1 Year later still going strong

[Uberck]

I think there's a lot of misinformation out there about the LS being unreliable.
I wanted to make this thread to showcase my experience. A few key things:
-I bought the car a little over a year ago from the original owner who never drove it in the winter with 87xxx miles
-I replace things before they go bad to be safe
-I'm not the softest driver, often flooring it on the highway and sometimes racing my buddies to show them that an old school American V8 can still have some balls
-Now 115xxx on the clock
I have done the following:
Synthetic oil every 5k miles
Coolant flush & transmission flush
New belt, idler pulley, & tensioner
Michelin A/S all around with new pads and rotors
New master cylinder
New upper timing chain guides, valve cover gaskets & VCT gaskets
New coils and plugs
Full alignment every 6 mos (I have lifetime warranty)
New thermostat and radiator
New cabin & air filters
New front wheel bearings
New seat filters from Ford
Replaced MC overflow cap from Ford
Added factory SiriusXM (thanks LS4Me!)
Corrected re-circulation vent flapping sound
A bunch of other cosmetic things I won't list here
To do:
Struts all around, tie rods (starting to get a bit bouncy thanks to the crappy roads here in MA)
Replace right ebrake cable + right rear caliper (it seized up and had to have a local shop cut the cable to release so I could drive) All of these photos are recent:

 

[joegr]

I think that part of the problem here is how do you define "reliable?"

1. Is it "reliable" as in you just get in it and drive? You never check for problems and all you ever do is change the oil and filters on schedule? If that's your definition, then the answer is no, and it's going to be no for just about all cars in the same class that are 10 years old or older. For both of mine, I would say that the answer was actually yes, for the first 5/6 years and 60/70K miles.

2. Is it "reliable" as in as long as you pay attention to it (noticing any changes in sound/operation) and do some amount of inspection every oil change? I would say yes to this. You may find something that you have to take care of in the next month, week or few days, but generally, it won't leave you stranded if you pay some attention to it. I've had to do some same day repairs, but they always got me home to be able to do them. Frankly, if I'd paid a little more attention, I probably could have headed those few times off.

 

[XJLS8]

I think that part of the problem here is how do you define "reliable?"

1. Is it "reliable" as in you just get in it and drive? You never check for problems and all you ever do is change the oil and filters on schedule? If that's your definition, then the answer is no, and it's going to be no for just about all cars in the same class that are 10 years old or older. For both of mine, I would say that the answer was actually yes, for the first 5/6 years and 60/70K miles.

2. Is it "reliable" as in as long as you pay attention to it (noticing any changes in sound/operation) and do some amount of inspection every oil change? I would say yes to this. You may find something that you have to take care of in the next month, week or few days, but generally, it won't leave you stranded if you pay some attention to it. I've had to do some same day repairs, but they always got me home to be able to do them. Frankly, if I'd paid a little more attention, I probably could have headed those few times off.

I completely agree with what you said. Another point as well when it comes to reliability is on a personal level do owners have the money to not only do preventative maintenance but do any repair at any time. I tell everyone you want a vehicle you dont ever have to understand or take care of then lease and be in a new vehicle every 2-3 years.

The only real issues these cars have in my opinion is the plastic timing parts. Same as their Jaguar brothers up until 2004-2005 when the 2nd and 3rd gen timing parts were fitted the AJV8s could fail as early as 30,000 miles or last forever, noone knew which but it was and is still an issue that is not normal and should have been recalled. That aside ive always worked on these cars and the majority of repairs are from people on the cheap mickey mousing (plugs, coils, valve cover gaskets, cooling parts for the most) instead of replacing everything at once and be set for another 60-70k. Very few vehicles are junk out the gate the majority get a bad rep when they are cheap to buy used but the owner doesnt have the coin to maintain.

 

[LS-jsf]

I think it's fair to say that the LS could have been made much better, or certainly more changes at least from the 1st Gen to the 2nd Gen. Shortly after we bought our 48k mile LS last fall, my millennial son-in-law who admittedly has very little car knowledge got t-boned in a car accident, a car ran a red light and hit him. Luckily he wasn't hurt, but his car was totaled. His wife had recently bought a brand new Honda Accord so he was just going to buy a used car to replace his 'work' car. The short version of this story is I tried talking him into getting a low mile LS, but his buddy who is a mechanic told him these cars are always having repair issues. He ended up buying around a 2005 high mileage Toyota, kind of ratty looking at best, had all the fluids etc changed out and it's been running like a charm. Our LS, not so much. New tranny after 2,600 miles, A/C right after that. Power steering pump coming next. And of course the coils/plugs, the coils which were bad from the factory. I checked with the original owners Ford dealer where they regularly had the car checked/serviced, the #2 & #8 coil were changed around 40k miles, they should have all been changed along with the plugs, gaskets, etc to make it right. Last Friday antifreeze running out of it, appears to be the dreaded bad degas bottle (reservoir tank) and as everyone has said 10,000 times on here, all the rest of those coolant plastic parts will be failing any minute now. My son-in-law doesn't know about half of our issues yet and I have to admit, he justifiably has a (told you so) smirk on his face.

Now someone will get on here on say, "oh you just ended up with a lemon." Well if that's the case, there sure are a lot of 'yellow' LS's running around out there. What on this blog is primarily talked about? How do I fix this... Since this thread is about reliability, I think in the history books the LS will not go down as reliable, probably just the opposite. Now I'm sure some of what I said will get some people pissed off, like I just slammed their child or something, but as they say, the truth hurts sometimes.

Do I enjoy the car itself, yep. Would I have bought it if I knew all what was coming in under 10,000 miles, nope. My Collector Edition Mark VIII has had a few issues, but nothing like this LS, and it has about 90k more miles on it. I think the part that bothers me the most is after we get all of the before mentioned things fixed, I shouldn't have to be out enjoying the nice ride of this Sport LS, but always wondering every time I hit a bump, Oh Oh, what was that! lol

The if you want a car that doesn't need to be maintained, lease a car. Of course if you own something you have to maintain it. I think what's being discussed here is basically on a 1-10, where would a LS rank on a reliability scale. Yes some people buy cheap parts and continue to have problems or only fix 'half' of the problem instead of all of it at once. But blaming it all on that, is like your kid going and breaking out half of the windows in a school some night and then you saying, "Hey, kids will be kids."

I've owned a lot of cars in the last 45 years and I've personally never read/heard (or experienced) one with this many issues. And now before you start with the "maybe you shouldn't own a LS then." Ok, after I fix everything and have over $10k in the car, how about I sell it to you for whatever I have in it after owning it for less than 1 year and less than 60k miles on it, deal? I'll keep listing those low mileage LS's on here for those of you willing to take a chance. I hope you have better luck then I did though. *fingers crossed*

Ok, crank up the flame throwers. lol

*Off Topic* One other mention is I know that Lincoln tried to market the LS to a younger buyer, because what do most people think of when they hear Lincoln...old people. That may have been part of the reason my son-in-law didn't buy a Lincoln also. Everything I've read shows Lincoln failed at attracting a younger buyer for the (new) LS. Our previous LS owner was 87. I know after prices came down on the used ones, more younger people heard about them and bought them, especially the V8's. But let's be honest, Lincoln still hasn't shook the 'older person' owner sterotype when they hear Lincoln.

 

[SeaPro]

I completely agree with everything so far. I've got two of these cars, and I must say my 05 V6 has had ZERO problems. I've broken a few springs, but at 180K km and a bit of hard driving, what do you expect.

The 03 V8 had a complete cooling failure, but at 160k km that's normal. Same suspension stuff, but again I can attribute that to a little bit of hard driving.

For the price / performance / comfort, I think it's honestly the best bang for your buck in a used car. Really, what other cars can you buy for around 3K that are as comfortable and powerful as an LSV8. I'm genuinely curious lol.

Once you get passed coils, suspension and cooling, the car is awesome. I accepted those issues prior to making my purchase.

My experience is that these cars are reliable, however I find myself ALWAYS listening for the next issue. Drives the gf crazy lol.


I get home from work next week, at which point I will begin to document my swap from the V8 to the V6 body. I'm a fool for loving these cars so much... FML

 

[1LoudLS]

as far as unreliability goes, the LS is by far the most reliable car I have owned aside from my $1500 caviler with over 200k on its clock.

the LS was bought with around 65k on it, shortly after it was bought, it needed new sway bar bushings, front end links. the only problem I had with it before 100k was needing to replace the original battery and normal maintenance (brakes and oil changes) and I burned through some cheap sh!t ebay coils around 80k then right at 98k it got a bad misfire problem again and I found out that the warranty had been extended and had the dealer cover most of the coils and valve cover gaskets being replaced (while I didn't have to, I opted to pay out of pocket to replace the other two or three coils and plugs) around 125k-130K I had to replace the rear adjustable links and did the rear sway bar end links as well. then at about 150k I had the first times the car actually broke down on me and couldn't get me home when the end cap to the coolant crossover tube blew off, and I spent the next few weeks (due to not listening to solid advice I received on here) chasing down coolant leaking problems. but once almost all of the cooling system parts had been replaced, she was again rock solid. the only other problem I've had that caused me not to be able to drive it was at about 165k when my aftermarket muffler rusted and fell off because I cheapened out and bought the aluminium steel version instead of spending a few extra bucks to get the stainless.

I have had 3 window regulators break and need replacement, and the AC quit working a few years ago but I never cared to get it fixed because when its getting driven, it good weather for some windows down hot rodding around town.

and since day one, this car get driven hard as hell, every single time it gets turned on. I can only hope that my new Focus is half as reliable as the Lincoln has been.




for the record, the cavalier has only needed (aside from normal maintenance) is one wheel bearing, one thermostat, and a $25 cooling fan when the original one stopped working which took me 9 months to realize because the only symptom was that the AC would cut on and off at idle, and it took a 85* day in July sitting in a traffic jam before it started overheating. so yeah, $100 in two failed parts over 100k+ miles make the Trusty Rusty Sh!tty Chevy the most reliable car I have ever owned, but the LS is a close second.


I think a huge reason that people think these cars are unreliable is because and lot of people are buying these cars 10 to 15 years old, with a sh!t ton of miles for a few thousand dollars. and at that point they are pretty used up or have been poorly maintained. of course your going to think a car is unreliable if you buy it with 125k on it and then in the first year you have to replace the entire suspension and then the entire cooling system. or if you are just an idiot and have a coolant leak and just replace the "one" broke part, then weeks later its overheating again, so you replace another part and then weeks later its overheating again.........

 

[XJLS8]

The real reliability issue if you want to look at parts failures is due to the LS actually being engineered with Jaguars and not Lincolns/the classis and proven Ford drivetrains and electrical parts. Aside from the transmission which Ford has its own reputation for poor transmission life the rest of the car was a new sheet design to yes appeal to a younger crowd and built with the Jaguar S Type which was also a new sheet design for Jaguar to break into the mid level luxury Market.

The AJV8 was a brand new design under Ford's ownership of Jaguar and debuted in 1997 in the Jaguar XK8/XKR model and then in 1998 the flagship XJ8. Follow the history of this engine line alone AJ26, AJ27, AJ30, AJ35 and you will see the poor reliability in every variation. The Jaguars XK, XJ, and S type up until 2004-2005 had poor reliability just the same as the Lincoln LS. Ford was trying something new and it took years to work out the kinks. 2005 and on Jags are damn reliable and if the LS had been continued it too would have a much better reputation. It was short lived and underdeveloped thats mainly where its issues stem from.

Myself Ive always loved the LS but never wanted one unless it was an 06 model. Having been exposed to all the problem year Jaguars through ownership has made me personally well aware of the Lincoln LS in a way most LS owners dont look at their car. We LS owners dont own a Lincoln, we own an entry level Jaguar made during Ford's trial and error years trying to change the image of Jaguar to a more reliable brand.

 

[1LoudLS]

if anything, jaguar became much more reliable under fords wing. previous to that and they were about as reliable as... well any other British car!

 

[Uberck]

Great information here guys. Please keep the responses/education/votes coming!