1997 Ford Windstar problems
The 1997 Ford Windstar has 249 complaints on file with NHTSA. The largest share (16%) concerns suspension. Next are engine (15%) and brakes (13%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 249 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Suspension 16% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 6 and 11
- Injuries and deaths
- 5 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 89,000 miles 58 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 2 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 1 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 3 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 13 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 20 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 5 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 4 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 6 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 1 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 2 |
| 200k+ miles | 1 |
What the data shows
Of the 58 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 89,000 miles.
Safety-related details: 6 complaints mention a crash; 11 complaints mention a fire; 5 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 1997 ranks 9th most-complained-about out of 11 model years of the Ford Windstar with enough data (139 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 5 safety recall campaigns.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
Vehicle was parked and key was not in the ignition the child was able to put vehicle in drive and it rolled, hit a tree, proceeded across the street into a utility pole, the dealer was contacted and stated that this was normal. *nlm
My windstar accelerated from a complete stop and smashed through our garage door vehicle stopped when we hit the front wall of the garage. I don't know if the vehicle was in park or drive when this happened. I had stopped to look for the garage door opener. I could not stop the verhicle as it took off and do not know how fast we were going except it was very fast and there are big skid marks on the garage floor. My two kids were in their car seats in the back and I was driving. I broke my hand & had some bruises.
Adolescent was caught in seat belt. It continued to lock tighter and would not release. Parent had to stop car and cut child free of belt to avoid internal injuries. Child went into shock and was driven to nearest for evaluation. No permenant injuries were noted at this time. Dt
While driving the driver saw smoke coming from under the hood and pulled over. The driver went for help and came back to find the vehicle in flames. The fire department determined that the fire was caused by an electrical problem. Please provide further details.
Failed head gasket LED to a piston rod shooting through the oil pan. Very dangerous for the cars behind me as oil was shooting over the highway. Slippery for cars following, and went on other cars paint and windshields. Head gaskets were recalled in previous 3 years of vehicles 1993-96 ford windstars, 1997 was not on a recall even though the problem was never correctly fixed. Highly dangerous and highly irresponsible of the automaker to not include additional cars in the recall effort.