1995 FORD WINDSTAR Complaints

1995 FORD WINDSTAR VAN BRAKE PRESSURE SWITCH CAUGHT FIRE. OCCURRED DURING FILL UP AT GAS STATION. I WAS ABLE TO EXTINGUISH THE FIRE QUICKLY AS HEAVY BLUE SMOKE ALERTED ME TO THE PROBLEM. WHY WASN'T THIS VEHICLE PART OF THE RECALL FOR THIS SAME SWITCH? MY HOUSE COULD HAVE BURNED DOWN (GARAGED VEHICLE), AS I UNDERSTAND THE SWITCH IS ELECTRICALLY HOT EVEN WITH THE CAR OFF! *JB

1995 FORD WINDSTAR LX WITH SEATBELT PROBLEMS CUSTOMER STATES THAT THE PASSENGER SIDE SEAT BELT RETRACTORS NO LONGER WORK**CC THE CONSUMER STATED THERE SHOULD BE A SAFETY RECALL ISSUED FOR THIS DEFECT. THE CONSUMER CREATED A TEMPORARY FIX BY ATTACHING A CLIP TO THE ANCHOR POINT. THE CONSUMER STATED, WHEN A PERSON IS PROPELLED FORWARD, THE RETRACTORS ARE SUPPOSED TO SEIZE THE SEAT BELT AND KEEP IT FROM UNWINDING. *JB

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 1995 FORD WINDSTAR. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE DRIVER AND PASSENGER SEAT BELTS ARE DEFECTIVE AND NO LONGER RESTRAIN THE PASSENGERS. THE DEALER CONFIRMED THAT THE SEAT BELTS WERE NO LONGER SAFE AND THE REPLACEMENT WOULD COST $400. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGES WERE 140,000.

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 1995 FORD WINDSTAR. ON JULY 24, 2007, THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO HAVE THE TRANSMISSION SERVICED. AT THAT TIME, THE CONTACT LEARNED THAT THE COIL SPRINGS WERE CRACKED AND FAILING. HE SEARCHED THE INTERNET AND FOUND THE NHTSA WEBSITE. HE DISCOVERED SAFETY RECALL NUMBER 01I007000 (SUSPENSION: FRONT:SPRINGS:COIL SPRINGS). THE SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE STATED THAT HIS VEHICLE WAS INCLUDED IN THE RECALL, BUT THE TEN-YEAR FREE PERIOD EXPIRED. THE CONTACT INFORMED THE REPRESENTATIVE THAT HE HAD NEVER RECEIVED A SAFETY RECALL NOTICE. THE REPRESENTATIVE STATED THAT IT WAS NHTSA'S RESPONSIBILITY TO MAIL OUT THE RECALL NOTICES. THE PURCHASE DATE WAS UNKNOWN. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGES WERE 235,000.

I PURCHASED A 1995 FORD WINDSTAR FROM A PRIVATE OWNER WHO REPORTED NO PROBLEMS WITH IT. AFTER OWNING IT FOR ABOUT 1 YEAR, THE ENGINE BEGAN TO RUN ROUGHLY. SHORTLY AFTER, IT WOULD STALL OUT IF IDLING AND I NOTICED THE SMELL OF GASOLINE. I TOOK IT TO A REPAIR AND THEY TOLD ME IT WAS SHOOTING RAW FUEL OUT OF THE EXHAUST. I REPLACE THE COMPUTER MODULE, TWO BLOWN OPEN FUEL INJECTORS, THE SPARK PLUGS AND THE WIRES. THEY SAID THAT SHOULD CORRECT THE PROBLEM. TWO MONTHS LATER THE EXACT SAME THING HAPPENED AGAIN. THIS TIME IT WAS SUGGESTED THAT THE ENTIRE ENGINE BE REPLACED ALONG WITH A NEW COMPUTER MODULE. I DONATED THE VEHICLE TO A GROUP LISTING ALL THE ITEMS THAT WERE RECOMMENDED TO BE FIXED. WE DO NOT MISS OUR "BLOW UP MOBILE". *TR

* CRUISE CONTROL QUIT WORKING OVER 24 MONTHS AGO. * CONSISTENT LOSS OF BRAKE FLUID OVER TIME. * FIRE DISCOVERED UNDER HOOD WHEN RETURNING HOME. FIRE LOCATED UNDER BRAKE MASTER CYLINDER. FIRE WAS PUT OUT WITH FIRE EXTINGUISHER. VEHICLE TOWED TO DEALERSHIP, AND THEY SAID THIS WAS A KNOWN PROBLEM WITH CRUISE CONTROL DEACTIVATION SWITCHES. OTHER VEHICLE MODELS WITH THE SAME SWITCH HAVE BEEN RECALLED. SEE HTTP://WWW.SAFETYFORUM.COM/FORDCRUISECONTROL/ *DEALERSHIP IS ORDERING PARTS TO REPAIR VEHICLE. *AK

PURCHASED THE VAN USED IN 2004. A FEW WEEKS LATER THE TRANSMISSION HAD TO BE REBUILT. SHORTLY AFTER THAT THE BRAKE LIGHTS CAME ON. MECHANIC COULD NOT FIND ANYTHING WRONG WITH THE BRAKES, ALTHOUGH PERIODICALLY THEY MADE A NOISE AND WOULD STIFFEN UP, THEN THE PEDAL WOULD GO SLACK AND THEN RETURN TO NORMAL. THE MUFFLER FELL OFF AND WAS PUT BACK ON. THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT HAD BEEN ON, WHEN HOOKED UP TO THE COMPUTER IT ONLY SHOWED CODES FOR THE EXHAUST SYSTEM. THEN IT STARTED OVERHEATING AND A BIT OF WHITE SMOKE CAME FROM THE TAILPIPE. THE INTAKE MANIFOLD GASKET WAS REPLACED. 2 DAYS LATER THE OVERDRIVE LIGHT STARTED BLINKING AND THE VAN DIDN'T HAVE MUCH POWER AND WOULD STALL OUT WHILE EMITTING A THICK CLOUD OF WHITE SMOKE FROM THE TAILPIPE. MECHANIC SAYS NOW THE HEAD GASKET IS BLOWN. *JB

TL*- THE FRONT TRANSMISSION SEAL ON HIS 1995 FORD WINDSTAR FAILED AND STARTED A FIRE, SPREADING OIL ALL OVER. THE FAILURE CAUSED THE TRANSMISSION TO MALFUNCTION WITHOUT THE POSSIBILITY OF BEING REBUILT. THIS WAS THE SECOND FORD WINSTAR THAT THE CONTACT HAD PURCHASED AND THE TRANSMISSION FAILED. THE DEALER STATED THAT THEY HAD AT LEAST FIVE VEHICLES PER YEAR WITH THIS PROBLEM. *AK

I'M HAVING A PROBLEM WITH FIRESTONE TIRE COMPANY. A DEFECTIVE TIRE BLEW ON MY SON'S FORD VAN. THE THREAD SEPARATED COMPLETELY. MY SON WAS ABLE TO DRIVE HOME ON THE FABRIC OF THE STILL INFLATED TIRE. THE TIRE WAS REPLACED FREE BY THE LOCAL FIRESTONE DEALER BECAUSE IT WAS OBVIOUSLY A DEFECTIVE TIRE. WHEN THE TIRE BLEW, THE FLYING RUBBER THREAD CAUSED DAMAGE TO THE VEHICLE. THE SIDE VIEW MIRROR WAS DESTROYED, FRONT BUMPER WAS LOOSENED PLUS OTHER MINOR COSMETIC DAMAGE. DAMAGE WAS $281.36. I WENT TO THE LOCAL FIRESTONE DEALER RIGHT AFTER THE INCIDENT BECAUSE I WASN'T COMFORTABLE DRIVING WITHOUT A SPARE TIRE. I HAD THE DAMAGE REPAIRED QUICKLY BECAUSE DRIVING WITHOUT A SIDEVIEW MIRROR IS A HAZARD AND THE BUMPER WAS LOOSE WHICH IS DANGEROUS. AFTER THE DAMAGE WAS REPAIRED AND THE TIRE REPLACED, I SENT A LETTER TO FIRESTONE ASKING FOR REIMBURSEMENT OF THE DAMAGE. I DISCOVERED I SENT THE LETTER TO THE WRONG DIVISION OF FIRESTONE. I FINALLY FOUND WHO AT FIRESTONE TO CONTACT ABOUT PAYING FOR THE DAMAGE AND THEY SAID THEY NEEDED THE DEFECTIVE TIRE BEFORE THEY COULD CONSIDER REIMBURSEMENT. OF COURSE, THE TIRE WAS LONG GONE. NOTHING WAS SAID TO ME AT THE TIME ON TIRE REPLACEMENT OF ANY REQUIREMENT TO RETAIN THE DEFECTIVE TIRE. CULPABILITY FOR THE DAMAGE HAD BEEN ESTABLISHED WHEN THE TIRE WAS REPLACED FREE BY THE LOCAL DEALER. ON NOVEMBER 27, 2006, I SENT COPIES OF THE FIRESTONE WORK ORDER FOR THE TIRE REPLACEMENT, TWO ESTIMATES FOR THE DAMAGE AND PHOTOS OF THE DAMAGE ALONG WITH MY REQUEST FOR THE REIMBURSEMENT OF $281.36. AS OF THIS DATE, FIRESTONE HAS NOT SEEN FIT TO RESPOND TO MY LETTER. I FEEL THAT THEIR REQUIREMENT TO SHIP THE DEFECTIVE TIRE IS JUST A SHAM TO AVOID ANY LIABILITY AND THAT THE DETERMINATION BY THE LOCAL DEALER THAT IT WAS A DEFECTIVE TIRE SHOULD BE SUFFICIENT PROOF. THE NAME AND ADDRESS OF THE AGENT HANDING THIS MATTER IS: BFNT, LLC 1102 APPLETON NASHVILLE, TN 37210 THE REFERENCE NUMBER OF MY INCIDENT IS 840173. *NM

1)MY VAN WAS PULLING TO THE RIGHT AND THE TIRES WERE WORN. 2) I TOOK MY 1995 FORD WINDSTAR TO FIRESTONE TO HAVE NEW TIRES PUT ON AND AN ALIGNMENT DONE. THEY INSTALLED THE TIRES AND TOLD ME THEY COULD NOT DO THE ALIGNMENT BECAUSE THE SWAY BAR WAS BROKEN IN TWO. THEY ALSO STATED IT WAS BAD CRAFTSMANSHIP BECAUSE THE BAR IS A HOLLOW METAL TUBE INSTEAD OF A SOLID PIECE. THEY ALSO SAID I NEEDED BOTH INNER TIE ROD ENDS REPLACED BECAUSE THE LACK OF CONTROL FROM THE SWAY BAR PUT STRESS ON THEM AND DAMAGED THEM. 3) TIRES WERE REPLACED AND I WAS GIVEN AN ESTIMATE OF $400 FOR THE SWAY BAR AND $300 FOR THE TIE ROD ENDS AND ALIGNMENT. *JB