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Ford Crown Victoria and Mercury Grand Marquis

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Comments

  • ionosphere1ionosphere1 Member Posts: 50
    Don't forget the Lincoln Towncar too. I don't think it has to do with Obama. Notice that GM also no longer makes a full-sized sedan (all the current Cadillacs are small). For Chrysler, only the 500. It appears that nowadays noone wants a big sedan with extra wide front seats and a big trunk. The current Lincolns are really pathetic. I'm keeping my Grand Marquis until either it or I die!
  • marsha7marsha7 Member Posts: 3,703
    "How can the industry intelligently decide to stop production of the best full sized sedans ever built"...bold emphasis mine...

    you want to re-read your sentence and maybe re-consider the wording???...keep in mind you ARE talking about the American auto industry...assuming they do get 25 mpg highway, that places them in good company considering their size...

    If they dropped the 300HP new V6 that gets 31 mpg in the Mustang, ya think it might do 25 or better in the Crown Vic???
  • baginzbaginz Member Posts: 1
    I removed the air bags on my 1995 Grand Marquis and installed coil springs and shocks.Even though I turned air suspension off,the air suspension alarm comes on after a short distance and stays on.How do I disable this alarm.......-: Thank You
  • ewforceewforce Member Posts: 3
    Car sat for several months. Worked just fine. Now, no start. Engine cranks but no fire. I suspect it's not getting fuel. Fuel shutoff is NOT tripped. Fuel pump fuse is NOT blown. There is NO spark but I suspect that's because there's no fuel pressure.

    Another weird thing is the ODB2 code reader produces "Error" after trying to read any codes.

    Any ideas out there?
  • johnkowalchukjohnkowalchuk Member Posts: 2
    Advanced auto parts and Autozone will both scan your car for free and tell you what the code is for. Some of the stores may make you scan your own car but all you have to do is plug the scanner into the plug under your steering wheel above where your legs are when driving and on the computer just select scan codes or read dtc (diag trouble codes) and the scanner will tell you what the codes are.
  • johnkowalchukjohnkowalchuk Member Posts: 2
    I hate to say it but if your car has 142k and you never had the tranny flushed and this was the first time, that was a bad move, you could end up with more problems with shifting if not permanent problems. The key is if you have your tranny maintained every 30000 or 40000 miles there really is no problem flushing it again but if it has never been done before you should have only dropped the pan and changes the filter and replace the lost fluid when the pan was dropped. This usually replaces about half the fluid with new fluid. Than you can do it again in 15000 to 20000 miles again, this prevents possible problems you could end up with from flushing a tranny with high miles. Most garages would tell you its not a good idea to flush it unless it has been done according to the maint schedule.
  • frankgsrfrankgsr Member Posts: 3
    Hi, new here, I need some help. Anyone know how to adjust the wipers. When I turn them off, they come to rest alittle to high. I have a 2011. I hate to bring it in for just that.
  • marsha7marsha7 Member Posts: 3,703
    I didn't know they were still selling them in 2011, I thought they stopped a few years ago.

    I would check the owners manual, it may have a simple adjustment for raising/lowering the wipers for ice and snow...I have never moved mine since I bought it in 2004...:):):)
  • jmbicyclejmbicycle Member Posts: 2
    My 2004 Grand Marquis with 155K miles is like new. Why do my wipers keep popping off? I have to keep them on the arms with twist ties.
  • marsha7marsha7 Member Posts: 3,703
    If you have the single pin on the arm like I do, you must gently, but firmly, push the wiper blade onto the arm until it clicks...you might want to spray a drop of WD40 on the blade so that the little spring can break loose and compress to hold it onto the arm...
  • frankgsrfrankgsr Member Posts: 3
    They stopped selling to the public I think in 2009 or 2010, they still sell them to fleet owners. I bought mine on E Bay from someone in FLA that got it at auction from Enterprise. It had 667 miles on it, but the car was in a wreck. I paid 12,500 , and it cost me $2,500 to fix parts and labor.
    Now I have a new car for $15,000
    I gotta get some pictures up on it!
  • mrlauderdalemrlauderdale Member Posts: 7
    The wipers on all the newer CrownVics and Marquis` are all "a bit too high" compared to older Panthers. We have a 96 and a 2006 Marquis and found a lot of cost cutting measures on the 2006, one of them is wipers, that unfortunately don´t move back under the hood when turned off like on my 96. The Wiper-Motor/ Gear is probably from some other Ford Product, that does not offer that nice device. Anyways, they might still be too high on your Crown Vic, if so, there is a locking device, a little mechanism (ít´s hard to describe in english, I´m from Germany, sorry) at the base of the arm, where the arm is put onto the Pin coming out from the wiper Gear, you can pull out a little "metal-plate?" wich stops the arm from coming off the pin.. When the arm is released, check, if you can put it on again a little lower. On some cars, thats not possible as there is arrestor.
    Good luck!
  • schoolmasterschoolmaster Member Posts: 1
    Hello:

    I am new to this site, so am unaware of any chat room "nuances" or protocol when it comes to discussion. I also do not live on the net, just occasionally read things of interest when I can remember them.

    I have owned a 2000 Crown Vic [practically beat it to death] and always, despite having to replace the rear air suspension hoses due to driving fast over a bumpy dirt road, regretted getting rid of that car. Bought an 08 Mazda 6 just to see what having a car like that would be like [i.e. snappy sport sedan] and I ended up getting rid of that too. The replacement: an 09 Grand Marquis. Now, I knew there would be a slew of old-man jokes, and I knew that Edmunds and other sites knock this car to pieces, but I will tell you what - get used to one of these babies and unless you are restless, stick with it. I live in Colorado, so of course snow is a consideration. Face it, if it is snowing that bad no one should be out anyway, but my GMLS handles fine. It is heavy, safe, and I don't have to worry about being smacked and getting torn up in an accident because there is a lot of meat on this car. It is also big inside - and I know I am going to catch it from the Sable crowd, but oh well.

    Another thing is, I have the Norsea Blue [I think that is what it is called], and being a Navy Vet, it is somehow appropriate. I get a lot of looks in this car - I swear, when you're on the freeway putting around Denver, people act like you're a state trooper and they slow down :) I am not a cop, I work in school administration, but I will tell you that this car is powerful, doesn't handle like a boat, and is as comfortable as a car can get. The dash is the dash, and looks fine. The seating is cushy, and I am a big guy [6'3, 270#] and this is the only car that fits me. Granted, there are other more popular, sportier, economically correct cars out there, but I am sticking to my guns. When they say this thing is a cruiser, they're dead on, and since I am past the point where I have to impress anybody, I guess I'll stick to cruising. By the way, I'm 48, haven't hit 50 yet, and really can't see owning anything else. This is a big, mean, powerful enough car. Long live the Grand Marquis.

    And by the way, whomever at Edmunds said this thing handles like the USS Nimitz doesn't realize that is actually a backhanded compliment. I was a reactor electrician on the USS Eisenhower [the Nimitz was our sister ship] and I am flattered that we ended up being referred to in a car review column.
  • frankgsrfrankgsr Member Posts: 3
    I too take that as a compliment. I see it as a Dinosaur V-8 Master of the road. Hey, power, comfort and reliability. Smooth and Easy down The road we go!
  • euphoniumeuphonium Member Posts: 3,425
    If you like your GM, you would love the Town Car, but it doesn't have A Tacometer either. ;)
  • larry123456larry123456 Member Posts: 1
    Did you find out how to get off. I have the same trouble with mine.
  • timbuckedtwotimbuckedtwo Member Posts: 2
    Didn't discover an easy way. Left it a couple of times for a day or so due to frustration. Ive changed many starters over many years and couldn't believe the problem with this one. Threw everything in my extensive tool chest at it.
    It was tge top bolt that caused most of the problem. What I finally did was to get a open end wrench on it and use a long pry bar and hit it with a hammer to break the bolt loose. Then I was able to get my 1/4" socket set up there to take it the rest of the way off. It took so much time I wished I had it towed it to a shop instead of home when it went out. The problem with the old one was the woven copper wire from the solenoid to the starter had corroded in half.
    Good luck. Wish I had better news.
  • halo51halo51 Member Posts: 6
    I took my GM 2007 in to my usual shop. It had about 38000 on it. The garage replaced my brake fluid, oil filter and oil, but refused to replace the the tranny fluid, they said the fluid is clean, has the right color and doesn't smell burned. They told me to wait. they think taking the pan off and the filter can sometimes cause leaks that are hard to stop. Are they giving me good advice? The car has 46,000 now. The tranny runs great?

    Secondly, I had a diagnostic done on my heater /cooler dash control at a ford dealer. My unit is stuck on AC. The ford dealer said I had a dead blend door activator motor. They have to take out most of the the dash assembly to replace it. I'm in las Vegas NV. They want 900.00. Does that price sound reasonable??? does anyone know of other problems that come from R/I the dash? Rattles?? electrical? etc. Sounds like major surgery. Thanks
  • marsha7marsha7 Member Posts: 3,703
    "Secondly, I had a diagnostic done on my heater /cooler dash control at a ford dealer. My unit is stuck on AC. The ford dealer said I had a dead blend door activator motor. They have to take out most of the the dash assembly to replace it. I'm in las Vegas NV. They want 900.00"

    Does not sound too bad. I have had things go wrong with my 2004 Crwon Vic that I never thought would go bad. Dash panel for HVAC, fan speed stuck on high, climate control stopped working, air would literally come out of dash, then defrost, then heat ducts all in 1-2 minutes...I have never seen the need to replace the dash switch, but it happened to me.

    Than, my intake manifold went bad...who thought to design the manifold with mostly aluminum and 25% PLASTIC???...yeah, plastic, which leaked and cost $1200 to fix...

    Then, my tail lights stopped working at night...brake and signal lights (upper filament) worked fine, but the lower filament did not work, and my license plate light stopped working...so, if you approached me at night from the rear, no lights were visible...tried the cheap way and replaced the dash lamp switch for $50...did not work...had to replace some electronic module above the gas pedal for $750.00...that worked...

    Here is the worst part...the manifold, the module and the dashboard HVAC control were ALL IN STOCK AT THE FORD DEALER...they stock that stuff???...yeah, if it is known to go bad often enough, they stock it...they EXPECT the intake manifold to go bad???...yeah, they stock that, too...
  • kingbing1kingbing1 Member Posts: 1
    Believe it or not you might want to check your radiator. I bought a Marquis last year with a bad transmission and paid a professional to replace it. He found that the inner cooler rotted out dumping antifreeze into the transmission . Also there is some sort of external cable that either breaks away or seizes up that give trouble to marquis. KingBing1
  • mark_farmmark_farm Member Posts: 1
    Hi. I have a Mercury Grand Marquis GS 2005 with optionals, like leather wrapped steering wheel, etc. It's a Mercury with clean CarFax history and only 37k. No accidents and air bag never deployed. However it does show a Ford emblem in the center of the steering wheel. I was wondering if an aftermarket unit was installed at the dealer or if Ford made some Grand Marquis with the Ford logo in 2005 or any other year. Thanks
  • marsha7marsha7 Member Posts: 3,703
    Can't answer your question directly, but when I bought my new 2004 Crown Vic from a Ford dealer, it came with a Grand Marquis owners manual...I know they are basically the same car, but the overhead computer of the Grand had a lot of functions, like a driver info center, whereas the overhead in my Ford only had a compass in it...all that plastic for a compass and two overhead lights...what a waste of plastic...
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    A reporter would like to speak to a civilian driver of a Crown Vic, preferably a P71 (Police Interceptor). If you are not a police officer, and you own a Crown Vic, please send your daytime contact information to pr@edmunds.com no later than Thursday, May 10, 2012 at 10 a.m. Pacific/1 p.m. Eastern.
  • halo51halo51 Member Posts: 6
    This is my dilemna. I'm coming up on the 60k scheduled maintenance. i can go to my usual garage, where i get my oils and various filters etc changed, or to a local dealer, friendly ford. the dealer is expensive but super efficient. Its an extensive check, and i'm afraid of what they might find and$$. the independent garage is much less$$ but sometimes they want me to replace things like my serpentine belt, that does shows minor wear and tiny cracks that are well within the accepted condition for 2007 Marquis. I checked on the internet.

    Where should i go the dealer who replaced my blend door activator for $700.00 or the garage that i do all my normal maintenance with??? PS. The garage was afraid to replace my tranny fluid unless it was necessary to so, citing dripping problems with the tranny after the fluid change. This makes me thing the garage or the the tranny dripping is a problem with this car?? Any help out here? :confuse: ">
  • mrlauderdalemrlauderdale Member Posts: 7
    Well, I personally think, a garage that is afraid to replace the tranny fluid because of "dripping problems" with the tranny after the fluid change would not be my garage for any further projects!! I even do all the Oil changes myself.. engine..power steering AND transmission oil and I´m not a mechanic!
    And what means "unless it is necessary to so.."? Never wait till it´s necessary with a tranny fluid change, cause that might also be too late -and expensive-. Depending on your driving style, if you are often in stop and go, live in or close by a city and/ or like to drive "sporty", stick to the Police and taxi maintenance schedule (shorter intervals). Anyways, if it has never been changed yet, change it!!
    The dealers usually just flush the transmissions these days and I guess, as they do it pretty often, it might be the better place. My Dad had his transmission on his Town Car flushed at a Ford place and it seemed to work good (price was around 120 $ including the oil)! BUT always check the fluid level when you are out the door of the garage and always check for a wet undercarriage when you arrive home and for stains the next morning! Things can happen, anywhere!
    Another Question, do you have to have an "official 60000 mls check" because of a warranty or so or do you just want to have it checked according to the specs? If no "official check" is necessary, maybe check what has to be done by the books, then decide on what you wanna do and place your instructions at one or the other or different things on both dealers.
  • euphoniumeuphonium Member Posts: 3,425
    " his transmission on his Town Car flushed "

    Local Ford/Lincoln "flushed" the tranny in our 95 4.6 T Bird & in so doing blew the O ring seal around the transmission dipstick. They claimed a coincidence and charged me accordinly to fix that.

    IMO the flushing is too powerful and the process doesn't involve a change of filter. Believe in dropping the tranny pan, changing the filter, new gasket, attach the pan & fill with oil. If the oil needs changing, so does the filter.
  • bknyrebelbknyrebel Member Posts: 2
    just purchased a 2002 Gm Gs it has the lacy spoked rims with the wider good year tires..arizona beige metallic ...95k miles..interior and exterior are in like brand new condition ...bought from a ford dealership, i paid 5k....i have only put 100 miles on it so far...it seems to ride very well...there is a slight pull to the right..
  • bknyrebelbknyrebel Member Posts: 2
    the GM also has a much better looking interior
  • tbebtbeb Member Posts: 11
    I have a 2002 Mercury Grand Marquis that has 130,000 miles on it. It had 34,000 on it when I purchased it in 2005. Anyhow, today my mechanic replaced upper and lower ball joints on both sides. He said I may need tie rod ends and an alignment. Like a dummy, I didn't question him on that. I drove car 8 miles back to my house and nothing feels wrong. I mean there's no pulling or vibration or anything else. My question is: Should I get an alignment? Not to sound like a jerk, but I hope to only hear from those of you who know what you're talking about.

    (I did an internet search about new ball joints, and half the people said an alignment is necessary and the other half said it wasn't.)
  • euphoniumeuphonium Member Posts: 3,425
    Would be helpful to know about the treadwear on your front tires. If the treadwear is even and satisfactory, I don't think an alignment is necessary at this time. If the camber, caster, toe in & toe out adjustment is affected by changing ball joints - I don't know how.
  • tbebtbeb Member Posts: 11
    euphonium
    Can't comment on front tire treadwear because I've only put 8 miles on them with the new ball joints.
  • euphoniumeuphonium Member Posts: 3,425
    Reconsidering: New tires, new ball joints, & the mileage on the car - a front end alignment would be appropriate at this time. :)
  • marsha7marsha7 Member Posts: 3,703
    too critical, but I would align my front end once a year, simply as a form of good maintenance, to make sure my tires last as long as possible...if I changed front end parts or bought new tires, I would consider an alignment absolutely mandatory...don't be so damn cheap...
  • halo51halo51 Member Posts: 6
    Absolutely, you need an alignment.
  • evolk1evolk1 Member Posts: 11
    ....I just bought a 2004 Crown Vic LX. Two issues:

    1.) The seat belt chime / tone (?) goes off, after the seat belts are engaged, for 5 sets of 5 chimes, with about 5 seconds between sets. It wouldn't be that bad if that was it, but they will randomly start the whole process over again just driving down the road, 30-40 minutes later for instance. The seat belts are generic replacements from autozone or somewhere. The guy I bought it from said there was a chip / sensor in the seat belt that was very expensive to replace and said I could probably get one at a junkyard. IMO, he was bs'ing me.

    2.) There is a replacement car stereo installed that sucks. Any suggestions on a replacement? It is a 'Dual' brand with a removable face plate. There is an empty half inch space below it.

    3.) A previous owner was a smoker, though the very vast majority of the smoke odor is gone (I have a VERY high sensitivity to this smell, but even I think its barely noticeable....I don't smell like smoke after I get out of the car). Is there any 'go-to' products that I can use / spray on the car ceiling liner and floor carpeting to remove the odor? what about the leather seats? Do they harbor that smell also? I'd tend to think not...

    Thanks to all who contribute!

    Eric in Indy
  • marsha7marsha7 Member Posts: 3,703
    I have a 2004 Crown Vic LX Sport (floor shifter, dual exhaust) and I replaced my seatbelt with one from Ford...some things, IMO, should come from the factory, and seatbelts are one of them...mine cost $350 to replace...replaced at 110K miles, needs another one at current 210K miles...Honda warranted seatbelts for life, Ford does not...

    I have factory radio/cd/cassette, and it functions...that's about all...part of me wants to replace it, and the other part says that a new audio system would be worth more than the car is now...

    I would think a decent leather cleaner (Lexol?) might work...

    How many miles on your odo, and, may I ask what you paid for the car?
  • evolk1evolk1 Member Posts: 11
    Regarding the seat belts...never replaced seat belts before...are they difficult or easy? I can replace an alternator, but that's about as difficult as I've gotten over time. I just want to get an idea if it really IS the replacement seatbelts that are causing that chime/tone, before I go out and spend $700.

    Thanks for the tip on the Lexol. I hope it works. What about on the ceiling?

    I'd be surprised if your 2004 is not worth more, depending on condition. Mine has 137,000 miles on it. I paid a 'friend' $2,700. As I've driven it more and more, I'm pretty sure I got sold a bill of goods....

    He told me about the chime/tone problem, as he did about the warped rotors on the back, and the tires needing to be replaced in the next 5-6 months.

    What I've discovered he didn't tell me about, that I assumed I guess, is

    1.)the missing full size or otherwise spare
    2.) No driver's manual of any kind in the glove box.
    3.) No code for the outside combination door lock pads (can I find out what that is somehow without spending a fortune?)
    4.) the fact the high beams don't stay on when pushing the turn signal arm forward....they only go on when pulling it back...and then need to be held otherwise it goes back to standard beams.
    5.) The headlight dial / switch only turns the headlights on or off...no parking lights only functionality.
    6.) Only one ignition key...no door key....thus, I had to spend $69.00 at WalMart last week to get a second ignition key.

    The car seems to drive quietly engine wise and is running fine, so I guess the other stuff is fairly minor, but nevertheless I feel he should have informed me of each...he drove the car himself for 2-3 months afterall.
    He's a newer friend, but I seriously doubt I will buy a car from him ever again. He was acting like because he has a wholesale license, he was doing me a huge favor to sell it to me at that price....implying he could get $4-4.5k for it retail. Yeah, right.

    I haven't run a CarFax on it yet, but will. He told me he had some sort of trade-only app on his phone and that it was clean except for a small front end mishap that somehow ruined the airbag sensor in the front, but didn't pop the airbag. He claims he replaced it. I have a sneaky feeling I'm going to find out quite a bit about this car when I get the CarFax.

    Oh, well,....live and learn.
  • evolk1evolk1 Member Posts: 11
    Follow up....I did the CarFax and it reports no accidents, but was owned in New York for a good chunk of it's life, then sold to an auto auction in NY, then to an auction in Cincy, then on to Indy, where I bought it.

    I had my mechanic look it over today and give it a test drive...he said other than the tires needing replacement immediately, he thinks I got a decent, fair, deal, which is all I was looking for. He is a 35 year mechanic and absolutely loves the Crown Vic line.

    Also, I id'd the model of the Dual stereo in the unit, and it is the Dual HD250, a basic run of the mill $50 unit sold at WalMart. Fair enough....it has it's limitations, and that's fine, as I'm not an audio-phile, though I used to think I was one...then realized that I really didn't care all that much to have the best stereo in the world.
  • belaircarguybelaircarguy Member Posts: 107
    Ford Crown Vics and Mercury Grand Marquis are probably two of the most reliable cars ever built. I travel quite a bit and you see both these cars as taxi cabs. I look for the mileage when I get one as a cab, and I routinely see 250,000 to 400,000 on the odometer. While I am sure these are not zero maintenance miles, cab companies are know to be frugal and so if these cars had too many problems, they would have been traded from the cab companies long ago.

    For your radio, the size in a Crown Vic is a "Din" radio. This is basically double the size (height) from a standard "skinny" radio. If you have a gap, sounds like someone put in a standard radio. I would look at any audio store or Best Buy for "Din" radios, which will fit the space perfectly. Your other option would be to go online or to a junk yard and find a Crown Vic or Grand Marquis and purchase the radio. These are pretty good Ford radios, so the original in your car must have died for the previous owner to replace it with a cheap unit.

    Bel Air Car Guy
  • bartbarterbartbarter Member Posts: 39
    The code for door is on the lock control module behind the drivers' door panel. You can remove the panel to see it, or a Ford dealer can pull it from the computer but will likely charge for it.

    The high beam problem sounds like a switch problem to me but I did have to change the LCM on my 03. LCMs are a common problem on these.

    Spray some Simple Green or better yet Benefact if you can find it to get rid of the smoke smell. You can spray it directly on the headliner parcel shelf visors etc. The Benefect has a thyme smell but it does go away and takes odors with it, it's good.

    I'm getting ready to install a Double DIN into mine. DIN is the standard 'skinny' radios we remember, and they also 1-1/2 DIN and Double din. From what I understand it's pretty simple, but you do need to use a utility blade to cut little tabs off the top and bottom of the opening for it to fit. Don't cut the side ones!

    Seat belts are simple to remove (the part with the latch anyway) but need a little muscle. You might want to simply find the wire going to the seat belts (that lets the car know if they're clicked) and either open or close the circuit to see if it turns off. If it does, leave it that way :)

    Good luck.
  • evolk1evolk1 Member Posts: 11
    Many thanks! Never heard of the Benefact, nor the 'DIN' radio/stereo. Finally, what does the 'LCM' stand for regarding the high beam switch?
  • evolk1evolk1 Member Posts: 11
    Thanks! Great information.
  • rallen1980rallen1980 Member Posts: 5

    I believe LCM refers to the lighting control module, a "black box" under the dashboard to the right of where the driver's leg would be. It has lots of integrated circuits and relays that control the lights on the car. Sometimes, the relays come unsoldered or burn out. Standard Operating Procedure is to replace the entire LCM for a few hundred dollars, but it is possible to replace just the bad relay if you're good at working with electronics. The lights on my 2004 Grand marquis got where they would not always come on. Whacking the LCM would usually make them come on. It was a sign one of the relays was loose, and needed replacing or re-soldering. But I totaled the car hitting a deer at 75 MPH before I ever got around to fixing it, so the point is moot now.

  • marsha7marsha7 Member Posts: 3,703

    My CD player in the dash and the multi-CD in the trunk are failing...I hesitate to put a $1000 stereo in a $1000 car...has anyone ever just changed the trunk unit? Is it just a few bolts or do you need a "stereo degree?"...I see refurbished units on the internet for $145, and since the electronic controls work fine (it is the actual players that no longer read the CD's after the 3rd or 4th song), I thought changing the trunk unit would give me a multi CD player that would solve my problem...thoughts on this? Thanks

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