEL (3500 miles) recently developed "jerky" ride. The ride feels like someone is pushing the van every 1-2 seconds, i.e it feels like the van is speeding up a bit and slowing down a bit every few seconds. Overall it maintains the speed. Has anyone had similar ride on their Windstar?

#621 of 2608 2000 Windstar Starting Problems by djs10

Aug 02, 2001 (3:46 pm)

Following a 30 minute drive, I turned off the van. About a half hour later, the ignition turned over, but engine wouldn't start. Attempted to start again 20 minutes later unsuccessfully. An hour later the van was towed to the dealer. Soon after that, the service rep called to say the van started immediately without any problem. Mileage is around 7000. Any ideas?

#622 of 2608 Starting Problems by jvirginia

Aug 03, 2001 (7:50 am)

I don't know if this applies to the Windstar, but it happened on a Ford Taurus with the 3.8 liter engine and maybe your van has a similar electronic switch. The car started having similar non-starting ocurrences like you described and then started stalling while driving for no apparent reason. It would quit on the expressway while driving at 55 - 65 mph and not restart for about an hour or so. It turned out there was an over-temperature switch which was malfunctioning.
When the engine temperature exceeded the setpoint of the switch, it would shutdown the fuel pump circuit. The car wouldn't start until the engine cooled down again. Every time I had it towed to a shop, there was nothing wrong and it would start right up and no error codes on the computer. Somehow, instead of the switch just totally breaking, the setpoint changed to a lower temperature and would shut down the circuit at the higher end of the normal operating temp range.
Good luck at finding your problem, I hope this helps you.

#623 of 2608 Re: Starting Problems by djs10

Aug 03, 2001 (3:14 pm)

JVIRGINIA, thanks for your response. I convinced the dealer to keep it overnight and check TSB's. They called in the early afternoon and stated the the problem finally occurred but the computer codes were 'strange'. They called Ford Motor Company and were told to replace the 'cluster'. When I asked what the cluster was I was told it was the computer. Cost: $600 just for the part. The good news is that it was covered under warranty. The bad news is that they will need to keep the vehicle for a total of 5 days! I will keep the Temperature Sensor that you mentioned in the back of my mind - just in case the problem reappears. Thanks again.

#624 of 2608 Winstar Transmission problems by sld5

Aug 06, 2001 (1:10 pm)

I have a 99 SEL Winstar. 30,000 miles and the transmission is going - again!!!!......In the last month the van has been out of commission for 16 days. When I call the dealership, all they do is apologize. Called Ford, they noted that I wasn't happy, and what the issue was, but I still don't feel better. Has anyone had this kind of problem and have they gotten a positive result.

Messages Page 63 of 262

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