97 F350 Posted July 1, 2009 Share Posted July 1, 2009 We have an 2001 Windstar with about 128,000 miles. Between 80,000 and 90,000 miles the following happened: transmission barfed up a lung on feeder road and had to be rebuilt, head gaskets replaced, passenger side and two rear vent window motors replaced, driver door lock moter replaced, rear a/c overhauled, these were the major problems, other minor ones which I can't remember all now. Thankfully we had the extended warranty on it, so it wasn't so bad. My question is - I've read on here that the Windstar wasn't exactly the best mini-van around. Are there any more common problems lurking in our near future? What made it such a dog? Reliablility? Lack of features? The van still looks extremely nice inside and outside, but we are at a decision point. We have the following repairs that need to happen soon and the extended warranty is over and done: front brakes with rotor replacement, driver window motor rear a/c mostly ineffective, power steering - major groaning on left turns a/c - sometimes when it engine first starts up - there is a "grinding" noise, sometime not I'm figuring $2000 repairs when all is said and done. And then we have a nice-looking van that runs fairly well. But how long will it last? I'm wondering if we are at that tipping point where you fix something, then 3 months later something else big goes out and then something else and before you know it, you have put $5000 in an old van. I would be happy if we could get another 2-3 years out of the repairs (wife drives probably about 15,000 miles a year), but do Windstars last till 175,000 miles or so? I'm used to Ford trucks and Mustangs which both seem more solidly built than the Windstar (parked 96 GT with 215,000 miles and my 97 truck is still going with 307,000 miles). The other factor is tradein- right now our van is $1500 at best, but I can qualify for the clunker bill and basically get $3500 as a trade-in for a new Chrysler T&C. But then I will have a car payment for five years........... Any info/insights would be appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shelby17 Posted July 2, 2009 Share Posted July 2, 2009 I have a 1995 Windstar which I am the 2nd owner of. I now have 200450 miles on the original engine and its still going strong. I bought it at 134000. Tranny was rebuilt at 80,000 miles. I drive this daily to and from work approx. 100 miles round trip. I have been told by many people that I must have gotten a good one. We haven't had the problems you have had, but the previous owner was very picky on who worked on it. He always took it to the dealership for everything except oil changes. My only problem now is the guts of the convertor have broken loose and I have one large chunk we can't get broke up enough to come out, so it rattles every now and then. At that point with the miles I have on it, I just turn the radio up a little. The one convertor costs 300.00 to have installed and I can't see putting that into it yet. I still get about 20MPG. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MIAMI-DADE Posted July 5, 2009 Share Posted July 5, 2009 My brother in law has 190K miles on his 95 Windstar..He bought it from a used car dealer when it had 90K miles on it...He has no issues with it...Only recently he had some minor repairs to the a/c...He drives alot from Kentucky to NYC. I really didn't think it would last that long but it did. I always hear people complaining about Power Window Problems...If people would just stop playing with them everytime they get into the car they would last for 20 years...The only time anyone opens a window in my family is to pay for parking at a garage...Otherwise they stay shut. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
97 F350 Posted July 6, 2009 Author Share Posted July 6, 2009 I always hear people complaining about Power Window Problems...If people would just stop playing with them everytime they get into the car they would last for 20 years...The only time anyone opens a window in my family is to pay for parking at a garage...Otherwise they stay shut. But how do you stop from lowering them constantly at the drive-thru at Chick-Fil-A? Other than by letting the driver window motor break and being slow to fix it......... It is good to hear some high mileage stories since all I have been seeing is how bad the Windstar was. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MIAMI-DADE Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 But how do you stop from lowering them constantly at the drive-thru at Chick-Fil-A? Other than by letting the driver window motor break and being slow to fix it......... It is good to hear some high mileage stories since all I have been seeing is how bad the Windstar was. Skip the Chick-Fil-A..That stuff is no good 4 you. The only window that might act up might be the drivers window..But I hear people always fixing the other 3 windows..I keep the windows locked out all the time so no-one has a chance of playing with them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ford4v429 Posted July 13, 2009 Share Posted July 13, 2009 our 98 'only' has 80 k on it- been a decent car, but its shot...oil in the antifreeze is a bad thing to say the least, but been doing that 2 years now, I keep saying 'onme more winter'...Rack was replaced, now PS hose leaking- labor to change the hose is twice the rack install??!! rockers are falling apart from inside out...I like fords, but gotta say I TRULY believe they intentionally design rockers to rot...fox bodies, aerostars, explorers, f150 ext cabs...90% of all I see that are pushing 10 yrs are bubbling up or missing big chunks- digging into them you see the drains are more like 'scoops' than drains... the 'bad' Ive heard on windstars was the 3.8s notariety for head gasket failures(fixing dont mean it wont return a few yrs later), AOD tranny issues...personally biggest beefs Ive had are corrosion- brakelines, rockers, expensive to fix. 'little' stuff thats been done to ours: power lock motors and window motors- two driver window motors so far, three power lock actuators, serpentine idler at 65,000 miles, alternator, selector switch in tranny at about 50k, fuel pump at 4 months old, stuck wheel cylinder at 2 yrs old, tierod recall, rear a/c quit(vacuum control issue), sliding door contacts/lock issue, p/s pump/rack last year, now hose issue...oil in antifreeze- likely head gaskets failing, change fluids more often so far still kickin..replaced ALL brakelines last summer- every line was 'scary lookin' somewhere underneath if you looked close. fuel return line is next- expect tank to start leaking soon from rust and need another pump at this age... been a decent car- great fot the first 6 yrs, but now its got one foot in the grave- I am to the point there is NO way I'd put anything major into it...might weld in new rockers and paint in the driveway, but thats iffy right now- time to trade it in under the clunker thing I'm so against, or just junk it...put any money in it and get in a fenderbender theyll give pennies for it, even if you just put a motor/tranny/steering in it the day before for 5000 bucks- thats the biggest reason I wont put anything into it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
06mariner Posted August 17, 2009 Share Posted August 17, 2009 my parents have a 2003 with 91,000 miles. It is their 3rd one. They bought new a 96 that ended up only lasting a year before the whole computer and tranny needed to be replaced. They traded it on a new 98 that they kept for 5 years and 76,000 miles...they never had a transmission or head gasket problem OR window problem with that...they did have a lot of front end problems (I remember their being a TSB or recall on the supports for the front shocks over them cracking) wheel bearings, tie-rods, ball joints, power steering and rack ...other than that, that van was great. Now the 2003 is a bit different whereas the 96 and 98 were "GL's" (3.8) the one they have now is a Limited....so it DOES have twice if not three times more features and electronics that the others did not. At 200 miles (yes 200, there were some bugs that needed fixing) the windshield wiper motors went by by and the transmission interlock cable ??? opened inside the dashboard causing the van to not shift into gear. Never a problem with either since. Wheel bearings at 30,000, power steering pump and rack at 45,000. Back up sensors at 52,000, liftgate window defroster broke off window at around 60,000, a relay went bad in the liftgate soon after that caused the brake lights to stay on at all times even when the brakes weren't being used, and finally a couple electrical gremlins with the traction control system (Advance TRAC)....works perfect, just every couple months it will say "Service Advancetrac" and then as soon as you shut off the van and turn it back on it goes away? ...Their extended warranty ended back in March of this year and knock on wood so far everything has been really good....van is VERY solid and still looks like brand new. Key is maintaining these vans (Fuel filters once a year, transmission servicing, coolant flushes, oil every 3,000 miles) They love it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Racin' Rick Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 Back up sensors at 52,000; everything has been really good....van is VERY solid and still looks like brand new. Key is maintaining these vans (Fuel filters once a year, transmission servicing, coolant flushes, oil every 3,000 miles) They love it... I have the back up sensors problem with my 2002 Windstar...what steps did you take to resolve this problem? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephenhawkings Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 our 98 'only' has 80 k on it- been a decent car, but its shot...oil in the antifreeze is a bad thing to say the least, but been doing that 2 years now, I keep saying 'onme more winter'...Rack was replaced, now PS hose leaking- labor to change the hose is twice the rack install??!! rockers are falling apart from inside out...I like fords, but gotta say I TRULY believe they intentionally design rockers to rot...fox bodies, aerostars, explorers, f150 ext cabs...90% of all I see that are pushing 10 yrs are bubbling up or missing big chunks- digging into them you see the drains are more like 'scoops' than drains... the 'bad' Ive heard on windstars was the 3.8s notariety for head gasket failures(fixing dont mean it wont return a few yrs later), AOD tranny issues...personally biggest beefs Ive had are corrosion- brakelines, rockers, expensive to fix. 'little' stuff thats been done to ours: power lock motors and window motors- two driver window motors so far, three power lock actuators, serpentine idler at 65,000 miles, alternator, selector switch in tranny at about 50k, fuel pump at 4 months old, stuck wheel cylinder at 2 yrs old, tierod recall, rear a/c quit(vacuum control issue), sliding door contacts/lock issue, p/s pump/rack last year, now hose issue...oil in antifreeze- likely head gaskets failing, change fluids more often so far still kickin..replaced ALL brakelines last summer- every line was 'scary lookin' somewhere underneath if you looked close. fuel return line is next- expect tank to start leaking soon from rust and need another pump at this age... been a decent car- great fot the first 6 yrs, but now its got one foot in the grave- I am to the point there is NO way I'd put anything major into it...might weld in new rockers and paint in the driveway, but thats iffy right now- time to trade it in under the clunker thing I'm so against, or just junk it...put any money in it and get in a fenderbender theyll give pennies for it, even if you just put a motor/tranny/steering in it the day before for 5000 bucks- thats the biggest reason I wont put anything into it. I have a 98 alos and oil in the anti freeze for awhile but it keeping on chugging. as for my power stearing i have flushed the fluid twice and it seams to have put off the rack replacement that i have heard others complain of. the one thing that bugged me for a while was the 'door ajar' warning, and it seams like a big hitter from what my google searches have found, but i fixed it and am now hoping to make it another winter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eelslaker Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 Same thing with our 1996 Windstar. The engine head gasket blew and a new motor was needed. We had kept all of our oil changes and invoices and this proved crucial to getting a new motor installed paid by warranty. THEN about 18 months later the same symptoms appeared. It appeared that the head gasket was having problems. We got rid of it and bought a 2005 Focus [amazing] letting our F150 handle the kids/hockey equipment etc... We loved that Windstar. It looked brand new inside and out. But even though we pampered it , the worry that it would go was always present. Engine lights - 11 in October and November of 2003. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Racin' Rick Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 Same thing with our 1996 Windstar...We loved that Windstar... I made the same mistake twice: I owned a 1998 and a 2002 Windstar. I decided to go with a small turbo diesel and manual transmission last year .Ford doesn't manufacture a product that I wanted, and I had to look elsewhere... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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