My rear axel in my 1999 Ford Windstar broke this am while my husband was pulling out of your driveway. We had no warning that it was broke. No one was hurt and we have not gotten it fixed yet but went out an looked at it an it looks to be almost dead center of the axel that is broke in half.

- Hastings, MN, USA

While I was driving to work on May 17, 2010 I had two occasions when it felt like I hit small patches of ice and the van swerved on me even though it was a warm sunny day with dry roads. I called tragesser Ford of ross Ohio and made an appointment to take the van in on May 19, 2010. After inspecting the vehicle the next day they called me and said the rear axle had rusted through and broken and that I was lucky I didn't have an accident. They said although it sounds like a safety problem there were no recalls on the axle. I picked up the vehicle from the dealership on May 26, 2010 with a cost to replace the axle of $817.82.

- Cincinnati, OH, USA

Van was made an occasional thumping sound that sounded like it was coming from the back of the vehicle. While turning into my driveway I heard a loud cracking noise and when I looked under the van the rear axle was broken almost all of the way through about 1 to 2 ft. From the left rear wheel.

- Doylestown, PA, USA

I own a Ford Windstar and had to have the rear axle replaced due to it breaking almost in half. There was about an inch or so left before a complete break occurred. My mechanic said it was lucky it didn't snap completely. About a month before we noticed the car would have trouble swaying a lot when going over bumps and in the rain increasing in severity as time went on before we had it replaced. Our mechanic even sent us a picture of the axle after it was removed.

- Norristown, PA, USA

Our 1999 Ford Windstar began to shake and then rear axel cracked in half while traveling approx. 60 mph on the highway. Luckily we were able to get to the side of the road safely...I still do not know how my husband was able to do that as there was so much "smoke" (from the metal rubbing the road and the tires riding at an angle) and it was dark outside and we had to get over 2 lanes. Part was replaced at our own expense. This was not the first one the mechanic had seen. This incident happened spring 2008 but I just read on the internet of the pending investigation and had not previously known where to report it. When we reported it to Ford, they just tried to get us to want to buy a new car from them. Also, we told friends of ours that have a 2000 Windstar to watch out for the shaking and to get it checked. Well several months later they began to experience shaking and took it in and the mechanic saw that it was ready to break and replaced it before any harm was done. Thank god we were all unhurt...the next people may not be so lucky! we no longer own this vehicle.

- Blakely, PA, USA

The contact owns a 1999 Ford Windstar. While driving 35 mph, the contact heard a loud unusual noise and the vehicle became difficult to control. The contact stated that the wheels were folding underneath the vehicle. Upon further inspection, she found that the rear drivers side axle was fractured. The vehicle was towed to a local repair shop. The dealer was contacted and the repair shop was awaiting approval from an adjuster to repair the vehicle. The VIN was not available. The failure and current mileages were 135,000.

- Levin Town , PA, USA

1999 Ford Windstar sel van broke rear axle beam earlier this spring. We have more than normal snowfall in sioux falls sd and our street department used more salt than in a normal year. Axle broke at low speed while turning into a driveway approach. Axle was broke or tore in two different locations. I have since replaced the axle with a used one not knowing of this issue Ford has.

- Sioux Falls, SD, USA

Information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6) on Saturday May 15th, around noontime, I was traveling on I-91 northbound in hartford. The van started pulling and swerving like I had flat tires. The van has 124,210 miles, and has been diagnosed with a broken rear axle. Estimated repair cost for a 'used' axle is around $900. From what I've been reading, this is an inherent design flaw. VIN # [xxx].

- Hartford, CT, USA

While driving 65 mph on route 81, the car started reacting to bumps more severely than usual, and then there was a sharp noise at the rear of the car. After parking the car on the shoulder of the highway, we saw that the rear axle had broken, basically down the middle. The repairing of the car cost $960.12.

- Raritan, NJ, USA

Information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6) we have recently experienced a broken axle beam on a 1999 Ford Windstar. Thank god nothing happened and no one was hurt. The car was swaying and knocking from the rear end and when we got home the rear wheels were cantered out. I looked under the car to find the broken axle beam and the only thing left holding it all together was a the torsion bar. I am very glad that we were not on a highway or too far from home, since we use the car to travel to Ohio and Florida. We then looked on the internet to find that many other people were experiencing the same problem and no recalls. Although our car has 150,000 miles on it others had under 100,000. Our main concern is the safety issue with our family. We travel a lot with our Windstar as do so many other families with children do and it seems as if Ford does not recognize the danger. I hope that Ford does not wait for a death to deal with this problem as the part that failed should not have failed. This part is a main structure of our vehicle and seems to be poorly designed. I can't imagine how many other Windstar are out there with an axle beam ready to break and how many families are unaware of this potential danger. The years of Windstar that I saw on comlpaints.com varied from 1999 to 2003 and its only a matter of time before someone gets injured or killed. I ask you to please look into this matter as soon as possible. [xxx]

- Barnegat, NJ, USA

Rear axle 1999 Ford Windstar snapped in half while backing out of driveway replaced with one from junkyard and that one has cracked also in same place approx 4/1/10 welded that part.

- Lincoln Park, MI, USA

Rear axle breaks in half! fortunately no other cars where around when this happened, online found very common, Ford refuses to do anything!

- Riverview, MI, USA

Rear axle of the car broke as we drove out of the driveway.

- Stilwell, KS, USA

Rear axle broke on Ford Windstar.

- Cabins, WV, USA

I am a retired former technician/manager for Ford dealers for 41 years. To keep myself busy, I work on friends vehicles. Recently I have noticed a concern with Ford Windstar. The rear axles (I-beam assys) break in half while driving, causing the rear of the veh to lose control. The first one I saw ( a 2001 my veh) was only cracked half way, I replaced it before it broke. Last week I had one ( a 1999 my veh) towed to me broken in half. Luckily the vehicle was going slow & was pulled over without incident. I also noticed the crack & the break occurred at almost the same location on the axle (approx. 12" from the left side). In both cases I replaced them with used parts from an auto wrecking yard. This was due to the outrageously high price of a new part from Ford. I asked around at local shops & even with some of the tech's where I used to work & was told that they had indeed seen this concern before. I was wondering if the nhtsb was aware of this concern. As a former Ford dealer employee, I know manufacturers have programs asking customers to bring their vehicles in for a "safety check" & possible repair. I believe this might be a good idea for you to "suggest" to Ford before one of these axles breaks at speed causing major damage or loss of life. I have access to the broken axle if anyone cares to inspect it. I also cut the cracked section out of the first axle & gave it to the owner to retain should anything program-wise ever occur. Note: The information in the consumer portion of this form is mine, not the owner of the vehicles repaired. Since there is more than one veh involved I left the VIN section empty. If absolutely necessary I can supply both vins. But since the year of production does not seem to matter the VIN seems irrelevant.

- South Plainfield, NJ, USA

1999 Ford Windstar, rear axles assembly, rear axle snapped in two. Found while inspecting left rear tire assembly which had turned into vehicle. Upon inspecting why wheel ad turned inward, it was found that the axle assembly had snapped in two and was hanging on the ground. Ford dealer(sarat Ford-agawam, MA) stated the dealership replaces rear axles all the time, mechanic stated he has replaced 3-4 axles himself. It was found that the broken axle was the second axle on the vehicle that had been replaced. The dealership took the two pieces of the axles and disposed of them. Pictures were taken of the broken axle along with receipts for the replacement part.

- Monson, MA, USA

1999 Ford Windstar, pulled out of driveway & proceeded to drive down street, car started to fishtail & tire on right rear sounded like it was rubbing fire wall. Thought I had a flat, got out & looked, no flat but wheel was bowed in. I turned around & went back home, pulled into driveway & got under van. The rear axel was cracked. Called to get another axel to repair van & was told by several different places I called that this was a common problem with that van. Called Ford dealer & was told that their was never a recall on it.if I had been driving on the freeway going fast & this would have happened myself & others could have been killed. I am not concerned about myself for now because I am fixing my van myself, but their are a lot of these vans on the road & most of them are probably driven by women with kids in the van & I am concerned about them if this happened to their van. I could not afford a new axel so I bought a used one at a junk yard, my concern is if their is a problem with this part how long before it happens again. I may not be as luckily next time. Please check this out before someone is killed..

- Woodhaven, MI, USA

1999 Ford Windstar, 118K miles. Van has unstable steering and noise in right rear wheel area. While driving at slow speed and taking it to repair shop, the noise gets louder and my son following me reports rear tires becoming misaligned. Right tire is smoking and tire fragments are evident. Repair shop reports that rear axle is broken and needs to be replaced. Right tire also needs replaced. I have asked for old parts to be saved for my personal inspection. After some web browsing (carcomplaints.com), I have found similar failure events from other Ford Windstar owners mostly from northern midwest and northern eastern states, I.e. winter states. All complaints observed were for Windstar over 10 years and / or 100K miles.

- Granger, IN, USA

My rear axel is broken on my 1999 Ford Windstar. Happened January 1st 2010, atleast that is when I noticed it. On my way home from work, felt like I was driving on ice! car has always been babied. No history of abuse. This is a factory issue and in reading hundreds (literally) of threads, this is a common problem. Needs to be recalled. Could have killed myself and my children had they been in the car. What if this happened on the freeway!

- Zanesville, OH, USA

Ford Windstar seems to have a design that is a definite hazard with the rear axle member. The stamped rear axle assembly will fail after 100,00 mile by cracking and failure is quick to come. There are numerous incidents of it from 1996 to present, I have a 1999 and my wife kept telling me about a rubbing sound she hears when turning into the alley and I could not trace anything down. I then turned out of our alley and then it broke 95% through. I thought it was a flat at first and then found the crack in the axle assembly. Praise god I was not on the highway doing 65 mph. I am waiting to get into the mechanics 12-30-2009 and will cast around $1000 parts, labor and tow and 2 new tires.

- Eaton, OH, USA