Have no Idea what to do!

HyeLifeLS

HyeLifeLS

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I don't know about my Lincoln no more, it's been in the dealership last 10 days for the transmission shifting problems. Mine is 01, bought it with 35000miles in 03, now there are 94000 miles on it. Drove about a year with no problems, then when the warranty ended the transmission was leaking oil Went to the dealer, some seal broke, $730 to fix it. Next week took it for the reverse late/hard shift problem. Dealer said that it's the silenoid box, another $640. Drove for few months the brake light came on, but I disconected the wire from the brake cilinder and it went off, probably the sensor is bad. After few months airbag light is on and then the check engine light came on and the cruise control didn't work properly (I would push any botton and the speed would go up), drove for couple of months like that, transmission hard shifting again (reverse). I took it to the dealer again, fixed the airbag light and the cruise by changing the clockspring ($500), next week took it in again for the engine light, they changed the secondary air pump or something under the front bumper, and some other crap ($830). Transmission still shifts hard at this point, visited the dealer again. Now it's the valve body in the tranmission. Got the part in 5 days and it's a wrong part. Had to wait another 3 days, the correct part came, changed those parts, and suddenly the silenoid box that was replaced a year and 28000 miles ago with the apdated version is falty again, ordered that, the part gonna be here on monday. The dealer said the car gonna be ready on monday and it would cost me $1400 and they are not gonna charge me the most of the labor. I spent already $4100 fixing this damn car in 2 year period of time. So I guess when I get the car I am gonna drive it for another 10000 miles as the dealer gives 1 year/12000 miles warranty on their work and parts and get rid of it. I really like my car, the way it looks, handles and especially the color and don't wanna sell it, but what else can I do?

http://www.cardomain.com/ride/540597
 
My boss's daughter went through the tranny valve body thing in her '94 Mazda recently, with it shifting hard (slamming into 2nd gear from 1st). The Mazda dealership said that it was probably the valve body, but Mazda would no longer allow them to just replace the valve body (which was, IIRC, about a $500 job); they had to do a more extensive rebuild, which runs ~$2500.

This sounded fishy to me, so I sought advice from a transmission guy my dad knows who has ~40 years of experience. He said that it was probably true that Mazda was preventing the dealer from replacing the valve body: it probably is bad, but it's almost certainly masking other problems in the transmission. Replacing it would almost certainly cause something else in the transmission to fail (possibly even killing the new valve body), and she'd be back in there as an unhappy customer.

I wouldn't be surprised if this is what happened with your transmission; I'd find a highly-regarded local transmission shop and let them diagnose it. I can recommend one in central Oklahoma, but I don't know about where you are...

FWIW, his general advice on transmissions is to regularly maintain them if they've been regularly maintained; otherwise, let sleeping dogs lie.
 
the airbag light sometimes comes on because the wire under the seat for the side airbags disconnects since the seat is moving back and forth (easy entry). I'd say keep your LS since you've already spent money on most of its repairs and you're probably close the having a "trouble free LS" just like itsnotmydaddys (i think). I have a 02 v-6 with 73k and no major problems yet.
 
Oh yea one more thing the dealer always finds ways to squeeze the most $$$ from you. Thats why they call them "stealerships". If you suspect the dealer to be jipping you i'd suggest to try another dealer.
 
lexdiamondz10304 said:
the airbag light sometimes comes on because the wire under the seat for the side airbags disconnects since the seat is moving back and forth (easy entry). I'd say keep your LS since you've already spent money on most of its repairs and you're probably close the having a "trouble free LS" just like itsnotmydaddys (i think). I have a 02 v-6 with 73k and no major problems yet.
Click to expand...
Definitely keep it. Enhancing lex's statement, the conductor/pin sometimes comes out of the connector assembly, so it'll still look like it's connected when it's not making good contact. luckieleo posted on this topic a few months ago, so you might try searching for her post on the subject.
 
first of all i wouldnt be taking my care to a stealership in the first place, you can go to just as good mechanic shops and get the same parts same service for less $$$. i would also go to another shop to see if they agree. since so many things went wrong with it in a little time i would check out you state lemon laws, i know GA has one for faulty work and parts.
 
newnanls said:
first of all i wouldnt be taking my care to a stealership in the first place, you can go to just as good mechanic shops and get the same parts same service for less $$$. i would also go to another shop to see if they agree. since so many things went wrong with it in a little time i would check out you state lemon laws, i know GA has one for faulty work and parts.
Click to expand...
It's worth checking, but lemon laws generally only apply to new vehicle purchases.
 
HyeLifeLS said:
I don't know about my Lincoln no more, it's been in the dealership last 10 days for the transmission shifting problems. Mine is 01, bought it with 35000miles in 03, now there are 94000 miles on it. Drove about a year with no problems, then when the warranty ended the transmission was leaking oil Went to the dealer, some seal broke, $730 to fix it. Next week took it for the reverse late/hard shift problem. Dealer said that it's the silenoid box, another $640. Drove for few months the brake light came on, but I disconected the wire from the brake cilinder and it went off, probably the sensor is bad. After few months airbag light is on and then the check engine light came on and the cruise control didn't work properly (I would push any botton and the speed would go up), drove for couple of months like that, transmission hard shifting again (reverse). I took it to the dealer again, fixed the airbag light and the cruise by changing the clockspring ($500), next week took it in again for the engine light, they changed the secondary air pump or something under the front bumper, and some other crap ($830). Transmission still shifts hard at this point, visited the dealer again. Now it's the valve body in the tranmission. Got the part in 5 days and it's a wrong part. Had to wait another 3 days, the correct part came, changed those parts, and suddenly the silenoid box that was replaced a year and 28000 miles ago with the apdated version is falty again, ordered that, the part gonna be here on monday. The dealer said the car gonna be ready on monday and it would cost me $1400 and they are not gonna charge me the most of the labor. I spent already $4100 fixing this damn car in 2 year period of time. So I guess when I get the car I am gonna drive it for another 10000 miles as the dealer gives 1 year/12000 miles warranty on their work and parts and get rid of it. I really like my car, the way it looks, handles and especially the color and don't wanna sell it, but what else can I do?

http://www.cardomain.com/ride/540597
Click to expand...

You've driven the car nearly 60,000 miles at a pace of nearly 30,000 miles/year and you've spent $4100 and possibly an additional $1400.......that puts you at $5,500 for repairs on the car in two years. That doesn't sound too bad actually, considering once cars get into higher miles, things start to go bad. I would suggest keeping the car........there isn't that much that can go wrong if you've fixed all of this.

To put you in my shoes, I bought my LS with 101,000 miles on it in March and have about 109,000 miles on it now. So far I have had to replace both front ball joints ($800), stabilizer bar, stabilizer links, struts/shocks ($800), front pads and rotors ($200), thermostat, solenoid pack/valve body ($1400), headlights ($100), valve cover gaskets ($450), tires ($550) and hydraulic cooling fan pump ($300). That puts me at about $4500 in repairs (some of which were covered under the dealerships used car warranty and most covered out of my pocket.

Did I get a lemon? I would say not. I went into this car purchase well aware of the problems associated with the car and more specifically, with a higher mileage LS. I was more than ready when the repairs started coming in.....it has to be expected out of higher mileage cars that things will go wrong.

The other thing to consider is the hit you're going to take when you go to sell it. Its a higher mileage LS that has horrible resale.......I was offered $9,000 for my car at the local FLM dealership here in Iowa City, IA. The way I see it, I've got my car fixed to the point where not much else can go wrong. When I had the valve cover gaskets replaced, everything looked like new......in fact, a few mechanics were surprised the car had 100,000 miles on it (same goes for the transmission). I could have given up on my LS many times, but more often than not, when the car is running the way it is supposed to (like mine has been for the past 2 months), there isn't a more satisfying feeling than driving this fantastic car.........there isn't a car out there that I could buy that I could have the same feelings for (except for my 85 Mustang GT convertible which is my first baby.......its going to be getting a restoration after I get my LS paid off). Stick with it......once you get the bugs worked out, you wont be doubting yourself. Sorry for the long post......but, we all feel your pain with a car that isn't performing right.
 
HyeLifeLS said:
I really like my car, the way it looks, handles and especially the color and don't wanna sell it, but what else can I do?
Click to expand...

They are expensive to up-keep. The Ford techs will tell you that. The transmission in this car is whacky and most people don't know much about them. It seems that the selonoid pack was the common thing for them to do and it worked for a short time. It appears that the correct fix is to replace it and the valve body. It takes time to learn the fixes for these cars. You did put a lot of miles on the car, but I still consider the amount of money you spent to keep it going a lot. I have purchased many cars for $5000 that cost me nearly nothing to run a few years. It's all relative. You would be better off putting money into a retirement fund and getting a more reliable cheaper car, but then again, I am not following that advice! :)

They are really nice when they are working right though!
 
Thanks for the advices from everybody. I am gonna get the car tomorrow and I hope it will be good. And the other things that I hear that go wrong on the LS (ball joints, bearings, coils, gaskets, pumps...) makes me go nuts. Actually yea it's not that bad maybe for about 60000miles a $4000 fixing, but compared to my 99 Mercury Mystique LS which I have driven 107000miles since 02 it's terrible, I spend probably $1000 maximum on that car and still looks like new. Check it out and tell me what you think.

http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2072641

Thanks again for the advices.
 
Got my car back yesterday and the transmission shifts like a one in new benz.
 
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