NHTSA Complaint #10133925 — 1999 FORD WINDSTAR

I DROVE MY 1999 FORD WINDSTAR LX WITH MY MOTHER AND MY FAMILY (MY 2 CHILDREN, MY NEPHEW AND MY DAUGHTER'S FRIEND) TO ERIE, PA TO VISIT MY SISTER'S FAMILY FOR 2 DAYS, THEN TO SPLASH LAGOON FOR 2 DAYS. THIS WAS A 230 MILE TRIP, EACH WAY, FROM MY HOME IS ELMIRA, NY. WE ARRIVED THERE WITHOUT INCIDENT. ALL FLUIDS WERE CHECKED BEFORE WE LEFT AND WERE IN PRIME CONDITION. THE FOLLOWING DAY, WE GOT IN OUR VEHICLES TO GO SEE THE 15 MILES OF BEACHES ALONG LAKE ERIE. ABOUT A MILE DOWN THEIR ROAD, WE WENT TO CROSS A 4-LANE HIGH-WAY, WHEN MY VEHICLE STOPPED DEAD IN THE MIDDLE, ALMOST KILLING ALL OF US BECAUSE TRAFFIC WAS COMING FROM BOTH DIRECTIONS. MY VEHICLE WOUDN'T MOVE FORWARD NO MATTER WHAT. THE TRANSMISSION FAILED, ABRUPTLY, WITHOUT ANY ADVANCE NOTICE, WHATSOEVER! AFTER MUCH ONLINE RESEARCH, I SOON REALIZED MY UNFORTUNATE SITUATION ISN'T UNIQUE TO FORD WINDSTAR OWNERS! THIS "SUDDEN TRANSMISSION FAILURE" IS VERY COMMON. WE COULD HAVE ALL BEEN KILLED. MY BROTHER-IN-LAW HAD TO DRIVE MY VEHICLE BACK TO HIS HOUSE IN REVERSE, AS THAT WAS THE ONLY GEAR THAT WORKED. AFTER THE FAILURE, THE FLUIDS WERE CHECKED AGAIN, AND ALL WAS STILL FULL AND IN GOOD CONDITION (WE SAVED THESE), HOWEVER, HE THOUGHT THAT MAYBE THE FILTER MIGHT NEED TO BE CHANGED, SO HE DID SO, REPLACING THE USED TRANSMISSION FLUID WITH BRAND NEW. KNOWING WE SHOULD NOT HAVE WORK DONE TO THE VEHICLE FOR RISK OF VOIDING THE $1,948.00 EXTENDED SERVICE WARRANTY I PURCHASED FROM THE DEALERSHIP AT THE TIME I BOUGHT THE VEHICLE (LESS THAN 3 YEARS AGO), WE DECIDED TO HAVE THE VEHICLE TOWED HOME.