Problems with 1999 Ford Windstar ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

The rear ac unit went out around 75k never got it fixed but when we had the car serviced the computer panel was reset and it worked again at 96k. the engine light came on and stayed and we never got it fixed. the gas gauge light came on and we had it fixed at 98k and i don't know the cost. the van was recalled because of the windshield wipers and the rear ac unit. there wasn't no cost.the details of the fire. my wife got out her car for work and about 20 minutes later the fire trucks were there. our adjuster said the fire initiated behind the passenger seat in the ac and heating control panel. the vehicle was totaled on 12 sept. the vehicle had 119k on it now. if there is anything else you like to ask me feel free to. i am really upset with ford on the way they handled this entire situation especially when they know there have been reported fires from recalls located on the web sites. i

While driving at any speed when it rained or the air conditioner was running the vehicle stalled. once the vehicle stalled the consumer had to wait a half hour or more before restarting. this problem has occurred at least three times a month in the last three months. the dealer has examined the vehicle twice and could not find the problem. *jb

Mileage was 49600, total cost for the repair was $2600.00 but our cost was only $2072.00 because drew ford in san diego, ca helped us cover some of the cost. the itemized bill said the remanufactured transmission was $1702.28. the tranny went out with no warning lights and no sign of giving out. my wife usually drives it but i had just driven it the day before and i am in tune with odd noises and the van had none. 8/22/2003 in the evening when she pulled into our garage and was still moving forward, it stopped. it didn't move until the engine was rev'd pretty high then it would kick in violently. that lasted about 2 or 3 times while trying to finish moving it into the garage when a huge grinding sound took place and the van did not move again until the tow truck took it away! i am outraged that the van was so young when a major component went out like the transmission. and after combing the web for others who have experienced this, i found plenty of people. i think ford motor company should pay for this. i figure they won't, though.

The "check engine" light has been on for over a year, very shortly after my last fuel emissions test in 2002. despite numerous checks by my mechanic, which detects no fuel emissions problems, the indicator light stays on. after each inspection by my mechanic, the light turns off temporarily, (1 or so weeks), and then relights. we have thus failed the md state emissions test (without being tested by them) due to this chronic light problem. my brother-in-law has the same exact problem with his ford windstar minivan, and so does another person (not verified myself). the read windshield wiper motor has been recalled. we had it repaired by a ford repair shop, and it has broken again.*ak

1999 fordwindstar steering rack replaced at 62000 miles, transmission replaced at 75000 miles and intake gasket rplaced at 75000 miles. *ak

We first had to replace the transmission at 49000 miles for $2000.00. just a few months later the engine failed at 53000 miles. to save money, we purchased a used engine from a wrecked windstar van for $900.00. my husband and father did the labor themselves. then in july 2003 we had to replace the shift solenoids which cost $500.00 for parts and labor. now, just a little over a year from replacing the first transmission, the van is in the shop again with transmission problems. any advice you can offer would be greatly appreciate. thanks for your time.

Heat failed in july, pin to flap in evaporator case assembly had broken off. whole assembly has to be replaced requiring tearing apart the dashboard. part alone cost $326.40 check engine light kept coming on - found pressure leak at gasket. had complained about engine sluggishness for years and was told the computer could find nothing wrong...after gasket was fixed, no more engine sluggishness. ford would not cover saying the problems could not be tied together to justify warranty repair!! power steering went. first attempted flushing system. after failed again, replaced pump, after that did not fix the problem, had to replace entire system. ford replied to my request for coverage that this was the first case they had heard of this problem in a windstar and to keep my receipts so that i might get consideration if they do something in the future. i feel these problems are excessive for a 50,000 mile car...ford agrees but says the average number of problems is much lower so they still class their car as very reliable!!!

I bought this car used and from the day i drove it off the lot i have put a few thousand dollars in it. the engine light keeps coming on with codes 171/174 lean on bank 1 and 2 i have replaced the o2, the egr, the differential, i have had the upper intake gasket replaced and the egr hoses cleaned. the light still burns. i have had nothing but trouble with this car since buying it and i will never buy another one.i also had to replace the brakes, the struts and the stablizer bar , as well as one of the tie rods. this van might look great but it runs like crap we have spent enough on this used van to have bought a new one. *la

While traveling on the highway carbon fuel intake manifold clogged up, causing the fuel not to burn properly. *ak

The engine coolant is missing and #4 spark plug is getting damp causing check engine light to come on.

We have taken this van in for repair fivetimesin one year. the first month we had it the head was replaced. the power steering has gone out for now the fifth time. i actually lost controlof the vehicle due to beingunable to turn the steering. my husband has to drive me everywhere because only he can turn the steering wheel. each time we take it for repair we are charged a deductible and i can not do this anymore. this is obviously a lemon. marshall mize ford in chattanooga tennessee is where the vehicle was purchased in january of 2001. they also have performed all service on this vehicle. ford has not been understanding of why my payments have been late, but when you are having these kinds of issues such as electrical, transmission, air conditioning, and engine malfunctions, it does not take a genius to figure out why a woman with a family who depends on this vehicle as reliable, safe means of transportation is having difficulty. maybe if their product was of better quality, my children would be in a safe vehicle, and ford would get their money on time.

The vehicle caught on fire. the cause of the fire has not yet been determined. *nlm...*ak

Transmission is primary issue has shifting problem at low speed, has over 8 tsb on the issue and has new transmission installed but still have problem the other issues are clearly common for this model as well, but this transmissionand fords lack of support from their service and dealers is unacceptable.

Coolant leaking from engine block. van never over heated. found out this happens often to the 3.8 l engine....there should be a recall on this..should change from aluminum to steel or another metal that wont crack or warp so easily. *jb

1999 ford windstar has problems with the ignition as well as the heater pipe and upper intake seals.*mr the consumer had to giggle the steering wheel and/or shift lever to get the key to turn in the ignition. *nm

The oil gasket shifted from its "specified" location which caused an extreme oil leak from the engine. *jb

Windshield wiper motor. mr the consumer received a recall letter in the mail regarding the windshield wipers. when the vehicle was returned to the consumer, the windshield wipers did not work on high speed or in cold weather. the consumer was told the replacement part was defective. the consumer stated the vehicle did not have any heat and the technician stated that was a new problem. the check engine light illuminated on the vehicle. *jb

While driving a fire was observed by third party motorist. the fire emitted from under the vehicle. the vehicle was towed to world ford in pembroke pines, florida, for an initial assessment. according to world ford, the vehicle showed heavy transmission fluid leakage, but no obvious sign of fire or fire damage. the manufacturer declined to permit ford to work on the vehicle pending evaluation/inspection by nhtsa investigators to determine cause of fire, which may or may not be related to obvious transmission issues. *nlm *cb *jb

1999 ford windstar sel 3.8l v6 - blown gaskets. *jb

I am having lots of troubles with 1999 ford windstar since the day i bought from dealer (lew webb ford, garden grove). 1. currently my van has manifold leakage. this has occurred immediately after the ford dealer fixed my transmission leakage. the price quoted is $1200 out of which i have to pay $540. i have already spent lots of money in maint & repairs. before this i had to take my van to dealer for following problems: transmission leakage at 37000 miles. front & back brakes at 37000 miles. electrical system failure. couple of recalls. currently it has approximately 50600 miles on odometer and i have been communicating to & fro with dealer. for the current problem dealer has offered me 55% in assistance. but my problem is i am wasting lots of time, money & energy to have all this problems fixed. i would prefer to hand this van back to dealer or atleast get more assistance from dealer or ford company. please advise me of any further action i should take. my phone number is[xxx]. thanks in advance for looking into this matter. information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6). *tr

Steering rack replacement (covered under warranty). repair of leak in intake manifold (not covered under warranty).

Vehicle was experiencing a recurring check engine light condition. dealer replaced upper and lower intake manifold gaskets at our expense (at 48,000 miles). check engine light has come on several times since. vehicle is now stalling when stopped or at slow speeds, such as parking. engine has a knock/rattle at open throttle. at 53,000 miles i feel as though the enging is starting to come apart.

Check engine light came on. took van into shop to have checked. through diagnosis and contact with local ford dealer, determined that intake manifold gaskets were leaking, requiring a 700 plus dollar repair to correct the problem. have since found out that ford has been aware of this problem for quite some time, have issued numerous service bulletins related to this problem, and have a " kit " available to repair. believe that this is a manufacturing defect that ford has been fully aware of for a long time, and there should be a recall so the consumer is not burdened with repair costs for a problem that ford should have taken care of long ago. *cb

Ford windstar 1999. check engine indicator lit. manual states that this indicates a problem with the emission control system. drop car to dealership for diagnostics and repair. parts on order. checked feb. 5, 2003. parts still on order. am told that 8 or so vehicle owners are waiting for same parts.

While driving at 35/40 mph the brake warning light came on and the abs failed. the consumer applied the brakes and the abs engaged without cause. the parts replaced is unknown. the check engine light also appeared on dash. ts *jb

Check engine light came on. took vehicle in for diagnostic. was told that the o2(oxygen)sensors needed to be replaced. two upstream and one downstream. second opinion/source said that those particular parts rarely malfunction. was told that problem could severely damage catalytic converter.approx. 57k on date of occurance. seems too soon for this type of problem.

1999 ford windstar. the dealer installed upper and lower intake gaskets and the valve cover gasket was replaced. the engine light illuminated. *jb

Check engine light stays on. now vehicle is running rough. ford states its a problem with the design of the valve cover and wants to replace it with a new and improved one. problem is they want me to pay to correct thier design problem. if they did not design the cover right they should pay to fix it. vehicle is an expensive paper wieght right now . *ak

Consumer stated that the engine light keeps coming on. dealer told consumer that the intake manifold must be replaced. ph

Plastic fuel intake was defective replaced with metal, should be made with metal. dt

Consumer states that the vehicle with warning the idle gets disconnected and the vehicle loses power and becames inoperative. dealer was contacted. mr

Bought the van in sept. 2002 with 55,000 miles, engine light came on within a week of having it. took it back to car lot where we bought it, they took it to the ford dealer, couldn't find anything except that it came up a lean code they told me i didn't know how to put gas cap on the right way. that is not the problem. kept dealing with light on to this day. may 2003 had to have the transmission replaced, got it back starting having same problems,took it back they said they forgot to replace a wire, still having problems to this day with transmission in fact oct. 2010 had to have it towed they said shavings found in motor will need transmission replaced again. dome lights flash all the time. the gauges go haywire all the time, peg from one side to the other. had that replaced and did it again. took it in for recall dec. 28,2010 cracked rear axle still at dealer. now just heard that the recall for sub frame will get papers in feb. guess it will be there longer. our dumb mistake we bought another windstar in sept. 2010 a 2003 all we could afford, that has problems with abs light. told over $800 to fix. we need two new cars, don't feel safe in either.

I took my van to the dealer and the dealer told me the reason why my check engine light is on because a gasket is clogged and it needs to be unclogged. they wanted to charge me $625 but i complained. i feel that i should not be have any kind car problem because i only had the vehicle for 8 months. i gave them a trade in a 1995 buick skylark with 80000 miles that vehicle never gave me any trouble and i had that car for 18 months. i feel ripped off. i gave good brothers ford $500 dollars down and a good trade in vehicle that i didnt get the estimated blue book cost and a check for $15,000 which every totaled $16966.now eight months later i have to put more money into this vehicle. i am very unhappy with this situation

Most recent incident - engine stalled with complete loss of power when reducing from highway speed to ~25 mph due to traffic conjestion on north side of chicago after driving ~45 minutes in 95 degree weather with air conditioning operation. vehicle would not restart. illinois dot pushed vehicle to shoulder. after total wait ~20 minutes, engine restarted. drove with air conditioning off and heater on full through remaining congestion (~45 minutes). drove remaining trip (total of 3.5 hours) with no futher incident. prior occurrence on 07/29/02. similar weather/driving conditions. after 2.5 hours at highway speed, exited to side road. vehicle stalled shortly after exit. restarted after 15 minutes. no repeated incident in remaining 15 minutes of drive. return trip had no incident. prior incident in november, 2001. in cool weather, several short errant trips - vehicle stalled. restarted after several hour wait. vehicle towed to dealer. no failure codes determined, no diagnosis of reason for engine failure. dealer replaced alternator under warranty.*ak

Engine would stall while driving at multiple speed or when slowing down. vehicle been to a dealer once, and on three occasions at a repair shop, but problem stilloccurring. feel free to provide any further information.*ak

While driving at highway speeds, consumer took foot off accelerator, the vehicles dash lights illuminated and the engine died. took vehicle to dealer who replaced the valve throttle assembly. *ak consumer also states that the valve cover was replaced. *slc

During routine service mechanic noticed headgasket had blown out. part was replaced. on 10 august 2002, engine check light came on. vehicle at dealership at this time.*ak

Consumer stated while driving at any speed, the vehicle would stall with no warning.dealer notified.*jb

At 70mph engine blewout, and antifreeze started to leak from vehicle. cause unknown. dealer notified.*ak

Consistently complained about the engine light on since i bought the car. at 32,000 miles, they replaced the intake gaskets. engine light still came on, was told it was something minor. i complained numerous times about the engine light. they would reprogram the warning and within one day, it would come back on. now, with the new emissions standards, my car will not pass inspection. i was told the intake gasket has to be replaced. when i spoke to ford, they just say "we are sorry it is not under warranty". well, they should have fixed it properly from the beginning. *jb

Consumer noticed condensation in headlights. dealer has been contacted. technician stated that the headlights needed to be replaced. *ak the consumer stated that the entire headlight unit had to be replaced. after the three year warranty expired, the transmisson had to be replaced. the engine light had come on, and was told that it was the sensor. *scc

While driving at a speed of 40mph. the windstar began to unexpectedly shudder and make a loud rattling noise. engine check light flashed and the van violently bucked. we managed to get to our house. van would not start after turning off. dealer called and van towed.dealer checked problem and found the #5 piston had failed and had caused major engine damage and failure. est. replacement cost $4,000. dealer was not sure if this was related to the earlier model windstar 3.8l v-6 problems causing failure. i am the second owner and warranty is expired. we are waiting to hear from ford but the dealer said they may decline to assist in replacement cost. i now have a $16,000 blue paperweight. the sudden jerkiness of the engine failure almost caused my wife and two kids to run off the road . the piston in the motor dropped down into the oilpan area. engine now has to be replaced at 48,692.miles. doing research into your database, from owners of 1995 windstars and a few 1999 models, i noticed a similarity in detail descriptions of the head gasket failure and resulting engine failure. this vehicle was very well maintained, i am the second owner. it was purchased new as a leased vehicle. i bought it after the lease was over. i hope you can investigate this engine flaw/defect with ford and i can get satisfaction

head gasket leaks, causing vehicle to cut off without any warning.*ak

While driving engine ran hot. engine check sensors failed and this caused the engine to blow. had contacted dealership for another engine. *ak

Vehicle stalled out and died without warning. please provide additional information.*ak

Engine check light came on. dealer replaced left valve cover with a updated version of part and fuel regulator supply hose. *ak

This recurring problem continues to fail within one to two weeks after the dealership has replaced a needed part. each time i get my vehicle back it works for the aforementioned time and the problem comes up again. they replace parts one by one and each time another part on the system fails .another issue i believe to be associated with the series of this entire vaccum system is when i am driving at speeds of 30 -35 mph, there is considerable noise coming from the engine which sounds like lifter rattle . it happens when i need to acclerate to get onto the highway also. i notice when the vehicle has been serviced for the check engine light (which requires that a part or parts be replaced for the vaccum system), the noise will stop and won't be noticeable for several days and eventually the light will come on again.this issue of the lifter noise has never been addressed by the dealership i am told that they cannnot duplicate the problem, and they have no answer or solution. this problem also causes the comsumption of gas to increase dramatically. the van will use one eighth tank of gas on a normal day of driving when , if the light is on, the vehicle is not working properly i will use about one quarter tank of gas. the consumption is doubled.

Consumer stated the check engine light would illuminate, the engine would hesitate when accelerating, the dealer replaced the cam sensor, crankshaft sensor, replaced all the plugs with platinum, and replaced the upper and lower intake gaskets. *jb

While driving 60mp vehicle stalled out and died without warning ,resulting in loss of vehicle control. after vehicle had stalled out "low oil pressure" indicator light flashed. dealer inspected vehicle. *ak dealer could not figure why vehicle stalled, however stated that the pcm was canadian or europian made so it was replaced. *slc

Consumer states vehicle will stall at low idle, engine always revs very high at start up, then calms down, also engine stall if air condition is on while parked.*jb