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Comments
Above all, stay politely persistent. If you escalate this to anger (which I wouldn't blame you for), the dealer staff will shut down on you - as they get yelled at every day and just naturally defend against that. If you are nice, but persistent, they'll usually come around that you deserve special attention. It's too bad this is how you have to deal with it, but they're people too, and I've found this approach works best. Funny too, how a $20 bill slipped to the service advisor/manager will get you a ton of attention on your vehicle.
Yes that's right. I have had my Aviator in for transmission service 6 times within a year and a half. I now have over 40k miles on it and the problem still hasn't been resolved. My vehicle has been out of service for a total of 86 days since I purchased this vehicle. 59 days for the transmission problem.
My transmission slips when the car is hot and primarily in stop and go situations. I also encounter slipping/engagement problems when switching from reverse to drive also when the vehicle has been running. This problem is not continual but intermittent and through all the times in service they have replaced the following: The solenoid body, pump bolts, pan gasket, stand pipe and o-rings. Still slipping. One time the service department wasn't able to duplicate the problem and one time their notes state that they were able to duplicate the problem but it only happened for 10 seconds. I don't care if it happens for 1 second fix it. I am to the point that I want out of the vehicle. The bad part is that if they would have replaced the transmission after the second or third visit I would have been satisfied that they were committed to their product and their customers but I am not the least bit satisfied.
Does anyone have experience in dealing with the dispute settlement board and what was the outcome of your particular situation.
Thanks,
As for the seats - they all do it. I had a 97 explorer that did it. Not sure why they haven't fixed it yet. I guess I'm used to it. I only notice it on quick stops and even then it doesn't bother me. Maybe I'm used to it. You could try adjusting the seat - that may make it less noticeable.
We bought a silver one and my wife demanded the grey interior as she didn't like the tan. It's holding up fine.
I think there are plenty of aftermarket coolers available if the lines are already there going to the radiator.
They are taking back my Aviator and refunding my downpayment, trade in allowance and the total of payments made by me to my financial institution. Of course they are calculating mileage use of the vehicle as follows. purchase price of vehicle multiplied by 15531 ( mileage at first repair attempt) divided by 100,000. that works out to I think about 6600.00 or so. I will be getting a fair chunk of dough back. Too bad they are not going to compensate me for my valuable time and the garage floor damage from the leaking transmission.
Have any of you equipped you Aviator with the standard (non option) radio with an XM satellite radio. If so how was the connection made, via RF?
Thanks,
Dennis
The point was not 87 but 89 octane. Very few gas stations around here offer 91 octane fuel, they offer 87, 89 and 93. I have been using 93 octane, but the cost is starting to make me notice and the extra octane and $$ are just going out the tail pipe. I was hoping for a more technical answer. Do the 2 octane points really make a difference? I would expect the computer and anti-knock sensors to deal with this, but I am not powerplant engineer.
Will the PCM compensate for the lower octane? Yes. You may not notice the power loss but your fuel mileage may also drop causing you to use more fuel which would negate at least part if not all of the $2 you just saved. In fact, it could actually be more expensive to run 89 if your mileage drops by just 10%.
I say penny wise, pound foolish.
Well, you might have mentioned that, and I wouldn't have though you were being cheap, I would have understood your point with more clarity. Otherwise, what was I to think?
I agree with akirby, and I think I essentially said the same.
Will the extra 2 octane points in the 93 get you anything? Maybe. The PCM may advance the timing a little and give you a little more power, or a little more mileage out of it. You may not be wasting as much money as you think. Here's what you should do, in my opinion.
Run 500 miles on the 89 Octane exclusively and check the computer for the mileage, recording the readout after each fillup. Then do the same on the 93. IF there's a noticeable difference, you'll have data with which to decide what to do, and if you'll save any money doing it. In the meantime, for the duration of the test, you'll average the price of 91 octane.
Thank you for your advice and you make a good point. I had considered that there might be a performance degradation by using the 89 octane fuel, but I had not tried it yet. On my last vehicle the dealer said the higher octane was a waste of money since as you pointed out the engine is optimized for 91 octane.
Good idea for the test, I just did not want to put a tank of 89 in it and listen to it rattle, but I might try it since you did not see a big problem with the accidental 87 fill up.
When the 93 octane fuel hit $2.11 here, I took notice. The real issue is I tend to drive the Aviator a lot, much nicer ride than our Volvo or my past vehicles, so the combination of slightly worse mileage (than my last car) and high fuel cost really became apparent when the bill arrived.
Thanks again.
Dennis
The point is you're trying to save $2/week here. You could save 3 times that much just by eating a bologna sandwich for lunch one day instead of eating out. Or you could save that much by cutting out two sodas per week. Or drinking tap water instead of bottled water. etc. etc. etc.
My "parting gift" is that I get to purchase a new vehicle before he leaves to replace my Ford Explorer. It was an older model that accelerated on its own, going up to 100 mph before I panicked, hit the brakes, & caused it to flip over 7 or 8 times.
I mention these two things because A:) I dont TRUST vehicles as I did before and want something I can feel safe in and B:)I dont have that "Manly advice" you can get from your husband about which vehicle to pick-LOL.
I've picked through many old threads here as fast as my VERY OLD COMPUTER & MODEM will allow but cant seem to find a "great" reason to pick the Aviator or Navigator over each other??
I see "whining noise" mentioned on the Aviator, not enough "Power" on the Navigator.....
It would be nice to have a quiet vehicle. I am very short, myself, only have two kids, and now, no husband, so I dont NEED the larger Navigator....
If my finances will allow either a 2004 Aviator or a 2003-2004 Navigator is there any definitive reason to favor one over another?
Are there many features that are not in the Aviator that make the Navigator more "worthwhile?"
I obviously would love the Roll Stability feature because I have no desire to watch the world go upside down again but it seems that feature is hard to find?
Lastly, and this question may yell out "Car Ignorance" but why is it that the MSRP for the 2005 Aviators is not much more than the 2004?
Thank you in advance for your help. I hope someone can post just the right remark to help me make a decision one way or the other. I just know they are both GORGEOUS on the inside and if I need to replace my car I want to be looking at that Gorgeous polished Nickel!!!
Barbara
Automatic wipers
Electrically adjustable seat backs and steering wheel
The Navigator also gives you retractable running boards (or they used to) which is either a positive or a negative depending on your point of view. It also has a power rear liftgate and third row folding seat which is nice but it's also one more thing to go wrong (and some have).
I like the smaller size of the Aviator and the 2nd row bench seats. It has plenty of power (as does the Navigator - not sure where you heard that comment) and rides great.
You can't go wrong with either one, so just drive them, make note of the differences above and just see which one you like better.
Mike.
See, that way there's the feeling of having "beat" the system.
Luck
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