NHTSA Complaint #10283785 — 2003 FORD WINDSTAR

OUR 2003 WINDSTAR STARTED MISFIRING BADLY AND THE ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON. I BOUGHT A CODE READER AND FOUND THE CODES 171 AND 174 AND MISFIRE IN CYLINDER #5. AFTER DOING SOME RESEARCH I FOUND THIS IS USUALLY DUE TO THE INTAKE MANIFOLD GASKETS LEAKING AND IS VERY COMMON. I'VE HAD IT WITH THIS VAN AND I'M AFRAID TO PARK IT IN THE DRIVEWAY NEAR THE KID'S ROOM IN CASE IT CATCHES ON FIRE. IN THE LAST FEW MONTHS I'VE REPLACED A BROKEN (NOT RUSTED) FRONT SPRING, BRAKE DEACTIVATION SWITCH, TRANSMISSION (152,000KM) AND NOW THIS. ALSO THE ABS LIGHT IS ON ALL THE TIME NOW MEANING THAT IT DOESN'T HAVE ANTI-LOCK ANYMORE. I'M A LICENSED AUTOBODY TECHNICIAN AND REALIZE THAT CARS REQUIRE ROUTINE MAINTENANCE AND PARTS REPLACED FROM TIME TO TIME AND I DO MOST OF THE WORK MYSELF, BUT WHEN THEY ARE WIDESPREAD SAFETY AND RELIABILITY ISSUES IT MAKES ME EXTREMELY FRUSTRATED THAT NOTHING CAN BE DONE. I WANT TO JUST PARK THE VAN, BUT WE STILL HAVE A YEAR LEFT ON THE FINANCING. *TR