Problems with 1999 Ford Windstar POWER TRAIN

Tl*the contact owns a 1999 ford windstar. while driving at an unknown speed, the contact heard a strange noise. he inspected the vehicle and noticed that the rear axle was cracked in half and the rear tires were bent. the manufacturer stated that there was no recall available and the vehicle was over the warranty mileage; therefore, they would not assist with the repair. the vehicle has not been repaired. the current and failure mileages were 87,000. updated 04/13/09. *jb

Sudden loss of power being transmitted from the engine to the wheels (later determined to be a failed torque converter that also destroyed the transmission). *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 1999 ford windstar. when the contact attempted to drive 5 mph in reverse into a parking space he suddenly noticed a large popping sound in the rear of the vehicle. the contact examined the vehicle and noticed that both rear tires were bent inward. the vehicle was taken to a local mechanic where the contact was informed that the rear axle needed to be replaced due to rust. there were no prior warnings and the current and failure mileages were 118000. updated 06/29/10 *bf updated 07/06/10.*jb

I was in my garage. i placed the windstar in park. i left the engine running, opened my door and walked to the back of the van. i heard a clunk which apparently was the transmission shifting into reverse. the van immediately took off and the door caught me and slammed me into the garage wall and broke backwards. it drug me out the garage and i fell off. the van then proceeded down the driveway across the street. it damaged the neighbors yard, mail box, cable box and shrubs. it slowed on a berm and i was able to jump in and stop it. i moved it from reverse to park, turned off the engine and went to the emergency room with bruises and sprained wrists. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 1999 ford windstar. the overdrive light illuminated at random in the vehicle. the contact would have to restart the vehicle in order for the light to dim. once the vehicle was restarted, the light would remain off for 4-5 miles before illuminating again. the contact noticed that the rear hatch was open, so he exited the vehicle to shut the hatch. once he got back in the vehicle, he placed the gear into drive, but the vehicle did not move. the vehicle made a loud clunking noise that never occurred in the past. the vehicle was towed to the contact's residence and a mechanic rebuilt the transmission. the mechanic stated that the sun gear wells in the transmission became detached, which caused the transmission to fail. the vehicle is currently being repaired. the contact believes that the failure was due to a manufacturer defect. the current and failure mileages were 144,000.

Pulled up to an intersection, put the van into park, got out to close the rear hatch. got back into the van put it into drive and i heard a loud thunk and the van rolled into traffic. i hurried up and put it into reverse and thank god it worked. i was almost hit by another car moving at about 50 miles per hour. the shop that's rebuilding the transmission said that the (sungear) welds had broke and that they had repaired several ford windstars with the same problem of broken welds on the sungear. it seems that ford has known about the problems with their transmissions, but have not offered any recalls for their defects of these bad welds on the sungears or the other defects in their transmissions. *tr

Abs light, o/d light in dashboard coming on. when vehicle purchased as used car these items showed up on the drive home after purchase. veh has been in to ford dealership garage 4 times. brakes were working fine at that time. 3 months later brake light come on. check and find that brake fluid is leaking from multiple locations. one being the brake pressure differential deactivation switch (2b264) located under the master cylinder. upon removing this plug i found brake fluid in the connection. looking below i found brake fluid on the wiring harness below the switch and on the metal panel, where it had actually began to rust. believe this harness is the power steering wiring. brake pedal in cab now goes to the floor before brakes are applied. there is a hissing sound when this is done. believe that the master cylinder is leaking fluid into the brake booster as well and has destroyed the gasket in there as well. this happened while my wife was driving. thankfully all of this happened without causing an accident considering i transport my 3 children and wife in this van. *tr

I have a 1999 ford windstar minivan with just over 68k miles. i have just recently been told that my windstar is in need of a new transmission. i have had it in and out of the shop over the last 3 months. i have spent close to $1000.00 in repairs and now my transmission just drops. why do i have to replace a transmission in a vehicle with less than 100k miles? i have heard from several people that this is common in this type of vehicle and i want to know what ford is going to do about this. i am not happy! *tr

Complete transmission failure at high speed on highway. sudden hot smell coming from vehicle. pulled off highway under power, no appearance of smoke, fluid, or other issue. attempted to re-enter highway and found that vehicle would go forward with selector in "n"-no other gear positions worked. vehicle moved to safety off highway (ford dealership). complete transmission failure after moving to dealership. note: this is the second transmission failure in this vehicle. original transmission was replaced in 2001 with ford rebuilt trans by ford dealership. *tr

There have been no problems with the van since purchase, but then randomly while driving home from work the od light started flashing. the transmission seems fine, shifts a little roughly into first gear, but all other parts are fine. i have had the transmission serviced, and the light still flashes. *tr

I was at a stop light at a major intersection and when the light turned green i heard a loud sound. i tried to accelerate but my car would not move forward. the engine just revved. i thought i ran something over due to the sound so inspected got out to inspect the car. i found nothing. i got back into the car and turned car off and turned back. the car would not drive. i put the car in reverse and managed to get off the road. i had the car towed to the dealership. i was told by the dealer sutton ford in matteson il. that the transmission just broke and would cost me $3000.00. i have had this car less then 2 years. i had an extended warranty that just expired a few months ago. my obd light was on but was told by the dealer it was a sensor. they could turn it off but it wasn't anything major. after reading all the complaints i'm sure it is major. since purchasing this car, i have had to replace tires at least every six months, major engine repair, alternator repair, as well as spring replacement. overall, i've put more then $3000.00 in repair not including the repair of the transmission i now need. i loved my windstar but i am now discovering that it puts my life endanger to drive it. my two kids were in the car when this happened and i feared someone would hit my car. the worst part about all this is i am unable to get rid of this car as i still am buying this car. i am unable to refinance the difference. i was told to just scarp the car by the dealer and just get another car as i am even more in debt trying to repair the car. i don't want to ruin my credit so there has to be another solution. i have no inkling how i'm going to manage to get 3000.00 for a new car and pay my bills and find an alternative method. i really would appreciate it if ford would just do the right thing fix my transmission. split the cost. i did damage my car ...

My transmission on a 1999 ford windstar is leaking from the bell housing on the transmission, as well as slipping through the gears, this is the second time it has happened within 50,000 miles. i have also noticed that from where it is leaking from the transmission, my catalytic converters affected by the fluid that is on it as well, consistently burning off as it gets hotter. *tr

The vehicle when parked at any degree of incline or decline has had repeated tendencies not to shift out of park. on this occasion, i had the vehicle on ramps changing my oil and went to put it in neutral to level it out. the vehicle appeared to have gotten stuck in reverse and neither the foot brake nor the emergency brake would stop it. it would not let me shift into any of gear until it reached level ground. i had an appointment with the dealer to look at the transmission on may 31, 2007 because i had been having trouble with the transmission shifting very rough and feeling a jerking sensation when i shifted from park to either drive or reverse. *tr

The rear axle beam on a1999 ford windstar (87,032 miles) cracked and snapped into, causing both wheels to pitch the bottom of wheels outward resulting in unstable vehicle control (at highway speeds could cause an accident). ater inspection of failed parts, i believe ford has a manufacturing process that creates stress risers in the part that lead to premature failure. i have the parts and can email a ppd file that shows the failure surfaces. the dealership talked to ford customer relations and did pay for half of the repair. ford customer relations do not want to put me in contact with their engineering department to discuss this issue. i conduct failure analysis for a fortune 100 company and have concerns with the safety of this product. the replace part is manufatured exactly like the original failed part.i did find a report on the internet that describes an accident caused by the same failure. *tr

For the second time in 2 years i am replacing the transmission on the 1999 windstar. both times it just stopped working,, but was able to get car to safety. now on second transmission overhaul at a cost of $1700 for he first time , and 1$400 the second. the mechanic said there was no reason for the failure.*ak

Only 28,000 miles on car driven by elderly father a few miles every day for past 7 years. no indication of problem with transmission before this incident. pulled from stop onto state road at point where a blind curve/no site distance for oncoming traffic-speed limit 45 mph. car jerked forward and transmission failed, no forward gears, leaving car sideways across 2 lanes of oncoming traffic. got car to go in reverse to get off road which created an even more dangerous situation for me and all oncoming traffic. told will cost $2,500 for re-built transmission. ford sent standard reply to my complaint suggesting go to dealership and have checked out. amazing that no recall has been issued or anything been done after seeing this and numerous websites with same complaints. so many of us lucky. how many deaths does it take before action will be taken? have been a ford owner for years and will never, ever buy ford again. *ak

In march, 2007, the transmission in my 1999 ford windstar died at 106,653 miles. i paid $2,985.91 to have the transmission replaced at the local ford dealership in lebanon, oregon. in may of 2012, at 174,000 miles, i started having problems with the transmission again. the first repair shop i took it to told me the transmission was dead and that i needed to replace it. the second repair shop i took it to told me that the computer chip was bad and that it had probably damaged the transmission. i was told that i could replace the computer chip and see how long the transmission would last before it totally died. *tr

1999 ford windstar transmission went up. consumer states that the control arm fell off in march. consumer again stated the transmission needs to be replaced again. *kb

I have a 1999 ford windstar xl. and the o/d light flashes on and off when i put my feet on the gas and it cause the van to shift in gear very hard. and when i get over 55 miles per hour it also does the same thing. it happens everyday. the van goes into gear very hard and it is hard for it to pick up speed when i take off. it stalls. *tr

1999 windstar ,98k, complete transmission failure. went into reverse , but not into any forward gear. i've meticulously maintained this vehicle, never towed. have owned cars for 30 yrs, never had a vehicle this bad. will never buy ford again. *nm

With this windstar we now have 170,000 miles on it and have replaced the transmission 4 times, something is not right here. have also had on going problems with abs light on and sensors going out for abs brakes. have replaced them several times, would like to have a van that is drivable with not warning lights one. *tr

1999 ford windstar sustained major transmission failure without any prior symptoms. vehicle was parked in driveway and shifted into drive, a loud noise was heard followed by severe grinding. transmission was found to be filled with metal and required overhaul. vehicle had just over 75000 miles and has never been used for towing. repair costs were over 2000 dollars. *jb

Dt*: the contact stated while engine was running with the transmission in park, the engine engaged and the vehicle moved forward hitting another vehicle parked in the driveway. some damage was caused to the other vehicle. the column shift indicator was still in park. the vehicle was taken to the service dealer however the service dealer and the manufacturer have not determined a cause for the problem.

Complained to ford about transmission while vehicle was under warranty. i was told there wasn't anything wrong with transmission. on sunday 06/11/06, while exiting parkway the transmission went on the vehicle. the vehicle was purchased with only 17,000 miles on it in 7/01,vehicle now has 65,000 miles. warranty expired last march, ford refuses to help with the cost of repair for transmission. *jb

1999 windstar,. paint peeling on front hood, replaced the following: transmission (4 times), inner and outer tie rods (2 times) power steering system, intake manifold gaskets and system(twice), interior lights that flicker intermittently and stay on for periods of time for no reason.*ak

Ford windstar 1999- transmission, rack and pinion and manifold ford would not help so i took them to small claims court in ontario and won full cost to all three matters. *jb

I was sitting at a traffic light and went to pull away when the light turned green. there was very loud noise, like an explosion, and the van lurched forward. at first i thought another driver hit us and i was bracing for the impact. fortunately, we had not been hit, but the van would not move more than a few feet at that point. i managed to pull as far over as i could in the traffic lane, although i could not reach the shoulder, and turned on my hazards. there had been no warning at all that anything was wrong with the van at that point. no warning lights, no leaking fluid, and it was still running-it just wouldn't move forward or reverse. i had been driving it all day, and i am the primary driver. the transmission seemed to be working just fine up until that point. i had not noticed any slipping or any other problems. once it was towed to the dealer, we found out that the transmission had totally failed and we are now paying $2600 for a remanufactured transmission. the van has 89,000 miles on it currently, and we did have an extended warranty than ran out at 75,000 miles. we have had the power steering unit replaced already, in addition to ford sending mechanics out from michigan twice to repair our automatic sliding doors, which had been malfunctioning since we bought the van. *nm

Dt: contact stated after driving for about an hour the od light illuminated. the vehicle was smoking from underneath. the contact was able to pull the vehicle off to the side of the road . the fire department came and extinguished the fire. the vehicle was towed to a dealership to be inspected. the dealership stated there was no damage to the vehicle as a result of the fire. also, they stated the fire could have been caused by transmission fluid leaking on the catalytic converter. while driving at a later time the dashboard light illuminated again. the vehicle was then taken to a local mechanic, who determined that the automatic transmission was causing it to smoke. *ak updated 12/7/2005. *nm

Dt: the contact states that 1999 ford windstar lx had a transmission failure. the van was at a red light and when the owner pushed the accelerator to go, there was no power. the owner had to push the van to the side of the road. the van has not been taken in for repairs. there are no available openings in dealerships. the owner has not contacted ford.*ak

While driving on the hwy (60 mph), the od light started flashing and message board showed check message. i pushed info button, and txt. message disappeared. i pulled over to first lane and observed a lot of smoke in the rear mirror. i stopped the car and observed fire underneath the car. fire continued for app. 4 mins. and extinguished slowly. car was towed to dealer, which has stated that transmission has been overheated and has to be replaced. i have checked some other customer complaints and it looks like ford has a common problem with windstars. luckily me and my two children came through this incident unscathed but it can be a very serious situation. have been told that i will have to pay for a new transmission. no help from dealer and according to other customer complaints it seem like ford also is very reluctant to look into such problems. *nm

Transmission slippage resulting in loss of drive power/torque as a result of a manufacturing defect. *nm

My transmission failed in my 99 ford windstar with onlly 55,ooo. i stoped at a stop sign, when i hit the gas i heard a thud and the van would not go forward. i only had reverse. i hear this is a common failure of windstar vans

I drove my 1999 ford windstar lx with my mother and my family (my 2 children, my nephew and my daughter's friend) to erie, pa to visit my sister's family for 2 days, then to splash lagoon for 2 days. this was a 230 mile trip, each way, from my home is elmira, ny. we arrived there without incident. all fluids were checked before we left and were in prime condition. the following day, we got in our vehicles to go see the 15 miles of beaches along lake erie. about a mile down their road, we went to cross a 4-lane high-way, when my vehicle stopped dead in the middle, almost killing all of us because traffic was coming from both directions. my vehicle woudn't move forward no matter what. the transmission failed, abruptly, without any advance notice, whatsoever! after much online research, i soon realized my unfortunate situation isn't unique to ford windstar owners! this "sudden transmission failure" is very common. we could have all been killed. my brother-in-law had to drive my vehicle back to his house in reverse, as that was the only gear that worked. after the failure, the fluids were checked again, and all was still full and in good condition (we saved these), however, he thought that maybe the filter might need to be changed, so he did so, replacing the used transmission fluid with brand new. knowing we should not have work done to the vehicle for risk of voiding the $1,948.00 extended service warranty i purchased from the dealership at the time i bought the vehicle (less than 3 years ago), we decided to have the vehicle towed home.

Park to reverse injury. *jb

Stopped the vehicle to make a left turn, when i pressed the accelerator the vehicle did not move then jumped into gear violently. i managed to get teh vehicle into a parking lot where a loud grinding noise could be heard with the engine running and gearshift in park. i moved the gear selector into different gears and car would not move. the car had a history of noise when shifting from park into any gear, especially when parked on a incline. the transmission also downshifted harshly when decelerating to coast through a turn. both issues were reported to the dan wachtel ford in athens, al that services the vehicle. the transmission was flushed and had the filter changed twice, the secon only 8000 miles before this incident. dealer reports that the car needs a new transmission with only 58,000 miles on the car. i purchased an 5 year/70,000 extended warranty when we bought the car, but of course the warranty has expired and i am looking at a $2800 repair bill. i looked at the ford service bulletins and other complaints through this site and there seems to be a history of the same type of occurrences with the windstar and the transmission. seeking assistance from dealer and ford since vehicle has been maintained, has low mileage considering it is 6 years old and has a history of such events.

While driving down the interstate, moving at a speed of 65 mph, the fuse (10)controlling the speed control module, abs module, brake shift interlock solenoid, powertrain control module, etc. etc. blew. instantly, i had no speedometer, abs light came on and my rear a/c began blowing on its own. i have since replaced #10 fuse and it has blown repeatedly. since this past friday, i have also learned that my cruise control is no longer functioning. i have done the research and have found from my fellow ford lemon owners, that this is not an uncommon occurance. i will be replacing the cruise control switch and/or brake pressure switch (which is located by the master cyclinder; which commonly seems to have a short in the circuit due to the wonderful job ford did designing their vehicles. *ak

Our 1999 ford windstar has 51,000 miles and transmission has failed. yesterday (4/8/05) while driving kids home from school the van made a loud clunking noise and would not go into forward or reverse. was able to roll to shoulder. we replaced battery a month ago, and while driving over the bay bridge (maryland) easter sunday our headlights and dashboard lights began to dim and van seemed as if it was going to stall. by the time we drove 4 miles to home all lights were out and car was sputtering, wouldn't start. we then replaced the alternator. the o/d light has been flashing. interior lights stay on sporadically as well as door ajar light when all doors are closed. interior lights sometimes don't come on when van is parked and doors opened. no rhyme or reason to this. tires have been replaced twice due to abnormal wear. we are getting quotes of between 1,600 and 2,800 for transmission. also windshield cracked where mirror was reattached after it fell off. when we were just over 3 years and at around 25,000 miles, all dashboard warning lights came on also while driving on bay bridge. took van to dealer (bob bell in glen burnie, md) and they said they'd have it done that day but kept it a week. i threw a fit and got a loaner - a tin can on wheels. ford eventually covered some of the repairs through a 'special program.' i cannot beleive there has been no recall on these pieces of garbage with the number of transmission failures i see on this website. nhtsa should force ford to take responsibility for this nonsense and pay for these outrageous failures. we also have a ford pickup and will never buy another ford product. henry must be rolling over in his grave.*ak

Updating complaint 10116674 - mechanic informed us the planetary assembly has catastrophically failed and says this is ridiculous for such a low-mileage vehicle. he stated there must be a manufacturer's defect. he will save all ruined parts - total will be about $2,300. will ford have the integrity to stand behind its products? will nhtsa force a recall due to the high number of failures on these vans? *ak the consumer still did not receive a response from ford. there was a planetary assembly problem with the consumers 1999 ford windstar. at 51k miles, the planetary assembly had broken and needed to be replaced along with the transmission, torque converter, sun gear, solenoid and the reverse drum. *sc *jb

Car only has 72000 miles. had car at dealership from march 17- march 24 for various problems. they replaced a tie rod, 2 control arms for $1100 and when that did not fix the problem, replaced the power steering pump and the steering rack. car was still not right - had appt to bring back in on friday april 1st. on march 30th, i was accelerating at a stoplight and the vehicle had an abrupt transmission failure. (when we got it back from the dealer it had a vibrating issue but we did not have warning this was coming) just a huge bang and then it wouldn't move. the police had to help me remove the vehicle from the intersection and assist with my two small children. it had to be towed at my expense $70. warranty expired at 60k. took it to another repair establishment (due to issues with the dealer) - will be $2200 to rebuild entire transmission. will be contacting manufacturer. *ak

While driving 45 mph transmission failed. as a result, the forward gears became inoperable. *ak

The vehicle started to make noise while driving. the gears would not move. the vehicle was towed, and the transmission was found to be defective, and was replaced. *ak *sc

Power train:automatic transmission transmission failed at 63,000 mi. mechanic informed us the planetary assembly has catastrophically failed,total will be about $2,500 for a rebuilt trans. preformed all maintance for the trans. at 40,000 mi. this should not happen at such low mileage. will ford have the integrity to stand behind its products? will nhtsa force a recall due to the high number of failures on these vans? ps. ford says no to any help. i even offered to pay for labor if they paid for the transmission. still no.

While driving on an interstate highway, the transmission in my wife's 1999 ford windstar se broke without warning, causing the vehicle to decelerate in morning rush hour traffic. the vehicle is currently being evaluated for repair cost.*ak

Transmission shifting problem, no leak. had speed sensor replaced and while there had fluid flushed and changed. the day after returning home with vehicle noticed small amount of fluid on carport. returned to dealer within 2-3 days. was told that maybe some fluid had spilled while changing. several days later noticed much more fluid on carport. returned to dealer. now they say the torque converter seal was cracked. it was not leaking at all before being serviced. this seal just mysteriously decided to leak immediately after the transmission was serviced?

I was stopped at a 4-way stop, started to accelerate and heard a loud bang from the engine compartment. i then had no forward gears, but reverse still worked. the vehicle was towed to a local ford dealer, who informed me that i needed a new (remanufactured) transmission at $2500. the vehicle has only 43,423 miles and has been regularly maintained. i contacted the ford customer relationship center, but was offered no assistance or "goodwill" because the warranty period had expired. the number of 1999 windstar transmission failures reported at nhtsa and other websites appears to be inordinately high. *jb

The transmission failed at 56,000 miles and the second transmission has failed with 39,000 mile on it. ford and the dealership are refusing to do anything. there is no acknowledgement on their part that there is an inherent problem with 1999 windstar transmissions. after much internet research< i say there is ! *jb

While driving 45 mph, the vehicle stalled without warning. the consumer tried to restart the vehicle and was not able to do so. the vehicle was towed to a body shop for inspection. the mechanic informed the consumer that the transmission needed to be replaced. please provide further details. *jb

We were stopped at a stoplight at the corner of 7th ave. and pike street in downtown seattle. when the light turned green, my husband pressed on the gas pedal. when he did that, we heard a "thunk" noise, and then the gears started grinding and the engine started revving because it would not go into gear. we had to have the vehicle towed back to tacoma to a transmission repair facility.

Just about everything that can go wrong with a car, i've experienced it as the owner of this 1999 ford windstar lx. i've had transmission work done, brake work, replaced tires (twice in 2 years), replace the battery and the starter. i came to this site because the car wouldn't start, wouldn't take a jump, wouldn't make a sound. i called to have it towed and the gentleman jiggled the key in the ignition and the car started. a few days later the same thing happened again. this time no one could start it. testing the battery and primary parts for starting the car proved that these parts were all functioning normal. a few hours and $127.00 later (not including the cost of towing the vehicle) i'm told the problem is with the anti-theft device. it is broken and needs to be replaced to the tune of about $900.00 with a 90-day warranty. recommendations to me were to get rid of the car. "this particular part in all ford vehicles is poorly built." i haven't decided what i'm going to do at this point, however, i feel pretty sure my decision will not involve staying with ford. *jb

Consumer was driving through an intersection and while making a left turn passenger's side front wheel came off, pulling the axle out of the transmission. vehicle has front wheel drive. consumer contacted the dealer, and was told that the sub frame had to be replaced. *ak......according to a few dealerships the subframe has ha dnumerous problems causing the manufacturer to alter the manner in which the tie rod is mounted on the windstar subframe when the tie rod failed rusting completely off . vehicle was pulling out from a stop sign making aleft turn when the wheel shifted and brought vehicle to a complete stop. if it happened earlier it would have happened at 55 which would have been much worse. cost by ford was $1155.00. *ak