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Lincoln LS: Problems & Solutions
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I have a reputation as a malcontent, and it's well deserved. I bought my LS because I wanted a quasi-luxury sedan with a manual transmission, and hoped for decent reliability. My warranty ran out in June, when I hit 50K miles, with three years on the car.
The overheating "issue" turned out to be the hydraulic fan, which ran at only the lowest speed. As has been explained to me recently, the hydraulic system is preferred because it allows continuously-variable speed for the fan with relatively less noise. Excellent. However, when it breaks, it's an $800 fix. Mine broke. Yours may as well.
The other good news is that I was able to exercise my "after warranty adjustment" to get the cost down to $150.
Stay tuned.
Yesterday, after driving the car around town all morning, the temp redlined again, but did not come back down. My warranty expired in August with less than 50,000 miles. I just dropped the car off at the dealer.
What could it be? I looked up the recall info on the 2000 LS thermostats, and my build date falls within the recall timeline. The dealer flushed and replaced the fluid in my cooling system just before the temp started acting funny--could be air in the system.
We'll see how bad it is.
I want to say that my Lincoln has been trouble-free, but that hasn't been the case. This is the most recent of an annoying series of repairs made to my car in the 18 months I have owned it. (I bought my LS used.)
Although it is a dream to drive, I'm not sure that it is worth the trouble, time and money it takes.
The sad fact is that once something breaks once, it's likely to break twice. The whole rest of the car can be fine, but if one of the key systems is suspect, it's much more likely that you'll be beside the road rather than enjoying it.
Thanks in advance.
I would suspect that when the dealer flushed your system, they didn't purge it properly. I had the same sysmptoms as everyone else. Had the dealer purge it and problem gone.
The car runs beautifully now.
I was hoping for something like a thermostat replacement for my car, but it was not to be.
Glad it worked out, and thanks for reporting back.
Thanks
Jack
info@graphics2.net
You sure it's the pump, not the fan's hydraulic motor? I was under the impression that the pump fed both the cooling fan and steering. Maybe not.
Anyway, check local salvage yards first, then try www.fordpartsnetwork.com
Anyways thanks for your advice, I just wanted to make it clear of what type of problems I DON'T want to incur and whether the LS has a common tendency to have said problems.
Most of the complaints that I am aware of on the LS trannie have to do with shifting characteristics. There were 2 significant revisions to the PCM code (Powertrain control module software) that improve reverse engagement and the 2-3 shift. The first software update was in DEC 99, the 2nd in June of 2000, so if you buy that car you may want to check into getting the PCM reflashed.
As for ride, the LS non-sport is probably a little firmer than your Aurora. However, the tires and tire pressures make a huge difference. The recommended pressure of 30 PSI is best for most "normal" driving in my opinion. You might check the pressure in the car you are considering. Also, with 80,000 miles, the tires are not likely the originals. With the 16" rims, you have a huge variety of tire choices. What brand/type of tire is on the car?
Anyway, I feel I stole the car at $27000, but I'm having a problem. The other day we experienced a ton of rain. Upon getting into the car, the low door pocket near the dash was full to the brim with rain water! I scooped what I could out and went out driving in this pouring rain. As I'm driving, the frame pillar between the door and windshield begins to turn dark, obviously from water inside the pillar and then to begin dripping in my lap.
Since I've put the car through a few car washes and had no problem, I'm stumped. Any ideas?
If so what may be happening is that the drain tube on the driver's side is either clogged up with some debris or it has come off of the drain fitting on the moonroof. This would cause the water to drip down the A pillar.
Possibly a service bulletin, however.
Need some ideas and advice on how to get my problem resolved with the dealer.
I took my 2000 LS V8 with 80000 miles, to dealer to fix some obvious problems.
Driver door handle broke.
Air bag icon in dash stays on.
Rain sensor wipers intermittently don't work
Air Filter indicator remained on after they supposedly replaced it during routine maint.
Apparently, in order to stop the air bag icon from displaying they have to replace a wire under the driver seat. To do this they had to take out the front driver seat. In doing so, the tech broke a motor or something to where the seat no longer moves up and down. The Service Mgr is denying that his tech broke this and wants me to pay for this $300.00 motor. He keeps stating that my car is way out of warranty and that things break and that there is NO WAY that this seat went up and down before the tech took it out. I told him I don't care if I had 150000 miles on the car, when I left my vehicle with them that seat was completely operational. The Service Manager and General Manager stated flat out that they would not pay for this and have called the Service Rep in. It is basically their word against mine but I will take this issue to court if I have to.
The Service Rep is to call me later today. If I get no resolution from her what is my next step? Does she have a boss? Do I called the Ford center? Small Claims if I have to pay for this to get my money back?
Your advice would be much appreciated!
Denise
The problem I described is applicable to all cars with moonroofs. In 4 years of following the LS on Edmunds and other sites I have only heard of a 1 or 2 others with your problem.
Good luck and hopefully you won't have to go the legal route.
Has anyone out there been given crap from a dealer not wanting to give a loaner car if you didn't buy the car from them?? I have experienced this B.S. and tempted to call FMC.
You probably won't have much luck complaining to Ford about the loaner car. IIRC Lincoln's official policy is that Lincoln dealers must provide alternate transportation. Loaner cars are not mandatory. Many Lincon dealers seem to use this policy to rub it in your face if you didn't buy your car from them. I wonder what the policy is with other luxury brands?
And, for a stab at staying on-topic, since my LS had its cooling system trauma last summer, it's been 100% trouble-free. A bit over 60K miles and should hit 75K next year.
Stay tuned.
Don't know whether you got your problem with the dealer (re the seat motor) resolved or not but I have a thought on this. Often when a power seat suddenly fails to operate properly, the actual seat motor is not the problem - the culprit frequently is a switch, a connection, or a break in a wire. Considering that the
Ford tech had the seat out of your car, I would say that something involving a connection or a wire might have caused your problem. If the seat is still not working, you might want to get a second opinion on what is causing the problem - the fix may be much cheaper than replacing the seat motor.
Russ
When the wipers are parked, do they sit on their heated rests? If not, the arm has been incorrectly installed. Can you grab the arm and rotate it more than about an inch? If so, the linkage is likely broken/worn.
If you're still out there, I had the exact same heated seat problems. It's finally fixed now, but it took the dealer at least 3 tries to get it right. I think it ended up being related to a known recent service bulletin that required a replacement part and some re-wiring maybe? After completing the service bulletin work I had to go back again and the dealer had to trim some plastic that was heating up and causing the thermostat to shutdown the heated seats also.
I hope this helps some,
Both the passenger and driver seats stay in the cool or heated condition for max 10 min. Then I cannot put them on again they just flash and go off. I have to stop the car and restart then they reset and go to work again for 10 min. This is not acceptable. What is wrong? Anyone know?
Dealer not much help.
Thanks
I have had it in the dealer 3 times for the heat.
1st problem heat not working well - Dealer did not find anything wrong with car.
2nd Heat not working well and the smell of exhaust fumes. Dealer replace thermostat did not detect presence of exhaust smell.
3rd Heat working better but not great. Then see and smell exhaust fumes coming from interior vents.
Dealer had car for 3 days. Stated had car running for 1/2 hr with no smell and no fumes seen.
Has anyone had this problem? Any info would be appreciated.
Thanks Dana
My LS didn't have it, but several that I know of did. With luck one or more of the folks who dealt with the dealers on this will post.
If your car is still under warranty, you'll need to find another dealer. If it's not, there's a remote chance that an "after warranty adjustment" (AWA) could be offered, but you'll have to find a cooperative dealer for that as well.
Good luck. Gotta love them Lincoln dealers.