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Ford Windstar

The Windstar is a nice piece of equipment, all right, but the 1995 model has a serious head gasket problem. Oh, and the 1996 model has a bad habit of rolling over its owners. Even worse than the head gasket problem is Ford's reaction, which has been something less than courageous, as the reports below document. We have many more of these but after awhile, a pattern begins to emerge.

Ford has extended the warranty on the troubled V-6 engines in certain models of the Windstar and other Ford vehicles. But many questions remain.

Oh, and just a word of warning: If you've successfully replaced the head gasket in your Windstar or other fine Ford proudct, get rid of it before accumulating too many more miles. The fix is far from permanent, as Tim of Saginaw will tell you.

Our lead witness is Travis of Dalton, MA, who is one of those guys who can not only drive a car but actually understands how they work ...

Another '95 Windstar victim. I have been complaining to Ford for years about an impending head gasket failure. They have phone records and I have copies of letters to them that were never answered. The problem pre-dated the 98M01 program. I fully qualified for the program in terms of time and mileage but they refused to admit to a problem.

I had the same problem as described by so many others on the web site. On long trips the check engine light would come on, there would be a loss of power. This occurred after thermally stressing the engine. ie long drive with a stop for food or gas and then continued driving. As an engineer I knew that the engine was hot, got hotter when it was abruptly shut down, then cooled and heated again. This was enough to aggravate the seal, coolant entered the combustion chamber causing the miss and causing the check engine light to go on as the coolant fouled the O2 sensor.

After a few years you could see the hydrocarbon contamination in the coolant as well. These were all described to Ford and they chose to ignore it. I was petrified to be left stranded on I-95 someplace, hundreds of miles from home. The head gasket finally failed completely a few weeks ago.

After initially refusing any assistance, a "secret" program was offered to reduce my costs ($192). 80 miles after the "fix" the engine self destructed. I was forced to tow it back (cost $183.60) They admitted no responsibility, stated that the repair warranty would not cover "consequential damage" anyway but offered another secret program that would give me a remanufactured engine for another $495.

I am out of pocket $900, the problem should have been fixed for free years ago, and I would have enjoyed my family vacations more. The secret warranties are a deceptive practice which in the state of Massachusetts, means triple damages if a 30 day letter of demand is filed. I am contemplating just that.

Jeff of Okemos, MI, writes:
I have a 1995 Ford Windstar, 67,000 miles with a blown head gasket. I've had the car for exactly 4 years. On 7-26-99 I took it into the Ford Dealership (Campus Ford in Okemos) and they quoted me approx. $1600 to fix.

I called when it was done to get the exact price ($1658.15) and noticed on the repair ticket the following info: "Manufactruer recall campaigns applicable to your vehicle - 98M01 3.8L engine head gasket". I called and asked about this at the dealership and they said it had expired 12/98.

I called Ford Customer Service and was told if the car was under 5 years old and 60,000 miles it would be covered but since my car had 67,000 miles I was out of luck. I've asked for a supervisor to call me, I am filling out a Customer Review Request and I am sending all of this info to the Michigan Attorney General's office.

Susan of Fuquay-Varina, NC, had a similar experience:
We too are the victims of a '95 Ford Windstar. Ours blew the headgasket at 61K miles... 62 days after the so-called "warranty" expired. I called my local dealer, Don Jenkins Ford, and asked them about this warranty as soon as I received the letter in July of '98, Their service department informed me that there was nothing they could do unless we had a problem. So, 6 months later, it ended up costing us $1650.

Three days after we picked it up, the oil pressure light came on and ... then it was a new short block. Ford agreed to repair this at their cost, only because my dealer saw the notebook full of over 200 pages of info I had gathered off the internet about this very problem! This is a manufacturer's defect. Ford knows it and they need to be responsible for it!

Fortunately, we had a wonderful dealer who agreed to trade the Windstar for a program van he had on his lot. We now own a '98 Mercury Villager. However, we are still out the $1650 and would like to recover this money from Ford.

K.B. of Anniston, AL, writes:
There was a recall on the headgasket then less than a year my motor went out because of the head gasket and Ford Motor Company refuses to honor their obligation.

I am without transportation and it's very difficult to get around not counting the money i have lost.

For William of Madera Beach, FL, the problem couldn't have come at a worse time:
I was on vacation when the head gasket blew on my 1995 Ford Windstar van. I took my overheated van to a Ford dealer. The dealer -- Prestige Lincoln-Mercury of Gainesville -- fixed Ford's defect. It took 11 days to finish the work. They did not charge me because it was covered by Ford's extended warranty.

My expenses were $104.64 in a Comfort Inn and $926.87 for a rental car. Ford refused these expenses. I belive I incurred these expenses due to a common defect in a Ford product.

Same thing happened to Jon of Needham, MA:
My 1995 Ford Windstar (92,000) blew a head gasket while we were on vacation out of state. Immediately after a $775, 5-day repair at the nearest Ford dealer, the car broke down a second time ... a direct result of additional damage caused by the blown head gasket.

The vehicle now requires a short block @ $1,000 in parts and at least $500 in labor. Ford Motor Company had a "program" to remedy a known head gasket problem on this very same 3.8L engine. In a "program" as opposed to a "recall," owners are not notified ... they can only take advantage of the program if they bring the car in for related service.

Unlike a "recall" there is a time limit on a "program". Consequently, I am not receiving any warranty compensation from Ford Motor Company.

I will end up spending approximately $2,500 for engine repairs, plus $150 for two towing calls, plus $250 for car rental to get back to Massachusetts. I was also without a car over my annual one week summer vacation.

Ron of Liberty, MO, also had a crummy vacation:
July 16th 1997 our Windstar had only 41702 miles on when the engine failed. We were 400 miles and the first day into a 2 week vacation to Colorado when the engine started missing and oil lights started flashing. I pulled over onto the shoulder and there was an obvious rod knocking and the oil light would not go off.

The original 36,000 mile warranty had expired and the head gasket warranty had not been issued yet. I had the van towed to the nearest Ford dealer and they thought that the oil pump had gone bad. A call to Ford customer service got an unsympathetic response: "too bad, should have purchased an extended warranty."

We towed the van back to Kansas City and had our local dealer fix it. The service manager grudgingly contacted the area Ford rep and Ford picked up 75% of the cost of a remanufactured engine and after the headgasket letter, the remaining 25%. The vacation had to be scrapped and the car was in the shop from July 16th to July 30th.

At 80,000 the transmission had to be rebuilt and now I am trying to sell or trade the van. I Won't be buying another Ford and am even selling my 97 Taurus before it starts having transmission problems.

I now have a used van that I am fearful is close to another major breakdown. The body and interior look great on this van, but I don't trust it anymore. I am sure that it was rebuilt with faulty headgaskets. There aren't that many people that have not heard about the poor service record that even call. I can't afford to just have it towed away for scrap and it still does run fine today.

Scott of Ft. Worth is amazed to find he's not alone:
I just finished reading the hundreds of responses from people with the exact problem I am having with my 1995 Ford Windstar. New transmission at about 52,000 miles and it is now in the shop with blown head gaskets at 58,000 miles. I thought I just had a lemon, but it seems like almost every 1995 Ford Windstar has the exact same major problems.

My spouse just wants to trade it in for a Honda Accord or Toyota Camry. I'm afraid no one will give me anything for it, if they knew about all the problems.

I have not yet totaled up my expenses over the last few years. I was always one to get the oil changed every 3000 miles and have every receipt for everything done to the car. Now after reading everything on all the problems I am scared to death to even get back into my van.

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