Excellent local repair shop spent hours diagnosing problem of warning message. Shift lever was also very stiff, and on last day before repair car made a slamming noise and lurched forward when put into drive.
It turned out that the sending switch on the brake master cylinder which tells the computer when you apply brakes when in cruise control has a steady drip of fluid (leak) that falls down on the wiring harness going into the transmission. Over time, the fluid corrodes the wires and they short and/or send stray signals to the transmission causing all kinds of erratic behavior, some of it potentially dangerous. Fix is replace the master cylinder switch and the wiring harness for the transmission.
I still love my Windstar. The trick is to find an honest and very competent local repair shop (not a dealer or specialist type place) who will take care of you. I live 3 blocks from one of these very rare persons, lucky me!!
Excellent local repair shop spent hours diagnosing problem of warning message. Shift lever was also very stiff, and on last day before repair car made a slamming noise and lurched forward when put into drive.
It turned out that the sending switch on the brake master cylinder which tells the computer when you apply brakes when in cruise control has a steady drip of fluid (leak) that falls down on the wiring harness going into the transmission. Over time, the fluid corrodes the wires and they short and/or send stray signals to the transmission causing all kinds of erratic behavior, some of it potentially dangerous. Fix is replace the master cylinder switch and the wiring harness for the transmission.
I still love my Windstar. The trick is to find an honest and very competent local repair shop (not a dealer or specialist type place) who will take care of you. I live 3 blocks from one of these very rare persons, lucky me!!
- John B., Rochester, NY, US