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Comments
Tom
Member LLSOC
Brian is there a TSB out for this?
Regards,
Airwolf
Jim
LLSOC member
Jim
LLSOC member
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.
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
Make sure they credit you the 112 miles in your lease.
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.
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.
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.
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.
- 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?
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.
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?
Regards,
Airwolf
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.
http://www.infiniti.com/ms/future/g35/g35_flash_frameset_skipintro.html
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
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 . . .)
Infiniti claims that it counteracts the weight shift during acceleration. I guess they don't have the anti-squat suspension design like the LS.
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
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
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
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.
Check out www.motorlife.com and www.amsoil.com
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
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
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
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.
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.
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.
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 $1400 in parts when they decided to replace it.
This was at 12,000 miles.
I've now put about 800 miles on the new trans. It is a completely different beast. Firm, quick shifts, much more like a Corvette automatic that the previous one. I do hope it smooths out a bit, but the car now feels much more sporty.
LLSOC has been down since yesterday and since our illustrious web hosting outfit Readyhosting revised their site I can't open a trouble ticket because their link is broken *$*)(#)$@!!!
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
http://media.ford.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=10920
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.
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.
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.