There are 183 stored owner reports matching the brakes leading-label group for the 1999 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 50 of 183 matching reports. This is a limited sample of up to 50 reports, ordered by incident date when available, not the complete group. The list controls page through the loaded reports only.
Open the full vehicle complaint log (all categories)SHIFTED FROM PARK TO DRIVE AND ENTERED INTO TRAFFIC LANE. PRESSED DOWN ON GAS PEDAL BUT ALL THAT HAPPENED WAS ENGINE REVVED UP BUT VEHICLE WOULD NOT GO FORWARD. LUCKILY, THERE WAS LIGHT TRAFFIC OR I WOULD HAVE BEEN HIT. A HELPFUL PERSON PUSHED ME TO A SAFE PLACE TO PARK. I STARTED THE CAR AND FOUND THAT ONLY REVERSE WORKED. NO FORWARD MOTION WHEN PUT IN DRIVE, 2 OR 1. I CHECKED TRANSMISSION FLUID LEVEL AND IT WAS AT PROPER LEVEL HAD VEHICLE TOWED TO MY HOUSE. SEARCHED ONLINE AND FOUND THIS IS A COMMON ISSUE WITH 1999 WINDSTAR'S. CALLED A TRANSMISSION PLACE AND TOLD THEM WHAT HAPPENED AND WAS TOLD I LIKELY HAD SUFFERED A TRANSMISSION FAILURE AND NEEDED A NEW TRANSMISSION. I'M THE SECOND OWNER AND THE VEHICLE HAS APPROXIMATELY 125,000 MILES ON IT. ALSO, THE BRAKE MASTER CYLINDER FAILED IN OCTOBER 2014. UPDATED 03/28/16.*JB
ABS LIGHT ON AND SPEEDOMETER FAILURE
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 1999 FORD WINDSTAR. WHILE DRIVING AT APPROXIMATELY 40 MPH, THE BRAKE WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A DEALER WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE REAR BRAKES NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARD OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 104,000.
IT APPEARS TO BE AN ELECTRICAL PROBLEM. NEW BRAKES PADS ON FRONT, SYSTEM WAS BLED OF AIR, BRAKE PEDAL HAS NORMAL TRAVEL. ABS MAY NOT FUNCTION. *TR
ABS BRAKE LIGHT ON AND/OF AT WILL, NOT CONSISTANT. FEAR OF ABS NOT FUNCTIONING IN THE EVENT OF ABS BEING NEEDED.
THE BRAKE ABS LIGHT CAME ON AGAIN. HAD BEEN ON AND OFF DURING THE MORNING. IN TOWN AND STOPPING FOR A REGULAR TRAFFIC LIGHT- DURING THE BEGINNING OF THE STOP THAT WAS ON A WET ROAD - TRAVELING 28 MPH: WINDSTAR VAN LOCKED UP RIGHT REAR TIRE AND VEHICLE DID NOT STOP - TIRE SKIDDED -WHEEL / TIRE WAS LOCKED AND SCREECHING WHILE ALL THE OTHER TIRES WERE TURNING. VAN DID NOT STOP AS EXPECTED AND TOOK ABOUT 125 FEET TO STOP - ALL THE TIME SCREECHING THE 1 RIGHT REAR TIRE. VEHICLE JUST WOULD NOT STOP. I WAS SHOCKED. NEVER HAPPENED BEFORE IN ALL THE YEARS. OWNED FOR ABOUT 14+ YEARS. I AM THE ORIGINAL OWNER. PURCHASED FORD WINDSTAR NEW. ABS LIGHT REMAINS ON. IT WAS AS IF I HAD NO BRAKES THEN. I DID NOT UNDERSTAND WHY THE OTHER 3 WHEELS / BRAKES DID NOT SLOW AND STOP THE VEHICLE? THE WINDSTAR FINALLY DID STOP AND I WAS RIGHT AT THE STOP LINE AT THE TRAFFIC LIGHT. VERY SCARY. *TR
WENT OVER RUMBLE STRIP ON ROADWAY AND ABS LIGHT CAME ON, BRAKE PEDAL BECAME HARD TO PUSH. THIS HAPPENED ON MONDAY 9/22/2014 MY MOTHER IN LAW WHO OWNS THE VEHICLE SAID THAT THIS HAD BEEN HAPPENING QUITE FREQUENTLY OVER THE PAST FEW MONTHS. I PUT MY SCAN TOOL ON THE VEHICLE AND GOT 3 ABS CODES C1235, C1236, AND C1185. THE FIRST TWO CODES PERTAIN TO REAR WHEEL SENSORS AND THE THIRD PERTAINS TO A POWER RELAY FOR THE ABS. WE HAVE FOUND PAPER WORK FOR THREE RECALLS, ONE RELATED TO SUB FRAME CORROSION ONE FOR THE REAR AXLE, AND ONE FOR AN ABS SENSOR WIRE. FROM WHAT I HAVE BEEN READING THIS PROBLEM COULD BE RELATED TO THE FIRST ABS PROBLEM WITH THE HARNESS REPLACEMENT. *TR
ABS LIGHT CAME ON WHEN I STARTED THE VAN. *TR
ABS LIGHT IS ON
ABS LIGHT IS ALWAYS ON. TRACTION CONTROL LIGHT IS ALSO ALWAYS ON. *TR
WHILE DRIVING ON MY WAY HOME THE ABS LIGHT CAME ON MY FORD WINDSTAR 1999. *TR
THE ABS IS COMING ON AS I COME TO A NORMAL STOP WHICH CAUSES THE BRAKING DISTANCE TO SUDDENLY INCREASE JUST AS YOU'RE ABOUT TO STOP. YOU HAVE TO TAKE STEPS TO AVOID HITTING THE CAR IN FRONT OF YOU DUE TO THE ABS ERRANTLY ENGAGING. *TR
ABS LIGHT WILL RANDOMLY TURN ON DURING VEHICLE OPERATION MEANING ABS SYSTEM IS NOT WORKING. *TR
ABS LIGHT KEEPS COMING ON AND OFF. *JS
I HAVE A 1999 FORD WINDSTAR AND MY ABS LIGHT STAYS ON UNTIL I TURN THE VEHICLE OFF. THE MINUTE I TURN IT ON AND BEGIN MOVING THE ABS LIGHT COMES ON AND STAYS ON. *TR
THE ABS LIGHT CAME ON AND WILL NOT GO OFF. CHECKED WITH FORD AND ON-LINE AND SEE THAT THE ABS LIGHT AND SYSTEM ARE BEING REVIEWED FOR POSSIBLE PRODUCT DEFECT. *TR
ABS LIGHTS COME ON RANDOMLY, ABS NO LONGER WORK AT THAT TIME. ESPECIALLY DANGEROUS ON ICE. *TR
ABS LIGHT TURNED ON AGAIN AND GOES OFF WHEN VEHICLE IS TURNED OFF. LIGHT INDICATED THAT ABS IS FAILED, BRAKES BECOME POOR UNDER THIS CONDITION. BRAKES DO NOT STOP WINDSTAR WELL WHEN LIGHT COMES ON ALL THE TIME. *TR
THE ABS LIGHT GOES ON IN THE CAR WITHOUT ANY WARNING. *TR
WE WERE PULLING INTO A PARKING LOT AND SMOKE CAME FROM UNDER THE HOOD. I IMMEDIATELY SHUT THE VEHICLE OFF AND RAISED THE HOOD. I AM FAMILIAR WITH AUTOMOBILES AND DETERMINED THAT IT WAS NOT OIL OR COOLANT SMOKE BUT AN ELECTRICAL BURN IN THE MAKING. I RAPIDLY DISCONNECTED THE BATTERY AND CALLED FOR A TOW TRUCK AND HAD THE VEHICLE TOWED HOME. AT THE HOUSE, I RECONNECTED THE BATTERY AND NOTHING HAPPENED,THEN DROVE IT FOR ABOUT 5 MILES AND THE SMOKE CAME BACK. I IMMEDIATELY TOOK THE VEHICLE BACK TO THE HOUSE ( WAS VERY CLOSE) AND DISCONNECTED THE BATTERY AGAIN. THE SMOKE IS COMING FROM THE ABS CONTROLLER. I HAVE DONE SOME ONLINE RESEARCH AND DETERMINED THAT THERE IS A RECALL ON THIS ISSUE, SO I CALLED FORD. THEY TOLD ME THAT MY VIN WAS NOT INCLUDED. I THEN CALLED THE FACTORY HELP LINE AND ADVISED THEM OF THE SITUATION. THEY WANTED ME TO TAKE THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER, PAY THE BILL AND SUBMIT IT FOR CONSIDERATION. I AM NOT INCLUDED TO DO SO, AS I AM AFRAID THAT THE VEHICLE WILL CATCH FIRE. *TR
Showing 1-20 of 50 loaded complaints
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.