i know this is long but any info would help.so heres the deal. My 04 LS had a problem with the engine. A while ago a few of the coils were changed and it fixed the problem. We took it to the dealership because we thought it was something else since the failsafe kept coming on but it was only the coils. They wanted to charge us 1200 to change all the coils but we didnt do it with them. My dad found that only four of them weren't working properly. So the car worked fine for about 2 month and then the failsafe came on again so we thought it was the coils again. My dad checked the car and he found that it wasn't the coils. The current isn't reaching the coil to throw the spark. He was messing around with it and he disconnected 2 coils and the spark appeared again.But when he reconnected them back it started missing the spark again.So we took it to the dealership again since he couldn't figure it out himself. All the dealership said was that it was the other 4 coils and they needed to be changed. we thought it wasn't it.it didnt make sense but we did it anyways and changed the coils but nothing happened so we took it again. the mechanic there didnt even know that to check, he didnt know that the current wasn't reaching the coils. He just said it was the CPU but he couldn't guarantee it. Just like they made us waste money to change to coils when it wasn't that. The CPU is 900 dollars and we didnt want to buy it to find out its something else. Any info would help, thanks.
engine problems, need help, long thread but any info appreciated
- Thread starter Alax7
- Start date
exceptionaLS
Dedicated LVC Member
What type of gas are you using? Make sure you are putting 92 octane and up (or 93). The car will missfire on poor gasoline. Is your Check engine light on?
yeah the check engine is on.Well the highest here rate 91 and I've always use that. Why does the miss fire stop when two coils are disconnected though. Oh and I also forgot to mention that when i start the car it runs fine for about 5 to 7 seconds and then it begins the missfire.
joegr
Dedicated LVC Member
If the coils misfired for long enough and in the right way, the engine computer could be damaged.
I would try for an agreement (in writing) that replacing the PCM will resolve your engine problems or any more work required to fix the problem will be at their expense.
BTW, has anyone checked the PCV hose to see if it is the problem?
I would try for an agreement (in writing) that replacing the PCM will resolve your engine problems or any more work required to fix the problem will be at their expense.
BTW, has anyone checked the PCV hose to see if it is the problem?
exceptionaLS
Dedicated LVC Member
passing on some friendly advice.... drive the car to autozone (even if its misfiring), ask them to plug in their code reader device and get the engine codes write down the codes and post them up here. Thats the best start I think. Just make sure you post the codes up here.
I think you need a second opinion. Sounds like the dealership you are working with is just lazy and not willing to investigate the problem suitably.
I'd take it somewhere else to be honest. Also, the coils have a warranty. Its called program "M707" search for that on here. They can't charge you anything becuase it is a known issue. Covered for 100K miles or 10 years. Another common problem for the Fail Safe Mode to always come on is the Throttle Body. Mine went into Fail Safe a lot when I bought it, the coils and throttle body were replaced and I have never experienced a problem again.
I'd take it somewhere else to be honest. Also, the coils have a warranty. Its called program "M707" search for that on here. They can't charge you anything becuase it is a known issue. Covered for 100K miles or 10 years. Another common problem for the Fail Safe Mode to always come on is the Throttle Body. Mine went into Fail Safe a lot when I bought it, the coils and throttle body were replaced and I have never experienced a problem again.
i bought the car with 99000 miles and by the time the coils started to fail it had passed the 100 mark by 2000. I will try the autozone. but the codes might be wrong because after we changed all the coils we took it back to the dealership and the mechanic said that it was still marking as 4 coils not working but they are all new now so i dont know if it is cause the computer is damaged and its giving wroing codes. This isn't the dealership where I bought the car by the way, its the ford dealership since its their car, i just find it odd how its their car but they dont know whats wrong with it and will guess at the problem while its coming out of my pocket.
joegr
Dedicated LVC Member
I was thinking it was a V6 for some reason, but I see it is a V8. Forget the earlier comment about the PCV hose.
I feel your pain, I'm going through the same problem right now with my dad's 2004 LS V8.
His did the whole missing/fail safe mode thing back in December. They replaced the #5 and #8 coils AND the throttle body ($900!!). It worked for awhile (less than 100 miles) and then starting running in fail safe mode again. He took it back to the dealership and they said the BRAND NEW throttle body needed replacing again, so they did it free (under warranty). Car ran fine for maybe 10 miles and went into fail safe mode!
The dang car has been at the dealership for a month now! I did some research and went in to talk to the dealership in his behalf. I told them to try to swap the #5 and #4 coils and they agreed to give him a rental car (he did not buy the car from them and it's not warranty work). They also covered the cost of the coils through the m707 program which I found here - thanks!
The car ran for longer this time, but ultimately went to fail safe mode again. The techs have NO IDEA what's going on, and at this point their only suggestion is to replace the ECU for ANOTHER $900 + labor.
This seems to be a common enough problem that someone might have heard of a solution?
His did the whole missing/fail safe mode thing back in December. They replaced the #5 and #8 coils AND the throttle body ($900!!). It worked for awhile (less than 100 miles) and then starting running in fail safe mode again. He took it back to the dealership and they said the BRAND NEW throttle body needed replacing again, so they did it free (under warranty). Car ran fine for maybe 10 miles and went into fail safe mode!
The dang car has been at the dealership for a month now! I did some research and went in to talk to the dealership in his behalf. I told them to try to swap the #5 and #4 coils and they agreed to give him a rental car (he did not buy the car from them and it's not warranty work). They also covered the cost of the coils through the m707 program which I found here - thanks!
The car ran for longer this time, but ultimately went to fail safe mode again. The techs have NO IDEA what's going on, and at this point their only suggestion is to replace the ECU for ANOTHER $900 + labor.
This seems to be a common enough problem that someone might have heard of a solution?
I feel your pain, I'm going through the same problem right now with my dad's 2004 LS V8.
His did the whole missing/fail safe mode thing back in December. They replaced the #5 and #8 coils AND the throttle body ($900!!). It worked for awhile (less than 100 miles) and then starting running in fail safe mode again. He took it back to the dealership and they said the BRAND NEW throttle body needed replacing again, so they did it free (under warranty). Car ran fine for maybe 10 miles and went into fail safe mode!
The dang car has been at the dealership for a month now! I did some research and went in to talk to the dealership in his behalf. I told them to try to swap the #5 and #4 coils and they agreed to give him a rental car (he did not buy the car from them and it's not warranty work). They also covered the cost of the coils through the m707 program which I found here - thanks!
The car ran for longer this time, but ultimately went to fail safe mode again. The techs have NO IDEA what's going on, and at this point their only suggestion is to replace the ECU for ANOTHER $900 + labor.
This seems to be a common enough problem that someone might have heard of a solution?
His did the whole missing/fail safe mode thing back in December. They replaced the #5 and #8 coils AND the throttle body ($900!!). It worked for awhile (less than 100 miles) and then starting running in fail safe mode again. He took it back to the dealership and they said the BRAND NEW throttle body needed replacing again, so they did it free (under warranty). Car ran fine for maybe 10 miles and went into fail safe mode!
The dang car has been at the dealership for a month now! I did some research and went in to talk to the dealership in his behalf. I told them to try to swap the #5 and #4 coils and they agreed to give him a rental car (he did not buy the car from them and it's not warranty work). They also covered the cost of the coils through the m707 program which I found here - thanks!
The car ran for longer this time, but ultimately went to fail safe mode again. The techs have NO IDEA what's going on, and at this point their only suggestion is to replace the ECU for ANOTHER $900 + labor.
This seems to be a common enough problem that someone might have heard of a solution?
well the reason my car went into the failsafe mode had something to do with the coil that was farthest back on the passenger side. Someone told me that it was interfering with the computer and causing a false failsafe we switch that coil with the one farthest to the front on the driver side and it stopped going into failsafe mode. The dealership told me that the coils on the 04 were defective thats why there was a recall on them or something like that aand they extended the warranty. Do you know how to check if a coil is working?
97stscaddy
Dedicated LVC Member
I think you need the dealer to program it to the car for everything to work properly.
You still didn't post any of the DTC codes for why the CEL is on in the first place. Even if they're old codes, they can still help piece together what is actually going on.
You still didn't post any of the DTC codes for why the CEL is on in the first place. Even if they're old codes, they can still help piece together what is actually going on.
cableguynoe
Well-Known LVC Member
They no longer do this
cableguynoe
Well-Known LVC Member
i take that back... might just be in California where they are not allowed to read codes anymore. Must be a certified mechanic.
the guy at autozone here got all pissy when I asked him to pull the codes... he looked under the dash for like 3 seconds and was like Oh..I can't find the place to plug in the scanner. Then he asked me if I knew where it was, I'm like no and then he walked back inside.
Wow, what a D!CK HEAD. At my Autozone they guy couldn't find it right away so he had his head way down by the pedals and found it! Pulled all of the codes, explained them, and then made me a print out! Call corporate and find a new Autozone person!
well I'm frustrated now. The dealer gave us the computer number so we ordered it and when we took it off turns out it was different. Dont know it if it has much to do with it or not but the car wouldn't start with the new one so we put the original one back on and it wouldn't start either. The one we oredered had everything the same except the last part was BUB and the cars was BUA... does anybody know if its make a difference? and also if there is no reprograming or anything else involved when changing it out? some mechanic told us that all you do was plug it in it would be good to go, can anyone verify that?
oh and about the codes, my dad mis places them so i have to look for them tomorrow. i doubt it'll help since the codes kept reading bad coils when they were new, guess thas why the guy said it was the computer that wasn't working
PetesSweets86
Dedicated LVC Member
I had the #5 and 8 coils go out on me in a roadtrip to neighboring state and it cost me 350bucks for the repair and then guess what happened only a few weeks later?...the whole :q:q:q:qing engine had to be replaced thanks to those damn coils.......shoulda took that issue to the Ford dealer I had to go to in the next state...woulda :q:q:q:qed em up with a lawyer....
The whole coil system in these cars are the worst. Mine has had 17 different coils and yet i can still detect another slight misfire building up. The codes seem to be all over the place in regards to the coils. I too had the throttle body replaced under warranty because thats what code was thrown. I didnt get but a few miles away from the dealer after that when it went back into failsafe. The only sure way to test the coils is for the dealer to perform a stress test on them, and that costs $$.
exceptionaLS
Dedicated LVC Member
maybe there is a big conspiricy theory on why these cars misfire so much.... i bet if we really thought about it we could figure it out....this stuff doesn't hapen on any other people's cars like it happens on ours