No summary

- Swansea, IL, USA

Transmission failed pulling into traffic from a side street. We were nearly hit broadside.

- Wauwatosa, WI, USA

Transmission disengages when you come to stop. You hear nothing. If you try to accelerate nothing happens but RPM's go up. Transmision then engages, tires spin and vehicle takes off like at a drag strip. Any car or person in front of you is in immediate danger of being hit. Problem is intermitent and you have no idea when it will happen. All you can do is leave as much room in front of you as possible and pray. I thought I was alone until I realized via the internet and from miller Ford rep that this is common problem affecting this vehicle. I am afraid to drive the vehicle and can't afford to pay for another transmission, especially one that will have the same design flaw, whatever that may be. I am providing you with this information as I have had many close calls but have avoided accidents/injuries by narrow margins. Please address this problem before someone gets seriously injured or killed assuming nobody already has.

- Tabernacle, NJ, USA

Engine and transmission failures seem very high for 95 Windstar vans. Internet sites are filled with stories similar to mine. Both the transmission and engine failures are safety issues since they may occur at speed on busy streets or the interstate. I believe that the number of failures indicates some design flaw in these components.

- Santa Cruz, CA, USA

Appears that every person that I know with a 1995 Windstar has had engine failure and now the forward piston in the transmission fail. This repair is due to aluminum piston. Ford replacement part is stainless steel piston. Local aamco shop says that he has 55 gallon drun of aluminum forward pistons from Ford transmissons.

- Liberty, MO, USA

This Ford vehicle has had an extreme number of failures. Starting with the head gasket that the dealer wanted us to pay for after they made the mistake of saying it was under warranty. At a previous repair the dealer had replced the dash because of the speedometer cable and the dealer service person had forgot to add in the previous mileage. Later Ford recalled the head gaskets. The transmission has not been replaced yet but continues to shift poorly. I do not want to put any more money into this vehicle. I believe Ford should have some responsibility for the amounts spent on poor quality parts separate than normal maintenance. So far all that Ford has offered is $1000 cash. This is not a responsible offer. We have spent almost $8000. It is fortunate no one was hurt when these parts failed. These six defects were not the only problems but are probably the most expensive defects.

- Alcoa, TN, USA

Transmission serviced twice.

- Groveport, OH, USA

On August 4, 1999 my wife returned home from an errand, parked the vehicle on the flat section of our driveway, put the car in "park" turned off the ignition and removed the keys from the ignition. She then went to the back liftgate, opened it to remove some items and closed the liftgate, which requires a fair amount of force. She then went into the house to put away the items and get ready to leave again. During this time 2 of our children, plus a friend of one of my children, got into the back seats of the vehicle to get ready to leave with my wife. The vehicle suddenly began to roll forward off the flat driveway, beyond which is a downward sloping side yard. The car rolled downhill approx 80 feet and hit a tree. Both airbags deployed and the front end sustained major damage. The exact cost of the repairs is still not determined - the car may be totalled. I have heard antecdotal stories of Ford transmissions jumping into gear, but I am very concerned if my vehicle is not totalled that I will have to take back a defective vehicle. My insurance company informs me they are concerned only with collision damage, not with a potentially defective transmission. How should I proceed after submitting this notice?

- Matthews, NC, USA

I'd like to be reimbursed; this shouldn't have happened.

- Germantown, TN, USA

Was advised to wait for service while still under warranty as it was only a maintenance item, but now told to rebuild transmission as Ford has a design defect in the transmission which has not been recalled, namely the front piston in the transmission is aluminum which splits and breaks the seal to the front thruster piston causing intermitent neutral in forward and reverse. Although Ford issued a service bulletin to replace it with a steel piston, no recall has been issued by Ford.

- Harleysville, PA, USA

Transmission hangs in neutral after stop-dealer says front piston failure $2,000 repair.

- Wichita Falls, TX, USA

Transmission was serviced every 20K miles - just quit

- College Station, TX, USA

No summary

- Elk Grove, CA, USA

At 56,000 miles the transmission is prematurley wearing out, it will not shift gears. Dealer has not diagnosed the fault.

- Bel Air, MD, USA

Transmission: The aluminum piston was installed instead of the steel ones. This caused the piston to crack. The gears would not shift properly. Will be taking vehicle to dealer to have them checked or changed.

- Middletown, CT, USA

After the vehicle warmed up, first gear would not engage until about 2000 RPM, at which time, the transmission would slam into first gear. We brought it to an aamco transmission center. Aamco determined that it had to be rebuilt. Since the van only had 48,143 miles, I checked with our Ford dealer to see if it was covered or if Ford had any generic transmission quality problems with it. The serviceman told me that it was not covered since it had more than 36,000 miles and Ford was not extending the warranty for any quality problems. Aamco explained that one part, an aluminum ring of about 5 inches in diameter, had cracks in it. Due to these cracks, the proper transmission fluid pressure could not be achieved so the transmission malfunctioned. The replacement ring is made of steel!! aamco said the cracked ring was a common problem with this transmission.Ford has apparently decided to walk away from an apparent generic defect that resulted from an error in design. If this is not an error in design, why is the replacement part made of steel? it certainly seems to me that this is also a safety problem in that the trans can fail at higher speeds and cause an accident.

- Wayne, NJ, USA

Transmission slippage after deceleration and stopping, as well as intermittent failure. Dealer replaced cracked forward piston. Personnel at dealership remarked that this is a common problem among '95 Windstar and is obviously a design flaw. Also commented that this should not occur on a vehicle with only 53K miles.

- San Antonio, TX, USA

Problems began with engine check light at 32,000. Manuf. Said "don't worry." Head gaskets/block at 51,000. New engine one year later. Second engine three months after that. Within eight months, dealer wants to install what amounts to fourth engine. Transmission appears to be going, too, mechanic thinks due to multiple overheating/S of engine.

- Chevy Chase, MD, USA

The aluminum piston in the transmission cracked resulting in sporadic shifting problems. The transmission was rebuilt prior to commplete failure of the part.

- Lititz, PA, USA

There is a problem with: 1. the engine gaskets and, 2. the transmissions of many of the 1995 Ford Windstar and Ford Taurus's. they are routinely failing. Given this observation, I was compelled to purchase a $1000 extended warranty to pay for the repairs. The manufacturer should recall the affected powertrains and replace/repair the defects without charging the owners. Owners should be reimbursed for the costs of repairs or purchase of an extended warranty. The "lemon law" may apply because there are repetitive repairs.

- Minneapolis, MN, USA