Consumer complained repeatedly about transmission problems, but nothing was done because the dealer could not duplicate the problem. The door lock was inoperative with the key, when driven at low speeds a clunk noise was heard, but it was an intermittent problem, the vehicle lurched in low gear and the consumer had to downshift when going up hill.

- Vestal, NY, USA

One day everything worked fine in the car, next day, the car won't shift properly in all gears and shudders while at a stop. Two different repair places have told me it is definitly a failed transmission. I'm currently at 49K miles on the car... way too early for this to happen. According to all the posts at cartrackers.com, lots of others have also had the same problem with Ford winstars.

- Stafford, VA, USA

Transmission in '99 Ford Windstar failed after 85,000 miles

- Cleveland Hts., OH, USA

My 1999 Ford Windstar with 95000 miles experienced complete transmission failure due to three now updated problems that Ford does not want to recognize or be responsible for. The first is a shudder during the 1-2 upshift caused by a faulty solenoid which is now updated in the reman transmission. The second is a faulty torque converter that was also an updated item and causes my van to not want to shift at the appropriate times. The third is slipping which occurs at highway speeds and is caused due to a faulty clutch piston which is also an updated item in all remanufactured transmissions for that make and model. For it to be a coincidence that all three caused premature trnsmission failure and all three also to be updates is undeniable evidence that the original transmission was not engineered correctly or not manufactured correctly. This should be recalled or be covered by extended warranty because after reading bulletins and similar complaints it is clear that Ford know all about this and is trying to just cover it up.

- Plainfield, IN, USA

Vehicle was parked in the driveway and without warning vehicle popped out of park into reverse. No one was hurt, dealer had been notified.

- Stockbridge, GA, USA

There is a "skip" in the transmission that is a hard thud when it happens. I took it to the dealer, after several days and over 100 miles they "found" the problem and fixed it. It started to do it again about 6 months later. I just recently took it in for the console lights flickering when accelerating and told them again about the "thumping". they charged me for the diagnoses of there's nothing wrong, it's the A/C compressor that runs all the time. Also the brakes squeak horribly when you first start out with it for the day. They said the brakes rust and there wasn't anything they could do about it, that's just the way it goes. The date I'm using is an estimated date of when things first occurred.

- Hornell, NY, USA

1999 fordwindstar steering rack replaced at 62000 miles, transmission replaced at 75000 miles and intake gasket rplaced at 75000 miles.

- Mechanicsville, VA, USA

Transaxles failed only 2 miles after being serviced by dealer, phil long Ford invoice #focs570297. Service concluded "power-flush", item H. parts invoice lists 14 "units of trans fluid @ $3.28 per unit. The manufacturer's owner manual lists maximum dry capacity as $12.25 quarts. The owner's manual also says "...while overfilling can cause foaming and loss of fluid. Either condition will cause transaxle damage."

- Littleton, CO, USA

Upon starting driver shifted the gear on the steering column but no movement of the van occurred. Also, transmission will make a clunking noise associated with the problem.

- Leander, TX, USA

My wife was proceeding from a stop, pressed gas and heard a pop or banging sound.car would not move in forward gears, only in reverse.towed to dealer.haven't heard from them yet.but by my reserch into this it appears to be a common problem.vehicle has 39,000 miles, never abused.Ford should do something about this before someone is seriously hurt.

- West Roxbury, MA, USA

While traveling at 30 mph consumer heard a loud bump noise. Felt like the vehicle wanted to stop. Dealer stated transmission needed replacement.

- Mobile, AL, USA

Sudden transmission failure on a 1999 Ford Windstar. The transmission suddenly failed while being driven by a Ford dealership technician while test driving the vehicle after replacing a defective air intake manifold. Vehicle mileage was 32621 miles. While there was no accident envolved, the suddeness of the failure of a major drive component presents the hazard potential that needs to be investigated. An internet search has revealed significant numbers of complaints of similar premature and sudden failures on this vehicle and other model vehicles that use the transmission found in this vehicle. This complaint is being filed in order to bring it into the federal data base in order to determine if a recall of this transmission is warranted. I have the replaced components and would like to submit them for test and analysis if this Agency is interested.

- Turlock, CA, USA

Constant transmission shudder during upshift. Unlike the tsb dealing with shudder while cornering, this problem occurs all the time. Mechanic indicates that likely cause is failure of the piston in the foward clutch. A very common problem in Windstar. Consequently, it causes insufficient acceleration form a stop making crossing intersections unsafe.

- Lakeport, CA, USA

We have owned our 99' Windstar since the day it was new, and at first loved it. But there seems to be a major problem with the transmission and as I have found out with Ford employed investigators the 99' was a bad year for many areas to include the transmission. Our transmission goes into default limp-home mode(overdrive flashes on and off continuously RPM's increase and shifts hard). At 5 miles after starting up and getting under way. The dealer told me the best repair to the problem was to "drive the van till the trans dies" as this was an easier fix than the bad computer module. Supposedly cheaper as well. I strongly urge everyone in the Windstar transmission predickament to spread the news as Ford should correct this known problem befor it kills someone.

- Bowling Green, OH, USA

While driving, the transmission failed which caused the vehicle to only move in reverse.

- Orlando, FL, USA

Transmission failure.

- Stephens City, VA, USA

Vehicle transmission went bad at 42,000 miles, Ford Windstar- manufacture would not assist in repairs, caused family to be stranded in remote area. Had to have a new transmission installed. Have had numerous other problems with the Windstar.

- Grayslake, IL, USA

While driving the transmission failed while the consumer attempted to down shift.

- O'fallon, IL, USA

I took it to the dealer they said they fixed the problem but he transmission still slips. The last van I had did the same thing it was a 1998 Windstar. They told me there was nothing wrong with it and in 3 months I had to have the whole thing rebuilt. **dimsii IVOQ entry posted after 12/12/02 cut-over to artemis*768017

- Conneaut Lake, PA, USA

I have mechanical experience and maintain my vehicles religiously as I like to keep them as long as possible. We have a '99 Ford Windstar and at 30,800 miles the transmission gave out as my wife was driving through a busy intersection. She described it as a loud "bang" and then it would not go any further. After having it towed to the dealership they advised we had worn out the "clutches" and the transmision needed to be replaced. I had just driven the vehicle on a ski trip vacation the week before and the transmission did not slip or have any problems, something inside the transmission broke without any prior warning and left my wife and kids stranded in the middle of a busy intersection. After researching on the web and verifying through some connections I found that this is a consistent problem with these transmissions and it usually occurs between 30K to 50K miles. The dealership tried to make us pay since it was 800 miles over the warranty but after much deliberation they agreed to "let" us purchase an extended warranty and gave us a rebuilt transmision. We had the vehicle in several times previously for transmission recalls and performance issues. We never tow anything with our van and my wife mainly drives around the area to work and transporting our children. Where my wife was stranded was on top of a hill in the middle of a 6 lane highway intersection and not only do I feel this is a quality issue perpetuated on Ford customers but a safety issue also as was demonstrated at this time.

- Germantown, MD, USA