2001 FORD WINDSTAR — Complaint #745354
Open-data reference.
NHTSA Complaint about SUSPENSION:REAR:AXLE:SPINDLE filed November 23, 2009
NHTSA complaint #745354 (ODI reference 10293261) concerns a 2001 FORD WINDSTAR and was filed on November 23, 2009. The owner reports the failure occurred on November 21, 2009. The vehicle had 103,000 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 suspension:rear:axle:spindle, 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: no, injuries: 0, fatalities: 0. No crash, fire, or fatality was associated with this report, which places it in the early-warning stream rather than the priority-review stream. 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 suspension:rear:axle:spindle 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 2001 FORD WINDSTAR shows the complete component-level complaint distribution alongside any active investigations or recalls.
Complaint Description
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2001 FORD WINDSTAR. WHEN ATTEMPTING TO MAKE A TURN INTO HER DRIVE-WAY AT 40 MPH, SMOKE BEGAN EMANATING FROM THE REAR OF THE VEHICLE. UPON FURTHER INSPECTION SHE NOTICED THAT THE AXLE HAD FRACTURED, AND THAT THE TIRES WERE TILTED. THE DEALER WAS NOTIFIED, BUT NO ASSISTANCE WAS PROVIDED. NO REPAIRS HAVE BEEN MADE. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 103000.
Complaint Details
| NHTSA Complaint ID | 745354 |
| ODI Number | 10293261 |
| Date Filed | November 23, 2009 |
| Failure Date | November 21, 2009 |
| VIN | 2FMZA52441B |
Similar SUSPENSION:REAR:AXLE:SPINDLE Complaints for 2001 FORD WINDSTAR
The contact owns a 2001 Ford Windstar. The contact stated while driving 15 MPH, the rear axle fractured. There was no warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed back to the residence. The ve
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2001 FORD WINDSTAR. WHILE DRIVING 55 MPH, THE VEHICLE BEGAN TO SHAKE. THE CONTACT DISCOVERED THAT THE REAR WHEELS WERE BENT. THERE WERE NO WARNING INDICATORS ILLUMINATED. ADDITI
BROKEN REAR AXLE BEAM. *TR
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.