I have been the only owner of this vehicle have not had a super lot of problems with it. Me and my children were driving on rt.128 in Peabody and heard a noise smoke filled the car got out and realized the rear axle beam had broke in half.Thank God i was not going too fast me and my family could of been killed not that ford cares. I have been dealing with the dealership Portsmouth Ford for over 2 weeks sent them pictures and everything they say they contacted Ford and they basically told me to blow smoke out of my butt because they will not help. It will take for someone to be killed before they will recall it which is so sad but true it is all about the money.I am not looking for a new car just for them to fix it.I have been a loyal person with fords trucks and van and thunderbirds but i will not ever buy another ford or any one in my family not that they care.This problem never even gave me a warning it was driving fine then boom imagine doing 70 miles with cars behind you bad thought. This is the car i transport children in they could care less maybe if it was a ford representative car with their kids in it it would be a different story then again they probably drive a better make then the ones they sell they are too smart to drive a piece of crap FORD.I think what i should do is tow it to the front of the dealership but bright lights on it and signs to tell everyone going in there what happen and to think twice about buying a piece of crap FORD. They would love that wouldn't they that might help business it sounds really good i might do that. I have reported this to the NTSB and any one else this has happen to should do the same.I am going to call Hank Phillipi Ryan on the TV she is a Boston newscaster how loves this kind of stuff about company's screwing people i will write back to let you know how i make out.Good luck to everyone else who buys a FORD product

Driving along on a terrible stretch of highway in Pittsburgh when I thought my rear tire blew out. I got pulled over safely (EASIER SAID THAN DONE!) and when I got out, the tires were all fine, but when I looked under the rear section of van, the axle had broken in two right at the mid-point. We had to be towed to my mechanic. Both the tow truck driver and mechanic said they had never seen this before. Since I am the fourth complaint here at nearly the same mileage, something must be wrong with this thing. Ford refused to do anything since it was no longer under warranty. Not sure how much it will cost...it is in the shop as I write. Thank God it didn't lead to a more serious accident, and that my kids were not in the van with me. They would have been scared to death! This is a very dangerous safety hazard!

On December 20, 2007 my family got into our 2001 Ford Windstar LX to go Christmas shopping as we were pulling out of the driveway the van jerked and scraped like we hit someone that had parked behind us we jumped out and saw nothing. When we inspected the van we noticed the back tires looked funny and the back end was really low. The axle had broken in two. My husband had gotten home from work 15 minutes before we were leaving. He drove out of Chicago to the southwest suburbs on I55 in rush hour traffic. If this had happened while he was on his way home how may people would have been seriously injured or had died?! We had out two children in the van and were more than happy that it happened in the driveway but we cant get it fixed rite now and its our only vehicle. What an inconvenience!!

On October 19, 2007 I backed out of my driveway, shifted into drive and began to go forward when I felt an alarming sensation in my car. I pulled over to the side of the road to inspect my tires. All looked fine so I returned to my car, shifted into drive again and began to go forward when I felt the rear of the car sway. I pulled over again and looked under the back of the car when I saw that my rear axle has snapped in two. On the day of the event my car had 65,700 miles on the odometer.

I had the car towed to my mechanic. Both the tow truck driver and the mechanic were shocked that the rear axel could simply snap. From the beginning both said, at seperate times, this had to be a manufacturer defect. After taking a close look the mechanic confirmed the break was clean. The axel had simply rusted from the inside. There is a clean break in the axel where the two broken parts fit together snug like a puzzle. There is no evidence of an accident or tampering to the axel. My mechanic showed me a portion of the axel, close to the wheels where water can enter, but there is no way for the water to escape. Therefore, the axel rusted from the inside until it broke. My mechanic has photographed this part and is holding it at his garage for inspection.

On October 22, 2007 I contacted the Ford dealer at Stoneham, Ma to report this problem. I spoke to the owner of the dealership and described the situation in detail. He was stunned that this would happen to a non-serviceable part of the car. He checked my maintenance record to acknowledge I had been faithful to upkeep. I invited him to call my mechanic and to go to the garage and inspect the axel. He told me he would call the mechanic and get back to me. To date I have not heard back from him.

On October 29, 2007 I contacted Ford�s Customer Relations Department to reiterate the situation. I was clear that my concern is that this is a safety issue and I wanted Ford to look at the part to verify a problem. The customer service representative assured this matter would be taken very serious and forwarded to the proper authorities. To date I have not heard from them either.

I, like my mechanic, believe this is a serious issue in which other consumers will soon, if not already, experience an axel break. Had the axel given when I was on the highway with my children in the vehicle, the outcome might have been much more severe. I am afraid if this is not reviewed another family may have a critical outcome in the course of the axel giving way. I woul like to have someone look at this part of the car to determine how the frame of a car could simply give. This is the vehicle I purchased to transport my children and I am very discouraged nobody will acknowledge this problem.