Ford Windstars?

My company car, Ford Escape, is in the shop. While I was leaving the Ford dealer today I noticed something odd. There are about 25 Ford Windstars park out back of the lot, across the back wall.
I took a quick picture and every car in the photo is a Windstar/Freestar. There are more there than I got in this one frame photo.

Of course, this sighting is not completely odd on its own but this is a small town dealership, also...
About two weeks ago, I was at a Mazda dealer about 30 miles from here doing a little window shopping. This Mazda dealership backs up to a Huge Ford Dealership, sure enough, that Ford Dealership had no less than 50 Windstar/Freestars lined up against the back wall of the dealership. What struck me as odd in both cases was that all the cars still have plates on them which rules out the idea that they are all trade-ins.
Has the been some giant Windstar/Freestar recall that has ordered these vehicles off the road?

Yes there has. The rear axles rust and fall off.

Story

My sister will be dropping hers off for the recall soon.

Either for the axle situation, or for the blowed up 3.8.

I think this is a little nuts. I'm all for holding carmakers accountable for mistakes but this is ridiculous. Metal rusts, and it must be near impossible to foresee where salt will build up and things will corrode. Its like the Toyota frame rusting issue. I grew up in the rust belt, and knew almost from birth that Japanese pickups rotted faster than most anything else. E36 M3 happens, time for a new vehicle. Rust is an act of nature, not a defect.

If I find my old 87 Regal and buy it back can I have GM replace the rotted frame for me? They all had holes in the same spot, eventually.

Streetwiseguy wrote: Either for the axle situation, or for the blowed up 3.8.

Or blowed up AXOD/AXODE/AX4N/AX4S.

Brian

I'm surprised there were that many left on the road to be repaired. They did seem very problematic, engines, transmissions, you know important mechanical items.

Nitroracer wrote: I'm surprised there were that many left on the road to be repaired. They did seem very problematic, engines, transmissions, you know important mechanical items.

Didn't they also randomly catch fire?

It was ford's idea of a 'warning light'

Nitroracer wrote: I'm surprised there were that many left on the road to be repaired. They did seem very problematic, engines, transmissions, you know important mechanical items.

Which makes them stupid cheap, if you can fix them.

Brian

Gas tanks still full? Spark plugs still spark? All you'd need right there to do the world a big favor.

Junkyard_Dog wrote: I think this is a little nuts. I'm all for holding carmakers accountable for mistakes but this is ridiculous. Metal rusts, and it must be near impossible to foresee where salt will build up and things will corrode. Its like the Toyota frame rusting issue. I grew up in the rust belt, and knew almost from birth that Japanese pickups rotted faster than most anything else. E36 M3 happens, time for a new vehicle. Rust is an act of nature, not a defect. If I find my old 87 Regal and buy it back can I have GM replace the rotted frame for me? They all had holes in the same spot, eventually.

Rust is an act of nature, but it takes a special kind of idiot to build an unsealed u shaped tin axle with no drain holes.

Streetwiseguy wrote: Rust is an act of nature, but it takes a special kind of idiot to build an unsealed u shaped tin axle with no drain holes.

True, but that type of design flaw is certainly nothing new in cars, in fact I'd say it's become relatively rare. Back in the 70s and 80s, it wasn't that rare to see visibile surface rust on 2-3 year old cars here in Michigan, and you just don't see that anymore. And now when it does happen, it's such a big deal that there has to be a recall over it. I take it as a sign of how litigious our society has become.

As for Wind/Freestars, between myself and close family, we've had 5 of those things, and I hated every one . Why did I keep buying them? Exceptionally cheap A-plan lease rates and the need for something that seats 7. To me they are awful, buzzy, unrefined, dead steering, weird seating position, bad fuel economy, loud engines, etc. But they were safe, and in my experience, reliable. The only failure I can think of was a failed wheel bearing at 10k on our last one (an 04 Freestar). And my mom put 100k on a 96 with no major issues. Like anything else, I think if you take care of them, they are generally reliable.

Junkyard_Dog wrote:

Nitroracer wrote: I'm surprised there were that many left on the road to be repaired. They did seem very problematic, engines, transmissions, you know important mechanical items.

Didn't they also randomly catch fire?

I think the random fire problem was mostly with it's predecessor, the Aerostar. Darn shame they tried to address the problem with the Windstar/Freestar...there would be less of them rotting away at dealerships.