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Comments
" I was loaned an '03 continental during this time and ..."
Hey, cool. What do the '03s look like? Curious since they discontinued the Continental in 2002:>)
The Nav system had up until this point worked as well as could be expected, despite the fact that the maps are woefully out-of-date for the Phoenix metro area. I called Nav Tech (the map suppliers for this system) and confirmed I have the latest mapping software load (2003 ver. 1). I was told that Nav Tech knows that the Phoenix has undergone considerable development in the last few years and that they haven't been able to keep up with the changes, but that they intend to improve their coverage in the near future. Unfortunately, the Nav Tech phone rep could not offer any assistance with the GPS aspect of the Navigation System.
Has anyone else with the Optional Navigation System noticed any problems with the ability of the GPS to track you during inclement weather or keep track of your location after parking in a large parking garage? Our Nav system has been a pain in the butt this week . . . thank goodness we're in Phoenix where it rains very infrequently.
I recall that I read that the GPS antenna is in the front dash area in the Aviator and not on top of the vehicle. This location would greatly impair its ability to quickly acquire the satellites.
The dead-reckoning of the system works very well for me, however.
The weather system is clearing out as I type this, so we'll be back to our usual clear skies shortly. I would like to wait and see how long it takes the nav system to reacquire the satellites and recalibrate itself before doing it manually myself, but if it takes more than an hour, I'll be contacting my service manager once again.
We have 30,000 miles on ours, nary a hiccup, and we tow with ours too. It's the second smoothest transmission we've ever had.
The weather has now cleared in Phoenix, and I have access to the Aviator, so I'm off to test out the Nav System again . . .
Further, the dead reckoning functionality isn't helping either . . . as I'm driving through the neighborhood, the map and my indicated position is clearly lagging my actual position on the road. I had to return home to reset my position once again per the procedure discussed above, and then used the 'Distance' soft button in the recalibration menu. Unfortunately, the Owners Manual doesn't give much detail on how this button works, only that the button will remain highligted until the recalibration is complete. Well, I sat in the car with the engine running for approximately 30 minutes, and the button remained highlighted the entire time and never seemed to complete. The manual gives no indication of how long this step should take, but I would think that 30 minutes is ample time.
If this problem doesn't correct itself by the end of the weekend, it's back to the dealer again come Monday. My wife is PO'd, and I'm not that far behind myself.
Sorry for the misinfo. Its wasnt a Continental that I was loaned it was a Towncar.
Unfortunately, it didn't work. :-(
What I find REALLY weird, though, is that my wife and I drove the Aviator south to the town of Casa Grande, which is about 35 miles south of the Phoenix metro area. When we left town, the poor Nav system had us going in the COMPLETE OPPOSITE direction. Once we got about 20 miles south of Phoenix, the satellite icon went out, and all of a sudden it started tracking us correctly. Of course, this only lasted until we got to approximately the same place on the road on our way home, and the satellite icon returned, and the Nav system once again got lost before we got home.
My wife reports intermittent, at best, tracking on drive about the Phoenix, Scottsdale, and Tempe area today, though it did work at some point during the day. I have already scheduled another service visit with my dealer for Wednesday. My wife had called late last week indicating we were having trouble with it, so it wasn't a complete shock that I called to schedule an appointment today.
I've only heard of one other Nav system complaint, and that had to do with the screen losing it's display sharpness, but I've heard nothing similar to what I've been experiencing. This has been a most frustrating new car experience to say the least, but so far, I'm still confident this will be a good performing vehicle. Gas mileage has been between 15 and 16 in mixed driving, and we've seen 18 to 19 in steady highway cruising at 75-80 mph, and better when cruising at 55 mph (too slow for these parts).
What's troubling me is the fact that the satellite icon is almost always present now, and that's the indication that no satellite signal is present or being read by the unit. Unless the Phoenix metro area has been blocked out by the GPS gods (yeah, right) then something's gone wrong with the receiver/antenna. Perhaps a loose wiring connection . . .
The dealer provided my wife with a Sable loaner.
As far as voice commands go, I believe the commands given and the system response is highly dependent upon which mode the system is currently in. You have to be in destination mode to get the system to respond to the "Home" command. I use the voice commands to change between the various audio modes, and it works well for that. However, I agree that there seems to be a significant learning curve with when and which commands are most useful.
I drove it briefly last night, and unfortunately, the icon indicating insufficient satellite communication was illuminated the entire time, though the vehicle was tracking properly. While my wife was out driving today, and the system ONCE AGAIN GOT LOST and incorrectly displayed the vehicle position about 5 miles away from where it actually was. Looks like another dealer visit is in our (near) future . . .
The vehicle was serviced for the 15,000 miles but the service representative told me that the other repair would take time and that it was safe to drive the vehicle as is and bring it back another time. I agreed and got back the vehicle.
On Friday 2/27/04, the play in the steering wheel became worse and the driver side rear window would not go up or down, so I called the service Rep who advised me to bring the vehicle in on Monday 3/1/04. They provided me a cheap Mercury Sable for transportation while my Aviator is being repaired.
On Wednesday3/3/04, they informed me that the left rear window switch was defective and replaced but they could not obtain the steering shaft from Ford Motor Company to replace the defective one from my car. They ordered it with an estimated time of reception 3/5/04.
They suggested that it was safe to drive my Aviator and that I could pick it up and they would call me when they received the part. I told them that I preferred them to keep the vehicle and perform the appropriate repair. They agreed to do so and promised me to have the vehicle ready by 3/5/04 in the afternoon or early Monday 3/8/04.
On Monday 3/8/04, no one called, so on Tuesday 3/9/04 I went to the dealership and spoke to the service manager and his boss. They promised to have the repair done by Friday 3/12/04 or at the latest Monday 3/15/04. Today, 3/15/04 nobody called. I am thinking of seeing my lawyer but before I do so, I am asking anyone out there some input. Please Help
For the rest of the gang, the whine in the rear end is resolved. New parts should be available in April.-
I know personally how disappointing it is to have repeating problems.. Be persistant and polite. Our dealers don't build 'em you know.
So far, the icon that indicates insufficient satellite communication has not illuminated. I certainly hope this takes care of it once and for all. The dealer has had this vehicle for 10 days out of the 47 days since we took it home.
Each time we enter a large parking structure, the icon that indicates insufficient satellite communication illuminates, but it disappears in only a few seconds after we exit. I'm satisfied that everything now works and we can finally fully enjoy our new Aviator.
I'm looking forward to the next time we can get out of town because I'd really like to take the Aviator down to Organ Pipe National Monument (near the Mexico border) and take the two scenic desert loops. We've had a rather moist winter (more like spring for most folks) and the desert flora should be spectacular. While these roads are far from an off-road challenge, the Aviator should smooth the road out considerably and the air conditioned seats will make the drive that much more pleasurable!
Took the car in today for the first time. Mechanic said he felt it also but could not say were it is coming from. Suggested drive the car, with the vibration, for another couple of thousand miles. Said if it is a rear end problem like others have had, it will develop noise somewhere around 5000 miles. At that time Lincoln will replace the rear end.
Any suggestions as to what is causing the vibrations?
Here's a link that describes this tool
http://www.craigautometrics.com/huntergsp9700.htm
In each of the last two sets of tires I've purchased, my Discount Tire store had to return 2 and 3 tires, respectively in order to get all four new tires to balance properly. These tires WOULD have balanced OK on the standard mounting/balancing equipment, but the Hunter 9700, by applying road force during the balancing operation, discovered tire irregularities . . . similar to what you would experience while driving.
It costs about $5.00 more per tire to have them balanced on the Hunter, but it's worth it to me.
When I arrived on 4/3, I was told that there is no fix for the seat problem. I had the tracks/rails replaced in November at the 5K service and the seat remained tight for about 30 days. I was now being told that all of the seats are loose if you have the seat close and perhaps I should try moving the seat back farther. To me this is really not an option because even if you can move the pedals you still need to reach the steering wheel!
They had the vehicle from 4/3 until 4/17 and they gave me their loaner Mercury Sable to drive.
The Sable?s accelerator pedal cable broke on my way to work 4/12, leaving me dead in a busy intersection. The Sable was towed to a Ford dealer about 30 miles away and I rented another car from Budget. Yesterday, I turned in the Budget car, got a ride to pick up the Sable, and drove the Sable 100 miles back to the Lincoln.
I missed my Aviator and was glad to be finally getting it back. The mechanic assured me that I would love my new quiet ride. I got in, started the engine and heard the grinding noise from the engine compartment. I went back into the dealership and spoke with the mechanic. He said that replacing the AC compressor usually gets rid of the noise and that it is just the reeds in the compressor making the noise. I said that I would not leave the Aviator now, but would bring it back another time. I drove off.
About a block from the dealership, these weird (new) noises started, the steering got stiff, the vehicle started pulling to one side, and the engine was sounding and behaving strangely. I was terrified! I turned on my flashers, bravely made a u-turn, and headed back to the dealership. I really did not think the vehicle would make it back, but it did.
The mechanic took it for a drive, then another mechanic joined him?The service rep. told me that the transfer case had IMPLODED and that the mechanic put the differential back together too tightly. They would have to keep the Aviator and order parts on Monday.
So I have this beautiful car that is totally trashed that I could never sell! Who is going to buy a car with loose seats, with an AC compressor that sounds like the engine is going to fall out, that has had the rear diff rebuilt, AND the transfer case rebuilt after a dealer-caused implosion! Any advice would be appreciated.
Bribery Too!
I also forgot to mention that the service rep said that he would top off my tank if I brought him the blank customer service survey from my November 5K visit!
The seat track, sorry to remind you, but I told you there is no fix for that. You get used to it, or at least I did, and don't even notice it anymore.
The transfer case problem, now that's a bummer. But you don't have much choice but to make them see it through a fix it. Unless you have a lemon law that will force them to take the truck back with multiple issues, instead of a repeated one issue, you're gonna have to see it through. You may end up hating the truck, but you sure can't sell it this way, right?
I'm so sorry all this has gone wrong with your Aviator. I am at a loss to understand why, (although you are kinda picky, seat track and all...) Clearly, the rear axle whine is not satisfactory. This is the kind of stuff that can sour one on a brand for life. I wish you well.
I hope that is true about the AC, but you can't blame me for not trusting anything the service rep or mechanic tells me at this point-the rep even told me that the tire pressure monitoring system works by compressing a post between the tire and the rim, the post being "molded" into the actual tire and the next set of tires had to be exactly the same.....not a sensor and transmitter built into the valve stem. If YOU say it's normal for the AC compressor-I believe YOU because even there is no face behind your posts, your information over the past year gives you credibility.
On the seat, I was thinking back to my first 97 Mountaineer. The seats in that car rocked upon acceration. It was a totally different thing than I think you're describing, which I'm also familiar with, but it bothered me lots. I even had the dealer (who was very accomodating) exchange a seat for a seat in another new Mountaineer, to see if it was better. It wasn't. I never liked that car, as a result, even though the darn thing was really bullet proof! That one design issue kept me from enjoying it.
The seat track slippage that makes it move slightly forward and back on the track is something I've experienced in lots of Fords, Town Cars, 02 Mountaineer, etc., but it just kind of has been pushed out of my mind as an issue. Hope you can do the same, because other than welding the seat in one position, I don't think they have a fix for you.
Your A/C should not do that if you use the car, and or the Climate Control every day. If it does, you have a different issue.
And hell yes, why should you believe the service advisor! Even mine, whom I have used for 10 years, lies to me once in a while. I just shake my head.....
Sounds like the right rear side. have had to dealer several times.they replaced the rear shocks, but no help yet.
any info would be appreciated.
This is the type of annoying problem that I usually insist the service manager goes for a ride with me. Once he agrees the noise exists, then I tell him to keep the car and drive it, give me a loaner, and don't call me until it's found and fixed. Sometimes, it's taken a month, but they eventually find and fix it.
As far as the heat ..I was told that the reason you get the cold air forced through is because they want to pump in fresh air as a safety issue. I forgot to ask if the heat is on the floor only position will cause me to suffocate. Some minor inconveniences. A telescpoing steering wheel would be nice as would a fore /aft adjustment on rear seats as well as heated rear seats.