NHTSA Complaint #10236380 — 2001 FORD WINDSTAR

2001 FORD WINDSTAR HAS ABS WARNING LIGHT COMBINED WITH EMERGENCY BRAKE ENGAGED LIGHT CAUSING INTERMITTENT WARNINGS. THE VEHICLE HAS APPX 145K MILES ON IT CURRENTLY. HAVE BEEN EXPERIENCING DASH WARNING LIGHTS THAT WARN ME THAT MY ABS SYSTEM IS NOT WORKING CORRECTLY. NEW BRAKES, INSPECTION AND CLEANING. RECENTLY BUT PROBLEM PERSISTS. HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO DETERMINE THE CONDITIONS THAT LEAD UP THE WARNING ERRORS. BASED ON RESEARCH THROUGH THE INTERNET, CONVERSATIONS WITH LOCAL MECHANICS AND OTHER WINDSTAR OWNERS, THIS PROBLEM IS NOT ONLY COMMON BUT BECOMING ANTICIPATED. IT'S ALSO MY UNDERSTANDING THAT WHEN THE ABS LIGHT IS ILLUMINATED THE ABS SYSTEM IS NON FUNCTIONAL AND MY BRAKING ABILITY IS COMPROMISED. VARIOUS SOURCES POINT TO A FAULT IN THE MONITORING SYSTEM THROUGH THE DESIGN OF PARTICULAR COMPONENTS AND REPAIR/REPLACEMENT IS RUNNING AROUND $600. IT SEEMS CLEAR THERE WAS A DESIGN FLAW IN THE BRAKE SYSTEM THAT IS LEADING TO MY FAMILY'S SAFETY BEING COMPROMISED BY NOT HAVING THE ABS FUNCTIONING CORRECTLY. *TR