2002 FORD WINDSTAR — Complaint #722958
Open-data reference.
NHTSA Complaint about VISIBILITY:REAR WINDOW WIPER/WASHER:MOTOR filed June 9, 2009
NHTSA complaint #722958 (ODI reference 10273188) concerns a 2002 FORD WINDSTAR and was filed on June 9, 2009. The owner reports the failure occurred on May 28, 2009. The vehicle had 82,241 miles on the odometer at the time of the incident. The report was geocoded to Pennsylvania based on the filer's self-reported location. The affected component is categorized as visibility:rear window wiper/washer:motor, one of NHTSA's standardized taxonomy codes used to group defect patterns across make, model, and year.
The filer flagged the following severity indicators: crash: no, fire: yes, injuries: 0, fatalities: 0. A complaint that flags a crash, fire, or fatality is escalated on NHTSA's internal review queue and factors more heavily into any Preliminary Evaluation decision on this make and model. Because a VIN was supplied, this complaint is tied to a specific vehicle and not just a model-year cohort.
Individual complaints are consumer-submitted and unverified by NHTSA engineers — the agency's role at this stage is to collect, index, and make them searchable. What matters for federal action is the pattern: when many owners of the same FORD WINDSTAR cohort independently describe similar visibility:rear window wiper/washer:motor failures, defect investigators have grounds to open a PE and request manufacturer data. Related filings for the same vehicle and component appear below, and the detail page for the full 2002 FORD WINDSTAR shows the complete component-level complaint distribution alongside any active investigations or recalls.
Complaint Description
TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2002 FORD WINDSTAR. THE CONTACT ENTERED HER VEHICLE AND NOTICED THICK WHITE SMOKE INSIDE THE ENTIRE PASSENGER COMPARTMENT. THE FIRE DEPARTMENT ARRIVED AND DISCONNECTED THE BATTERY. THEY STATED THAT AN ELECTRICAL FIRE HAD OCCURRED. A POLICE REPORT WAS FILED. THERE WERE NO INJURIES. THE VEHICLE WAS INSPECTED BY AN INSURANCE ADJUSTER, WHO DETERMINED THAT THE REAR WINDOW WIPER MOTOR FAILED AND CAUSED THE FIRE. THE VEHICLE WAS LABELED AS DESTROYED DUE TO THE COST TO CLEAN THE CHEMICALS OUT OF THE VEHICLE, WHICH WAS MORE THAN THE VEHICLE'S WORTH. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A LOCAL REPAIR SHOP. THE TECHNICIAN STATED THAT THE WINDOW WIPER MOTOR CAUSED THE FAILURE. THE CONTACT CALLED THE MANUFACTURER AND HER VIN WAS REQUESTED. SHE WAS LATER INFORMED THAT SHE NEEDED TO CALL HER INSURANCE COMPANY FOR FURTHER ASSISTANCE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 82,241.
Complaint Details
| NHTSA Complaint ID | 722958 |
| ODI Number | 10273188 |
| Date Filed | June 9, 2009 |
| Failure Date | May 28, 2009 |
| VIN | 2FMDA53492B |
Source: NHTSA Vehicle Complaints Database. Component taxonomy and severity codes are standardized by NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation.
Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.