23rd Jul 2008, 00:02

This may be lengthily so bear with me. I just think that this story needs to be told because I feel that my 01 LS is probably the most expensive piece of S*!@T out there.

We bought it in Dec. '05, because my husband loved his town car. His Town car lasted to 200k before we got rid of it (Tranny and other things-too many miles to fix.)

So we took out a loan and as of today owe 8k and have 2 1/2 years left to pay.

We have had the typical problems, bearings twice, windows (regulators replace 4 times in 2 years-Driver twice, Passenger Once, rear driver's side once), All the lug-nuts when I had my tires replaced, because of their chrome plating they were rusted on and had to be cut off (at $4 a piece).

It KILLS me that everything has to be dealer parts-right down to the little lug-nuts! You can't put aftermarket parts on this car- so don't even try because there is none made for the LS.

The next thing, I am going to tell you will make every LS owner cringe and be sick to their stomachs for a week!

My car broke down on Sunday. The engine was making a rattling noise and the car just died.

I had to get it towed to a repair shop.

After they looked at it, their diagnosis is 2 of the timing chains in the engine are broken!

There is not much you can do to avoid this (i.e. driving habits, car care and maintenance) it is just one of those things that can happen.

If this happens to you, I pray to god that your loan is paid off so that you can just junk your car. I, unfortunately don't have the option of junking this money pit!

Here are our options to fix the car.

1. 2 timing chains+labor= $3k. Also, they are not for sure, but they think that the valves are probably bent, but will not know till they get into the engine and replace chains, so:

$3K for the chains, plus another at least $2k to replace valves.

2. They found 1 used engine in the nation, 105k miles or so.

Installation + Labor = $4,300+ 2 year 20k mile warranty @$300=$4600. I am not a big fan of this option, because they are just putting a used engine in. We have over 2 years left on our car loan, plus we have to take another loan out to pay it off, who knows how long this engine will last.

I don't want another engine to go out before I have one or both paid off.

3. If you aren't sitting down, you might want to do so now.

A Brand New Engine with 3 year 100k mile warranty included in the price.

Engine+labor= $7050.

So now, I am sitting here with a car I owe $8k on. I have to put $7k into it just so it lasts long enough for me to pay off the repairs and the remainder of my car loan.

I have never felt so sick to my stomach =(

So, if you have an LS or are thinking about buying an LS, heed my warning. Be prepared for the unimaginable!

2nd Aug 2008, 16:05

I just bought a 2000 LS V8 with 112,000. At the dealership everything seemed fine. Except for a couple exterior dings and the AC needing a recharge.

I drove 400 miles to get the car and on the way home the cruise control stopped working and the airbag light came on?!?! If any knows the fix to this please post it.

So 2 days after buying the car, I took it to get the AC recharged and they tell me the compressor is bad and at $800 for the new compressor I'm pretty mad the car dealer lied.

Then my passenger window regulator went out. $92 lifetime warranty easy DIY fix if you can get the four locking nuts off behind the door handle.

This is all within 3 days of buying the car!!!

I also noticed a weird noise coming from the engine... kind of a hard noise to explain but its like a washer machine that is grinding, its not very loud...yet!!..coming from the intake.. I hope... if any knows about this noise please help!!

An130@lab.icc.edu shoot out an email if you have answers.

15th Sep 2008, 21:06

I have a 2002 Lincoln LS V8. I like this car. No problems at all, except one.

The battery died, there is no electrical power in my car at all. Everything is unlocked, except the trunk. I need to get into the trunk to charge the battery, yet on this particular car, there is no keyhole nor a latch to open it, so I'm stuck with a nice looking car that I cannot drive.

There is no way to open the trunk from the cab, at least not that I'm aware of. Does anyone have any tips?

17th Oct 2008, 09:00

I own a Lincoln LS, 2002 V8. I bought the car in 04 with about 30,000 miles on it. It now has well over 160,000 miles.

I replaced coils about every six months because oil seeps into the spark chambers due to faulty gaskets. That's the burning smell some of you have experienced. Also smoke may be seen coming from the back of the engine compartment, and may even blow through your cabin vents.

Of course the air bags and horn don't work, this is because of a faulty clock spring inside of the steering wheel. A 400 dollar fix if you go to Ford.

Cruise control, auto driver seat setting, and rear window do not work, and just the other day my climate control system only works in the default mode. This is the highest setting for your fan. By law you have to have defoggers. I suspect that's the only reason I have heat.

Most of these problems started well before I reached 100,00 miles. You wonder why so many people buy foreign products. This is the slowest V8 in the world LOL. I've got V6's crushing me.

The Ford Motor Company deserves to be in the red. I will never buy a Ford product again as long as I live.

S. Hudson

Baltimore, MD

dreadedimage@yahoo.com

8th Dec 2008, 10:48

I wound up buying a used 2000 Lincoln LS V8 purely by accident. I needed a new car & wanted something cheap ~ 250/month. The dealer showed me a few cars in that price range, and then showed me this Lincoln. The monthly payments were closer to $425/month but I fell in love with it and bought it.

Not long after, the check engine light came on. When taking it back to the dealer, it was a bad coil ($400). Since then I have had nothing but expensive major problems with this car! In order to get requirement emissions testing done in Illinois, the check engine light cannot be on. My engine light is perpetually on!!! Each year before emissions, I have to spend a ton of money hoping the light will stay off long enough to get the test done & it comes back within a week.

Problems I've had:

- At least 6 bad coils ($300-400 each)

- Multiple replacement of rear tail lights/brake lights

- Condensation in headlights (least of my worries)

- (2) catalytic convert-or sensors (VERY EXPENSIVE)

- Other sensors that I cannot remember

- Center console has fallen apart at the hinges

- (2) window motors and regulators (driver front, passenger rear)

- Passenger front window won't close all the way (about 1/4" open)

- Heater coil/thermostat replacement... but the car will still give me an overheating message if the defroster is not set to at least medium fan with heat, within seconds of turning the car on

- A water sloshing noise in the driver's door

- Front passenger side of the grill fell off

- Smell of burning oil, due to needing to replace valve cover gaskets (another $500)

- Corrosion in the rear passenger wheel, possibly related too bad wheel bearings (the latest visit to the shop 2 days ago) No clue how much this will cost. At least $180 for the new tire.

- The tires on this car are very expensive with not many choices. Recently replaced one flat tire ($180)

I am probably forgetting some things, as the repairs on this car have been NON STOP since I got it. It's so bad that I can barely make enough payments on it and am constantly worrying about not having it repossessed.

I often dream of watching this car burn! I HATE IT!!! Don't ever buy this car!!!