Issue ID | 192154 |
Internal NHTSA # | 715302 |
Manufacurer | Ford Motor Company |
Brand | FORD |
Model | WINDSTAR |
Model Year | 1995 |
File date | 10/10/99 |
Component | ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE |
Product type code | VEHICLE |
Description of the problem | Head gasket failure on 95' ford windstar. I have received several reports of the same problem from thousands of windstar owners. However, ford will not issue a recall. Instead, an extended warranty has been issued. The verbage states 5 years or 60,000 miles. It does not say "and" or "whichever comes first" in a recent poll on an internet site, 67 percent of all gasket failures on the 95' occured between 60 and 70 thousand miles. My vehicle hadhead gasket failure, followed by an overheating problem, happened while my wife was on a busy highway with our two small children. They were stranded for several minutes under terrible weather conditions. Ford refuses to pay for repairs, as has been the problem with thousands of owners. Ford acknowledges the problem in their issued warranty letter (98mo1). I purchased the vehicle in may 98' and never recieved notice of the letter, although the "extended warranty" is transferable. I purchased the vehicle with 42,000 miles and started experiencing the symptoms of gasket failure at 52,000 miles. I have spent considerable time and money on diagnosing the problem, including two thermostat replacements, water pump, etc., to no avail. Had i been made aware of the gasket problem by ford, i would have saved several hundred dollars and would not have to pay the $1,200 i will now need to have the faulty original gaskets replaced. Help! |
Vehicle Mileage at Failure | |
Number of Occurences | 1 |
Source of the issue | NHTSA WEB SITE |
City and State | GRANITE FALLS, WA |
VIN pattern | 2FMDA5149SBXXXXXX |
Was vehicle invloved in a crash? | |
Was vehicle involved in a fire? | N |
Was incedent reported to police? | N |
Was medical attention required? | |
Was part original equipment? | |
No. of injured persons | |
No. of fatalities | |
Date of purchase | 01/05/98 |
Was original owner? | N |
Anti-lock brakes | Y |
Cruise control | Y |
Number of cylinders | |
Drive train type | FWD |
Transmission type | |
Vehicle speed | 35 |
DoT tire identifier | |
Tire size | |
Location of tire code | |
Type of tire failure code | |
Was defective tire repaired? | |
Date of manufacture | |
Type of child seat code | |
Type of restraint | |
Dealer's name | |
Dealer's telephone number | |
Dealer's city | |
Dealer's state code | |
Dealer's ZIP code |