36 owner complaints to NHTSA about the 1996 Ford Windstar cite structure, 3% of all 1,404 complaints for this model year. NHTSA also lists 1 recall on this component.
“THE K FRAME RUSTED OUT WHERE THE CONTROL ARMS MOUNT TO THE FRAME AND THE FRONT DRIVER'S SIDE COIL SPRING BROKE WHILE DRIVING AT 65 MILES PER HOUR ON THE INTERSTATE”
“COMPLETE BRAKE LOSS WHEN THE BRAKE WAS APPLIED. THE BRAKE PEDAL WENT ALL THE WAY TO THE FLOOR WITHOUT WARNING. LUCK HAD IT WE WERE PULLING INTO A PARKING SPOT WITH A CONCRETE STOP. THE METAL BRAKE LINE LOCATED ABOVE THE GAS TANK RUSTED COMPLETELY. WHILE THE REST OF THE BRAKE LINES LOOK FINE, IT'S THE AREA OF THE BRAKE LINE THAT PASSES OVER THE GAS TANK THAT IS RUSTED. BECAUSE OF THE LOCATION OF THE GAS TANK, THE LINE ARE HIDDEN FROM NORMAL VIEW OF AN INSPECTION UNLESS THE GAS TANK IS LOWERED. HAD THIS OCCURRED AT A BUSY INTERSECTION OR HIGHWAY AT HIGH SPEEDS THIS COULD HAVE BEEN CATASTROPHIC. THE BRAKE LINES WERE REPLACED. THE OLD PART IS AVAILABLE. I AM KEEPING THIS AS A REMINDER HOW CLOSE MY FAMILY CAME TO DEATH. *TR”
“WHILE DRIVING 65 MPH HOOD SEPARATED FROM THE HINGES AND BROKE THE WINDSHIELD. DRIVER PULLED THE VEHICLE TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD WITHOUT INCIDENT. THE HOOD WAS REPLACED. *AK”
“WHILE DRIVING 65 MPH HOOD SEPARATED FROM THE OUTER PANEL. CONSUMER WAS ABLE TO PULL OVER, CALLED ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE, AND HAD VEHICLE TOWED TO CONSUMER'S HOME. CONSUMER CONTACTED THE DEALER, AND MECHANIC INFORMED THE CONSUMER THAT VEHICLE WAS NOT COVERED BY RECALL. *AK”
“1996 FORD WINDSTAR, SPEEDOMETER MALFUNCTION. SPEED IS IMPOSSIBLE TO DETERMINE AS THE NEEDLE FLUCTUATES WILDLY. PROBLEM HAS PERSISTED NOW FOR AT LEAST 50,000 MILES , BUT I JUST LEARNED THAT YOU SHOULD BE NOTIFIED SO THAT FORD CAN BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR POOR QUALITY AND NON SUPPORT. AS I WAS ADVISED THAT REPAIR WOULD BE ABOUT 600.00. AS I HAVE A TACH, I SIMPLY USE THIS TO DETERMINE MY SPEED. I WAS NOT ABOUT TO SPEND THAT AMOUNT OF MONEY ON WHAT I CONSIDER A DESIGN FLAW.*AK”
“FORD EXTENDED WARRANTY ON 3.8 L ENGINE FOR 1995 MODEL DUE TO ENGINE FAILURE CAUSED BY DEFECTIVE GASKET SETS. HOWEVER, IS NOT DOING SO FOR LIKE FAILURE ON 1996 MODEL 3.8 L ENGINES. ENGINE SEIZED ON OUR VEHICLE WITH APPROXIMATELY 48000 MILES DESPITE MAINTENANCE AND TIMING CHAIN GASKET SET REPLACEMENT AN APPROXIMATELY $1200 REPAIR. DT”
Showing 6 of 36 reports. Read every report on NHTSA.gov.
VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: PASSENGER VEHICLES AND MINI VANS. TEARING OF THE BOND BETWEEN THE INNER AND OUTER HOOD PANELS DURING MINOR FRONT END COLLISIONS CAN RESULT IN A GAP AT THE LEADING EDGE OF THE HOOD. AIR FORCED BETWEEN THE INNER AND OUTER PANELS CAN PRODUCE ENOUGH PRESSURE TO FORCE THE OUTER PANEL UPWARD.
Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.