2003 lincoln town car signature series key fob question

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Hello I have an 03 lincoln I lost my keyless entry fob. I went to the junkyard and retrieved one from a 2004 towncar sig... when I do the programing it does nothing.... i've read all sorts of posts online. One of which says fobs from 98 to 03 will work.. other posts say 03 - 12 will. I know this fob worked on the donor car because I tried it. . I also put a new battery in it as well... when I went to the dealer the parts guy told me 03-12 were the same.. I dont believe him... because I ran into this problem years back trying a fob for an 03 on an 08... I dont know what to do... I also read somewhere you could only program 4 fobs to one car... maybe thats been done.. I need someone who actually knows how these things work... like the part number for my car and or if I need to clear the code from memory.. how I can do that.... would I need a dealer or can my cheap scantool remove them.... any help would be greatly appreciated...

Thanks

Keith r falcone
Orlando, fl.
 
I don't know about the difference in Fobs between the years but I do remember reading something about only being able to program so many Fobs. It's probably worth taking to the dealer to program you a new set unless someone else here has some ideas.
 
I'm not sure how much you paid for the fob, but you can buy a new unprogramed one online for around $30, and instructions will tell you if you can do it or a dealer must do it. They have all over online, ebay, amazon, and there is even a site that sells just fobs, sorry I cant remember off the top of my head the site though. I don't know about the whole only being able to have 4 fobs programed for town cars, but if I can remember correctly the GM B body cars were like that those were easy to reprogram the remotes. I would find out if you can still program remotes to your car first before you spend money.
 
Thank you after buying 2 fobs I found out that programming will work from 1998-2012... everytime I went through the process for some reason it wouldn't work right untill I drove the car and locked it manually after origional program... via keyless entry pad.. now it seems to have a mind of its own.. I used all day flawlessly.. until I tried to find the car... I hit the lock button all the way up to the drivers door... It didn't do anything.. but then hit unlock and it worked like a charm.. ive never experience a problem.. ever with the remotem. But hey its better than not working at all.... very weird a lot of people are having the same issue with Ford's.... idk I did my best... thanks for the reply... keith
 
Well that's strange, I've been having problems with the fob for my 04 CTS, all the buttons work I just might have to stand there pushing them 10-20 times for it to work, it doesn't do this all the time though, I've even tried replacing the battery but that did nothing.
 
I've owned many cadillacs I finally stopped after about 15.. if I changed the oil the headlights wouldn't work.. the dashboad dummy lights would light up like a christmas tree.. I spent more time under the hood replacing engines transmissions starters waterpumps AC parts sensors...you name it it broke!!!!!!!! Although my all time favorite car... I did own what the 95-96 Cadillac Fleetwood... it had the lt1 engine.. basically a buick roadmaster with Air ride... the only cadillac part on the Car was the hood ornament.... To this day i still miss all the real Chrome and plush interior... the 94 model was underpowered and had small mirrors..... I dont like my dealer.. they are robbers.... I'm mechanically inclined due to all my experience with Cadillacs.... lol. I will only take the car to the dealer for certin things.. For instance.. My transmission felt like it was slipping which was extremely odd... I was in the limousine business my whole life.. the only cars I ever had the do a tranny swap on were caddys. Lol. So I took it their to have the tranny tested along with the spark plug electrical units. I can't recall the real name for them but thier known to go bad every now and then... the issues is figuring out which one is bad... before you could buy a whole new set off ebay for 60 bucks... the dealer would list them at 80 a piece... now times that by 8 and you can see why I didn't want to buy a set.... they had the whole top part of my engine ripped apart.. there is one plug that's known for breaking off in the engine block do to its location... I figured with 90k miles better them breaking it off than me...the service guy came back and told me I just needed new plugs.... I said ok well how much to replace them.... he responded with $450.... I said you already have them taken out.. I dont mind paying like an extra $100 you have to put them back in anyway and put the car together again... he said that they wouldn't do that because they gauge their prices out of the shops hourly labor book and it was priced out at 3 and a half hours labor... I told him that was ridiculous just put the car back together. My diagnostic was $100 and I took it to pepboys boys after I knew the issue and they swapped out the plugs for $125... which I thought was fair.. anyway thanks for everyones advice.....


Keith Roy Falcone
Orlando Florida
 
I think they have gotten better, I love my CTS, it's got about 200,000 miles on it and runs flawlessly, I have never had to have any major work done at all, and actually I think in the last 3 or 4 years I've only had to replace the computer module. I've owned it since it was new and have only had to leave it over night at the dealer for work twice. I hate the dealer by me as well they have tried to screw me over a few times, after my warranty was up I basically said FU and started taking it to the Buick dealer across the street, I've bough ten cars from them before and have been overall pleased. I my self for a while was looking to get a 94-96 Fleetwood but they are extremely rare by me, I haven't seen one for sale online within 50 miles for about 5 months. I was talking to a guy who was also in the Limousine business for many years, and he said that customers would always prefer the ride of the Cadillacs opposed to the Lincolns, do you get the same feedback? Like I said I love my CTS but it's still not my kind of Caddy, right now im looking at 2002-2005 Devilles, one of my all time favorite cars, if I had tons of money for one I would really like to get a 2004 Deville DTS with only like 25,000 miles in black with navigation and night vision, last year for that and also last year for the 300HP Northstar. After I get a Deville I am definitely getting a 2011 DTS Platinum in Black with the Tuscany Leather Interior, and that car I will be willing to travel across the country for if I find one with really low miles and very clean.
 
I wouldn't hesitate on buying the fleetwood.. I would stay away from the 94 model it drives like the 80's cadillac it can't get out of its own way.. I loved all mine I had a few... most were limos and one of which I put 450k miles on... very solid cars... I would look on ebay there you will find them with low miles because a lot of funeral homes used them back in the day.. expecially in the limo models.. could be a fun toy for you to have... I actually had a 2002 deville and 03.. my 2003 bought with low miles... just got divorced never owned anything other than cads and lincolns my whole life.. but my wife left me her Chrysler Sebring so I traded it in.. I didnt want the cadillac but they have a lot room when it comes to loans.. They don't hold any value if you know what I mean.... mine was probably one of the best ones I came across but did burn oil... I ran pure synthetic and did have many stupid things go wrong with both... replaced the tail-light leds... The heat ac blender door module on both vehicles... tire sensors... air intake sensor.. ride control module.. even a computer in one of them... now If I didnt know anything about cadillacs I would have been up @hits creek... the only reason they ran well was because I spent a lot of time under the hood doing preventive maintenance.. and did most repairs myself... I moved to the virgin islands and sold everything. .. my buddy took the 02 deville so I swapped all good parts from one to the other.. I basically gave him a perfect car... he drove it for about a year and a half before it was on blocks in his backyard. .. because he didnt matain it correctly... he blew the head gasket... ac went. . Everything you could think of... I can say my 03 was a perfect northstar... I've never heard anybody use that term before... but it truely was... the ride in a cadillac is better as your friend said... but when it goes.. get ready to spend the bucks to fix it... I don't really care about horsepower and electronics... because the way I looked at it.. just one more thing to break with a caddy that is.. I personally would stay away from 2000-05 model years... mileage means nothing to me actually I would rather an older caddy with around 100k compared to 25k for the simple fact you know what you're getting... I look at old Cadillacs other than the Fleetwood as being like a rolls Royce. .. The cars like to be driven hard or they break... if you always drive them like an old lady your gonna have nothing but problems.. although lots of low Mileage cars come from where I live.. if ya happen to find anything you like I'm retired wouldn't mind getting out and kicking some tires for you... have a nice weekend..

Keith.
 
I know what your saying about the 2000-2005 Devilles I definitely don't want a 2000, they were probably the most unreliable of these years and carried over some of the problems Devilles of the 90's had (I think 95-99 I know 94 was redesigned but it didn't have the Northstar) 04-05 are definitely the most reliable of this gen because of the new bolt design in 04, im sure you know why, I have poked around on ebay a bit but wasn't sure if buying a car online was a good idea, I've always bought on site whether it be a dealer or private seller. I am very meticulous with my cars like you, probably why my CTS still runs and drives like a champ, I really want an 04 or 05 but the 02's 03's are more realistically priced (closer to real value), for instance say an 04 Deville with 110,000 miles on it is really worth about $4,000 but places will sell them for $12,000-$13,000. I wish I lived where nice clean cars come from like Florida or California, but no I live by the ocean in New Jersey where they use salt on the roads. Took a Mechanic buddy of mine to look at a 01 Deville but when got underneath the car he said forget it, the whole multi link rear was rusted through and really bad. it leaked oil and has been sitting for at least a year, the inspection expired in 2012 and in NJ we have to get inspected every 2 years so the car hasn't passed inspection since 2010 and now it's going on 2014! I wouldn't have wasted his time if I knew it was that bad from the road, I personally would never consider a junker like that but it looked nice from the road. A few months ago I saw a nice 95 Fleetwood Brougham online for a good price and it was the dark blue color one of my favorite colors for the 93-96 Fleetwoods, had about 136,000 miles then I didn't realize how rare they are to see for sale and I regret not looking at it. I was interested in the 98-03 Seville STS's but have heard nothing but very expensive problems with them, and I quickly stopped looking at those. I will try to keep an eye out for 94-96 Fleetwoods again though, I saw an ad for a 96 Fleetwood and the I saw the price and got really interested but when I clicked on it, it turned out to be a stretch limousine, as cool as it would be to own a limo, it wouldn't seem practical for everyday use.
 
I had bad luck buying cars from from NY, NJ I'm originally from Massachusetts.... just picture a Cadillac thats 10 plus years old being banged around the streets of manhattan with the potholes an accidents.. why the Cadillac honestly ? You could buy a beautiful lincoln 03 plus towncar with zero problems for that kind of money. .. actually my best friend in Massachusetts is flipping his fleet... he has 05's hes selling cheap with just under 300k... these are very clean cars... used by executives for on airport runs daily... I dont know if he has any left because the drivers were buying them up like hot cakes.... also with the towncar if you want power..... you can put the Police Interceptor chip in the computer its the exact same vehicle is the Grand Marquis crown Vic except with air shocks.... my friend has put 20k dollars into one of his at that shop as a hobby.. if you wanna talk about power.... lol. I think he gets about 7 miles to the gallon though... its in winter storage though.... Chicago is also a great place to find good clean cars..... and Florida where I am... Don't let the internet scare you... everything I buy is online I have sense ebay Started... you can always pay someone their to look it over for you first like a dealer or collector... I've done that many times... with positive results.... I'm willing to help you locate a fleetwood if your serious online....


Keith
 
I have always loved Cadillacs, I was raised in a GM family and my self have owned only GM vehicles my whole life, I like the town car but like Devilles and Fleetwoods a lot more, I regret not buying one back in the day, I understand what you mean about cars being banged around the city, but im not considering anything from the city, I live about 3 hours from the city, in an area immensely populated by senior citizens there are like 20 55+ communities within a 50 mile radius of me, hence why I see a lot of these cars around lol, most are clean one owners with anywhere between 50,000 to 140,000 miles. I've literally seen these cars with the tag that had the info on the leather still on the seat! I looked now and found a Fleetwood by me, I actually saw this one before its been on here for about 4 or 5 months, I think he had it over priced it was like $7,000, and I remember thinking even with the low mileage there's no way he's getting that much.

Here it is: http://cnj.craigslist.org/cto/4201810773.html
 
Thats a beautiful car love the color and it looks well kept... it makes me want to trade back my towncar Haha ... mine had a hugh moonroof and the stereo system was out of this world..... I would check it out and if it was as nice as it looks.. would offer up to 3500.. It's not a Brougham by the looks of it just a plain jane.... but by those pictures I dont think this guys needs to sell it.... Realistically it's not worth much more than 3k it's got over 50,000 miles.... I would call make an apointment to look at it.. and bring cash with you... ya never know might bite if he sees the money instead of an offer on the phone....
 
Yeah it's just the base model, I really wanted the Brougham, but this one does have the leather, or the old ad said so, at least it still has the LT1 that's really the reason I don't want a 93. He probably doesn't want to sell it and that's probably why he had it priced so high.
 
Thats what im thinking... in all honesty if you were to find a Cadillac Brougham of that year the roof would look like crap anyways... I really never liked those roofs I always thought it kinda looked cheap.. as far as im thinking leather would be almost 100 percent standard in those cars... you would pay more money for the cloth interior but im sure a few old ladys have them kicking around let me know how that works out.. :eek:)
 
I will be sure to, that same thing I don't like about the models with the Brougham trim is the vinyl top, I think the regular roof makes it look pretty sleek, I have a question about the 2000-2005 Devilles that I have never been able to find the answer to maybe you know, ok so about 2 years ago I saw either a 2000 or 2001 Deville and I could of sworn it had cloth seats, it was parked behind me and I got a closer look and I swear it was cloth, the owner never came out of the store so I didn't get to ask them, but I knew that you could get a Cadillac with cloth seats in the 90's but I thought that the 2000-2005 Devilles only had leather. It was a base model so I thought if it was cloth it made sense, another weird thing is I saw a 95 Fleetwood Brougham for sale one time and it had cloth seats, but it was the Brougham model, I thought that was weird.
 
Sorry got logged out... I have seen cloth interior in both Fleetwoods and town cars previous to 2000 year. I wasn't kidding when I said that I think cloth was an extra cost addon option.. its common in florida because of the heat... Anything's possible I saw them reconstruct Bob Marley's car and did the whole interior and hemp.... so I guess money talks.... I havent come across a deville 2k plus with it yet.. but I wasn't looking either. Its been great chatting with you look forward to keeping in touch... let me know if you need anything. ..
 
Well Ill say it's been interesting to see a new face on the Cadillac side, it gets boring replying to dead threads. Good night!
 
I know I use another site a lot called the lincoln forum.. I like this new app.. and it makes thie site so mainstream now... They just need to advertise it better on the search engines I noticed myself replying to threads that were three years old.. take care .
 

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