Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING | |||||
| 13186 | 09/01/1999 | 6090542 | Information regarding front cover & water pump bolts-torque valve revision/3.8-4.2l. *mjs | 03/21/2000 | |
| 99207 | 10/04/1999 | 6089651 | Subject on engine coolant leaking into the engine oil on some vehicles. *tt | 02/11/2000 | |
| 99131 | 06/28/1999 | 606484 | Concerns with engine coolant leaking into engine oil on some vehicles. *tt | 08/25/1999 | |
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE | |||||
| 02221 | 11/11/2002 | 10008304 | Engine-gear driven synchronizers-incorrect installation-camshaft position synchronizer (cmp) installation tool correct application. *mj | 07/27/2004 | |
| 870197 | 10/22/2002 | 10000592 | Incorrectly installed gear driven camshaft position (cmp) sensor synchronizer assemblies causing surge, lost of power, malfunction indicator lamp on and diagnostic trouble codes p1336, p1309 and p0340. *tt | 03/25/2003 | |
| 01124 | 06/25/2001 | 622665 | On some vehicles, engine oil may continue to leak from the engine oil pan gasket area after an engine oil pan gasket repair has been performed. *tt | 10/22/2001 | |
| 13180 | 09/01/1999 | 6090538 | Information regarding camshaft position (cmp) sensor alignment tool chart. *mjs | 03/21/2000 | |
| 6997 | 09/01/1999 | 6090310 | Some service manuals may list the incorrect camshaft position sensor alignment tool for vehicles with various engine sizes. *tt | 03/14/2000 | |
| 6996 | 09/01/1999 | 6090309 | Information regarding a change in the torque values of the engine front cover water pump bolts. *tt | 03/14/2000 | |
| 5518 | 03/01/1999 | 605190 | Information on servicing oil pan gasket leaks. *tt | 06/03/1999 | |
| 97516 | 03/03/1997 | 51954 | Engine- 3.8l - chirping noise during normal engine operation. *jd | 07/17/1997 | |
| 97610 | 03/17/1997 | 51990 | Blower motor- chirping or squeaking from blower motor at low speeds. *jd | 07/17/1997 | |
| BC9666961001 | 10/01/1996 | 50527 | 2.5l duratec engine exchanges no longer include front end accessory drive component, oil level indicator, water pump belt/tensioner, egr tube, linkshaft bracket or exhaust manifolds. *tt | 05/27/1997 | |
| BC0990961021 | 10/21/1996 | 50442 | Information on engine oil leak at the oil pan, front cover &/or the front & rear crankshaft oil seal. *tt | 04/24/1997 | |
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE - GASOLINE | |||||
| 01246 | 12/10/2001 | 630515 | Engine oil system priming procedures, service tips for reports of premature engine failure. *tt | 04/18/2002 | |
| 0214 | 01/21/2002 | 630001 | Some engine assemblies with aluminum cylinder heads repaired in-vehile have been found to leak coolant and/or oil from the cylinder head gasket area. *tt | 04/11/2002 | |
| 01205 | 10/15/2001 | 627927 | Some vehicles may exhibit vacuum or air leaks in the intake manifold and / or engine system causing diagnostic trouble codes p0171 and or p0174. *tt | 02/26/2002 | |
| 0147 | 03/05/2001 | 619424 | Subject regarding engine oil recommendations for use in 2001 vehicles - sae 5w-20 motor oil. *tt | 05/30/2001 | |
| 983108 | 02/01/1998 | 607402 | Effective march 2, 1998m3.8l engine assembly is added to fqr(ford quality renewal) assembly program. *ak | 12/21/2000 | |
| 12174 | 11/01/1998 | 613224 | Some vehicles may exhibit a hard start/long crank, cold start stall, cold rough idle concern. *mjs | 06/19/2000 | |
| 13242 | 09/01/1999 | 6090638 | Information regarding tsb 97-20-08 for 3.8l engines only. *mjs | 03/22/2000 | |
| 99183 | 09/06/1999 | 6090051 | Service tip information on revised oil pan gasket replacement procedure. *tt | 03/06/2000 | |
| 99816 | 05/03/1999 | 606420 | Ford motor company now recommends sae 5w-30 viscosity grade for servicing any ford gasoline-powered vehicle regardless of model year. *tt | 08/19/1999 | |
| 982511 | 12/21/1998 | 603649 | Service tips on composite fuel rail. *yc | 03/01/1999 | |
| BC0122970201 | 01/02/1997 | 51033 | Unique cold start up strategy that will raise initial cold fast idle to 2100 rpm. *jd | 06/27/1997 | |
| BC1013097020 | 01/02/1997 | 51194 | Cold start up strategy that will raise initial cold fast idle to 2100 rpm. *jd | 06/27/1997 | |
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - EXHAUST SYSTEM | |||||
| 983581 | 01/01/1998 | 607843 | Some vehicles may exhibit conditions of exhaust drone at 1700 rpm. *tt | 10/13/1999 | |
| 982010 | 10/12/1998 | 603695 | Experiencing a buzzing or rattling noise from the exhaust system. *yc | 03/02/1999 | |
| 9864 | 03/30/1998 | 601312 | Information on a buzzing or rattle noise from the exhaust system. *tt | 07/21/1998 | |
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - EXHAUST SYSTEM - EMISSION CONTROL | |||||
| 981512 | 08/03/1998 | 609551 | A direct replacement part for the evaporative emission canister and bracket assembly. ak | 04/03/2000 | |
| 982310 | 11/23/1998 | 603724 | Mass air flow (maf)- sensor contamination- service tip. *ak | 03/03/1999 | |
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - EXHAUST SYSTEM - MANIFOLD/HEADER/MUFFLER/TAIL PIPE | |||||
| 13309 | 10/01/1999 | 6092131 | Some vehicles with 3.8l engine may exhibit black soot on the lower section of the right rear quarter panel. *tt | 11/27/2000 | |
| 7120 | 10/01/1999 | 6090716 | Some vehicles may exhibit black soot emitted from the tailpipe leaving deposits on right rearl lower quarter panel. *tt | 03/27/2000 | |
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING | |||
| 05/28/2010 | 135000 | ||
| I turned the air conditioning on in the van and after about 10 minutes, turned it to the 'max ac' position. the hood started steaming so i turned the air completely off. after less than a minute, i noticed the hood was smoking so i pulled to the side of the road immediately. i turned the car off and exited the van and saw that the passenger side of the hood was on fire. i ran to the passenger side and opened the sliding door, and got my 18 month old and 4 year old out of the vehicle. after we were all a safe distance away i saw that most of the hood of the van was in flames. by the time the fire department arrived about 5 minutes later, the entire hood was on fire with a lot of black smoke. the entire engine compartment looks charred and partially melted. the vehicle is beyond repair. i'm thankful my children are safe but i am very concerned about the safety (failure) of this vehicle. | |||
| 10/15/2002 | 106000 | ||
| At 150,000km (94,000 miles) was in for front spring recall and dealer recommended engine front gasket replacement. immediately had this repair done ($900 cdn). shortly after my mechanic stated that he could hear a slight knocking and predicted the engine bearing would go within the year. i started campaining with ford based on the history of gasket failure (coolant leaks past gasket into oil causing bearing failure). ford customer care said they need a dealer to diagnose the problem so had a dealer check it out with no problem found. at close to 170,000km (106,000 miles) the knocking became louder and the oil light began to flicker. again contacted ford who asked for dealer diagnosis which i did and confirmed need engine replacement. ford customer care said there were no programs for my vehicle therefore no coverage but would consider partial payment as good will gesture if repaired at a ford dealer. continued to email ford but they stopped responding to my concern. had the engine replaced at my mechanic. | |||
| 11/15/2003 | 35998 | ||
| At a routine nys inspection, the ford dealer advised that the head gaskets needed to be replaced. the car is 6 years old with 36k miles. called ford for assistance, and got profuse apologizes, and no help with a $1600.00 repair. the car is exhibiting no symptoms of any problems, and i do not have the money for the repair. for such low mileage, i think that fmc should make some attempt to assist with this complaint. they are certainly aware of the problem with the 95 & 96 windstars!! | |||
| 08/15/2003 | 87000 | ||
| I bought this 1997 ford windstar in march of 2003. the very next day i returned to the independent car dealer due to the check engine light was on. they said nothing was wrong and they reset the light. within a week it was on again and this time they said it was a fluxation in the electrical current and it was making the light come on. they reset it. about 2 weeks later it is losing coolant somewhere and running rough, they check it and now it needs 2 out of 4 oxygen sensors replaced im told. they pay for it if they truly fixed it because about 2-3 weeks later i am havint the same problems so they replace the other 2 oxygen sensors, but cannot explain the coolant loss. ever since i have had nothing but problems so i decided to go to the local ford dealer even though i try to avoid dealers because of prices and they charge me $58 to tell me i need a head gasket, my abs system is not working, timing cover is leaking, ball bearing is shot and my antifreeze looks like mud. this is all wrote on a service estimate i asked them for. it would cost about $1700 + tax for them to fix. i have read that ford knew they had a problem with the 95 windstars and the head gaskets and offered an extended warranty or money towards a new car so i feel they know all windstars with this 3.8l engine are faulty not just the 95's. i called ford and they told me tough luck basically. i have read on the internet numerous complaints about the head gaskets in all 3.8l windstars and i want my van fixed. | |||
| 10/15/2003 | 82200 | ||
| I own a 1997 ford windstar minivan (vin# 2fmda514xvbc98040) that contains a 3.8 v6. at 82,000 miles, the head gasket has blown. the dealer tells me that it will cost between $2000 and $4000 to repair. after doing extensive research on the web, it appears that the 1995 and 1996 models also had head gasket problems due to an admitted design flaw. ford claims to have corrected the problem-but there are increasing numbers of owners of 1997 models that are experienceing the same problem. repeated visits to the dealership-as well as numerous calls to ford-have resulted in dead ends. i get responses such as: the warranty has expired, there are no recalls on your vehicle at this time, etc. but since this is clearly due to a design flaw in the engine, then shouldn't this still be covered and corrected? ford offered a brief program to repair the earlier models-so why hasn't this been offered on the later years? ford claims that they have fixed the problem-which they clearly have not-yet they expect people to simply pay for the repairs. i believe that ford needs to be held accountable for this, and that they should offer to perform the work at either a discounted rate, or for free since this is due to their engine design. even the manual claims the head gasket is expected to last for at least 120,000 miles, and i was told that this was the case with this vehicle. had i known of the problems other owners were having, i would have reconsidered my decision to purchase this van. to that end, i feel that i was misled somewhat. it is my hope to have ford admit to the problem and offer to repair my vehicle at no charge. given the circumstances-and the amount of evidence supporting the claim of negligence on the behalf of ford-this should not be an unreasonable request. | |||
| 06/08/2003 | 58000 | 1 | 02/24/1997 |
| Head gasket leaked, timing cover cracked. $3,000.00 + repair bill.*ak | |||
| 01/28/2003 | 50008 | 1 | |
| The engine over heated.*jb | |||
| 11/06/2002 | 2 | 06/01/2001 | |
| 97 windstar has head gasket failure im still paying on it purchades at avis ford of southfield 12 mile telegrap mi cannot afford fixin it i believe is a manufacure failure and need to be fix do not have any safer transportation available at this time please hel us | |||
| 08/16/2002 | 1 | 04/01/1999 | |
| While driving, the consumer turned the ignition off. upon starting the vehicle again, the starter made a funny noise. also, the thermostat was extremely high. the consumer had taken the vehicle to the dealer, and the problem was not resolved. *ak the consumer stated that the radiator was opened and the anti-freeze was low-refilled. the mechanic thought it was the water pump. the head gasket was leaking. *scc | |||
| 07/19/2002 | |||
| While driving temperature gauge will point to hot, causing tvehicle to overheat. consumer will have to pull over. dealer notified.*ak | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - COOLING SYSTEM | |||
| 09/08/2003 | 1 | ||
| Gaskets have completely failed. *ak | |||
| 07/19/2002 | |||
| While driving temperature gauge will point to hot, causing tvehicle to overheat. consumer will have to pull over. dealer notified.*ak | |||
| 01/01/2000 | |||
| We believe the sheer number of defect on this car is unbelievable. we purchased it used from my parents. total cost of non wear and tear repairs is around $5000. this is over 25% of the vehicles original value, and over 50% of the value at time of purchase. while no accidents have occurred, we believe ford should take responsibility for a bad product. *ak | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE | |||
| 02/11/2005 | 75172 | 5 | 01/01/1997 |
| Dt: the contact states has been having several problems with vehicle since 2002. on april 28, 2004 the speedometer was not providing an accurate speed reading. on december 9, 2004 the sliding door would not unlock or slide properly. the dealer replaced the door lock actuator and determined that the slide wheels were dry. the dealership replaced the door latch, and now it needed replacement again. on february 5, 2005 the engine was replaced at 75, 172 miles, and on november 21, 2005 the power steering failed and was replaced. all repairs have been done at contact's expense.*ak | |||
| 06/01/2004 | 63644 | 1 | 10/01/1998 |
| Due to a faulty head gasket, anti freeze leaked into the oil and ruined the engine. *ph the dealer refused to replace the vehicles faulty gaskets free of charge because the vehicle's warranty had expired. the consumer indicated that a recall was issued on the vehicle but the dealer still refused to repair the vehicle. *nm *sc *jb | |||
| 03/20/2004 | 92300 | 2 | 08/01/1998 |
| 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. *ak | |||
| 10/07/2003 | 82000 | 1 | 07/10/2002 |
| I own a 1997 ford windstar minivan (vin# 2fmda514xvbc98040) that contains a 3.8 v6. at 82,000 miles, the head gasket has blown. the dealer tells me that it will cost between $2000 and $4000 to repair. after doing extensive research on the web, it appears that the 1995 and 1996 models also had head gasket problems due to an admitted design flaw. ford claims to have corrected the problem-but there are increasing numbers of owners of 1997 models that are experiencing the same problem. repeated visits to the dealership-as well as numerous calls to ford-have resulted in dead ends. i get responses such as: the warranty has expired, there are no recalls on your vehicle at this time, etc. but since this is clearly due to a design flaw in the engine, then shouldn't this still be covered and corrected? ford offered a brief program to repair the earlier models-so why hasn't this been offered on the later years? ford claims that they have fixed the problem-which they clearly have not-yet they expect people to simply pay for the repairs. i believe that ford needs to be held accountable for this, and that they should offer to perform the work at either a discounted rate, or for free since this is due to their engine design. even the manual claims the head gasket is expected to last for at least 120,000 miles, and i was told that this was the case with this vehicle. had i known of the problems other owners were having, i would have reconsidered my decision to purchase this van. to that end, i feel that i was misled somewhat. it is my hope to have ford admit to the problem and offer to repair my vehicle at no charge. given the circumstances-and the amount of evidence supporting the claim of negligence on the behalf of ford-this should not be an unreasonable request. *la | |||
| 1 | |||
| Engine timing belt and cylinder head leaked.*ak | |||
| 02/04/2003 | 65000 | 1 | |
| The head gasket leaked.*jb | |||
| 02/18/2003 | 90000 | ||
| I bought my 1997 windstar used 6 months ago with 87,000 on it, i have driven only 3,000 miles and my engine blew with no warning. this was the most expensive used car i had ever owned and we did everything we could before we bought it..we checked the vin report on carfax...we had the vehicle checked out by our own mechanic. i thought i had found a great (dream for me)vehicle. ben satcher ford in sc said there was no recall on this car only the 95 model and that problem had been since fixed. so i'm stuck with paying $3000 for a new engine while i still owe $6000 on my vehicle. this vehicle is the only way i can transport my 3 children around together, our other vehicle is a pick-up with only front seats...so were stranded. | |||
| 02/14/2003 | 88890 | 2 | 03/01/2001 |
| Have a 97 ford windstar all of a sudden i had a tire blow completely here to find out that the coil spring on drivers front broke and went into tire, then to find out there was a recall 2 years ago on it but was never notified of it and also a few weeks ago, van all of a sudden kept getting real hot with rolling white smoke just to find out that there was problems with the head gaskets on these windstars but yet still was never notified, this is not right, i feel we were cheated, now have a van that sits and still owe $10,000 on because i'm a family man of six and cannot afford the cost of these major repairs, i'm afraid of what might of happened if this would of blew with all my family in it on a highway, is this how the ford company treats their consumers by lying and decieving them. | |||
| 02/13/2002 | 72000 | 1 | |
| Coolant low engine ran warm, no leaks found. february 2003, engine was filled with coolant because of leak. starter blew and engine locked up. ph | |||
| 11/13/2002 | 77000 | 0 | |
| Blown head gasket on 3.8 engine on 1997 ford windstar, with only 77,000 miles. ford with not offer any help. after owning a ford for past 28 years, this is the last ford product that my family will ever own. ever! ts | |||
| 09/15/2002 | |||
| Consumer states engine light illuminated. took to dealer and they stated that it was a blown head gasket. please provide any further information. | |||
| 08/27/2002 | |||
| Abs braking light system appears on dashboard. also there is coolant mixed in with oil inside of engine. dealership is aware of the problems. *ak | |||
| 08/16/2002 | 1 | 04/01/1999 | |
| While driving, the consumer turned the ignition off. upon starting the vehicle again, the starter made a funny noise. also, the thermostat was extremely high. the consumer had taken the vehicle to the dealer, and the problem was not resolved. *ak the consumer stated that the radiator was opened and the anti-freeze was low-refilled. the mechanic thought it was the water pump. the head gasket was leaking. *scc | |||
| 08/07/2002 | |||
| Vehicle was leaking coolant while driving, vehicle taken to a repair shop and they informed that vehicle was going into the frist stage of a blown head gasket. dealer and manufacturer were not notified at this time. feel free to provide any further information.*ak | |||
| 07/07/2002 | 08/01/2001 | ||
| Head gasket blew out at 68000 miles.*ak | |||
| 03/20/2002 | 1 | ||
| Consumer states head gasket blew, consistent with historical problem on this engine, dealer initially paid one half of repair due to history. *ak *yd | |||
| 07/02/2001 | 1 | 03/01/1997 | |
| We have a blown head gasket at 115,000 miles even though we had the van to the dealership several times when it was under warranty with concerns that the head gaskets were blown. they blew us off like we were idiots!! we had to have the door windows repaired because they were installed incorrectly, the latch assembly on the hatch broke we took it in and had repaired then approximately 1year later it broke again! of course that time it was not covered because we were under the extended warranty and they refused to replace the latch, instead they wanted me to pay $250 to replace a piece of plastic that could not be purchased seperately! the rear windshield wiper quit working. we also have to periodically scrape and clean the sensor for the sliding door otherwise it will not stop dinging. the driver side mirror cracked the first winter, it was replaced and the replacement cracked the next winter. right now this van is not running and we had to have the head pressure checked and resurfaced, will have to replace the head gaskets, etc... if we are lucky we will have a van that runs if not we will have to replace the engine which will be around $4500 or more. we have already spent several hundred. i feel ford should be paying for these services especially since we took this van to the dealer several times and were told there was nothing wrong except we needed to replace our o2 sensors!! ford is junk!!! | |||
| 01/10/2001 | 1 | 05/01/1997 | |
| This car had a blown head gasket after only 80000 miles. it is a 3.8 l engine that has a history of failures. how long can ford continue selling this junk? it seems to be going on forever. *ak | |||
| 11/10/2000 | 11/01/1996 | ||
| Mechanic states that vehicle has a history of head gasket failures in prevoius years. *ak | |||
| 02/06/2000 | 03/01/1997 | ||
| Had a blown head gasket at 27,888 miles, and also after that they had to replace the entire engine. i also found a beer can smashed between my spare tire and the frame of my van. this is that way it came from the factory. what kind of quality is this. are people drinking alchohol while working on assembling my van. now i stuck with this sorry ford product. they need to buy my van back and replace with a new one. *ak | |||
| 12/29/1999 | 03/01/1997 | ||
| Van lost power and stalled. took to service center and was found to have main bearing spun and cracked block. since warranty was over on mileage, neither the dealer nor ford motor company will warranty or even look at it. was told it was lack of maintenance that caused problem. *ak | |||
| At 67,000 miles the head gasket has blown, causing the vehicle to become inoperable. cause unknown. please give any further details. *ak | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE - GASOLINE | |||
| 01/27/2006 | 10 | ||
| Next cars usa in bakersfield california sold us a ford windstar which was defective (a lemon). within two week after our purchase the vehicle cut off jeopardizing the safety of my children each time we pressed the accelerator pedal. we have taken the vehicle to next cars for repairs and to date we are now moving into our third month without transportation. when we inquired about a loan vehicle juan casillas (manager) response was that we don't do that. we have filed a complaint with the better business bureau and when next cars received the complaint on march 8, 2006 juan casillas told us that we just stopped working on the car because you pissed us off. we are at our wits end and so we are submitting this complaint for an investigation. *jb | |||
| 08/16/2002 | 1 | 04/01/1999 | |
| While driving, the consumer turned the ignition off. upon starting the vehicle again, the starter made a funny noise. also, the thermostat was extremely high. the consumer had taken the vehicle to the dealer, and the problem was not resolved. *ak the consumer stated that the radiator was opened and the anti-freeze was low-refilled. the mechanic thought it was the water pump. the head gasket was leaking. *scc | |||
| 08/25/2001 | 1 | 08/01/1999 | |
| Purchased vehicle used from dealer who stated vehicle purchased new there. due to lg number of same type of engine defects in this vehicle would like to know if this vehicle was included in recall in 1998 and never repaired.or if dealer previously repaired vehicle and resold it. i have read several other listings on this website and the problems we are experiencing with this vehicle are identical to those listed. if this is a poorly made component amends should be made. estimated repair costs to my vehicle at this time stand at $2300.00. this is an extrordinary amount of money to pay for a manufacturer defect. we were told the head gaskets needed to be replace and possible the head was cracked. we are getting a check engine light and white smoke from the tailpipe as well as antifreeze odor and evaporation the engine is running hot and we have had no prior problem with overheating i am at my wits end about what to do with so many people seemingly affected by this 3.8l engine problem why is ford not stepping up???z*ak | |||
| 1 | 03/01/1997 | ||
| The check engine light illuminates intermittently, possible engine failure. nlm | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - EXHAUST SYSTEM | |||
| 04/09/2006 | 70000 | 1 | |
| Tl*the contact owns a 1997 ford windstar. the contact stated that the front end of the vehicle was abnormally low. upon further inspection, he noticed that the front coil springs fractured due to excessive rust. the failure caused the tires to deflate. the dealer stated that the vin was excluded from nhtsa campaign id number 01v199000 (suspension:front:springs:coil springs); therefore, they would not assume responsibility for any repairs. the vehicle has not been repaired according to the recall. the failure mileage was 70,000 and current mileage was 90,000. updated 6/4/09 *cn the exhaust system was replaced and brake lines snapping. updated 06/09/09.*jb | |||
| 11/10/1999 | 1 | ||
| Crankcase cracked. yh | |||