Air conditioning

Everything else.

This vehicle is a piece of junk. Had head gaskets replaced (no one told me about the recall, but I asked) under recall at 106,000 km. Less than a year late the front gaskets went, that cost me $1000. 2 weeks later the head gaskets went again, good news the dealer says Ford has offered to replace your engine because the head gasket failure has ruined it. Couldn't get back the money for repair 2 weeks earlier. Also has transmission problems, turning left in particular.

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First minivan owned.

NONE

UNRELIABLE Transmission;- replaced 5 transmissions since I bought this peice of crap.Power steering pump had to be replaced within 1 year, not to mention other items that were repaired. Now the Vehicle Speed Cable/Sensor does not work, so there is no way to know the speed being travelled. Of course the Cruise control will not function w/out the speedometer showing the correct speed. Lousy engine, very very noisy. Noisy power steering. Noisy front and rear brakes. Overall,a PIECE FIT FOR THE SCRAP HEAP.My 1991 Mitsubishi never gave any problems.

Overall, A piece of JUNK. This van has had 5 transmissions replaced, numerous other problems to mention here.

FORD should get out of the car business. They should be paying people to drive their pieces of inferior products.

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None, first minivan, and the last car I will ever buy made by F.O.R.D (Fix Or Repair Dearly, Found On Road Dead)

None really!

On long drives the check engine light turns on until the engine is stopped and cooled down, the wipers don't work sometimes, and now the engine starts like its carburated. A waste of my $$. I'm losing faith in domestics, I probably will be going import soon. Just to add, I'm asian!! With all the B.S. I get from other asians I should just go import, not worth the B.S.

On long drives the check engine light turns on until the engine is stopped and cooled down, the wipers don't work sometimes, and now the engine starts like its carburated. A waste of my $$. I'm losing faith in domestics, I probably will be going import soon. Just to add, I'm asian!! With all the B.S. I get from other asians I should just go import, not worth the B.S.

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Other vans!

The Windstar is solid on the road, quiet, and has plenty of power (3.8L). I love the rear obsticle warning sensors and the vehicle computer.

Quality Control! Little problems experienced since ownership have really soured me on buying another Winstar in the future.

At first I thought that the 2000 Winstar SEL was a great vehicle. Now I am having second thoughts. When working properly this is a nice van. Unfortunately we have experienced a lot of small quality problems.
We have also had one recurring failure that the dealer's service techs, try as hard as they might, have not been able to clear up. This vehicle has had a recurring problem with the driver side power seat failing. When failed, the seat will only adjust in the up and tilt back degree of freedom which leaves the seat stuck in its furthest back and tilted back position. At this point the seat has been repaired about 4 times and we discovered this weekend that it is broken again. I explained that I am the only person that normally drives the van except when we go to a social occasion and I have a alcoholic beverage and would prefer not to drive. My wife is very short and cannot reach the pedals when the seat is in the position I normally drive in. When the seat fails it leaves me no option but to drive the vehicle myself when I would rather not. Even if I have not been drinking this is a very awkward position to try to drive the vehicle in and I expressed concern to the Ford Customer Relationship Center that it could be unsafe. They said to just take it back to the dealer again, there is nothing more that they can do.

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I have been a long term Ford Owner with 4 of my last 5 new vehicle purchases being a Ford product. I have never had these kind of annoying problems in the past.

Huge cargo area with the rear bench seats removed - great when we moved!Cruise control has been great on long trips - gas mileage hovers around 18 mpg highway.

Transmission has been the biggest problem so far & I'm not pleased at the way the resale value is plummeting just 18 months after purchase. Book value is half of what I paid for it just 18 months ago - with 83,000 miles it may be time to cut my losses and go for a Suburban. Also, I don't like the fact that there are no headrests on the rear bench seats. SInce my kids are small, I didn't pay attention to it until some adult friends came along for the ride, and now I'm paranoid of serious whiplash injuries if we ever get rear-ended.

Overall, I'm getting my money's worth out of this car, but it could have been worse. I bought it used with 45,000 miles on it and the dealer put in a new transmission less than a week after I drove it off the lot. Fortunately this dealer offers a three-month warranty on any used car so it did not cost me. However, the new transmission failed within a month so they replaced two sensors and put in another transmission, again at no cost. So far so good a year and a half later. The only major repair after another 35,000 miles is the steering arm on the front passenger side, otherwise just routine maintenance. After reading other reviews I guess I can't complain yet! The dealer has made all the difference so far - they have treated me great. I was in a loaner car for several days while the transmission was being fixed - great service and great attitude from the service team so far, and it's been the only reason I have continued to own Ford products. I had an Escort station wagon and a Ranger 4x4 before this, but nothing compares to my '95 Mazda 626, which gave me a quarter million miles of virtually maintenance-free service before giving up the ghost!

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None - this is our first mini-van

I no longer own one.

Pity the next owner of one.

Another update from my June 16 review. After nothing but grief from the Ford Motor Co. I made the best move I could think of. I unloaded that P.O.S. Windstar and bought a Toyota Sienna. It's a bit smaller in size and a bit smaller engine but it's 100 times the vehicle that the Windstar ever thought of being.

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Toyota Sienna XLE, compares like apples to rotten oranges.

comfy ride,predictable handling.Decent brakes.Adaquete room with middle seat removed.

acceleration with base motor V-6 only fair,could get much better performance with the 3.8 with no loss in fuel economy.

(1998 Model) - Thank god Ford redesigned this model. The lack of a driver sliding door is a gaff. The engine sounds about as refined as a lawn tractor. Doesn't like being prodded,the transmission is the lets wait and think about it kind when a strong kick down shift is needed. The fuel system is a weakness too. Almost stalls out when braking hard,or steering in tight turns. The radio is idiotic with its' small ""chiclette"" controls. What happened to knobs anyway?! However,the good side,once my rotors and pads were replaced,the Windstar stops competetly,and straight. The room is pretty good,especially if you take out the middle seat. I am a tech and this is a fleet van. I hope the next van is improved in the area of ""NVH."" Alot of noise in the cabin with the tire rumble,and shaking going on at higher speeds. Doesn't inspire confidence here. My '94 Caravan wasn't like this. The seats are reasonably confy,and so-so on support. The lower cushion could use more bolstering,and could be firmer too. On long drives this throne could be a butt beater. Lumbar support is only ok here too. All things considered,this van is certainly competent,but with the new generation vans out there from Honda,Toyota,and still Chrylers,I am not going to overexcited about this ride.

Having a 4 & 2 year old the auto sliding doors are wonderful. As we approach the van, I press the buttons on the keychain ,the doors slide open and the kiddies climb in. As they are getting older seat belts are being put on without me! I also like the ""spy"" mirror. Leather seats are nice and comfortable. Our van is also equipped with the rear sensor device(beeps as you back up). At first I thought I wouldn't like it now I don't want to be without it.

In the overhead area there is a spot for change only 4 coins can fit in each slot. Not enough. I wish the rear bench reclined flat. I own a Thule cargo box and was disappointed to find out it would't fit onto the factory rack.

(1999 Model) - Never thought I would become a minivan mom. I have to say I love it. It's only been a few months but what a great trip it's been

None

transmission,brakes,struts,tierod ends

we have had nothing but promblems .from door locks .emetrgency light on ,transmission .i dont recommend this van to anybody

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never buy a ford

Power, car like ride, overall capacity

Complete lack of reliability. Complete lack of customer care

DO NOT buy this car !!!!!!!!

The good news is this van has a nice car like feel and the 3.8L engine does have plenty of power to haul 7 people and a bunch of cargo. The good news pretty much stops there. Ours began having trouble almost right away. In fact the first one we picked out had a complete electrical breakdown when we arrive to pick it up so we had to choose another. Our second choice had electrical troubles also. The door ajar light intermitently stayed on and dinged at speeds below 15 mph (Turns out that the way the are designed you cant even pull the bell with causing major troubles). Very hard to diagnose as the problem has to be occuring when it is taken to the dealer to plug a machine in to test it , Simple to fix once found but just about drove us out of our mind when it was happening. Power steering began making noise at just past the warranty period, suspension failing etc..

The real trouble that ended my long term alligence to ford products is a common problem with the head gaskets. This motor is prone to throwing them at between 40000 and 80000 miles. Reccomended fix is a new motor at about $4000 Consumer reports knows of the problem So does Ford but dont ask for help fixing it. Fords customer service (hahaha!!!) division is a great stonewall.

Sluggish handling, inaccurate steering, poor fuel economy (economy may not be the right word), electrical problems, Suspension that may be unsafe at any speed (even stopped) and an engine that just cant be relied upon.

Take it from a multi generation Ford loving family DO NOT buy this van or any other Ford product, its really that simple. I only hope this "quality is not done" motto does not were off to the Volvo line as it was a good car once.

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Lumina van