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Prior to buying the MKS, I seriously considered a Jaguar XJ Vanden Plas - drove both new and pre-owned. The MKS does not have the supple ride of the Jag nor does it have the handling feel. There is no substitute for RWD and good weight distribution. The MKS ecoboost is quicker in a straight line than the non-supercharged Jag, however, and has much better user interface with the NAV and Sync systems. I think the sound system of the MKS beats the Jag. The MKS is at least as quiet, too. I really didn't find the fit/finish of the Jag to be any better, either. I assume Lexus and the Germans probably are, though.
Basically, any $75,000 car is too expensive for me. At $47,600 (after wheeling and dealing), the MKS ecoboost with Ultimate package strikes me as a good value compared to the higher end vehicles. It is built to a price point, absolutely - but so are the higher end cars. There is a point of diminishing return......
You are exactly right! IMO, the MKS may be the best value for the money.
Based on his most recent post, the problem has been fixed. It was a whining noise and the dealer was stumped for awhile. It seems that they found the cause and replaced a part that regulates the line pressure in the transmission.
When you ripped the music, do the track titles and artist names appear in the Jukebox? Or does it simply say "Track 1 - Unknown Artist?" Again, specifically about burned music on a CD-R. I have a bit of a pet peeve when it comes to these type of things.
This question attains to ripping it and storing it in the Jukebox and simply playing the cd itself in the player.
Thank you!
Granted, it is not perfect but you can input the data for 20 songs in about 10 minutes. Of course, another option is to simply put the MP3s on a flashdrive and not even use the jukebox for downloaded music. With the flashdrive, the titles and artist will be shown and you don't have to enter it yourself. The flashdrive uses sync while the jukebox is a function of the nav system. From the user's perspective, either way works fine with voice commands or using the touchsceen.
Thanks Bruce
I had a number of commercial CDs that I loaded onto the Jukebox. I also had a number of MP3s on a flashdrive. My problem was that I would sometimes forget which song or album was in which place. Therefore, I burned music CDs with the MP3s from my flashdrive and loaded them onto the jukebox so everything is in the same place.
If you load homemade CDs, you will need to go into the Jukebox menu and edit the title "unknown artist" to the actual artist name. It doesn't take long once you get familiar with it. Of course it would be faster to enter "Cher" than "Electric Light Orchestra" but it is quite doable.
Thanks,
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The cinnamon paint color is beautiful, and even our 15-year old commented on how the color seemed to change depending on the time of day and lighting conditions. The paint surface was universally smooth and without defects (and we really looked closely).
Inside, the fit & finish was impressive. The beige leather and light wood were very nice, and the dashboard plastics were nicely textured. The aluminum trim pieces were well-aligned and the brushed finish appeared very satiny and upscale rather than 'scratched from end-to-end' as one of our friends said interior metal sometimes looks.
The car felt extremely solid to drive and we all noticed the cabin was very quiet......we could hardly hear the engine running at all. I am surprised Lincoln doesn't emphasize the solid, quality feel and the hushed cabin in their advertising campaigns. The technology is great, but I can't help but think Lincoln should emphasize the upscale look & feel more. It definitely 'felt like' a luxury sedan when driving it. The ride was firmer than our MKX crossover, but not uncomfortable in any way. The paddle shifters for the manual mode transmission seem to be counter-intuitive......to up shift, the driver presses the paddle toward the steering wheel column rather than just using your thumb and pressing them straight forward toward the dash. I never got used to that motion and stopped using manual mode after the second day.
I am quite tall and the cabin was very comfortable in regard to head and leg room for me while driving, but there was not a great deal of leg room behind me for a rear seat passenger. This base model did not have the optional sunroof, which takes more than an inch off the interior headroom because the glass drops down and then into the roofline rather than up and back like the Lincoln MKX. Compared to our MKX, there seems to be less rear seat leg room when the driver seat is positioned all the way back. The dead pedal for the left foot is a little closer than I would have preferred, but I found that I could also extend my leg and rest my foot behind the brake pedal without obstructing it at all. One drawback which took a day or two to get used to is the door sill height. I tend to rest my elbows on the door sills while driving, but the MKS has very tall door panels and this was not a comfortable position at all. I found the position of the elbow rest and the split center console lid to be perfectly placed, though. If you like to drive with the window open and your arm on the window frame, this car isn't a good fit.
Overall we were impressed with the car. Special offers from Lincoln are plentiful at the end of the year and the Edmunds TMV is significantly lower than MSRP in our area of Florida.
I find the car to be very comfortable, solid, well put together and extremely quiet but rear seat room leg room is tight for such a large car. We also have a 2008 Taurus and you could live in it's back seat.
I have gotten used to the paddle shifters and use them a lot. At first, it seemed counter intuitive to pull back to upshift but now it is second nature for me. I guess if I had a choice, I would like the right paddle for upshifts and the left for downshifts and not have the little thumb things at all.
I really like the Nav and SYNC systems and their user interface. Most of all, I like the ecoboost engine - which I realize your loaner did not have.
My observations having not owned an American car in 12 years (owned Lexus's, Infiniti's and 1 Acura) on this car are:
Its quiet and big.
Trunk opening is very small for such a big trunk.
Not enough leg room to stretch your left leg.
Very good MPG
If I did not know it was a Lincoln I would think it was Asian; thats good.
High door sills.
SYNC is fantastic and I might get another FOMOCO because of it. Did have 1 glitch and fixed itself.
Exhaust noise not as sporty or mellow as 2008 M35, 2007 Maxima, 2004 RL or 2000 GS 400 I had in past.
So far quality is equal but have only driven 1200 miles in 3 months.
I would reccommend this car and mine is the base with plenty of power as I did not want AWD.
I've also heard the new MKS is stunning along with all of the new Lincoln designs. Lincoln has just started their turnaround and the best is yet to come (provided you don't want a RWD sports sedan).
We did have a glitch on SYNC. We recd. a call and hung after correctly. Now only next track or prev. track works and get a Speech Control not Recognized when asking to Play Artist or Song.
Called dealer and they had no idea what happened. Uh huh; reading boards others have had same problem.
A week later we made a call in the car, the music stopped as it should but the phone never switched to SYNC and when we hung up via the phone the music did not come back on.
AHA, I hung up again using the steering wheel button and ALL is now working great!
SYNC is great and I hope it stays working.
RWD- Yes I really miss it. It was most noticeable when I got the MKS after driving the M35 for 2 years. Are other car is a 2005 Thunderbird RWD. They just drive so much better in non snowy climes.
AWD- don't want it in FL and the car has plenty of power for what I need which says a lot since I do like HP.
I do get a little vibration at 80+ MPH which may be from the 20" tires. Not sure.
I plan on getting the lincoln spoiler with the chrome accent, then that will be it for me.
I also have a 2003 Town Car Cartier L - with lots of extra room, but I got stuck this past winter - did a LOT of damage and am thinking AWD will serve me better, but don't really like SUV's. Enter the MKS...
I've been looking at used MKZ's and Taurus/Sables, but I am really tempted to buy a used MKS.
I found one that has 78,000 miles. It is a 2009 AWD with the 3.7L engine and has Ultimate package - so loaded up. They are asking just over $20K (which is ridiculously low...)? That IS the original set price - as it just went up for sale. Carfax looks okay. Corporate owened by the look. My problem is that the car is over 3 hours drive away and I'm not able to travel that far with recent lower back trouble.
I'm really torn. I've been reading stories about the brakes being the most prevelant problem. Any other things I should be worried about. I really trust the Lincoln V6's - since my experience with my LS - it has been a Warrior! I still get 27 mpg highway and 22 mixed driving. I'm a little disappointed with the 23 MPG on the MKS AWD - especially when my '03 Town Car with V8 gets better mileage. I know - drive the LS in the summer and MKS in the winter. That is the plan...
Any suggestions/feedback would be appreciated.
That AJ V8 was a sweet engine. Too bad Jag wouldn't let Ford use the 4.2L na and sc versions.
Other than the brakes, there were reports of doors that would lock and then unintentionally unlock - fixed by a revised rod to the lock mechanism - not a big deal. The other thing that comes to mind was vibration in the rear deck shelf when playing songs with heavy bass. That is fixed with additional padding and revised fasteners for the subwoofer. These issues were addressed in the 2010s although there still been a few reports of grinding brakes. That issue took 2 or maybe 3 TSBs but the latest one solves the problem.
The 3.7 is a fine engine. It has more power than your TC's V8 and the MKS is a heavy car - much heavier than your LS. The AWD system reduces mileage somewhat. Most owners report better cruising highway mileage than the EPA estimates.
Ah, no kidding? Didn't know that (obviously). Well, it was a good engine, and performed really well in the LS. Still no relation to the 3.7 in the MKS though, correct?
The 3.0L V6 in the LS was the first one with variable cam timing. The new 3.5L and 3.7L engines are all new AFAIK.
I've had my share of "Lockouts" with the LS and that set-up. I learned very early in the game with it to take the keys and hit the unlock prior to leaving the car - if you were just pumping gas or whatever. Another reason I wished the 2000 had the keypad on the door, but make do. I'm sure the MKS lock/unlock issue isn't too big of a deal, either.
Someone else mentioned that the price should be even lower and I'm surprised. They have one of the 'compare' websites that compares comparable models and this particular car is the lowest in price of all similar models for sale in the area - by several thousand, actually.
I also would think at 78K miles - most of the warranty items would be done. Probably just drivetrain and exhaust are still covered, maybe?
Thanks again.
In any case, you make a good point that any of the known issues should have been fixed by now. The brakes, door locks and rear shelf rattle were typically reported by owners within 15,000 miles or so. I don't know anything about the pricing but I certainly would not be concerned about the car as long as it has not been abused and has been maintained properly.
My previous 2009 MKS (which had standard cc) did this, but the 2011 only uses the brakes to maintain the speed the cc is set at.
I am concerned that only using the brakes to control speed will cause overheating and possible rotor warp.
Hilly condition usage
It is recommended that the driver select a lower gear position when ACC
is active in situations such as prolonged downhill driving on steep grades
(i.e., driving in mountainous areas). In these situations, additional engine
braking is needed to reduce the load on the vehicle’s regular brake
system to prevent them from overheating. For more information,
reference Automatic transmission operation in the Driving chapter.
Note: If ACC is applying brakes for an extended period of time, an
audible alarm will sound, the head’s up display will flash and ACC will
shut down. This is to allow the brakes to cool down. When the brakes
have cooled down, the ACC will again function normally.
Thanks a lot!
The reason I asked the question in the first place was because the 2009 MKS I traded for the 2011 DID, in fact, downshift when the (conventional) cc was engaged. I thought that this feature, which I was really impressed with, would have carried over to newer models. Perhaps it's something that may still be a part of conventional cc but not acc?
Anyway, can anyone tell me what to look out for. The vehicle available to me is that gorgeous black, I don't think I have seen paint like this before (I know, where the heck have I been, right???) .....
My last luxury wheels were Cadillac, and CTS IS a consideration. Someone point me in the right direction. I have the weekend to make this decision, the dealer has let me use the car!
I understand your desire for luxury so I took a little bit of the middle road. I have a 2010 MKZ AWD and it has just about all the luxury as the MKS, but it is a little smaller and way more agile. I also have a 2011 Sonata and even though both vehicles have about the same features, the Z rides smoother. I will say with that turbo, the Sonata can haul with great gas mileage.
18,500 miles and exceptionally clean. It was probably a lease or corporate Ford vehicle sold only to qualified Ford dealers. It was likely at Ft. Lauderdale and I got it in NC.
Not Ecoboost - I could not justify the extra money for it since AWD would very seldom benefit me and the gas mileage difference would not certainly.
Glass top - Didn't want it and consequently had to give up maybe one option, BLISS, which is included in that package and maybe not available otherwise.
Automatic cruise control - I would not have minded having it but hard to find on vehicles otherwise configured the way I wanted.
Previous vehicle - 2011 Lacrosse CXS, all factory options except glass top and rear DVD screens. I had to special order to escape the glass top.
Much of my comparison will be based on it and other vehicles over the years.
The MKS is not a town car, but pretty nice.
It does not ride like it, but maybe as near as you can get in a smaller vehicle. Far better than the Lacrosse in any model.
Items I will miss are GM's blind spot alert, when it was working. The HUD with its easy to read display. And something that may only be GM called Hyperstrut. Only the top model of the Lacrosse had it and I could easily see the effect it had on steering/handling, in lesser models, on the front end. And feel certain the MKS would benefit from it. The triple door seals may have contributed to a bit less wind noise.
And thankfully I no longer have GoodYear tires.
The Lacrosse in Red Jewel Tint was definitely a head turner. And its many LED's for rear lighting made it distinctive at night. I suspect this white one won't catch as many eyes but then my real hope is that things actually work and don't break.
I don't like the lumbar supports in either compared to the two bag support system. And when it comes to cooled seats, something that is noted among professional reviewers, they are not as comfortable as other seats, but the MKS is better than GM I' ve compared, including Cadillac.
The seat memory system in the MKS is superior because it actually works.
I also liked never having to take the key out of your pocket on the GM system, but may be able to adapt by using the door keypad and lock from inside vehicle.
The MKS is a little lighter so it being 10 less HP is no factor unless you think being a bit shy of 300HP is a flaw. GM did increase power by 50HP this year and Ford has the ecoboost if you really need power or want it.
Having only driven 300 miles I only have a rough approximation of gas mileage. About the first hundred were road with speed limits of 60MPH or less and several traffic lights. The guage was showing an average very close to 30 MPG decreasing to about 28.5 as speed increased. Once on the interstate I reset and cruising around 70 MPH it was showing about 25.5MPG on regular grade.
I've obviously got a lot to learn yet.
It mentions thumb drives in owners manual, but not specifically what format it accepts music in. Or even if the thumb drive needs to be formatted a particular way.
My experience was with 2011 Lacrosse and though it was supposed to accept several formats, WMA, MP3, M4A, and others, it was very problematic and only seemed to work with MP3 on such drives. It did not work at all on external HDD even though manual claimed it did. I now suspect owners also called it a jukebox sometimes because of the ford system.
Has anyone had success using a portable HDD? If so, how was it formatted and what codec was used for the music? Which formats will it read the tags from? Is it capable of reading the lyrics from the tag?
It sounds like an iPod will be not problem, except way too small for my jukebox collection(~400GB). What is the largest storage medium or device anyone has gotten to work?
Any self powered usb drive can be used as long as it's formatted FAT32. Pretty sure mp3 and mp4a both work - not sure about the rest. If you have iTunes look for a free pc app called itunes export - works like a charm and maintains your playlists.
It sounds like recording a disc to the HDD will be an automatic conversion to MP3 since the HDD is rated by time and number of tracks. My bet is that it will be using a poorer quality bit rate to pile such a large number on 10GB.
I will try recording a CD to it and see if it gives an indication by how much room it used and whether it recorded in native CDA format or converted to MP3. Often very high quality MP3 are OK, 192Kb/sec. Sometimes distortion will show up even at those rates, depending upon which MP3 CODEC is used.
Again, no indication as to what WMA is usuable. There is a lossless version but no indication if it works with the built in CODEC. And WMA is rather proprietary, thankyou MS.
Wave, can't go wrong with quality, but it is the largest file.
I shall have to test concerning AAC (m4a), which is supposed to be much better than MP3.
I will have to copy a song of each format to a media to see which it will not recognize.
I find there is a slight amount of slack at the steering wheel and it is a nuisance, especially on surfaces that induce wandering.
I'm also thinking I need to have alignment checked because of how it handles on rain grooved concrete. At less than posted speed it shakes from side to side as I try to keep it straight.
As to tire pressure, I watch it like a hawk because I learned 40 years ago that as little as one PSI could effect the handling greatly on some vehicles. The electronics not showing me the pressure of each tire is a bit annoying. With low profile tires the issue is likely amplified. Mine is a 2010 with 3.7L. Having just bought it, I assumed all maintenance had been done recently, but having put about 4000 miles on it the oil percentage is down to 10%.
The other day I also noticed that the PS fluid is significantly below the minimum line, like twice the distance between minimum and maximum. I have not spotted a leak. Also I was a bit alarmed when I checked the oil during a trip. About 400 miles after buying and in cold weather I did not check closely until I arrived at destination since it surely was not low and it was also a weekend. It appeared to be a quart over full. Now at home, it seems to be at proper level, but I surely will watch closely for usage.
I need to call the dealer tomorrow concerning rust on the rotors. I noticed that it appeared to be more than the overnight rust and questioned the saleman about it. He assured me it was only surface rust, not the pitting I thought it was. Now, nearly 4000 miles later, I see a strong discoloring on all rotors, like blueing from overheat or possibly carbon from the pads being deposited in the pitting. The rear have nearly worn the major rust from the surface with about 1/4" still heavily rusted at the outer edge. On the front it is about 1/2" and wonder how much braking is being lost. Does anyone else show these wide rusted areas at the outer edge of the braking surface?
Regarding rust on the rotors, the outer 1/4 inch of the rotor will likely have some rust. On mine, the area of rust is the same on the front as on the back. Mine has had the TSB performed that replaces the caliper brackets, pads and rotors. I don't recall how wide the rust strip was on the old rotors. If you have any brake noise at all, your dealer might do the TSB for you. It involves different caliper brackets that slightly reposition how the pads contact the rotors.
I think that bluish color on the rotors is pretty normal and not a sign of overheating. Seems I read somewhere that it is due to the composition of the rotor material. Mine have a bluish tint - and have had since new.
By the way, the oil monitor only measures mileage or time - it has nothing to do with the "life" of the oil. You can set the oil monitor through the message center to various parameters.
I just examined my rotors more carefully and discovered that there is zero rust at the outside edge on the front - the pads are contacting all the way to the edge. On the inside closer to the hub, there is about 1/8 inch that the pads do not contact. On the rear, there is approximately 1/8 inch on the outside edge and 1/4 inch on the inside where there is no pad contact.
I am pretty sure with the original rotors, the pads on the front did not make contact all the way to the outside edge and it left a rust ring out there. I think the new caliper brackets/pads changed the contact area. It would be nice if your dealer would apply that TSB to yours. It improved the pedal feel on mine and eliminated the brake noise that I was experiencing. I had about 23,000 miles on mine when I had it done.