Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| COMMUNICATIONS - BACK UP ALARM | |||||
| 04262 | 03/07/2005 | 05419 | 10014671 | False parking aid warnings. *tt update. *tt | 05/05/2005 |
| 99177 | 08/23/1999 | 607647 | Some customers may complain that the reverse park aid system may sound an audible warning tone when the vehicle is in reverse even though there are no objects behind the vehicles. *tt | 10/04/1999 | |
| 99410 | 03/08/1999 | 604766 | Concerns of false activation of the reverse sensing system (rss). *tt | 05/12/1999 | |
| COMMUNICATIONS - HORN ASSEMBLY | |||||
| 6502 | 07/01/1999 | 610659 | Some customers may comment that the horn requires higher than normal effort to operate. *tt | 05/10/2000 | |
| 12891 | 06/01/1999 | 606920 | Conditions with horn that requires high effort to operate. *tt | 09/08/1999 | |
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| COMMUNICATIONS - BACK UP ALARM | |||
| 07/09/2002 | 35000 | 5 | 07/22/1999 |
| The reverse sensing system at the present time is inoperative. it has been back to ford 5 or 6 times for repair. it seems to fail after a heavy rain. i was involved in an accident 1 time when i was backing out of a parking space and backed into a vehicle that was passing behind me which i didn't see. there has been several other times when i relied on the sensor to warn me if someone was walking behind the van especially someone that is short, i'm unable to see and depended on the reverse sensor to warn me. each time i went back to the dealer until the warranty ran out to have it repaired. the repair dept told me that it is poorly designed. as soon as the wires to the system got wet it would fail. they changed the harness and it would work until it got wet. *tr | |||
| COMMUNICATIONS - HORN ASSEMBLY | |||
| 05/02/2003 | 0 | 06/11/1999 | |
| Horn is very hard to activate. i see that many people have already filed this complaint, but i don't see any action taken. ford has sold a car with a useless horn, which must be in violation of some safety regulation. *tt | |||
| 02/21/2003 | 34000 | 10 | 07/28/2002 |
| The horn is near impossible to activate in an emergency and even not in an emergency. | |||
| Horn assembly is hard to locate on steering wheel. dealer has been notified. please provide further information.*ak | |||
| Horn does not work. dealer checked vehicle, and installed a new horn assembly, but horn still does not function.*ak | |||
| 09/09/2000 | 1 | 07/30/2000 | |
| Consumer states he has never been able to activate horn, have been unable to activate during dangerous near-crash situations.*jb | |||
| 02/01/1999 | |||
| Horn button is difficult to operate. it is also impossible to modulate, resulting in all-or- nothing operation.*ak | |||
| 06/01/1999 | 1 | 06/06/1999 | |
| Horn is very hard to press, and at night symbol is very difficult to see. contacted dealer, and dealer noted that problem is normal for a vehicle. *ak *slc | |||
| 05/21/2001 | |||
| Horn will only blow if horn is hit at direct center and with a lot of force. consumer was run off the road by another vehicle since she was unable to locate spot for horn. *ak | |||
| 03/01/2000 | |||
| Contacts for horn are difficult to locate, and they are very hard to push to sound horn. *ak | |||
| 1 | |||
| Horn sensor is extremely difficult to locate in an emergency. *ak | |||
| It is very difficult to depress the horn pad/button. dealership is unable to fix due to configuration. *cj | |||
| 1 | 12/01/1999 | ||
| To avoid an accident conusmer depressed horn buttons, and horn would not sound. consumer stated horn buttons have to be depressed very hard to sound.*ak the design of the horn and steering wheel assembly does not provide effective access to horn in emergency situations. also, turn signal does not properly engage on curved road ways. *yh | |||
| 01/01/1999 | |||
| Horn button will not respond when needed in a hurry-up situation. exact location must be depressed for horn to blow. never has the horn blown when i needed it in a hurry. use of the heel or palm of your hand will not blow the horn. you must locate the horn emblem first, then depress the horn there. in a hurry-up need for the horn, there is no time to find the button. the dealer states that this is due to the air bag installed within the steering wheel and therefore there is only a small area that will activate the horn. in my personal opinion, this is a safety issue. i have had many occassions to blow the horn for someone getting too close to me, or changing lanes with a threat of sideswiping me. when i hit the horn with the heel of my hand, there is no response. in the 2 years + that i've had the car, i've still been unable to overcome this by trying to hit just the right spot to blow the horn. i have inquired with other windstar owners when i see one in a parking lot. they all say the same thing. basically, they say, and i agree, the horn is non-functional when needed in a hurry. *ak | |||
| 08/01/1999 | |||
| Horn does not function or needs very high effort. useless in emergency avoidance. someone is going to get in an accident if they rely on this horn.*ak | |||
| 06/10/1999 | 06/01/1999 | ||
| Horn delay equivalent to a delay in the brake system. upgraded by ford from outgariously slow to terriblely slow. useless in a parking lot. ineffective in traffic because of lack of timely response. a horn is a safety device used as warning system. it is ineffective because it is time delayed even after an upgrade. i get angry and frustrated every time i try to use it. | |||
| 06/01/1999 | 100 | 06/01/1999 | |
| Horn does not work unless you hit it with a sledge hammer. multiple near accident misses. | |||
| 1 | |||
| Horn is very difficult to press. it takes extreme pressure from driver for horn to blow. also, it is very difficult to find the right spot to push. vehicle was made with a defect. horn has not worked.*ak | |||
| 03/01/1999 | |||
| Horn button is very difficult to find on steering/airbag. you have to press very hard in a small area only in the center. in an emergency, i'm sure i would not be able to use it and an avoidable accident could happen. *ak | |||
| 1 | |||
| The horn is not sensitive enough to activate by pressing, requires excessive effort. yh | |||
| 02/15/2000 | 1 | 12/29/1999 | |
| Vehicle has experienced a problem with activating the horn when needed. dealer notified, and informed consumer that all 99 models have the same design and meet fmvss specifications. *ak the problem was due to air bag in horn and fixing it is presently not possible. *yh | |||
| 06/01/1999 | 30 | 06/01/1999 | |
| The horn is very hard to blow at times of need. and not really easy accessible. *ak | |||
| 1 | |||
| The horn location is hard to find due to design. yh | |||
| 12/21/1999 | 04/01/1999 | ||
| On the 21st of dec 99, my wife was involved in an accident in our windstar. this accident could have been avoided if the horn were useable. the way the horn button is now you will have a difficult time trying to find the exact spot to push to get the horn to sound. when time is critical in the outcome, searching for that exact spot isn't a player. this was the case on the 21st. when an individual tried to cross the highway he hit our van on the right side causing $6500 in damage. prior to the impact she tried to hit the horn but could not find it when it was needed most. we are almost 100% positive that if she could have found the horn she could have sounded it, and the other driver would have seen her coming. luckily my 18 month old and 5 yr old daughters were not with her at the time. now i have a $30,000 minivan that will never be of any value again. sure it will be fixed, but who would ever want a vehicle like that that has had extensive damage. i guess thats my loss though. | |||
| The horn is very difficult to use when needed due to location. it would fail to work when button is pushed. taken vehicle to dealer to check & was informed by mechanic no problem with horn. *ak | |||
| 1 | |||
| Poor design makes it difficult for consumer to locate the horn button. nlm | |||
| 01/05/1999 | 01/01/1999 | ||
| While driving down the road had to blow the horn, it didn't work. contacted dealer ,nothing could be done. consumer would have to take eyes off the road to find a spot on the steering wheel to sound the horn. *ak | |||
| 1 | |||
| The design of the horn button is to small to be seen for emergency use. yh | |||
| 12/18/1998 | 1 | 12/01/1998 | |
| I have been told by the dealership that these problems are identical on all models coming in, including the expedition. the horn does not work and they cannot fix it. | |||
| 03/01/1999 | |||
| Horn is very hard to deploy; sweet spot too small and requires excessive effort. cannot be used quickly. ford corporate refused to respond to my worries about this. also seatback lever springs middle seats back so hard i have been whacked in the head so hard i saw stars. | |||
| 50 | 10/01/1998 | ||
| Horn very hard to activate. very hard to locate sweet spot without looking down at steering wheel, causing dangerous situation. | |||
| 06/01/1999 | |||
| Horn requires extreme force to operate. pass rear sliding door, inside panel rubs against rear fender scratching surface. | |||
| 06/05/1999 | 06/05/1999 | ||
| Ongoing problem with the design of horn which has a delayed reaction when needed. confirmed this in two diffeerent vehicles ( same model and year). seeking nhtsa help in this matter or provide additional information. *ak * mjs | |||
| 06/01/1999 | |||
| Seatback spring is too strong. the seatback swings forward when handle is pulled. dealer aware of problem. cannot remedy the problem., and problem still exists.also, horn in center of steering wheel, censor in horn is too small, causing difficulty in use of horn. proviide further information. *ak | |||
| 10 | 03/01/1999 | ||
| The horn does sound easily when pushing on the center of the steering wheel. often the horn fails to sound. the technicians at my ford dealer said that it is like the other windstars. also the design is dangerous requiring moving the hand from the rim of the steering wheel to the center. if only one hand is available for use, most of the control is lost when attempting to sound the horn. also if the airbag were to deploy, then a dislocated shoulder or broken arm is lilely to result. on the ford taurus the horn can be reliably sounded with a thumb without moving the hand from the outer rim of the wheel. this also leaves the hand and arm out of the way in the event the airbag should deploy. the design of the horn control on the windstar is poor and dangerous. *ak | |||
| 1 | 01/09/1999 | ||
| Horn takes excessive effort to activate and is hard to find. nlm | |||
| 02/01/1999 | |||
| Horn is difficult to activate. must press hard in just the right spot. *ak | |||
| 11/15/1998 | 10 | 11/01/1998 | |
| Horn hard to actvate in an emergency situation requires to much down force and to spacific an area to depress, horn once acivated continues to sound for about 2 seconds after activation | |||
| 2 | 12/26/1998 | ||
| Horn does not operate properly. consumer says that the cover is very thick, and may be the cause of the problem. dealer has been contacted, and they say that the horn works as it was designed. *ak *ml | |||
| Consumer must hit the horn at exact spot with extreme force before horn will blow which could cause an accident. also, driver's and passenger's power windows, at freezing point under 30 degrees with dry frost, will not operate. consumer must wait until the vehicle is completely warmed up. *ak | |||
| 01/29/1999 | 10 | 01/01/1999 | |
| Other windstar owners are stopping and asking me if my horn works. apparently many owners of 1999 windstars are experiencing horn failures. it is almost impossible to sound the horn. the demmer ford rep. (phil) said he called the oakville assembly plant and they are aware of the problem. he said a fix might be in the works in another 90 days--unacceptable! *ak | |||
| 10 | 12/01/1998 | ||
| Horn functions if correct spot on wheel is hit, but the sweet spot is small. more often than not, pressing most areas of the steering wheel does not cause the horn to sound -a major potential problem. *ak | |||
| 12/01/1998 | 10 | 11/01/1998 | |
| There are two problems with the horn in the 1999 windstar. first, the horn requires extraordinary pressure in order to get it to sound. this is very dangerous in an emergency situation where one needs a quick sounding of the horn. second, a large area of the steering wheel where one would expect to be able to sound the horn does not sound it. specifically, the area most likely pressed in an emergency, the upper portion of the center of the wheel, has no horn action. the part of the wheel to which i am referring is top of the center hub area which faces the driver. i took the windstar to campus ford, okemos, michigan. the service department told me that there was nothing they could do because they all work that way. in my opinion, the horn problem, especially the areas of the steering wheel hub that have no horn action, represent a safety hazard to vehicle owners. | |||