There are 14 stored owner reports matching the speed control & cruise leading-label group for the 1997 Ford Windstar in our NHTSA-sourced dataset. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
This group counts stored reports whose component label starts with one of this site's matching prefixes, ignoring case. Each matching report counts once within the group. Components mentioned later in the label or only in the narrative are not searched. How component counts work
Loaded 14 of 14 matching reports.
Open the full vehicle complaint log (all categories)I HAD MY 97 WINDSTAR FAN FIXED DUE TO RECALL # 09S09:SPEED CONTROL SYSTEM MODIFICATION. EVER SINCE THEN THE ABS AND PARKING LIGHTS HAVE BEEN COMING ON. WE HAVE HAD THE CODES RESET, BUT THEY KEEP APPEARING. I HAVE ALSO CALLED THE FORD DEALER WHERE THE REPAIR WAS DONE, BUT THEY SAY IT IS NOT COVERED IN THE RECALL TO CHECK THE SCDS, OR THAT IF IT WASN'T LEAKING THEN, THEY DID NOT HAVE TO REPLACE THAT PART. I AM VERY FRUSTRATED. *TR
OUR 1997 FORD WINDSTAR MINIVAN THAT IS CURRENTLY SUBJECTED TO THE RECALL FOR THE FAULTY CRUISE CONTROL SWITCH BURNED TO THE GROUND ON FEB 21, 2007 AS THE RESULT FROM A FIRE THAT STARTED IN THE ENGINE AREA. *TR
DT*: THE CONTACT STATED THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ILLUMINATED CONSTANTLY, AND THE OVERDRIVE LIGHT LOCATED ON THE GEARSHIFT ILLUMINATED INTERMITTENTLY. THIS WAS ACCOMPANIED BY A STRONG SMELL OF SOMETHING ELECTRICAL BURNING. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A PRIVATE REPAIR SHOP, WHERE IT WAS DETERMINED THAT THE SENSOR ON THE MASTER CYLINDER HAD CAUGHT ON FIRE, AND ALSO BURNED THE WIRING HARNESS BETWEEN THE MASTER CYLINDER AND THE TRANSMISSION. THE MECHANIC REPLACED THE SENSOR ON THE MASTER CYLINDER, ON THE TRANSMISSION, AND THE WIRING HARNESS, WHICH CORRECTED THE PROBLEM. THERE WAS A NHTSA RECALL # 05V388000, WHICH PERTAINS TO THE VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT INCLUDED IN THE RECALL DUE TO THE VIN.
DRIVING ON INTERSTATE WITH SPEED LIMIT OF 70 MPH... WAS DRIVING ABOUT 77 MPH AT THE TIME... VEHICLE'S FACTORY INSTALLED CRUISE CONTROL WAS IN USE... SPEEDOMETER BEGAN TO FLUCTUATE WILDLY BETWEEN ABOUT 60 MPH AND MAXIMUM (OVER 120 MPH)... VEHICLE'S SPEED REMAINED CONSTANT - TROUBLE WAS JUST WITH THE SPEEDOMETER... VEHICLE HAS 90,000 MILES ON THE ODOMETER... 1997 FORD WINDSTAR... SPEEDOMETER DOESN'T FLUCTUATE WILDLY AT MOST SPEEDS OVER 30 MPH... FROM CHECKING ON WEB THIS HAS HAPPENED TO OTHER OWNERS OF FORD WINDSTARS - THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE. *JB
I OWN A 1997 FORD WINDSTAR GL WITH 53,000 ON THE ODOMETER. THE SPEEDOMETER HAS FAILED TO OPERATE PROPERLY. AT SPEEDS OF 40 MPH AND ABOVE THE SPEEDOMETER FLUCTUATES ERRATICALLY RANGING IN SHOWN SPEEDS OF 60 TO 110 MPH. I HAVE DONE MUCH RESEARCH AND HAVE BECOME AWARE OF THOUSANDS OF CONSUMER COMPLAINTS. THIS IS UNCONSCIOUS THAT FORD IS AWARE OF THIS PROBLEM AND MAKING A MINT OFF OF THE CONSUMER OUT OF POCKET EXPENSE OF REPAIR. THIS SHOULD BE AN IMMEDIATE SAFETY RECALL OR TSB. *AK
WHEN I EXCEED 50 MPH MY SPEEDOMETER FAILS TO KEEP ACCURATE SPEED AND IT "WAVES" WILDLY FROM 20 - 110 MPH. WHEN I CONTACTED MY FORD DEALERSHIP THEY "HAD NEVER HEARD OF THAT BEFORE", BUT WHEN I DID A LITTLE MORE RESEARCH I FOUND AT LEAST 50 MORE COMPLAINTS. I CONTACTED THE FORD MOTOR COMPANY DIRECTLY TO SEE WHY THERE HAD NOT BEEN A RECALL ON WHAT APPEARS TO BE A MANUFACTURING DEFECT BECAUSE ALL PROBLEMS OF THIS NATURE INVOLVED ONLY THE 96-98 FORD WINDSTAR MODELS. THEY INFORMED ME THEY KNEW OF THE PROBLEM BUT ONLY THE NHTSA COULD INITIATE A RECALL. I HAD NEVER HEARD OF THIS AND I DOUBT OTHER OWNERS OF THESE VEHICLES DO, EITHER OR THERE WOULD BE MORE COMPLAINTS. THIS IS A SERIOUS PROBLEM.*JB
DEFECTIVE SPEEDOMETER UNITS IN 1997 FORD WINDSTARS.I HAVE HAD MY SPEEDOMETER REPLACED 3 TIMES AND IS IN NEED OF ANOTHER. THE DEALER TOLD ME THIS HAS BEEN A PROBLEM WITH THE WINDSTARS AND THE TAURUS.YOU CAN NOT JUDGE HOW FAST YOU ARE GOING WHICH IS A SAFETY ISSUE.ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU REPLACE THE UNIT AND IT KEEPS NEEDING TO BE REPLACED.CAN IT BE RECALLED?
SPEEDOMETER UNIT IN 1997 WINDSTARS ARE DEFECTIVE. I HAVE HAD MINE REPLACED 4 TIMES WITHIN THE PAST 4 YEARS AND IT NEEDS TO BE REPLACED AGAIN. THE SPEEDOMETER DOES NOT WORK, JUST SWINGS WILDLY. IT IS UNSAFE AS THE DRIVER DOESN'T KNOW HOW FAST THEY ARE DRIVING. MY FORD DEALER TELLS ME THIS HAS BEEN A PROBLEM WITH WINDSTARS AND TAURUS BUT NEVER RECALLED. *JB
MY WINDSTAR ACCELERATED FROM A COMPLETE STOP AND SMASHED THROUGH OUR GARAGE DOOR VEHICLE STOPPED WHEN WE HIT THE FRONT WALL OF THE GARAGE. I DON'T KNOW IF THE VEHICLE WAS IN PARK OR DRIVE WHEN THIS HAPPENED. I HAD STOPPED TO LOOK FOR THE GARAGE DOOR OPENER. I COULD NOT STOP THE VERHICLE AS IT TOOK OFF AND DO NOT KNOW HOW FAST WE WERE GOING EXCEPT IT WAS VERY FAST AND THERE ARE BIG SKID MARKS ON THE GARAGE FLOOR. MY TWO KIDS WERE IN THEIR CAR SEATS IN THE BACK AND I WAS DRIVING. I BROKE MY HAND & HAD SOME BRUISES. THE KIDS WERE FINE. WE DON'T YET HAVE A MECHANIC'S REPORT SO I CAN'T BE SURE WHAT PART FAILED. IT MAY NOT BE THE ENGINE AS INDICATED ABOVE. *AK
WHEN IN CRUISE CONTROL, STEPPED ON ACCELERATOR TO ENGAGE PASSING GEAR, THE PASSING GEAR WOULD NOT DISENGAGE, DRIVER WAS ABLE TO COAST TO SIDE OF ROAD SAFELY IN NEUTRAL. *AK
SUDDEN ACCELERATION, CAUSING ACCIDENT.
1996 WINDSTAR WAS AT A STOP THEN VEHICLE LURCHED FORWARD UNEXPECTEDLY WHICH COULD HAVE CAUSED A CRASH AND /OR INJURIES. *AK
VEHICLE SURGES FOWARD WHILE DRIVING, AND AT THE SAME IT WILL SPUTTER AND STALL OUT. ENGINE CHECK LIGHT COMES ON , CAUSE IS UNKNOWN.*AK
SPEEDOMETER ERRATIC. WHEN DRIVING AT 55 (I THINK) THE NEEDLE BOUNCES BETWEEN 4O AND 110. PROBLEM STARTED AT AROUND 35,000, CORRECTED ITSELF FOR A WHILE AND NOW IS BACK AND MUCH WORSE. SPEEDOMETER IS USELESS. THIS IS A SAFETY HAZARD.*AK
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
NHTSA source checks for this vehicle year
Checks are recorded separately for each dataset, not for the whole page. Dates use UTC. A missing check date does not mean no records exist.
Vehicle import recorded: May 4, 2026. This is the stored import date, not confirmation that every source was successfully refreshed.