NHTSA Complaint #10236158 — 1999 FORD WINDSTAR

MY 1999 FORD WINDSTAR HAS AN ISSUE WITH FUSE #10 BLOWING WHICH AFFECTS THE SPEEDOMETER (DOES NOT WORK) AS WELL AS A/C WHICH ONLY BLOWS HOT AIR. THE ABS BRAKE LIGHT STAYS ON AND MUCH MORE INSTRUMENTATION IS INOPERABLE INCLUDING CRUISE CONTROL. THIS FIRST HAPPENED WHILE ON A HIGHWAY IN COLORADO. MY HUSBAND AND I PULLED OVER AND CHECKED THE MANUAL. WE REPLACED FUSE #10 AND ALL WORKED FINE FOR A COUPLE OF MONTHS. THEN THE FUSE BEGAN BLOWING EACH TIME I TURNED ON THE CAR. WE BOUGHT SEVERAL EXTRA FUSES AS WE WERE GETTING READY TO DRIVE TO OUR NEW HOME IN ARIZONA. THIS WAS JULY 11, 2008. THE CAR RAN FOR 12 HOURS ON A NEW FUSE WITH NO PROBLEM. WE STOPPED AND RESTED FOR THREE HOURS AND CONTINUED OUR ROAD TRIP ON JULY 12TH. THE FUSE BLEW WHEN I STARTED THE CAR AND SEVERAL NEW FUSES NEVER GOT IT TO WORK AGAIN. I HAD TO DRIVE THE LAST LEG (FOUR HOURS) OF MY TRIP WITH NO A/C (DESERT CLIMATE) AND WORST OF ALL NO KNOWLEDGE OF HOW FAST I WAS GOING. THAT WAS SCARY. I TOOK THE CAR TO A MECHANIC IN TUCSON, AZ AND THEY TOLD ME I HAD SOME RECALL ISSUES AND THAT I SHOULD GO TO A FORD DEALERSHIP. I LOOKED UP RECALLS AND FOUND A WEBSITE WITH FORD WINDSTAR OWNERS WHO HAVE SIMILAR ISSUES. APPARENTLY, THERE IS CURRENTLY NO RECALL FOR THEM AT THIS TIME. THEY STATE IT IS UNDER INVESTIGATION. I HOPE SO AS I SPENT $1300.00 ON A/C AND HEATER PROBLEMS LAST WINTER. MY VAN HAS 115,000 MILES ON IT AND I NEED IT TO LAST ME LONG ENOUGH UNTIL I GET A NEW JOB IN ARIZONA. IT IS UNSAFE TO DRIVE AT THIS TIME. THANK YOU. *TR