Severely cracked (75%) rear axle beam. Not fixed yet, looking for a shop to replace the part with a salvage yard part. Replacement at the Ford dealer is way too much money.

- Westerville, OH, USA

My wife and 2 kids were getting off I-696 to mound in our 1999 Ford Windstar when the rear axle snapped. The van swerved and then rolled 3 times. The van came to a rest upside down and when the rear axle snapped it went through the gas tank and covered our baby in gasoline. This happened on 1-21-2010. I've been reading of the same failure on other Windstar and decided to contact you. The van was totalled.

- Eastpointe, MI, USA

While exiting a highway without warning the rear axle beam of my 1999 Ford Windstar broke in half causing the rear wheels to tilt inward and rub against the inner wheel wells. The vehicle came to an abrupt halt nearly causing the vehicle behind me to rear end me.

- Floral Park, NY, USA

1999 Ford Windstar had problem controlling the car on the highway. I was able to get the car home but when I backed the car in the driveway, I heard a rubbing sound. I look to see that my rear tires on both sides of the car are leaning into the car. Looking under the car the rear axle beam is cracked 3/4 of the way through. It is about 1.5 feet from drives side I am looking for prices to repair this at this moment.

- Wayne, NJ, USA

1999 Ford Windstar real axle problem. While driving locally felt that something was not right. Returned home to find that the rear axle had snapped. Have no choice but to spend the money and have it fixed.

- Piscataway, NJ, USA

1999 Ford Windstar minivan - while driving van just dropped in the back dragging and smoking until we could pull over. Very scary. Called a tow truck and further inspection revealed the rear axel just cracked in two. Rear tires were bowed in and vehicle was not drivable. Tow truck owner said it could have been worse...cracked more to the left or to the right and the whole van might have flipped. Who drives mini vans? those with 3 plus children. Safety should be more of a priority for this type of vehicle.

- Temple, PA, USA

While driving down I95 in philadelphia my 99 Ford Windstar started to swerve and make strange noises. I pulled off the highway and noticed my rear driver side tire on a 45 degree slant and my other tire on a slant too. I had the car towed back to a mechanic shop. When the put it up on the lift we noticed that the rear axle was cracked about 75 percent of the way.

- Philadelphia, PA, USA

Rear axle beam failure, 99 Ford Windstar. Axle ailed (broke) on 4-8-09 at 96,765 miles and then again on 7-13-10 at 107,500 miles. First time the axle snapped on the driver's side of the vehicle and the 2nd time it snapped on the passenger side. Both times the vehicle was parked when the axle broke. The second axle was a used part which was installed as a replacement for the 1st. Axle after it failed.

- Brockton, MA, USA

Rear axle rusted and broke in half.

- Mundelein, IL, USA

I have a 99 Ford Windstar. I was reading about a rear axle problem and when I checked mine, I found that it was cracked almost through. I wanted to add my name to the list of people who have had this failure. I purchased this car new and it has less than 80K miles on it. These vans are driven by moms with kids for the most part. Ford needs to recall this car for this problem.

- Lindenhurst, NY, USA

I was driving about 25 miles per hour and my real axel broke in half.

- Portage, MI, USA

Driving on interstate 81 in va. Approx 65 mph noticed the rear end begin to sway as we were going around a bend in the road. After regaining control we exited the highway. I noticed that the two rear tires were leaning inward at the top. I then looked under the rear end and saw a crack in the rear axle about 18" from the driver side and 2 inches long from bottom to top.

- Orange, VA, USA

Cracked rear axle - 1999 Ford Windstar.

- River Forest, IL, USA

Noticed a bumping noise coming from back passenger side wheel area on '99 Ford Windstar (3.8L) LX. Took to Ford dealer today and they said rear axle has a hole in it, is cracked and broken. Have read that this maybe a defect?

- Bryn Mawr, PA, USA

My 1999 Ford Windstar rear axle broke in half.

- Havelock, NC, USA

Rear axle almost broke completely through....if I (or my wife) had been driving at highway speed and it broke it could have caused a major accident. Axles on vehicles should not break/crack in 11 or less years of use. There has to be a major defect in the rear axle on this vehicle and the longer it takes before a recall notice the higher the risk that someone is going to lose their life due to this defect.

- Columbia, MD, USA

I was backing my 1999 Ford Windstar van out of the driveway at 3:45 P.M. on a clear day, Sunday June 20, 2010, when, without warning, the rear "axle" broke in half and collapsed. The wheels tilted in. Results on a highway would have been disastrous or deadly. Ford shows no recall for this issue, but numerous reports are online of the same problem for the same vehicle models of several model years. No repair report yet, as this just happened a day before this report. I haven't

- Broomall, PA, USA

1999 Ford Windstar rear axle snapped in half while operating at 35 mph.

- Concord, NH, USA

We own a 1990 Ford Windstar and my father and I were just pulling out a parking spot when we felt a "jolt" sort of like a tire popped. The vehicle was no longer moving when accelerator was pressed we got out to check what the problem was and our rear driver side tire looked inverted and we found out our rear axle had broken. We are now out of a car. I got online right away to see how much repairs would cost and soon found many related stories from other Ford Windstar owners who were experiencing the same problem. This is very frustrating as it is our only means of transportation and we might not have the money to repair it, if it even is repairable.

- Aurora, IL, USA

We traveled from agawam MA to scarborough me for a family party. 20 minutes after we parked in the driveway, we started to back up our minivan because someone needed to move their car out. We then heard a loud crack while backing up in the driveway. The van began leaning to the left. We found the rear axle broken into two pieces. The break is located about a foot away from the rear driver's side wheel. We had to have the van towed to a local dealer, prime Ford in saco me and had to leave it there for repairs. The service department says the rear axle was completely rusted out where the break occurred. We need to replace the rear axle, the left driver's side tire, and shock absorber that were damaged due to the axle break. We will let the service dept. Know that we would like to keep the old part if possible because of this preliminary investigation going on now. We will also have to take time off from work to return to Maine to pick up the vehicle once it is repaired.

- Agawam, MA, USA