Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| WHEELS | |||
| 10/28/2007 | 58000 | 1 | 10/01/1996 |
| Tl*the contact owns a 1996 ford aerostar. while driving 50 mph, the contact heard a loud roaring sound. she stopped the vehicle and noticed that the rear passenger wheel spokes failed. the wheel was replaced with a spare tire. there was no damage to the tire or vehicle. the wheel was inspected by the repair shop and they stated that the wheel was defective. the wheels were the original wheels for the vehicle. the powertrain was unknown. the current and failure mileages were 58,000. | |||
| 03/20/2006 | 124000 | 1 | |
| Dt*: the contact stated the front wheels on the vehicle cracked. this was noticed from a visual inspection by the contact. the manufacturer was alerted and stated the wheels cracked under stress from the vehicle. | |||
| 04/05/2002 | 3 | 08/24/1996 | |
| Aluminium wheels have cracks in them. dealer notified.*ak *tt | |||
| 12/20/2001 | 1 | 08/01/1997 | |
| The right front wheel has fatigue cracks around lug nut holes, chp suggest that we contact you, could be a safety issue. *ak | |||
| 01/01/2002 | 3 | 01/01/1996 | |
| Three of original aluminum spoke wheels have broken across the spokes. dealer/ manufacturer contacted. *ak *jg | |||
| 09/29/2001 | |||
| Casting on alloy wheels failed. of seven spokes on wheels three had broken. wheels were falling off the axle. contacted dealer, and ford. ford stated did not have a recall on alloy wheels. dealer stated will not replace wheels unless under warranty.*ak | |||
| 08/01/2001 | 06/01/1996 | ||
| Both front wheels have cracks in the ford manufactured spook wheels. ford contacted and had no explanation and stated it is my problem. one ford mechanic contacted and 4 wheel shops contacted and stated it appears to be a design flaw. ford representatives had no concern concerning safety issue. as of this date ford will not accept any liablity. | |||
| 06/01/2001 | 1 | ||
| Three out of the four aluminium wheels on the axle of the car where cracking until consumer switched to steel wheels at his expense. dealer was contacted for reimbursement, but refused to honor consumers request. *ak | |||
| 04/01/2001 | 2 | 10/01/1996 | |
| 1. this is the second time that a wheel has deveolped a crack in one of its spokes. 2. a bolt that holds the frontside driver seatback in an upright position sheared off and allowed the seatback to move freely back and forth.*ak | |||
| 07/27/1999 | 3 | ||
| Vehicle parked. owner noticed 3 wheels were cracked/broken. took vehicle to dealership to have wheels replaced. mechanic gave no indication of what caused the wheels to be cracked or broken. *ak *ml | |||
| 04/18/2000 | 2 | 09/16/1997 | |
| While driving heard loud clicking noise from left front wheel, discovered cracks in left wheel, replaced the wheel | |||
| 11/11/1999 | |||
| Aluminium wheels have a crack on the passengers side wheel. *ak | |||
| 01/13/2000 | 2 | 07/01/1996 | |
| During a brake inspection at a tire store, it was pointed out that the original aluminum wheels were cracked. two of the large spokes on one wheel were cracked through. one other was cracked but not all the way through. i called wendle ford who had sold me the car. they said it wasn't a warranty item and they had never heard of such a failure before. i took the car to the dealer ship to show them the cracked wheels. they then told me that i was the second person today (january 14, 2000) who had the same problem with cracked wheels on an aerostar, but it still isn't a warranty or recall item and they would be happy to sell me new wheels. i don't believe wheels should be cracking after 3 years. this is also a safety concern. luckily the problem was found before it caused an accident. i have to believe that this problem is widespread if 2 of us in one day at one dealership had the problem. *ak | |||
| 07/09/1999 | 1 | 02/01/1997 | |
| Wheel rims failed. after feeling severe wobble at speed, driver pulled over and found the aluminum wheel rim on fr wheel was failing. 3 of 4 wheels showed severe fractures in spokes. wheels are aluminum with 7 spokes. wheel type 49 for 1996 areostars. rf had 4 completely fractured spokes and 1 partial, wheel was out of alignment and ready to come off if driven further. this would have been a catastrophic failure and complete loss of vehicle control. rr showed 1 spoke completely fractured and 2 partials. lf showed 1 spoke partially fractured. lr showed no defects. this vehicle is a family use, with some light towing and no abuse. no wheel defects were noted at prior ford dealer service 42000 miles or by owner at 48500 miles. wheel failures seem to be sudden. no road hazzards where involved. ford dealer is holding failed rims. | |||
| WHEELS - RIM | |||
| 04/21/2005 | 1 | 08/05/1997 | |
| While doing periodic inspection of my vehicle noticed 2 cracked spokes on rear right 14x6 alloy rim. the crack is all the way through . local ford dealer was not helpful at all. this tire has not impacted anything as the ford dealer eluded to, and i feel this is a definite safety issue, and the cracks may be due to a manufacturing defect. any help in this matter would be appreciated. ford should acknowledge there is a problem and quit blaming the consumer.*ak | |||
| 11/08/2004 | 3 | 07/31/1996 | |
| A few years ago we noticed that 2 of the aluminum wheels on our 1996 aerostar were cracked . we took the vehicle to the ford motor co.service department where we were living at the time the service manager contacted the regional manager, who agreed to pay half of the replacement costs. since that time, 2 additional aluminum wheels have cracked. we have been told that ford will not replace these. i feel that this is definitely a safety issue, and that the cracks are due to a manufacturing defect, which ford motor co. should acknowledge and correct. wheels are not a normal wear item.*ak | |||
| 09/01/2003 | 1 | ||
| My 1996 ford aerostar has 14x6 aluminum allow wheel rims. the rims have 7 triangular slots and 7 wide/flat spokes. one of these rims is cracking. the crack is progressing from one spoke to another. i have stopped driving the vehicle all together. after almost a month of searching for a used replacement rim i have found out that i am not the only one with this problem. i suspected that this may be the case when i could not find any on-line company that had these in stock (used or new). today i spoke with a woman at ackerwheels.com and learned that this rim can only be purchased from the dealer. she warned me that if i ordered one from the dealer to look it over carefully for cracks. i asked her if this was a common problem. she said it was and that i should not expect ford to recall it. i believe that all of my other three rims are now suspect. what can you do? *jb | |||
| 09/11/2003 | 1 | 04/10/1996 | |
| One of seven spokes on left front alloy wheel/rim is cracked all the way through. right rear wheel/rim is starting to crack (showing on top surface). local ford dealer said there are no recalls on this item. one local used auto parts distributer said he was not allowed to sell this type of rim because of potential liability suits. another used parts distributer said he gets several request a month for the same rim. based on the number of complaints, ford should recall the rims before failures/fatalities. *jb | |||
| 02/01/2003 | 124500 | 2 | 04/19/1997 |
| On 9/17/02 the right front alloy wheel cracked while on vacation. we were unable to travel in it. it was expensive and difficult to replace. on 2/1/03 (also out of town) the left back alloy wheel cracked. we are searching for a replaement. our mechanic told us this should not happen and must be a manufacturing defect. there are several similair complaits please evaluate as it could cause a severe accident. | |||
| Wheel rim base is cracked. dealer has been contacted. *ak | |||
| While inspecting noticed hair line cracks on aluminum wheels and rims. replaced all four wheels with steel wheel rims. *ak | |||
| 1 | 05/01/1996 | ||
| Left front and right rear aluminum tire rims cracked in four different places, causing failure which could result in injury if tire rim was to fall off. *yc | |||