Worst... car... ever?

[beerftw]

Yeah! Windstars work great! Until they don't.

you have to realizewindstars are a combo of enomony and capacity,they are bound to fail faster than normal cars.chevy has had the same problem with their minivans,chrysler has had the most reliable in recent years,but even that is after numerous failures after being the longest producer of minivans.

windstars are great after you update the factory screwups,but if you want i can list many worse cars,both foriegn and domestic,btw for windstars having tans meltdowns ford still ranked better overall on transmission life than honda,i should know of all foreign cars i had to work on,nissan rwd toyota sienna vans and all hondas filled the shops just as much as the worst domestic cars.

 

[Dirt Racer]

I had a Sable with the same problem. Some small little part that broke after a certain length of time, and they crossed their fingers and hoped that it broke after the warranty.

Also -- :lol: :lol: - on the way back from the PX today, saw an old lady broken down on the side of the road in a Windstar. Felt it was my obligation as a 4 time Windstar owner to stop and help her. We, the screwed, have to stick together.

More than likely it was the pump shaft striped all the splines off. When that happens the pump quits turning and the trans has no pressure or fluid circulation. It usually doesn't hurt anything else when it happens as long as you don't try to keep running the trans.

Or if it was a hard shift issue it is likely the accumulator spring broke or the chain cover that holds the accumulators wore out.

 

[Superfly]

you have to realizewindstars are a combo of enomony and capacity,they are bound to fail faster than normal cars.chevy has had the same problem with their minivans,chrysler has had the most reliable in recent years,but even that is after numerous failures after being the longest producer of minivans.

windstars are great after you update the factory screwups,but if you want i can list many worse cars,both foriegn and domestic,btw for windstars having tans meltdowns ford still ranked better overall on transmission life than honda,i should know of all foreign cars i had to work on,nissan rwd toyota sienna vans and all hondas filled the shops just as much as the worst domestic cars.

I don't know if I'd consider the Windstar economical. The last year I looked at one brand new was in 2002 and it was almost $40K. I used to work for Toyota and hated the Sienna vans. The most uncomfortable van I've ever driven. Rememer the crash tests on the Previas? The driver's head would be decapitated and flung into the back seat, into the child's lap. :shock: Every time I see a Previa on the road, that's what I think of.

 

[beerftw]

I don't know if I'd consider the Windstar economical. The last year I looked at one brand new was in 2002 and it was almost $40K. I used to work for Toyota and hated the Sienna vans. The most uncomfortable van I've ever driven. Rememer the crash tests on the Previas? The driver's head would be decapitated and flung into the back seat, into the child's lap. :shock: Every time I see a Previa on the road, that's what I think of.

minivans are never going to compete with family cars.my aunt had an 02 caravan,it was a snail but got 32 actual mpg.she traded it in for an 05 that was like a rocket with new performance tech but barely got 25 actual mpg.keep in mind when i say economy i mean mpg,for actual costs my old 84 truck is overall cheaper than it would be for me to buy a new car.

i can see where your coming from though,sometimes mpg dont mean crap,sometimes you need a car that can move the kids without breaking down all the time.when i was a kid my mothers ford taurus broke down,in the middle of the desert.so my father had to drive almost 100 miles in his 72 dodge truck which was so rustedyou could watch the road through the floor as you drove just to fix it,because no tow truck driver would go that far into nowhere,which was 3/4 of caliornia was middle of nowhere.

 

[Superfly]

minivans are never going to compete with family cars.my aunt had an 02 caravan,it was a snail but got 32 actual mpg.she traded it in for an 05 that was like a rocket with new performance tech but barely got 25 actual mpg.keep in mind when i say economy i mean mpg,for actual costs my old 84 truck is overall cheaper than it would be for me to buy a new car.

i can see where your coming from though,sometimes mpg dont mean crap,sometimes you need a car that can move the kids without breaking down all the time.when i was a kid my mothers ford taurus broke down,in the middle of the desert.so my father had to drive almost 100 miles in his 72 dodge truck which was so rustedyou could watch the road through the floor as you drove just to fix it,because no tow truck driver would go that far into nowhere,which was 3/4 of caliornia was middle of nowhere.

OMG. That is like a nightmare I have regularly. Seriously. Breaking down in the middle of nowhere. I'm not so freaked out about it now, because of my cell phone, and I have road-side assistance with both my insurance and my cell phone provider. But still - it's scary. One of my Windstar breakdowns was bad, but not as bad as yours. Years and years ago, we had taken the kids to see "Lights on the Lake" around Onondaga Lake in Syracuse. We were driving home in the middle of a blinding blizzard, 830 at night, and the transmission seized and the car started filling up full of black smoke. We had to walk up I-81 a little ways to a restaurant. At 830 at night. In a blinding blizzard. Way out in the country part, where there's nothing for miles and miles. On the interstate. With a 14 year old and 2 babies.