Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (doors, hood, frame, rust, paint and trim).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 1995 Ford Windstar owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
1995 Ford Windstar - sliding door top forward bracket attach point. 1) the metal around the attach point on the door shows stress cracks on all four sides and the metal under the paint is buckling. The location of the bracket below the door seal May allow rain to pool up on the bracket support and cause the supporting metal to rust and separate from the vehicle. 2) door is rattling and is in danger of falling off. Vehicle. 3) I am currently investigating the availability of a new door or welding a support plate on the existing door.
Tl* the contact owns a 1995 Ford Windstar. The contact stated that an abnormal banging was heard from the vehicle while driving at various speeds. The vehicle was taken to an independent repair shop where the contact was told that the frame was completely rusted. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified but offered no assistance. The failure and current mileages were 150,000.
My 1995 Windstar has had problems since day 1. Paint job had to be repaired; windshield had crack..replaced; sliding door was leaking and had to be adjusted 3 times; head gasket failure; timing gasket failure; wheel bushing failure; interior parts not installed properly; ABS light/elect system failure (2x); I feel so bad about this thing I don't know what to do. Ford doesn't care. I can't sell this thing with a clear conscience....but Ford did. Can you help us!!!! There are many, many others like me. I am very concerned the tranny will go next as has been reported by so many other Windstar owners when they reach the 60-75000 mile range. In addition, the timing cover gasket costs approximately $850 to fix. I don't want to pay for this repair but neither Ford or my dealer will fix the problem. …
Right front sub frame to control arm bushing inner sleeve rotates in subframe mounting bracket. The separation on the front of the bushing inner sleeve wears on the mounting bracket, eventually enlarging the mounting hole and wearing the metal thickess away. The result is a clucking noise in the front end because of the now loose lower control arm. NHTSA item #'s sb036893 and sb045761 reference the complaint but not the real problem. If the front bracket fails totally at some point, the van will lose its rf suspension and steering. Also causes the van to pull to the right, and makes it impossible to align the front end because off approximately noticable toe variation on there right wheel. Ford dealer mechanic says it is a common problem. Just tighten the bolt and hope for the best or replace the entire subframe.
1995 Ford Windstar. Upper layer of hood flew off while driving on southern state parkway near exit 13. Called Ford and all they told me is that my vehicle is out of warranty. I don't care about warranty. I care about feeling lucky I'm not dead or kill anyone driving behind me. This must have happened or will happen again and someone will get killed. On sept. 11 2001 (strangely enough) I lost my brakes on the same vehicle. I called Ford and they gave me the warranty routine. Sure enough they recalled the vehicle soon after for the exact problem that I reported. In fact they paid to fix the problem. Please look into this before somebody is dead due to a flying hood. Thank you.
Sliding door falls off vehicle. Top attachment of door onto vehicle is broken why???? We have normal use by family of three. The rollers on the top seem to be worn down--some are smaller than others. We took to dealer for repair--"they never saw that before" did not want to fix did not have parts to fix the "tried" to weld some part on. Cost us about $300 to fix. Door has come off 2 more times. They want more money and will try again. They dont know which part to order to fix this door. I don't want the door to fall on anyone and I don't want anyone to fall out of the car. Please help. Ve come off 2 moretimes.
1. Front end looseness from the very beginning to the present tie bars ctc. Replaced without any noticeable improvement. 2 speedometer failure at 45K 3. Power window motor (left front) quit. 3. Transmission failed/ replacement (with only 17K failed.4. Head gasket blew. I find in researching the defects that my experience is quite common but that Ford has not take responsibility in some of these areas -especially the failed transmissions,. It is my hope that your org. Can verify these fefects as being worthy of Ford compensating the owners who have had to pay for these mfailures of manufacture. Please advise me of the status of your work . Thank you, geary leason.
I have been extremely dissatisfied with the quality of my Ford Windstar. With the transmission repair I will have invested close to $4000 in the van. I have surprised and outraged by what I have found. I have searched the web and found hundreds of people that have had exactly the same problems. The ones that have called have gotten the same answer I have "sorry, we can't help that is not under warranty." I have found that I am not alone and I am hoping the government will step and make Ford stand behind their product. Quality is job 1 what a crock!
My sliding door on the side of my family owned vehicle has fallen off! It has happened on two seperate occasions, but nobody can figure out why. I feel this is a major safety risk , and would like help clarifying this problem. I have five small children, and if this car was safety tested as a family vehicle, they made some serious errors. Your help would be greatly appreciated. Just so you know the car has never been involved in any type of accident, and we were sliding the door open on one occasion, and sliding it shut on the other.
The electrical problem have been experienced by other Windstar users. I received this information from cartrackers. Com on their website. The lights when the door is shut closed stays on inside the van and the door ajar light stays on and turns off after you reach about 20 miles per hour and somtimes it just stays on. Please inform me of what to do in this situation and investigat any other problems that other people May have had with this van. Thank you . I look forward to a reply regarding this matter.
Related recalls
Structure › Body › Hood
Vehicle description: passenger vehicles and Mini vans. Tearing of the bond between the inner and outer hood panels during minor front end collisions can result in a gap at the leading edge of the hood. Air forced between the inner and outer panels can produce enough pressure to force the outer panel upward.
Remedy: Dealers will inspect the hood area for any damage along the leading edge of the hood. If there is any evidence of bond separation, the hood will be replaced.
NHTSA investigations
Outer hood panel detachment
The office of defects investigation has received 6 reports indicating the outer hood panel separated from the vehicles as they were being driven.Ford has provide 39 additional reports that are consistent with odi reports.Ford indicates that the likely cause is prior collision damage.this investigation is being upgraded to further study this issue.
Outer hood panel detachment
There is no summary currently available
Body complaints in other Windstar years
Frequently asked questions
How common are body problems on the 1995 Ford Windstar?
NHTSA has 99 complaints about the body & structure of the 1995 Ford Windstar, 3% of the model year's 3,326 complaints. The component named most often is body › door (62 mentions).
Is there a recall for 1995 Ford Windstar body problems?
Yes — NHTSA recall 97V-180 (hood, Oct 20, 1997). Recall repairs are free at authorized dealers.
At what mileage do 1995 Ford Windstar body problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 125,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 0 crashes, 0 fires and 2 injuries to body & structure problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.