Problems with 1999 Ford Windstar STRUCTURE

Tl* the contact owns a 1999 ford windstar. the contact received notification of nhtsa campaign numbers: 11v030000 (structure), 10v385000 (suspension), and 09v399000 (vehicle speed control). the contact stated that the vehicle was no longer owned due to numerous failures. the vehicle was taken to a dealer and an independent mechanic where several unknown repairs were performed, but failed to repair the vehicle. the failure mileage was not available.

Rear axle beam failure..heard recall on news a month before ford owners were notified. took vehicle to dealership for inspection and repair, confirmed axle problem. 3 weeks later dealership called and informed me the vehicle was "unrepairable". *tr

In august of 2010 i was driving my windstar when i heard a loud bang during a turn. i knew i had not hit anything and as i straightened out my wheel i noticed that it would not return to the normal position. i made an appointment with my local ford dealership to get it looked at. as soon as the man put the van up in the air he knew what was wrong. the subframe on the front passenger side was almost rusted through. the man took it down and told me never to drive the car again in this shape. he said that he had never seen so much rust under a car that was still running. my windstar only has 86000 miles on it. i don't understand how something like that can happen to a car that has such low miles, i thought it should hold up better. *tr

Our 99 ford windstar that we purchased, broke its rear bar yesterday. however, we purchased it used from luther family ford in north dakota, they told us that our windstar had spent most of its life up north in ohio, minnesota etc. i looked at the ford windstars under body yesterday and you can easily tell that it has been corroded all along the underbody from the salt. where the rear bar broke you can see rust and salt corrosion very easily, not to mention that the spare tire is completely rusted over from the salt. my wife and i have taken very good care of our vehicle, and have never driven anywhere it is not supposed to and yesterday she pulled out a parking spot and she heard a thud, and then a scraping sound. she called me and i came out and looked at it. i noticed that all across the rear bar area there is a large quantity of rust and where it broke you can see a build up of rust from salt. mainly due to it spending most of its life up north. we did speak to ford, and they mentioned that our rear bar snapped in two, and it was from rust and salt that weakened it to the point of breaking. they however state its not on the list so they will not do anything. we even double checked with luther family ford, and they told us ours was manufactured in one of the plants that did have problems. so even though ford states that it is not one of the vehicles with the problem, i believe there may be a larger underlying amount that they would rather not have to deal with. we had our vehicle towed to our house where are waiting to hear more about this recall to see if any other ones are among them. *tr

Was driving my 99 windstar south bound at about 70 mph on the garden state parkway and had thought that a tire went flat almost lost control tried to pull left but the van was still going right and almost spun me around and almost collided with three other cars,upon pulling over heard noises coming from rear. looked underneath and the axle was broken in half. had to wait over an hour for a tow just to get off the road and then wait for another tow from there. i drive 200 hundred miles daily 5 days a week. it was many only vehicle too. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 1999 ford windstar. while driving at approximately 65 mph pressure was applied to the brake pedal and he could hear a loud snapping noise from under the vehicle. he was able to drive the vehicle home where it was parked. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where he was informed the sub frame was broken. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure and current mileages were 87,000. updated 02/17/11 *bf the subframe was replaced at the consumers expense. updated 06/06/11

Front sub-frame corrosion has caused frame to break on passenger side. break likely occurred while making a hard right turn to join traffic on a 40mph road as a noise was heard at that time. not realizing that some structural failure had occurred the car was driven on two more occasions on the following day and at highway speed. one day later strange noise occurred again when turning, so car was brought in for service. repair shop has indicated sub-frame is severed in area noted above and car is unsafe to drive. *tr

Subframe severely rusted @ rear engine cushions. must be replaced immediately. *tr

Front cross member on passenger side was discovered to be cracked which could have failed and caused serious injury. mechanic told me that vehicle was not to be driven unless it could be repaired or replaced. i was able to have a welding specialist repair the crack. *tr

The rear axle cracked on my 1999 ford windstar while driving 20 mph on a city street. the axle had to be replaced. the car is being picked up tomorrow (thursday august 19, 2010) and i will see if the broken axle is available. *tr

The front frame near the right wheel of my 1999 ford windstar has rusted to the point where i have been advised by the ford dealership repair department not to safely drive the vehicle. i have read where there have been 900,000 complaints about this which may result in an recall. the vehicle has only 77000 mile on it and is otherwise in good condition and now is useless unless repaired. i am adding to the complaint list! *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 1999 ford windstar. while traveling at 10 mph, the contact heard an unusual clunking from the rear of the vehicle. the contact discovered that the rear frame was cracked. the vehicle was not diagnosed for the failure and there were no prior warnings of the failure. the current and failure mileages were 130,000.

I would like to formally submit a complaint along with the other ford windstar owners for rear axle breaking. my 1999 windstar broke last night while traveling on i90 in boston. the car began to wander excessively, then noises, tire smoke, and dangerous controllability. my daughter was in the car, and it was a dangerous situation for me, my daughter and the other motorists. *tr

I was servicing the brakes and notice the right side of the sub-frame (engine cradle) was rusting away. i was telling my father about the frame rusting and he had thought there was a recall on that. i started searching the internet and found alot of people with the same problem. but no recall info. i am not sure if the van is safe to drive. i also own a 2000 windstar and it showing the same signs of heavy rust in the same area. *tr

Corrosion related failure front right sub-frame. loss of steering control, right front wheel shaking, right front brake locked up. also abs brake lights on in dash, abs no longer works, traction control light on, works no more. *tr

The engine cradle on a 1999 ford windstar has cracked completely through due to corrosion. the vehicle is unsafe to drive. *tr

Noise heard in front end. suspected problem possibly with joints....turns out to be a rusted and cracked frame. *tr this is the second time within the last two weeks the salvage co who took our car witnessed this same problem. dangerous!

The rear axel or rear casing on my 1999 ford windstar broke in half. i did some research on the internet and see there are many other people that this has happened to. it is just a matter of time before someone gets killed because of this. thank god my kids were not in the car when this happened. ford needs to look into this and do a recall as this is not a one off thing. *tr

My 1999 ford windstar le seemed to be swaying on turns. i looked under and the rear axle was snapped in two about 12" off of center on the drivers side. i was only on local roads, going no more than 35 or 40 at most. it is now parked in a public lot. i took pictures. i researched to find out how much the repair might be and found a bunch of other people in the same boat i am in. i hope ford will recall this problem. i noticed my abs light issue is not mine alone either! *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 1999 ford windstar. while driving approximately 5 mph a loud noise was heard and the vehicle would no longer move. the vehicle was towed to an independent repair shop where she was informed that the frame in front of the vehicle snapped. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure and current mileages were 91,000.

Rear axle beam has crack and some rot. i now have van parked for fear for safety for my family. we do not have a second vehicle to use .so it will be a burden until a recall is in order. i am a ford guy and always bought a ford vehicle and now im having doubt about their lacking for this recall. shame on them. having to now start borrowing a car until something is done. *tr

Passenger side tire seemed to have a mind of it's own. we went to two different mechanics - the second said the subframe was rusted and we should not drive the van because the engine will fall out. *tr

1999 ford windstar w/ 103,500 mi. traveling 57mph on highway. while traveling over a rough section the van started to shimmy, then the rear started swaying side to side rapidly then the rearend of the van dropped. the fact that the rearend dropped, w/ the tops of both tires riding against the inner wheel wells ( / \ = rear view of van), is what stabilized the van till i was able to stop safely on the side of the highway. the rear axle beam was fractured, surface rust is noticeable but there is no rot in this area, i have a photo. the fracture occurred on the driver side of the van about 6" to the right of the welds, (the axle beam is torn in half). this is a stress fracture! i've seen things like this over the years on some of our equipment at work. i first noticed some sway in the rearend the day before while going around sharp curves in the rain, i assumed it was due to traction. a week prior to the sway i started having a shimmy which emanated from the front, or so i assumed. the van has been taken by flat bed to a local ford dealer. i am waiting to hear from them concerning costs on repair work. the van is not drivable in any way! *tr

My 99 windstar with 144,000 r/f sub frame snapped due to rust from the a/c drain tube located above the sub frame. poor design on the part of ford. this van is in very good running condition, but now it will cost more than it's blue book worth to repair it. please find below a link to a forum where many people have had the same problem. this should be a recall !! there is no excuse for the frame to rust out before the body or 20 years of driving. http://www.carsurvey.org/reviews/ford/windstar/r114296/comments/ someone could get killed . *tr

I have a 1999 ford windstar that i purchased used approximately 9 years ago. on friday, july 9th, i was on my way to the beach with two of my sons and had just crossed the delaware memorial bridge and had turned onto route 40 when i heard a loud noise. at first i thought i had a flat tire but then saw smoke coming from the back of the car and immediately pulled over. i was very alarmed to see that the rear axle of my car had completely broken in half and my tires were turned inward. had this happened while crossing the bridge this could have resulted in a serious accident. i was very lucky that this happened where it did, even though i had to be towed from new jersey to pa. this is not an isolated incident with these vans as i have found out since friday. something has to be done about this before a life is lost due to this defect. *tr

Abs dash light is always on and there is no abs function on ice. brakes function okay otherwise. the loss of the abs feature is troubling as i have to drive on the interstate as well as rural roads which don't get cleared quickly in the winter. local ford service writer indicated approximately $99.00 to hook up to tester with no guarantee of repair, just cancellation of the code!!! i have run into numerous problems with faulty ford connectors, (cruise control malfunction, fuel gauge giving incorrect reading, running out of gas with gauge showing 1/4 tank, requiring a tow!). *tr

My 1999 ford windstar rear axle broke in half good thing nobody hurt. i called ford they are doing nothing about this 900.00 to fix problem this happened 7/8/2010 73,000, miles. *tr

Sub frame on my 1999 ford windstar is rotted, the engine is rocking, the steering is loose, when making right hand turns there is grinding from the frame rubbing, when driving there is a very loud banging from the engine rocking back and forth on the rotted frame. it has not been fixed, and the car is not drivable as it occurs all the time. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 1999 ford windstar. the contact stated while driving at 65 mph, the front wheel began to wobble abnormally. the dealer discovered that the frame was rusted and partially separated on the front passenger side where the wheel was mounted to the frame. the vehicle was repaired by the dealer. the failure mileage was 105,000 and the current mileage was 106,000. updated 11/17/10

I was backing my 1999 ford windstar van out of the driveway at 3:45 p.m. on a clear day, sunday june 20, 2010, when, without warning, the rear "axle" broke in half and collapsed. the wheels tilted in. results on a highway would have been disastrous or deadly. ford shows no recall for this issue, but numerous reports are online of the same problem for the same vehicle models of several model years. no repair report yet, as this just happened a day before this report. i haven't *tr

1999 ford windstar rear axle snapped in half while operating at 35 mph. *tr

Increased vibration in rear end. felt like wheel balance was way off. days leading up to axle break. lots of rear-end shimmy when going over any bumps especially if in turns. clicking noises when backing up. sliding rear end with wet road.. erratic steering. felt wobbly like very strong gusts of wind buffeting sides of vehicle. when axle split, rear end totally unstable. fortunately was on city street (and not on highway) and was able to maintain some control. was at night. deserted street and city speed of 40mph. swerved over double yellow lines. if had been earlier in day, would have probably collided with oncoming traffic. was able to overcome loss of control and steer back into lane and then over to side of road. no curb stones or i would have definitely blown a tire or two and damaged undercarriage. very scary. thankfully no family onboard. have ordered replacement axle. may need to replace coil springs and shocks if they have been bent/distorted/damaged. mechanic says will know when replacing with new axle. i have asked to retain old parts for future inspection and proof of defect. cannot believe ford has allowed this known problem to go on without recall! hundreds have reported same problems online. how many thousands have not reported it?! this is going to cost me over a thousand dollars to repair. also, had a major issue with totally rotted sub-frame last year --- also a major issue with other owners! another safety issue!! that cost me nearly $1500! ford should be embarrassed and sorry and help their loyal customers -- not just ignore it and them! please do something to help us and other owners before someone gets killed! *tr

1999 ford windstar subframe cracked less than a 100,000.00 miles mechanic confused and surprised says should not have happened on such a young car. *tr

We were making the normal turn into our community and heard a loud pop sound coming from under the front of the vehicle. when i got home i looked underneath and saw that the subframe had broken. *tr

Subframe on 1999 ford windstar snap saw reviews on other windstars. found out this a ongoing problem with this model. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 1999 ford windstar. the contact stated that the rear, driver side sliding door would not close. the dealer replaced the alternator but to no avail. in addition, the abs warning light remained illuminated and the front driver's seat belt was covered in an unknown oil each time it was retracted. the dealer was unable to repair any of the failures. the manufacturer was not contacted. the failure mileage was unknown and the current mileage was approximately 95,000.

Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6) we have recently experienced a broken axle beam on a 1999 ford windstar. thank god nothing happened and no one was hurt. the car was swaying and knocking from the rear end and when we got home the rear wheels were cantered out. i looked under the car to find the broken axle beam and the only thing left holding it all together was a the torsion bar. i am very glad that we were not on a highway or too far from home, since we use the car to travel to ohio and florida . we then looked on the internet to find that many other people were experiencing the same problem and no recalls. although our car has 150,000 miles on it others had under 100,000. our main concern is the safety issue with our family. we travel a lot with our windstar as do so many other families with children do and it seems as if ford does not recognize the danger. i hope that ford does not wait for a death to deal with this problem as the part that failed should not have failed. this part is a main structure of our vehicle and seems to be poorly designed. i can't imagine how many other windstars are out there with an axle beam ready to break and how many families are unaware of this potential danger. the years of windstars that i saw on comlpaints.com varied from 1999 to 2003 and its only a matter of time before someone gets injured or killed. i ask you to please look into this matter as soon as possible. [xxx] *tr

While driving 65 mph on route 81, the car started reacting to bumps more severely than usual, and then there was a sharp noise at the rear of the car. after parking the car on the shoulder of the highway, we saw that the rear axle had broken, basically down the middle. the repairing of the car cost $960.12. *tr

Engine sub-frame/cradle failure at right side rear body mount resulting in loss of vehicle control. replace sub-frame. yes old sub-frame is available for inspection. *tr

Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6) 1999 ford windstar- broken rear axle beam steering arm at driver side while driving. also found another crack on the bar arm. vin # [xxx] .

Our 1999 ford windstar experienced a crack in the subframe on the right side due to rust. to replace with a used subframe, it will cost apprx $1,000, a new one is more then the car is worth. this is a dangerous defect and i had my three children in the car. this is one of several recurring problems we have had with the vehicle and from reading other posts, this is a common issue with the subframe due to a design problem on ford's part. *tr

Front a subframe was almost complete rusted out and detached from front end. this was noticed by my regular mechanic during an oil change. the complete front a frame ("subframe") had to be replaced, including control arms, alignment; front brake pads. cost was $1687. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 1999 ford windstar. while examining the vehicle the contact noticed a rust hole in the front sub frame. the vehicle had not been diagnosed and there were no prior warnings. the failure mileage was 155000 and the current mileage was 173000.

I was driving about 25 miles per hour and my real axel broke in half. *tr

The rear axle cracked on the left side last year. i had it welded. this year it cracked in the same spot on the right side. *tr

1999 ford windstar right front stabilizer bracket rusted off frame. noticed lower control arm bracket rusted bad and ready to come loose. *tr

Broken rear axle on a 1999 ford windstar. i was driving down the road at 35 miles per hour and the axle just snapped in half. the vehicle only has around 85000 miles on it. the reason i am filing this complaint is because one mechanic told me this is a consistent problem with this particular make and model. the tow truck driver said he had towed three of these same situations in the last two weeks and tows about 12-15 a year. the mechanic who repaired it said that he has fixed 4 of them. now this is just in my location so i can't imagine country wide that ford is not aware of this problem. had this happened on the highway this could have been very serious and i am also concerned that the way to repair it is to replace it with the same part that is defective. *tr

1999 ford windstar. without warning the front subframe broke loose from the main chassis when the car was moving forward at a stop light. the engine and transmission dropped, disconnecting the steering wheel from the steering rack and resulted in a complete loss of steering and control. subframe completely rusted out at the point of failure. i know of another person whose 1999 windstar did the exact same thing one week earlier. car ended up being scrapped as repair costs far out weighed the car's value. this could result in injuries or fatalities if the car were moving at higher speeds. ford is aware this is happening but is not advising owners to have their cars inspected. lots of potential for accidents, there are plenty of older windstars on the road. *tr

1999 ford windstar rear dead axle cracked. there was no accident involved. checked internet and found numerous complaints about same problem and same location of crack. would like to know if i have any recourse against ford motor company. *tr

1999 ford windstar rear dead axle cracked. there was no accident involved. checked internet and found numerous complaints about same problem and same location of crack. would like to know if i have any recourse against ford motor company. *tr