Problems with 2000 Ford Windstar SUSPENSION

I had the left rear axle of a 2000 ford windstar crack clean through while on the hwy with people in my van. the video i have seen are the same crack as mine. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2000 ford windstar. the contact stated that when the cruise control was turned off, the vehicle continued to travel at the speed it was moving when the cruise control was activated; he had to depress the brake pedal to slow it down. the vehicle had not been inspected or repaired for the failure. also, the front and rear coil springs broke; the vehicle was taken to a local repair shop where it was repaired. furthermore, the locks on the rear sliding doors did not function intermittently. the failure mileage was approximately 110,000 and the current mileage was approximately 130,000.

Tl*the contact owns a 2000 ford windstar. while entering the driveway from a six hour trip, the rear side of the vehicle malfunctioned. a local mechanic advised her that the rear axle fractured in half. the vehicle was being repaired. . the current and failure mileages were 112,000. updated 11/12/09 *cn updated 11/16/09

Purchased a vehicle off of the white allen lot with additional coverage with wynn's plus extended warranty on may 31, 2009. in august 2009, the van is very loose and unsteady while driving. took to grismer on september 5, 2009 to find that the front tie rods needed to be replaced. still unsteady especially in the rear. on september 10, 2009 the rear axle beam broke in two! the warranty company will not cover, and i come to find out through researching that across the u.s. thousands of persons have had this axle break on them nearly missing death on highways and byways. ford is aware of the defective axle beam yet has made no attempt to my knowledge to recall. lives are hanging in the balance and it seems they are more concerned about losing money. i can understand the concern especially with the economy the way it is. however, the consumer should not have to pay with their lives and the lives of their children because ford decided that money was more important than human life. not to mention had they been more concerned about quality vs. quantity, perhaps this would not be a complaint that thousands of people have to make. the money spent repairing the defect that is not covered ($1,000) still doesn't give you peace of mind that you and your family are safe because they have made no effort to replace the part with one that is not defective. you just replace it with another defective part! when did human life become so insignificant that a car company who knows that there is a safety issue, can ignore it putting lives at risk and make money off of the rolling dead! if you are like me, you need to get to work, pick up, drop off kids, go out of town. as long as there is no recall effort for this part, americans take the risk of never coming home to their families or their families not making it home from a little league football games, soccer, ballet etc. it is tragic and someone needs to do something before lives are lost. no action has been take. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2000 ford windstar. while the vehicle was being serviced by the dealer, the contact was informed that the rear axle was rusted. the vehicle had not been repaired. the contact referenced recall 10v385000 (suspension: rear: axle: non-powered axle assembly) but was informed that the vehicle was not included. the failure mileage was unknown and the current mileage was 172,168.

2000 ford windstar engine cradle rusted, came loose of frame, caused steering issue. this could cause serious injury accident or death if happened at high rate of speed. *tr

2000 ford windstar, driving at 20 mph rear axle snapped in half while my 3 children were in the car! *tr

2000 ford windstar. consumer states rear axle broke while driving *tgw the consumer stated his wife was driving on the highway, when suddenly the van began to shake. the van could no longer be driven due to the axle breaking. *jb

The rear axle hair line began to crack at around 90k miles and is severely crack now at 97k miles and awaiting parts. the part looks to cost around $500.00 not including installation. the gauges on the car are wacky and seems to work at will and the abs light continues to come on. *tr

We own a 2000 ford windstar and when it began clunking on my wife and 4 children i got under it to check the tires and discovered my axel was snapped in half for no reason at all this vehicle has done nothing but ride family around when i typed it in i found many other complaints about this issue on their windstars as well ford should have a recall on this issue. *tr

Ford windstar rear axle cracked through 9/10ths of the axle. issues with drivable but did not realize cause. pulled into parking lot due to loud noise in rear wheel well. both tires were pitched inward due to the axle having moved out of position due to the crack. only about 1 inch of metal remained intact on the axle. auto was towed to the dealer who advised replacement is necessary at an approximate cost of $1100. having just driven for 4 hours on the highway through a downpore, i am certainly glad the breakage did not fully materialize until i was running at a slower speed. if the failure occurred at highway speeds my family and i may not be here today. at a minimum, a bulletin should be issued to all consumers to check for potential cracks and failures of the rear axle as a preventative measure. there was no prior indication and i had the vehicle into a shop 1 day before the occurrence for replacing a rear tire. the repair shop did not advise of any potential issues. *tr

2000 ford windstar. consumer would like reimbursement for rear axle assembly repairs due to the recall that was issued. *tgw on june 16, 2010, the rear axle assembly snapped in two while the consumer was backing out of the driveway. *jb

Tl- the contact owns a 2000 ford windstar. he states that while backing out he noticed that the the rear axle snapped. a week before the vehicle deveolped a under steer . the dealer was contacted and they did not want to help the consumer with this problem. he states that this is a very big safety issue. he noticed that there many other vehicle with this problem online. the vehicle is at the residence and is not drivable.the has not decided yet ti repair the vehicle. the failure and current mileage was 146000.

two days prior to rear axle snapping in two noise when turning right. upon inspection stress crack was unobservable. while in reverse rear axle snapped in two. can't find towing company that will tow van in such an unsafe state since rear spring could fly out and kill someone. *tr

The steering on the van starting feeling loose. we occasionally noticed a sound in rear right when pulling out of our driveway. took it to the shop to check tires and shocks. they found the rear axle had snapped and was broken 75% of the way through. they replaced the rear axle. *tr

We have had eleven recalls on our ford windstar van to date. our current recall on the rear axle has left us with no worthy vehicle. the bottom of the van is so rusted out there are holes in it and we wash it and keep it in the garage during the winter months. we have had to replace the bushings on the front of the van two times and are now scheduled for a 3rd replacing. the suspension on the van has never been right and it feels unsafe. the ford company is not working with us to fix the axle or other issues. *tr

Check engine light has been on for several thousand miles, from about 40,000 to current 130,000. the code that comes up can be 1 of about 10 things. nothing corrects this. i have the 3.8l engine and the "check engine" light has been on. had a mechanic pull the codes up and they are bank 1 running lean and bank 2 running lean (p0171) and (p0174). was told could be mass airflow sensor, o2 sensor (1 of 4), vacuum issues, head gasket or a few others. i have replaced the maf sensor and all 4 o2 sensors at about $200.00 a piece. still on. 2nd issue. noise from front end when turning. 3rd issue. currently sitting at ford dealer with fractured rear axle for last month. also abs light goes on and off all the time.

Rear axle on 2000 ford windstar van cracked on drivers side of van. i am not sure when the crack started, but it was found during an inspection of the van. a quick internet search shows that this problem ha caused safety issues on other vans. i will need to find a way to repair the axle, it appears the replacement parts may be an issue as well. *tr

My 2000 ford windstar was sitting in my driveway when the front driver side coil spring broke. i found part of the spring on the ground covered in bright orange rust. the spring completely sheared off. i noticed that the 1995-1998 windstar had a recall for this exact same problem (nhtsa campaign id number: 01i007000 ) i am certainly glad i wasn't driving with my 3 children! *tr

I had been concerned about a bad shimmy at 50 mph on my 2000 ford windstar, and i had spoken to my dealer about it when i had the oil changed. less than a week later, as i pulled from my driveway, the rear axle broke completely in two. we have tried to get ford to address this problem, as there must be millions of these vans still on the road, and most of them carry children. we have not had any response so we are filing this complaint. we have heard of other failures and as you know they could be deadly. we paid to have the axle replaced. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2000 ford windstar. the contact stated that the vehicle bounced while she drove at any speed. when she inspected, she saw that the rear axle was fractured. the vehicle was towed to a local repair shop where the axle was replaced. a year and a half later while having the vehicle examined, the contact was informed that the rear axle was bent. the vehicle had not been repaired. the failure mileage was 86,633 and the current mileage was 108,944. updated 01/14/11*lj

I was under the rear of my 2000 ford windstar checking the condition of my spare tire when i looked at the axle and noticed a crack forming on the axle closes to the left rear wheel. now after doing some research i found that this is a command failure but nothing has been done to correct this hazardous and deadly defect which could end up into a crash. *tr

Driving my 2000 ford windstar (85,000 miles on it) on the freeway at 65 miles per hour on sunday 3/15/09. the back end of the car gave way and started fish tailing. turns out the rear axle broke in half on its own. i have the car at bill brown auto clinic in canton, michigan. they have ordered a new axle. they originally were going to get a used one from a salvage yard but indicated this is a recurring problem with ford windstars and so they ordered a new axle. everyone i talk to says rear axles should not give way the way this windstar did. the indication is it had a long term crack and rusted through until it gave way. the car did fish tail wildly but did not flip over before i was able to stop it. *tr

Rear axle beam cracked in half about 1.5 ft from driver side wheel . heard clunking sound mechanic found crack. *tr

mileage 65,000 my wife and 3 toddlers drove to a tire store monday morning (march 5, 2009) to purchased two new tires for the back. the mechanics drove the car onto the hydraulic jacks and as soon as the car was being lifted up, they noticed right away that the rear axle of the car was splitting in half... so they tell my wife what happened and she calls me up. well i'm roughly 30 miles away, so i had to take some time off and drove my little car to the place and couldn't believe it. the rear axle was broken with inch remaining on the top portion before it completely broke in half. unbelievable! the break was about 2 feet from the driver's side rear tire. had no choice but to get it fixed since it was already broken and up in the air. the next day i called ford motor company up and will do nothing about it. the mechanic even told me and my wife that he went through 4 rear axles roughly the same as my van! after hearing others with the same problems, ford motor company should tell the public and have there vans checked before someone or family gets killed or seriously injured!! the lord was with us on that day. what can be done about this? *tr

Took car for routine oil/grease...car was on lift and being inspected...i was told the rear axle was cracked and needed to be replaced...repair (replacement) was made today ("replaced rear shock absorber and axle asy")...old part may be yet with tom's ford, hazlet, nj. *tr

Driving to church this morning and noticed the back end of the car swaying. i inspected the tires and all appeared to be in order. i drove home and noticed the same thing. at home inspected the vehicle to find the rear axle completely severed (except about 1 inch of metal) about 1.5 feet from the left wheel. nothing done about this yet as we just discovered this tonight. i searched on autobeef.com and found 8-9 other complaints of the very same failure. *tr

I took vehicle in for checkup before going for dmv inspection and was told by my auto repair shop that the rare axel was broken, my first response are you joking!? i told him not to do any thing until i arrived because i could not believe what i was hearing. when i arrived i could not believe my eyes since i never did anything to cause this type of failure, it was only a matter of time before everything came apart. i was told by my repair shop that this was the 5th time they saw this in the past 2 months. this car is used on the parkway on a daily basis, this could have broken while traveling over 60mph, god only knows what serious accident was waiting to happen if this was not discovered. ford company should take full responsibility for the replacement part and labor cost. this is a very serious failure on a very important part of this car. *tr

Mileage ~122,000. after shocks and struts were replaced 2 months ago, a grinding and popping was heard from the front end when turning and driving over 20 mph. car was brought in to local repair shop and technician stated that the driver's side shock plate was going bad. you could place your hand on top of the shock plate while the wheel was turning and feel it grinding. replaced shock plate on 11/5/08; noises got worse. vehicle was brought in on 11/11/08 and at first the repair shop said the new plate was bad and the other plate was going out. you put your hand on both plates and felt the grinding as the steering wheel was turned. repairman decided to see if a service bulletin was issued by ford on the problem; it was. ford stated that a spacer needed to be placed between the shocks and the shock plate if this noise begins to happen. i am now waiting for the dealership to get the parts in and anticipating paying at least $400.00 for this repair. if ford knows about their design flaw, they should at least pay for the replacement part. this is not the first time i have had to pay for parts and replacement on some ford design flaw; a flaw in which ford had described in a service bulletin but took no responsibility for when it came to having to fix it. *tr

Rear end shaking due to rear axle beam crack. rear axle beam has no rust .the crack was all the way through almost split in half. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2000 ford windstar. while backing out of the driveway at 5 mph, the bracket that supports the lower passenger side control arm failed. a mechanic stated that the engine cradle needed to be replaced. the manufacturer and dealer were not notified. the vehicle has not been repaired. the current and failure mileages were 81,000.

Failure of 2000 model year ford windstar rear axle. component is cracked along it's circumference at a place not near any weld or attachment. vehicle has never been involved in an accident, and currently is at 98k miles. there is no obvious cause of the failure, which was noticed during normal operation, vehicle was parked and towed to a garage for diagnosis and repair. owing to the age and mileage, vehicle was not taken to a ford dealership. vin is not close at hand, but available. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2000 ford windstar. while driving at an unknown speed, the contact noticed a clunking noise especially when driving over a bump in the road. her sister had the same vehicle with the identical failure several months prior. the contact described the issue to her and was advised to visit her mechanic. the mechanic stated that he had never seen a crack in the rear axle beam, which should never occur. he further stated that it was due to either a defect in the design of the vehicle or the steel. the manufacturer stated that the vehicle was out of warranty and would not be covered. the current and failure mileages were approximately 79,000.

I was driving my 2000 ford windstar on a major highway and went over a minor dip when i heard a thump in the front end. i thought i might have hit something and pulled over. there was nothing around and i looked under the van to find nothing obvious. since then we occasionally hear a grinding noise when we hit a bump. i finally noticed that the left front coil spring snapped. *tr

Windstar broken rear axle strikes again. we were on our way to dinner with retired ford employee and his lovely wife. we were in dearborn on michigan avenue when bad noises, and smells came from the rear of the van. we pulled over and discovered a totally broken axle cover. my husband works in steel. if we had been on the southfield as we had planned and this happened there would have been disastrous results not only for us but we could have placed other families in danger as well. both men. the police who stopped to help and the tow truck driver agreed that axles don't just break. *tr

2000 ford windstar van broken rear axle, had to completely install new rear axle dealer part only ale broke completely in half! van creaked like it was broken for a little while then had rear shocks replaced and axle broke. i have pictures and the original part. *tr

We were backing slowly out of the driveway. the van sounded like something was caught underneath the vehicle and was dragging. we got out of the car to see what the problem was. we noticed the rear wheels were both tilted inward and the rear axle was dragging on the ground, damaging the driveway. the van had to be towed to an independent mechanic in which the rear axle was replaced. the failure mileage was approximately 72,000 miles. *tr

Abs light is on intermittent..../ /other warning lights and sensors also go on and off alot ! / /also a/c and suspension have similar issues to previous recalls..../ /mileage now july 2012 - is approx 73,400/ *tr

The car seemed at first to be hydroplaning due to the rain, but then it got much worse. when i removed the rear passenger wheel, i saw the rear axle beam had snapped at the weld point. the car was very difficult to drive and the repair shop indicated that we should have had it towed in because sometimes the wheels will shear away from the suspension when the beam is broken. this car has only been in one minor accident, with minimal body damage and no damage at all to the body structure, so this was without question a manufacture defect in the part. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2000 ford windstar. the contact was driving 5 mph over a road bump. there was an abnormal noise coming from the rear of the vehicle. the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where it was discovered that the rear axle was severely corroded. the dealer replaced the axle at the contacts expense. the manufacturer advised that they were not aware of the failure and would not provide any further assistance. the failure mileage was 81,430 and the current mileage was 82,000. updated 12/15/10. *lj the consumer stated the repairs were completed. updated 12/27/10

I've had the rear axle break on two separate 2000 ford windstars. judging from the complaints i've seen here (similar reports posted by different people in suspension, rear suspension and rear suspension axle assembly component categories) i've got plenty of company ... looks like the problem exists on 2001 windstars as well , i didn't look any further, but seems to happen when they hit the 10 year or 100,000 mile mark. i'm filing two separate complaints for the two cars (first car, ford guy insisted i did it!). this is the first. during routine maintenance my mechanic spotted the rear axle housing had corroded and split right in half to the left of its center. i called ford main office, they said they had never heard of anything like this happening before and because i was beyond warranty, they could do nothing, yadda yadda yadda. i went to the service dept. at the dealer where i bought it brand new in 2000 and he said i must have done it because we towed a pop-up camper (about a half dozen times in the nearly 9 years i owned the car). we paid our private mechanic to fix the problem. he had never seen anything like it before, but since has seen others come in with the same problem in the same spot. i have photos of both of my cars showing how the same thing happened in the same spot. this first car had just under 110,000 miles on it. *tr

Car didn't seem right felt like back end swaying. made noise. brought to repair shop, need new rear axle assembly, or also called rear i beam assembly, it has a major crack. this is a major safety issue the car is unsafe to drive and this part is on backorder. *tr

2000 ford windstar sel. discovered a crack in rear axle. it was located near the center of span between rear wheels. the crack ran from top to bottom of the axle about 3" and was spread apart approximately 1/8" on bottom. there was only 50% of the axle remaining. fortunately i discovered it just prior to a vacation trip with our family of 5. there has been no known event to explain the cause. *tr

I own a 2000 ford winstar, the rear axle beam twice now for cracking/splitting ,both happend in the same spot,what are the chances of that? bad metal ! i replace it with a 96 rear axle which has supports and a support beam under the axle, wish when i changed it the first time i changed it with this year axle!! next i just noticed the other day that the sub-frame (engine cradle ) is rotted out on the passanger side! when going to the junk yards i have noticed his is a common problem, why wouldn't ford do something about this? after all these are family vans that haul chrildren 99% of the time! these things could cause death very easy! if they fail on a hwy god help them !!!

I was driving at 3:00pm with my children in the van when my back drivers side tire blew out and the rear axle spit into two. this happened without warring. i drive a 2000 ford windstar sel with approx. 100k miles. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2000 ford windstar. on june 12, 2008, the handling in the vehicle malfunctioned. the contact took the vehicle to a local mechanic for routine maintenance and was informed of a 4-inch crack in the rear axle on the driver's side of the vehicle. the mechanic stated that he does not have the tools to repair the vehicle; therefore, he will reassemble the vehicle so it can be taken to the dealer for repair. the failure and current mileages were 137,000.

Tl*the contact owns a 2000 ford windstar. the contact attempted to drive out of the driveway when the front tie rod broke. the dealer had to replace the left tie rod, strut, upper strut and upper bearing because they were covered with rust. after the vehicle was repaired, the contact was driving and heard something snap in the front of the vehicle and then there was a loud banging sound. the dealer replaced the right front lower control arm because of rust. the contact feels that this was a defect because salt was not used on the road near his residence. the failure mileage was 75224 and the current mileage was 84199. updated 02/09/11*lj updated 05/31/11

2000 ford windstar lx van with approx 97,000 miles. my wife was driving at a slow speed in a parking lot and all of a sudden there was a loud bang and she could not steer the vehicle. fortunately, she was able to stop the van. one wheel in the front was straight and the other front wheel was turned at a 45 degree angle. we had the car towed to the ford dealer. the problem was the sub frame rusted out, causing the transaxle to pull away from the transmission and dropping the engine. the repairs included replacing the sub frame assembly,transaxle, seals etc. the dealer told me that this was highly unusual for this to happen.... i contacted ford and they told me they would do nothing to cover any portion of the cost. i believe this is a safety related issue because if my wife was driving on the open road and this happened, she would not be able to steer the vehicle and the end result would be a collision. i have saved all the parts for future investigation. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2000 ford windstar with 180000 miles. while driving 45 mph on the highway the contact lost control of the vehicle. the vehicle then rolled over eight times and crashed into a highway sign. the contact was injured and taken to the hospital. the vehicle was destroyed. a police report was filed. the rear axle failure causes the crash to occur. the contact received a recall letter for the rear axle about six months ago. the contact spoke to the manufacturer about the failure and they mailed a legal notice about not disclosing the information since he was he going to file a legal claim. the contact also had pictures of the crash. the vin was unavailable.

I noticed that the rear end of the car was "bouncing" as i went around a corner. i immediately brought the car home and noticed that both rear tires were bowing out at the bottom. i put the car up on a jack to investigate and saw where the rear axle had severed half way through in two different spots. rust was visible at one location. the worse of the two sever points was on what appears to be on a vertical seam in the metal. i was very fortunate that it happened to me as i was running to the store just prior to my wife taking our three daughters to ballet - for which she would have been driving on a major interstate. i have now seen at least 4 other comments of the same issue on the internet. this is definitely a manufacturer defect and needs to be recalled before there is a fatality. *tr