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Lincoln LS Transmission Problems

135

Comments

  • bauxbaux Member Posts: 8
    i just baught a 2000 lincoln ls, when im reving the engine and it gets to about 3000 rpm it starts to sputter and the rev skips causing the car to shake a bit i also notice it seems sluggish when i pin it not too much power and it seems to putter a bit and ideas?
  • akirbyakirby Member Posts: 8,062
    That's the rev limiter - it's supposed to stop at 3000 rpm when in neutral or park. It keeps you from destroying the transmission by dropping it into gear at high rpm.
  • bauxbaux Member Posts: 8
    Thank you. I was a little worried I got ripped off, I'm assuming I just need a tun up and it will drive a little smoother.
  • akirbyakirby Member Posts: 8,062
    If you experience loss of power or other engine problems while driving it might be the COPs (coil on plugs).
  • koehnkoehn Member Posts: 1
    HI I was wondering if anyone could tell me if a fluid flush would help me! I have an 04 V6 with over 84,000 miles. It is shifting very hard into the second and third gears and when I stop and the shops all tell me that it is gonna be a $2,000-$2,400 repair but they are all calling my problem slippage but it is not slipping it is just shifting hard! So would a flush or a fluid change help me at all or would it just be a waste of $$$?
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    I think a flush would be a waste but a fluid change +filter or screen clean, and a conditioner additive might help---certainly worth a try. Were any codes read for the TCM to give an indication of trouble areas? Do you have the #s of these codes. If no codes were read, which crystal ball are they using?
  • akirbyakirby Member Posts: 8,062
    Ford uses a machine to change the fluid now - it uses the transmission cooler lines to pull out old fluid and insert new fluid - changes almost 100% of the fluid. Dropping the pan doesn't get anywhere near that much old fluid out, even if you drain the torque converter. And according to an old transmission engineer buddy, if you have enough crap in there to clog up the filter it's already Tango Uniform, so don't worry about it.
  • leadfoot4leadfoot4 Member Posts: 593
    "koehn", there were issues with some of the earlier years' transmissions having issues with the solenoids in the valve body. My wife's 2000 LS had these issues about 3-4 years ago, however the car was still under the extended warranty I purchased through the dealer, so it was a covered repair.

    I'm not positive if this issue was adressed in later model LSes. However, I'm not sure if I'd want just any shop rummaging around my transmission, given the complexity of the 55RN transmission. This might be one instance where I would lean toward having the dealer look at it....
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    Thanks for that update. I was still wondering how they came to the "slip" diagnosis.
  • akirbyakirby Member Posts: 8,062
    Let's just say it was probably still steaming when it came out.....
  • rhtransrhtrans Member Posts: 84
    Fluid change will certainly not help a harsh shift & you are right its not a slip. It's obvious the computer is having problems controlling line pressure...it can have harsh shifts with no codes present but certainly need 2 know if there are any present. I've seen a few times a simple plastic checkball in the valvebody beat itself to almost nothin and can't seat properly causing erratic line pressure in a 5R55N.To properly diagnose the problem a gauge and scanner would be needed. Then again they are also very bad about tearing up the O/D section dispersing metal thru thu unit and causing the same problem..just hasn't gotten bad enough to cause heavier symptoms...get a few more opinions from other shops.
  • ls01_333ls01_333 Member Posts: 4
    my 2001 lincoln ls has a mystery problem. i have read a few similar stories on here but havent seen an actual solution to the problem. engine light came on, and sometimes it will heat up a little bit more than it should. i had a mechanic friend with diagnostic computer look at it, came up with a bad solenoid pack. he switched it out with a new one, which came up bad when he tested itout. put in another solenoid pack and i got my car back. the engine light soon came back on and the overheating issue went on. he was nice enough to take the car back and look into why the solenoid packs kept failing. he eventually found out that there was a broken cable in the transmission and rewired it. i got my car back, and a few days later the engine light came back on and it will still run a lil on the warm side. The car runs perfectly fine, if not for the engine light i would think it was in perfect condition. anyone that has had the same problem, please let me know what action you took and what did or did not help. very much appreciated
  • akirbyakirby Member Posts: 8,062
    You need a new mechanic.
  • ls01_333ls01_333 Member Posts: 4
    Thank you for your input, it is not exactly what i am looking for. The mechanic is not the problem- he is a very clever and honest guy (friend of the fam) and he has top of the line diagnostic equipment. yes- this issue has him stumped..it also has stumped other mechanics and even dealers according to some stories ive read online.
    The problem is that my car is telling his computer that it has a bad solenoid pack. the code points to that. I am looking to see if any other lincoln owners have had similar problems with solenoid pack codes coming up, even after being switched out with a new one. I would like to hear their stories, and if im lucky, a solution.
    Thank you.
  • akirbyakirby Member Posts: 8,062
    A bad solenoid (or most any other transmission problem) would cause driveability problems and in most cases would not throw a check ENGINE light. Your mechanic is misinterpreting the CEL code. If you can get the actual code that's being registered someone might be able to point you in the right direction. Otherwise you should try a Lincoln dealer who knows how to fix these particular vehicles.
  • brucelincbrucelinc Member Posts: 815
    Solenoid pack replacement is not uncommon on these but you should notice transmission misbehavior - not a check engine light. Overheating would not be an indication of a bad solenoid pack either. Often, the first indication of a bad solenoid pack is poor shift quality - sometimes a shudder on upshifts.

    As akirby said, I would have a Lincoln dealer pull the code and see if they do not get a different result than your friend. You could even take it to Autozone and have the code pulled for free. I think the solenoid pack replacement is barking up the wrong tree.
  • ls01_333ls01_333 Member Posts: 4
    autozone- fo freee? who woulda thought... i will do just that, hopefully it will give me a better idea of what i need to get done. yea- no shift problems that i know are more than my imagination, only once, about a yr ago did the transmission warning come up on the dash... but when i started up next time it never came back, so i didnt worry about it.
    in response to akirby- the computer he has i saw was a snap-on, and i dont know much about any diagnostic equip, but i read up on the snapons like he has, and supposedly they give the description, not just error code. but i guess its still possible to misinterpret.
    i follwed up with him, he said when he switched out the pack and it kept coming up on his comp, he actually called ford to help troubleshoot (i would assume he went over with ford everything he did for the car and what came up on his comp each time)- thats when they told him to check the cable connecting the pack to the cars computer... he found the broken cable and rewired. thats just a more detailed fill in...but either way thanks again to all, and ill repost w/ any updates.
  • akirbyakirby Member Posts: 8,062
    Sounds like he has a decent handle on it, but even the best can be wrong about this stuff. As for the CEL codes - they don't tell you what to replace or what to fix - they can only tell you the symptom. e.g. An 02 sensor out of range could either mean the 02 sensor needs to be replaced or there is some problem in the engine - no way to know without further testing.

    If fixing the cable didn't get rid of the code then that wasn't the problem. Get the code and post it and we can at least give you some ideas.

    You might still want to take it to a Lincoln dealer. They know these cars inside out.
  • glassman911glassman911 Member Posts: 1
    Maybe somebody can help me... My car has 68k miles and the other day at highway speed (70) she just bogged down and "e" light came on I got off the highway and shut it down.After 15 mins or so I fired it up and she drove fine... haven't had the problem since.. Also strange noise @ 60mph that seems to go away when you turn the wheel to the left..gets bad when turn to right...
  • 386motoring386motoring Member Posts: 1
    I don't think the solenoid has anything to do with your overheating issue. My Lincoln did the same thing for quite some time and i discovered that it was low on coolant, and the area between the transmission cooler and radiator was filled with dead grass and leaves. I cleaned out the area, and topped off my coolant and haven't had that issue since. I hope that gives you an idea of what to look at :)
  • ls01_333ls01_333 Member Posts: 4
    Well thank you... but we replaced the colant bottle about a year ago. it was cracked and leaking. it is fine now, i check all fluids regularly in both of my cars.

    In response to the other folks who also responded- I went to autozone for the free diagnostic. they "couldnt give me the code" but told me a pressure solenoid popped up, which could be eg or transmission.
    It did start shifting a lil bit funky- and when it does that, it will start to warm up the slightest bit.
    then about a week ago, i hear beep and look at dash to see the gear im in on dashboard is "E" and "check Transmission" light is also on, and she is overheating.. i pulled over, shut off, started up (no transmission messages now) drove it home and have been driving my winter car since... time to follow the best advice and just hit up the dealership...
  • bpantsbpants Member Posts: 1
    My buddy has a 2002 Lincoln LS. He says after he washes it, the transmission light comes on and the car starts to shake. Anybody have any ideas? It does not have the "E" in the gear indication (like some other problems), he had just started right after power washing it, it wasn't overheating at the time, and he didn't smell anything burning. The car shook from the time he started it until he shut it off.

    Any advice would be awesome, thanks!
  • hardworker612hardworker612 Member Posts: 2
    If anyone can point me in the right direction I'd forever be in your debt.

    The other day while in cruise control traveling at 70mph, my 2003 Lincoln LS would not accelerate. I received a ETC engine shutdown safe mode (something of that nature) error code. I pulled to the side of the road, turned my car off then back on and continue on my way.

    The next day I took my vehicle to the dealership (not Lincoln) explained what happened. Upon diagnosis, he pulled two error codes. P2107 and P2110 and advised that I take it to a local transmission shop. I received a phone call today from the transmission shop where as I was told by the tech they he could not figure out what the codes meant. He then advised that I take it to the Lincoln dealership. Can anyone give me an insight as to what is really going on with my vehicle???? BEFORE I take it to the Lincoln Dealership. :-)

    Any advice is greatly appreciated, thanks.
  • akirbyakirby Member Posts: 8,062
    Find a new dealer. Those are ETC codes (electronic throttle control). They have nothing to do with the transmission.
  • hardworker612hardworker612 Member Posts: 2
    Thank you so much for the information.. :-)

    Now I don't feel stupid, I explained that I thought it was something electrical because the vehicle did not hesitate but simply would not accelerate. I was told that it had to be the transmission because of the codes.

    Is this something that can be easily fixed? Expensive to fix?

    I want to have enough information to (attempt) have a decent conversation with the tech when I take my vehicle to the dealership.
  • akirbyakirby Member Posts: 8,062
    My guess would be a bad sensor or wire but that's just a guess.
  • prerunner88prerunner88 Member Posts: 1
    I just had the solenoid and 4-3 Pre stroke valve replaced in my 2000 lincoln ls v8. It drove fine for a day then the next day i drove to town and when i stoped at the light it stalled. Now every time i put it in drive it stalls unless i hold the brack give it gas and put it into gear.

    Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
  • bikerboy44bikerboy44 Member Posts: 1
    Was reading your post while looking for information myself. I had the same problem several times with my 2002 LS and it was the coils on the spark plugs. They changed them at the dealership and the problem stopped. I could try to floorboard the car and it wouldn't got any faster than 30mph. I hopped my way to the dealer after they checked it and found nothing. I had left the dealership and gottne half way home when it started all over again. They told me not to stop the car when I got to the dealership, which I did. When they checked it on the computer it turned out to be the power packs on the plugs. They changed three of them, which I don't think it had that many bad personally. But none the less it works fine now.
    Good luck.
    BikerBoy44
  • ls03torls03tor Member Posts: 5
    i recently started experiencing something i thought only hondas were famous for.
    2nd gear gives me a jerk and 3rd engages late. if the rpm is high the jerk is even stronger. does anyone knows if this is transmission/gearbox or my car needs tune up? cuz i have heard this could be related to bad coils/sparkplugs.
    i am going to take my car to mr transmission as the dealers dont know shi* about their own car (past experience) :sick:

    the only difference i noticed was that the car reaches 170kms+ in no time which wasnt like that before. just a little bit of push on the pedal and i can feel the downshift and the car flies LOL. :blush:
  • jtw72jtw72 Member Posts: 4
    BikerBoy44, My 2004 Lincoln LS V8 sport with 42,000 miles recently had the 'Check AdvanceTrac" warning come on. It went on and off for about a week. Then yesterday, the "ETC Engine failsafe mode" warning appeared, and it put the car into limp mode. I pulled over, shut it off, and when I turned it back on, all problems disappeared. Interestingly, after heavy rains recently is when this problem started (see: http://answers.edmunds.com/question-2006-Lincoln-LS-ETC-engine-failsafe-mode-err- or-9646.aspx). Since the rain has stopped, no issues, Thoughts? I took it to a Ford/Lincoln dealer. Their diagnostic check said I needed a new "Throttle Body". They special ordered a part and said it would be $900 parts and labor. I'm holding off for now until I learn more. How much did your problem cost to fix? I'd like to tell them to look at the coils on the plugs first before I end up dropping thousands on them trying 5 different parts to fix a problem that may be as simple as your was to fix. I'd appreciate your input (or anyone else's) before a drop a grand at the dealer. Thanks!
  • willy8886willy8886 Member Posts: 3
    recently my 2000 lincoln ls hasnt been able to move, reverse dont work, 5th n 4th dont work, the only way i can move the car is if i put it on 3rd gear, i tried hooking up the diagnostic tool, but didnt get any DTC
    does anybody have a similar problem, or even better a solution to this, any help will be much appreciated
  • akirbyakirby Member Posts: 8,062
    I'm no expert, but do you think it could be a transmission problem?

    Seriously - take it to the dealer or a transmission shop.
  • lsjunklsjunk Member Posts: 4
    Hi Willy8886,
    My 2000 Lincoln LS (V6) started doing the same exact thing on 9/16/09! If you don't mind, could you tell me what the fix was? I really could use some guidance.
    Thanks!
  • japan1911japan1911 Member Posts: 2
    THE PROBLEM WAS THE TRANNY WS TRASHED BECAUSE OF THE TOURQE CONVERTER OR SOMETHING BUT IT COST ME $4016.12 TO GET A NEW TRANNY AND COIL PACK BUT ITS BEEN RUNNING LIKE A CHAMP :) EVER SINCE IT WAS DONE IN MARCH 2009
  • willy8886willy8886 Member Posts: 3
    hi lsjunk,
    well bro to be honest, i havent fixed it yet, ive been trying to do some research on the tranny, but havent been able to find anything, the transmission is very complicated, atleast for me, it seems u have to have a special tool to check ur fluid temperature, n to add fluid, a mechanic told me that all i needed was to add fluid on the tranny, dont know if this is true though, other people told me i could have burned off some of the gears, which im pretty sure i did since ive never done any maintenance to the transmission
  • lsjunklsjunk Member Posts: 4
    Hi Willy8886,
    Here is what I can tell you.... I noticed 3 years ago shortly after purchasing the car in a private sale that the transmission would occasionally slip (more so on cold days) until it would warm to operating temperature. But, I could get it to slip even after it warmed up by coming to a stop very quickly & then accelerate. It would also "buck" a little after coming to a complete stop (felt like a bump as if someone just tapped my rear bumper). I had the transmission fluid changed shortly afterward at a Ford dealership. This did not make any improvement. This went on for 3.5 years until the transmission stopped working this past week (not working R, D5, D4 ~ 3, 2 & 1 all work. Reverse started working again after the car sat for a day). What always confused me is that there are no scan codes or transmission errors. It behaved as if it was low on tranny fluid. But being that some Ford engineer thought a sealed transmission was the best thing since sticking a gerbil up one's [non-permissible content removed], there is no way to easily check it.
  • oliverrboliverrb Member Posts: 2
    Numerous problems with the LS I purchased used less than a month ago with about 70,000 miles. First thing I found was none of the controls on the steering wheel work 100% of the time. They may work one minute and not the next. When they are not working, neither is the horn. CD player doesn't work. Air seems to have a mind of its own. No codes came up when electrical checked.

    The main problem is that when I took off this weekend for about 10 hours of driving on the road, I started having what I thought was hesitation secondary to bad gas. Put some some gas treatment in the tank and it seemed to get better for the 2 hours I drove it. Today when I headed home (4 hours of driving) the problem was still there. It really doesn't feel like it is sputtering and coughing. It feels more like something is slipping. It will do it when I am sitting in Drive at a stop light and does it some as I accelerate. As long as I am driving pretty constant, it seems to be ok. If I am going up hill, it gets worse. Does it sound like the transmission???? I sure hope not. Any suggestions on where to start when I take it to get someone to look at it. Thanks.
  • toomanyfumestoomanyfumes Member Posts: 1,019
    Steering controls are the clockspring. A/C problems could be DCCV (dual climate control valve) which controls heat and a/c for the driver and passenger sides. TH hesitation and missing could be the COPS coil sits on the spark plugs, and failures are common. All of these problems are common on the LS.
    2012 Mustang Premium, 2013 Lincoln MKX Elite, 2007 Mitsubishi Outlander.
  • oliverrboliverrb Member Posts: 2
    Thanks a lot. Would the COPS cause the engine light to come on? It didn't come on when the problem initially started, but was on the next day. The ride is also not as smooth as it was before the problem. As far as the AC, the problem is that it may be blowing at the front windshield when it is set to blow out the passenger vents. Or it may be blowing really cold and then it seems to go to heat. (not set on auto) Would the DCCV cause that?
  • akirbyakirby Member Posts: 8,062
    They didn't purposely leave out the dipstick. If you look closely at the LS V8 engine bay - there simply isn't room for a dipstick. Sometimes the simplest explanation is the correct one, much to the chagrin of the conspiracy theorists.

    Yes - bad COPs will cause a CEL eventually. But they can be bad before the CEL comes on.
  • lsjunklsjunk Member Posts: 4
    No offense akirby, but I have a V6 and stating that there is no room for a 1.5-2'' diameter tube for a dip stick is pretty lame. It's a dealership money maker (and for private shops that can afford the machine) to turn a simple $45.00 fluid & filter change into $145.00 (& up).
  • akirbyakirby Member Posts: 8,062
    I said check the V8 engine bay, not the V6. The V6 has room but not the V8 and they didn't want to do 2 different versions of the transmission so they left it out on both. That came directly from the engineer working on the transmission. You'd think he'd know.
  • willy8886willy8886 Member Posts: 3
    actually imma have to agree with lsjunk akirby, i have a v8 ls, sure it is a lil tight cause of the engine, still no excuse for a tranny not to have a dipstick, this is were the dealers make their money, they do this on purpose so that the average joe wouldnt be able to work on his own car, im no mechanic, but i love cars, im always under the hood of my car, trust im pretty disapointed with this car, i think ford could have done better
  • akirbyakirby Member Posts: 8,062
    So you think my engineer buddy lied? He didn't. If they were doing it on purpose then they would do it on more vehicles. The same tranny in the Explorer had a dipstick.

    You conspiracy theorists just crack me up.
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    I don't see where sealing one transmission and putting a cheapo part like a dip stick on the other would have been so hard, in any case. But I believe the engineer. Detroit will do things like that to save .50 cents on a car.
  • akirbyakirby Member Posts: 8,062
    Have you looked at the engine bay of a LS V8? I owned one and there simply isn't any place to put one. It wasn't done to save money. If that was the case then it would have been done across the lineup. This was a one-off situation.
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    Maybe I misunderstood you. I thought your engineer friend said that it could be done in some applications of the transmission but not others, so they left it out of all applications.
  • akirbyakirby Member Posts: 8,062
    They left it out of the V6 LS because they couldn't do it on the V8 and they didn't want 2 different implementations on the LS. It wasn't done on any other Ford vehicles.

    There is room on the V6 LS but they didn't want to have 2 different versions of the transmission and 2 different entries in the owner's manual, service guide, etc.
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    Well they could have put it on the V6 and just plugged it on the V8. What's the big deal? All the owner's manual needed was a footnote. If both transmissions are externally the same casing, then the engineer's excuse seems rather lame to me.

    I think the real reason is that manufacturers are moving to "sealed for life" components. We may even see the sealed engine pretty soon.
  • lsjunklsjunk Member Posts: 4
    Well akirby - if your engineer friend help designed the the transmission for the 2000 Lincoln LS, maybe he can answer my question as to what the cause is since Ford must obvioulsy know or track issues with their drive train to hopefully better the product....
    I have reposted the issue here:
    I noticed about 3 years ago shortly after purchasing the car in a private sale that the transmission would occasionally slip (more so on cold days) until it would warm to operating temperature. But, I could get it to slip even after it warmed up by coming to a stop very quickly & then accelerate. It would also "buck" a little after coming to a complete stop (felt like a bump as if someone just tapped my rear bumper). I had the transmission fluid changed shortly afterward at a Ford dealership. This did not make any improvement. This went on for 3.5 years until the transmission stopped working this past week (not working R, D5, D4 ~ 3, 2 & 1 all work. What always confused me is that there are no scan codes or transmission errors. It behaved as if it was low on tranny fluid.
    What is the answer without spending 3k to take it apart to find out?!
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