There are 50 owner-reported brakes complaints for the 1998 Ford Windstarin NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
I CAME TO A STOP SIGN. THE BRAKE PEDAL WENT TO FLOOR WITHOUT ANY WARNING. I WAS ABLE TO STEER TO THE SHOULDER WITHOUT HITTING THE CAR AHEAD OF ME. THE CAR FINALLY ROLLED TO A STOP WITH THE HELP OF THE EMERGENCY BRAKE. THE VEHICLE WAS IN MOTION AND ON A DUAL LANE HIGHWAY.
ABS DASHBOARD LIGHT STAYS ON VIBRATION WHEN BRAKING WHILE IN MOTION VIBRATION IS PROPORTIONAL TO SPEED
ABS IS INOPERABLE VEHICLE DOES NOT BRAKE PROPERLY. *TR
THE ABS LIGHT STARTED COMING ON AFTER DRIVING FOR A FEW MINUTES THEN IT WOULD GO OFF WHEN THE VAN WAS TURNED OFF. NOW THE ABS LIGHT COMES ON WHEN I TURN THE VAN ON & DOESN'T GO OFF UNTIL I TURN THE KEY OFF. *TR
BRAKE FLUID ALL LEAKS OUT WEAR HOLE IN BRAKE FLUID TUBE TO REAR BRAKES BETWEEN FRAME AND GAS TANK. CAUSING VIRTUALLY NO BRAKING POWER. DRIVERS SIDE NEAR REAR WHEEL. WOULD REQUIRE 200.00+ TO REPAIR. *TR
ABS LIGHT COMES ON OFTEN WHEN I REACH SPEEDS OF 70MPH ONLY. *TR
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 1998 FORD WINDSTAR. THE CONTACT WAS DRIVING 35 MPH AND ATTEMPTED TO ENGAGE THE BRAKES BUT THE PEDAL WAS DEPRESSED INTO THE FLOORBOARD ABNORMALLY WITH THE ILLUMINATION OF THE CHECK ENGINE WARNING LIGHT. THE CONTACT ALSO MENTIONED THAT ONCE HE TURNED ON THE HEATER, THE VEHICLE STALLED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A LOCAL MECHANIC WHO DIAGNOSED THAT THE MASS AIRFLOW SENSOR WAS DEFECTIVE AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE AND THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS UNKNOWN AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 200,816.
THIS VEHICLE WAS PART OF A PREVIOUS RECALL. ALL THE FORD DEALER DID WAS INSTALL A FUSIBLE LINK IN THE SCDS CIRCUIT TO THE ABS BRAKE UNIT. SINCE THAT TIME, THE ABS BRAKES HAVE BECOME INOPERABLE AND WILL START PULSATING WHILE DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD. THIS CAUSES DANGEROUS DRIVING CONDITIONS. WE REQUEST THAT FORD REPLACE THE DEFECTIVE SCDS SWITCH, WHICH THEY KNOW IS DEFECTIVE. *TR
"ABS" AND "TRAC OFF" LIGHTS COME ON CONSISTENTLY DURING WARM-WEATHER MONTHS AT SPEEDS OVER 60MPH. THIS MEANS ABS BREAKING IS DISABLED UNTIL CAR IS SHUT OFF AND RESTARTED. FORD DEALER WAS UNABLE TO REPRODUCE THE PROBLEM. ISSUE COMMON PER THE BELOW LINK (SEE PROBLEM #2 SECTION). HTTP://WWW.FORDWINDSTARRECALL.INFO/. *TR
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 1998 FORD WINDSTAR. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE BRAKES MALFUNCTIONED WITH THE ILLUMINATION OF THE ABS WARNING LAMP. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A LOCAL MECHANIC WHO STATED THAT THE WHEEL SENSOR NEEDED TO BE REPLACED AND THE PUMP MODULATOR VALVE WAS ALSO DEFECTIVE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT CONTACTED AND THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 58,822.
BRAKING DISTANCE SUDDENLY INCREASED, ABS LIGHT AND RED BRAKE LIGHT BOTH ON ALL THE TIME. TRAC OFF FLASHING. *TR
ABS AND BRAKE LIGHT ON, AND NO SPEED CONTROL. *TR
RECALL 09S09 1998 FORD WINDSTAR- HAVING TROUBLE WITH SPEEDOMETER/ODOMETER AND ABS BRAKES. HAD WIRED HARNESS INSTALLED BY FORD DEALERSHIP. I FEEL AS THOUGH THEY DIDN'T DO A PROPER INSPECTION AS PERTAINING TO ALL THE PROBLEMS THIS SEEMS TO BE CAUSING FOR MANY PEOPLE. I CAN'T DRIVE MY VEHICLE BECAUSE MY BRAKES KEEP LOCKING UP AND MY SPEEDOMETER SUDDENLY DROPS TO ZERO AND THE VEHICLES TRANSMISSION SOUNDS AWFUL. FORD TOLD ME ALL THEY NEED TO REPLACE IS THE WIRED HARNESS IS THIS TRUE.I HAD MY VEHICLE SERVICED A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO THOUGHT IT WAS THE BRAKES. THEY WERE DONE LAST SEPTEMBER 2009. MY MECHANIC COULDN'T FIGURE OUT BRAKES. PULLED 15 AMP FUSE FOR SPEED CONTROL. PUT BACK IN AFTER HARNESS WAS INSTALLED STILL BRAKES LOCKING UP AND SPEEDOMETER ACTING UP. *TR
I HAVE A 1998 FORD WINDSTAR. THE ABS BRAKES ARE WORKING ALL THE TIME. EVEN IN THE MIDDLE OF SUMMER I CAN HEAR THEM ENGAGING. I CAN NOT GET THEM TO STOP CHATTERING. AFTER ABOUT 10 MILES OF CITY DRIVING THEM FINALLY GIVE UP AND THE ABS LIGHT COMES ON AND THEN THE CAR STOPS NORMALLY. *TR
CAR STARTS OUT NORMALLY. CAR SOMETIMES SUDDENLY HAS A LONGER BRAKING DISTANCE THAN NORMAL AND BRAKING IS JERKY. "TRAC ON" ENGAGES FOR A FEW SECONDS AND TRACTION IS JERKY. AFTER THAT ABS LIGHT REMAINS ON AND "TRAC OFF " LIGHT IS FLASHING. IT ONLY HAPPENS OCCASIONALLY. I AM PLANNING TO TAKE IT TO FORD TO CORRECT ABS LIGHT. *TR
ABS BRAKE LIGHT CAME ON INTERMITTENTLY FOR A COUPLE WEEKS THEN BEGAN TO STAY ON. NEW BRAKES & ROTORS/DRUMS ALL AROUND. NOW PROBLEM WITH BRAKES BUT LIGHT WILL NOT GO OFF. ALSO AIRBAG LIGHT CAME ON ABOUT TWO WEEKS AFTER THE ABS LIGHT. IT WILL NOT GO OFF EITHER. *TR
THE BRAKE FLUID CONTINUES TO LEAK, TODAY I WAS DRIVING AND HAD NO BRAKE FLUID, I HAVE NOTICED SOME SMOKING UNDER MY VAN AFTER THE VAN IS TURNED OFF. I HAD TO REMOVE A FUSE DUE TO LIGHTS NOT TURNING OFF ALSO, THE CHILD BUILT IN RESTRAINTS PLASTIC IS BROKEN, (RELATED VEHICLE INFORMATION: MODEL YEAR=1998, MAKE=FORD, MODEL=WINDSTAR). *TR
1998 FORD WINDSTAR BRAKES FAILED CAUSING THE VEHICLE TO HIT A GATE IN THE CLOSED TOLL BOOTH LANE. *KB OHIO TRAFFIC CRASH REPORT #10-0724-91
THE ABS ENGAGES ON DRY PAVEMENT UNDER NORMAL BRAKING CONDITIONS. THE ABS LIGHT DID NOT COME ON. MY MECHANIC CHANGED TWO OF THE ABS SENSORS TO NO AVAIL. AFTER THE ABS LIGHT REMAINED ON, I BROUGHT IT TO THE FORD DEALER. THEY CHANGED THE LEFT FRONT ABS SENSOR. THE ABS LIGHT WENT OUT, THE PROBLEM STILL EXISTS UNDER NORMAL BRAKING ON DRY PAVEMENT. I AM SORRY I DID NOT LEAVE IT ALONE WHEN THE ABS LIGHT CAME ON AS THE BRAKES WORKED FINE. I WOULD RATHER HAVE THE ABS NOT WORKING THAN WORKING IMPROPERLY. I GREW UP ON VEHICLES WITHOUT ABS. *TR
1998 FORD WINDSTAR MY BRAKE AND ABS LIGHT WILL NOT GO OUT. *TR
Showing 1–20 of 50 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.
Data synced from NHTSA on May 4, 2026