Problems with 2003 Ford Windstar SUSPENSION

Rear axle snapped and broke apart. *tr

I have a 2003 ford windstar. in april 2010 my rear axle suddenly broke. i paid a small fortune to tow and fix the problem. in july my front axle suddenly broke leaving me with another large towing and repair charge. and now the car just doesn't drive nice and my traction and brake warnings have been lighting up on my dashboard. *tr

Discovered 20" crack in rear axle assembly of my 2003 ford windstar. *tr

Driving on smooth road when rear axel snapped and broke in 2 on 2003 ford windstar. had car towed and is in to replace axel. checked on carcomplaints.com and there were 44 instances of the rear axel on ford windstars breaking in the same place. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 ford windstar. the contact stated that the vehicle would exhibit a loud, abnormal creaking. the vehicle was taken to a repair shop where the technician was unable to duplicate the failure. the vehicle was then taken to a second repair shop where the contact was informed that the rear axle was rusted. the vehicle was not repaired. the contact called the manufacturer and was told that the vehicle was not included in nhtsa campaign id number: 10v385000 (suspension:rear:axle:non-powered axle assembly). the current mileage was approximately 125,000 and the failure mileage was approximately 100,000.

2003 ford windstar se brake and abs lights on intermittently. the following codes are present: c1226;c1235;c1185;c1198;c1194;c1254;c1246;c1250; and c1242. the mechanic said it appears the abs control module is going bad or is bad at a cost of $700. i replaced both rotors, drums , right wheel bearing, left inner tie rod and my brakes work just fine. the lights coming on are an annoyance and could possibly cause a fire?? *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2003 ford windstar. while driving 30mph the front driver side of the vehicle dropped on the ground due which caused the front coil spring to puncture the driver side tire. the vehicle has not been diagnosed by the dealer. the current and failure mileage was 76000.

Tl*the contact owns a 2003 ford windstar. the vehicle accelerated without warning immediately after he approached a traffic light. the front coil springs on the drivers side also broke which caused the coil springs to pierce the tire and the front end of the vehicle fell on the ground. the vehicle was towed to a local repair facility and the mechanic replaced the tires and the coil springs for over $800. the contact suspects that the failure was caused by the cruise control. the dealer didn't agree that the cruise control caused the failure. the manufacturer was notified; however, they have not responded. the failure mileage was 74,000.

My wife was driving in a parking lot with the kids and the front right strut spring on our 2003 windstar cracked in two. it broke the stabilizer end link and the strut bearing plate. the broken spring rubbed the tire, but didn't puncture it. the recall for this problem doesn't apply to this model year and it states the cause is corrosion. i am a licensed autobody technician and upon removal of the wheel and inspection of the spring i would say the alloy used in the spring is too brittle because it sheared clean at an angle. there isn't any signs of corrosion on the spring because it is coated. we live in southern ontario, canada where we see a lot of salt in winter and i've worked on a lot of rusty cars and i would say this definitely not climate related, but rather a manufacturing defect that if it occurred at highway speeds could lead to loss of life. it will cost me approximately $300-350 to fix this myself because you have to replace the springs in pairs. *tr

I am entering this info on behalf of my brother, daniel cullen of meadville pennsylvania. dan does not regularly use the internet. his 2003 model year ford windstar has the right front wheel assembly fall off due to rust. the car only had 95,802 miles and was less than 6 years old. the rusted part is called an engine cradle. other instances can be found on the web going back several years. a ford dealer fixed the car at owner expense. the dealer reported that an air conditioning hose dripped on the rusted part contributing to the failure. i reported the problem to ford corporate hotline and they said they would not help my brother financially or take immediate action to correct this obvious safety defect. my brother was scheduled to drive the car next day 400 miles. if this failure had occurred at highway speed death and injury could easily have resulted. please see to it that these vehicles are recalled asap. a recall can be achieved at reasonable cost: first inspect cars and if no rust is present at least reroute the a/c drip line. if rust is present, change the engine cradle for a few hundred dollars. note that the web shows incidents going back several years, yet still these cars are out there turning into ticking time bombs in only 5 years of use! *tr

2003 ford windstar. consumer writes regarding recall notice *tgw the rear axle failed, prior to the recall notification. *jb

Abs brakes light problem ford windstar 20003 air brakes problem ,cruise control problem suspension problem. *tr

The front suspension on the driver's side collapsed while we were driving. the wheel well ended up right on top of the tire and we ground to a halt.

Tl*the contact owns a 2003 ford windstar. after shifting from park into reverse, the front passenger side tire blew out. the vehicle was towed to the dealer and they stated that the front passenger side coil spring failed and punctured the tire. the vehicle was repaired. the manufacturer stated that they were not liable for the repairs and there were no recalls. the current mileage was 59,700 and failure mileage was 59,396. updated 02/24/09. *lj updated 02/24/09. *jb

2003 ford windstar, 59396 mi. driving down lockport rd on 6/20/08, heard loud snap, clunk, then tire blow out. called for aaa assistance, tow truck operator told me it was broken right spring, saying it was a common problem and had towed several minivans of this model, what could have happened if i made it 2 miles to interstate 190 where the speed limit is 65 mph? this happened at approx. 20 mph. is this a common thing like the tow operator says? in all, resulted in 555.25 in damage because of the spring failure. *tr

With no warning, the front left coil spring on my 2003 ford windstar snapped as we were driving. the broken spring shot into my tire causing a blowout and loss of control of the vehicle almost hitting a guard rail and then oncoming traffic. we were able to get the vehicle under control and stop it but were lucky that we were only going 35 mph at the time. if this would have happened on a highway, there would have been injuries and possibly fatalities. this caused a very dangerous situation with myself, my wife, and my four children in the vehicle at the time. this has been a recurring issue with windstars since 1996. i had the vehicle repaired at a local repair shop. it was memorial day weekend and we needed our vehicle and, in addition, did not know what the problem was when i took it to be repaired. i phoned ford and they told me that this was not covered and would not reimburse me for the repair. with only 66,000 miles on my vehicle, this should not have happened and caused a very dangerous situation. now i am wondering when the other coil spring will snap. i believe that ford should be responsible for the repair of this vehicle since this is a recurring issue and could have caused a major accident. i have retained the broken coil spring. *tr

Bought the 2003 windstar in 04/26/ 2004 it was a certified program car from a dealer and had mileage of 013335 we have had several problems with it. first the rear doors will close and then reopen the dealer replaced the sensors in the doors still have that problem, second the ball joints need replaced, third the passenger window would not roll up or down intermittently, fourth lift gate door ajar light keeps coming on you get out and shut it and it still is on next time you open and close maybe a day or two later it will go off, fifth the abs and brake lights on dash come on and sixth the passenger door ajar light comes on and won't go off. the side doors and the window was noticed before the warranty went out so we bought the extended warranty. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2003 ford windstar. the contact stated that a few years ago, she noticed a crack in the rear axle. the crack had progressed and the vehicle was not longer able to be drive. the dealer stated that the vehicle was not included in recall 10v385000 (suspension:rear:axle:non-powered axle assembly). the vehicle had not been repaired. the failure mileage was approximately 100,000 and the current mileage was approximately 256,000.

Electrical problems that required the replacement of the main electrical harness 3 times, which were under warranty. the interior lights continue to flash and flicker to this day, both day and night, creating a hazard to safe operation of the vehicle. there are also false aleerts of the tire warning system, and other intermittant electrical problems in the vehicle. there is also a noise coming from the front end, which is in the area of the sub frame assembly.

Tl*the contact owns a 2003 ford windstar. the contact stated that he noticed that the rear axle was cracking. the vehicle had not been inspected or repaired at the time of the complaint. the contact stated that the vehicle was inoperative and unable to be used because the crack was five inches around the axle. the contact called the manufacturer who stated that the vehicle was not included in recall 10v385000 (suspension: rear:axle: nonpowered axle assembly). the current mileage was approximately 91,000. the failure mileage was approximately 27,000.

We have not been properly informed about all of the recalls or other issues with our vehicle. the vehicle does have a lot of problems from the electrical, structure, engine lights are always throwing codes needing a lot of sensor replacements at our cost, the rpms seem to run fast sitting at a light(we have to turn off the engine and then restart), and the engine seems to run hot, brakes, cruise control(cannot use), traction control(cannot use), interior light are always flickering, passenger windows(cannot use) and door locks(cannot use), both rear windows(cannot use), leaks from roof, rear door and sliding doors, the cruise control, brake and traction control lights stay on while driving(we were told by a dealership that we can still drive the vehicle, but we won't have anti-lock brakes.), the ac is always having trouble staying charged, the ac/heat control switches have malfunctioned(it has to be set away from the cold and the speed to 3/4 speed to work right), the battery keeps losing charge, the brake tail lights stay on draining the battery and had to get repaired by us because the dealership could not locate the problem, driver seat has malfunctioned(cannot use per dealership's request), cruise control and traction control does not work, suspension seems to have a lot of squeaks and popping sounds, alternator and starter had to be replaced several times, the coil packs need constant replacements, all spark plugs and wires had to be replaced before their time, cannot use the rear wiper because it goes down onto the paint and starts wiping the paint and not the rear window, constantly replacing exterior lights all around, the engine constantly cuts out, we told the dealership for several years that there was an antifreeze smell and they could not locate it until 5-28-13, replaced bad front and rear axles on 5/28/13 and many others. 12k-18k to repair everything. *tr

While driving vehicle rocked side to side, and the rear end wobbled. *ak

Vehicle pulls to the left at highway speeds and rear axle dog tracks. unable to drive in left lane of any major highway with out vehicle wanting to drive into oncoming trafic or center median or retain wall. *ak

We purchased the 2003 ford windstar in october of 2003. since that time, the van has been in and out of the shop 5 times because of a loud screeching in the power steering, interior lights flickering on and off (which they told me that they couldn't find a reason for that and that i should just turn the interior lights off so that it dosen't happen), and a thumping in the front end when the wheels are turned sharply. they told me that i should bring the van to the shop whenever any of these things happen since they couldn't figure out what was causing these problems and i have done that. i am currently driving a loaner car from the dealership because the van is back in the shop. i called ford motor company and filed a complaint with them. i need to know why this is happening and what can be done to fix this van.

2003 ford windstar was brought in to dealer for heat problem and vehicle was detained due to recall. did not get any information via mail regarding this recall. *tr

I bought a 2003 ford windstar on july 7, 2003. shortly after i left for pa, for vacation. after one week and a half on was on rt. 380 in pa, as i approched the exit the car started to shake. i did know what was going on, i prayed and got for the exit. at the end of the exit i got out of the car, walked around it and i couldn't see anything. so i thought if i could make it one more mile to the gas station i would be fine. i went 8' and i heard this noise. i got out of the car and the wheel broke away from the wheel. my bumper cought the wheel and dented the bumper. the car was towed the the nearest ford dealership. they are saying it was soom thing i did to the car, and they will not take responsibility for the car. after many attempts to settle the matter they will do nothing for me.*ak

2003 ford windstar the side doors have not worked right from the time we bought this van. took it back to dealer, said it's contacts are dirty. still didn't fix doors they don't work right to this day now the abs brake light keeps coming on! the rear axel are cracking and recalled. the windstar should be recalled complete! *tr