Owners have filed 11,489 complaints on the Ford Windstar, covering 1995–2003. The system named most often is Service Brakes (1,229 reports). Worst years by volume: 1995, 2001, 2000; cleanest: 1997, 1998, 2002. 401 reports describe a crash, 358 a fire, 9 a death. On average the car was 6.8 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Ford Windstar
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 11,489 Windstar complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Service Brakes 1,229 Read
The accelerator pedal and brake pedal are too close. When pushing the brake pedal somehow the accelerator is pushed, causing the vehicle to accelerate. Once, caused a collision, where consumer's vehicle hit a parked vehicle in a parking lot
Our 2003 ford windstar began experiencing intermittent electrical failures. On may 27, after driving normally, we stopped for about 30 minutes. Then the van stalled several times on a short trip. After another 10 minute stop, it operated normally again. Several times during the next week, although the car did not…
The contact owns a 2003 ford windstar. The ABS light remains illuminated, followed by the brake light. There is also fluid leaking and melted wires under the hood. The contact has not taken the vehicle to the dealer. The current mileage was 135,000 and failure mileage was 132,000
Suspension 734 Read
The contact owns a 2003 ford windstar. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 50 mph, the contact noticed a burnt rubber odor and then an unknown rear tire blew out. The vehicle was towed to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the rear axle, tire line, and the rear tire needed to be replaced. The…
The contact owns a 2003 ford windstar. While driving approximately 8 mph, the contact heard a loud noise and the odor of burning rubber was present. Also, the contact lost steering ability. The vehicle came to a complete stop. The contact exited the vehicle and noticed that the rear wheels were not lined up and the…
The contact owns a 2003 ford windstar. While driving 50 mph, the rear axle fractured and the contact smelled smoke. Suddenly, the contact realized the rear of the vehicle was smoking. The contact pulled the vehicle over, exited the vehicle, and noticed that the rear axle was collapsed. The vehicle was towed to an…
Electrical System 483 Read
Front impact on passenger side, 1 minute after impact vehicle bursted into flames. Unknown speed. No injuries, vehicle was totalled.*ak fire looks as if it started from the top of the engine
- on january 17, 2007 the contact's 2003 ford windstar caught on fire. There were no warning indicator lights when she drove the vehicle earlier in that day. The contact was informed that the vehicle was on fire , and that sparks were seen under the vehicle. The vehicle was destroyed. The fire department has not…
2003 ford windstar was being backed out of the driveway, approximately 15 feet. Driver smelled something, heard sound, and felt heat at feet. Driver immediately turned off ignition and removed front seat passenger from vehicle to a safe area. The vehicle burst into flames within seconds and was totally consumed by the…
Power Train 324 Read
The contact owns a 2000 ford windstar. The contact stated while driving at 55 mph, the contact heard an abnormal bang. The vehicle cabin was immediately filled with smoke and the contact moved off the roadway. The contact was assisted by a state trooper and the vehicle was towed to a local repair facility. The…
While driving, the vehicle started to loose forward speed. Then transmission fluid began to pour out from the transaxle, apparently contacting the catalytic converter or engine manifold. The latest caused the vehicle to catch fire, resulting in total a loss and damage to third-party property. At the time of event the…
When leaving my house on a trip out of town, I drove my windstar down the street to the intersection leaving my street. As I pulled out into traffic the transmission broke, disengaged and would no longer propel the windstar forward. The mechanic who towed the vehicle said the transmission was gone and he had seen…
Structure 245 Read
Was on the street driving, lights started flashing on dashboard van shut off in the middle of the street battery, alternator, blew out, was driving again van was ilde up really bad and while my feet was on the brakes it started moving on its own and ran into someone else vehicle, and also van was on the road started…
Driving on hwy 49 driving approximately 40 mph when I lost control with my children in the car. Luckily we came to a stop off the hwy. I could see my tire was almost sideways and blown. My finance picked us up and said the axle had snapped and took a picture. It is saturday and I'm without a car. I found out this was…
The van took off without my control and the brakes stopped working and the fuel system it caused me to have two accidents within a week of each other
Vehicle Speed Control 189 Read
While starting vehicle with brakes depressed vehicle idled high, resulting in surging forward into home . Dealer replaced idle control vale
2003 ford windstar accelerates unexpectedly, almost causing death
My father was driving my car and while in the road the vehicle start to burn . The vehicle was total lost because the fire extended so rapidly that when the firefighters arrive was too late.. I made a complaint to ford motor company after the incident but they said that my car was not included in the safety recall…
Air Bags 147 Read
Consumer was involved in a rear end collision travleing about 15 to 20 mph, impact 12:00, and both driver's and passenger's side air bags deployed. Upon deployment of the passenger's side the air bag caught fire. Consumer has contacted the dealer. Vehicle not involved in recall 95e006002. Please provide further details
My husband and I were driving our 2003 ford windstar when it was hit by another vehicle traveling at a high speed. The impact was on the passage side back wheel and caused our van to roll over. However, the passenger side aid bag did not deploy. Also, the latches that connect the rear seats to the floor released from…
I was in an accident on monday, april 5th while driving down the expressway at 60 mph when a 3x5 metal structure flew off a flat bed and struck my front and front end of my vehicle. (4000k worth of damage) and my airbad only deployed a small amount not all the way
Steering 146 Read
The contact owns a 2000 ford windstar. He received a recall notice for the cruise control switch. He stated that the cruise control failed prior to receiving the recall notice and the vehicle caught fire. Prior to the fire the dealer stated that they would need perform a diagnostic test. Ford confirmed that the switch…
Steering column locked up while traveling 50mph
The rear axle on my vehicle snapped while I was driving causing me to lose control and leave the roadway. I contacted Ford who told me there was a recall for the rear axle of my vehicle and that I would have no out of pocket expenses for the repairs and the towing of the vehicle to the service center. After they set…
Windstar years to avoid — and the clean ones
Complaints per model year. More reports usually means more cars on the road as well as more trouble, so read the crash and fire columns alongside the count.
| Model year | Complaints | Top system | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Air Bags | 30 | 22 | |
| 2002 | Air Bags | 36 | 40 | |
| 2001 | Air Bags | 50 | 54 | |
| 2000 | Air Bags | 51 | 46 | |
| 1999 | Air Bags | 44 | 50 | |
| 1998 | Air Bags | 42 | 55 | |
| 1997 | Electrical System | 2 | 7 | |
| 1996 | Air Bags | 49 | 43 | |
| 1995 | Air Bags | 97 | 41 |
The same model year, different builds
Every complaint carries the first 11 characters of the VIN — plant, year, body and engine. That is a production series, and complaints are spread across them very unevenly.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Distinct production series | 1,182 |
| Average complaints per series | 9.7 |
| Worst single series | 259 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 6.8 years |
A model average of 9.7 hides a worst series at 259. Enter a VIN above to see the numbers for that exact build instead of the model as a whole.
Owners reported these. Find out if yours is one of them.
- Complaints matched to the exact production run, not just the model
- What the car is worth given what tends to fail on it
- The original window sticker and factory options
- Full research report as a PDF for the pre-purchase inspection
- No ads, on every page
- No ads, no tracking — and much more
How we count
Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,100,006 of them, covering 1,982 models built between 1981 and 2026.
A complaint is an unverified report: someone wrote down what happened to their car. It is not a confirmed defect and not a recall. What makes the volume useful is the pattern — when thousands of owners of the same build describe the same failure, that is a signal no marketing brochure will give you.
Two things we do that the source does not. First, we compute the age of the car at the moment of failure from the incident date and the model year. Second, we group complaints by the first 11 characters of the VIN — the production series — so a bad plant run does not disappear into a model-wide average.
Frequently asked questions
What are the worst years for the Windstar?
By complaint volume, 1995, 2001, 2000 drew the most owner reports. Bear in mind that popular years put more cars on the road, so check the crash and fire columns too.
Which Windstar years are the cleanest?
1997, 1998, 2002 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Ford Windstar have?
11,489 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 1995–2003. Of those, 401 describe a crash and 358 a fire.
Are these complaints verified?
No. They are unverified reports from owners. NHTSA publishes them as filed and investigates only a fraction. The value is in the pattern, not in any single report.
Can I check complaints for one specific car?
Yes — enter its VIN above. We match the first 11 characters, which identify the plant, year, body and engine, so you get complaints on that exact production series rather than the whole model.