Consumer Complaint Detail

FORD / WINDSTAR / 1998

Recalls
0 Injured
Investigations
0 Death
Complaints
No Fire
Components - Details
NHTSA Complaint Number: 006076058 Incident Date: Aug, 17 2006
Consumer's City: DAYTONA BEACH Consumer's State: FL
Vehicle Transmission Type: AUTO Manufacturers Name: Ford Motor Company
Model Name: WINDSTAR Model Year: 1998
Vehicle Involved in a Crash: No Component's Description: Vehicle speed control:cruise control
Vehicle Involved in a Fire: No Persons Injured: 0
Vehicle's VIN#: 2FMDA5143WB Date added to File: May, 23 2021
Date Complaint Received: Aug, 19 2006 Complaint Type: IVOQ
Incident Reported To Police: No Purchase Date: Jul, 17 2006
Was Original Owner: No Anti-lock Brakes: Yes
Number of Cylinders: 6 Date of Manufacturer: -
Was Vehicle Towed: - Description of the Complaints: Even though the van i just purchased does not seem to have a recall on it i had total brake failure due to complete leaking out of all the brake fluid through the cruise control deactivation switch, the dual master cylinder is supposed to prevent this but it didn't. the switch on the bottom of the master cylinder and the fact that the rear wheel cylinders were seeping allowed all the fluid to leave after only three weeks of driving. i just purchased the vehicle. i had mechanics check it out and the switch is the same type that is causing the fires. i have to wonder if the leaking dripping on to hot motor parts could cause the fires as well as some electrical overload due to the brake fluid eating through plastic and rubber . i truly regret purchasing this vehicle before researching. i may be asking the dealer to trade me into another vehicle just due to not wanting to die at an early age due to fords lack of quality control it is a shame that any manufacturer can build any piece of junk without regards to end result and only worrying about the profit of selling and the fact that risk management after the fact of waiting for many to be effected by death or loss of vehicle to have a recall forced and fixing a bad design once pressed to do so. i feel the master cylinders whole safety is in that one chamber is most likely functional under most system failures of wheel cylinders , hoses, etc but having a part directly attached to the front chamber and with the common likelihood of rear wheel cylinder leakage at some point could lead to total system failure like i experienced. the fact that this master cylinder is hidden from easy view does not allow the owner to easily visualize a leak at this part. why is brake fluid needed to actuate a deactivation of the cruise control wouldn't a switch (electrical or mechanical) placed with the brake pedal arm activating it a simpler way of making this happen. *jb