2001 Windstar Transmission Problems

The transmission just went belly up on my 2001. The vehicle has less than 90,000 miles. After searching the internet I appear to not be the only one with this problem. I called Ford and basically didn't get anywhere. Apparently their cars are so bad you have to get the extended warranty to cover up and coming problems. Is anyone aware of any class action suits or such? I was very happy with my 1995 Windstar till some lady decided to total it out for me. I was very happy with this one till I got the response from Ford. Anyway this has left a very bad taste in my mouth for Fords. The best Ford could do was to tell me to get my best deal from a dealer and they ask if the X-Plan Discount was a better deal. Thanks alot. It is sad when a company won't stand behind their product. It is going to cost about $3000 to get it fixed and I still have 32 months left to pay on it.

The Windstar A/Ts are FAR better than those of the Chrylser vans, and few Chrysler owners get AS upset about their untimely failure as the owners of Fords do. I have never understood this.

90K on an A/T is slightly shorter than average. The "average" A/T is never properly serviced, and will die between 100K-120K. Some do last longer, but not all that many (that are not properly serviced).

One of the most critical things with an A/T is proper cooling. If you tow with it, you MUST provide additional cooling for the trans., and you MUST change the fluid yearly/15K. Again, stop and go traffic is very hard on them because of heat. Shorten the service interval from 30K to closer to 20K. Also, use the correct (Mercon V) fluid.

I totally agree with ModMech. With most any van/truck/suv these days, you are LUCKY to reach 100K miles on an undermaintained AT. GM, daimler-chrysler & honda vans are just as bad, if not worse! The windstar ax4s/ax4n needs regular ATF changeouts to survive past 100Kmi.
G/luck
Joel

JB,
Hang in there....I felt the same way when mine went on my '96...at about 100K miles...so I know where you are coming from.

I had kept up with the fluid changes every 30K miles....but I had bought my Windstar used (A lease vehicle)....and the previous owner had towed with it....and no tow package....or auxilary tranny cooler.

I do my own fluid change now.....and installed a cooler on mine.
I recommend one even if you do not tow....and they are not very expensive.

I gave the car a good looking over.....and since it was is super condition (except for the tranny), I decided to go with the replacement.
Dealer verified that it was an internal failure and not just the sensor switch that fails. They would have repaired it...but said that at that much money, a replacement with a 2 year 24 year waranty was more attractive.

My reading has turned up that the newer trannys are just not the tanks that the old ones seem to have been.

So...2 years and over 40K miles later....I am still very happy with my car.

The Windstar A/Ts are FAR better than those of the Chrylser vans, and few Chrysler owners get AS upset about their untimely failure as the owners of Fords do. I have never understood this.

90K on an A/T is slightly shorter than average. The "average" A/T is never properly serviced, and will die between 100K-120K. Some do last longer, but not all that many (that are not properly serviced).

One of the most critical things with an A/T is proper cooling. If you tow with it, you MUST provide additional cooling for the trans., and you MUST change the fluid yearly/15K. Again, stop and go traffic is very hard on them because of heat. Shorten the service interval from 30K to closer to 20K. Also, use the correct (Mercon V) fluid.


Thanks for the advise. I've never towed with either vehicle. The 1995 started giving us problems so we had it flushed and it never gave us any problems at all. This transmission never gave as any indication until it died! I'm going to have it replaced with a Jasper (36mon/75K warranty). I'll check with the shop and see what they recommend as far as a intercooler. Curious though, I've always heard that you let sleeping dogs lie, don't fix it if it isn't broke,..... Anyway I've always been told that as long as the fluid doesn't smeel burned and it's working don't mess with it (transmission). The couple of times I've had transmission work done (ie, change the fluid) I've had problems with the thing leaking because the cover was never replaced properly. Anyway thanks again for the advise.

I totally agree with ModMech. With most any van/truck/suv these days, you are LUCKY to reach 100K miles on an undermaintained AT. GM, daimler-chrysler & honda vans are just as bad, if not worse! The windstar ax4s/ax4n needs regular ATF changeouts to survive past 100Kmi.
G/luck
Joel
Thanks for the advise. I've never towed with either vehicle. The 1995 started giving us problems so we had it flushed and it never gave us any problems at all. This transmission never gave as any indication until it died! I'm going to have it replaced with a Jasper (36mon/75K warranty). I'll check with the shop and see what they recommend as far as a intercooler. Curious though, I've always heard that you let sleeping dogs lie, don't fix it if it isn't broke,..... Anyway I've always been told that as long as the fluid doesn't smeel burned and it's working don't mess with it (transmission). The couple of times I've had transmission work done (ie, change the fluid) I've had problems with the thing leaking because the cover was never replaced properly. Anyway thanks again for the advise.

JB,
Hang in there....I felt the same way when mine went on my '96...at about 100K miles...so I know where you are coming from.

I had kept up with the fluid changes every 30K miles....but I had bought my Windstar used (A lease vehicle)....and the previous owner had towed with it....and no tow package....or auxilary tranny cooler.

I do my own fluid change now.....and installed a cooler on mine.
I recommend one even if you do not tow....and they are not very expensive.

I gave the car a good looking over.....and since it was is super condition (except for the tranny), I decided to go with the replacement.
Dealer verified that it was an internal failure and not just the sensor switch that fails. They would have repaired it...but said that at that much money, a replacement with a 2 year 24 year waranty was more attractive.

My reading has turned up that the newer trannys are just not the tanks that the old ones seem to have been.

So...2 years and over 40K miles later....I am still very happy with my car.
Thanks for the advise. I've never towed with either vehicle. The 1995 started giving us problems so we had it flushed and it never gave us any problems at all. This transmission never gave as any indication until it died! I'm going to have it replaced with a Jasper (36mon/75K warranty). I'll check with the shop and see what they recommend as far as a intercooler. Curious though, I've always heard that you let sleeping dogs lie, don't fix it if it isn't broke,..... Anyway I've always been told that as long as the fluid doesn't smeel burned and it's working don't mess with it (transmission). The couple of times I've had transmission work done (ie, change the fluid) I've had problems with the thing leaking because the cover was never replaced properly. Anyway thanks again for the advise.

,..... Anyway I've always been told that as long as the fluid doesn't smeel burned and it's working don't mess with it (transmission). The couple of times I've had transmission work done (ie, change the fluid) I've had problems with the thing leaking because the cover was never replaced properly. Anyway thanks again for the advise.

No doubt about it. The old school non-electronic RWD autos seemed to go forever with little/no maint, so most people don't think about'em The (I assume) factory merc 5 in my 2001 LX was dark & smelled REALLY bad before 36K miles! It was right after I bought it & the ford dealer supposedly "did all the maint. on it". I pumped out 6qts thru the dipstick tube, added new, drove it as ususal for a week & then had the dealer do a pan drop/filter change. It's as clean as a whistle now with no problems. Our transaxles are passenger car units, so they work HARD in a big heavy minivan. Mechanical failures are common (snapped shafts, exploded planetaries, etc..). You can prolong that type of failure by going easy on it, but *most* failures are due to neglecting the ATF.
G/luck
Joel

Anyone have any input on this answer from the dealer?
On our 2001 Windstar LX, the tranny just lost reverse and then everything at 43k miles. It seemed to be working fine but noticed a little shutter in lower gear shifts in last 3-4 weeks. Not happy about the $3000 bill for new one. Dealer said reverse and first gear got "stuck together". I've had three Tauruses with at least 100k on each, and 95 windstar with 100k when I sold it. We do not tow anything and my wife drives pretty sensibly.
So, you are not the only one with tranny problem. I was thinking about trading for a new on but Ford just cost me $3000 so I gues we'll drive it for two three more years.

Anyone have any input on this answer from the dealer..........
Sorry to hear about your AX4N issues Mike. You probably wont get any reimbursement given the age/mileage. Have you done an ATF changeout on yours? No doubt the transaxle on my 2001 LX would have cratered if I didn't change the ATF @ 36K miles. The fluid was burnt.
G/luck
Joel

The transmission on my 2001 Windstar just went bad too, however I only had 67k miles on mine. The Ford Service center called the Ford rep and explained to him the low mileage and asked if they could do anything for me. The bill was $2800 and Ford is going to pick up all but $495 of it. They said once you hit 75k miles you are pretty much out of luck as far as help from Ford though. Guess I just got lucky.

............ They said once you hit 75k miles you are pretty much out of luck as far as help from Ford though. Guess I just got lucky.

You sure did!! As you've experienced, it does pay to stay calm & ask questions. MANY times, if you offer to pay a portion of it, they will cover the rest. I had a similar experience with some rust under the doors on my 2001 LX. I was out of warranty, but ford covered half the body shop bill.
G/luck
Joel

I have a '99 windstar with about 68,000 miles, just two days ago, all forward gears went out leaving a stoplight. I saw alot of complaints searching the web too, havent found out anything on a class action, but would join one in a heartbeat. I did file a complaint at www.lawyersandsettlements.com . Maybe if enough people did this we could start a suit.

Well I thought I would add my two cents worth: I just completed the repairs on my 2000 Windstar LX for the P0171, P0174 problems (Isolator bolts) last month. Now we just took a 600 mile drive to visit family in South Carolina when the transmission went out (64K miles). I was expecting it after reading all of the problems in the Windstar forum. It was the same symptoms as many others, start to accel, CLUNK! No forward gears but reverse still works. Took it to a repair shop (Luckily it was one that we used before and trusted) and they suggested a Jasper replacement. It should be ready today and hopefully we can drive it home tomorrow. ($2800 less in my pocket!) I plan to write Ford even though it will not do any good. A letter showing my disappointment will make me feel better. The only thing I know for sure now is that my next car will NOT be a Ford.

Good luck to all other windstar owners!

UPDATE! June 2005

Well, I wrote the letter to Ford (Custormer Relationship Center) on May 3, 2005. It was about one and a half pages explaining the problems I have encountered with my Windstar. I enclosed copies of the repair bills. The only thing I asked for at that time was their response on what is being done to address these problems. On May 28th I (we) received a letter from Ford Customer Relationship Center addressed to my wife. Not sure why it was addressed to her since I had signed the original letter. Inside the envelope was a card that said "Trying hard to connect with you..." and on the inside it explained how they value customer feedback (a typical form letter response). It stated they had been trying to contact me but haven't been able "to connect". I find that hard to believe since I gave them my home phone number and email address. The card went on to state if I still had a concern, please call the Customer Assistance Center. (800)392-3673. So, I called and spoke to a nice women at the Customer Assistance Center and to make a long story short, she expained that since the van is out of warranty and there were no recalls for that specific problem (referring to the transmission), there was nothing Ford is willing to do. The only chance of that happening is if enough people call about the same probem, then Ford could possibly reimburse some of the cost under their "Customer Satisfaction" policy. Of course she could not tell me how many people needed to call or how many have already called about this problem.
So if anyone has had the same trouble with your transmission, please call the number above and be counted! I told her that I was very disappointed and dissatisfied with Ford and would not consider them in future vehicle purchases.

It would be interesting to see how many others have called about this problem and what results they have gotten.

When I bought my Mini-van, it was used and beyond warranty, but not by much.
I should have known better when I asked the finance guy, [while I was signing papers], why Fords' warranty lasted only three years, and his reply was because the cost of repairs beyond the three year term was not profitable for Ford.
The transmission in the Windstar is called an E-4, short term for Electronic 4 speed. It was also used in their Taurus I believe, or Sable or something, for the same model years as the Windstar and they too have the same breakdowns. The "electronic" part is why it is so expensive to replace. Another one of Fords' Brighter ideas. *Note that they no longer use that transmission since they changed the name to Freestar.
Another thing I found out was that the geeks in the research and development department at Ford also put a plastic intake manifold on the V-6 engine in the Windstar. -About as bright as lighting a candle with flint. :disappoin To replace that with the non-plastic variety, would be $800.00.
I think that if we do a search on the word Windstar, we would find in some other language from long ago, that it means "worthless piece of crap". -Mike

Oh by the way, I now own a 1995 Cheverolet K1500 Suburban, that has almost 175,000 miles on the original engine and transmission and runs and looks like it has 50,000 miles, so don't try and make me believe that the Windstar had an average breakdown for it's mileage or condition.

...... The "electronic" part is why it is so expensive to replace. Another one of Fords' Brighter ideas. *Note that they no longer use that transmission since they changed the name to Freestar.
Another thing I found out was that the geeks in the research and development department at Ford also put a plastic intake manifold on the V-6 engine in the Windstar. -About as bright as lighting a candle with flint. :disappoin .............-Mike

Your 1995 K1500 has a nice hi-tech, fully electronic 4L60E tranny, that will typically crater around the 150K mark, and the mid/late 90's GM 4.3 thru 5.7L had plastic intakes. Welcome back my friend!
G/luck
Joel

It is sad to see a great auto company (once) like Ford is faltering badly. They build crappy cars and do not stand by their products. Do they know/feel the outrage on the internet? The executives do not care other than filling up their pockets with enough money before retiring. They always have excuses and someone to blame for their problems. There is little question that they will continue to lose market shares and the American manufacturing jobs will suffer. Wake up people, do your job.

Yeagh, I used to be a strong believer in Ford, still remember the slogan "Quality is job one ". Not so any more. . . . Quantity is job one :2cents: . It's all about profit now. Who cares about the consumer. Now my Ford t-shirt is in the rag pile for my Chevy. [*Note - rag pile . . hasn't been used yet.] :biggrin:
If I ever feel like buying a new car, it's goanna be one of those Japanese cars that have the warranty that covers the length of the loan.
Hey RODEO, :bigthumb: I checked previous to purchase, and the 350 in my Suburban doesn't have a plastic intake manifold and the cost of replacement of the tranny is much less than half that of the Windstar. And to boot, I can do much of the repairs on it myself thus saving the fifty dollars an hour the shop charges. Thank you very much.