Vehicle Data Hub

2003 Ford Windstar electrical system problems

285 complaints about electrical system have been filed for the 2003 Ford Windstar, which is 14% of all its NHTSA complaints. It is the 2nd most reported problem area for this model year.

At a glance

Complaints
285 14% of this year's complaints
Typical mileage
99,000 miles 233 complaints with mileage
Crashes and fires
4 and 8
Injuries and deaths
2 and 0

Source: NHTSA owner complaints

When electrical system problems show up

Electrical system complaints by mileage, 2003 Ford Windstar Complaints by odometer reading in 20,000-mile steps. The median is about 99,000 miles. 0k to 20k miles: 12 complaints 20k to 40k miles: 14 complaints 40k to 60k miles: 25 complaints 60k to 80k miles: 31 complaints 80k to 100k miles: 36 complaints 100k to 120k miles: 39 complaints 120k to 140k miles: 36 complaints 140k to 160k miles: 24 complaints 160k to 180k miles: 7 complaints 180k to 200k miles: 4 complaints 200k+ miles: 5 complaints 040k80k120k160k200k miles Typical: 99,000 miles
Based on 233 complaints that include mileage. 22% were reported before 60,000 miles. The amber marker shows the median: half of these complaints happened before that mileage.
View the numbers
MileageComplaints
0k to 20k miles12
20k to 40k miles14
40k to 60k miles25
60k to 80k miles31
80k to 100k miles36
100k to 120k miles39
120k to 140k miles36
140k to 160k miles24
160k to 180k miles7
180k to 200k miles4
200k+ miles5

What the data shows

Of the 233 electrical system complaints that report mileage, the median is about 99,000 miles, and 22% were reported before 60,000 miles.

These complaints mention 4 crashes, 8 fires, 2 injuries.

What owners wrote

Tl* - on january 17, 2007 the contact's 2003 ford windstar caught on fire. There were no warning indicator lights when she drove the vehicle earlier in that day. The contact was informed that the vehicle was on fire , and that sparks were seen under the vehicle. The vehicle was destroyed. The fire department has not determined the cause or location of the fire. The fire also caused damage to two other vehicles. The contact has pictures and a videotape.

Reported at 356,000 miles, January 2007 Fire

While driving down the road the ABS and brake light come on and stay on, and the interior lights come on and go off. I've had the brakes checked, and they are fine. We changed the module, which we were told was the problem, but it didn't solve the problem. The problem occurs more often when the weather is warmer, but it does happen during the winter, too. It is very distracting while driving at night, especially, to have the lights on the dash and the interior lights flashing, and it could be dangerous.

Reported at 130,000 miles, January 2013

Other problems reported for the 2003 Ford Windstar

Electrical system problems in other years

Electrical system problems across all Ford models