Ford Windstar Gets The Brian Ross Treatment
After his role in the Toyota recall scandal, Brian Ross of ABC News has become the Mainstream Media’s go-to guy for auto safety exposés. Now, Ross reports on a story that had been largely championed by Christopher Jensen of the NY Times: Ford’s response to rear-axle breakage on Windstar minivans. Jensen reports that NHTSA opened an investigation into Windstar axle issues in May, when the auto safety watchdog had some 243 complaints in its database. At the time, Ford insisted that
the operator retains control of the vehicle at all times… the few reports alleging loss of control are inconsistent with how Ford would expect these front-wheel-drive vehicles to respond
Ross’s report shows that this is not necessarily the case, and Ford has since recalled the Windstar. But with at least one death attributable to the lateness of that recall, Ford could be in line for a Toyota-style smackdown from federal regulators. Especially now that ABC has splashed fuel on the fire. As with his Toyota test, Ross’s team creates the defect, but because Ford didn’t deny that axles could snap but rather insisted that vehicles suffering from axle breakage were safe, this one seems more credible. And this time, NHTSA’s investigation process (or lack thereof) is getting a much negative attention as Ford is. Check out the report for yourself on Youtube.
More by Edward Niedermeyer
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Well this would explain why the local K-Mart parking lot next to the Ford dealer has 2 long rows filled full of Windstars. Unbelievable that something like this could be so poorly designed.
Is it fact that the failed axles are heavily corroded? One year ago, my 92 Sable experienced a rust induced suspension failure. The rear is independent and the outboard (wheel) positions are held in place by a steel rod that mounts to the lower suspension point and attached to the body forward of the wheel. Each end has a washer/bushing/nut assembly. The washers corroded to the point that at one mounting point the rod broke free, causing that wheel to have no lateral support. The tire jammed against the wheel opening. Luckily this happened after hitting a speed bump in a parking lot. Can't imagine what would have happened if I was going 70. Must be a common problem as SHO Source sells used rods for this very reason...too bad there is no database for this kind of stuff...
I think Ford knew about Windstar axle problems at least as far back as 2000.I worked on the Windstar replacement, the Freestar, and the Mercury Monterey. I sat next to a woman who was responsible for Windstar rear axcles, and other things. She was pretty sharp, and she worked hard to remedy the cracking axle problems. But she was thwarted at every step by her management.Ford knew that the axles would almost certainly crack if 2 conditions where met. 1. The vehicle was loaded to GVW, distributed to max axle loads. 2. The vehicle was then backed onto a steep ramp, like the driveway entrance ramp at an older home. Cracking gauranteed. Now the crack by itself was not really a failure. It caused the axle to make a terrible sound, especially when the axle was cold. It sounded, and felt, like the ends of a broken bone in your arm rubbing against each other before the arm was in a cast. This noise alone caused people to replace the axle. Ford monitored axle sales, and knew they were selling far more replacemnt axles than could be accounted for by collision rates. And this was when vehicles were faily new, with not much, if any, corrosion.There were changes, design changes, material changes, manufacturing changfes that were known to solve the problem, at least in non-corroded vehicles. But none were adopted.Ford deserves to take a hit on this one.Bob
I have a 2000 Windstar SE that's currently getting its radiator replaced. I've asked my mechanic to inspect the axle and front subframe while he has it. It sounds like if I take it into Ford at this point, I may not get to drive it home. I live in heavily salted southern Minnesota, so corrosion is always an issue. I've had the van for almost 2 years, and it's given me almost 50k trouble-free miles. If the axle checks out, I may just wait until Ford has replacement parts to fix it. I'm not unfamiliar with Ford corrosion-caused failures. I had a '92 Taurus that had the front subframe detach while driving. My dad's '97 Lesabre just had the same problem. Modern vehicles are built to last many years, but unfortunately the Minnesota salt bath can end that prematurely.