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Ford Expands Windstar Recall by 37,000 Vehicles

Last year The Ford Windstar was subject to a nationwide recall because of safety-related issues. A minor issue with a cruise control switch made American’s manufacturer Ford recall some 4.5 million vehicles, including the Windstar, the Excursion and F-Super Duty. The same 1999 to 2003 model year Windstar are again under the spotlight.

The new investigation, is focused on front subframe corrosion on the right side of the vehicle. Road salt affects the front axle, leading to corrosion that can cause the component to break. The fracturing of the component leads to the loss of vehicle control (the driver can no longer use the steering of the car) and can cause an accident with severe consequences.

Three month ago some half a million Windstar minivans were recalled because of the issue. Today, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and Ford have announced an expansion of that recall to include roughly 37,000 additional vans. This comes as a result of including a Utah in the list of areas to be recalled, as well as including 2003 Windstars with heat-treated rear axles. Ford spokesman Wes Sherwood said that the automaker has determined that vans in Utah or with heat-treated axles may also develop cracks.

The is caused by a ‘U’ channel design on the rear axle beam which created an unintentional holding place for salt-snow mix. This exposes the car to unnatural levels of salt, which in turn caused the housing to rust. Because of this, 950 complaints about the axles had been filed with the NHTSA, Ford said.

Ford said it will pay back the money to the customers who ave already paid to have the issue repaired.
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About the author: Mihnea Radu
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Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida.
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