Lincoln LS

tom12253

The Alpine Audiophile System's Door speakers are of the plate type, This plate has two individual speakers and a crossover contained in the inclosure. I had taken pictures and had them posted on the LLSOC Board, but they were lost when the board went down. I will see if I can get them back on the board soon.

Tom
Member LLSOC

airwolf1000

You must have a '99 build 2000. That was an early problem. If you released the handled quickly and let it snap back it would take the Lock button with it. Voila Locked car. They redesigned the door handle mechanism and not much of that happening anymore.

Brian is there a TSB out for this?

Regards,
Airwolf

m87

I know the feeling. If you unlock with the fob, open the driver door, and then close the door with no one in the seat, the doors lock. Including the key in the ignition with/without the motor running. I first discovered this in my driveway while washing the car, so another key was handy, but the motor was runnning. I've replicated this numerous times. I just don't get out of the car without keys in hand. Anybody know how to shut off this feature?

Jim
LLSOC member

m87

airwolf1000, we were typing at the same time. Mine is a 2002, and my 2001 didn't do this lock trick. This isn't the only problem that was supposedly only on early builds but continued/continues, but that's a story for another day.

Jim
LLSOC member

gkarg

I've come very close to getting locked out several times, and actually had the driver's side door lock. Once at a carwash. I shut the driver's door and went to reopen it - but it was LOCKED. Thankfully, I had unlocked the rest of the doors to dry them off.

I've gotten used taking the keys with me anytime I exit the vehicle. (Getting gas, etc. - I think that the same thing had happened to me at a gas station - luckily I had a window down that time.)

in the case of starting in the winter... I'd recommend making sure all the doors are unlocked.

brunobus

Although I haven't had the doors lock on me before, I have locked my keys in the car. What I do to prevent this is I had a key made at a hardware store that does not have the black plastic on it. I keep this key in my wallet. It will open the doors and trunk, but won't start the car, but who cares. It cost a couple of bucks and I won't ever be locked out again (unless I don't have my wallet with me.)

It also comes in handy when warming up the car on a cold day and not worrying about having someone just jump in and take the car. They'll have to break a window to get away with it and if that's the case, the insurance company won't balk at paying the claim if it were stolen.

Bruno
LLSOC member

m87

My spouse's A6 comes with the three keys you get with both cars, plus a plastic doors only key for your wallet. Its the little things that count.

m87

While I'm nit picking the car we all love, let me weigh in on Midwest snow & ice and the Active Trac/positrac (yeah, old GM guy) discussion. We've had the mildest winter I can remember, but snow and freezing rain of late. The AT is really neat for zooming around corners and braking. The additional control is impressive. But for traction, no locker and either of the stones (Fire or Bridge) are worthless. This car can't pull itself off a wet postage stamp without shutting down the AT and spinning the right rear when you are talking ice and snow.

sclark8

My 2001 came with 38 miles on it and a notation that it was tested at the factory. I watched the car come off the car carrier so I believe the notation.

Make sure they credit you the 112 miles in your lease.

brucelinc

My three cars prior to the LS, were a Mustang GT, a supercharged T-Bird, and a V8 T-Bird. All had limited slip. I really wish the LS had it for our Minnesota winters. The LS gets around much better than my past cars due to its better weight distribution but I give very little credit to the TC. In fact, in deep snow, I have to turn it off.

The largest benefit to me is the light that comes on when it activates. That has been a useful warning when the road looks dry but is actually slippery with black ice.

akirby

I bet the locksmiths love those plastic door keys. Especially in colder climates. Great idea but I would be too paranoid that they would break off in the lock.

Here's what I do to avoid the problem altogether:

Turn off autolocks.
Get in the habit of clicking the button twice to unlock all the doors. I also don't unlock the trunk without unlocking the doors first. Easy once you get used to it.

This way the other 3 doors are always open unless I lock them with the keyfob (which means I have the keys in my hand). Even if the driver's door locks the others are still open.

I really wish we had some sort of keyless entry on the vehicle. Even if it's out of the way for occasional use only. Then you never have to worry about getting locked out and you can leave the keys in the car (like when you're playing sports or some other activity where you don't want keys in your pocket). It's on the Expedition and I love it.

Of course with GM vehicles equipped with Onstar you just call them and they unlock the doors over the phone. Not sure if Lincoln's version can do that just yet.

slowdriver

"I really wish we had some sort of keyless entry on the vehicle. Even if it's out of the way for occasional use only. Then you never have to worry about getting locked out and you can leave the keys in the car (like when you're playing sports or some other activity where you don't want keys in your pocket). It's on the Expedition and I love it."

Someone at Lincoln decided that having the keypad entry was not necessary, bad decision.

On all other Lincoln Products and almost all Ford Products it is standard and a necessity IMHO.

m87

A6 key isn't styrene, its nylon or something and appears as tough as the brass keys. I will turn off the autolocks, although I like the lockem' when you get rolling feature for urban driving. Note the A6 has a three position trunk lock. One setting lets you lock/unlock all doors and the trunk with one button push on the fob. Nice to come out of the mall, push one button to put packages in the trunk, while passengers get in.
I agree about the keyless entry and your other suggestions. And wish we had Onstar. It still leaves me less than thrilled my $40K LS has the same basic system and key fob as a Ford Focus.

brunobus

My wife's Explorer has the keypad on the door, and although it is handy, I think it's an eyesore.

ronniepooh

Bruno mentioned locking the car when leaving the engine running to let the car warm up in winter. Couple of notes:
- I dont think any carmaker in 10 years has recommended letting a car idle to warm up the engine for a number of reasons including the main facts: an engine under load warms up quicker, and releases far fewer emissions into the air. In general, for theft reasons, leaving a car running with the key in the engine, door locked or unlocked, is still inviting trouble. And if for whatever reason a coolant hose blows or a fanbelt breaks, and the car begins to overheat, or worse, the red oil light comes on, you wouldnt realize it until its too late.

So, if the reason for warming up the car is for interior comfort, its usually a better idea to just get heated seats as an option. :-)

Better alternative?

stanny1

Yes, guys, I will use the enter key more and provide you with a paragraph for each thought (but my mind tends to run faster than my fingers and I forget). Also, we Realtors try to cram a whole property description into five lines for the MLS so the punctuation takes a back seat.

My car had a little more than 100 miles at delivery. It was stowed for 4 months at an LA dealer and then driven down I-5 by a part-time oldster who the dealer hires to move "dealer trades". I like that line about "track testing" the LS before delivery.

If someone knows how to disable the auto-lock feature, please let me know. It is my greatest annoyance with the car (that and the airbag light that the dealer can't turn off). My dealer also said the auto-lock can not be turned off for liability reasons.

Thanks.

slunar

Stanny, your dealer is full of you know what. The V8's have the message center which allows you to disable the auto locks which I did a long time ago. If I remember right the dealer can program the auto locks off and it says so in the manual.

airwolf1000

5 miles on my odometer when I took delivery. Back in 2000.

Awaiting my cars return from Exile.....

Regards,
Airwolf1000

P.S. m87 why a 2001 and a 2002? one for you and one for the wifey?

airwolf1000

Do any of you still get it? I thought it had been discontinued. They still list it on the website.

Regards,
Airwolf

m87

JR helped me swap the 2001 LS8 Sport with a bad cam chain whine for a 2002 LS8 Sport. :-) Nice folks those people at Lincoln/PAG

stanny1

Interesting post # 1017 on the Infiniti G35 forum that deserves investigation. Infiniti engineers claim 52:48 weight balance is optimum because of some weight transfer during cornering.

Do you engineering types know what law of physics is involved here? Or just hockey puck because they are too cheap to move the battery to the trunk.

ronniepooh

Stanny..that info came from here:

http://www.infiniti.com/ms/future/g35/g35_flash_frameset_skipintro.html

brunobus

Had 7 on mine when I picked it up. Got it 2 days after they unloaded off of the truck and it had my name on it the whole way. (Although I didn't order it, it was just going to be dealer stock and was optioned out pretty much like I wanted)

Although it's true that the car will warm up faster while driving, when it's 5 deg. out, it will take longer for the car to warm up than for the whole drive home. Also, it helps with the ice and snow that builds up on the windows so you have less scraping to do. Also, it helps with defrosting everything on the inside so you can see where the hell you are going when you start driving. Also, it has an LEV (or ULEV, I can't remember which, but the difference between them is minimal) engine that puts out so little emissions that it's almost not worth measuring therefore not worth mentioning. Also, I have heated seats which I usually also turn on while the car is warming up because, guess what, they don't just get hot immediately. Also, the amount of fuel that is used while a car is idling is almost nothing. Also, if I am in a neighborhood where I think that there is even the slightest chance of it being stolen, I will stand be the door or window and watch while it's warming up.

I can go on and on, but unless someone lives in a cold climate where it can get below zero at times, don't try arguing the point. If one does, then one knows why we warm up our cars.

Bruno

scottc8

My '00 had been at the dealer's for several months when I bought it in Oct. '00 and had 150 miles on it. When I asked about it, the salesman said it had been test driven a few times, and he himself had taken it to lunch occasionally. He assured me it was a brand new car in every respect. I must admit, it made me pretty uncomfortable thinking of how it might have been treated during those test drives, WOT on a tight engine, etc. But I was getting a good deal on a leftover '00, and of course there's the warranty, so I just sucked it up & lived with it. Now approaching 39k miles and zero problems, save one window regulator, so, in retrospect, no big deal. But, my next one comes straight off the transport with single digit miles!:)

dspencer2 re synoil: Should be no problem changing over. I've heard synoil is a bad idea in worn engines due to smaller film thickness being unable to fill the larger clearances, but that may be old wives' tales. And at 40k you shouldn't have significant wear at all. I personally use Motorcraft synthetic (made by Conoco) because the dealer does my oil changes. Mobil 1 seems to be the most popular choice. I heartily recommend the change. If you live where the weather is cold, you'll hear the difference the first morning you start it up. Whatever interval you plan on changing synoil at, you might want to do a change earlier to flush out whatever old dino oil may be left from the first changeover.

Stanny, sounds like your dealer needs to RTFOM.:)

Scott
LLSOC Member (counting the days . . .)

akirby

See, we V8 owners had the better balance all along and just didn't know it!

Infiniti claims that it counteracts the weight shift during acceleration. I guess they don't have the anti-squat suspension design like the LS.

netmogul

Wow -- looks like I'm on top of the pile with this one. With nearly 400 miles on the odo, my LS was traded twice between dealers before I got my hands on it -- 3 months after it left Wixom.

Mechanically, zero failures. If it tells you anything, the rear windows still work great.

But that's the end of the good news. The driver's side door panel creaks, the rear-view mirror rattles, something clunks in the B-pillar on uneven surfaces, the rear of the car creaks when weight shifts, the steering wheel pops, my seat groans, something in the A-pillar jitters, the 1-2 upshift is oddly rough, and the 1-2 shift after 200+ miles of continuous driving turns heads and exhibits a downright -frightening- grinding sound.

But the engine is flawless, and the car hasn't failed mechanically yet. I've driven others from the 2000 MY, and they're great. But mine is a real hunk of junk in the build quality department. If I could get a different LS, I would; any one but this one... Okay, or Airwolf's (sorry, pal!) :-)

Don't get me wrong -- inexplicably, I love the car. Heck, I'm going to my second LS Mania in a few weeks. The LS' balance is exquisite; the suspension is superb; and the seats are second to none.

It's just a shame that these *infuriating* niggles seem to be beyond the reach of my dealer; and that 80% of the time the cacophony of noise drowns out the dreamy purr of that winding V8.

-Matt

ezaircon4jc

Matt, my seat groaned/squeaked when I shifted weight. My dealer had no answer. I squirted some Valvoline Syn Lube on the seat back hinge. No more seat noise . You might give that a try.

As for the tranny, did you get the reflash? That corrected a lazy 1-2 shift for me.

See you in a couple weeks

Mike
LLSOC Member

netmogul

You know, I remember you guys talking about the rear seat hinge. I'll get off my tail, give it a whirl, and see what happens.

Good call on the reflash -- it's been applied and the worst of the delayed engagements have subsided, but the 1-2 upshift is only smooth about 70-80% of the time, and after long continuous use (200+ miles), it gets downright frightening. There's a terrible grinding noise between the 1-2 shift that I've never heard out of an automatic transmission before. It turns heads, and can't be good. :-)

But I've found I can keep it from occurring after such a long drive by just being terribly overzealous with the gas. But if I accelerate even somewhat evenly and responsibly, grind-grind-pow it happens. Next week I've got a 1,200 mile trip, so this has been on my mind.

But back to the sauce -- I made my reservation at Doubletree at about 11:30pm last night, so I slipped in just before the special rate disappeared. And what a special rate it is!

Were you at Mania II, Mike?

-Matt

reneleblanc

I'm not an expert on Synthetic Oil, but there have been many previous posts on this subject.
Most, if not all, synthetic oils are compatible with petroleum oils, and you shouldn't have to do anything special for changing over. I would stick with the same viscosity range specified in the owner's manual.

If you do a 'Board Search' (see the little search string at the top of each townhall page), you'll get links to a ton of discussion about synthetic oils.

ezaircon4jc

No, I couldn't make ManiaII as my flight "privileges" were temperorairly suspended. You know, Sept 11th and all. I also had issues with the kitchen pass . I will be up on Fri. and the autocross on Sat. I have to miss Thurs, Valentines day, you know.

stanny1

AMSOIL makes a good flush and many shops have the Bilstein R-2000 Engine Flush System. You won't believe the crap that Dino oil leaves in your engine.

Check out www.motorlife.com and www.amsoil.com

ezaircon4jc

Got my 2001 console this morning. It took all of 15 minutes to do the swap. That includes transfering the TC switch from the old to the new console and trying to find the correct Torx driver. I didn't have one small enough, but a small allen wrench worked fine. As Dick Cupka said, there is a small gap left in the lower (part on the hump) portion where the old rotating cup holders fit. It is only visible from the passanger side and only if you look for it. A piece of styrene from the hobby shop painted the correct color should make the cap invisible, if it bothers someone. I am very happy with the swap!

fantom

CNN Headline News did a short news listing regarding Ford and GM's contributions to the relief and recovery efforts in New York and
Washington.

The findings are as follows......

1. Ford- $1 million to American Red Cross matching employee contributions of the same number plus 10 Excursions to NY Fire Dept. The
company also offered ER response team services
and office space to displaced government employees.

2. GM- $1 million to American Red Cross matching
funds and a fleet of vans, suv's, and trucks.

3. Daimler Chrysler- $10 million to support of the children and victims > of the Sept. 11 attack.

4. Harley Davidson motorcycles- $1 million and 30 new motorcycles to the New York Police Dept.

5. Volkswagen- Employees and management created a Sept 11 Foundation, funded initial with $2 million, for the assistance of the children and
victims of the WTC.

6. Hyundai- $300,000 to the American Red Cross.

7. Audi- Nothing.

8. BMW- Nothing.

9. Daewoo- Nothing.

10. Fiat- Nothing.

11. Honda- Nothing despite boasting of second best sales month ever in August 2001.

12. Isuzu- Nothing.

13. Mitsubishi- Nothing.

14. Nissan- Nothing.

15. Porsche- Nothing. Press release with condolences via the Porsche website.

16. Subaru- Nothing.

17. Suzuki- Nothing.

18. Toyota- Nothing despite claims of high sales in July and August 2001. Condolences posted on the website

Whenever the time may be for you to purchase or lease a new vehicle, please keep this information in mind. You might want to give more consideration to a car manufactured by an American-owned and or American based company. Look at what Ford did, even in light of their financial problems.

Apart from Hyundai and Volkswagen, the foreign car companies contributed nothing to the citizens of the United States. It's OK for these companies to take money out of the USA, but apparently not OK to return some in a time of crisis.

GO RAMS....but by less than 15 points please ;-)

Gary, LLSOC Member

pat

That e-mail has been making the rounds. It was first set loose right after September 11th, died down and clearly has been relaunched lately.

Snopes.com checked into it and found it not to be entirely accurate, especially the part about foreign car companies contributing nothing. And according to them, no such story ever appeared on CNN.

To read what they found, go here: http://www.snopes2.com/rumors/cars.htm.

Hope this is helpful.

Pat
Host
Sedans Message Board

johnnylinc

I really wish people would STOP posting this crap. If you had taken a few minutes to check corporate websites, you would've found, for example, that BMW contributed $1 million in cash and $1.4 million worth of vehicles to the 09/11 recovery efforts; this was done on September 14.

Toyota donated $1 million to the American Red Cross within a week of 09/11, and matched employee donations to total nearly another million. Honda and its employees donated over $1.5 million in cash, plus vehicles and other equipment (generators, for example.) Check other corporate websites and you'll find similar information.

If you want to buy American vehicles, fine; I always have. Please DON'T, however, contribute to the distribution of falsehoods and outright lies, especially under the guise of trying to influence someone's purchasing decision. This so-called "information" never appeared on CNN; it isn't true, and it isn't fair, and it takes very little effort to CHECK such things before blindly posting them.

Sorry for the off-topic post, folks, but if someone doesn't step up and refute this garbage, someone else might actually believe it.

JohnnyLinc, LLSOC charter member

ronniepooh

We'll agree to disagree on warming up LS's, or any car for that matter, with the exception of ice and frost on windows. Cant drive if you cant see.

If you park in a garage or home driveway, might be a good idea to invest in the engine block heater, a Lincoln accessory. I think it keeps the coolant hot overnight whereas old fashioned ones actually used a heated dipstick to keep the oil hot. Since the latter is better, Ill assume there must be some new safety issue preventing its use.

johnnylinc

I was writing my response while you were posting yours; sorry for the redundancy.

lsismore

everybody step away from the keyboard and have a xanax.

cripes rumor or not i think there is enough trouble in this country already and we should at least take the time to be polite. You don't know where folks get there info from who knows that guy may have gotten it from a source that was trusted to him. If anything lay into the media they hype so much superflous bs folks can't help but get caught up in the passion of propaganda.

cb44

Nobody's getting hostile, but maybe we should be. Fantom's posting was a widely circulated hoax, much like the Ollie North-Osama story also making the rounds. Fantom's mistake however was to post it as though HE had actually saw the CNN story and then worse, suggesting everyone take action based on this fabrication.

Mistakes are easily made with the wide and anonymous nature of the net, however suggesting actions based on an unfounded story is both dangerous and foolish.

fantom

I should have realized that the story was preposterous. I learned a good lesson about checking sources, not forwarding a post too quickly, civility, and over reaction. Thanks for the constructive feedback.

shotols

My trans made noises (mostly whining), so it was rebuilt.

It made noises after the first rebuild, which included 4 upgraded parts in addition to new planetary gears. It also acted as if second was dragging, something was providing resistence.

When they opened it the second time, it was trashed, and crossed a magic $1400 in parts when they decided to replace it.

This was at 12,000 miles.

I've now put about 800 miles on the new trans. It is a completely different beast. Firm, quick shifts, much more like a Corvette automatic that the previous one. I do hope it smooths out a bit, but the car now feels much more sporty.

ezaircon4jc

It appears the site is down along with the associated e-mail addredss'.

ls1bmw0

This just ends a perfect three weeks worth of Mondays!!!!!!!!

LLSOC has been down since yesterday and since our illustrious web hosting outfit Readyhosting revised their site I can't open a trouble ticket because their link is broken *$*)(#)$@!!!

I've tried to contact them as well but their tech support is only open M-F. I can't wait to put LLSOC on the club server once net_mogul (Matt) our webcoder extraordinaire comes out for Mania 3

I'm going out for a drive and see if I can find someplace that doesn't have a computer anywhere within shouting distance.

Brian

scottc8

Think of it as an Enforced Break. Surely a man who has a wonderful family, lives in sunny SoCal, and owns a magnificent driving machine can find something un-computer to do with his Sunday. As always we truly appreciate all your efforts to keep the LLSOC site running smoothly, but when you can't, you can't. Enjoy the day; M-F will be here soon enough.:)

byebyels

I am new to Edmunds and am looking for my next car. The LS I have has been in the shop sevral times and many times for the same problems. My first choice currently is a 2002 BMW 540 i 6-speed 4.4L 4-Door Sedan (preferably black). If I cant get the jack for a new one I'll get a used one with their certified warranty. Any one have any suggestions for a luxury car in the $40-50K range other than another LS please post for me. Thanks

karzz

Info on Lincoln's new Platinum Center:

http://media.ford.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=10920

ezaircon4jc

You sure came to the wrong place for that kind of advise!

slunar

Well it feels like I have a new LS. I had my LS in the dealer service department for still another go at my vibration problem. This time under the watch of the regional Ford field engineer. When I dropped it off I also complained about eratic traction control behavior. If you remember my past posts I've been complaining about the LS being undriveable in the snow and it having a choppy ride. The factory rep. found a broken right rear strut. The dealer probably broke it when they changed the rear half shafts as my LS seemed to get the problem right after the half shafts were replaced. At that time they also left a nut off the bolt holding the right rear tie rod in place.

The new strut has transformed my LS. The ride is greatly improved, doesn't bounce in the rear any more, the handling seems much more responsive and the traction control seems much more predictable now. The improvement is so dramatic it's like I have a new LS! If we get any snow I'll see if its driveable it in the snow again as I had no problems the first winter I had the LS, that is before the first time the dealer's service department touched my LS.

The vibration, well that's another story, I'll post more later.

nosho

Calvin,

Read back a few hundred post and you'll find your topic has been covered already.

If you are looking for a 4-door sedan with manual transmission and handling equivalent to the LS, then there is one (count them all - one) that fits the bill - the BMW 540i.

If handling isn't absolutely critical then there are two - 1) BMW 540i, 2) Audi A6 2.7T.

The 540i is ~$56K list.
The 2.7T is ~$45K list.

I have the 2.7T and have had no problems now with
37K on it. But it doesn't handle any where near
as well as the LS.

leadfoot4

I called my dealer (Cortese L-M) on Friday morning, and asked if they could cut me an extra key to avoid the "lockout" in the future. They said no problem, we'll cut it and you can pick it up in a hour.
So far, that's good, but they call me back a few minutes later. The service rep that I talked with mentioned the situation to one of the techs, and he said that there's a TSB for the problem. Apparently if you slam the door shut, or as others mentioned, jiggle the handle just right, it causes the lock mechanism to engage. The TSB has newly designed parts that aren't as sensitive to minor movements.
They ordered the parts, and I have an appointment to get them installed in a couple weeks. (my next free day)
As a side note, my build date is April, 2000.