Reliability & cost of ownership
Ford Windstar Reliability & Common Problems
How reliable is the Ford Windstar? Compare every model year side by side — NHTSA recalls, owner complaints, and crash-test stars — then open the year you're shopping for a full reliability and repair-cost forecast.
Ford Windstar problems by model year
50 recall entries and 6248 owner complaints on file across 6 model years, sourced from the federal NHTSA database.
| Year | Recalls | Complaints | NCAP stars | Full report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 Windstar | 0 | 1 | No NCAP test | Reliability forecast → |
| 2004 Windstar | 0 | 24 | No NCAP test | Reliability forecast → |
| 2003 Windstar | 9 | 1509 | No NCAP test | Reliability forecast → |
| 2002 Windstar | 9 | 1353 | No NCAP test | Reliability forecast → |
| 2001 Windstar | 16 | 1686 | No NCAP test | Reliability forecast → |
| 2000 Windstar | 16 | 1675 | No NCAP test | Reliability forecast → |
Most-complained-about components
Owner complaints filed with NHTSA against the Ford Windstar, grouped by the component each complaint names — the fastest read on where this model gives trouble.
- service brakes2216 complaints
- suspension1314 complaints
- hydraulic1104 complaints
- electrical system989 complaints
- power train743 complaints
- structure735 complaints
- vehicle speed control500 complaints
- electric256 complaints