Lincoln LS Transmission Problems

mrjwk

Maybe I'm just paranoid from reading about all the transmission problems with the LS, but I am wondering if I should be concerned by a vibration that seems to come from the transmission at very low speeds. The sensation is almost like a shudder, similar to when you try to start in too high a gear in a manual transmission car. The problem doesn't seem to be the engine, because the tach shows over 1200 rpms. Is this how the transmission problems in this model first manifest themselves? Or is this considered normal for this car? The car has less than 500 miles; If this is a problem, I'd like to get it documented and fixed now rather than have it be a bigger problem later. Thanks..

dalessjo

I've an 01 LS V8 130K Kms. Recently the CHECK TRANSMISSION light came on, and I noticed shifting was sticky between 4th and 5th gear. After a while it wouldn't shift into 5th, even at hwy speed. The condition resets if the car is turned off/on. Seems to occur after about 30min of driving, after which it quickly reoccurs, even if reset. I took it into the dealer, who said they weren't able to communicate with the car's chip! They upgraded their sw and everything, but still couldn't get in to see through their computer what the problem was. They serviced the transmission, but now, my advancetrac light is flashing, the engine light is on, and the check transmission light still comes on after 30min of driving! I've since brought it back in. Appearantly they called Ford for 3rd level support, but came up blank. Now they're basically telling me I'm SOL. Any ideas what I can do here?

lamar

I would take it to another Lincoln dealership if one is close by.

prettytasi

:lemon: My transmission problem is still not solved. I had the Transmission flushed and all the good deeds, still It misbehaves. I am constantly pulling over to the side of the road to turn the car off to place it back into gear. The "E" still appears where the D5-D4 normally appears. I was told the problem maybe a wire loose. I recently had one of my co-workers look at the car and was told by him that it is down-shifting and getting stuck in the low gear (1-2). However now as of two days after him looking under the hood it is running hot. I can hear a low whistling sound , like some weird fan blowing, and then the gauge starts to creep, car reduces power yada yada. I currently have 62,000 miles.I did notice that my co-worker didn't replace the coolant cap back on, I figured once I replaced it, and allowed the car to cool, everything would be fine.I added water to be sure that wasn't the problem. Unfortunately it is still running hot. Please help.This car cant be this bad. :confuse: :sick:

bellymus1

You can now add me to that club I have had this car for a year now. The car after owning it about a month started to jerk really bad on gear shifts got a tune up replaced spark plugs working fine. Now, the check transmission light is on and I have no idea what to do now. Could it be the Solenoid that should be replaced? Is it possible if I need a new transmission that I could put in the new transmission from the 2003 and up LS's [5R55S], when mine is from the 2001 LS V8-Sport package?

akirby

Have the coolant replaced and get all the air out of the system. It's easy to get an air bubble trapped in the coolant which holds steam and when that steam hits the temp sensor it thinks the engine is overheating. Second possibility is a bad thermostat, followed by a bad cooling fan pump.

akirby

Have the codes checked. Anytime there is an error indication there should be a code stored. I don't think the 03+ trannies are backwards compatible - one is synchronous and the other isn't.

ezaircon4jc

You're paranoid. My 2000 V6 LS had to have the solenoid pack replaced at around 85K (turned out to be the French made part in the trans, Bosch makes the replacement) and that is the only issue I have had. The car now has over 123K miles.

Our '06 has ~3600 miles and runs flawlessly. If you think you have a problem, by all means, take it in!

mrjwk

Thanks for the reply. I scheduled an appointment with my therapist.

The LS is the first American car I have ever owned (it's my 6th car in my lifetime), and I guess I am a little leery. But so far I love the car and hope it holds up.

misslashea

I was driving my 01 LS when all of a sudden, with no red flags, My Transmission light came on. Then an "E" appeared in the mileage box. I do not know what to do, or what the cost will be. Can anyone explain what is going on?

akirby

How could we possibly know what's going on? You need to have the error code checked to see what the error is.

ford15

I have a 2000 LS V8 with only 36K miles and what seems to be the same exact transmission problem. The codes pointed towards the solenoid block. I replaced the block at a cost of $300.00 bucks, and still have the problem. Did you have any luck with resolving your problem.

misslashea

Well it cost me $880.00 all together. I was told the exact same as you, and that was my problem. After the transmission shop had had my car for 3 days, I received it today, and the problem wasn't fixed at all. Actually it is worst off now than before.
They have to keep it for about 2 more days, and told me it was an electrical problem, and the work is not warrantied because they can't warrant electrical problems..
By the way, what was your total price including labor?

slapshot1

I had all the same problems that you are having with your car 4 trips to the dealer later and bills which totaled over $3000 which were covered by the dealers 60 day warranty, my car is running great. The first trip to the service shop was for an E on the dashthey hooked car up to diagnostics and it showed several error codes, they had to replace a bunch of solenoids in the transmission. Car still not running properly so at second visit the dealer told me that the new solenoids were not communicating with the CPU software which needed to be upgraded. Thrid visit to the service shop they kept the car for a few days as far as I could tell they did nothing. Fourth and final trip to the service shop I told them I wanted my money back, they asked me to give them one more chance to fix the car, they had the car for two weeks and they ended finding several valves within the valve body of the transmission that had broken springs inside, they replaced the whole valve body, as well another valve located somewhere in the engine which had failed and was causing the car to idle too fast, which caused the car to jump when putting car into reverse or drive. As for the overheating they replaced the fan motor as well as a hose with a small hole in it.

vdukaj

Im looking to do a trans flush on my 00 lincoln ls v6 with a little over 100k miles. I had somebody tell me that flushing the trans can cause problems? I think he didnt know that he was talking about so i need some professional opinions.

Also My TRAC/ABS light has been on for about a month. Im sure my ABS wheel sensor is shot. Can i damage anything by driving it this way?

Thanks

aiuto

Flushing the tranny is a very good idea. I've done this once before at 45k and will do again at 90k.

Sorry but I don't know about the sensor

prettytasi

Thanks, I found that the jiffy Lube had not replaced any of the coolant that supposedly "they filled." Anyways... also as far as transmission problems were concerned I had to get a new transmission all together. Supposedly , water had entered into my fuse box which caused all the fuses to corrode and, destroy my electrical line leading to the transmission.
I now have a problem with the airbag. The airbag sensor light is constantly on. According to the only Lincoln dealer on this Island , the Airbag harness needs to be replaced. The part cost $60.00 and to have it replaced cost $400.00 Go figure...

jingles2

hi, i have the same problem seems my idle is to high and car bangs into drive and reverse (reverse sometimes) seemed to happen right after had car serviced by lincoln . do you happen to know valve they replaced in engine which was causing car to idle to fast? much thanks .

jingles2

HAD WORK DONE AT DEALERSHIP ON 2000 LS. AFTERWARDS started to feel car bangs when put into drive and sometimes reverse. car shifts perfect when at speeds . seems as though idle is alittle high or something which is causing this surge when i put the car from park to drive. dealer had worked on my coil packs and cleaned out the air intake also he had the car on the computer alot to TRY and diagnose which coil was bad . since then car doesent engage smoothly from park to drive and sometimes reverse. does anyone know what could cause this?

ezaircon4jc

If you also have a delay from "D" to "R" or "R" to "D" my bet would be the solenoid pack. It'll run ~$200 from Bill Jenkins @ www.teamfordlv.com He has the best prices for parts and has hooked me up many times. I did it myself so I don't know what a dealer would charge for installation.

jingles2

no, i mean the car when i first start up in the morning put the car from park to drive the car jumps alittle , its not smooth. this happened after i had fliud drained and put back by dealer. does anyone have this problem?

giggles3

my fiance bought a 00 lincoln ls v8 it is only a year old and it has a problem shifting in to 4th gear we got it checked but they don't no what it could be. Transmission light keeps coming on as well but when we bring it to get checked the light turns off before we can get there. Anyone have any ideas on what could be the problem?

lsgreatness

ah another lincoln issue still love my ls tho ...

my ls is making a funny noise it actually sounds like a deisle engine the noise seems to b cumin from tha tranny but i havnt put it on the lift yet has any1 else ever encountered this prob becuz im gettin the hard shftin from "D" and "R" aswell ... :mad:

bigo08

mine has the same problem as ur :sick:

lsgreatness

what did u do 2 fix the problem

nomolinc

Good luck! The transmission in my 2001 LS has been a nightmare for me. I actually had the transmission replaced and the new one is leaking. With all the accounts of this problem I have read and what I have personally been through, I believe it is a major problem.

kitty14

I have had my LS for a couple of years now. It stranded me on the interstate about 6 months after we bought it the mechanic that fixed it had no idea what was wrong with it he changed the fuel filter and sent me on my way. It hasn't done that since. However, when I accelerate from like 20 to a speed of 55 or 60 the car will cough or shudder but if I let up off the gas and accelerate a little slower the car is fine. My husband has heard at 100,000 miles the transmission goes out and is in a mad rush to trade it in. It has 91,000 on it now I do not want to trade it in. Can anyone tell me, is it my transmission? :confuse:

akirby

It's not the transmission and they don't go out at 100K either. It's probably the coils. Sometimes the valve cover gaskets leak and fill up the spark plus wells with oil. Each spark plug has a coil that sits on top of it (called a COP - coil on plug) as opposed to the older design where the coil was centralized and you had large plug wires going to each plug. The COPs can fail even without the leaking oil. A good mechanic can test them but I'd just go ahead and replace all of them along with the spark plugs and valve cover gasket if it's leaking at all. Common problem.

black0

I have a 2000 v8 ls and it feels like its holding back when i floor the accelerator, then it will all of a sudden go. seems like sensor or something is holding it back. Is this my tranny or somethin else????

akirby

See my previous post. Most likely the COPs. Although it could also be a clogged fuel filter if that hasn't been changed.

rbard

We purchased a 2001 LS in January 2007. It had 48,000 miles on it. 5 months later with 53,000 miles we are having transmission problems. I was pulling out from a stop and it would not shift into the last gear. The "E" appeared in the shift indicator and the engine light came on. I shut the car down and after starting it back up was able to drive another 15 miles before it happened again. We have taken it back to the original dealership. They said they had never heard of this before. I find that a little hard to believe. Just got a call that they are replacing the solenoid pack in the transmission to the tune of $790.00. I hope this fixes the problem as I truly love this car.

akirby

That is the standard repair procedure and yes - they've heard of it before. It's not a common problem but it's happened more than a few times. It should fix it.

rbard

The solenoid pack did not fix my transmission problem. Received 2nd call from dealer stating the S. Pack helped but they think the trans. also has a broken spring in the valve body. Since we have only owned the car for 5 months our WONDERFUL dealer is taking care of the problem. Still feel like we are headed for a new transmission.

cdnpinhead

ah, never mind.

akirby

We know, Steve, we know.......

mfincher

I took my :sick: car to a dealer in the spring for trouble with shifting and high RPM's and they said the computer needed several updates, they took care of this and a week later the rpm's were up again(reving during driving), and I took it back, they update the computer again, now 4 months later I took it back again, and now they say it has lost or is missing 4th gear? Lost gear? where did it go?

Codes from the computer are; P0734, P0735, P07945, these came from the dealer who said it may cost as much as 3500

akirby

Find a more competent dealer.

Mr_Shiftright

735 is "improper 4th gear ratio".

Their explanation/diagnosis is unsatisfactory. I'm sure they have a whole series of diagnostics they can run on your transmission before condemning it. Line pressure? Leak in accumulator? Maybe you do need to go elsewhere. This could be electronic or internal.

zieske

Hello I have a 2002 Lincoln LS V8 that I have owned for two years with 65k mi. A few days ago while I was driving the check transmission came on along with the check engine light and the E on the gear shift indicator. I first wanted to check the fluid but found out after looking in the manual how hard that would be. I finaly understand how the draining and filling works and i never seen a dipstick behind the passenger front axle. I decided to take it to the quick lube and explained to the tech that I wanted to first check the fluid. We loosened the inner pan bolt and bright red fluid came dripping down.I thought at that point it was full(also no leaks). I took it to the certified transmission becauce they said free dionostics and checks. The codes were explained to me as followed P0734(gear4ratio)
P0735(gear5ratio)P0791(internal shift speed cencior A-circuit)P0795(pcsc pressure)P1270(engine speed limiter). They said internal failure needs rebuilt at the tune of $2700 and that the bands for 4th and 5th gear were probley damaged. Also they handed me a cup with brown fluid and said this was my fluid(wasnt red like the day before). I asked them about the s-pack and he told me that if I replaced that it wouldnt fix it becauce the gear ratio codes were first in the order. I told them I needed a second opinion so Im going to bring it to the dealer. I wanted your opinion in the matter and if the order of the codes mattered? The (yellow)engine light goes off with a full tank of 92 octaine. It will shift into 4th if you going slow. After the car is turned off it resets everything and you start the procces over. After the "E" comes on even the lower gears are felt when shifting but not before. Could you give me some advise?? Please. I love this car and have no warrenty.

akirby

My advice is take it to the dealer for a second opinion.

zieske

I was hoping for a little more info from you but thanks anyway. I did trans service over the weekend and changed filter. I got 4th gear back and now it flips back from d5 to E so thats an improvement. The dealer is so exspensive! I was debateing a rebuilt one with 1 year warrenty for $250 plus shipping. By the time all the tests and every thing its almost worth buying rebuilt? I want the cheapest way out becauce Im making $511 amonth payment with new baby. I live 3 miles from work should that hurt it driving the back roads?

lanbaba

I've got a used 2006 LS V8 which has around 15K on it. I got the car when it has around 5K. I noticed from the begining that when I hit the gas a little hard from stop, the first 2 gears always seems a little hesitate (whether in auto or ss mode), but once it gets into 3rd gear and the speed picks up(over 35mph) everything is fine, the accelerate is smooth, and the car response very well with the gas. It seems to me the car is lack of torque at low speed or sth else? :confuse:

dfsmith

I have a 2004 Lincoln LS, 71000 miles. I started having problems when I would put my car in reverse gear, the car would jerk. At times when I would drive the car, it seemed the car was not getting any gas when I accelerated. I would have to pull over and restart the car. I took my car to Ford Lincoln Mercury and was told the solenoid pack needed to be replaced at the tune of $990. After the mechanic, took the casing off of the solenoid pack, he informed me that there was metal in the pan. He then advised that I would need a new or rebuilt transmission in the tune of $3300.

Prior to that I had $900 worth of service done due to a noise coming from the engine.

I think we all should go together and do a class action law suit. Only 3 years old, still making payments and steadily going to the shop.

cdnpinhead

". . .we all should go together . . . class action law suit. . ."

Who is that we you're talking about? Got a mouse in your pocket?

In case you hadn't noticed, the LS wasn't exactly a colossal success & is no longer in production. Most of the transmissions at least worked, but beyond that, the bulk of the people who ended up driving the car couldn't tell the difference. I'm going to guess that you didn't pay exactly a fortune for this thing.

Good luck.

ls03tor

I have a 2003 Lincoln LS with 1,25000 KMs on it and im having a little issue with the transmission, 2nd to 3rd gear switch often gives me a jerk (Kick) when i drive it after few hours or in the morning, and then another kick when downshifting from 3rd to 2nd,even tho all of it goes away when engine is warmed up but still i am concerned abotu it as i bought the car used like a month ago,shud i get rid of the car? or its nothing and jus a small defect that wont cause a lott of transmission trouble?

trayburn

I bought a 2000 LS it was hit in the front but dont know why my problem would reflect this but when you take my car out of park and out into drive its like its still in neutral but you pull it back into 1st gear its fine but you still have to shift through all the gears but after it gets into overdrive its fine, it will kick into passin gear and back down into over drive again but if you come to a stop or stop light you have to pull it back inot 1st gear again??? I would like to know my problem and know how much its gonna cost? anybody have any ideas?

trayburn

yeah well my car is the 3.9 V8 and it has 86,000 on it but other than everything else the car is in perfect condition

kyle127

hey trayburn did you ever figure out what was wrong with the car?? i have the same problem with my lincoln...

kyle127

hey trayburn did you ever figure out what was wrong with your ls?? i have the same problem... thanx

ccicak

Just curious how your LS tranny issue was resolved (or is it). My '02 3.9L with 55k miles is acting up similar to yours. I had tranny rebuilt under warranty by dealer at 20k miles but now at 55k it's acting up again. I changed fluid and filter last month (fluid was just slightly brownish compared to new but did not smell burnt) and changed fluid again this week. But it's still shifting rough and "check tranny" light comes on. What finally fixed yours?
Craig

ls03tor

yes my problem was resolved..the torque converter was changed and 2 coils were misfiring,they were replaced,all was covered warranty ..that fixed the hesitation and the transmission runs perfect..also...try to use sunoco gasoline with 94 octane....your can will run excellent..