- Vehicles
- 202
- Built between
- Jan 1997 – Jan 1997
- Models
- 1
- Recall type
- Vehicle
- Initiated by
- Manufacturer
- Owners notified
- 5 February 1997
- Repaired
- Not reported
- Unrepaired
- Not reported
Does this affect my vehicle?
This recall covers vehicles built between January 1997 and January 1997. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.
- 1998 Ford WindstarBuilt January 1997 to January 1997
What the defect is
Vehicle description: minivan equipped with second row bench seats with optional integrated child seat (ics). The headrest lockout mechanism on the seats may not engage and lock the headrests in the "down" position, as intended, when the ics is deployed. A vehicle occupant could move the headrest to the "up" position.
What could happen
As a result of the headrest being in the "up" position, a child seated in the ics would receive less than the intended protection in the child head area in the event of a crash.
What gets fixed
THE SECOND ROW BENCH SEATS HAVE BEEN REPLACED WITH SEATS BUILT WITH REVISED HEADREST LOCKOUT MECHANISMS.
Timeline
- Vehicles builtJanuary 1997 to January 1997
- Recall reported to NHTSA1 April 1997
- Owners notified5 February 1997
Your rights
A safety recall repair is free. Under US federal law the manufacturer must fix a safety defect at no cost to you — no charge for parts, labor or diagnosis — whether or not you are the original owner. A dealer cannot charge you for recall work, and cannot require you to have bought the vehicle from them.
That entitlement is not unlimited. It applies where the vehicle was first sold less than 15 years before the recall was announced — 5 years for tires. Past that a manufacturer may still do the repair free of charge, and many do, but they are no longer obliged to. This recall was reported on 1 April 1997.
To arrange the repair, contact any franchised dealer for the brand. If a dealer refuses the work or tries to charge for it, you can report that to NHTSA at nhtsa.gov/recalls or on 1-888-327-4236.
Official source
- Recalling manufacturer
- FORD MOTOR COMPANY
- Recall initiated by
- MFR
Everything on this page — the models listed, the build dates and the repair figures — comes from the manufacturer's filing to NHTSA and describes the vehicle line as a whole, not any individual car. Only the manufacturer can confirm whether a specific vehicle is affected, and whether its recall work has already been carried out. Check yours by VIN and read the official notice at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Additional notes
Owner notification:all owners have been notified and the seats have been replaced in the affected vehicles.
Check your own vehicle
This page describes the recall, not any one car. To see which recalls cover a specific vehicle, search by make, model and year.
A VIN lookup here identifies your vehicle and shows recalls issued for that make, model and year. It cannot tell you what is still open on your individual car - only the manufacturer knows that. Search by VIN instead, or check your VIN at nhtsa.gov for whether a recall is still open on your individual car.