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93,000 miles - on the 3rd set of tires (all purchased from the dealer)
On the 2nd set of brakes - almost time for a 3rd set
When braking, the steering wheel vibrates and I wonder at times if it's going to stop me in time
The car tries to stall when idling, tries to keep going when I try to stop because the RPM's go to over 2,500 when braking these days. The check engine light started out flashing. Now it stays on as a solid light. Fortunately, the info I read in this forum has the dealer paying for our 2nd set of coil packs THANK YOU!!
My door ajar warning comes on and stays on - even after I check and double check all the doors. This happens about 25% of the time.
The motor to the A/C unit went out and had to be replaced by the dealer. This happened when the car was 5,000 miles out of warranty coverage.
The rear air constantly clicks, clicks, clicks ALL the time. It doesn't matter if it's off or on. You drive down the road and all you hear is click, click, click.
The CD player will not eject the #6 CD. Fortunately, it's one I like
So, here I am driving down the road in my $50,000.00 car with the check engine light on, door ajar flashing on the dash, click, click, click coming from the rear, brakes failing, listening to CD #6....maybe I need a nice tall cliff? LOL
There is some good news though: After $2,000 more in payments, it will be all mine. The bank will be paid off. Me? I'm now stuck with the prettiest, most expensive gift I've ever received and wish I was driving a Honda Accord (the former most expensive vehicle I ever owned). I had that car for 180,000 miles. I maintained it properly (as I have the Aviator) yet the Accord only cost me one timing belt and water pump at 95,000 miles in repairs. These parts weren't messed up, I replaced them based on Honda's guidelines.
I hope some of you can get some good out of my funky post and if anyone knows a solution to the click, click, click coming from the seldom used rear A/C or the "door ajar" warning light, please let me know.
I'm being a good girl and trying to be nice as possible and to keep my sense of humor about this whole situation. My advice: Find a different luxury SUV to buy and never buy a new vehicle within it's first two years of production.
You know....my birthday is next month.......hmmm, can anyone say "trade-in"? :sick: :lemon: :lemon: :lemon: :lemon:
I enjoyed your post and can empathize a bit. I came within an inch of buying a new 2004 Aviator, but changed my mind at the last minute cause it was just too small for the family. Ended up with a Navigator and so far so good, though only 45000 miles. Ran out of warrantee last Saturday - and the cruise control stopped working on Monday. :mad: Shades of things to come? Thankfully I purchased a Ford maintenance plan the week before so I'm covered til 75000. (Oh, BTW, I recently had the dealer replace my radio unit - cause it wouldn't eject CD #6 ! :confuse: )
Good u've kept your sense of humor thru this. I've read here many horror stories about the Aviator, including one where the wrong drive train had been installed at the factory! I also had an Aviator as a loaner once and found that the heater design was absolute grade-school. Not only did the auto-HVAC not work properly, but the only way to get heat out of the thing was thru the floor vents - and one of them blew directly on my foot on the accelerator so I couldn't stand that very long and ... well, it IS a beautiful vehicle inside and out. But it is a terrible shame the thing ever saw the light of day, based on many reports I've read of it. It was just not ready for prime time and probably never would be. It is a glaring example of what is wrong with Lincoln (Ford) - NO foresight, NO support of existing designs, HURRIED release of inferior vehicles (Blackwood, Aviator, Mark LT, Zephyr, ...) when a need arises, and apparently a continuing slide into the depths of poor reliability and a growing list of people who will "never buy another Lincoln (Ford etc)". I am NOT one of those people. Yet. I own 2 Lincolns right now and both have thus far been quite good vehicles. THough not in the class of a 180,000 accord with miniscule maintenance issues.
As for your specifics, there I need to take you to task a bit - 93000 miles on third set of tires is about right for a vehicle like this. I just put my 2nd set on my Nav at 44,000 which puts me in my 3rd set at 88,000. I dont think this is a valid complaint. Ditto the brakes. In fact, only having to replace the brakes once by 93000 miles is quite good. I'm betting you replaced the brakes and tires on your Honda a couple of times as well? Also, the vibrating of the steering wheel when braking is almost surely the sign that it IS time to replace the front brakes - or at least the rotors - they're probably warped a bit and causing the vibrating. A big truck-based SUV like this is going to go thru brakes and tires faster that a light weight sedan like an accord. Those are just the facts, Ma'am! That said though, it is apparent to me that Ford is selling vehicles with the worst brakes of anyone. This can be seen in the almost always LAST place showing for braking wheneve a Ford product is compared against competitors - and the fact that you are far from the first I've heard complain about how frequently Ford brakes wear out. You would think a company that has lost so much money to lawsuits would at least try to make their vehicles able to stop well.
As for the clicking - got me on that one, though my bet would be it's a simple fix - like a sticking 'blend door'. I think I've read of others complaining about similar thing in these parts before though - either here or in the Navigator forum. The door ajar is most likely a sticky switch in one of the doors. Again, cheap as a spray can of WD-40 or something to fix, though first you gotta find the sticky one.
Feb 17th is coming up soon Got your eye on anything? Have you heard of the new Lincoln MKX? HAHAHAHAHAHA
If u dont need an SUV, it's probably time to strike an accord with your husband as to what you'd like this time around:>) Best wishes to you.
For some reason, my brakes are working better now My husband gave the service manager a list of all the problems we had with this vehicle and now the brakes aren't "bumpy" when we apply them. Maybe they did an adjustment they didn't charge us for? In the past when we had brakes put on the Aviator, they vibrated right away. This has been a constant thing since we left the lot with the car. It feels like I have dinky little brakes that would be better suited stopping an itty bitty car instead of an SUV. I just hope they keep on stopping me
The "door ajar" warning light isn't coming on now either. Maybe they cleaned the sensor thingy.
I stated the wrong total of brake jobs my car had in the original post. My husband said we are about to need our 4th. Boo Hoo.
You are right about the Honda I owned needing brakes. I can't remember how many times I replaced them but it seems like it was 3 or 4. Plus, it had to have tires but not too often. I don't really understand why some cars/trucks need brakes more often than others....my husband drives a 2001 Chevrolet Silverado 4-Wheel Drive HD with an extra cab. He has 92,000 miles and is still on his original factory brakes. I wish those kind of brakes had been on my Aviator
I guess my main thought is...shouldn't a car that costs $50,000 have less mechanical problems than one that costs $20,000 :confuse: I guess the familiar phrase "You get what you pay for" doesn't apply to the Aviator.
Best wishes to you with the Navigator. :shades: That's a *NICE* car!
Yeah, thanks the Nav is a real nice ride.
Glad to hear things are working out a little bit better now. I would be surprised if the dealer actually did anything and didn't tell you or charge you or both. But who knows? One thing I've pretty much learned is the dealer and their service dept make a HUGE difference in the happiness of the owner - whether the car is a gem or a lem(on). Eg: My Nav on delivery had a driver door inside latch that was sticking out quite a bit and it was so close to actually opeining the door with just a slight touch that it was dangerous. I took it to the dealer where I had just bought the thing for over 50 $Large. The GD tech gets a micrometer and measures how far the handle sticks out and says "within spec. Next?" I flipped but they wouldn't do anything else. Took it to another dealer 30 miles away. They spent 10 minutes taking the door panel off and found that a screw under the handle had not been properly installed at the factory. They fixed it, handle lies perfect now and I personally told off the service dept mgr and owner of the dealer where I bought the thing and havent been back since.
Anyway, 4 brake jobs is way too many at 92000 miles on just about any vehicle. Unfortunately, I'm not that surprised. My Nav needed front brakes and rotors once already (though most of the cost was warrantee) and I just had the rear brakes done last month, at 45,000. These ARE BIG heavy vehicles, but brakes do come in BIG sizes so you'd think Ford would put the appropriate ones in, but NOOOOOO. IMHO, they do this on most of their vehicles and like I said, it shows in performance numbers and in owners maintenance logs. And it's not just the SUVs as a good friend had a Taurus wagon whose brakes would need replacing oftener than 20,000miles. Pathetic. The new Lincoln MKX and Ford Edge are good examples - vehicles that mean the world to the comapny and magazine tests show they need 10 to 30 feet further to stop than equivalent competitors. Is THIS one of Ford's better ideas?
As to your last question, I can pretty much say the answer is NO. All else equal, the $50,000 vehicle is going to have bells and whistles and electronics etc etc that will fail more often than a smaller, cheaper car. Engine, tranny and brakes have to work that much harder too. So it's not surprising at all that an Aviator would cost a lot more to maintain than an Accord. I have little doubt that a Honda Pilot would cost more in maint than the Acoord as well. THough maybe less than the Aviator.
So are u up for new wheels? THere's so much to like out there right now.
Best to you.
Anybody else having this problem/situation? Really pissing me off - I put the truck in neutral or turn off the ignition when going down a hill or preparing to stop just to stop that engine from pulling it...
Gas predicted to be $1.00/gallon lower by Labor day makes it even more attractive.
Our rough idle happens at all temperatures. We found a way around this... when we are stopped at a traffic light, stop sign or anywhere the vehicle needs to idle, we put the car in neutral or park and keep the motor turning at least 750 rps. It works! This has been going on for over a year now and all the mechanics we took the car to told us if we didn't replace that expensive part, the vehicle would not run.
They get a specific error code on their diagnostics check but for some reason you can "bypass" the misfire by revving the motor up a little.
The downside is you can't let your car warm up on cold mornings. I'm going to try to find a mechanic that will set the idle speed a little higher.
Good luck to you!
I also own a 2003 Mustang Cobra. The car has a built in "defect". The heads have a cooling problem. BUT there are a couple aftermarket "fixes". After buying one for my Cobra I noticed in the write ups that the problem may be with other 4.6 DOHC V-8's made by FORD. As here is the description.
"From the factory, the 2003-2004 “Terminator” Mustang SVT Cobra was an absolute work of art by Ford with the exception of one issue. The 4.6L DOHC heads used in the Terminators (and other vehicles as well) have a cooling defect that was later recognized and corrected by Ford several years after its production with a revised head. The coolant does not have an escape route out of the rear of the head which aids the development of steam pockets forming in the rear cylinders of the head. This specifically takes place in the #7 and #8 cylinders. Under normal operating temps on an unmolested cobra, the heads will suffice however when modifications are added it becomes more and more likely that these “hot spots” will develop due to inadequate cooling and as a result, the motor will develop a “TICKING” noise. The revised head from Ford is extremely expensive and was not released until most warranties were already expired.
With our custom head cooling mod, the coolant passage out of the rear of the driver’s side head will be complete thus allowing adequate cooling of the rear cylinders. This simple insurance mod will greatly reducing the chance of harming the head due to a heating issue.
This should have been done from the factory to begin with, but it wasn’t and so we must improvise. Why risk harming your car? If you have any modifications on your car and haven’t considered necessary cooling modifications, this is the perfect mod. for you! It will pay for itself many times over."
Maybe would work with the AVIATOR V-8. To find the products just run a search for "Mustang Cobra head cooling mod". I know that will be the first thing I do with the Aviator I buy. GOOD LUCK!
To make a long story short, both heads need replacing at a cost of $6,000 to $7,000 for parts/labor. I called Ford customer support and explained my story... they say "sorry pal, you are hosed... warranty expired..." and refused to provide any assistance or suggestions. Obviously, they aren't interested in spending more of the Government's bailout money on keeping loyal Ford customers (I also purchased 4 new Ford vehicles for my company).
Besides doing the fix or replacing the motor (cost is about the same), does anyone have any suggestions?
Look at it from Ford's standpoint - if the original dealer didn't diagnose it correctly the first time then there is no way for Ford to know if there was a problem initially. All it took was a compression test which I assume they did the first time. If they fixed every problem after the warranty period they might as well just give out a lifetime warranty (and add several thousand to the cost of every vehicle).
And in case you haven't been paying attention, Ford didn't take any bailout money.
I'm very frustrated at this point, any good advise....please help :sick:
I am probably going to do this even tho mine already has 80K on it... I just bought my 03 a few days ago.....well...better late than never hopefully this cooling mod can delay the almost inevitable Head replacement.
Are there any positive and happy stories on the Aviator??
Especially those who have successfully fought the dealer and Ford to owning up to the Head repair? or at least reduce the repair cost...
i have checked under the car for anything lose,,but everything is fine,,
is this from maybe the pump or rocket pinion ?
any help i appreciate!
thanks
home@bosanci.org
the rear seat passenger side window stopped working.A few months later, I happened to hit that button and it worked. A few weeks later it stopped working.
Now the driver side passenger window is doing the same thing...sometimes they work and sometimes they don't. I don't believe it's a fuse...they wouldn't work at all.
Wiring?? Something else??
Anyone ever have this issue?
D.
Thanks,
Chintan
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issue...it's always been pretty straightforward. There is no reason that they shouldn't come right off...no special trick.
I'm sure you've done this, but just double check that the piston is completely retracted into the cylinder. Other than that, I'm not sure what to tell you.
Wish I could have been more help.
When the time comes to dispose of the car, they probably still won't work.
It just irks me that they don't!!
I suppose my only option is to take out a second mortgage on the house and have the dealer fix it..........Nah!!!
So I have a meeting on Monday morning and while picking him up at the Airport I can explain that my shifer is broken, and I have it taped up and working like some type of backyard fixit man.
Anyway, my question is has anyone ever had this happen to them before, I'm wondering if it hard to fix, if I can take to console out and get to the linkage and do it myself or do I need to take it to a shop and let them do it.
By the way, I've had this car since 2006, great car never had a problem with it other than a vaccum line popping off and now this.
110,000 miles runs great and I love the car.
Can anyone provide some feedback here?
DLS