Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (service brakes, ABS, rotors and pads, parking brake).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2001 Ford Windstar owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
I came up to a stop sign, the entire front axle broke off the frame, I lost steering, brakes, had to slam it into park to stop. I ended up across the road. There was a recall in 2011 for the axle mount and Ford decided it only needed a coating on it, 5 seconds later we would of been on the highway and killed. I emailed Ford and they said the recall was still open, the Ford dealer never closed it, so they won't help me. That is bull, the coated it and forgot to close it out, thats their fault, I can take pics if you want them.
Brakes continually have failed causing accidents. Pedal goes all the way to the floor before and after new brake pads and bring bled.throttle idle sensor causes vehicle to stall while driving. ABS light and brake light and check engine light keeps coming on. Now they just stay on. I need to know what,if any recalls have been repaired or any options that May be available.
I was driving at around 30 MPH, 2 cars in front slammed on brakes, I was approximately 1 1/2 car links back and hit the brakes. ABS failed, airbags failed, and slid into car in front of me. I was on a city street going straight.
2001 Ford Windstar. I took it to the dealership to have some safety recalls done. A few days later I was driving along and smoke started boiling out from under the hood so I pulled over and by the time I got stopped and got the kids out safely it quit smoking. I raised the hood and could see some burned wiring under the brake master cylinder. We got back in and drove on then the transmission started shifting wrong and the brake pedal didn't feel right,it felt spongy. I took it to my mechanic who is ase master and Ford senior master certified. He replaced the trans range sensor and told me that the fire was caused by a defective cruise control deactivation switch leaking brake fluid.he replaced the switch and advised me to take it back to the dealer and have them do the recall which is what they were supposed to have done in the first place. …
When I started the vehicle to go shopping everything seemed fine till I got about 25 miles from my house that is when I got stopped at my first red light that when I was waiting for the light to turn green the ABS and park brake lights came on so I pulled over at my nearest convenience shut the van off checked under the hood and everything looked fine, I got back into the van and the lights went out, finished my shopping the about 4 minutes after I started the van to come home while waiting in traffic the lights came back on but the brakes felt fine so I drove it home. …
I have a 2001 Ford Windstar, the brake and ABS lights on intermittently. This Saturday (09-19-2009) I made a short trip to the market, the vehicle ran good, when I arrived back home the family got into the van to go a soccer game and we noticed an odor of smoke. I unloaded the family from the van and noticed smoke coming from under the hood. I couldn't find the source of the smoke. I drove the van out of the garage and parked it in the street, in that short time I saw more smoke coming from under the hood. Still could not see where it was coming from. After a few minutes the smoke went away. Monday morning I towed the vehicle to my local mechanic, after an hour or so of isolating he discovered my ABS module had caught fire and melted the connector and wire harness. …
I stopped at a red light and noticed smoke puff out from under the left side of my hood. I thought I was overheating, but my temp gauge showed nothing. As I pulled away from the red light and off to the side of the road I noticed my ABS light and my brake light had come on and my o/d light began flashing. My speedometer and odometer had completely shut down. I checked under the hood and saw no visible problems. I drove the vehicle back home and over the next few days I noticed I was losing brake fluid and brake pressure. I parked the vehicle and began driving a second vehicle until I could get a mechanic to check out the Windstar. I took it to my mechanic and he said the brake fluid was leaking around the brake pressure differential deactivation switch in front of the master cylinder. …
Feb 26th 2010 2001 Ford Windstar perfect condition no problems no lights on dash....feb 27th 2010 car is started and smoke poured out of hood on driver side after being started after that the ABS light emergency brake light and o/d light are on and the computer information center on the display is advising to check transmission and there is a fuel data computer error and the odometer is blank and the speedometer is not functioning the heater on our vehicle has stopped but the fans still blow but only regular air. I've taken it to a Ford dealership today to be repaired under the recall for the vehicle speed control issue and they have done the bare minimum to fix the leaking that has occurred due to the faulty switch leaking brake fluid and starting the small fire I experienced feb 27th 2010 but are unwilling to resolve the remaining issues caused by and listed above.
At approximately 16:45 after driving 6 miles that day, the Windstar van was stopped and the ignition key turned off. The delivery driver went inside his destination for about 5 minutes. While loading his cargo, he smelled smoke. Looking up, he noticed flames coming out of the engine compartment between the hood and the windshield wiper plastic shielding. Using an onboard 5 lb fire extinguisher, he attempted to extinguish the flames but to no avail. He dialled 9-1-1 on his phone. Employees at his destination also noticed the fire, and contacted the local fire department as well. The fire department extinguished the flames with severe damage to the rear portion of the engine, the fire wall, brake cylinder and glass windshield. The ambient temperature that day was in the 70 degrees range, windows were down in the van, and the A/C system was not in use.
Customer brought vehicle in for ABS light on, found scds switch to be leaking brake fluid and replaced with a motorcraft updated switch. After service while vehicle was still in shop bay with ignition off, vehicle ABS unit started on fire. We then removed all power from vehicle and found that after removing the ABS module connector brake fluid was found inside of ABS module, and the connector was melted. We then called Ford dealership to see if the were any recalls concerning this vehicle and the ABS module and or switch, and were told that there were none. We have since found many articles online concerning this matter, and yet no recall ? Another half hour and the doors would have been closed for the night, we would have lost our shop, all vehicles inside. Please make them stand behind this clear and evident problem.
Brake complaints in other Windstar years
Frequently asked questions
How common are brake problems on the 2001 Ford Windstar?
NHTSA has 544 complaints about the brakes of the 2001 Ford Windstar, 32% of the model year's 1,686 complaints. The component named most often is antilock/traction control/electronic limited slip (29 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2001 Ford Windstar brake problems?
No. NHTSA lists no brakes recall for the 2001 Ford Windstar, though it has 15 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2001 Ford Windstar brake problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 100,000 miles, and 2% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 12 crashes, 16 fires and 5 injuries to brakes 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.