Edmunds dealer partner, Bayway Leasing, is now offering transparent lease deals via these forums. Click here to see the latest vehicles!

Lincoln LS: rapid acceleration problems????

emontgomeryemontgomery Member Posts: 1
My mother owns a 2002+/- Lincoln ls v8 that has just about every option. She tells me that every once in a while the car will accelerate by itself and the only way she can stop it is to slam the car in park. I would say driver error but the same thing happened when my sister was driving the car. The dealer says they have never heard of such a thing and there is nothing they can do.

Has anyone ever heard of such a thing, offer an opinion as to what it might be or how to fix it. I NEED SOME HELP!!!

Comments

  • scootertrashscootertrash Member Posts: 698
    There's only one way the throttle can be opened.
  • leadfoot4leadfoot4 Member Posts: 593
    "Slamming it into park" certainly isn't the intelligent thing to do. A couple of those moves, and you'll destroy the transmission. A better thing to do would be shifting into neutral, turning off the ignition, or taking one's foot off the gas while applying the brakes.
  • ezaircon4jcezaircon4jc Member Posts: 793
    I have over 150K miles on 3 LSes (my present 2000 V6 has 126K miles, had a 2001 [bought used] putting on 30K miles and our present 2006 with 7K miles). I have never had an episode of unintended acceleration. The pedals are relatively close and if one's foot isn't completely off the gas pedal one could be pressing the brake and gas simultaneously. I have done that before.....
  • dtownfbdtownfb Member Posts: 2,918
    Just because it has never happened to others, doesn't mean the problem doesn't exist. Sicne there are no "reported" cases, I would look at the things that could possibly go wrong that could cause this problem. No being a mechanic, I would make sure I didn't accidently hit the acclerator instead of the brake. maske sure the carpet isn't interfering wiht the pedals (happened on my Explorer a few times). Check th eaccelerator pedal to make sure there isn't any build-up that may cause it to stick. Take a venture under the hood and clean the throttle body. Amazing how much gunk gets caught in there after a few years. visit the NHTSA website and see if there are any TSBs for this problem.

    Good luck
  • davesikedavesike Member Posts: 4
    I SELL LINCOLNS AND HAVE HEARD THIS PROBLEM BEFORE FROM CUSTOMERS..TRUST ME..ITS USER ERROR..IVE HAD CUSTOMERS DO IT RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME AND IT WAS BECAUSE THEY HAD THERE FOOT ON BRAKE AND GAS..IM ALSO THE OWNER OF 2 LINCOLN LS'AND THE ACCELERATION PROBLEM IS A HOW THE CAR WAS MANUFATURED..THEY ALL DO IT TO AN EXTENT..IT DOES KINDA OF JUST KICK RIGHT IN..BUT I STILL LOVE MY L.S.!
    2006 LINCOLN LS..LOADED..
  • davesikedavesike Member Posts: 4
  • djfromdcdjfromdc Member Posts: 2
    You may sell Lincolns but that doesn't mean you are an expert. This has happened to me. And it is not due to driver error. read on... I purchased a 2000 LS V8 in 1999. It has 130K on it and have had no problems with the exception of a Sticking Throttle. It has happened a few times. I have taken my foot off both accelerator and brake, tried slamming on the gas pedal and nothing works except pulling over, braking hard and turning off the engine. The tachometer read a constant 30K until I turned off the engine. Upon starting it up, it was back to normal.
  • heyjewelheyjewel Member Posts: 1,046
    Whoa! Tach read 30K? Man, isn't that over the red line?
  • ezaircon4jcezaircon4jc Member Posts: 793
    Cheap gas will gum up the throttle body and cause the butterfly to stick. That has happened to me with other cars, but never with my 135K mile 2000 V6 LS.
  • djfromdcdjfromdc Member Posts: 2
    OK so I had a typo....I meant 3K. I'm just a dumb blond.
  • snevets23snevets23 Member Posts: 18
    On 1/31/07 while slowly reversing up a sloped driveway, my 1992 Lexus 400SC suddenly accelerated rapidly and uncontrollably. It felt as if I was in a rocket ship! Although I slammed on the brakes, I could not stop in time to avoid a car parked in the driveway. Luckily, there were no injuries (grandson was in car). This is my first accident in 42 years. While I hear that some conclude that I mistook the accelerator for the brake, I KNOW that's not true. My foot was on the accelerator to begin with since I was slowing giving the car gas to climb the incline. Weather conditions were clear, no obstacles on the floor, and I was wearing normal shoes... no boots or heels. This accident was NOT my fault, but I don't know how to prove this since the problem is intermittent. I have filed an incident report with both the police department and NHTSA and have sent a certified letter to Lexus in CA. However, there is strength in numbers and need to hear from others who have experienced this frightening experience. If you research this further on the web, you will find that many drivers have experienced this throughout the years, not only with Lexus and Toyota, but with other manufacturers, as well. Some "experts" refer to the problem as a defective electronic throttle control system. However, I don't know what caused my particular problem. Unfortunately, car manufacturers are not upfront with this situation.
  • bclevelandbcleveland Member Posts: 1
    snevets23,
    I've just experienced a similar problem with my 1994 Lexus. Dropping off my child, I put the car in Park, only to have the engine start accelerating and decelerating repeatedly. On the drive home - fortunately in the neighborhood - the car accelerated by itself with me "riding the brake" to keep it slowed down, while at the same time the dash went completely dark - no lights, radio - the windows moving very slowly.
    At home when I turned the ignition on and off again, the lights worked though the ignition continued to race, then off and not on again. It was completely dead. Then a few minutes later it once again cranked.
    The next day I had my ex drive it to the shop, where we were told there was a severe electircal problem and in fact smoke coming from the dash during their diagnostic. we were advised to tow - not drive - it to the dealer an hour away.
    I've decided instead to junk the car. It was to go to my 17 year old daughter and I'm not taking any chances. I paid 4K for it 2 yrs ago and its just not worth an expensive timely repair - especially when I've read all over the net regarding similar problems - and as a single Mom I can't afford to be without a dependable car.
    This was a great car until this happened. had over 150K on it with no other problems while I owned it.
    Hope this helps.
  • snevets23snevets23 Member Posts: 18
    Dear "BCleveland",

    Thank you SO much for your input concerning your 1994 Lexus
    acceleration problem. Although this was a frightening and now costly experience for you, I'm glad to hear that no injuries or property damage occurred. I'm still on my own private "campaign" to find a resolution to my Lexus uncontrolled acceleration problem. The car came back from the body shop just last week (almost two months), but it "sits" in my driveway as I'm afraid to drive it again. At my request, The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration sent me copies of similar reports throughout the years of the same problem involving the Lexus SC 400 model.... imagine how many other reports there must be concerning OTHER Lexus models....and other car manufacturers, we well! Imagine also, how many people just NEVER TOOK THE TIME TO FILE A REPORT! At first, my calls and certified letter to the Lexus Corporation in California requesting a specialized diagnostic inspection resulted in a reply that they were sorry but "we must decline any assistance in this matter". However, more persistence has resulted in a scheduled inspection next week by the Lexus' traveling diagnostic technicians at my closest dealer. At this point, I'm grateful for this latest development and hope that this team will find and replace the problem part. I suspect a computer/electronic malfunction (throttle?); however, the problem is intermittent. However, I'm certain that no one from Lexus would want their wife or mom driving MY car after KNOWING its history and, hopefully, will be considerate of my well-being also. Before you junk your Lexus, perhaps, you should pursue this also although I realize that working, single moms don't have the luxury of extra time to devote to such time-consuming matters. Anyway, thank you again for sharing your experience on this website.
  • fbassifbassi Member Posts: 5
    this has just happend to me with a 2008 tacoma in a drive thru out of control with rubber burnibg tires and in the end i hit some one this is not human error because my foot was already on the brake at the time and stopped ready to place my order toyota said nothing showed on the computer i think i am in for a fight this tacoma has 1000 miles on it and i will not drive this auto would you not knowing when you will take off
  • vtjonesvtjones Member Posts: 1
    My 2000 Lincoln LS V8 is having what may be the same acceleration problem. It occurs intermittently and without warning. When it occurs, I can take my foot off the gas and it will accelerate on it's own and when I put in park or neutral, the RPM rises to 3K. It stops after it's been off for a little while.

    No one seems to know what the problem could be. My Lincoln dealer has attempted to repair it 3 times and another mechanic couldn't figure it out. The challenge is that they can't duplicate the behavior. The dealer was only able to do it once. My other mechanic suspects a computer may be causing it.

    They changed the air bypass valve and it stopped for a few weeks. Second, they changed the O2 sensor which had no affect. Lastly, they changed the same valve and it worked for a week or so.

    It's been doing this for months, but now it's causing the temperature gauge to red-line. (But, my mechanic told me that it wasn't over heating.)

    I like my car, but I don't know what to do about this problem.
  • akirbyakirby Member Posts: 8,062
    Did they check the accelerator cable or the throttle body? I can't think of a failure that would cause you to redline at 3000 RPM (the computer limits the revs in Park to 3000 to avoid damaging the tranny if you drop it into gear at high rpm) outside of the throttle cable or the throttle body itself (or possibly the cruise control).
  • fbassifbassi Member Posts: 5
    thanks for the info toyota is looking into the problem but when this happend the truck was in drive and i had my foot down on the brake as hard as possible and then i put the truck in park and shut it off but by then i hit the car in front of me but the truck tires were burning rubber and smoking any ideas would help thanks again
  • jcorwin1jcorwin1 Member Posts: 6
    I need some help with my 2000 LS V8 3.9L. I never had a big problem with my car yet luckly!(only thing was replacing the coils), until now. My car now has 95,000 miles on it and my engine is acting up. It has a rough idle and when accelerating it goes up and down while speeding up. I had a code of P0171 (bank 1). I found oil in my spark plug well driver side. I replace valve cover gasket and replaced all spark plugs and coils (No more leaks). Problem still occurs with the idle and hesitations on acceleration. I cleaned out my MAS and still has the same problem. I have a new EGR valve but did not replace it yet. If the new EGR valve doesnt work..then I am stumped on what it could be. Again this is the first real problem that I have faced with my LS so far. If there is anyone out there that might know what can be the problem I would greatly appreciate your feedback.
  • cdnpinheadcdnpinhead Member Posts: 5,498
    Two things:

    1) Your post appears to have nothing to do with rapid acceleration, which is the topic here.

    2) You've posted the same message 3-5 times on various Lincoln LS boards. Be advised than only a few people read anything that has to do with the LS, and we read everything that has to do with the LS. Reading & re-reading the same message is not a good thing. I think they call it cross-posting. It's discouraged.

    Welcome to acquiring an excellent car that is no longer supported by anyone or anything. There's a reason it was cheap when you bought it.
    '08 Acura TSX, '17 Subaru Forester
  • jcorwin1jcorwin1 Member Posts: 6
    Oh okay..thanks for the advice. Yeah this is my first time posting into forums for feedback. So i just figured more i post then better chance for more responses. but yeah i get what you are saying. The post for the rapid acceleration was just plan and dumb on my part for real, now that I think about it. My apologies to everyone! Thanks again!
  • snevets23snevets23 Member Posts: 18
    The following is an update to my original 2/3/07 post regarding my 1/31/07 accident involving uncontrolled rapid acceleration with my Lexus SC400. It's been over a year now and despite letters, calls, e-mails, and an inspection by an "expert" Lexus technician, the problem part(s) has never been located and, therefore, the cause remains unknown. The car remains in my driveway to date after 13 months, and no one in my family has driven it in fear of a recurrence. My husband had a similar incident with THIS car one month prior to my experience but, luckily, he was not involved in an accident. I won't trade it in for another Lexus because I won't give this manufacturer anymore new business. I hesitate selling it privately because of its past history. If I knew for certain which part was defective, I would gladly pay for its replacement so that I could have my beloved Lexus back and drive it once again without fear of accelerating uncontrollably--possibly causing another accident...or worse. Unfortunately, it is an intermittant problem making it difficult (if not impossible) to replicate the part's failure. For what it is worth, I filed a report with the National Highway Safety office but never heard from them again. From previous posts and surfing the web, I KNOW there are others who have experienced similar frightening episodes. With all of today's sophisticated technology, I find it difficult to understand why the cause of this problem cannot be solved. Thanks for listening to my tale of woe!
  • fbassifbassi Member Posts: 5
    as you know i had the same headache with toyota i have a friend who had a trouble with a lexus and call the dispute and settlement company on line and he got his money back this company service is free just go on line and get the numbersi think they go under the name NDSC but i am not sure do not give up toyota covers up until thousands of cars are involved but ny then it is to late for people like us good luck
  • diloadiloa Member Posts: 1
    I have a 2002 lincoln LS V6 my problem is when i Accelerate it seems like there is no power the car will shif fine but as if there is something stoping it from accelerating smooth i will pull over and trun the it off couple times and its smooth again so thats whats killing right now and all i been doing is spending money and taking it to diffrent mechanics every body at the local Lincoln dealership knows me now i spend about $3800 on trying to fix this problem and still dose that ive had the car for 3 years now and spend over $8000 on it and i am getting to realize buying this car was a big mistake and if anyone knows what it could be please let me know or other wise i will just sell it i am sick of it and its sad because i loved the LS when they first came out and still think it was best styling american car ever had oh well i guess i will just go and get a new toyota camry my old 1992 camry still runs like a dream even though i put 220,000 miles on it thats a car not LS
  • akirbyakirby Member Posts: 8,062
    I have no idea what you just said. Try using a period every now and then.
  • brucelincbrucelinc Member Posts: 815
    If I were you I would sell the LS and get a toyota but I am not you so I probably would not do that but if I had a 1992 Camry that ran like a dream I might just keep it and cut the top off the ls and plant flowers in it but that would be pretty silly so maybe you should have a heart to heart talk with the Lincoln dealer service manager and point out that they have not fixed the problem and dont they guarantee their work most dealers try to satisfy good customers and I find it incredible that anyone would spend $3800 chasing a problem that sounds simple enough for a good tech to diagnose
  • jeyhoejeyhoe Member Posts: 490
    Good answer :) .
  • akirbyakirby Member Posts: 8,062
    I have no idea what you just said. Try using a period every now and then.

    ;):blush:
  • jron1jron1 Member Posts: 2
    My wife pulled into a diagonal parking space and as she came to a stop, the car suddenly surged forward went over the curbing and the sidewalk and hit the wall of a commercial building. I have heard of these type acceleration problems with other makes. Any info on this car? It is a 2007 year model.
  • akirbyakirby Member Posts: 8,062
    Sorry, but all credible information related to unintended acceleration points to driver error - hitting the accelerator instead of or in addition to the brake pedal. If the driver's foot was really on the brake, then it should have stopped the car even if the throttle was wide open. Try it yourself - put the car in gear, hold the brake and nail the gas pedal - it won't move.

    Have the brakes checked, and also make sure the floor mat wasn't in the way. Otherwise it was simply driver error.
  • jron1jron1 Member Posts: 2
    This was a diagonal parking space on a one way narrow street. When she pulled into thespot and tires rested on the curb, she removed her foot from the brake. This is when the car accelerated quickly, jumped the curb and hit a building.

    As soon as the dealer body shop repairs the car, they are sending it to a Lincoln testing center to check this out.
  • brom4880brom4880 Member Posts: 1
    Hi! I'm not sure if this will be of value to anyone, but thought I would mention it on here. My son is a mechanic and he's really good at fixing electrical problems. He was working on someone's Lincoln LS that was having acceleration problems where it would rev and then just take off intermittently and no one had been able to find the problem after going to several mechanics. I don't know if this could be causing problems for other people (and in other types of cars), but my son said it was really hard to find. He discovered in the middle back of the engine a little toward the passenger seat due to the tie rod being on top that when you turn the wheel it would rub up against wires that were connected to the idle control sensor. He said this would only happen on cars with the tie rod on top. These wires were frayed and shorting and were thus falsely sensing the idle position to be open all the way so the car would take off. He just taped them and the problem stopped. Just wanted to post FYI in case this helps someone else. Hopefully I explained it so that someone can understand because I'm not a mechanic and this was my understanding of what he said. DJ
  • mymkzmymkz Member Posts: 3
    I have a 2010 Lincoln MKZ and I had problems with accelereation....not having
    any power. The Ford Dealer replaced the throttle body and a month later my
    car had an untintentional acceleration problem. I was parking and my car surged into a building when putting on the brake. I was already slowing the car down as you do when you park and it accelerated into the building causing excessive damage to the front of my car. Luckily there were no people sitting on the bench in front of the building where my car crashed. I haven't had the car all that long and traded my old car in only because it had higher miles and wasn't comfortable taveling alone in it. Wow, I don't know what to say. I guess it doesn't matter how new or how many miles you might have on a car regarding the safety of it. I hope Ford will stand behind their product.
  • akirbyakirby Member Posts: 8,062
    Sorry to say that you most likely hit the accelerator instead of the brake, even though you may think you are 100% sure that you didn't.
  • mymkzmymkz Member Posts: 3
    What kind of research or expertise do you have to come to that conclusion? Maybe you would take a look at www.engineeringexchange.com regarding Unintended Acceleration. Electronic control units or sensors can cause this problem. Hope this never happens to you, it is very frightening.
  • akirbyakirby Member Posts: 8,062
    I understand you can get unintended acceleration without pressing the accelerator. However, if your foot was actually pressing the brake at the same time then the car would not move.

    What you're saying is there was an electronic glitch at the exact same time that you pressed the brake pedal AND the brakes did not stop the car. Way too much coincidence. Pedal misapplication happens all the time and is the far more probable explanation.

    Perhaps you're too young to remember Audi in the 1980s?
  • mymkzmymkz Member Posts: 3
    What did you ever find out on your MKZ? How long did it take Lincoln/Ford to figure out the problem?
  • cree556cree556 Member Posts: 1
    This forum has many that have posted regarding Lincoln LS and the acceleration problem.....THIS IS A VALID PROBLEM. This is not something that an individual places foot on the brake and accelerator at the same time.
    I own a 2002 Lincoln LS, have for the duration of this vehicle been the main driver. I have in the last couple years had this same problem, I have taken it to mechanics with the response "bring it in when it is doing it", I've shown up with it happening, and they can't find a problem. It is not a steady problem, can do it regularly for weeks and then seems to go away and next thing you know it's back. My son is now driving the car. He has the problem on and off, no warning and it kicks in accelerates and LITERALLY GOES ON ITS OWN. We have found if you place the car in neutral, press the accelerator and accelerate driving up the RPMs and then place foot on the brake and return to drive, for some reason it stops. This seems to work best when it happens, however, it does not make the problem go away just a temporary fix. It is very frightening and the first time someone new has it happen, they are shocked at how the car really just wants to surge on its own without touching the gas pedal.
    My father, uncles, son, mechanics have all now seen this happen and cannot determine what is the cause (after many replacement parts and charges for diagnostic tests). Thank you to the individual that mentioned the wires and the wires that are connected to the idle control sensor, I will have someone look into this on the car and maybe, just maybe we have found the problem. Thanks again, I hope this helps others out there. We also have enjoyed our Lincoln LS until this happened. Also, if you have the vehicle run rough and miss, we have replaced all the coil packs on this car and some multiple times...it is also a problem with the Lincoln LS, be prepared they all go eventually on this car and seem to be a problem.
  • LincolnFan1LincolnFan1 Member Posts: 3
    I have a 04 LS V8 with a similar issue. I thought it might be hitting the gas and brake at the same time but it has happened to others besides me with this same vehicle. Occasionally when shifting into gear after starting the car it will take off like a rocket. It does the same thing sometimes at highway speeds. The vehicle had about 120k miles. After a few times of this happening while driving up the highway the transmission split apart dumping all the fluids. I had a mechanic friend (transmission rebuilding trained) replace the transmission with a used one with on 50k miles. It ran ok for a bout a year then it has started doing the same thing. This issue makes this vehicle extremely dangerous. A different shop that we took it too said that its the transmission and that has to be replaced again. Any ideas.
Sign In or Register to comment.