Carol of Folcroft, PA, writes:
I purchased a 2000 Lincoln Mercury Villager on July 3, 2000, at Winner Lincoln Mercury, Philadelphia. A couple of days later it rained, and I began to notice that I was unable to see out of my windshield, it seemed as though there were moisture spots on the glass and when I used my windshield wipers it only got worse.

If the window is dry you can see fine, however if you wet the glass with a rag you can see the spots reappear. I contacted the service manager at the dealership where I bought the van and he said he thought it was a climate control problem and to bring the van in. I did, the service manager explained that it was not what he expected and that I should get Brillo and scuff the windshield.

I refused, I thought that they should do this since this van was only a week old. This proved to be unsuccessful. I returned a couple of days later(after the first rain). At this time, two gentlemen looked at my windshield and decided to replace the windshield and the rear window (which also had the same problem).

They replaced the front windshield but could not replace the back. When they returned my van, not only did the windshield do the same thing as the original, they scratched my left front fender. The dealership agreed the windshield was still spotting when wet and they agreed to paint my fender. At the time I took the van in to be painted they told me the windshield would be looked at by Ford's field service manager, Mr. Jorge Rebellon.

Today I called to find out the status and the service manager explained that their conclusion is that it is an "NORMAL CHARACTERISTIC OF THE VEHICLE". They had checked another Villager and it does the same exact spotting. And there is nothing more they can do for me. So now I am afraid to drive my van in the rain because I can not see out of the windshield.

I have a loan for five years of $18,442.90 for a van I don't feel is safe to drive in the rain. I refuse to believe that I, out of all the thousands of people who have purchased this van am the only one who has complained. I would like to return this van, I believe that it is an accident waiting to happen, I am afraid that someone will be injured as a result of this "NORMAL CHARACTERISTIC".

We're not quite sure what this "spotting" is but it certainly sounds annoying and maybe even dangerous.