While backing out of the driveway, I heard a clunk from the back of the van. I did not think much about it, but the van started to drive loose especially when driving over holes and bumps in the road. The van started to sway, more so than normal, when cornering turns. After a few days, the car started to feel more out of control, so I looked under the rear of the van and found the axel was sever to shear about 60%.. I stopped driving the vehicle and will call our mechanic for repairs.

- Plum, PA, USA

1)nothing it appears to be an engineering or manufacturing defect. 2)a cracked rear axle/support beam. It appears to be occur more regularly with vehicle that have been owned a while. My vehicle only has 66K miles on it. It could possibly lead to death if this occurs at highway speeds causing vehicle control loss. Here is a quick reference www.carcomplaints.com/Ford/Windstar/2000/drivetrain/rear_axle_failure.shtml. 3)nothing yet. The fix would be to replace the axle/support beam. Yes I still have the part.

- Greensburg, PA, USA

I drive a 2002 Ford Windstar, and one day I heard a noise coming from the rear. I jacked up the rear of the van to look for the noise and what I found was a big crack in my rear axle. Lucky for me I found it before it broke doing 65 on the highway. I decided to change the rear end myself. I got the part from a junk yard that says there's only 85,000 miles on it, but when will that one break.

- Canton, OH, USA

I own a 2002 Ford Windstar it was making noise in the rear so I took it to the shop and my rear axle is cracked in half my tires are leaning in I cant drive it. Its my only vehicle lots of complaints on-line you would think Ford would do something thank you

- Toledo, OH, USA

Broken rear axle, 2002 Windstar. I heard a metal to metal noise from the rear of the car while driving. It was worse while turning, or over a bumpy surface. After inspecting the car I notice that the rear axle was cracked and just about to break. I had the problem repaired. (photos available of cracked axle).

- Stony Brook, NY, USA

Pulling our 2002 Ford Windstar van into our driveway, I heard a loud crack from the rear of the van. I looked under the rear of the van and noticed that the rear axle was broken in half. I have parked the van since it is not safe to drive.

- Steubenville, OH, USA

My 2002 Ford Windstar's rear axle has cracked! while I was driving we heard a horrible sound. We get out and look to see that my rear tires we bowed in. I had my cousin who is a mechanic to come over and he told me that my rear axle has cracked and he has never seen anything like it! I've had to pay to have it towed twice already and I have to pay $450 for the part and that does not include labor. The job is a 7-8 hour project! I'm furious! I've owned this van for 3 months! I haven't been able to work this entire week because of this problem! I came home the day that it happened and looked up the problem and apparently its a common known problem with these cars! I guess Ford is going to wait for someone to die before they fix this problem!

- Bensalem, PA, USA

Rear axle is cracked, wheels started to cave in. Will try to temporarily weld the axle since we can't afford to replace the axle.

- Jamesburg, NJ, USA

I have a Ford 2002 Windstar. While I was driving on the parkway going 45 to 55 miles per hour, I heard a clicking sound. Shortly after I got off the parkway, I drove about a half mile down the street. I smelled a burning smell, so I pulled the van over to investigate the problem. I noticed that my rear back tire was bowed inward. The tire had rubbed against the inside panel causing the tire to smoke and melt. It got really hot to the point I couldn't drive it. My rear axle is broken. I did some research on the internet and I was surprised to see the high number of people reporting the same problem that I am having about 1999-2003 Ford Windstar. I know the lord was with me and my family because this could have resulted in a very bad accident. Something needs to be done about these vans asap before someone is seriously hurt or killed. Thank you kindly! [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Pittsburgh, PA, USA

The rear axle tube on my 2002 Ford Windstar cracked yesterday and cost me almost $400 to repair. I am a Ford certified repair technician and I have seen this same concern on so many Windstar that I feel that it warrants investigation for a possible safety recall. The axle tubes always split close to the left side and not along any seams or welds. This is a structural defect and a safety hazard. If the axle breaks completely it will cause complete loss of control of the vehicle. Please consider investigating this matter.

- South Park, PA, USA

The rear wheels on my 2002 Ford Windstar began to bow outward and the car was now noticeably shaking at speeds greater than 25 mph. We thought it might be a bad alignment. We took it to ntb and fortunately, they told us not to drive it any more. The rear axle had cracked and was in need of replacement.. after the replacement, I contacted Ford's regional office. I was told by the Ford regional office to refer my concern to my dealer here in columbus, but, I had already done so. Further communications with them lead to the service managers denial of any compensation for the Ford part malfunction. Rear axles on 2002 Windstar or any Windstar with those Taurus chasises, should not crack and separate causing a danger to my family. The manager told me to hold on to my receipts for a month or so before responding again to Ford's office. He assured me that a recall was possible. Meanwhile, I am out the $1700 it took to repair a definite flaw in the engineering.

- Columbus, OH, USA

2002 Ford Windstar with "clunking" noise in the rear suspension. Took to repair shop and found that the rear axel was cracked nearly 1/2 way through. Mechanic said that he has never seen this type of failure before. This was in October of 2009 (I have repair bill with exact date and mileage if needed). The axel was replaced with a used axel at that time. June, 2010 again have noise in the rear suspension and take the vehicle to our mechanic. Again, the rear axel is cracked. Again, our mechanic has located a used axel which we are currently in process of having installed. Thankfully, we found the part failure before serious accident or injury happened but to have the same part fail when our mechanic had never seen that type of failure before seems to indicate a problem beyond normal wear.

- St. Louis Park, MN, USA

2002 Ford Windstar. Rear axle broke and wheels bowed in. Going about 30 mph with under 115,000miles on odometer. Heard some rattling noises in the 2 weeks leading up to the break, thought the spare under neath was making the noise because nothing else was loose. Regular corrosion & driving conditions. Car was towed and is currently at the shop. When tow truck operator was loading on flatbed, axle completely separated & he had difficulty getting it on safely. Vehicle was preowned but had a clean car fax and was never involved in any accidents.

- Bristol, PA, USA

While exiting NJ turnpike, the rear beam of my 2002 Ford Windstar fractured, creating severe negative camber on both rear wheels. By the time the vehicle was towed back home on a flatbed, the rear beam was cracked in two pieces. Contacted Ford dealer the next day, and the service manager stated that he was unaware of any such problems with this make and model of vehicle. I requested that he send out a field service representative to take a look at the damage, and the service manager told me that he would only have a technician look at the vehicle if I towed it to his dealership. I am in the process of determining whether I want my local independent service shop to do the repair or the Ford dealership.

- Souderton, PA, USA

I have 2002 Ford Windstar. I took it to a local repair shop on 6-23-10 because of a rattling noise when ever it went over a bump. The mechanic told me that the rear axle was cracked almost all the way through. He told me he could get one from a salvage yard and fix it for around $700. Luckily I had it taken care of when I did because we were planning a trip out of town the next weekend and it surely would have broken in half on our trip.

- Janesville, WI, USA

I was entering the highway as I started to accel I heard a loud thump. Immediately my car began swerving and almost tipped over, it felt as though the rear tires fell off. There was a large amount of smoke and sparks coming from the rear of the car and I struggled to stay in control of the vehicle. Ultimately the rear axle broke in half without warning and out of no where. I did not hit anything and was driving safely. Luckily there was a break in traffic or I have no doubt I would have hit other cars on the road. The car came extremely close to flipping, it tipped at one point and would have flipped on the passenger side if not for my quick reaction. The vehicle was towed and my mechanic immediately told me axles do not break like this and he advised me to call Ford to see if there was a manufactures problem with the axle. I called my local dealer and was advised that Ford have experienced no problems like mine and my car is out of warranty so there is nothing they could do. Only after I came home and searched the web did I realize there are thousands and thousands of other Windstar owners who experienced the same kind of breakage and I believe a more aggressive investigation needs to take place. The axle needs to be repaired and if this is a manufacturers defect it need to be fixed before someone is killed.

- Kings Park, NY, USA

Ford 2002 Windstar had a rattling sound when traveling over bumps and with a slight wheel pull to the left. Vehicle axle beam broke while car was traveling on rte 4 northbound at about 35 mph, in N. kingstown ri at approximately 2:15pm. I was able to navigate to the side of the road without injury to any other person or vehicle. Axle beam was cracked and bent causing the driver side tire to rub against the body of the car. The car was loaded onto a flat bed tow truck and the axle broke cleanly during Transport. This caused the passenger side wheel to rub against the car body during unloading. This car is now parked in a repair facility lot. Serious injury or accident were probably avoided through the fortunate combination of low speed of travel in the right hand lane combined with a light traffic situation on the highway.

- East Greenwich, RI, USA

2002 Ford Windstar rear axle is cracked on both sides. Vehicle has 104,000 miles. Well maintained and never abused. I was shocked and in awe when I noticed this today while I was rotating the tires. I went on the internet and found this was a common problem and under investigation. I am a safety professional and a member of the american society of safety engineers (ase). My two children ride in this vehicle every day. Some of these vans are used at daycare denters and small bus companies. This is a serious defect. I have read comments about people down-playing this, and feeling this is a waste of time. This investigation is completely justified and rational. Owr van is in great shape and showing no other signs of major rust or defects. If this had failed on the highway, the results could have been deadly. These are family vehicles designed specifically for transporting a bunch of kids. I drove two 5 year olds to a birthday party 40 miles on the highway yesterday with no knowledge of the problem. Feel free to contact me. I can provide pictures. Thank you

- Meriden, CT, USA

2002 Ford Windstar makes popping noise when turning right up a driveway. Repair shop found a crack in the rear axle.

- Ave, WI, USA

Heard about axles cracking on Ford Windstar. Took my 2002 Windstar to my mechanic and sure enough it is cracked. He advised me not to drive it. I need vehicle to get to work and do not have $900 plus to fix it.

- Rocky Point, NC, USA