fordtech1

Lincoln could use a coupe. Something Ford does not sell. How else can you make Lincoln stand out from its cheaper siblings than to make it unique? Every other Luxury manufacturer has a coupe now and most a convertible. I am by no means a GM fan, but the New CTS coupe is a cool car. How else can Lincoln seperate itself from Ford than to have something totaly different?

BTW before any says anything..... :shades: I know the Cadillac XLR was a hardtop convertible and it flopped. I don't want Ford to produce a $77k+ convertible. Like twintornados posted, a MKZ will be fine. Something inline with Infiniti 40k ish.

I understand that the current Mustang can not use a hardtop. I guess my point was that, when looking at convertibles, Ford only has the mustang. IMO the mustangs current convertible top is unfinished. It sticks up too high over back seat when open and looks cheap. Not to mention, no roll over protection. They only vehicle that I have seen recently that the convertible looked more cheapend was the Sebring cloth top. Man is that thing rough looking. However, it did have an automatic boot cover. A GT Mustang convertible will give you sticker shock. At least the ones I have seen, because they are always loaded up. A $45k Gt convertible isn't hard to find, but a cheap one is. I just think since Lexus, BMW, Mercedes, Chrysler, Infiniti, VW, Volvo. Have a hard top convertible. Why shouldn't Ford or better yet Lincoln? I understand that a Focus convertible is not going to be cost effective to make, and would not expect such. Lincoln has a long way to go before any low volume coupe or halo car is produced, but I still think a Lincoln could benefit from a convertible similar to the C70. Ofcourse, currently all Lincolns cars are low volume. BTW when you say coach work, that makes me think of conversion vans or the old days where Mustangs and Eldorados were shipped as coupes to ASC and chopped up and turned into convertibles.

I know Ford has a lot more important products to develop than a low volume convertible. However, has anyone heard about a hard top convertible for either Ford or Lincoln? I had been looking for a convertible as a play around car. I obviously wanted a Ford so I looked at Mustangs, but I really don't care for the pre-2010 mustang interior. Plus used 2005-09 GTs are still hefty on price, even with high mileage. Also, the Mustang's top, to me, doesn't look like it folds deep enough in the boot area and the clip on boot cover looks cheezy, plus the back seat is completely useless. At any rate, convertibles that I liked were few and far between. Well, at least the ones in the price range I wantedfor a used car. I ended up stumbling upon a good deal on a 2007 Volvo C70 with all the goodies. The car is nice, but the top is what sold me on it. What a cool thing to watch. With the top up it's like riding in a regular coupe. The back seat is actually useful and the Dynaudio 900w stereo is pretty cool. The Nav system is definately old school. So after owning it for a month, I can't help but think Ford should have come out with something like this or make the mustang a hard top convertible. I saw the Mark X concept car, which was a T-bird with a retractable hard top. BTW I have found several Ford parts on this car. I know the C70 isn't a big volume seller, but some of that is due to lack of marketing. Almost everyone who has seen it ask about it. If Ford or lincoln had something similar, I would generate my Pin number and sign up. It's like owning a convertible, without the convertible woes. I guess thats until the top malfunctions :shades:

I normaly pull the fuse or unplug the module myself. However, the fuse panel in a MKZ is not in the easiest place to get to. Almost every customer that calls over the phone prefers to disconnect the battery instead of crawling under the dash.

A master reset shouldn't affect anything but your phone settings and put the Sync module back to factory default. Its basicaly a reboot. Let us know how it works out.

Actually, the 2011 F350 with PATS has a unlimited key mode that can be enabled. Tell your dealer to check into it. Its in the WSM. Enabling Unlimited Key Mode The customer must choose an 8-digit number (except for 00000000, 00000001, or FFFFFFFF) to be programmed to all of their vehicles or, to all of the keys for one vehicle. Valid digits are 0-9 and the letters A-F. From the scan tool, enter TOOLBOX. Select BODY — SECURITY — PATS Functions and follow the Integrated Diagnostic System (IDS) on-screen instructions to ENTER SECURITY ACCESS. Once in security access, select "unlimited key mode ON" and follow the IDS on-screen instructions. Select "program unlimited key code" and follow the IDS on-screen instructions. Enter the 8-digit code chosen by the customer in Step 1 of this procedure and follow the IDS on-screen instructions. Select "Ignition Key Code Erase" and follow the IDS on-screen instructions. Turn the key to the OFF position and disconnect the scan tool (the key does not need to be removed from the ignition at this time). Turn the first PATS key to the RUN position for a minimum of 6 seconds. Turn the first PATS key to the OFF position and remove the key from the ignition. Insert the second PATS key into the ignition and turn the key to the RUN position for a minimum of 6 seconds. The engine should now start with both PATS keys. Ford used a "fleet" key in the past. All the chips in the keys were identical. Thay way you could have unlimited keys of the same chip.

Here is what I do, and it seems to fix 95% of issues with bluetooth paring problems. Under the system menu on mytouch, is a master reset. Perform master reset. Then delete SYNC from your phone. Then remove the battery from your phone and reinstall. Then perform a clean pair. That has worked a bunch for me. I just had a black berry that was doing similar things after I updated mytouch to v2.8. Everything started working normaly. Let me know how that works out. Edit: I apologize, I read your post too fast and thought you said MKX. I have had so many mytouch issues lately, that its burned into my brain when someone mentions sync issues. Either way, it works the same. Under Sync menu, there is a master reset. Perform what I mentioned above. See if that helps. If not, last resort, I would do what I mentioned, except before repairing, disconnect battery in the car for 5 min and try again.

We got in a Kona Blue 2012 Focus 5 dr Titaniumn. After reading your post, I had to try that. Its so cool. Awesome car. The only thing that would keep me from buying one is the lack of rear seat leg room if I am in the front. Lots of cool little features like the ambient lighting in the front door handle cups changing to red when the door is ajar and back to previous color when closed. Also, when you turn the interior lamps on with the dome lamp switch all the ambient lights go to white. Auto up and down on all 4 windows. Just alot of awesome features for this caliber car. BTW Congrats on the new ride!

You are right, most of the time that fixes any t-body issues with Freestyles/500. It even works on some other models with ETB. However, 04 F150 and Explorers save your time and put a TB on it. Replacing TPS does not always fix them. I personaly think its good PM to clean them every 30k. The only thing to be careful of, is if its really dirty and you clean it without reseting keep alive memory, it will not idle or idle too fast. One more tip. If you replace a battery and the TB is gummy, it probably will not idle because it lost its learned trim values. Cleaning it will take care of that also.

These test were prototype vehicles correct? That means to me that the regular NA 3.5 PI is tested with 263hp not the upgraded 290hp that will come in the next year. Not that it will make a huge difference on numbers, but it should help.

I agree totally. I can't imagine any independent trans guy buying all those specail tools for Fords CVT. Covering 05-07 MY. BTW most CVT's don't get the 60k service with the high pressure filter and fluid change like required. In my experience you either get a bad CVT and it craps early, or you get a good one and it last for over 100k. Opinions are like A holes, everyone has one. :reading: Like every profession, some people are great at their job and some just get by.

Agreed. The LS was a awesome car in its day. They just let it rot. Almost every LS owner I know loved it. Just didn't like the repair bills. My mom was a Cadillac fan and in 2003 looked at a LS v8 and a CTS brand new. At that time, the LS was far more nicer. So she picked the LS over the CTS. Ofcourse, since the LS was destined to die, they never did anything past the 03MY update and the CTS surpassed it. BTW She since sold that car and wish she had the LS back. In 2000 LS had momentum, but it had quality issues and it was completely different from any FLM vehicle, and techs had a large learning curve. Also, Ford was having a hard time fixing them also. It got awful reliability scores. I know the S-type and LS were co developed, but if you ever work on one, you will see the Jaguar DNA all over it. No other NA Ford vehicles are made like it was.

Loaner cars are a neccessity. However, its a large expense for the dealer. We have 4 Focui sedans. Nothing special, but they are transportation. These poor vehicles are beaten up all the time. Some of our issue is the lack of the Advisor doing his job of damage waviers and making people pay for damage. Some customers have no respect for others. They come back smoked in, out of gas, scratched, nasty inside and out, mirrors busted off etc... The Advisors say sometimes the customer drops off the loaner to get their car and the loaner never gets checked over. So then its a "prove it" game. Thats why the service dept. bought these four used at auction. But as I have always heard, "it takes money to make money".

I am sorry to hear about your experience. Unfortunately this seems to happen a lot. Lack of quality workmanship, communication, and just plain giving a shit, seems to be a issue at almost every customer oriented business. This applies to anything from Home Depot to Burger King or car dealers. Too much "thats not my job". I still blame a lot of the crappy rushed repairs on a outdated pay system for technicians. Warranty work is a losing battle as far as pay goes. Pay should be based on several things, including repair quality, not a time study on a lab car. Side note : I know some people that work at dealers will post some opinions about how they disagree with me, but I don't care you will not change my mind. BTW from my understanding, any Ford paid "TAP" days (rental) is to be used on a FLM product. I have always been told that only in a emergency should you rent something other than. Also, for us, if we have a customer that needs transportation and our loaners are out we just put them in a used vehicle for a day. All that aside, I agree Lincoln and Ford need to step up the customer service. There's way too much competition. I do applaud the few great dealers. Hopefully you will get your MKT back and repaired correctly.

No we haven't had any issues on geting the claims paid. I write them up as the screen goes blank at times. I started doing the stock units because twice the sales person was demo-ing one and it went blank. Suprisingly Ford hasn't given us any trouble paying mytouch updates. I am guessing its because what can they say? "we aren't having any problems". So far what I am hearing, the 11-04-18 TSB V2.8 is helping out a lot on the bugs. Can still be slighty slow on screen switches, but much better.

What version are you at? The "newest and latest" is version 2.8. If you very recently had it updated then you should be at that level. If not, then you are probably at 2.7. I don't understand why its taking some dealers so long to update these things. I have it down to 45 mins. Thats unless I have yet to download the patch, then its about a hour. V 2.8 is supposed to fix :Blank/Black display screen, AM/FM missing preset display information, Momentary display freeze, voice recognition, voice recognition when using SYNC services, USB device detection, travel link download time, Sirius channel art logo mismatch, Clock intermittently displays incorrect time, Traffic Direction and Information (TDI) calling wrong phone number, travel link subscription, address book downloads, navigation set in kilometers/voice communicates in miles, and backup camera scrolling display. Everytime a new update comes out I go ahead and update all the stock units. All that said, I agree, Ford should have ironed this thing out well before it hit the market. I expect a few bugs on a totaly new system, but damn.

I still think the LS was a good start. It was RWD, and fun to drive. It seemed like Lincoln was going in the right direction. The down side was reliablity, cost of repair, and too little leg room in the rear seat. I always thought the they should have just kept the DEW98 and stretched it alittle and made a flagship off of it. Most LS owners love their car, except when it needed repair. Look at the Jag XF. Man what a pretty car compared to the S-type. The names do need to change. It is confusing. Almost as much as people getting Freestar and Freestyle mixed up. I always ask, is it a mini van or a wagon? Lincoln does need its own idenity. They used to in the past. Big comfortable luxury cars. The market for sofa sized bench seats and landau tops are gone.

Ford did have a lot of server issues with the update. I have done about 6 so far. However, Ford just released a Recall to update all mytouch with a certain build date. Notices will go out Jan 10th. (Today). I agree, Ford did not prepare the dealers fast enough. BTW, All the smart phones I have seen and used had similar issues like slow respnose time and lock ups. Also, any new electronic software driven device as of late always has bugs at first.

I went on a Ride and drive event with C&D in Charlotte a couple of years ago. It was basicaly a Cadillac advertisement. It had Car and Driver sings all over. We drove the STS and BMW 5 series and the SRX and RX330 on a set up course. I asked one of the guys, "so who's paying for this, who's supposed to win?" He said "wait until you exit through the tent". It was purely a Cadillac event hosted by C&D. We had to fill out surveys and if they liked it, you could end up in the magazine saying how great Cadillac is. The media is a business, no matter if its the News on 9 or a magazine. In this case, who bought the largest ad.

Hey guys, to be completely honest, I did not re-read all the past posts about order restrictions etc.... However, we just got 2 2011 F150s in. One is a SuperCab 5.0 4X2 Race Red, (looks like GM performance red) The 5.0 is very peppy. Good sound and lots of pull The other was a 2011 Crew 4X2 3.7 NA Bronze (Puppy shit brown IMO) Didn't drive it. I was told they would not hit dealers until Jan 2011.

I agree for the most part. However, the Aisin is a non repairable unit other than sensors and mechatronics unit. Its a very good transmission, but for me, I would change the fluid before 150k. The explorer 5R55 is a "filled for life" unit. They wore out servo bores by 80k. Would a more frequent fluid change prevent that? To some extent I feel these long service interval is from manufacturers trying to lower the cost of ownership by requiring less maintenance. Plus, Ford wants you to buy more vehicles, so I am sure the trans will make it to 150k with out service. But how much longer after that will it last? But if I knew I definately was not going to keep the vehicle over 80k or so, I probably would not service it neither.

I guess you will never buy a Bentley Continental. I like the name Continental. I really liked the Continental Concept several years ago. The mid 60's Continental is probably my favorite Lincoln. However, I agree that Town Car name is done. I hope they don't mess it up with some retro instrument cluster like the current Navigatior's gagues.

I realize the axle is breaking due to the fact it has a channel design which locks in salt slurry. My point is that springs rott out, so do rotors, brake lines etc.... Its not uncommon for a 10 year old vehicle to be rotted out if from up north. It really doesn't matter the manufacturer. I have seen floor pans rotted away, and subframes about in two. For the customer, I am glad they are voluntarily recalling these vehicles. However, what happens when the brake lines rott out on the same vehicle? Ford supposed to recall that?

They are getting old. In the rust states they are really getting old. We are going on 2011 MY. For customers I am glad they are covering it. However, I have yet to see any vehicle from salt states that isn't all rotted out by the time its 7-10 years old.