I just found out that my windstar also has the bad axle. A dealership checked it out and told me Ford would give me $3400 for the van to scrap it. I can not find a replacement for $3400. This van is in good shape with a new paint job because the factory blue peeled right off of the hood. I would need $6000 to get into a decent mini van. Also I have the ABS light issue going on with mine….SEE www.fordwindstarrecall.info/ the dealership would not fix the ABS issue unless I paid for it..about $800

I wasn’t aware of the recall and my wife just called me with her 2001 Windstar rearaxle failing on the way to pick up the kids from school. Luckily she was only on a local road going 35 mph. Had it towed to the local NJ dealer where they told me it would take at least 30 days for parts. Ater reading the comments , I guess that’s not exactly accurate They were very polite and they had Enterprise pick me up and gave me a loner. I wan’t able to get large enough loaner for my family and I requested the dealer help me out with getting a car for seven. They said they would and now I am just hoping they come through.

I am another lucky person to bring my 2003 87,000 miles Windstar in to have it fail inspection last Friday. I was given a rental at Ford’s expense but it is a 5 passenger car and I have 5 children. I called Enterprise and pretty much was told that I am just going to have to deal with it. Well, how am I supposed to transport all 5 of my kids at the same time? Should I make one ride in the trunk??!!! They told me the parts are supposed to be in mid January but it could be 60-90 days. There are at least 30 Windstars sitting OUTDOORS on their lot and we had 17″ of snow this past weekend! My van has always been parked in my garage. I bet nobody will be starting the vans all winter long which here in MN will cause some problems. I will be calling the manager at my local Ford dealer to address these issues. We have to wait it out but I’m thinking it’s time to trade it in after it’s all fixed so we can get something for it. Not getting another Ford though.

My Ford dealer has had my 2000 Windstar since mid October 2010 due to the rear axle crack. I was offered $2710. as a buyout option, which I promptly refused as I only have 67,000 miles on the van and I put $1,500 into the van in repairs in the past 6 months. I have maintained and cared for my vehicle and I cannot replace my van at $2710!! I have been told by my dealer and Ford Co. that they will be retooling axles beginning sometime in the first quarter of 2011. Several mechanics I have talked to said they would be surprised if Ford does gear up to retool as this is very expensive to do. I was also told by my dealer and Ford Co. that my vehicle would be maintained while it was impounded on their lot. I made a visit to the lot yesterday to find an area of minivans packed together like sardines and covered in 6+ inches of snow and icicles hanging from the bumpers. These vehicles have not been moved since they were parked there!! I found my van and the battery was as dead as a doorknob!! And I thought it was good of Ford to leave my van unlocked! The fact that they are NOT moving the vehicles means flat spots on tires, seals drying up, batteries going dead, lubricants possibly turning to sludge, etc. Will Ford pay for these too? I live in Minnesota and I keep the van in my garage all the time, it is never left outside. As for the rental cars, I went from a minivan to a small Ford Fusion…does not seem like a comparable replacement vehicle. This little car sits so low to the ground it is constantly getting stuck in the snow! Every time I have to dig the Fusion out of the snow I curse Ford Co and the inconvenience they have caused me due to their incompetence!! I am beyond unhappy with Ford and I will never buy Ford again. I think it is time that Ford admits that they built a LEMON of a vehicle. The 2000 year Ford Windstar has had 11 different recalls!! Ford really needs to step up and take care of their customers!!

Our 2002 Windstar has been in the lot since 10/23. Our “free” rental is costing us $4.93 per day in taxes, as we were told that Ford would not pay for the sales tax. So..we’ve already paid out $231.71. I was told by a Ford rep, back in October, that the replacement parts wouldn’t be available until the 1st quarter of 2011. We could have bought a decent used car by now and put that money toward a monthly payment, not that we can afford another bill right now. Anyone else paying daily sales taxes?

Our Ford Service Department (Beverly, MA) refuses to inspect our recalled Windstar! We’ve called multiple times (I even went there in person today). They refuse to look at the car until February 2010 at the earliest. I requested a letter stating that they refuse to examine the car and was refused. It’s possible that our car’s rear axle is fine, but who knows? Our Windstar is modified to fit two disabled wheelchair passengers. No traveling for them. Or us, for that matter. Who would ever buy a Ford with this type of service? I’m calling an investigative reporter at one of the Boston television stations tomorrow. Enough.

Ford is so stupid. They pay Enterprise rental car to rent: Chevy’s, Dodges, Nissans, Toyotas or whatever is in their fleet for a FORD problem. I must admit our 2011 Chevrolet Silverado rental 4 x4 is nice. Ford is not thinking this through. They will lose a lot of loyal customers.

Go to woodhouse.com the Ford Dealership in Blair Nebraska, near my home. They have 11 Ford Windstars for sale, the 2001 with 130,000 miles is advertised with a market value of $7,990.00. Why can they sell these junk vans for almost $8,000 but won’t give us more than a few thousand to buy them back???????????? Every Ford Windstar owner had their lives endangered by Ford. Don’t let Ford get away with this.

All Ford Windstar owners should keep their rentals until they are satisfied completely with a fair replacement. Even if they “fix” the axle, the front is also going to break apart, my front end also made cracking noises like the wheels were going to fall off, just before the rear axle busted in 2 on the interstate going 65mph, and all the other problems that piece of junk has. I’ve been tracking this whole Ford scam since September. I’m gooing to drive my Ford Taurus Rental until the axle falls out of it. I will not accept anything less than a “safe” vehicle, not a Ford, one with at least same miles and paid in full. Just like what Ford STOLE from my family. My van was well taken care of and in great looking shape.

http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/acms/docservlet/Artemis/Public/Recalls/2010/V/RCM This will get you to a Memo that Ford sent to all it’s Dealers. It explains a lot, including what Ford Motor Company wants done. There is a section in red where Ford tell the dealers how to store, and give back your vehicle when it is fixed. Ford is paying the dealers for storage and vehicle maintainance. It also explains there Loaner Criteria.

I finally took my 99 Windstar in and yes the axle was cracked again. We had it welded about 6 months ago. Well the dealership sent me home without a car saying I would have to wait for them to hear from Ford on Monday this is Friday and my husband was at work with no way home I called enterprise to rent a car when they asked why and I told them because of the recall they stated I should not have to pay so I called the dealership back and they stated I had to wait for them to speak with Ford. I just wanted a rental until a buyout was offer because the van is a piece of crap. After 3 hours on the phone back & forth with Dealership & car rental 1 hour on the phone with Ford. I must say the Ford rep was extremely helping stating I should of never been sent from dealer without rental car. She called dealership to find out why with me on phone Dealership lied stating only reason I didnt get car rental was because rental place didnt have any cars. Thank God I had already called rental place and they held me a Large SUV at the going rate for Ford rental car so 4 hours later I have a SUV that fits my whole family and now I am not taking the current buy out going to drive rental until they fix it or offer me a better deal. Oh yeah after I called Ford company dealership called later in evening to offer buyout of $2355.

FORD AND OTHER AUTO MFG. ARE BUILDING JUNK! AND WE THE BUYERS ARE STUCK WITH IT. YOUR PAYMENTS DONT STOP! I PURCHASED A 98 AND A 2000 FORD WINDSTAR. THE 98 POWER STEERING WENT OUT THEN THE TRANNY! THE 2000 HAS THE ABS COMING ON AND NOW A CRACKED AXLE. THE AVERAGE FAMILY CANT AFFORD NEW! $28,000 TO $50,000 ARE THESE AUTO MFG CRAZY. I SAW A NEW CADILAC ESACLADE LOADED $87,000. GEE WHY ARE AUTO COMPANYS GOING UNDER. ITS GREED! WHAT IS AVERAGE PAYMENT $500 TO $700 AND NO ONES JOB IS SECURE.THESE CAR COMPANY ARE BUILDING UNSAFE JUNK AND COVERING IT UP. THERE IS NO QUALITY LEFT JUST BUID IT TO LAST TILL WARRANTY IS OFF. THE USA IS IMPORTING TOO MUCH CHINA JUNK. AND USA IS USING THESE PARTS. WHY THERE CHEAP IS IT QUALITY THAT WILL LAST HELL NO. LOOK AT FORDS NEW LITTLE VAN, ITS PARTS ARE MADE IN EVERY COUNTRY YOU CAN THINK OF. WHY CHEAP JUNK THAT SELLS FOR $23000. THESE COMPANYS DESERVE TO GO UNDER LIKE GOVERMENT MOTORS. WHO THE HELL BAILS US OUT WITH THE REPAIR BILLS ON THE JUNK THEY CALL QUALITY!

That Fed Ex letter tells you that you have 7 days to accept or decline the offer. Mark the decline spot and send it back. The thing that bothers me about this recall, is that the dealer dosn’t care about our vans while they sit there for 5 months. Who is going to start them so that the battery stays charged,and the engine gets warmed up and lubricated?

There is talk on web about a class action suit being filed in Pennsylvania. I would not agree to anything yet. Remember folks — it is the end of the fiscal year for Ford. I am sure they are carrying this recall on their books listing repair costs as the only hit to their bottom line. Come January, their story will be very different because they will be able to start paying out money without it affecting their credit rating. You know hush money and money to families where people were hurt or died and basically money to make us go away. Our 2000 Winstar has been sitting in the dealer’s lot since Nov 1. Got a buy back offer of $3635 and haven’t received our “overnighted paperwork” from Ford yet.

HMMMMMM…….I wonder if it’s just the rear axles……mine has been making an on again/off again popping noise from the front. When I took it in to have the last recall thing fixed they said the axles were showing wear and gave me and estimate of how much it would cost to replace them…..over $2,000. I passed as we have been considering a new car. I wonder if all the axles are bad. I don’t live in one of the states mentioned BTW. But if the axles are defective it doesn’t seem like it would be an issues of salt on the roads. So should I call Ford and see if this is an issue across the brand as well (front axles). Mine is a 2000.

At 2:00 this afternoon, I got a Buyout Offer on my 1999 Windstar SEL from Ford byway of FEDEX. It was for $3,435. That is the same amount that I was offered 6 weeks ago, minus the $2,000 credit towards a new car purchase. I have 7 days from today to accept the offer, and FEDEX it back to them in a pre-paid return envelope. I am not going to respond. I told them 7 weeks ago to fix my mini-van, and fix it right. The buyout letter also stated that it could be a couple of months before my vehicle might be repaired.

Mike with the good axle. Did they put a scope camera inside the axle and actually look at it? I don’t think its snow and salt doing this. Rust is formed with pure water and oxygen. Duh Ford

Tammy, your axle is bent because it is starting to break in half. Don’t let Ford bully you. I am thankful my family did not get injured when my axle snapped in 2 on the interstate. The kids were traumatized at what happened. Ford didn’t even appologize for what happened. Call Ford headquarters. You deserve your money back or a fix. Ford is just trying to get out of this one. You deserve a rental Axles just don’t bend. Duh, Ford. The axle was under stress from a bad defect Ford built. I am outraged Ford is getting away with a “voluntary recall”. The teachers at work that drive a Ford Windstar said they through the “voluntary recall” paper away because they thought it is nothing. People are not taking this seriously because it is voluntary. Shame on Ford. Somebody already got killed over this deal!

Oh my gosh . never recieved the recall and i have a 1998 winstar.there’s 5 of us and 3 are my children . I’m calling my ford dealer now.

The Windstar rear-axle problem seems to be getting worse. I have a suggestion for Ford. Set up a phone number, Blog, website for us owners to get, and share informaion. Update us on what is going on. Date all posts so that we know that you are making progress. Does anyone out there have any information on What happened in a Court in Philadelphi on November 29, 2010 concerning this Windstar problem? If Ford would give us some facts, or progress reports, it will go a long way towards easing our anxiety. I have had a rental now for over 7 weeks, and other than a low buy back offer, I have heard nothing from Ford, or my Dealer. Would someone in an Official capacity from Ford please talk to us. I am afraid of chips and scratches on my loaner everytime I drive it. I planned on taking my 1999 Windstar from Michigan to Florida in January. The loaner goes in it’s place if I don’t get my Windstar back before I leave. They get thier loaner back in Mid-March, when I bring it back North.

I am soooo VERY thankful and outraged. I have a 2000 Windstar that we actually only bought because Ford gave us $4000 toward a new one to turn in our last Windstar to get it off the road. We first leased the van to make sure it wasn’t going to have the problems the old one had. It seemed to be okay so we bought it. I bought a 4 year warranty to cover if additional problems came up, which did. We soon found our warranty useful when we had to replace the transmission. Now our van is parked. We had it checked and they said the axle wasn’t cracked, but a few weeks after that it began making noises. Next it started drifting and sliding on the roads. Then within a week the two back tires that were new, were bald on the sides. So we had it checked again and they said the axle was bent. Bent axles are not part of the recall so they said sorry about your luck. We did not hit anything or do anything at all to bend the axle. We rarely drive the vehichle more than 10 miles to town and back. It only just turned 100 k this in November. I’m just sick over this. We can’t find the parts to repair it not to mention that I can’t afford to replace the axle and two tires. We can’t afford a rental, we can’t trade it, and it isn’t even safe to drive it at all. I don’t care what they say, my axle bent on it’s own just like everyone else’s is cracking. I am thankful we did not wreck or nobody in my family was harmed while we drove this unsafe van, but outraged that I have a $3500 piece of metal wasting away in my driveway while we bum rides. I would love to buy your axle Mike if I could afford it.

I’ve been driving a rental for 3 months now. Sick of worrying if someone is going to “scratch it” etc. Now snowing, is someone going to hit me. I park far away so nobody will ding the rental. What is considered normal wear and tear? I can’t even relax since this whole nightmare happened. The rental doesn’t even fit my family of 6 in it. It’s bad enough we had to live through the horror of the axle snapping in 2 on the busy interstate, but now, i have to worry about buying a new vehicle to fit my family. A few thousand bucks won’t even get me anything close to my van that was in excellent condition and garaged. I’ve put over 3K miles on rental. It needs an oil change already. This was not our fault FORD. Even if they fix it, front of van is under investigation now, I will not drive the van again. Too risky. But the Ford Dealer Manager said “at least you got 6 good years out of your van” I will not just settle, neither should any one else. We are all victims of FORD. FORD: SOMEONE DID GET KILLED OVER YOUR MISTAKE. That person’s friend e-mailed me and told me of the incident. My heart goes out to them.

WE should not let FORD bully us into “settling” We ALL need to stand up for ourselves. Most of us drove these vans because we had children to cart around or large familes. FORD put “families with children” and “families without children” at risk of loosing their lives. Now they want to give us a few thousand dollars to buy back our vehicles that were most likely already paid for in full???? I was counting on using my paid off van for a few more years. WE SHOULD NOT LET FORD BULLY ALL OF US “former” Ford Customers. I will not just settle!!

I had a replacement axle installed in September 2009. According to official recall notice received in October 2010, if an owner had a replacement axle installed, to send the original invoice, etc to the address on the recall for reimbursement. Letter with with orignal repair receipts sent to Ford on 10//18/10. Check received from Ford on 11/22 for the full amount of what I submitted.

It is very frustrating reading all of these comments. My wife and I are going through the same mess. I thought that FORD having the reputation they do would step up and take care of us. We have a 2000 limited Windstar in near new condition. The van has been great for us, except for the axle issue. They do have us in a rental, but it is not anything that is comparable to a van. We were told we could only choose from a car as Ford was not allowing enough money for a mini van. This is a huge inconvinience especially during the Holiday’s. If we all sit back and wait for Ford we could be inconvinienced until March of 2010. How do we grab the bull by the horns and contact Ford ourselves? ” A closed mouth does not get fed” I would be willing to do all I could to cause them as much grief as they have to all of us.

My 2000 Winstar rear axle broke in Oct 2009, paid $820.00 to fix. I called Ford when I got recall letter. I was told to take orginal bill and car to Ford dealer to comfirm new axle. To my suprise my replacement axle WAS cracked. I have a Focus rental, with 4 kids (go figure) My Winstar has 170,000 miles in bad shape, but runs. I don’t care what they offer me I can’t afford anything.. HAS ANYONE GOTTEN A CHECK?? IF SO HOW LONG DID IT TAKE??

my 2000 windstar.is sitting in a car dealership lot with a cracked axel. it was deemed cracked when i brought teh van to the dealership. i went a week without a vehicle had numerous breakdowns until they gave me a car and a smal car but a smal car is better than nothing. i do wonder if i could of sued ford for loss of use per day of my van. ford offered me 2710 i denied their offer. ill spend the winter in my rental vehicle which ford will pay for and ill have a fixed van when it gets done. bad move ford. offer more money 5000 would be fair to offset all the stress and aggravation. by the time i buy a new van id be out sales tax and teh costs to register the replacement plus all the extras.

I just bought my 2002 Ford Windstar in July. On my way home from work, my rear axle broke a quarter mile away from my house. I hope I don’t experience the difficulties everyone else is dealing with.

I have a 2001 Winstar Sport van with 175000, I have had no problem with the van until now except for replacing tires. I have had no luck trying to deal with any customer service at Ford. They have been no help what so ever. I do know they will not buy my van back (I guess 175000 is not considered high milage). Instead Ford would rather pay for car rental, collission insurance, replacing axle, having someone turn it on everyday and sales taxes (I’ve been told Ford is paying the whole rental bill) over $6000 if fixed by Feb or over $7000 if fixed by Mar. The Kelly Blue Book resale value of my van is $4700. Does this evn make sense to anyone???? The trade in value of my van has gone down to $1200 since Sept. Ford has offered me an incentive of $2000 for having the cracked axle but I must buy a new vehicle. I owe nothing on my van right now and can not afford a car payment right now. I will be staying in the rental until I get my van back. Hopefully they will keep their word and turn it on so there are no problem when I finally get it back. I also just want to mention that if you read the posts almost everyone of us has a different rental amount they’ll pay mine is $38/day if I wanted a van I would have to pay an additional $25/day. I was told 60 to 90 days before it would be fixed because they have to make the axle. Why is it not the same across the board???? I will not be buying another Ford because of my treatment during this recall. I just want my van with a new axle in the good shape so I can take it to another car dealer and trade it in.

a realy good friend of mine owned a 2001 Ford wndstar. On october 15 2010 he was driving to school when the rear axle cracked/broke he lost control of the van and crashed into a building. He unfortunatly did not survive the crash. Ford should have done a much better job of getting these vehicles off the road. My friend had 2 young children who luckily where not with him at the time. He had been hearing strange noises the day before and was planning on taking it to get checked out but he never made it. i had been in that car with him many times over the summer and so were his children and im sure many of his other friends.I can not believe that Ford allowed this to happen. Something needs to be done about this NOW

FORD = Found On Road Dead

just got my 1999 Van checked out and they said my axle was the best they ever seen. Everything else is rusted and broke though..lol anyone want to buy my axle? I dont think it was snow and ice that created this problem. I hve 250.000 miles on it and verything is rusted except for the axle

My 2002 Windstar wa “condemned”, as the dealer said due to a crack in the axle. It’s been sitting at the dealer since mid-October. I’ve been repeatedly told to expect a letter but still no information. Isn’t anybody worried about the carbon deposits building up on the engine as our cars go undriven for months. The parts won’t be available until 1st quarter 2011 but it will take even longer to distribute those parts to the 21 states and thousands of dealers. I have no idea what condition my car will be in by the time a part is available. It would be so much cheaper for Ford to simply offer a buy out. I’ve heard that in addition to the buyout, Ford has offered $2,500 extra toward the purchase of another Ford. They are going to spend that much and more on the rental. Anyone interested in a class action lawsuit? I really resent being held hostage to Ford. the Ford is taking their sweet time working through the hundreds of thousands of recalled vehicles.

Today on my way to work, in rush hour traffic at 65 mph the rear axle on my 1999 Windstar cracked in half. The back of the car started vibrating and then there was a loud pop. I thought that I had blown a tire. I smelled burned rubber and saw smoke in my rear view mirror. Fortunately, I was able to merge through two lanes of traffic and safely pull the car over to the berm. I had the car towed home because I had no idea that there was a recall on the van. I have not received a recall notice. The tow truck driver mentioned that he had seen this happen numerous times. I called the dealership and I was told that I would be provided with a rental car from Enterprise, but that there were 25 people on a waiting list ahead of me! I am angry, I lost a day of work, I don’t know if I will have a car to get to work on Monday morning and I was told that the earliest I could get my van back would be Jan/Feb 2011. I have been told that the van is eligible for the buyback program, but I don’t know yet how much they are going to offer me. Will they cover my lost income? The cost of the tow? The trauma? I really don’t want to get in the van again, even with a brand new axle.

Folks- I’m luckily having a better experience than most. My 2002 Winstar SEL with 129,000 miles didn’t have any axle problems (although the transmission did go at 76,000 miles, but was covered under the extended warranty we purchased when new). We got the recall notice and took it to our local (Bellows Falls, VT) dealer. They identified a hairline crack that was starting and immediately got us into an Enterprise rental. It must be a regional thing, but we had our choice of a Dodge Grand Caravan SXT, a Kia Sorrento AWD or a full size Tahoe with AWD (or any other of six other large sedans). I almost kept the Windstar to drive around town since we hadn’t had any problems but am so glad I didn’t after reading your horror stories. I think our rental will be free, but if there’s a small tax involved, I’ll gladly pay it. I chose the Tahoe (sweet) initially but got outvoted by the Boss who said it was “too big”. So, “we” then chose the Dodge Grand Caravan and it’s been great so far. Enterprise and my local dealer have been excellent. I however would seriously consider a buyout from Ford if it was on the higher side of book value, and I think Ford could save a few thousand dollars in the process, and then donate the vehicles to charity after being fixed. Till then, we’re safe and driving a new car with all the bells and whistles for a few months. Good luck!/CGS

MY 2000 Windstar has the cracked axel. We were offered the buy out of $2710 for my van with 117000 miles on it. It does suck that, had I been made aware of the recall sooner, I wouldn’t have wasted $1700 dollars in July replacing the rack-n-pinnion ( not to sure this wasn’t caused by the vibration of cracked axel), door lock acctuators, issue with vent not blowing, the ignition, and power steering pump. This was after replacing the tranny, the starter, alternator, battery, and fixing air in June-July of 09 to the tune of $1900 only because I have a friend who did the labor for free.. that was just parts! So after putting $3600 dollars into my van in the last year I am now being offered $2710.. And then I will have to make a payment that I can’t afford because I quit working to return to school. My husband is livid as you can imagine. I guess Ford will just have to fork over the cash for my rental and to fix it. WOW!.. I kid you not! The phone rang as I was writing this and it was the dealer.. They wanted to inform me that “they had just heard from ford” and are offereing to buy back my van at $2710. Hmm.. I just spoke with the same man not 30 mins ago telling him we were still weighing our options and he said no problem.. He had no idea it was me he was talking to until I told him. So I told him just to fix it and I guess at tax time when the van is fixed and I have tax money, I’ll use the fixed van as trade in and then have the cash to put down that my payments would be a lot more affordable. Wish Ford would have been willing to deal with me on a larger amount but I guess they have there reasons even though my rental will cost them more than what they offered me. I can’t complain about my rental I actually love it, goign to almost hate going back to my 00 windstar from the 2010 Grand Caravan Im sporting around in now! I guess I will just enjoy the luxery while I can!

Here is what the dealer told me. I have a 2002 Ford Windstar. I dropped it off Monday, Tuesday said perforations in axle-need new axle. Earliest repair might be end of Jan 2011 but no axles available. They said Ford will pay $ 39/day for a rental if they use Enterprise and Enterprise in NE OHio can put a customer in a Van/SUV for that but guess what–Enterprise has none–all rented out. So, next option is to get a rental from dealer but they don’t want to rent out there fleet and they only get reimbursed from Ford if they use a 2008-2010 model so they gave me a 2002 Ford Explorer. Whatever, it’s clean and runs okay. I told Enterprise I will take a full size vehicle but I am on a 10 person waiting list. I called Ford directly and asked for a buy-out/cash-out, they said they are only offering money on 1999-2000 models. So, they would rather pay $ 3000 for a rental plus the cost of the axle and labor, when the van is probably worth about $ 3000 to $ 4000. I told dealer, tell the Ford rep to cash me out and let me be on my way. FORD is making big mistake with this.

Same thing happened to me over the tapZee bridge in White Plains New York when my axle snapped in half two years ago. Called the dealer and he claimed ignorize about the problem. It cost me $350.00 in towing the vehicle back home, $400.00 for the part and my time installing it. Ford knew about this problem a couple of years ago……! SHAME ON FORD…….!

2001 Windstar — Mine broke twice!!! Back in May, trying to back out of my driveway (thankfully), heard a horrible clunk and then couldn’t move the van. My mechanic said he’d never seen anything like it — no rust or corrosion, just snapped. He priced a replacement — part alone would have been $1,000 + labor for a very labor-intensive job. So he offered to repair it. He welded and reinforced it (where it broke on the driver’s side) and said it would be stronger than a new one. Last Sunday, with six people in my car, heard that same clunk — this time the passenger side snapped. Thankfully again, on a side street going about 25 mph, no one was hurt. Towed it to the nearest dealer and they said to come by and they’d put me in a rental. They gave me a Ford Focus — the rep told me that was all they had right now but he would call me when they got something bigger. As I was leaving, I realized I had forgotten to ask how long it would be — January or February. After I picked my jaw up off the floor, I left with my Focus. The next day, I called Enterprise to see if they had anything bigger. They said “sorry for the miscommunication, but this is all $30/day will get you, anything else will have to come out of your pocket.” I will leave my reply to that statement up to your imagination. Today has consisted of several phone calls to Ford Motor Co., the dealer and Enterprise. I have six people in my family and own a minivan for that reason. I don’t think it’s an unreasonable request to be given a minivan rental given that it’s going to be at least three months!!!! Other than the axle, my van is in excellent condition — it’s also paid for — and I can’t afford another car payment. The way I see it, my family and I aren’t the only lucky ones in terms of potential accidents/injuries — Ford is pretty lucky too — this could be costing them a whole lot more!!

I have a 2003 Windstar SL. I didn’t get a letter until last week. Ford now has my van and will not give it back until they fix it. But the part(s) won’t be in until Jan 2011. They will only give me a $30.00 a day rental credit until then. I have to pay all the taxes and fees for the rental. I don’t drive a small economy car because they are too small for my current lifestyle. I don’t know how I am going to get my kids and their stuff around for the next three months not to mention drive my son and all his stuff home from college, 4 hours away, in December. All I have asked Ford to do, while they fix the van at their expense, is replace my 7 passanger vehicle with another 7 passanger vehicle at no cost to me. Why is that a lot to ask when their company produced the problem, not me.

Brought 2001 windstar in last WEDNESDAY for recall after failing NYS inspection because of the recall. Dealership inspected axle and said the car is not driveable. Keot car and instructed me to got to enterprise for a rental car. Only problem was that enterprise is to bill the dealer and the dealer said he would not pay for the rental. Next, Ford cust support said that certain dealers are not part of the rental recall agreement. If I would have known that I would not have brought my windstar to that dealer. Ford towed my car to a dealer nearly 40 miles away. Not sure why. I do know that their dealer search is based on air miles, not driving miles and my new recall dealer is across the Hudson river from me where there are no briidges. Next problem is the matter of asking the windstar owner to pay the onerous nearly 20% NYS rental car tax that could add up to over $200 per month. Also, not sure who will actually ask me to pay the sales tax, as none of the parties involved knows either or does not want me to know until it is too late. NEVER BUY A FORD AGAIN AND WILL TELL AS MANY OTHERS THE SAME.

My rear axel snapped without warning on my 1999 Ford Winstar Se (100K miles on it) earlier this year, while pulling out of a mall parking lot picking up my daughter and her friends from the movies-5 more minutes I would have been on the Interstate doing 65. I was shocked, this should never happen. No evidence of corrosion clean break in the middle axel, van felt odd backing out of the parking lot, 50 more yards the rear wheels were at an odd angle and the axel cracked half way, it snapped completely coming off the flatbed in my driveway – Ford Dealer informed me the van was just old, Ford would not do anything about it, but for $900 the dealer would happily install a new axle. The van was in good shape otherwise but the repair would have been nearly 1/2 its value – I donated it to a charity broken axel and all . – I could live with the constant electronic gremlins but a snapping axel at 100K miles? – no way! – Despite numerous reports of similar incidents my Ford Dealership would not address it at the time – the fact that Ford is recalling the vehilces just recently adds insult to injury – It will be the my last Ford.

I have gone up the chain to FORD management and they flatly refuse to help in reting a van. Rebecca at FORD says FORD has gone beyond the requirements. The fact that I use the van to transport large stuff and/or 6 people was not good enough to “authorize” an upgrade to a van. They would not, authorize a van rental for a few weeks, nor will the authorized a direct payment to another car rental. I did find another car rental company willing to rent me a van for $38/day for three months. The catch is they need a credit card. The dealer will give a purchase order. The problem is if the payment is not made in time my credit card would be hit with $1,140 charge. I might have to think about buying any FORD vehicles with this treatment. At least my local dealer is trying to help (they suggested another rental company instead of Enterprise). FORD customer service is not show how not to treat a customer.. Does FORD think this is good business practice by making customer so mad they will never look at them again? My dealership says the van buy back plan is for van made before 2000. I wish I junked the van last year when the government would have given me $4,500

Just got offered $2350 by dealer in PA for my 99, 115,000 Fair condition Windstar. Out of pocket for a new G5 from Enterprise is $4.40 a day. I think I’m going to make them fix it and see if I get a counter offer

Ford is making a huge mistake and kissing about 50,000 loyal customers goodbye. Ford is willing to pay about $3500 in rental fees for junky compact cars, then about $750 to fix the recalled cars in March but they are not willing to pay more than about $3000 to buyout the bad cars???? It makes no sense. Offer a fair $5000 and keep your customers (many like me will put the $5000 right into another Ford vehile). I am a loyal Ford customer who appreciated that they avoided bankruptcy and bailouts but this situation makes me again think that American Manufactuters are idiots. Take the money that you are throwing at Enterprise’s junky rentals and save your customer base.

What everyone seems to be forgetting is that Ford is offering what we would get if we decided to trade our vehicle in to buy a new one. Most of us are not in the market for a new one. What Ford should be offering is the amount that we would pay if we were to buy an identical vehicle (minus the cracked axle). Kelly Blue Book tells me to replace my 2000 Windstar SEL with the same frills it would cost me 6,600. That’s a far cry from the 3,095 they have offered me. I will be most interested to see if this gets to the lawsuit stage. I will not be taken advantage of for their mistake and neither should you.

We dropped our 2000 Windstar off last week – worst crack they have ever seen! Of course they won’t give the car back. The parts will take 30-60 days to get. The info I was given by my local dealer is $38 per day for rental (that includes insurance). I called Ford directly to complain – I cannot rent a car for $38 per day and surely not anything that my family of 6 fits in. They put me on a conference call with the local dealer – the dealer said that Enterprise would be able to work with me and give me at least a 4 door sedan that can fit my 3 kids in the back. I felt satisfied and told the dealer I would come in the next Saturday morning. I went in today and was told – the Ford Hotline number the dealers are supposed to call to start the claim is NOT AVAILABLE on Saturdays. I was also told that it has taken up to 5 days for the dealership to get a live person on this hotline to start a claim – busy signal for hours. He then said that I will need to pay up front for the rental with my credit card and then ask Ford to reimburse me!!!!! Which could take some time – no surprise there. Then the guy told me that it will likely take 60 days to get the parts and that Ford can decide not to fix it and offer me a buy back – $2000 – what can I get for that kind of money?? NOTHING!!! It should not be up to Ford if my car is fixed – I should have the OPTION to accept the buy back or demand it be fixed. Ford is looking for the cheapest way out of the toughest most costly repairs.

Isee a lot of you also had transmission problems,as well. Are the two connected? Rear end starts to go bad,vibrations and the drive train delivers them to the transmission. Makes sense,yes-no? We got our notice, took van to dealer, found bad axle car impounded, given rental, dealer wants to buy van. I’m just a little suspicious. Curious as to what you all think

Just got the recall today. Funny thing is I got notice of the recall via a news cast 3 months ago. I immediately phoned the local Ford dealership to get it checked out. I was told to wait for the recall notice. I see a problem here. Knowing that, I just want to wring somebodys neck. These knobs wanted me to drive 3 months knowing I or my kids could potentially get killed. I am going to be a big headache at that dealership. They are going to wish they never sold me this van.

Rear Axle cracked in October 2009 and was replaced with a 2000 rear axle (junk yard type). Total plus towing $684 – recently sent to Ford seeking reimbursement as part of recall – wish me luck 9/22/10 – rear brake drums/shoes/cylinders – (and some other exhaust work) – total $598.00. October 18th – Ford recall received October 26th – filled up gas tank $60.09 and went to dealer for rear axle inspection. Dealership told not to drive and will arrange for a rental. October 27th – Dealer calls and offers $3,000 for buyback of vehicle advising they used Kelley Blue Book – Excellent condition category. Problem is under KBB excellent condition (Windstar SEL w/107,000 miles) price comes back at $5,100 for Suggested retail and $4,050 under private party. Either case – Ford is trying to Zoom me. I called the recall number from the Ford notice – absolute runaround (and I mean absolute) Had I known of the recall, I would not have had the rear brake work done for $598 (not to mention the full tank of gas for $60). Will Ford cover the $598 work from 9/22 knowing the recall was out? They will put me in a rental at a cost in excess of $3,400 (90 days at $38 per) and repair vehicle. Commin sense tells me pay me the $5.100 and we’ll part ways Wish me luck and Ford has lost a customer forever. I’ll be siphoning the gas out of the vehicle on the delarership lot